Tables — Harenaopolis

Random tables for encounters, loot, events, and NPC generation. Roll as needed or use as inspiration.

Encounter Tables

City Streets (d10)

Use during city exploration, especially at night or in less-traveled areas during the storm.

d10 Encounter
1 A city guard patrol (2d4 guards) stops the party for routine questioning — they are nervous and looking for the missing people
2 A desperate merchant tries to hire the party as bodyguards for a supply run to the city gates
3 A child is lost and crying near a sewer access point — they say "the sand talked to them"
4 A street brawl between two merchants disputing dwindling trade resources
5 Someone the party has spoken to before is being followed by a cloaked figure
6 A section of street collapses into the sewer below — tremor. No one is hurt, but the hole is there
7 A missing persons notice on a wall matches the description of someone the party has seen recently
8 A city official is conducting a tense, quiet conversation in an alley that stops the moment they notice the party
9 A stray dog leads the party toward Aldren's shop and then stops, refuses to go closer
10 A Matrona elder from the Healing Hands is tending to someone collapsed in the street — early sign of the oasis corruption

Sewer System — Upper Levels (d8)

Use in the accessible sewer tunnels. Tension over danger at early levels.

d8 Encounter
1 2d4 giant rats, agitated by something deeper in the system
2 A maintenance worker who is lost and very glad to see someone — he came down alone three hours ago
3 A section of wall has crumbled to reveal a chamber from the ancient civilization. It is empty. It smells wrong
4 Black necrotic sand oozing through a crack in the floor — the crack was not there last week (Emmet, if present, confirms this)
5 1d4 swarms of insects fleeing from something deeper
6 A discarded item belonging to one of the missing persons
7 A sound from below — like something enormous shifting in its sleep
8 A locked iron door set into the ancient stonework. No key visible. Something is scratched into the door in a language nobody speaks anymore

Sewer System — Deep Levels (d8)

Use in the ancient sections. Danger increases significantly.

d8 Encounter
1 1d4 shadow demons (fragments of the Greater Demon's influence)
2 A section of tunnel floored entirely in black necrotic sand — difficult terrain, deals 1d4 necrotic damage per round to anyone who lingers
3 Ancient trap: pressure plate triggers a collapsing ceiling section (DC 15 Perception to notice, DC 14 DEX save or 3d6 bludgeoning)
4 A sacrifice site — recently used. Evidence pointing to Aldren, if the party is looking
5 2d4 zombies — people who disappeared. They are wearing city clothes
6 A chamber from the ancient civilization with a functioning mechanism — light source, water flow, or something more significant. Still works
7 The sound of something very large breathing, very close, through the stone
8 Direct manifestation: a Necrotic Sand Elemental (use Earth Elemental stats, damage type necrotic, leaving black sand residue on everything it touches)

Ruin Exteriors (d6)

Use approaching or navigating the four ruin sites.

d6 Encounter
1 1d6 dust mephits drawn to the sandstorm energy
2 A rival group investigating the same ruin — their intentions are unclear
3 Cultists serving the Greater Demon (use Cultist stats, 2d4+2) attempting to accelerate the seal's erosion
4 An ancient guardian construct — partially functional, attacking on instinct rather than purpose 3d4+2 +3 too hit - is stationary - not an enemy more like a trap - is magical -
5 The seal is visibly weakening — the area around the ruin warps: strange light, sand moving against the wind, temperature drop
6 Aldren is here but hooded. He has not noticed the party yet. He is doing something he should not be doing. - party must have met him and roll a insight 16 saving throw

Loot Tables

General City Loot (d8)

Pickpockets, common encounters, abandoned areas.

d8 Loot
1 2d10 cp and a pawn shop token worth 5sp
2 A sealed letter addressed to someone in the city — personal, not obviously important
3 1d6 sp and a carved stone token (city merchant's guild — worth 1gp to the guild)
4 A vial of high-quality lamp oil and a flint
5 3d6 gp in a money pouch with someone else's initials on it
6 A city map with handwritten notes — someone has circled Aldren's shop
7 A piece of jewelry worth 15gp (Vassi at the Crown of Sand will recognize the craftsmanship as local — and the owner)
8 A small lockbox (DC 13 Thieves' Tools) containing 50gp and a random note

