D&D 5E How do you think Wandering Monsters fit into modern 5E styles?

[The Green Hermit]

Not a fan of wandering monsters, if they're just meant to be mostly combat. A list of a mix of interesting encounters is much more likely to grab my interest. I remember an old Paizo module that had the best random encounters I'd ever seen, from an ogre searching for his lost wedding ring to weird hexy things hanging from trees. Added a lot of flavour, without just being, a collection of critters looking to make a meal out of the player characters.

I like a mix of combat encounters and non-combat encounters. The latter is more difficult as it takes some thought, although probably more rewarding than just rolling initiative and killing something. But overall I do think random encounters make the world seem more alive. I've adopted something one of my players started talking about one day: "Let's hope the DM doesn't roll a 20 on the random encounter!" Now of course there is no such thing in the rules as a "critical random encounter" but since then I've been doing exactly that, making a natural 20 a more dangerous or adversarial result than it would normally be.

I also like a mix. Of course, my dice always seem to roll up the number I am least excited about. I might steal that d20 rule.

That is why I miss the initial encounter reaction rules we had in the 1ed. Not every encounter had to be a combat. Sometimes, especially in the case of NPC groups, it could led to an alliance, simple friendship, an uneasy truce, a friendly competition as to whom will get to the final vilain first to even a rescue of said group a bit further in the adventure.

I had over the years many recurring NPCs that were originally only random encounters in a dungeons (or more often, in the underdark).

Do you remember what they were? 5e is the only edition I have played, although I have used previous editions for source material.

 

[Helldritch]

I also like a mix. Of course, my dice always seem to roll up the number I am least excited about. I might steal that d20 rule.



Do you remember what they were? 5e is the only edition I have played, although I have used previous editions for source material.

From the DMG 1ed
"Any intelligent creature which can be conversed will react in some way to the character that is speaking. Reaction is determined by rolling percentile dice, adjusting the score for charisma and applicable loyalty adjustment as if the creature was a henchman of the character speaking and the modified score of the percentile dice is compared to the table below
Ajusted die score Reaction
01-05 Violent hostile, immediate attack*
6-25 Hostile, immediate action*
26-45 Uncertain but 55% hostile
46-55 Neutral, uncertain
56-75 Uncertain but 55% positive
76-95 Friendly immediate action
96+ Enthousiastically friendly, immediate accpetance
* Or moral check if appropriate.

The moral check could be treated as: "FLEE! IT IS THE HORRIBLE (insert group's name here)!!!!!!!!"

P.238 of the DMG 1ed
Edit: For some reason, the post posted without me finishing typing... a short cut key?

 

[Doug McCrae]

I'm planning to try AD&D for the first time sometime this year, just to experience random tables as they were meant to be.

Both the 1e and 2e AD&D DMGs advocate ignoring the results of wandering monster rolls on some occasions. 2e prioritises story over die rolls. Wandering monsters are a tool to control pacing and add excitement. 1e uses wandering monster rolls to punish "bad" players (so they shouldn't be used if the players are playing well) and it also wants the game to be fast-paced and exciting (tho perhaps only for "good" players).

2e DMG:

Should You Use Random Encounters?​

​

Variety: Random encounters introduce variety the player characters didn’t expect. The characters, exploring a dungeon, become overconfident if they only encounter monsters in chambers and rooms. Random encounters reminds them that any second could be dangerous, no matter where they are.​

​

DM Challenge: Random encounters make the game more exciting for the DM. The game has to be fun and challenging for him as well as the players. Part of the challenge for the DM is to improvise an encounter on the spot...​

​

Is This Encounter Necessary?​

​

Any time the DM feels his adventure is dragging along or that characters are getting over-confident he can declare a random encounter. Likewise if he feels that a random encounter would hurt the adventure he can ignore one that's called for. Good judgement and story considerations are more important than slavish devotion to procedure.​

1e DMG:

