A (fairly sketchy) outline of a one-off adventure I ran based around the (time-honoured/hackneyed) Tunguska Event of 1908. As such it is quite specific (hopefully not hackneyed) and will probably best serve as a specimen for dissection to get those parts you can use in your own adventures. But then this is an Ideas Guild after all...

Two sly-looking men turn up in town accompanied by a third man who says very little and who they don't allow to be seen much.

In the darkness in the south transept of the Cathedral of Isielles stands the resplendent Clock of Shadows. It tells more than just the time of day...

Sometimes locks need that extra sharp fingernail to twist the catch. Sometimes a thief might find himself locked in a prison with a wooden door. The Muzzled Mouse is a hideous little tool which helps one in such situations...

Language is an essential part of any culture. Culture wouldn't exist without some form of communication, and humans communicate by speaking. But the connection is deeper even than that. The language helps to define the culture which uses it, and is in turn affected by that culture. This dynamic process is what keeps a language 'alive': Latin is a dead language because the culture to which it belonged no longer exists.

Creepy, Crawley, Buzzing, Digging, Biting, Building, Sticking, Jumping, Clicking, and all the other things these small things do.

To give a world a feeling of otherworldliness, it is best to replace some standard, everyday objects by imaginitive replacements. I thought I'd turn to musical instruments as music often defines (or embodies) a culture.

This is just a first idea, feel free to post some more, because I will...

The addition of “irrelevant” details adds local colour to a campaign world, giving the impression that the DM has thought very deeply about the history of even the smallest architectural feature.

Dragons, being huge and meaty, are the ideal habitat for countless unpleasant parasites.

A mysterious quarry. Feel free to suggest explanations - it's just an eerie thought that struck me that I intend to play with.

The Despotic Queen of Shiant has decreed that a competition will take place in the month of Oconerry. She will have built a labyrinth through which the contenders must pass in order to win the ultimate prize: her hand in marriage.

An icky sideline plot to a forest adventure.

When wizards go mad, what curious ruins do they leave behind?

A transcription, beyng the seminal introduction by Mr S J Ponsuler to the theory and praxis of Dracapodemy, the studie of Dragons' migration patterns. This tome ys to be founde in the librarie of Anserne University, alonge with many years of copies of the Dracapodemyst's Almanac not to mention verious othere tomes on the subjecte.

(Another submission I'm transferring over to the main site from the fora).

The characters are stranded on an island, where a wizard, corrupted by the powers of the first Blue Book, has been killed by his own magical experiments. They will discover the awful truth that lurks in his subterranean workshop, and a seed of evil will be sown...

Although it can be a distraction, it can also add atmosphere to an adventure to have music playing in the background. Here are some pieces I'd recommend for different situations.

Archaeologists have long wondered about the origins of 'cup and ring-marked stones', the mysterious rocks found on deserted tracts of moorland bearing markings resembling small shallow pits with concentric rings and dating to the Bronze-age.

A disembodied hand enthralled by an evil wizard to fetch books for him.

I don't know if I posted about it before, but I have always wanted to run an adventure set in a library. The following is a sketch of an unusual premise and a possible plot-hook.

The grisly anthropomorphisation of a rockfall...