Random Random Encounter Tables

demiurge1138 · Jan 19, 2005

Do you use random encounter tables? If so, are you willing to share them?

I, personally, love random encounter tables, because I really enjoy the variety of oddball monsters I can throw at a party. I usually only make them for long journeys overland and on foot, although I did once make a table for the Elemental Plane of Air after the party's actions formed a rift to it on their airship (long story).

Here's one I just made recently, for the Mournland in Eberron. The party's about ECL 6 or so, but I still expect the trip to be tough.

Mournland Random Encounter Table
01- 1 five-headed shrieking terror (MMIII)
02-03- 1 warbound impaler (MMIII)
04-05 1d2 bonedrinkers (MMIII)
06- 1d4+1 harpoon spiders (MMIII)
07- 1d2 cave leeches (ToH2)
08-09- 1 glitterfire living spell (MMIII)
10- 1d3 sickening sleep living spells (MMIII)
11-12 1 rot reaver and 1d4 human zombies (MMIII)
13- 1 susurrus (MMIII)
14-16- Lord of Blades’ patrol (1 warforged charger and 1d4 warforged soldiers)
17-18- 1d2 zezir (MMIII)
19- 1 nucklavee (ToH2)
20- 1 bodak (MM)
21- 1d3 carrion crawlers (MM)
22-23- 1d2 digesters (MM)
24-25- 1d4+1 displacer beasts (MM)
26-27- 1d3+1 ghasts and 1d4+1 ghouls (MM)
28- 1 gibbering mouther (MM)
29- 1 flesh golem (MM)
30-32- 1d3+1 gricks (MM)
33-34- 1d3+1 howlers (MM)
35- 1 morgh and 1d8 human zombies (MM)
36- 1 black pudding (MM)
37- 1 ochre jelly (MM)
38-40- 1d6 rust monsters (MM)
41-42- 1d3+1 shadows (MM)
43- 1 spectre (MM)
44-45- 1 spider eater (MM)
46- 1 hellwasp swarm (MM)
47-48- 1 tendriculous (MM)
49-51- 1d4+1 vargouilles (MM)
52-55- 1d3+2 wights (MM)
56-58 1 wraith (MM)
59- 1 ythrak (MM)
60-62- 1d4+2 giant ant workers and 1 giant ant soldier (MM)
63- 1d3+1 giant ant soldiers (MM)
64-66- 1d4+1 giant bombardier beetles (MM)
67-69- 1d4 giant stag beetles (MM)
70-72- giant centipede (MM, roll 1d6 for size category, 1 = 2d8 tiny, 2 = 1d6+5 small, 3 = 1d4+1 medium, 4 = 1d3 large, 5 = 1d2 huge, 6= 1 garganutan)
73-74- giant scorpion (MM, roll 1d4 for size category, 1 = 1d4+1 small, 2 = 1d4+1 medium, 3 = 1d3 large, 4 = 1d2 huge)
75- 1 carcass crab (ECS)
76- 1d4 Karrnathi skeletons (ECS)
77- 1d4 Karrnathi zombies (ECS)
78-80- 1 living burning hands (ECS)
81- 1 living cloudkill (ECS)
82-73- Warforged pilgrimage (1d3 warforged soldiers)
84-85 1d8+4 death dogs (FF)
86- 1 Vol golem (FF)
87-88- 1 5th level fighter swordwraith (FF)
89-90 1 yellow musk creeper and 1d4 yellow musk zombie orcs (FF)
91- 1 bloodmote cloud (LM)
92- 1d4+1 dire maggots (LM)
93- 1 grave dirt golem (LM)
94- 1 plague blight (LM)
95- 1d4 skin kites (LM)
96- 1 skirr (LM)
97-98- 1d4+3 tomb motes (LM)
99- 1 ulgurstasta (FF)
100- 1 corpse collector (MMIII)

Demiurge out.

francisca · Jan 19, 2005

Yes. The last set of tables I made up were for my homebrew and my recently defunct basic/expert game, and were tailored for each particular territory. I mostly used them for encounters on the road, and would sprinkle plot devices in amongst them.

edit: they are all scribbled on graph paper, so sorry, I won't be posting them.

