An endless stream of random encounters

The procession

The party encounters a procession of pilgrims. The pilgrims are all very poor, and they are on their way to a local church (this can be any church or temple that the DM introduced earlier in the campaign).

The pilgrims ask for a little food and water; just a day's worth. If any of the players are generous, their party receives a blessing from the pilgrims. This blessing ensures that the players will be safe on the road until the next day. They will not be attacked by any bandits or hostile monsters while this blessing is in effect.

The Shrine

A simple small shrine has been erected by the side of the road, to keep travelers safe. There's a bowl to pay tribute to a local deity, and there is a place to light incense or a candle. A small simple wooden statue of the deity keeps watch over the shrine, and a wooden roof keeps the statue safe from the elements. The players can stop to light a candle, or offer a prayer, to gain a blessing from the shrine. This blessing will keep the party safe from bandits and hostile monsters for the rest of the day.

Optionally the DM could add an npc traveler here who has stopped to pray and to rest. He might be able to give the players directions, and tell them more about the deity depicted at the shrine.

The marshes

The road ahead disappears into the wetlands. The party sees nothing but tall grass and reed ahead, and the ground is soggy and wet. Most of the marsh is shallow, but some parts are deep enough to make the water reach up to their waist. A marsh is considered difficult terrain. The players can attempt a Wisdom (survival) check DC 10, or use a pole, to guide their party through the driest parts of the marsh, and to avoid suddenly stepping into a deeper part of the marsh. If the party has some sort of cart with them, it will get stuck in the deeper areas, unless the players succeed in their check.

Once a cart is stuck, it can only be pushed out of the marsh by succeeding at a Strength (athletics) check DC 12. Otherwise they'll have to leave it behind.

During the day the marshes are full of wild animals, such as various birds, for the players to hunt for food. Hunting them also requires a Wisdom (survival) check DC 10.

The old ferry

The party arrives at a river, canal or lake. The only way across seems to be an old ferry that is little more than a large wooden raft with an old man pushing it across with a pole. If they want to use the ferry, they must pay a fee.

The base price is 1 sp. But if the players look rich, and are dressed fancy, with their riches full on display, then they pay more. The players must pay anything from 1gp, up to 5gp, if they look like they can afford it.

If the players decide to look for another way across, they add half a day of travel to their journey.

iserith said:

Guy Lyrique, a wandering half-elf minstrel who was attacked by a wolf and has wandered delirious through the forest for days. That was no normal wolf though - it was a werewolf and Guy has been infected with lycanthropy. His change begins at an inopportune moment for the adventurers.

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That lyrical guy (I see what you did there) is going to have to change his name to Lou Garou.

I really like the number of non-combat encounters here, especially the party vs environment based ones. This one is more of a hook for a sidequest, but whatever.

The Young Widow
The party encounters a poor woman at the side of the road. She is dressed in rags and could use a bath and has a tear-streaked face, but is an otherwise attractive young woman. She is visibly distraught - moaning, sobbing and wringing her hands. If the party asks the young woman what the problem is, or otherwise offers assistance, she spins a tale of tragedy and deceit. She is a young widow who's husband died in an accident while serving the Lord and his wife at the nearby manor. Afterwards, she found out that was pregnant - the Lord took her in and gave her a position at the manor. Once her daughter was born, the Lord & Lady took the baby from her and cast her out, claiming the daughter as their own!

The widow pleads for help in getting her daughter back. Perhaps the heroes can sneak into the manor at night and steal her baby back - the Lord and Lady do not have more than a couple guards, relying on the locked gate more than men-at-arms.

The young widow is in reality a hag and the baby girl really is the daughter of the Lord and Lady.

akr71 said:

I really like the number of non-combat encounters here, especially the party vs environment based ones.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I try to come up with campaign-neutral encounters that simply add some flavor to the traveling, without diverging too much into a quest or sidequest of their own.

The rickety bridge

The players arrive at an unstable old rope bridge across a small chasm, 24 ft. across and 10 ft. wide. A waterfall cascades down the side of a mountain, and the rocks are slippery and black. The whole bridge is shrouded in a watery mist and the rotten wooden boards are wet as well. Down below is a 50 ft. drop onto sharp rocks and a shallow stream.

The bridge will hold, as long as only one person crosses at a time. But as soon as two people are on the bridge, or if a horse and/or wagon tries to cross, one of the ropes snaps. The players can spot this danger with a Wisdom (Perception) check DC 14. Further more, any animals (such as horses) will refuse to cross the bridge out of fear, and must be coaxed across.

When the bridge snaps, the players can either try to jump to the nearest ledge, Strength (Athletics) check DC 12, or try to hold on to the remaining part of the bridge, Dexterity (Acrobatics) check DC 10.

