Outdoor Random Encounter Distances

[Torx]

How do you begin generic outdoor random encounters? I'm talking the good 'ol fashioned "party is tromping along and see some bugbears" type of encounters. Assuming fairly bland, generic landscape during normal weather and vision, at what distance do each of the parties see each other? At what distances do listen/spot checks come into play? This question is valid for flat and grassy, barren, rural, desert, arctic, underwater, aerial, and other areas.

Or another way to ask: what is a good distance for these encounters to begin? When is initiative rolled? I find that beginning these encounters too far away (in the hundreds of feet) largely disadvantages the melee characters. I'm afraid some players with such characters dread random encounters that begin too far away as they rarely get to fight without the opponents already having taken significant ranged damage. Also, I can't see a plausible reason for two groups not to see each other without majorly tweaking the surrounding landscape just for this purpose.

My players' characters are at medium levels right now, 6th, if that makes a difference to anyone. I don't use random encounters terribly often, and this is largely because I find the distance issue very akward when it's fairly flat and generic landscape.

And perhaps to expand the question, at what distances do you begin random encounters in other landscapes such as wooded, mountainous, hilly, cavernous, urban, etc.?

 

[Oscar carramiñana]

Unless the encounter was an ambush I try to start a encounter at 50 feets more or less.
If a spellcaster pursues the PCs then start when they are in spell range

 

[Steve Jung]

Maximum spotting distances are in the Wilderness Adventures section of Chapter 3 of the 3.5 DMG, pp. 87–93 and in the Wilderness and Environment section of the 3.5 SRD.

Forest, light: 3d6x10 ft.
Forest, medium: 2d8x10 ft.
Forest, dense: 2d6x10 ft.
Moor: 6d6x10 ft.
Swamp: 2d8x10 ft.
Hills, gentle: 2d10x10 ft.
Hills, rugged: 2d6x10 ft.
Mountain: 4d10x10 ft.
Desert, no dunes: 6d6x20 ft.
Desert, with dunes: 6d6x10 ft.
Plains: 6d6x40 ft.
Underwater, clear: 4d8x10 ft.
Underwater, murky: 1d8x10 ft.

Initiative should be rolled when at least one being is aware of the opponents. As far as being unfair to the melee types, dungeons are unfair to missile specialists. If your characters want to be melee specialists, they'll still need missile weapons. Long-range weapons are ignored at their peril. Don't forget there is a cumulative –10 penalty for every 10 ft. of distance between the spotter and the target.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

That's a cumulative -1 per 10 feet of distance (not -10), IIRC.