Character Random Tables for D&D One-Shots

The characters are all infamous giant hunters. Or all part of the same crew of a ship

Random tables For Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition

One Shots - characters | quick adventures | spooky

[Art by Patrick E. Pullen]

Quick Adventure Tables for One-Shot Adventures

To move onto the adventure quickly characters in a one-shot should already know each other or have a strong reason to work together.

Consider using pre-generated characters or having a couple of back-up characters for a player who doesn't have character ready to go.

Backstories don't need to be long for a one-shot. A couple of sentences should be fine.

Characters sharing a D&D 5e background allows a shared theme with any class or race. Consider allowing the swap of a skill, language or tool if using shared backgrounds

Tables from available on DM's Guild along with similar tables. Inspired by One-shots random generator.

Characters Descriptor

1d20	Lower level	Higher level
1	brave	renowned
2	fugitive	the best
3	emotional	secretive
4	cursed	powerful
5	mutant or shapechanging>	successful
6	penniless	emotionally-scarred
7	lawful	blessed
8	young	veteran
9	desperate	heroic
10	old or religious	famous
11	good	fiendish or shapechanging
12	hungry	wealthy
13	dramatic	egotistical
14	troubled	respected
15	evil or outcast	infamous
16	imprisoned or rebel	troubled
17	novice	elite
18	insane	feared
19	chaotic	despised
20	mercenary	retired

Characters Shared Theme

1d20	Lower Level	Higher Level
1	warriors	cabal of arcane spellcasters
2	criminals	dragon hunters or undead hunters
3	nobles	saviours of a nation or city-state
4	pirates	members of elite warrior group
5	same class or same race	same class or same race
6	hermits or gladiators	witch hunters or fiend hunters
7	spellcasters	crime lords
8	farmers or knights	leaders of a cult or military organisation
9	spies	instructors at an academy
10	same race or same class	same race or same class
11	sages	monster hunters
12	entertainers	guardians of something powerful
13	soldiers	lords and ladies
14	guild artisans	rulers of a city-state
15	same class or same race	same class or same race
16	charlatans	leaders of a religion or temple
17	folk heroes	members of a ruling family
18	urchins	landowners
19	acolytes	giant hunters or abberation hunters
20	same race or same class	same race or same class

Same Race or class

1d20	Same Race or Class
1-2	humans or githzerai	barbarians
3-4	elves or goliaths	bards
5-6	dwarves or monstrous race	rogues
7-8	dragonborn or firbolgs	paladins
9-10	tieflings or aasimar	fighters
11-12	halflings or tritons	clerics
13-14	half-orcs or lizardfolk	warlocks
15-16	half-elves or kenku	sorcerers or monks
17-18	gnomes or tabaxi	rangers or druids
19-20	humans or githyanki	wizards

Alternative Group Background

For something different try one of these options

1d20	Alternative Group Background
1-2	The PCs are all part of the same crew of a ship
3-4	The characters are all undead
5-6	The characters all belong to a circus
7-8	The characters are all small-sized characters (gnomes, halflings, goblins) that share a flying broomstick
9-10	The characters are all from the same village
11-12	The characters are all monsters of the same type
13-14	The characters are all shapeshifters (doppelgangers, lycanthropes, changelings)
15-16	The characters working for the same organisation such as a temple, or the Harpers
17-18	The characters are all members of the same crime family
19-20	The characters are all different monsters brought together by unusual circumstances

At Some Point...

1d20	Quick Adventure Partway Through
1-2	there is a fire
3-4	they uncover a secret stockpile
5-6	there is a romantic complication
7-8	someone betrays them
9-10	a ghost gives them aid
11-12	there is a planar portal
13-14	an old friend appears
15-16	they encounter a magical trap
17-18	there is an earthquake
19-20	a rival turns up