Inspired by Cheka's 30 things to run away from.

Dragons are truly awesome creatures. Too awesome in a lot of ways, really. Because of their power, their magnificence and their near-immortal lifespans, a GM might hesitate to include one in a campaign as anything other than an end boss. Here are 30 non-traditional ways to bring these wonderful beasts into your own campaign.

The hacker had breached the final firewall and was typing code into the command prompt: code/7777SOHAT. Images flashed up on screen and he gazed in terror at what he saw.

Due to the nature of tabletop RPGs, a campaign will often start with a random group of strangers. Here are some ways to get them adventuring together, without resorting to the old Tavern trope.

It was just any other day, another testament to the mundane dreary lives of the living. No one was prepared for their coming, how could they be? They entered the bodies of the living, transforming them into blood thirsty monsters, all in an instant.

What happens when the PCs run into a girl that they failed to rescue once a second time?

A large object appears in the sky, moves in a strange fashion and vanishes after abducting a lone PC. The PC is later returned unharmed, but has several traits changed on his character sheet, no memory of the event and continually has strange dreams about goblins in space wearing lab coats and holding glowing wands.
-30 Disasters by Scrasamax

As long as a hundred spears and longer, the weapon must be hoisted!

The party comes across a magic amulet. This amulet will give each user two wishes, but the wishes almost seem to have a mind of their own.

The forest is too large for just one person to forage...

When a stranger warns of demonic activity, should you take him at his word?

- "Course heading, Captain?"
- "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

Few things attract attention quite like the death of a star.

'Come in my friend, be seated with your fellows. I am Ruufon and I hope your sleeptravel has refreshed you and washed away the weariness of your wanderings...'

When armed men barricade the road and demand money, be careful how you respond.
They just might have a legal right to do so.

...and a star to steer her by.

In the vein of the other Random Encounter threads, now comes the thread for Oceanic encounters

What happens? Are you kidding me?

One of Corleone’s commander has come up with an exquisite trap for the newly forming armies of Ignus. The only problem? He needs bait for the trap, and he’s just hit upon the perfect idea…

War has begun, and the troops have begun to move. Lying on the border between Esteov and the God's Spine Mountains, Kerrengen Keep secures the main source of fresh water for the capital of Esteov, Lake Kerrengen.

The mountains are often a desolate place, but not without dangers, or opportunities.