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I'm gming a homebrew campaign and my level 2 party is going to be traveling from the town that is the center of this section of the story to a near by fort(several days travel) to ask the commander there to help protect the town from a large bandit attack that is expected in about 3 weeks.
I want the next session to be them getting the mission to go get help and travel there doing the actual asking either at the end of the up coming session or beginning of the following one.
Which brings me to my question . I'm wanting the travel there to be more interesting than just % to get a random encounter once a day. Anyone that has any ideas I would appreciate it.
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I'm gming a homebrew campaign and my level 2 party is going to be traveling from the town that is the center of this section of the story to a near by fort(several days travel) to ask the commander there to help protect the town from a large bandit attack that is expected in about 3 weeks.
I want the next session to be them getting the mission to go get help and travel there doing the actual asking either at the end of the up coming session or beginning of the following one.
Which brings me to my question . I'm wanting the travel there to be more interesting than just % to get a random encounter once a day. Anyone that has any ideas I would appreciate it.
MANY fantasies have the old man by the roadside scenario. Someone that seems insignificant during their meeting but comes back later and was the most important Figure ever.
For Example:
In Dragonlance the Wizard Fizbin. Seemed like a doddering old fool who could hardly remember his spells and got many confused. He was a small source of Info unto the main characters....and later turned out to be a deity in human form who pointed them in the correct direction to accomplish the goals they needed.
I've heard of PCs meeting an old man on the roadside who questioned them. They bragged up they were going to go hunt a dragon and the archer was packing a Dragonbane bow. What they didn't know is the Old man was the dragon in disguise (who was picking his marks) and he now had his first target and a fool proof strategy of shutting down the archer. He also knew the party was coming for him now.
You could have some of the stuff that happens on the road be related to the main plot. There's going to be huge bandit attack in the next few weeks? Maybe they come across a scouting party or a group of spies for the bandits. Or some hints that there might be someone mysterious encouraging the bandits in that direction. Or they have to help out some survivors from a town the bandits hit previously.
Or you could have a little mini-quest on the way. If they're hurrying to another town, they probably don't have time to stop for detours, but perhaps one of the towns they have to travel through has been strangely plagued with undead/goblin attacks/an evil dragon lately. Something they can do that won't take time off their journey because it'd be in their path anyway.
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They have already taken out the bandit forward party, that's how they now the big attack is comming and in the defeating the forward party they found that they were actually mercenaries that had been hired to harass the town. Part of that harassment was an attack on the town during a harvest festival that targeted the town guards to make the main attack easier.
Remember that a random encounter doesn't have to be combat. It could be an RP situation, like a merchant wagon broken down on the road. This could give them a contact for later, or possible discounts for helping out. You could have weather become a problem. Getting lost in the fog, or a severe storm can make things interesting; having the group find cover while taking non-lethal damage from the storm, or some such thing.
There could be a bridge out and they have to figure out how to cross it, or make the appropriate checks to do so/repair the bridge. Award xp as having defeated an encounter that you feel represents the danger level of what they overcame. Another option is a bit of mystery; there could be a bloody trail leading off the path where at the end they find a dead person clutching a note, or a minor treasure, etc. This can be something for fun or some how connected to a main plot or future NPC.
These sorts of things offer a refreshing break from the monotonous grind of combat and will certainly make travel more interesting. No need to do d% rolls to see what they encounter, just add what you feel will accomplish what you want.
I like to try and understand what the lands between points A and B might be like. Is it a wilderness? Is it settled lands? Is it a battlefield?
Understanding what exists between points A and B can often help you devise appropriate encounters (whether they be combat-oriented or RP-oriented). Road trips can be great places to meet interesting npc's (other adventuring parties, bands of minstrels, a merchant caravan, a religious pilgrimage, whatever) or have throwaway encounters if you just want to have a fun combat. But I generally prefer designed encounters to truly random (d%) encounters when possible. Good luck!
You could try to build it like a chase; each day, a problem or two that the party needs to overcome, for example, The bridge was washed out by recent heavy rains, the party needs to figure out how to get across the river. or you could have a flavor encounter that is something the party can experience, not overcome, for example, the burnt out ruins of a village the bandits have raided.
Maybe the old man they meet is a spy for the bandits?
And don't do random encounters. Plan what encounters they... encounter... ahead of time. Don't treat travel encounters as throw away time wasters. Treat them as significant, legitimate encounters.
Problem solving encounters are good.
Significant choices are great. Like a path might split in the woods, each option might have a clue to what each choice will signify.
Use terrain.
Use hazards.
Give your PCs skill challenges.
Also, they might only have one or two encounters per day, so you can use CR+1 or CR+2 or more depending on the make up of your PCs. And if the encounter is too hard, they're not confined in a dungeon, so they have 360 degrees of running away paths to choose from.