The forest of embers

The party arrives at the aftermath of a forest fire, right after a heavy rain has extinguished the flames. Much of the forest still glows due to burning embers, which provide low light at night. While on the surface the fire seems gone, a Wisdom (Survival) check DC 10, or poking the ground, reveals that the fire still smolders underground. The forest can be crossed safely, but the players cannot make camp here. A dense mist also covers the forest which provides heavy obscurement, as per the spell Fog Cloud.

The cursed cemetery

The party encounters a long forgotten cemetery, with the road running straight through the middle of it. A rusty 10 ft. high iron fence surrounds the cemetery, half swallowed by the forest. The tall gate doors hang loosely in their hinges, creaking in the wind. The cemetery is quite large, and it's edges cannot be discerned at first glance. Most of the tombstones have eroded over time, and the tombs look ancient. Especially further away from the road, the cemetery looks older, and a ghostly fog lingers around the trees.

During the day the players can encounter a friendly gravedigger here. He feels he should keep an eye on the cemetery, because its inhabitants are restless at night... and may need to be 'tucked back in'. People have long forgotten the names of the people buried here. He feels someone needs to make sure the dead don't go wandering about, and bothering nearby villages. He'll point out that he has a small shack on a nearby hill overlooking the cemetery.

At night, the dead crawl out of their graves, and attack anyone that ventures too close to the cemetery. They return to their dead state at the break of dawn. The gravedigger does not return until the next morning, where he checks which corpses are not where they are supposed to be. He then buries them again.

The tree-bridge

A 25 ft. long tree log bridges a small chasm. It looks like the tree was deliberately cut down for this purpose. Below the tree-bridge is a steep 40 ft. deep leaf-covered decline. Not deadly, but steep enough to cause serious injury. The players must make a Dexterity (Acrobatics check) DC 8 to maintain their balance as they cross the log. They can also choose to safely crawl across the log on all fours, with no check, but this adds between half an hour and 1 hour to their travel time.

Our 'Endless Stream' seems to have dried up...

The Temple Ruins
Deep in the forest or jungle the party comes across the ruins of a stone building. A successful History (Int) or Religion (Int) check reveals it to be the ruins of a long forgotten temple. The size of the trees growing up through the foundation ruins indicate that it has been at least a century or two since the temple fell. Further investigation reveals the alter - cracked and lying on its side, but more or less whole. Touching the alter causes a ghostly figure kneeling in front of the alter to appear. A simple fetch quest will lay the ghost (MM pg147) to rest, but it may not be able to communicate its desire to the party without using its Possession ability on one of the party members.

The watering hole

The party stumbles upon a small pond, where animals often drink. The pond is filled with fresh water, and it is easy to hunt animals here in the early morning hours. It is a perfect place to rest during the day.

Hunting for game is a Wisdom (survival) check DC 10 in the early morning, or DC 14 during the day. If the players visit the pond at night, they risk running into predators, who hunt near the pond as soon as darkness falls.

The old mine tunnel

An old mine tunnel in the side of a mountain is boarded up. The players can attempt to remove the boards carefully, with a Strength check DC (12), or they can simply smash the boards violently (no check). But this increases the chance of them making their presence known to hostile creatures inside the mine. There's also a small wooden sign next to the entrance, but time has faded away the text. The players can attempt an Intelligence (Investigation) check DC 14, to decipher the faded text. If successful, it reads that the tunnel is a short cut towards where the players are currently heading.

On the inside the mine looks long abandoned, and low light conditions apply. The players can attempt a Wisdom (Survival) check DC 11 to safely reach the other side of the tunnel, thus shortening their travel time by 2 hours. If they fail, they get lost, and add 2 hours to their travel time instead. If they also made a lot of noise when entering, the DM may decide to throw in some hostile creatures as well, on top of getting lost.

The talking cat

The party passes by an old stone wall, no more than 10 ft. high. It is covered in plants, and many of the stones have come loose over time. An orange tabby cat lies lazily on the wall. It yawns as the players pass. It does not mind being touched, as long as no one attempt to pick him up.

Surprisingly, the cat can talk. His name is Spyracus, and he speaks very politely. He has been the familiar of a local witch for a very long time, and she gave him the gift of speech. Unfortunately the witch is no more. The cat is very intelligent for a cat, and only shares information with the players if they give him a treat. For a cat, he is a quite a business man. He is reluctant to join the party, unless they give him a very good reason to do so. Because he rather enjoys his lazy life.

He is quite fond of fish, and understands the value of reliable information. He'll happily share his knowledge of local rumors, directions and hostile creatures, if they pay him for it with something tasty.

Looks like [MENTION=6801286]Imaculata[/MENTION] will never run out. I called it an endless stream because we can always think of more later and add them.

We ought to do some city/town encounters too.

