1. In this region a local ruin is haunted by a Medusa with a tragic past. She is centuries old and the tale of the curse that turned her into a monster is famous. The local Count is fascinated by her legend and wishes her brought to his castle. The PCs are charged with breaching the Medusa's lair and presenting her with his invitation. 2000 gp is the reward for obtaining a reply from her, with 3000 more if she returns with them.
2. A while back some adventurers raided a sahaguin city under the sea. Making their triumphant return laden with strange treasures from the deep, they left a nine-foot tall bronze statue of a four-armed fishfolk god in the square of a coastal hamlet. Recently, locals have begun to disappear. A local spinster is convinced the statue (which most locals consider lucky) is connected to the disappearance, and hires the PCs to stake it out.
The Twist: The statue carries a curse which is driving the locals mad and causing them to walk into the sea one by one.
3. An ogre who was raised among humans now makes his living as a circus strongman/attraction. He has grown tired of living among humans and wants to be with his own kind, but doesn't know where to find any. He asks the PCs to help him trek through the wilds to find an ogres' den.
4. The baron's executioner has quit his job and gone missing. Worse, he took the baron's +2 keen greataxe as his severance. the baron tasks the PCs with getting the axe back.
The Twist: Unfortunately, the headsman has taken up his trade once again, now in the local dungeon. His new patron is a hobgoblin warlord.
5. A village is renowned for its annual beer festival, where Brewer-Wizards from all over the kingdom come to enter their recipes in a wildly popular contest (the local baron, bishop and magistrate form the judges' panel). The festivities always begin with an appearance and blessing from a local nymph known as the Beer Maiden. This year, the Beer Maiden did not appear. The PCs are contracted to enter the wilds and learn what if anything befell the beloved local celebrity.
The Twist: The Beer Maiden is not in her leafy bower, located beyond a deadly maze in the forest. She actually fell into a well not far from the village and has been nursing her hangover there for some days. If you want to soften the blow somewhat when the players don't find her, perhaps she left a journal mentioning she was leaving for the village.
6. A gentleman naturalist is absolutely obsessed with chokers. For whatever reason he just loves the shrieking little homicidal monkey bastards. Get him a dozen viable choker eggs and he will reward you with cash and a stylish/unique suit of choker leather.
The Twist: If you want, the choker suit may have some property such as granting a short burst of haste to the wearer, or exuding a scent that makes chokers regard the wearer as another choker.
7. The big city has a local boxing league, which everybody knows is rigged by some local wizards who always buff up the champion. A wizard wants one of the PCs to enter as a challenger, promising he has a cocktail of buffs that will make them unbeatable. The challenger can have the purse money, the Wizard just wants to prove his superiority over the riggers.
The Twist: The cocktail of buffs is more than enough to overwhelm the champion. Unfortunately it also turns the challenger into a raging Hulk-like monster for 24 hours.
8. Amalda Ferox is a past-her-prime adventurer/gladiatrix who is suffering severe health effects from long-term magical potion abuse. Between coughing out a hail of frogs and a bunch of gas-spores budding off her back, she asks you to obtain a relic that can restore her. She'd get it herself but she has to stay in the city for her pending suit against the Wizards' Guild.
9. Sir Amalyr D'Winter was once a Paladin of great repute, rewarded for heroic deeds with a small fief of his own. Lately he has inexplicably become an abusive and mercurial tyrant whose tenants live in terror. The PCs are asked to discover the source of his madness, as adventurers with interesting stories to tell are the one type of person Amalyr still respects.
The Twist: An old enemy of Amalyr's, a demon he once banished from the material plane, has managed to spread his influence over Amalyr's castle through a magic mirror and is driving the Paladin and his court insane with paranoid dreams. If the PCs sleep in Amalyr's castle they will begin to go crazy too. Alternatively, wealth and power just turned Amalyr into an asshole. Whatever you want.
10. An elven aristocrat (aren't they all?) has been touring human lands in his elegant pleasure barge. Unfortunately, the boat recently foundered on a stony spit close to a village known to plunder/scavenge any watercraft unlucky enough to beach on their territory. The PCs must recover all valuables from the barge and the luckless elf to prevent an international incident.
The Twist: The elf is quite alright and staying in the village, totally unaware that half a dozen townsfolk are hiding his "lost treasures" in their homes. He and they will encourage the PCs to scour the wreck and the rocks for his valuables. There is a cave under the rock promontory exposed at low-tide the PCs might explore if they are actually dumb enough to believe the villagers.
11. Two mages of great repute have built towers of study in an otherwise quiet mid-size town. Unfortunately they have developed a fierce rivalry trying to outdo each other in their experiments, the results of which (mutant animals, crazed golems, living spells) are terrorizing the town. The townsfolk will reward the PCs for convincing one or both wizards to leave.
12. The baron has become besotted by a brazen enchantress, long ago branded a Rogue Wizard by the Arcane Order. His lands founder as he lavishes his fortune on the adventuress, who has caused him to banish anyone capable of reversing her charm. The PCs are hired to break into the castle and get the enchantress out without harming her ensorceled victims.
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