It also adds some opportunities for roleplaying since members of the rival expedition might not be immediately hostile, or may be convinced to parley rather than immediately draw steel.
Expedition Leader
Roll a D6 on this table to determine who leads the rival adventuring party through the dungeon. The expedition leader will determine the basic strategy for moving through the dungeon, depending on their personality and preferences.1. The Brawler. Veteran of half a dozen wars, the brawler married a guildmaster's daughter and used the wedding dowry to raise a small army for the expedition. Tough and charismatic, he personally inspects his hirelings and their equipment, demanding discipline and high performance. He pays his mercenaries and camp followers well; he knows that the dungeon's ultimate treasure is far more valuable than gold or silver…
2. Hearts and Minds. This strategist knows that he can pass through the dungeon quicker if he has the cooperation of the local population. He will make gifts, promises, and gestures of goodwill to the dungeon's denizens, forging alliances with the strongest and turning the locals against the PCs…
3. Caesar. Preferring to rely only on the loyalties of his allies and hirelings, the Caesar enslaves and decimates the dungeon's inhabitants whenever his forces come across them. It means that the locals will be less powerful, suffering under the Caesar's yoke, but it also means that the PCs could find a way to incite a rebellion…
4. The Zealot. Motivated by her faith, the zealot leads her expedition with an unshakable fervour. She may be a religious figure or simply loyal to a powerful guild or patron, but her primary characteristic is her dedication to the cause. She may not pay her followers too well, but they all (okay, most of them) follow her because they believe in the same cause she is championing…
5. The Historian. The rival party will loot treasure and seek out artifacts, but they do so in order to preserve them. The historian might be a wealthy eccentric, learned scholar, or the agent of a well-informed collector; whatever the case, the historian will want to avoid damaging any statues, shrines, murals, tapestries, mosaics, and even trap components that their party finds…
6. The Reclaimer. This expedition leader has a history with the dungeon and this is not the first time she has been here. The reclaimer might once have been an inhabitant, might have built the dungeon or had a hand in building it, might have designed some of its traps, or might have been a prisoner here; maybe she led a previous expedition to the dungeon and had to withdraw for one reason or another. Whatever the case, the reclaimer is back, and her knowledge of the dungeon's layout, hazards, and inhabitants will allow her to move quickly through the areas she is familiar with. Whether her history with the dungeon is widely known or not is another matter, and it could be something she is open about or something she prefers to keep to herself…
Warrior
Roll a D6 to find out who the rival party's main source of muscle power is. The warrior also determines what the rival party's minions are like and how they fight.1. The Old Ally. One of the PCs has history with this character - they might be an old friend, ally, mentor, student, or partner, and now they're in the employ of the rival party's expedition leader. The related PC might know the old ally's tricks and weaknesses, but the old ally will also know theirs, and if their identity is not immediately revealed there might be a moment of hesitation as the PC realises who they're fighting. The old ally's warrior continent's theme is very flexible, depending on who they are and how they are known to operate.
2. The Tank. A heavily-armoured knight with a massive metal tower shield; this guy can take a lot of punishment and will try to corner the PCs while his armoured henchmen move in to flank them. He may look like a knight, but all notions of chivalry have been abandoned and the tank now fights only to rid himself of the curse that traps him inside his armour…
3. The Sniper. A one-eyed elf* banished from her enclave for killing her brother, the sniper is an excellent shot with his specialised bow, and an expert in camouflage and moving stealthily. The sniper's small cadre of elite marksmen act as a screen and bog-down her targets so she can flank the enemy and strike from an unexpected direction…
4. The Martial Artist. Maybe he uses a stick or some nunchaku, or maybe he just uses his hands and feet; whatever the case may be, this unorthodox fighter can kick arse without relying on traditional weapons and armour. The martial artist's students mimic their master's fighting style and might even be a horde of ninjas…
5. The Berserker. A strange mushroom-based concoction sends this mighty warrior into a foaming rage during which he has the strength and endurance of a half-company of normal fighting men. His warriors are all from the same tribe, and many of them partake of the frenzy-inducing mushrooms, making them much more dangerous than they would first appear…