The rules call for wandering monsters, but these can be not only irritating — if not deadly — but the appearance of such can actually spoil a game by interfering with an orderly expedition. You have set​

up an area full of clever tricks and traps, populated it with well-thought-out creature complexes, given clues about it to pique players’ interest, and the group has worked hard to supply themselves with everything by way of information and equipment they will need to face and overcome the imagined perils. They are gathered together and eager to spend an enjoyable evening playing their favorite game, with the expectation of going to a new, strange area and doing their best to triumph. They are willing to accept the hazards of the dice, be it loss of items, wounding, insanity, disease, death, as long as the process is exciting. But lo!, every time you throw the “monster die” a wandering nasty is indicated, and the party’s strength is spent trying to fight their way into the area. Spells expended, battered and wounded, the characters trek back to their base. Expectations have been dashed, and probably interest too, by random chance. Rather than spoil such an otherwise enjoyable time, omit the wandering monsters indicated by the die.​

 

[The Green Hermit]

From the DMG 1ed
"Any intelligent creature which can be conversed will react in some way to the character that is speaking. Reaction is determined by rolling percentile dice, adjusting the score for charisma and applicable loyalty adjustment as if the creature was a henchman of the character speaking and the modified score of the percentile dice is compared to the table below
Ajusted die score Reaction
01-05 Violent hostile, immediate attack*
6-25 Hostile, immediate action*
26-45 Uncertain but 55% hostile
46-55 Neutral, uncertain
56-75 Uncertain but 55% positive
76-95 Friendly immediate action
96+ Enthousiastically friendly, immediate accpetance
* Or moral check if appropriate.

The moral check could be treated as: "FLEE! IT IS THE HORRIBLE (insert group's name here)!!!!!!!!"

P.238 of the DMG 1ed
Edit: For some reason, the post posted without me finishing typing... a short cut key?

I love this. Thanks!

 

[The Green Hermit]

2e DMG:

Should You Use Random Encounters?​

​

Variety: Random encounters introduce variety the player characters didn’t expect. The characters, exploring a dungeon, become overconfident if they only encounter monsters in chambers and rooms. Random encounters reminds them that any second could be dangerous, no matter where they are.​

​

DM Challenge: Random encounters make the game more exciting for the DM. The game has to be fun and challenging for him as well as the players. Part of the challenge for the DM is to improvise an encounter on the spot...​

​

Is This Encounter Necessary?​

​

Any time the DM feels his adventure is dragging along or that characters are getting over-confident he can declare a random encounter. Likewise if he feels that a random encounter would hurt the adventure he can ignore one that's called for. Good judgement and story considerations are more important than slavish devotion to procedure.​

This seems pretty similar to 5e.

 

[Helldritch]

Should You Use Random Encounters?
Is This Encounter Necessary?

​

Any time the DM feels his adventure is dragging along or that characters are getting over-confident he can declare a random encounter. Likewise if he feels that a random encounter would hurt the adventure he can ignore one that's called for. Good judgement and story considerations are more important than slavish devotion to procedure.​

This resumes the intention of random encounters in 1ed and 2ed.

In 5ed it is also a matter of: "Are your player afflicted by the 5MWD syndrome? Yes? Use random encounters to enforce the 6-8 encounters per day and break the cycle of this insidious disease."

A die roll should never overshadow DM's judgement.

 

[MNblockhead]

Am I the only one who much prefers reading the Gygaxian 1e version?

I like the clear-English and better organized rules of later editions, but nobody could make game rules as evocative as Gygax.

Both the 1e and 2e AD&D DMGs advocate ignoring the results of wandering monster rolls on some occasions. 2e prioritises story over die rolls. Wandering monsters are a tool to control pacing and add excitement. 1e uses wandering monster rolls to punish "bad" players (so they shouldn't be used if the players are playing well) and it also wants the game to be fast-paced and exciting (tho perhaps only for "good" players).

