TEXT: T
  here’s treasure on every island—if you 
  know where to look. Use the following 
  tables to generate a rich and memorable 
  island for your PCs to discover.
  Anatomy of a
  Island
   
  Writing Jeff Gomez
   
  Color Art Phil Stone
   
  Editing Felipe Real
   
  Layout Xanditz
  
  Initial Challenge
  Most islands make even landing a challenge. 
  Choose or roll a d20 on the following table to 
  generate the initial threat that would-be-explorers 
  face on arrival.
  1. Aggressive merfolk, grindylow, or other 
  intelligent creatures of the deep
  2. Dangerous reefs, complete with dozens of 
  shipwrecks
  3.	 Gigantic	sharks	that	rend	both	flesh	and	wood
  4. Harsh winds blowing newcomers away from 
  shore
  5.	 Impassible	cliffs	on	every	side
  6. Perpetual fog that obscures landing sites
  7. Rolling waves and crashing surf
  8.	 Swarms	of	sea	birds	that	attack	anybody	who	
  gets too close
  9-15. The primary threat of the island emerges to 
  defend its home
  16-20. No initial challenge
  Threat
  No island is harmless. Choose or roll a d20 and 
  a d6 to determine the threats on the island (roll 
  multiple times for multiple threats). 
  1. Aberration
  1. Abominable invasion force of creatures from 
  beyond the stars
  2. Corrupting presence which mutates 
  otherwise harmless animals
  3. Home island of mimics, who hide 
  everywhere in plain sight
  4. Ragged portal to an eldritch land
  5. Rust monsters who have fed on the natural 
  ore deposits and are now multiplying 
  beyond control
  6. Will-o-wisp breeding ground
  2. Animal
  1. Piranha infested rivers and ponds
  2. Every tree and meadow is laden with 
  monkeys and apes
  3. A fearsome wolf pack, dominated by a 
  pseudo-intelligent alpha wolf
  4. Island of lions, tigers, and (apparently) 
  house cats
  5. Land of the dinosaurs
  6. Venomous vipers and constrictor snakes 
  hide in every crevice
  3. Construct
  1. Abandoned research facility where the 
  experiments roam free
  2. Animated ship gone horribly awry
  3. Guardians of ancient ruins
  4. Haven for runaway construct slaves
  5. Massive colossus built to guard a mysterious 
  technological treasure
  6. Secret factory for a nearby empire, pumping 
  out war machine prototypes
  4. Dragon
  1. A classic draconic lair set deep within the 
  island
  2. A dragon king ruling over indigenous 
  people
  3. A dragon recovering from near-fatal wounds 
  4. Island of the drakes; a brutal, savage place
  5. A recently orphaned brood, confused and 
  looking for food
  6. Sea serpents and other animalistic dragons 
  roam the seas and sky
  5. Fey
  1. Confused and lost fey of immense power but 
  dull intellect
  2. A Corrupted fey who torments the native 
  creatures
  
  3. A fey hunting ground on the mortal plane
  4. An island prison of a mad fey
  5. A pixie paradise, complete with an entire 
  civilization of these creatures
  6. A portal to the fey lands, heavily used by 
  smugglers
  6. Magical Beast
  1. Basilisk mating grounds with hundreds of 
  human statues
  2. A blink dog tribe wary of outsiders
  3. Giant animals of all types roaming the land
  4.	 A	wild	hippogriff	colony	just	waiting	to	be	
  harnessed
  5. Manticore dens, dripping with poison
  6. A phoenix nearing his next rebirth
  7. Monstrous Humanoid
  1.	 A	coven	of	hags	inflicting	woe	upon	the	
  world
  2. A deep one cult seeking to summon an 
  eldritch abomination
  3.	 Gargoyles	in	high	cliffs	or	ruins
  4.	 A	scorpionfolk	tribe	with	a	taste	for	flesh
  5. A religious, proselytizing serpentfolk tribe
  6. A troglodyte tribe with no interest in 
  outsiders
  8. Ooze
  1. A massive, sedentary ooze which grows the 
  more it eats
  2. Ruins overwhelmed by acid scars and green 
  oozes
  3.	 A	sentient	ooze	seeking	flesh
  4. A sentient ooze seeking passage to the 
  outside world
  5.	 A	swarm	of	tiny	flying	oozes
  6. Thousands of constantly replicating tiny 
  black oozes
  9. Outsider (roll once on each table)
  1. Creature?
  1. An agent of Chaos (from a chaotic plane)
  2. An agent of Evil (such as a demon or 
  other evil outsider)
  3. An agent of Good (such as an angel or 
  other good outsider)
  4. An agent of Order (from a lawful plane)
  5. Genie
  6. Rakshasa
  2. Doing What?
  1. Carrying out a mission
  2. Exiled
  3. Here intentionally and comfortably
  4. Insane
  5. Stranded or Lost
  6. Wounded
  10. Plant
  1. Dull but aggressive mushroom people
  2. Fields of blood-draining grasses
  3. An island of leshys
  4.	 Sentient,	flesh-hungry	vines
  5. Shambling mounds of various sizes and 
  shapes
  6. A vegepygmy colony, spawned from a single 
  shipwrecked crate of russet mold
  11. Undead
  1. A entire colony turned into zombies by 
  prevailing negative energy
  2. A Frankenstein-like monster seeking 
  freedom from the world of man
  3. Pirate ghosts—or maybe ghost pirates?
  4. A lich raising an army
  5. A trapped vampire seeking escape
  6. Wraiths that only come out at night
  