Ryltar · Jan 19, 2005

I haven't gotten any use of Random Encounter tables as of yet. The reason is quite simple: they don't fit my style of DM'ing. I absolutely loathe "So, you're walking down the road, and suddenly, there is something standing in front of you *flips pages* uhm, yeah, a large red dragon!" moments. Encounters in my game are placed where they make sense - I don't see any use in harassing my players and their overland travels with constant skirmishes.

synecdoche · Jan 19, 2005

I used to use random encounter tables when I first started DMing. I haven't DMed in a while, but I am thinking that, if I do get a game going soon, I probably won't use them. I'm like Ryltar, I guess. I like to have things planned. If there is some sort of overland journey and I want to break it up for whatever reason, I am more apt to select a monster. So, I might have a list of creatures that inhabit the region, but I don't think I'd roll one up on a random encounter table.

I guess I just like to be in control.

shilsen · Jan 19, 2005

My PCs have random encounters but I don't use any random encounter table. Instead, I just use encounters which seem appropriate to the area they're passing through and which will be useful for the game. I also (depending on the location) make sure that a significant number of encounters are non-combat ones as well.

Coincidentally, my PCs will be heading to the Mournland too, and I was planning a couple of appropriate random encounters for them. Should be fun - and hopefully, heavily paranoia-inducing

Darkness · Jan 19, 2005

I don't like them much in general.

If they consist of detailed encounters (as opposed to a random bunch of generic monsters) I'm okay with them though.

Arkham · Jan 19, 2005

I am using Random Encounter Tables, and an Attracted Monster Table.

But then again, I'm running Undermountain and they are kind of a given.

Unfortunately for the PCs they have a habit of doing things that
require rolls on the Attracted Monster Table more often than they
probably need to. Poor, poor suicidal fools. :-D

WmRAllen67 · Jan 24, 2005

demiurge1138 said:
Do you use random encounter tables?

Yes, but they're usually very specific to the campaign/ adventure in question, and usually include a lot of Dawn Ibach's miscellaneous mishaps...

Like waking up one morning to find mice in your backpack...

Or coming across some monster droppings...

Or stepping into poison ivy...

ElvishBard · Jan 24, 2005

No, I never use the random encounter tables because I find it easier to just make up something I want them to fight. If they want to fight something (and it's usually easy to tell if they do) then they magicly find one, otherwise they will be fine. (plus with teleport spells and all the other junk they have to go from point A to point B that I can use the fun monsters that are really powerful, they are skipping them in the wild.)

Tonguez · Jan 24, 2005

Forest Encounter Roll 1d20
1 - 4. A breeze rustles the leaves overhead and then passes on into the distance
5 - 6. (Assasin Vines) Suddenly you _____ feel something entwine itself around your legs (reflex save!)
7. About seven feet ahead a pair of lights dance amongst the leaves of the trees circling each other and the branch (investigation will find that they are dancng lights controlled by a elderly gnome (who is wary but friendly))
8 - 10. A large Lizard emerges from the left side of the road and crosses your path (if PCs look to left of road will find a half eaten goblin with a dagger, a broken half spear and (3d4)gp coins))
11 - 14. You feel a strange tingling across your shoulders but turn and see - nothing
15 - 17. Something clicks beneath your __________ foot, you look down and see the sharp teeth of a beart rap (Reflex Save!)
18. A group of goblins is tucked in behind some bushes ahead of you and thankfully watching something on the other side (on the other side of the bush is a wounded (and very angry) badger)
19. You see a hole and notice that somebody seems to have dug into it. There are bloodstains on the ground and a discarded shovel nearby
20 Ahead you see a gnome bent down and tending to a wounded badger