2e DMG:

Should You Use Random Encounters?​

​

Variety: Random encounters introduce variety the player characters didn’t expect. The characters, exploring a dungeon, become overconfident if they only encounter monsters in chambers and rooms. Random encounters reminds them that any second could be dangerous, no matter where they are.​

​

DM Challenge: Random encounters make the game more exciting for the DM. The game has to be fun and challenging for him as well as the players. Part of the challenge for the DM is to improvise an encounter on the spot...​

​

Is This Encounter Necessary?​

​

Any time the DM feels his adventure is dragging along or that characters are getting over-confident he can declare a random encounter. Likewise if he feels that a random encounter would hurt the adventure he can ignore one that's called for. Good judgement and story considerations are more important than slavish devotion to procedure.​

1e DMG:

The rules call for wandering monsters, but these can be not only irritating — if not deadly — but the appearance of such can actually spoil a game by interfering with an orderly expedition. You have set​

up an area full of clever tricks and traps, populated it with well-thought-out creature complexes, given clues about it to pique players’ interest, and the group has worked hard to supply themselves with everything by way of information and equipment they will need to face and overcome the imagined perils. They are gathered together and eager to spend an enjoyable evening playing their favorite game, with the expectation of going to a new, strange area and doing their best to triumph. They are willing to accept the hazards of the dice, be it loss of items, wounding, insanity, disease, death, as long as the process is exciting. But lo!, every time you throw the “monster die” a wandering nasty is indicated, and the party’s strength is spent trying to fight their way into the area. Spells expended, battered and wounded, the characters trek back to their base. Expectations have been dashed, and probably interest too, by random chance. Rather than spoil such an otherwise enjoyable time, omit the wandering monsters indicated by the die.​

 

[robus]

I think this thread has conflated two very different aspects of adventuring: wandering monsters vs random encounters. People are rightly noting the aspects they like and dislike of each but it seems useful to say that these two systems serve very different purposes.

Random encounters are intended to bring the world to life, to allow the PCs to happen upon interesting, scary or strange things that enrich their experience of the world.

Wandering monsters, on the other hand, are purely there to raise the stakes. The PCs have entered explicitly hostile territory and every extra moment they spend or action they take could bring trouble in the form of hostile monster.

 

[MNblockhead]

Depends on the campaign. For my first 5e campaign, a home brew, it was mainly a way to add some spice to the exploration pillar and make travel more than a handwave. The encounters would not only be monsters but non-hostile NPCs or just interesting scenes. Maybe they come across the carcass of a gutted animal, a corpse hanging from a noose or spike to a tree, an injured fey being, etc.

Normally I would not write any back story, otherwise I'd be tempted to shoe horn it in, in which case it is just a normal encounter. I would instead write a short evocative snippet that I could improv from developing it, or not, based on the player's reactions.

My second campaign was Curse of Strahd. I pretty much kept to the random encounters as written. I though they were well done.

Currently I'm running Rappan Athuk, and old-school inspired mega-dungeon where random encounters play a major role in creating the flavor of the adventure. In most areas of the dungeon you are rolling every 30 minutes of in-game time for a 20% chance of an encounter. This serves to sap character resources, make resting uncertain, and drive home that this is a dangerous place---keep moving, keep watch, keep quiet, and scout ahead.

Moreover, most (but not all) of said encounters result in combat if not avoided. So, if not careful it can become a slog.

There are times I'll skip a roll just for time management or because it would serve to ruin a suspenseful or otherwise engaging moment, but I try to avoid this. The wandering monsters serve an important role in this campaign and are part of what makes it the massive and massively enjoyable sandbox it is.

What I find helps avoid slogginess the most is that I'm running this as a GP for XP campaign. There is little to no advantage to the characters to fight every wandering monster. Having wandering monsters in a game where you don't get XP for defeating them (or very little, ghouls and zombies don't typically carry loot) completely changes the dynamics making it more cinematic than any railroady, story-driven can.

I find that when I play in Adventurers League games, players never have their characters hide from patrolling antagonists or to try to find their away around some monster they come across, thus missing out of entire tropes common to action and suspense stories.

 

[Helldritch]

Currently I'm running Rappan Athuk, and old-school inspired mega-dungeon where random encounters play a major role in creating the flavor of the adventure. In most areas of the dungeon you are rolling every 30 minutes of in-game time for a 20% chance of an encounter. This serves to sap character resources, make resting uncertain, and drive home that this is a dangerous place---keep moving, keep watch, keep quiet, and scout ahead.

Where do you get that?

Found it on Drive Tru RPG.