  12. Vermin
  1. Giant vermin of all types
  2. Hordes of rats
  3. Mosquitoes spreading disease and draining 
  a body dry 
  4. Spiders dangling from every tree and 
  crawling over every surface
  5. Thousands of wasp nests, harmless until 
  disturbed
  6. Venomous caterpillars spinning silk
  13. Weather
  1. Almost unbearable heat during the day and 
  freezing temperatures at night
  2. A dense, slightly acidic fog
  3. Frequent hail the size of a human head
  4. Immense tsunamis every morning and 
  evening
  5. A never-ending thunderstorm with erratic 
  lightning strikes
  6. A powerful, predominant wind at all times
  14. Ruins
  1. A corrupting, evil artifact that spreads its 
  malevolence
  2.	 A	plague	dormant	in	hundreds	of	rotting	
  corpses
  3. An imprisoned god whispering the key to 
  his release
  4. Dozens of deadly traps to protect the land
  5. A ruined fortress so decayed that it’s 
  dangerous to move from room to room
  6. Structures which threaten to topple with the 
  slightest breeze
  15.– 20. Humanoid (roll once on each table)
  1. Creature
  1-2. Dwarves
  3-4. Elves
  5-6. Gnomes
  7. 
  Half-Elves
  8. 
  Half-Orcs
  9-10.	 Halflings
  11-14. Humans
  15.  
  Centaur
  16. 
  Merfolk
  17. 
  Goblins
  18. 
  Orcs
  19. 
  Kobolds
  20. 
  Lizardfolk
  
  2. Doing What
  1. An aggressive native tribe
  2. Cultists summoning a terrible god
  3. New colony of a predominant empire
  4. Peaceful native tribe confused by the 
  presence of outsiders
  5.	 Pirate	lair,	filled	with	rapscallions	eager	
  for gold
  6. A wizard doing research who doesn’t 
  want to be disturbed
  7. A retired adventurer and a powerful ally 
  if they can be impressed
  8. Runaway slaves looking for a new home
  9. A shipwrecked crew desperate to escape
  10. A solitary madman, eager to meet the 
  newly arrived
  Treasure
  Choose or roll a d20 one or more times on the 
  following table to determine the treasures on the 
  island.
  1. Ancient gold coins from an unknown civilization
  2. A benevolent sage or oracle
  3. Blueprints or arcane secrets
  4. A buried chest of pirate gold, with an indication 
  of its rightful owner
  5. Fertile soil, promising mine, or other resource 
  probably useless to adventurers but highly 
  valuable to colonists
  6. The gratitude of a wealthy or powerful patron 
  (possibly after rescuing them from the threat)
  7.	 Ley	line	confluence,	enchanted	forge,	or	other	
  enhanced crafting area
  8. A magic weapon or armor with a rich backstory
  9. Map or clue leading to a massive cache on a 
  nearby island
  10. A powerful artifact
  11. Single immense diamond
  12. Small store of magical items
  13. Store of coins
  14. Store of gold and silver bars
  15. Store of magic scrolls or wands
  16. Store of pearls and opals
  17. Store of rubies and emeralds
  18. A unique tome or sculpture valuable to 
  historians or collectors
  19. Valuable monster parts
  20. Vital, plot-relevant clues
  Choose or roll a d20 once on the following table 
  for each treasure to determine its location.
  1. Atop the mountain’s highest peak
  2. Buried where only a map or prior knowledge 
  can be of any help to locate it
  3. Sealed inside a ruined temple
  4. Shipwrecked above or below water
  5. Inside the deepest cave or lake in the island
  6–10.	 Scattered	inside	some	ancient	ruins
  11– 20. Within the lair or stronghold of the island’s 
  primary threat
  Terrain
  To generate the topography of your island, take 
  6d6. For more mountainous or volcanic regions, 
  replace some number of dice with d12s or d20s. Next 
  (gently)	roll	the	dice	on	a	flat	surface	(preferable	one	
  you can write on).
  The physical distribution of the dice as they 
  fell contours the topography of the island. The 
  number on the dice represent that section’s 
  relative height above sea level. Sketch around the 
  dice to draw the outline of the island, marking the 
  numbers as you go. 
  Next, choose or roll a d20 on the following table 
  to determine the biome. Choose or roll at least once, 
  though you may do it multiple times to break the 
  island into more sections.
  
  1-2.	
  Jagged	rocks	or	lava	flow
  3-4. 
  Sand, gravel, tundra or desert
  5-6. 
  Swamp
  7-8. 
  Grassy
  9-12. Lightly forested or savannah 
  13-16. Forested
  17-19.	 Densely	forested	or	jungle
  20. 
  Mushroom forest
  Notable Location
  Regardless of all other factors on an island, a few 
  locations	define	it.	One	or	more	threats	may	reside	
  in or around this location. Choose or roll a d20 
  at least once on the following table to generate a 
  notable location.
  1. An abandoned lighthouse
  2. An active volcano that spews ash and lava
  3. Ancient city ruins, now completely covered by 
  nature
  4.	 A	dwelling	carved	on	a	cliff	
  5. A dangerous, maze-like reef
  6.	 A	fast-flowing,	muddy	river
  7. Geysers which burst scalding water 
  8. A golden beach which sparkles with pyrite
  9.	 A	huge	cinder	cone	which	gives	off	smoke
  10.	 An	incredible	waterfall	glittering	with	light
  11. Limestone caverns
  12. A black sand beach teeming with tide pools and 
  blowholes
  13.	 A	massive	carving	of	a	forgotten	god
  14. A natural grove of unknown fruit
  15. A perpetual rainbow over the island’s highest 
  point
  16.	 A	ruined	fortress,	devastated	by	some	attack	
  long ago
  17. A sacred druidic circle
  18. Square boulders and columns of rock that dot 
  the landscape
  19. An underground tunnel that sprawls the length 
  of the island
  20. A strange ship shipwrecked
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 185 - Anatomy of An Island.pdf