Do you like random generators in RPG's and what are the good ones you came across?

I love them. Strangely I never roll them, but I like reading them for all the options they provide. I came across mission generators, mystery generators, enemy generators and organisation generators. All of them full with ideas and options and half of them consist of things I didn't think off in the first place. I like the practicality of it. Much better then reading through an endless amount of pages discussing the themes and moods of the game what I am used to with WoD books.

Good ones are most Savage Worlds settings (Deadlands Noir, Agents of Oblivion) in general. I like Covert Ops (DwD) for the same reason.

I like them.

AD&D's DMG random wilderness gen and random dungeon gen are still my favorites for robust systems.

BX D&Ds wilderness encounter and simple dungeon gen system though was also a favorite as it was quick and simple. I plugged it into Gamma World.

Oriental Adventures had some interesting holdings event tables and things that could happen over a year.

SPI's Universe has one of the more robust star system gen systems around.

Currently liking overall the random gen tables in 5e. Lacking in a few particulars. Otherwise works.

Couple of proported "OSR" gens I've seen are just bootleg copies of the DMG stuff with possibly some added tweaks to make it totally original works. Honest! Others though really do strike off on their own and be original. Pinning them down is the hassle in the sea of copy-paste.

I do like random generators. Particularly the ones that are made up of bits and pieces that, after a bunch of rolls, emerge into something new and interesting. I'm not so fond of the "here are a bunch of hooks detailed out, roll a d20, then you're off!".

One I've used quite a bit is The Tome of Adventure Design by Matt Finch. It's given me dungeons and adventures I wouldn't have otherwise come up with.

RPGs randomly generate fun and online arguments.  When I create something, I'm never sure which I'll get.

I love random generators, but I think it is helpful to update them periodically.

Two-Fisted Tales has a number of excellent random generators.

Obviously, I love 'em.

I really like Lifepath systems, and generators over all. There's a thrill at putting it together into something coherent.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;816097Do you like random generators in RPG's and what are the good ones you came across?

Yes. Yes I do.

At the risk of angering the mods, I will now post a list of links to all the ones I have on my own Favorites list. Some of these are single use while others have multiple generators on their webpages.

http://www.dizzydragon.net/adventuregenerator/start

http://www.apolitical.info/webgame/?mode=7

http://www.behindthename.com/random/

http://chaoticshiny.com/taverngen.php

http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/

http://www.myth-weavers.com/generate_dungeon.php?

http://www.1km1kt.net/geomorph/

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/gen-random-us-us.php

http://inkwellideas.com/2011/09/isocahedral-worldmap-generator/

http://www.myth-weavers.com/generate_npc.php?

http://pathfinder-treasure-generator.com/

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/mapper/launcher.htm

http://inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/random_dungeon/

http://www.dxcontent.com/

http://nine.frenchboys.net/

http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

http://www.myth-weavers.com/generate_town.php?

http://www.myth-weavers.com/generate_treasure.php?

http://www.gozzys.com/

I'm quite a fan of the D30 Sandbox Companion. Lots of fun stuff to mine for ideas on the fly.

No I do not own an actual D30. They're ridiculously rare and/or expensive in Canada and none of my local stores will carry them. But there are alternatives.

Quote from: languagegeek;816107I do like random generators. Particularly the ones that are made up of bits and pieces that, after a bunch of rolls, emerge into something new and interesting. I'm not so fond of the "here are a bunch of hooks detailed out, roll a d20, then you're off!".

Agreed.  I don't really even consider the latter to be "random generators" at all - it's a list of 20 ideas that you can select from randomly.  Each is complete.  They don't generate anything new at all, it's only the material that was put on the list by the original author.

Another thing I like are board games that generate a plot, setting, area, or whatever.

How to Host a Dungeon is a great example of a game that when done has created a fleshed out vertical dungeon with its own history. That you can then use in RPGs.

I'm all for them.

Admittedly I don't think I've ever found a random generator I would use by-the-book or as presented, but I use them as inspiration and am getting into the habit of making and using my own.

It is at the core of my RPG playstyle that a lot of the entertainment comes from surprise and the unexpected. Using some random elements helps both with my entertainment, as, even if players behave as expected, even I don't know for sure what happens. I also believe it helps not being predictable to the players, in the long run.

Basically, any randomly generated element of play adds something not entirely made of a human mind to the game.

Since I am running an alt-history campaign right now I use these three name generators a lot.

French Name Generator - includes male and female names.
Fantasy Name Generator- includes male and female names and you can select the nationality on which to generate the names.
Fantasy City Name Generator - allows you to select the country/language on which the city names are based.

I use the City Names generator for village and small towns. I also use it to generate noble titles different from the surname since European titles are often location based and different from the surname.

Here's a link to the H+I thread where I use these generators to name a new NPC.

Quote from: Necrozius;816143No I do not own an actual D30. They're ridiculously rare and/or expensive in Canada and none of my local stores will carry them. But there are alternatives.

$1.95 at Sentry Box in Calgary for a Koplow opaque d30.

I picked up my d30 from a local comic book store for a couple of bucks.