So I'm writing a campaign for BB rules for my son and his friends. Part of the first adventure takes place in the wilderness en route to the "forgotten temple." I have some encounters in mind. However, I'm uncertain as to how to add "flavor" to the journey. What can I have happen as "encounters" that don't really do anything but provide atmosphere? Any ideas? It's a campaign set in a pretty vanilla mideival setting. Village needs help removing a curse, pc's go on a series of quests to remove the curse. BB monsters and such.
An example of what I'm looking for: You come across an old statue of a man wearing flowing robes and holding a book. His right palm is outstretched in a "halt" gesture.
I'm thinking PG but I'm not coming up with a lot of ideas....
One of the best part of pathfinder is the robust 3rd party publishing section. O a, Pretty sure Wilderness Dressings - Woodlands is precisely what you are looking for. A big table of minor encounters and features to either choose from or roll on if you want 'random'.
Thanks. And its $2 and PDF. I'd also be interested in anyone's homebrew ideas as well.
Aside from the excellent recommendation above check out the rest of the Wilderness Dressings line by Raging Swan press (and maybe their free setting and other products too), and also
Random Encounters: Wilderness by Rite Publishing and the Random Encounters Remastered series by Purple Duck Games
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You come upon what looks like a group of large flying insects that seems to be laughing. Upon closer inspection (Perception DC 10), you see that the insects are tiny flying humanoids. These creatures are sprites and are a type of fey that are generally not hostile [Knowledge (Nature) DC 10].
If the party stops to speak to them, they will behave friendly towards them and give directions or answer questions about the area. They will run and hide if the party is rude or attacks them.
You come upon what looks like a group of large flying insects that seems to be laughing. Upon closer inspection (Perception DC 10), you see that the insects are tiny flying humanoids. These creatures are sprites and are a type of fey that are generally not hostile [Knowledge (Nature) DC 10].
If the party stops to speak to them, they will behave friendly towards them and give directions or answer questions about the area. They will run and hide if the party is rude or attacks them.
That's exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks. I love it.
Up ahead, the sound of a river flowing over rocks can be heard. In the distance, you see a young man struggling with a raft full of barrels that has gotten stuck.
If the party approaches, they will see he has no weapons except for a 10' long pole that he is using in an attempt to lever the raft off the rocks. His name is Barnaby and he is just a commoner delivering apple cider to the village down the river. If the party stops to help him, one character will need to make a strength check (DC 18) to get it off the rocks. Using the pole adds a +2 equipment bonus. If other party members help, add +2 for each helper to the strength check. If the party is able to get the raft back in water, Barnaby will offer to either give them a ride to the next village or to the opposite bank of the river.
In the meadow ahead, you see a field full of different colors of wild flowers. With every slight breeze, you see pollen fly off lazily into the air.
Crossing the field is easy but some characters may have allergic reactions. All characters crossing the field must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10) or gain the sickened condition as they start sneezing and dealing with runny noses and watery eyes. Effects will continue as long as they remain in the field and for 1d10 minutes later.
Several piles of stones are stacked in neat columns in a circle about 30' wide. A Knowledge (Religion) check (DC 10) will reveal that it was made as an homage to nature deities. There is nothing else to be found here. If the party stops to rest or camp here, they will not be attacked.
A roadside inn ... The inn is a chance for their characters to not live out of their backpacks for a change: they can bathe, get their clothes laundered, maybe get some copper changed for gold or pick up a few supply items. Describe the food served and the accommodations to help establish the medieval tone - wooden cutlery, oil lamps, straw mattresses, the old outhouse, etc.
When your group is returning from the Temple, odds are they'll stop by the inn again, which will allow you various ways to lead them into whatever you have planned next.
I like the idea, but there's no good spot to put it. Maybe an old hermit that will help them with a want of Cure light Wounds if they clean out his "basement" full of dire rats. It could be a small 2-3 room map with a burrow in an outer wall....Then it could be a good mid-point for the journey. The journey itself is a session and then the temple is another. I like it. Thanks.
Bad weather and difficult terrain can also add flavor to an otherwise simple journey.
Have the party encounter a fissure or ravine that will now cause them to think creatively (or use some skill checks) to pass, or they simply have to walk around.
Also severe rain can make sleeping and getting rest impossible without a tent. If there any casters in the party who need eight hours of rest (such as a wizard), if no one has a tent for that night, they're going to be in trouble unless they can find some shelter. This is a perfect opportunity to allow them to find a cave, abandoned inn, or rock overhang, which can lead to other encounters. -who else might be seeking shelter from this storm? (animals, monsters, etc)
-what might be found in this cave? (a dungeon entrance, a hungry owlbear, a long forgotten shrine to an old king, with dusty treasure sitting on an altar, etc etc etc.
You hear howling and thrashing noises behind some trees.
If the party investigates, they will find a wolf has gotten his leg caught into a rabbit snare. He is howling and thrashing about trying to get away. If the party approaches without weapons and speaks softly, the wolf will not attack them. The rope is twisted into knots that can be undone with a Disable Device check (DC 15), broken with a DC 23 STR check, or cut by doing 2 points of damage to it.
