OD&D Better Wandering Monster Tables

[Michael Linke]

I'm interested in seeing what sorts of wandering monster tables people have put together. One of the things 4e did well was encouraging mixed groups of monsters, and I feel old school D&D falls down when it insists the standard wandering monster encounter is a homogenous group except in the rare circumstance that a monster's description indicates the possibility for leader or spellcaster variants.

I'd much rather see entries indicating mixed groups for "goblins and snakes" than having the chance to roll either "some goblins" OR "some snakes". I'm not sure if i want to create d20 list of group compositions, or create lists of smaller encounters, with the understanding that you'd roll 2 or more times on the list, and improvise on the fly WHY those monsters are encountered together.

 

[jgsugden]

I don't use a wandering monster table. I instead have a queue of wandering monster encounters at the ready. When I determine there should be a wandering encounter, I just go to the next one in the queue that is appropriate for the environment in question. When I know which ones are coming next, I can think a bit about the monsters to make sure I am prepared to play them in the way that I want to play them, rather than remembering after they are slain that they had resistance to fire, or that they could have used a special ability to avoid being stuck in a wall set up by the PCs. I encourage this approach to maximize quality of game while minimizing wasted prep time.

 

[Michael Linke]

Note, this is an OD&D thread.

I think the existence of a randomized wandering monster chart of some sort is essential (though a deck would serve just as well). I believe the DM is kept honest in this style of play by being as surprised as the party by exactly which monsters the PCs have stumbled into. I'm more concerned with what's on the chart as opposed to whether the chart belongs.

 

[Mannahnin]

Note, this is an OD&D thread.

I think the existence of a randomized wandering monster chart of some sort is essential (though a deck would serve just as well). I believe the DM is kept honest in this style of play by being as surprised as the party by exactly which monsters the PCs have stumbled into. I'm more concerned with what's on the chart as opposed to whether the chart belongs.

Very much on the same page with you here. I tend to create or use personalized tables based on the dungeon or locale, following the examples of many classic and OSR modules. Dyson's Delve by Dyson Logos (note: this one is available for free on his website, with the tables) and Praise the Fallen by Graphite Prime are two favorite examples. Dyson's tables in the Delve are more bare-bones but straightforward and useful; PtF's table has a bunch of interesting entries which are informative about what's happening in the dungeon/temple. In both PtF and his module Sision Tower, GP has recurring NPC figures who may or may not be hostile, who pop in and give clues or can otherwise be interacted with.

Often the easiest way to compose a table is to stock a dungeon level or area, then think about what monsters are likely to move around, then put them on the chart. This means the wanderers are representative of local lairs, and running into them gives the PCs a clue about what lives in the area. Of course there can be exceptions- maybe a couple of entries drawn from the occupants of the level above or below, or a neighboring area. Or a ghostly spirit which wanders everywhere. Or a competing band of adventurers raiding the same dungeon.

I also really like embracing the concept of "random encounters" as conceptually distinguished from "wandering monsters". Wandering monsters are great too, but some items on the chart should hopefully be weird events or potentially peaceful/negotiable creatures rather than necessarily-hostile monsters.

In a recent game my players spent a long while traveling through a fairy tale land, and I stole from blogs or developed around 60-80 encounters, MOST of them non-hostile. Every day I'd roll one of these randomly, in addition to regular wandering monster checks in hostile areas. Most of them could be interacted with in other ways that combat, whether it be to gather information or trade resources, buy gear from a peddler or magical merchant, fall afoul of some magical trap or mishap, or just interact with an interesting character.

 

[Quickleaf]

I tend to take a more curated approach, so it's a bit labor intensive to translate my tables to BBCODE format, but I'll at least get one up to share. This is from a 5e game – but I tend to run fairly OSR style – for a big necropolis area the PCs ventured into. Lots of Ancient Egyptian-esque motifs, inspired by a blend of Green Ronin's Hamunaptra and Gary Gygax's Necropolis. Day/night cycle to emphasize how dangerous nighttime in the necropolis is.

Kher-Semet Encounters
Kher-semet rises along the western bank of the River Yor across from Hamunaptra, a 60-mile long necropolis. Commoners’ tombs line the river while royal tombs fill the valley. Crossing by river barge costs 1 sp each (2 sp if night). The river is 2 miles wide at this point, taking about 30 minutes to cross.

During summer (flood) season, the sun rises at 5:00 am and sets at 7:00 pm.

