Table Fables: A collection of tables for the weary game master

An excellent product. I've only had this a few days and have used it countless times. One of my new favorite activities now is just creating random characters using the charts at the front of the book. It's simple and easy, and it helps me create some interesting characters in a relatively short period of time. They really put a lot of thought into this book. The other sections are just well thought-out and interesting. It really helps me brainstorm the things I often forget to, the mundane things that help flesh out the world and make it seem more complete and lively. Mundane items, food items, pocket filler, you name it. Normally I would just ignore these things and just try to make things up on the spot. However, being able to look in this book and just quickly come up with some plausible items is a real time-saver and really adds depth to your game play. Each of the entries for these tables is unique and plausible at the same time. I only have a few complaints. The tavern generation tables are a bit sparse and could use a lot of extra detail. It's a great start, and it's good for when you just need to briefly come up with a random Tavern, but I feel just feel like there's a lot missing there and it didn't quite live up to some of the other tables. Same with the Nicknames/title generation tables. However, I still haven't read the follow-up to this book, so a lot of my complaints might be resolved by that one. You can bet that I'm going to buy that one asap given the quality of this book.

I bought this book for my boyfriend as a supplement to his resources while DM'ing one of our DND campaigns. It has tables upon tables for pretty much every circumstance you could need it as well for things you wouldn't even think of typically. It so easy and convenient to use, especially if he has to come up with something on the fly. No longer does he have to scramble to think of or look up something at the last minute if we deviate from what he planned out! I'm so happy to have this addition to our games, it really helps flush out the world we play in and add extra dimensions to gameplay.

I've seen a couple of reviews that have been unkind to this book, and it inspired me to put my own review in. Madeline Hale's books have a homebrewed charm to them that make me wish I had a seat at one of her RPG sessions. Yes, this is simply a book of random tables. Sure, you can find a small amount of this content for free online. But anyone stopping their review there must have stopped flipping through the book after the first five pages. There is a wealth of inspirational material to be found here, from d100 tables of character quirks, quests, random magical effects, festivals, dreams and nightmares, and much more. A good gamemaster will be inspired just by browsing through the tables, and that's the beauty of it. You don't even need to use this as intended to get something out of it. Just a simple flip through the pages can yield a lot of character and story ideas. Hale's simple and whimsical artwork on the cover and interior are somewhat reminiscent of early RPG artwork (the better part of it, I mean), and cap it off nicely. I would love to see a full RPG rulebook written and illustrated by her (hint, hint).

As a newer DM I find that sometimes my stories need fleshing out and this little book is a great resource for flavor. The author has several tables with very specific flavor text that spark the imagination. When I peeked at the potion section of the book I was tickled by it. Instead of just bland old healing potions you can spice it up with strange looking and tasting potions that do everything from healing hit points to causing the imbiber to grow a beard. There is some very fun stuff in here. My quips and qualms come from what could be called fluff. Some of the tables feel very bland and boring, especially surrounded by such fun and unique tables. Some feel extraneous, like the NPC class table or the climate tables. They are useful to generate ideas but I can't imagine having to roll a d20 to figure out that the tavernkeeper's class is "Tavern Keeper". My other quibble is that there are enough typos to make it noticable. That being said, it looks like a self-published book so in all fairness it looks better than many professional publications.

Neat little book with charts. Good for snappy DM work or solo play

I've been running tabletop adventures since about age 10 and one thing I've always struggled with is ensuring variety and volume in flavor items found while scavenging. This book, small though it is, helps solve that problem. After getting this book, I instituted a policy of "always find something". The world of my campaign is weird and interesting, and every time a player searches a container, room, or defeated foe, I want them to find something that builds that idea a little more. So, whenever a player searches for items, if I haven't placed anything in the room or container in question, I give them something from this book. I tend to mix and match over a couple of roles, and more than once, the flavor items I gave out offhand have inspired players to innovative - and very fun - solutions, from luring an imp to its death with hot pepper paste to taming a drake with sandalwood perfume. The somatic component table is excellent, especially in combination with the verbal and random effect tables. I also enjoy giving players cursed items from the random curses table.

This book is one of the most useful resources to have on hand for a fantasy tabletop game. I began Dungeon Mastering in March and was quite overwhelmed when it came to bringing the world around my adventurers to life through little details. But then this caught my eye on a random search and it has been super useful ever since. Everything is brilliant in here, from the pocket filler table to the potion bottle descriptions and character background generator. It's a dream come true for any game runner, so support it, as it's a better deal than any Wizards literature. Long Live Madeline Hale.

Very useful tables for on the fly . I have little side tabs so I can find the right table faster mid session. There is enough room to include your own tables. This is my one stop for all the randomness I may need for my game, my players love it.

Amazing tool for RPGs, both Classic or soloist... buy It!

If you’re in the market for random tables, get this one ! More use for homebrew. I did buy a different book of tables from a different author and about only 50% of it was useful.

Super toll. Perfekt zum NPC s erstellen. Es kommt immer was lustiges raus. Sehr kreative Ideen :)

Un livre en anglais pleins de table aléatoire pour construire personnages, univers et aventures. Sympa mais pas indispensable. En tout cas j'aime beaucoup, c'est un bon support à l'imagination.

Really awesome book. The tables are super handy and the info is super imaginative. I really liked the drawings too. I use the book all the time to flesh out events, treasures and NPCs. The only drawback is that my players now always expect imaginayive food in every tavern.