Tayxis: Ghost Town Random Encounters

Ghost towns are dangerous places in Tayxis, where literally anything can happen.  In these deserted towns, the line between this life and the next begins to blur, technology ceases to function, and strange things can occur at any time.

Go ahead and roll a d20, pardner - see what happens.



1.  A group of spectral children emerge from around the corner, laughing wildly.  Upon seeing the characters, they stop and appear first puzzled, then horrified.  They begin to scream, clawing wildly at their intangible bodies before melting into the earth, leaving behind the stench of burnt rubber.

2.  A figure sleeps under a large hat and blanket on the side of a building.  If prodded, it mumbles something and waves a gun vaguely at the group.  The blanket falls away, revealing goat legs - obviously a demon.  This demon is ridiculously drunk, though, and in no shape to battle anyone.  He can be slain with ease, but will curse any involved in its demise.  Pass an Intelligence Check or suffer a -1 penalty to all rolls until the curse is removed.

3.  Every door in town suddenly slams at once.  The echoes resound for 2d4 rounds.

4.  The next building entered is a portal of some sort.  The first person through it is disconnected from reality for the next 1d6 hours.  They can see and observe others, but everyone else can only sense them by the chill in the air and the whining of dogs when they pass.  No matter how they shout or flail about, they are unable to be seen or to interact directly with the real world.

5.  The sensation of having walked through a spiderweb overcomes the group, and everyone who fails a Wisdom check spends the next turn trying to pluck nonexistent strands from their hair and body.

6. Small cracks appear in the ground all around the party, and black, acrid smoke pours forth, obscuring vision for 2d6 rounds.

7. A voice begins to hiss, whispering sibilant warnings into the ears of every party member that fails a Charisma check.  The whisper tells of another party member's plans to betray them (determined at random). Each character thus affected believes these warnings to be their own thoughts.

8. The sound of heavy boots and spurs resound through the street.  A ghostly voice whispers, "Draw", and a shot rings out.  The party must pass a Dexterity check or take 2d6 points of damage as they're shot through with hot lead.

9. The party notices luminescent eyes peering out from darkened windows and other recesses that disappear when investigated.

10.  A Ranger lies in the street, bloody and on the brink of death.  He warns of a swarm of rats that appeared from the basement of one of the buildings.  He points to another building, indicating where they went, and then dies.

11. Two Barbed Wire Golems do battle, appearing as a single ball of wire tying itself in increasingly tight knots.  If left to its own devices, it will tighten until it is unable to move, then collapse to the earth, a solid ball of barbed metal.  If disrupted, both Golems will turn and attack the interloper.

12.  A door blows open, and six skeletal figures in rotted cowboy outfits can be seen sitting around a table, playing poker.  One of them stands suddenly and pulls an antique firearm, points it at the skeleton across from it and fires.  All six skeletons disappear, and the pistol drops to the ground.  The pistol is magical, and can be used to attack the incorporeal.

13. Clocks sound from all over town, all striking 13.  The dead rise, all of them.  Waves upon waves of the dead pour forth from buildings and from the earth itself, and the party will be face constant attack until they leave town, at which point the dead collapse into dust.  The party is unable to return to the town, blocked by a mystical force.

14. From the left comes the sound of whistling, a low mournful tune that reminds each member of the part of a song from their childhoo.  From the right comes an accompaniment on a banjo.  

15. A fallen angel weeps quietly, hugging a grave.  It ignores the party for several rounds, resisting any attempt to console or otherwise communicate with it.  It then pulls a gun from the folds of its robes, looks at the party with dead eyes and intones, "This is all there is.", and then shoots itself.

16. Pale, worm-ridden hands burst forth from the ground, grabbing the ankles of any party member who fails a Dexterity check.  Each hand has 10 hit points, and an AC of 4.  They will not release the character once it has grabbed hold, unless it has been destroyed.  There is a 35% chance that any character so grabbed will contract a wasting disease if they fail a Constitution check at a -4 penalty.

17. A Giant Dust Elemental blows through town, obscuring sight and causing 1d2 damage/round to anyone exposed or in the open.  It takes 2d6 rounds to pass through, and is immune to everything but magical weapons and fire.

18. A horse suddenly wheels around a corner, charging towards the party, a man in black crouched low on its back.  "Heeyah!  Heeyah!" the man shouts, slapping at the horse's backside.  Several bags weigh heavily on the saddle, and one falls as the horse rides by.  Gold spills out from it.

Several rounds later, a platoon of heavily armed men, also on horseback, race by.  If the gold still sits on the earth, one will grab it as they go.  If a party member takes any or all of it, twelve men will peel off from the group, sniffing the air.  They will offer to give the party a pass if they surrender the gold, stating they are acting on the orders of a General Scott, who the party has never heard of.  If the party refuses, a battle ensues.

19.  The characters notice that the entire party is sweating blood.  Effect persists for 6d4 hours.

20. The earth shakes as a Terrorantula lumbers towards the town!  There is a 10% chance per round, cumulative, that the Terrorantula spies each member of the party that remains outside of a building.  Once spotted, it will attempt to kill or drive away those that have attempted to infiltrate its territory.