Sewer & Ruin Loot (d10)

Ancient civilization items, demon-adjacent finds.

d10 Loot
1 Corroded coins of unknown denomination — not current currency. A historian or Pell could identify them
2 A piece of ancient metalwork (non-functional, but worth 25gp to a collector — Ossav will buy it)
3 A stone tablet with writing in the ancient language. One word is the same as the word carved on the iron door
4 A vial of necrotic sand — contained, safe to handle. Serath will pay 30gp for it, ask no questions, and tell you more than you paid for
5 A desiccated hand wearing a ring — the ring is a Ring of Mind Shielding (attunement required)
6 An ancient oil lamp that still functions, fueled by something that is not oil. It burns black and sheds 30ft of dim light
7 A fragment of a seal — one quarter of a stone disc covered in binding runes. Inert. Collecting all four fragments reveals something about the curse
8 Cultist possessions: a symbol of the Greater Demon, 15gp, and a note with a meeting location in the sewers
9 A Potion of Healing brewed with oasis water — functions normally, but leaves a faint grey aftertaste
10 A minor magic item from the ancient civilization: Sandwalker's Boots — while worn in sandy terrain, the wearer leaves no tracks and has advantage on DEX (Stealth) checks

Named Item: The Whispering Stone (from The Buried Lamp)

An ancient-civilization artifact — dark, dense stone, faintly warm. Emits a sound just below normal hearing. When held by someone with the Detect Magic spell active, it pulses in the direction of the nearest ruin seal. When all four seals are stabilized, it goes cold and silent permanently. Worth 200gp to the right scholar after the campaign.

Event Tables

Sandstorm Escalation (d6)

Roll each in-game day. Results represent the storm's progression as seals erode.

d6 Event
1 A new section of city is becoming structurally unsafe — sand accumulation on older buildings
2 The oasis water tastes wrong today. The Healing Hands temple quietly tells people to boil it before drinking
3 Another disappearance — this one someone the party has met. Missing persons notices go up by morning
4 A minor tremor at midday. Cracks appear in the street above an ancient chamber. Sewer Warden Emmet submits another ignored report
5 The storm has shifted — a new section of mountain pass becomes impassable. The city is more isolated than yesterday
6 The oasis palm trees at the north end are dead. It happened overnight. The city is not yet publicly aware

Random City Events (d8)

Flavor and complication during city exploration.

d8 Event
1 A public announcement from the palace: official curfew after sundown, effective tonight
2 A merchant caravan has finally arrived — undersupplied and shaken. They have a story about what the mountain pass looked like
3 A fire breaks out in the Trade Warrens — lightning strike on a warehouse. The city's water supply makes firefighting complicated
4 A city council meeting is happening at the palace. Powerful NPCs the party has met are all attending. Something has changed in the official response
5 Rumors are circulating about the disappearances — the current theory among citizens names someone innocent. If it spreads, there will be consequences
6 A religious gathering at the Healing Hands temple — Matron Selav is delivering a public address about the city's situation. She says more than she intends to
7 Aldren has closed his shop today. No sign in the window, no explanation. First time in years
8 The ring the King or Queen carries begins behaving strangely in public — they manage to conceal it, but the party may notice

NPC Generation

Random Citizen Personality (d8)

d8 Personality
1 Brusque and practical — they are managing, do not need help, and would like everyone to stop panicking
2 Quietly terrified and very good at hiding it
3 Loudly optimistic in a way that is clearly coping
4 Grieving — someone they knew is among the missing
5 Suspicious of the party specifically, for reasons they will not articulate
6 Desperate to leave the city and equally desperate for a reason not to
7 Professionally calm — this is not the worst crisis they have seen, and they will tell you so
8 Well-informed and willing to talk, at length, to anyone who will listen

Random Citizen Occupation (d10)

d10 Occupation
1 Merchant — specific goods TBD
2 City guard (off duty)
3 Sewer maintenance worker
4 Temple attendant (Healing Hands)
5 Caravan worker, stranded by the storm
6 Scholar studying the ruins
7 Domestic worker for a wealthy family
8 Craftsperson (smith, weaver, potter)
9 Street vendor, reduced to essentials
10 Palace staff (junior, indiscreet)

See Also