(1) In a crowded street, one of the PCs is jostled, apparently accidentally, by a commoner who discovers that his purse is missing and angrily accuses the PC of having robbed him. Most of the passers-by don't want to get involved but someone calls the city watch. After 1 minute, as many guards arrive as the party has levels.

(2) A group of 3 battle-scarred veterans are slumped wearily around a table outside a tavern, trying to get drunk. They call out to the PCs as they pass by. "Don't go near the old fort on the north road. We're all that's left. All that's left ..." They will not explain what has occurred, being too traumatised by something to talk about it.

(3) A pall of acrid smoke hangs in the air and people are rushing towards the town square. A house is on fire and in the street outside a screaming woman, her face blackened with soot, is being held back by several men. She is screaming and trying to break free because her children are inside the burning building. A child's face appears at an upstairs window and cries out for her mother.

The angry mob

There is an angry mob of dwarves protesting on the streets, and they are blocking the way. One dwarf, who seems to be leading the protest, is in the middle of the crowd shouting his demands, while the crowd responds loudly to almost every sentence.

The players can attempt to take a way around the protest, but it will take an hour longer, and force them to travel though the more dangerous back alleys of town. The players can also try to push their way through the crowd, which is a strength check DC 10. Alternatively, they can also try some diplomacy to calm down the angry dwarves, which requires a Charisma (Persuasion) check DC 12.

The bar fight

As the players pass a tavern, a chair comes crashing through the window. One of the players must make a Dexterity check DC 12 to dodge it. Inside the tavern a big fight has broken out, and the owner of the tavern stands there helplessly as his tavern is being trashed. "Won't somebody call the guards?!" -He yells out. If the players decide to interfere, treat the people in the tavern as commoners with average ability scores. They can attempt to use a Charisma (Intimidation) check DC 14 to stop the fight, or a Charisma (Persuasion) check DC 16. They can also fight the people in the bar. There are 2d4+2 people fighting in the bar, and they are mostly armed with objects they found in the tavern, such as a chair, a table leg, and maybe a knife that they happened to have on them.

The panicked horse

At a busy marketplace a horse is startled and it kicks over the cart behind it. The cart ends up pinning its owner, a merchant, underneath it. He screams out in pain. The horse runs off, while various commoners make way for the out of control animal.

The players can attempt to lift the cart, which requires a Strength check DC 14, or they can gather help from onlookers to lift the cart with a large group of people (no check). The wounded merchant still requires some healing, but as thanks he will offer the party a discount on his wares (whatever they may be).

The players can also attempt to chase after the horse. The horse can't move entirely at full speed, due to difficult terrain (there are often people in the way, and it is confused and in a panic). Use the standard rules for a chase, as described in the DMG. After catching up to the horse, it will still need to be calmed down with a Wisdom (animal handle) check, DC 10. The merchant will reward the players if they succeed, on top of the discount they would already get for helping him.

The illegal weapon shipment

The party comes across a lone cart in an abandoned alley, covered with a black sheet. There is no one tending the cart. If they pull back the sheet, they uncover explosives and a pile of weapons. These things are obviously not intended for a good purpose.

The party can report this to the city guards for a modest reward, or they can help themselves to the contents. The contents of the cart are up to the DM. If however the party leaves the cart alone, and does not report it, it should have consequences later on. The contents of the cart could be used in an assassination of an important figure, or be used in some violent uprising.

The players can also make a Wisdom (Survival) check DC 15, to follow the tracks of the owners of the cart. This could lead them to a nearby safe house of some hostile group, and possibly a side quest.

The Dueling Dandy
Two minor nobles are having an animated conversation in the middle of a crowded street. One is bragging to the other of his/her exploits and in their excitement bumps into one of the party. Tempers flair at the intrusion on their 'private conversation' the noble challenges the party member to a duel. These two are used to using their station to bully and cajole commoners into giving them what they want. The rapiers at their hips are more decorative than useful as weapons, especially in the hands of these two dandies. It has not crossed their minds that someone might actually accept their challenge one of these days...

Mistaken Identity
A middle-aged man walks purposefully toward the group. He wears a tunic with an unfamiliar coat-of-arms on it. "Lord Rastock has been waiting all day for your arrival. Come, come - you must make haste. Follow me." He turns around and heads back up the street. When he notices that the group is not following he says "Come on now, you must not keep our lord waiting!"

The Dockyard Pressgang
A dozen or so large men start rounding up every able bodied person on the street/in the tavern with the exception of mothers and their small children and shop keepers. Any one who protests is treated rather roughly. Town guards look on with little interest and will only interfere if weapons are drawn. "Come on you lot, there's a new boat down at the shipyard that need tarrin'! Foreman says you'll do as well as any other." Those that comply are paid for their hard labor with half a loaf of stale bread and some sour ale. They are free to go about their business at sun-down.