Once free, the wolf will run off. If the party gets into a battle elsewhere in this forest, the wolf will jump out of a nearby bush and attack one of their foes. After the battle, the wolf will howl at the party and disappear into the forest. He will help only once.
Acrid-smelling smoke assaults your nostrils. Up ahead, you see many of the trees are blackened.
When the party arrives, they will find about a square mile of forest has been through a fire. While the flames have died out a few days ago, some embers are still smoldering. If the party takes the time to investigate (about an hour), they can make a Knowledge (Nature) check with DC 10 to find this fire appears to have been started naturally by a lightning strike and is perfectly normal.
(Optional: If the GM desires, the players can find the tree that was struck by lightning with a Perception DC 20. A Knowledge (Nature) check of DC 20 will allow them to harvest enough of the wood to make, or have made, a masterwork wooden weapon or shield from it. For further considerations, treat it as Darkwood.)
I like foreboding ... If you have a ruined inn as above put some manticore spikes in the doorframe. Then you can have large birds or maybe not birds sighted in the distance. Same can be done with any monster slightly too powerful for the party. It adds some danger and depth to the world. At higher levels the party can take that manticore nest on and remember back to that first burned inn.
Roadside shrine is always good or travelers way station if the area is too remote for an inn.
Ancient battle site or sign post to distant large city to expand the world a bit even if players won't go there.
You hear rustling in the tree branches above your head.
If they make a perception check DC 24, they can tell that it is only a couple of squirrels chasing each other. If not, then keep describing how leaves and acorns keep falling on their heads and the branches wobble occasionally.
Suddenly, the songs of birds of stop. It is completely silent. You are standing amongst a copse of trees where sunlight shines down in beams onto the ground. You can see dust motes floating in the sunbeams.
A Knowledge (Nature) or Survival check of DC 10 will reveal that it was probably a passing predator. A Perception DC 24 check will spot a hawk above the trees.
Either way, a few minutes later, the bird songs resume and everything is normal again.
Suddenly, the songs of birds of stop. It is completely silent. You are standing amongst a copse of trees where sunlight shines down in beams onto the ground. You can see dust motes floating in the sunbeams.
A Knowledge (Nature) or Survival check of DC 10 will reveal that it was probably a passing predator. A Perception DC 24 check will spot a hawk above the trees.
Either way, a few minutes later, the bird songs resume and everything is normal again.
I really like that one. It has the "uh-oh, what's about to happen" factor to it...
Leaves and sticks crackle and crunch under the player's feet as they walk along.
A Survival or Knowledge (Nature) check of DC 15 will note that this area has recently seen localized flooding from rain and may be muddy.
If the party is so forewarned, they gain a +4 insight bonus on Acrobatics checks to avoid stepping in thick mud (DC 10) as they cross. Any characters that fail the check will become stuck in the mud. Until freed, they gain the grabbed condition. Characters can be freed with a Strength check of DC 15 made by them or another party member. If more than one person helps pull, add +2 for each helper to the roll. There is a 25% that a shoe or boot is not freed with the characters. Another strength check of DC 15 is required to rescue any lost footwear. Barefoot characters treat all natural terrain as difficult terrain.
Taking another tack, consider Mirt the Peddler
You've found a narrow track, not truly a road but more than a simple game trail, cutting across the wilds. Knowledge: local or geography (DC 10) explains that this wilderness path connects Sandpoint to a few distant villages at the edge of its hinterlands. Rattling and grunting up the path and coming towards them is a heavy-set half-orc in weathered traveler's gear. The middle-aged traveler leads a harnessed dire boar hitched to a 2-wheeled cart laden with many kinds of gear.
This is Mirt the Peddler (N male half-orc expert 2/adept 2). Mirt is gruff but fair; he travels the outer ways around the hinterlands doing business with wanderers, Desnan clergy, villagers and heroes such as the party.
This is a good chance for roleplay. Mirt also has 1d6 minor magic items (a potion, scroll or minor wondrous item) for sale along with mundane gear like ropes, traveling packs and assorted animal barding. He might even have a unique item like another wizard's spellbook or perhaps a composite bow.
Mirt is quite knowledgeable about the surrounding lands having traveled around here for years. The PCs might pay him for some important hint to the temple, or perhaps he gives them enough mundane info to grant a +2 to skill checks in the wilds for the next 24 hours. Whatever the case this could run like a mini-version of the roadside inn suggested above.
Tabletop Adventures has a series of stuff like this called "Bits of the Wilderness." Paizo doesn't have the preview, but here's how a couple look:
A jagged shard of unpainted wood has
been driven into a low mound of earth just off
the forest path. A badly misspelled message
gouged into the impromptu grave marker with
a dull knife announces “Justen, a pedlur dyd
heer. Gods rest hm.”
