D&D 5E more carousing options?

[evilbob]

So, my group has gone nuts for carousing. At this point they've hit all of the options (except jailtime) and what we're discovering is the whole "40-80" range - the most common result - is boring. We need more interesting options!

Any ideas out there? I put it to the forum!

Here are some random ideas (the first inspired by something I found online) to get started:

You have a new tattoo! Player gets to choose the location, then roll d6: 4-6, it's actually pretty cool. 3, it could have been awesome, but something is goofed up or misspelled. 2, it's really dumb - what were you thinking? 1, it's actually an insult in a language you don't speak. (These results could potentially give slight bonuses or penalties to certain social situations, depending on the visibility.)

Accidental philanthropy: in a vulnerable state, you were convinced to give a chunk of money away - but at least it went to a good cause. You lose 2d10 x 3 gold, but your standing with a charitable faction in town (DM's choice) has gone way up.

Party friend: you have found a kindred spirit! Any additional carousing checks made in the next week add 1d20 to your roll. However, everything eventually catches up to you two and a few of the locals turn sour. Your next carousing check in that same town after that week is over suffers a -10 to the result.

Let the good times roll: your carousing check takes twice as long as you expected it to. Make another carousing check. You may get this result multiple times.

 

[Cernor]

Let the good times roll: your carousing check takes twice as long as you expected it to. Make another carousing check. You may get this result multiple times.

I can see players getting upset at this... They intend to spend 5 days carousing, then the dice hate them and they spend 40 days (and more gold and downtime than they have) carousing. Maybe allow it to happen once, but then it's rerolled if you get it again; or simply give it an extremely low chance so that its repeating won't be a common issue.

 

[iserith]

You make friends with a new patron. This generous benefactor is in the position to help you in some way with your current quests and can offer new opportunities from time to time. He, she, or it will want something in return.

You find that it burns really badly when you make water. You have contracted a disease that causes you to scream in agony 1d4+3 times a day. These outbursts can make for awkward social situations or can draw wandering monsters. Anything that can remove a disease will end this effect.

You and your antics are the topic of conversation in town for the next few weeks. This might mean an improvement or worsening of NPC attitudes.

 

[iserith]

You wake up in a tub full of pink-tinged ice after a night of debauchery. Your back is killing you. When you investigate, catgut stitches loosely hold closed gashes right around where your kidneys would be. A message is scrawled on the wall in your own blood: "Call upon a cleric."

 

[evilbob]

Waaa-waaaaah.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I can see players getting upset at this... They intend to spend 5 days carousing, then the dice hate them and they spend 40 days (and more gold and downtime than they have) carousing. Maybe allow it to happen once, but then it's rerolled if you get it again; or simply give it an extremely low chance so that its repeating won't be a common issue.

I think a result like this should depend upon the individual. If someone were playing Jeff Spicoli the barbarian why would they be upset about such a turn of events?

" The way I see it Mr. Hand (clerical party leader) is that if you are in town, and I am in town, doesn't that make it OUR downtime? Whats wrong with getting a little wasted on OUR downtime?"

 

[LostSoul]

Here is the link to the blog post that has the first result evilbob put down.

I guess there are two ways of looking at the carousing table: a roll to see what would most likely happen that weights the results accordingly, or a roll to generate something interesting which doesn't need to be weighted. If carousing is part of the game - that is, if carousing impacts the game economy (HP, GP, XP basically) - then a "most likely" table is probably a good choice. If carousing is something you do for fun, then a table of interesting results is probably a good choice. Jeffs' system is nice because it covers both: the level check or saving throw to avoid the carousing mishap gives you what amounts to 5E's 41-80 result; otherwise you roll on a table of interesting results.

Here's a result:

One of your fingers has grown a small face. It can talk and has its own bombastic personality. It enjoys a good, stiff drink and has advantage on poison saving throws.

 

[LostSoul]

There should probably be more.

You wake up with your hair a different colour. (If you have no hair, it's grown back.) Roll 1d8 on the ROYGBIV spectrum; on an 8, roll twice - you've got some nice highlights. You can speak the language of any monster whose skin, carapace, or otherwise general colour matches your hair.

You wake up blind but you can somehow see with your other senses. Roll 1d4 to determine which sense allows you to see. 1 - smell: overpowering smells make you blind, but you can track like a bloodhound; 2 - hearing: loud sounds cause you to go blind, but you can see what you can hear; 3 - taste: strong flavours overwhelm your sight, and you sniff the air like a snake; 4 - touch.

You wake up with letters of transit in your boot.

 

[PnPgamer]

You wake up(these are the most common, eh...) next to a prostitute in a room of an inn. The prostitutes cleavage is filled with white powder, and it seems to be in a mess. The bed is broken in half, table is knocked over and there are various little paint balls lying Next to two slingshots. Walls, hooker, you and when you get down the innkeeper are all covered in dried paint splatters of various colors. On the hallway you find more women covered in white powder and some paint splatters.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

"I was drugged and left for dead in Mexico and all I got was this t-shirt." is one of the best ways to go.