Nentir Vale Random Encounter Charts - WIP

[Entropi]

The next post will be my work-in-progress on the Nentir Vale random encounter tables. You will notice they are not yet tables - simply lists. However, this might still be helpful to somebody.

Every monster in the Monster Manual is on the list below. If an entry has a dash, the left-hand side is the monster entry in which it is found in the MM, and the right-hand side is the specific monster from that entry. No dash means any specific monster from that entry may be chosen.

The numeric range in parenthesis beside each area is the approximate level range of that area. PCs should only be given Patrol missions (see later post) in areas appropriate for their level.

Feywild, Shadowfell, Astral Sea, Elemental Chaos, and Underdark have their own sections.

Stuff that didn't fit elsewhere is at the bottom in the Other list, along with notes I made to myself about the origin/location of such monsters.

Some regions do not appear on the map in the DMG. I made up several regions in order to properly divide up the map into regions. The ones I made up have their boundaries described in the text, and are denoted by an asterisk next to their name.

Regional descriptions from the DMG entries are included for regions that have them. Some regions have descriptions I wrote for my own campaign (use 'em or scrap 'em as you like).

And now for the bad news - I am kind of stuck on converting this data into charts.

I am finding there are not enough monsters to go around. My goal was to give each region it's own flavor WRT random encounters, but there just aren't enough monsters to make a unique list for every region. Some regions only have a handful of entries, and some have too much duplication. I am not happy with the results so far.

BTW, I intend for there to be encounters with civilized races on these charts as well. Lumberjacks in the woods, a clan of halflings in the hills, farmer and cart, mercenaries, road patrols, traveling merchants, etc. More populated regions such as the Heartlands and Harkendale will be weighted towards these types of encounters, while wilderness regions will have almost all monster encounters. That will be integrated later, as well as Special encounters. The stuff below is monsters only, and that is where I've hit a wall.

 

[Entropi]

ASTRAL SEA

Astral Sea
Regional Encounter Table (Any)
Abomination - Astral Stalker
Abomination - Phane
Angel
Githyanki
Marut

BEASTLANDS *
Between the Trade Road and the North Harken Forest
Prides of nomadic Wemic roam the western beastlands, often warring with each other, and with nomadic bands of Satyr. Wemic also inhabit the eastern beastlands, although these Wemic are not nomadic and have adapted to the presence of the civilized races. They sometimes skirmish with the Satyr of the Harken Forest.

Eastern Beastlands
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Behemoth
Griffin - Griffin
Wemic
Human – Bandit
Ogre

Western Beastlands
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Satyr
Wemic
Minotaur
Purple Worm

CAIRNGORM PEAKS

Cairngorm Peaks
Regional Encounter Table (21-25)
Dragon, Blue Dragon
Dragonspawn – Bluespawn Godslayer
Giant – Storm Giant
Giant – Storm Titan
Roc – Thunder Hawk
Wyvern – Fell Wyvern

CLOAK WOOD

Cloak Wood
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Beetle – Tangler Beetle
Drake – Pseudodragon*
Drake – Spitting Drake*
Ettercap
Gnoll
Kobold
Snake – Crush Grip Constrictor
Spider – Death Jump Spider
Vine Horror
Wolf – Dire Wolf
Wolf – Gray Wolf
* Chance of Rage Drake present

DAWNFORGE MOUNTAINS

Dawnforge Mountains
Regional Encounter Table (16-20)
Azer
Dragon, Red Dragon
Giant – Fire Giant
Giant – Fire Titan
Orc

DEADLANDS*
Downs east of the Old Hills, extending to Nenlast

Deadlands
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Basilisk - Venom-Eye Basilisk
Griffin – Griffin
Harpy
Manticore
Ogre
Stirge – Dire Stirge
Troll

ELEMENTAL CHAOS

Elemental Chaos
Regional Encounter Table (Any)
Abomination – Blood Fiend
Archon
Efreet
Elemental
Githzerai
Griffin – Rimefire
Hound - Hell Hound
Hydra – Primortial Hydra
Magma Beast
Naga – Primortial Naga
Roc – Phoenix
Roc – Thunder Hawk
Salamander
Slaad
Snake – Flame Snake
Spider – Demon Web

FASTORMEL FLATS*
Plains around the Ruins of Fastormel

Fastormel Flats
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Gorgon
Quickling
Scorpion – Hell Stinger

FEYWILD

Feywild
Regional Encounter Table (Any)
Banshrae
Choker – Feygrove Choker
Cyclops
Displacer Beast
Eladrin
Fomorian
Hag
Harpy
Hound – Wild Hunt Hound
Lamia
Panther – Fey Panther
Quickling
Unicorn

