+Kenneth Hite wrote one of my favorite game settings, The Day After Ragnarok. I have the Savage Worlds version. I particularly like the random scenario generator, probably the best of its sort I've come across. I've used it a couple times with minor tweaks in other settings.I intend to make an example here of using it to set up a scenario for Barbarians of Lemuria. I'll dice my way through and discuss how I use and tweak the results.
Before starting, I want to mention that the random city generator is also quite good.
Our hook is 10 on D12 - Old Friend
The second table, location, is maybe the one to fiddle with the most. The result "City" is 1 out of 12, which feels a bit low to me for a lot of settings. That can be glossed over by several of the other results having an option to include cities, e.g. "Exotic Land", or possibly be included in cities, e.g. "Mansion". Or just set it in a city if that feels appropriate to where you last left the characters and where they were headed. No need to be a slave to the dice.
Anyway our location roll is 5, a Mansion. Given the more ancient theming of Swords and Sorcery, I'll probably take that to be a Palace instead.
Heroes' Goal - 3, Discover or solve a mystery, will have to see more of the results to figure out what sort of mystery fits.
Villain 6 Cultist, in The Day after Ragnarok, a servant of the Serpent. Well, serpent gods are almost de riguer in S&S so we can still go with a serpent cult just fine.
Villain's Goal 2 Destroy - The serpent priest is out to destroy somebody or something, what a surprise...
Henchmen - this table can get multiple rolls, as many as you feel fleshes out the scenario right. So let's go with three rolls.
6 - Igor, a long suffering, probably deformed, personal servant of the villain,
8 - Operative, an agent of some sort, in this case probably a palace official secretly working for the cult.
12 - Warlock, a magic specialist, a Sorceror in our case, but one subordinate to the High Priest of the Serpent God. This one and maybe the operative should have loyalty checks rolled to see how likely personal ambition for leadership of the cult or other advancement might conflict with the villain's plans.
Since all three are singletons, we might throw in a few thugs or turned palace soldiers for a rabble encounter with minions at some point. Or snakes, possibly an avatar of the snake god, or other creatures summoned by the sorceror? Loyal guards that would oppose the villain would also be a possibility. I've just realized that I have already be casting the villain as an outsider worming his way into the palace. While "Villain's Lair" was a different result, it could be that the story works out better with the villain in more or less control of the palace at the start.
Victim - 2, that most stereotypical victim is rolled, the Damsel in Distress, and in S & S usually some degree of undress as well. Is she of low rank or high? If the villain's goal is to destroy her, that would make her someone significant standing in his way to power, perhaps the Queen, or a rival like the new Priestess of the Sun God, newly in office since the sudden demise of her predecessor. Or she's the sacrifice by which he'll gain use of the Serpent God's power to destroy something grander, the palace, city, kingdom, something else? Or a destruction of the country and she's the victim because she's queen? Smaller scale, destruction of the rival Sun Cult's power if she's the High Priestess.
Guest Star - 10 Official or Bureaucrat. Perfect, that totally fits and can be used in the story in various ways. Would probably have some palace official scene anyway.
Guest star's goal - roll once on Hero Goal and once on Villain Goal and pick, 7 - Money/Reward or 2 - Destroy, so we can have a greedy vizier or one that has long been a rival of the Snake Cult and wants to see it destroyed. Or does this official want somebody or something else destroyed that complicates things?
Obstacle - 3 Chimaera - a partially human or transformed human monster. Okay, a serpentman or a naga or some sort of partially snake-like monster seems to fit here.
Twist - 1 Ally in trouble (or innocents in peril) - Either through the heroes' actions, villain's machinations, or coincidence, there is a conflicting need to save somebody that complicates the heroes' ability to achieve their goal. Can they do both or do they have to sacrifice one to succeed in the other?
This is shaping up pretty clearly, but the final cohesive writeup will have to be continued...
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