What you will need for this to work are your own, ever-growing, random lists of villains and heroes (separate lists), perhaps columns of 10 each so that you can easily add future columns. Results should include solo villains and villain groups the likes of: Hydra, A.I.M., and The Hand, also Aliens and Monsters. You should have stats for all results ready to go, including stats for thugs, cops, wild animals, etc. If a villain is rolled who should be in jail, they've obviously escaped.
This is meant to emulate the classic trope of a single hero or super-team patrolling their city on the look-out for crime on any given day or night. You do not need a city-map, but having one wouldn't hurt. Every time you roll on these tables equals a comic book Issue (as in a 22 page monthly Issue.) Every time you roll on these tables something will happen. Results may need a little tweaking to make sense. Take notes and switch between heroes and groups every so often to create your own comic book universe!
- To simulate time passed between Issues, roll 2d6. The result equals the number of days passed since something happened on patrol (for that Title.) You may or may not have been patrolling during those days, either way, nothing of note occurred.
Location of Crime, d12
1. Sewers
2. Docks (shipping district)
3. Mall (shopping district)
4. Skyscraper (downtown)
5. Warehouse District
6. Airport
7. Art District (museums, theaters)
8. Slums
9. Uptown (wealthy district)
10. College campus
11. Iconic bridge or Park (zoo, cemetery)
12. Subway system
Type of Crime or Incident, d20
1. Kidnapping: You witness this as it happens, someone is grabbed and thrown into a van or flown away (if a flying villain.) 1-2 child, 3-4 man, 5-6 woman.
2. Assault: A woman screams and is struggling with an assailant(s).
3. Drug smuggling: You witness a major drug transaction, 1d6+2 well-armed gangsters on both sides.
4. Human trafficking: 2d6+10 people (usually immigrants but can be of any origin, even extra-terrestrial) being loaded onto a truck.
5. Bank robbery: The classic crime, you hear the alarms going off.
6. Sniper: Usually just a single psycho shooting from above, randomly targeting civilians. By the time you arrive, you've heard 3d6 shots resulting in 2d6 casualties.
7. Gang War: 2d6+6 well-armed gangsters on both sides shooting it out, why get invovled?--1d6+2 civilians are in harms way.
8. Murder: You heard the scream, but arrive to find the deed done with the perp(s) standing over the body. Victim was a 1. lover, 2. rival, 3. cop, 4. thug, 5. politician, 6. john doe.
9. Mugging: Another classic crime, you hear the screams.
11. Hostage situation: 2d6+12 hostages are being kept inside a(n) 1. office (1d6 x 10 floors up), 2. church, 3. store, 4. school, 5. theater, 6. mansion. They will terminate 1 hostage every hour if demands aren't met.
12. Riot, looting & destruction: 3d6 x 10 protesters/anarchists are venting, innocents are in danger, property is being destroyed.
13. Hero(s) fighting Villain(s): You stumble across a fight between a fellow hero and a villain, or multiples 1d4 vs. 1d4.
14. Rampage: A monster or robot is tearing up the town.
15. Hero fighting Hero: Fellow heroes are fighting, it's getting serious. Why are they fighting?: 1. lovers quarrel, 2. one is is being overly territorial, 3. one is trying to prevent the other from going bad, 4. one is being mind-controlled by a villain, 5. one is a cocky new kid on the block, 6. they are just sparring.
16. Villain fighting Villain: Two villains intent on ending each other. Why are they fighting?: 1. lovers quarrel, 2. one stole the others loot, 3. one is sick of being bad, 4. one murdered the other's friend, 5. one has a "hit" on the other, 6. they are just sparring.
17. Jail-Break: 5d6 inmates are spilling out onto the streets. If this is a super-breakout, you're in trouble.
18. Serial-Killer strikes: You hear screams, someone has found a body. You need to make a difficult Intuition/Awareness/Perception check (e.g., Red result in Marvel) to catch the trail of the killer, otherwise they got away. If this is rolled again it's the same killer if they haven't yet been caught. Victim is: 1. a child, 2. a prostitute, 3. a hero, 4. a villain, 5. a random civilian, 6. an animal. Victim type will be the same every time until caught.
19. High speed car chase/shoot-out: Multiple vehicles, could be gangsters or cops and robbers.
20. Power-outage, (riot plus 2 more rolls): All hell has broken loose.
Criminal, d12
1. Single thug
2. 1d4+1 thugs
3. 1d6+2 thugs
4. 2d6+3 thugs
5. Super Villain
6. Super Villains, 2
7. Super Villains: 1d4+2
8. Super Hero gone bad (anti-hero)
9. Super Villain with 1d4+1 thugs
10. Super Villain with 1d6+2 thugs
11. Super Villain with 1d10+3 thugs
12. Terrorists, 2d6+6
Complications, 1 in 6 chance
1. A friend or dependent is in harms way.
2. If you are hunted by someone, they show up.
3. You have the flu and fight with some sort of disadvantage.
4. A rival hero or arch-nemesis shows up.
5. Bad weather, torrential rain or blizzard complicates rolls.
6. Media is present and recording everything.
Complications, 1 in 6 chance
1. A friend or dependent is in harms way.
2. If you are hunted by someone, they show up.
3. You have the flu and fight with some sort of disadvantage.
4. A rival hero or arch-nemesis shows up.
5. Bad weather, torrential rain or blizzard complicates rolls.
6. Media is present and recording everything.