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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Philotomy Jurament" data-source="post: 4685954" data-attributes="member: 20854">Both (with the creativity part not being limited to the DM).  And you needn't be rolling every 3 turns.  The frequency of random encounters isn't set in stone, it's set as appropriate to the situation and the needs of the game.  You roll differently in the wilderness, for example.  Different dungeons (or even areas within a dungeon) might have different random encounter frequency.  The same principle applies to cities: fit the frequency to the needs of the situation.An encounter needn't be anything elaborate, only the opportunity for interaction.  An encounter with a "goodwife" may be nothing more than bumping into or being greeted by the woman ("Good day!")  If the PCs simply nod and move on, that's the end of it.  If they choose to interact, that's up to them.  PCs surprise you, and sometimes the questions they ask or the actions they take -- even with "mundane people" -- can be springboards for creativity and fun.  I know that I've often taken an idea suggested by a PC's questions and run with it.  "Making up stuff" is one of the fun parts of the game. Random encounter tables are not a straightjacket or a cast-in-stone decree of what must be, they're a springboard for creativity.  A tool.  You can use them for on-the-fly encounters.  You can roll up several in advance, creating mini-situations to spring when appropriate.  You can discard rolls you don't feel appropriate, or can't think of how to incorporate.If it did, I suspect you'd be chuckling over how AD&D1 is so precise with such detail, and how every beggar in the city has exactly a 5% chance of knowing something of interest to the PCs. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/ponder.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":hmm:" title="Hmmm    :hmm:" data-shortname=":hmm:" />("Knowing information" is vague because that suits the needs of the DM.  It can be adjusted to fit the situation.)</blockquote>

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