Pet Dog: Less serious, but a dog could follow you about the docks or somewhere
I had a similar idea: Commoners (especially kids) running away from a Rabid Dog that's under Morale Failure: Berserk in a populated area. Reputation point if you Heal or Cure Disease the dog instead of killing it.
Prisoner: Encounter mercenaries dragged a man behind them. You can fight them or let them go. Reward if you save him.
Shouldn't there be a 50/50 chance (or something) that the man is actually guilty? There's already too many corrupt officials in this game.
Lightning: One of the party is struck by lightning, breaking unenchanted weapons and armour (s)he is carrying
Random lightning strikes are already included in the game, but if you ask me, since they don't pack enough of a punch to kill the average (non-Electric-resistant) adventurer outright, there's really no point in having them destroy items--and the items they'd destroy wouldn't be determined by their enchantment, but whether or not they're made of wood. If there's going to be any tweaks to the lightning (Call Lightning as well), it should be to make it more likely to strike those with metal armor and weapons. [Keldorn, holding Lilarcor over his head, would make one heck of a lot better lightning rod than, say, Jan with a Crossbow.]
Ormand: While traveling in the country roughly a week after clearing the de'Arnisse Keep, you are waylaid by a Ranger named Ormand Fevian. He says he represents the Elven community of Suldenessellar, and he has been assigned to track down an important ceremonial heirloom, the Elven Court Bow (which the party must be carrying). It was all right that the Bow should remain in Human hands for fifty years or so--that would only be just--but it has been over 200 years now and still the Bow has not been returned, and the Elves' patience is wearing thin. Ormand was able to trace the Bow to this region of Amn, and now that you have been seen carrying the Bow openly, it was a simple matter to track you down.
You can either give him the Bow flat-out, sell it for a fair price, sell it for an unfair price, ask for a weapon of similar quality in trade (Ormand gives you his own Ripper+2), or refuse altogether. If you take the latter route, Ormand will issue some dire warnings before he leaves.
A few days later, the party will be waylaid again, in a grassland or forest waylay map, again by Ormand. He gives you one last chance to surrender the Bow, although he offerers much less gold than he did last time. If you still refuse, the party finds itself under attack from a total of 12 Elves (Rangers of all stripes), who have surrounded them. Note: Elves are not in the habit of throwing their lives away in the manner of, say, Shadow Thieves. They won't take the field with insufficient forces to get the job done, so these guys are
good. They will also drink Potions of Invisibility and flee (or heal/regroup if they can) rather than let you kill them.
If Ormand survives the encounter (or you never fight at all), it might be a nice touch to rename as "Ormand" the Elf who dies saving the Moonblade in Suldenessellar.
Wilbur: About 3 days after the excitement of the Skinner Murders has passed, you are passing through the Bridge District when you are accosted by a fellow named Wilbur. He seems nervous, and he's in an awful hurry, but he's got to sell this sword really quick: His dad's dying, and he knows a Cowled Wizard who says he can cure him, but he's got to have payment in advance, and this sword is the only thing Wilbur owns that can raise that kind of money, fast. He will open a store file, so you can see what's for sale: A Scimitar+3, where each hit grants a -1 bonus to the wielder's THAC0 for 1 round. If you choose not to (or cannot) buy, Wilbur runs off in search of another buyer.
If you
do buy, the next time you reach the southern area of the Bridge District (which is likely to be within the next few seconds), the party is accosted by a Marilith. (All nearby citizens flee the area.) She wants her sword back, and she is PISSED. It's bad enough to have some fool adventurers steal one of her treasured blades, but to make her come all the way to the
Prime Material to regain it? The indignity! She can tell that you are not the ones who robbed her, so she will not kill you unless you fail to hand over the weapon immediately. Should you choose to fight, which you probably will, be warned that this is a ToB enemy, who has not been softened one bit to compensate for the fact that you might be fighting her in very early SoA. If the party flees the scene without killing her, or otherwise fails to kill her after 3 turns or so, a party of Cowled Enforcers takes care of her, and the party takes a -3 Reputation penalty, which is only fair considering that they'll be blamed for a demon rampaging through the Bridge District.
After the encounter with Wilbur, if the party has not yet encountered Dracandros & Co., Wilbur will be found fighting alongside them.