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COWBOYS & VIKINGSCompendium of the Wild Wastes

Game Master / Trouble Generator / Complication Set

Complication Set

Frame: [timing], [shape], caused by [source]: [local].

Timing (d4, all columns)

d4Timing
1Already happened, and no one has noticed
2Happening right now
3Coming within days
4Hidden until the worst moment

Shape (d8, all columns)

d8Shape
1The wrong person is blamed
2Someone is playing both sides
3The victim is guilty too
4Help arrives with strings attached
5The prize isn't what everyone thinks
6A third party wants it all to fail
7An old promise gets in the way
8Solving it causes a bigger problem

Source (d10)

d10WildsOutpostTownCityRoute
1A starving beastThe jarlThe sheriffThe councilThe company
2A rival trapperThe companyThe churchThe watchThe weather
3A ley surgeThe soldiersThe bankA newspaperA passenger
4An outlaw bandThe traderThe newspaperThe longhallThe crew
5The weatherA sicknessA gangA refineryBandits
6A vengeful spiritA new arrivalA mobA foreign powerA rival line
7A lost childThe healerThe saloonA crime familyThe cargo
8A survey teamA feuding familyThe railroadThe menagerieThe toll-lord
9The posse's own guideThe mineAn old familyThe ley gridA beast on the route
10The land itselfA rival postA strangerA secret lodgeA broken bridge or engine

Local Specific (d12)

d12WildsOutpostTownCityRoute
1Tracks lead two directions at onceThe gate was left openA posted notice was torn downA page missing from the council minutesA cargo seal was replaced
2The only ford is floodedA page is torn from the ledgerThe church bell rang at midnightA watchman who won't meet anyone's eyeThe manifest lists one passenger too many
3A dead horse with a brand no one knowsThe jarl's ring is missingA bank ledger doesn't balanceA menagerie cage standing openThe station clock has stopped
4Smoke on the ridge every nightA soldier deserted last nightThe jail cell is emptyA refinery whistle at the wrong hourA signal lamp burns the wrong color
5Rifles cached under a cairnThe well water tastes of ironA stranger paid in old coinA coded advertisement in the paperThe boilerman is missing
6Ley-glow pooling in the valleyA wagon arrived with no driverThe press broke the night before printingA jarl's banner hung upside downA strongbox that rattles
7A trail marker turned to point the wrong wayThe dogs won't go near the storehouseA wedding ring found in the streetA ledger in two languagesFresh tracks beside the rails
8A song echoes that no one is singingTwo people hold the same deedA fresh rope on the hanging treeA lodge pin found at the sceneA ticket bought in a dead man's name
9A camp abandoned mid-mealThe healer's stock was poisonedThe lamps flicker when someone liesA ley lamp that never goes outThe river is running backward
10Claw marks higher than a manA new grave no one dugThe saloon singer saw everythingA carriage seen in three places at onceA toll gate left unmanned
11A bounty poster with the guide's faceThe post's flag was cut downThe telegraph line was cutA body in the canal wearing someone else's coatA passenger who won't remove their gloves
12A rune-stone split in halfA letter in a hand everyone knowsA horse came home without its riderA ticket for the night train outA telegram that arrived before it was sent