______
As you hike through the woods you notice a number
of deer tracks that go off to the west. You can smell
the pine trees that stand all around you and a thick
bed of needles blankets the forest floor. You note that
the land in front of you seems to be quite flat and you
can see a good distance through this spa rsely wooded
place.
_____
The series is on sale for the "I'm not going to PaizoCon" sale.
Taking another tack, consider Mirt the Peddler...
This is Mirt the Peddler (N male half-orc expert 2/adept 2). Mirt is gruff but fair; he travels the outer ways around the hinterlands doing business with wanderers, Desnan clergy, villagers and heroes such as the party...
Mirt is quite knowledgeable about the surrounding lands having traveled around here for years. The PCs might pay him for some important hint to the temple, or perhaps he gives them enough mundane info to grant a +2 to skill checks in the wilds for the next 24 hours. Whatever the case this could run like a mini-version of the roadside inn suggested above.
That is awesome! I wish I'd thought of having another traveler that was friendly or neutral. That makes much more sense than a hermit or inn along this stretch of wilderness. I can also place it after some heavy combat to allow replenishment whenever I need it.
While travelling on the road, the PCs hear the noise of several horses galloping from either behind or ahead of them.
It is a patrol of 6 guardsmen, all mounted, bearing the livery of a more distant city/lord.
The patrol will stop and question the characters about any encounters with bandits they may have had, or other suspicious travellers on the road. The patrol will appear friendly, and not accuse the PCs of nefarious deeds, unless the PCs respond in suspicious manners.
After asking names, destination, and if they have seen or encountered anything suspicious, the patrol will carry on its original direction.
It is up to the GM to determine if the patrol ever reaches their destination, or what news the patrol may have brought to the next village the PCs wander in to.
As night falls and the PCs seek shelter, they discover a small rocky outcrop that will protect one side of their campsite. However, they also discover that something marked up the local trees with large claws. A ranger/druid or similarly skilled character will recognize the claw marks as those of a large bear-like creature, and ususally mean it has claimed this as its territory. But the marks seem fairly old, so that probably means the creature is no longer around . . . .
One I used as a potential boon/bane skill challenge was:
[spoiler=Varaszlat Tower]At the crest of a hill through a ring of trees you spot the crumbling remains of a ruined tower. This one however has unique, gothic architecture dating farther back than surrounding settlements. Knowledge: history (DC 10) reveals it is from an ancient empire that used magic in its frontier towers to serve the needs of its far-flung garrisons. Knowledge: arcana is needed upon inspection (DC 15) to confirm this is indeed an arcane tower. Once so noted if magic is detected for there is moderate Abjuration emanating from the tower's central chamber. At this point Spellcraft is needed (DC 15) along with other skills such as Linguistics, Perform (oration, singing), Acrobatics, Perception etc. to discover and perform an arcane ritual. Make the players roll and as they do balance their successes against their failures (in 4e Skill Challenge format). If they receive 4 successes (against DC 15) before 3 failures they complete the rite correctly and everyone receives the effect of a Mass Endure Elements spell for 24 hours. If the rite fails all participants are Fatigued for 24 hours; this condition cannot be cured with sleep but magic can end it prematurely.[/spoler]
Basically this was a way to involve the whole party in casting a spell that either mildly helped or hurt them while also making the wizard character who discovered it feel kind of cool for uncovering the secret.
Coming around a bend/rock/tree, the party sees a murder of crows on the ground pecking at a recently deceased medium-sized animal.
The birds are not at all happy at being chased away from their meal, squawking angrily and loudly if the PCs approach. Investigating, PCs can see it is the remains of a wolf, apparently slain by a gray-fletched arrow.
At a crossroads, an empty rusted gibbet hangs from a weathered post.
A flash of movement on the ground to the side attracts a PCs gaze. He catches the hindquarters of a terrain appropriate predator disappearing into the underbrush (mountain lion, bear, wolf, crocodile, etc).
Coming around a bend/rock/tree, the party sees a murder of crows on the ground pecking at a recently deceased medium-sized animal.
The birds are not at all happy at being chased away from their meal, squawking angrily and loudly if the PCs approach. Investigating, PCs can see it is the remains of a wolf, apparently slain by a gray-fletched arrow.
I could have that occur after
You hear howling and thrashing noises behind some trees.
If the party investigates, they will find a wolf has gotten his leg caught into a rabbit snare. He is howling and thrashing about trying to get away. If the party approaches without weapons and speaks softly, the wolf will not attack them. The rope is twisted into knots that can be undone with a Disable Device check (DC 15), broken with a DC 23 STR check, or cut by doing 2 points of damage to it.
Once free, the wolf will run off. If the party gets into a battle elsewhere in this forest, the wolf will jump out of a nearby bush and attack one of their foes. After the battle, the wolf will howl at the party and disappear into the forest. He will help only once.
and perhaps a side quest evolves to track the person responsible for killing the wolf they saved...
Some nice ideas here mind if i borrow a few for my game ?
I don't mind.
Steal away on my ideas Tony, that's what they're there for.
Well its only polite to ask but thanks guys its the little things like this that i have trouble with