Every hour (hex) the PCs explore Kher-semet and once during a rest, roll a d20. A result of 18+ indicates an encounter.

However, the spirits of Kher-semet are drawn to death. For every encounter in which a creature dies, increase the chance of random encounters by one for the party until they take a long rest.

2d10	Day	Night
2	The Scorpion Witch	The Undead Court
3	Anubian Golem	Anubian Golem
4	Edimmu (ToB)	Tomb Scorpion
5	Tomb Robbers	Deadman Smugglers
6	Fennec Fox	Death Dogs
7	Ardeth-Ben's Bandits	Ardeth-Ben's Bandits
8	Encounter en abstentia	Encounter en abstentia
9	People of the Tombs	People of the Tombs
10	Vultures	Ubashki (undead cat swarm)
11	Jackals	Jackals
12	Zombie Census-takers	Giant Fire Beetles
13	Gnoll Warband	Gnoll Deathmage
14	Sun Exposure	Baleful Winds
15	Ghoul Pallbearers	Ghoul Pack
16	Bone Vultures	Bone Vultures
17	Priests of Anubis	Priestly Incubation
18	Necromancer	Ghûl
19	Nabassu Cult	Nabassu Cult
20	Lamia's Entourage	Gypsosphinx (ToB)

The random encounters can range from simple things described in a few sentences to more complex encounters with nested tables. Some examples...

Anubian Golem (6,800 XP)
A line of Anubis statues rests against the canyon wall, in various states of disrepair. An ancient clay golem inhabits these statues, defending Kher-semet from anyone not bearing a holy symbol of Anubis. However, its binding wears thin, and the golem’s essence shifts between these statues. As an action, a creature can make a DC 15 Religion check to correctly identify one of its aspects; speaking the name of the aspect aloud causes that statue to fall inanimate for 24 hours and forces the golem to enter a new statue at the start of its turn. If targeted by dispel evil and good or if all its statues are destroyed, it manifests as an anubian (ToB).

When the party first encounters the golem, and on the roll of a 5-6 on a d6 at the start of each of its turns, roll a d4:

1. He Who Is Upon the Mountain: The golem inhabits a hound statue affixed to a pedestal some 20 feet up. Its speed is 0. The statue has AC 10 and 119 hit points. It gains a new action: Burning Eyes. Each creature in a 40-foot cone must make a DC 10 Charisma save or take 11 (2d10) radiant damage.
2. Guide of the Two Lands (CR 9): The golem inhabits a statue with chipped exterior giving it water vulnerability – when exposed to water, its AC drops to 9 (i.e. losing natural armor) and it takes 1d4 cold damage per gallon. Once per turn, when it hits a creature with its slam, instead of reducing its maximum hit points, the creature must make a DC 15 Strength save or be pushed 15 feet and knocked prone.
3. Lord of Burial in the Necropolis: The golem inhabits a headless statue which can only see through its head lying 40 feet away; otherwise it is blind. The head has AC 10 and 13 hit points. Instead of Haste, the golem can take this action: Breath of Entombing Sand (recharge 5-6). Each creature in a 30-foot cone must make a DC 10 Strength save or be buried up to its neck in sand – the creature is restrained until being dug out as an action requiring a DC 15 Strength check.
4. Ruler of Eternity: The golem inhabits a decrepit statue carrying a was scepter. It has 60 hit points and does not go Berserk. When a creature fails its Constitution save against the golem’s slam, instead of its maximum hit points being reduced, the creature is aged 1d8 years. The aging effect can be reversed with a greater restoration, but only within 24 hours.

Encounter En Abstentia
Roll a d6 to determine what traces the party encounters. Choose or roll from the encounter table to determine which creature(s)’ trace they’ve found:

1. Evidence of a fight between the creature(s) and other creatures.
2. Track and sign of the creature(s) having passed here a few hours ago.
3. Echoing sounds or distant silhouette/shadow of the creature(s).
4. A burrow, camp, lair, or sleeping lay.
5. A lost item of the creature(s), or remains of prey.
6. The dead body of one of the creatures. Others might be close.

Fennec Fox
A fennec fox (Fox – 5th Edition SRD) is visible for a moment, before disappearing into a crack in the canyon wall. It can be followed with a DC 13 Survival check. However, Medium-sized creatures have disadvantage on these checks while squeezing through the crack. Following the fox discovers a hidden watering hole and safe resting place. A DC 15 Animal Handling check befriends the fox.