how do u do random encounters


Advice


sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question, but how do u do random encounters?

i'm about to run a campaign and they are gonna be dungeon diving. now most of the dungeon is already fleshed outwith encounters and whatnot, so how would i run the random encounters then? i figure they are optional, but was wondering how to implement random encounters into the dungeon.

tyvm in advance.


The simplest way is to create a table (possibly one table for each dungeon level) of 20 or so encounters ranging between about APL-2 and APL+1. Every half hour that the party spends in the dungeon there is a 1 in 6 chance of a random encounter. Since these are creatures that are moving around, they won't have their normal treasure; only what they would reasonably be carrying.

To add realism (and complexity), reduce the chance of an encounter if the party is staying in one place and being very quiet; maybe roll only once per hour in that case. But make an additional roll every time they do something noisy, including combat.

When traveling in the wilderness, reduce the frequency of rolls to around once every 4 hours, day and night. In a city, go back to rolling every half hour, but the random encounters are mostly odd/interesting events that would usually not lead to combat unless the PCs are chaotic murderhobos (not usually a good idea in heavily populated areas).


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In a dungeon with regular denizens I do it this way:
- determine the daily life in the place, who will be doing what; that gives me an idea who will be in what area (together with whom) to keep in mind
- then I do two encounter tables, one for day, one for night, and fill them with whoever is out at that time, and assign a percentage to each entry depending on who it is
- then I check every hour during day, and twice per night, if they meet someone; chance of an encounter depends on the density of population; in the underground HQ of a sect with 40+ members is a lot more happening than in the Lost Tomb of the lich Arkenbrow

Read "day" as active period and "night" as rest period, if there even is one. If the PCs happen to encounter something, I subtract it from the denizens. Having an idea who will be where at what time (even if it is only a dim one) lets me determine who can hear combat or who will miss the PCs victim and come looking at some point.

You can also list all monsters in the dungeon, determine which of them might be found wandering around and make a table of them (or related ones). How often you make the check and use the table as extra stuff is up to you. I believe, without checking,it used to be 3 checks on a day and one per night.


I don't.


At this point, I like to check out third party resources. There are books and books full of interesting encounters with just enough information to splash them in and reflavor them on the fly to fit the setting. This is especially useful for overland and city encounters, places where not everything you meet is some monster who wants to kill you.

Of course, this is a dungeon, so a lot of things will, in fact, want to kill you (or feel threatened enough to attack, at least). In such cases, I decide who the denizens of the dungeon are regardless of whether the PC is guaranteed to encounter them, then draw up some likely encounters and stick 'em on a table. Unless it's a really large dungeon, I try to make sure that such encounters have an effect on the non-random portion of the adventure--either there are fewer goblins to kill later because you ambushed some in the hallway, or the enemy is on high alert because Lieutenant Greaseknucks never came back from his nightly "pit stop".


I don't. I hate little meaningless encounters that serve no story purpose, and exist just to make the party expend resources.

Sovereign Court

I like resource expending challenges myself. As someone who likes to plan around the adventure and not around the encounters, the random encoutner is a tool that you gotta know when to use and not use. I only use them when I dont have everything planned out. For example, if the players are traveling through a forrest or desert to reach some destination. I will make a table I can roll on if the adventure doesnt supply one. Typically i'll lean more on random encounters in sandbox style games. YMMV.


Zhayne wrote:
I don't. I hate little meaningless encounters that serve no story purpose, and exist just to make the party expend resources.

Well, they do serve a purpose. It helps to make the world into a more threatening place where danger is around every corner. It create an ecosystem that is completely opposed to humanoid survival.

And you can't have every encounter be plot related. It makes the world revolve sole around the PC's (which makes things very easy to read) and the Duke can only have so many secret assassins before you start to wonder how he managed to keep them a secret. Or why they still agree to go when the last 100 died.

I can understand if you mean not having it be completely random. Making it owlbear mating season in the forest the party has to cross to get to the temple of doom and placing a set number of them along the way works too. A random table just lets things get out of the possible stagnation when you decide that you don't want to make another excuse why there is a a dozen hippogrifs in their way.


I generally don't, but when I do I roll them up during prep so I don't have to go digging for stats and minis/pawns.


To save time during play, I have the encounters created ahead of time and just use the random table to determine when (or if) they occur. If something I spent a lot of time on doesn't happen to pop up during the adventure, I can just put it on the table for the next adventure. (Actually, even if it does show up I can frequently file off the serial number and use it again.)


lemeres wrote:
Zhayne wrote:
I don't. I hate little meaningless encounters that serve no story purpose, and exist just to make the party expend resources.

Well, they do serve a purpose. It helps to make the world into a more threatening place where danger is around every corner. It create an ecosystem that is completely opposed to humanoid survival.

And you can't have every encounter be plot related. It makes the world revolve sole around the PC's (which makes things very easy to read) and the Duke can only have so many secret assassins before you start to wonder how he managed to keep them a secret. Or why they still agree to go when the last 100 died.

I can understand if you mean not having it be completely random. Making it owlbear mating season in the forest the party has to cross to get to the temple of doom and placing a set number of them along the way works too. A random table just lets things get out of the possible stagnation when you decide that you don't want to make another excuse why there is a a dozen hippogrifs in their way.

If I can't find a reason for it, then it simply doesn't happen. :p


The reason is that the world is a dynamic place, where NPCs do things on their own that have nothing to do with what the PCs are doing.

An additional reason in some places (including many dungeons) is that intelligent creatures trying to protect a large area will usually have guards patrolling it.


I open up one of the bestiaries and flip through until I find something that would make sense for the local terrain of no more than APL +3 or 4 for a high op group, APL +1 or 2 for a low op group. Then they face one or more of those monsters after I roll up the treasure. I only use them when the group is looking for a fight or can't decide what to do. I would rather spend an hour playing throwaway NPCs than running a plotless combat most of the time, it comes down to individual preference mostly.

Sovereign Court

Random encounters to me doesnt automatically mean combat encounter either. Sometimes people need help or a traveling merchant wants to sell soemthing etc.


Pan wrote:
Random encounters to me doesnt automatically mean combat encounter either. Sometimes people need help or a traveling merchant wants to sell soemthing etc.

+1 on that. In town, random encounters should rarely require the PCs to fight. Even in the dungeons of the evil overlord, guards can sometimes be bluffed into believing that the party is supposed to be there.


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JoeJ wrote:
Pan wrote:
Random encounters to me doesnt automatically mean combat encounter either. Sometimes people need help or a traveling merchant wants to sell soemthing etc.

+1 on that. In town, random encounters should rarely require the PCs to fight. Even in the dungeons of the evil overlord, guards can sometimes be bluffed into believing that the party is supposed to be there.

"Excuse me, this line goes into the prison but I'm supposed to be getting out."

"You're in the wrong line dumbass, the line to get out is over there."
"Thanks, thanks alot."
"Heh, dumbass."

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