6. The Duellist. This swordswoman is a show-off, happiest when she is chastising her enemies and humiliating them in front of her sycophantic gang of well-dressed swordfighters. She fights with a broadsword in one hand and a sword-breaker in the other, preferring light armour that allows her to dance around her opponents…
Thief
The rival party has a specialist when it comes to locks, traps, and fiendish puzzles. Roll a D6 to find out what sort of thief they have brought along.1. The Kobold†. This thief is very good at sneaking around unnoticed and lifting artifacts without setting off the death-traps protecting them, but they are bullied and mistreated by the rest of the expedition…
2. The Dwarf‡. An outcast from his clan, this thief is an expert at detecting traps but takes longer to disarm them because he prefers to keep their components intact as part of his personal "hurt locker…"
3. The Acrobat. Able to dodge, tumble, wall-run, slow-fall, and find a handhold on almost any surface, this thief specialises in taking routes others might not consider…
4. The Poisoner. Although she was hired to disarm traps, she also covers her party's progress with traps of her own. Her poison dart, poison gas, and contact poison booby traps will cause their victims to become disorientated, begin hallucinating, or fall unconscious…
5. The Slave. Bound by a spell** of mind-control, this thief is not wholly in control of their actions. They are magically compelled to follow the orders of the other rival party members, whether they want to or not. The slave's skills are invaluable to the party, so they will not send him on suicide missions, but equally they do not treat him like an equal and he would not be here of his own free will if he had the choice. The PCs may find an ally in this thief if they can free him, although they may have to convince him that they will ultimately honour his reclaimed freedom…
6. The Demolitionist. Using black powder, alchemical explosives, or perhaps even a team of capable sappers, the demolitionist excels at noisy and potentially-catastrophic methods of dealing with obstacles in the party's way. Missing eyebrows, his hearing in one ear, and perhaps a few fingers, the demolitionist is an eccentric character and will be dangerous to face in combat if the PCs decide to confront him…
Mage
If you have wizards, mages, magicians, and sorcerers then consider also rolling a D6 on this table to see what sort of spellcaster the rival party has brought along for arcane firepower and utility.1. The Secret Cultist. Unbeknownst to the expedition leader, the mage is one of the Sons of Akrimesh, and part of the dungeon has something to do with Akrimesh's resurrection (a mana sink, an artifact, or perhaps Akrimesh's burial site itself). The mage will betray the expedition leader when the time is right…
2. The Exotic††. This mage is either a creature the PCs have never seen, or one they have only seen very few examples of; a dark elf, a half-dragon, one of the slugmen of Yoon Suin, whatever might make the PCs perform a double-take when they first encounter the mage…
3. The Necromancer. The ability to communicate with the dead has allowed this sorcerer to interrogate historical figures and deceased locals; as a result, the expedition is unusually well informed on the dungeon's layout, secrets, and hazards. Not everyone likes working with necromancers, but the expedition leader has avoided conflicts breaking out amongst the party so far…
4. The Beast Master. Dogs, panthers, crocodiles, hawks, evil eyes, you name it the beast master has charmed and repurposed it. The PCs will have to be on the lookout for both murderous beasts and unassuming animals that could be spying on them and informing the beast master of their movements…
5. The Prophetess. Able to see into the future, the prophetess is likely to foil a number of the PCs' plans to outmanoeuvre the rival party. If she is going to be heading off the PCs at every turn, however, there should be something in the dungeon that will allow the PCs to mask their movements or fool the prophetess for long enough for them to eliminate her…
6. The Enigmatic. This sorcerer keeps their face hidden behind a gilded mask, beneath a voluminous hood, or within an unusual helmet. Their identity is never directly given by any of the other members of the rival party, and many seem somewhat resentful of the enigmatic mage's presence; it is clear that, were it up to the expedition leader, the thief, the warrior, and most of the camp followers, the enigmatic mage would not be here. Some invaluable alliance, unbreakable pact, or unfortunate necessity ties the mage to the others, and the mage is keen to remind the expedition leader of "our bargain," "the knowledge I possess," or "what will happen if you renege on our agreement…"
* If you don't have elves, feel free to replace the sniper with your own Robin Hood.
† If you don't have kobolds, use a halfling. If you don't have halflings, use something else.
‡ If you don't have dwarves, I'm sure you can think of something appropriate.
** If you don't have spells, try a more mundane form of leverage such as hostage family members, blackmail, or an addictive substance that the expedition leader keeps a small supply of.
†† If you don't have dark elves and slug men, someone from a far-flung continent will do.
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