GARDMORE PLAINS*
North to Lake Wintermist and the Winterbole Forest
West to the Gardbury Downs
East to the Winter River
South to the Kings Road

Gardmore Plains
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Griffin – Griffin
Hound – Shadow Hound
Ogre
Oni
Troll
Worg

GARDBURY DOWNS

Gardbury Downs
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Griffin – Griffin
Hound – Shadow Hound
Manticore
Ogre
Wyvern

GRAY DOWNS

Gray Downs
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Chimera
Ettin
Scorpion – Hell Stinger

GRAY PLAINS*
North to the Gray Downs
West to the Winter River
East to the Nentir River

Gray Plains
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Griffin – Griffin
Ogre
Stirge – Dire Stirge

HAMMER HILLS*

Hammer Hills
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Basilisk - Stone-Eye Basilisk
Dragonspawn – Redspawn Firebelcher
Dwarf
Galeb Duhr – Rockcaller
Giant – Hill Giant
Scorpion – Hell Stinger

HARKENDALE*
The plains around Harkenwold, including all the hamlets, farms, and thorps just inside the bordering woods. These small communities have banded together for mutual protection and prosperity, and are largely self-reliant, dependant only on trade with each other. This is the second most populated area in the Heartlands.

Harkendale
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Halfling

HARKEN FOREST
This large woodland stretches from the Nentir River to the mountains and extends for miles to the south. It separates the Nentir Vale from the more populous coastal towns of the south. A strong goblin keep called Daggerburg lies somewhere in the southwest reaches, not too far from Kalton Manor; the goblins sometimes raid the river-traffic moving along the Nentir, or send small parties of marauders to Harkenwold’s borders. An elf tribe known as the Woodsinger Clan roams the eastern portions of the forest. They occasionally trade with the humans of Harkendale and keep an eye on travelers along the old King’s Road. They have a long-standing feud with the Daggerburg goblins, and the goblins keep to the western parts of the forest to avoid swift and deadly elven arrows. However, the goblins are growing more numerous and have become bolder in recent months.

North Harken Forest
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Displacer Beast
Gnome
Harpy
Satyr
Snake – Crush Grip Constrictor
Vine Horror – Spell Feind

West Harken Forest
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Drake – Needlefang Drake Swarm
Goblin
Spider – Death Jump

East Harken Forest
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Drake – Needlefang Drake Swarm
Elf
Gnome
Spider – Death Jump

HEARTLANDS*
Plains to the northwest, north, and east of Fallcrest, including the Moon Hills and Fallcrest itself
This is the most populated region of the Nentir Vale, and the center of it's regrowth. There are a number of tiny rural communities that manage to survive here, although they are in constant peril from kobold, goblin, hobgoblin, gnoll and other humanoid raiders, as well as bandits and other more unsavory monsters. There is little to no central authority in the rural Heartlands, and patrols from Fallcrest rarely range past the Moon Hills. A deed system of land ownership is respected within 10 miles of Fallcrest in all directions (which is the breadth of it's control), but outside of that any man may stake his claim.

Heartlands
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Drake – Any (10% chance of Rage Drake being present)
Gnoll
Goblin
Griffin – Hippogriff
Halfling
Human – Bandit
Kobold

IRON FOREST

Iron Forest
Regional Encounter Table (21-25)
Purple Worm – Elder

MANORLANDS*
Plains south of the Moon Hills

Manorlands
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Goblin – Bugbear
Goblin – Hobgoblin
Human – Bandit
Ogre
Stirge – Dire Stirge
Wolf – Dire Wolf

LAKE NEN

Lake Nen
Regional Encounter Table

LAKE WINTERMIST

Lake Wintermist
Regional Encounter Table

MOON HILLS
This area of gently rolling hills is populated by farmers and rural folk surrounding Fallcrest, which lies in the center of the region. Though well populated, the region is not devoid of monsters. Fire beetles infest the area, and kobolds occasionally prowl the area, looking for livestock or other goodies that they can filch. Novice adventurers often begin their careers by patrolling the Moon Hills.

Moon Hills
Regional Encounter Table
Beetle – Fire Beetle
Drake – Spiretop Drake
Drake – Spitting Drake
Kobold
Rat – Dire Rat
Rat – Giant Rat
Scorpion - Stormclaw Scorpion
Stirge

OGREFIST HILLS

Ogrefist Hills
Regional Encounter Table (16-20)
Hag – Death Hag
Purple Worm
*Rakasha ??
Troll – Fell Troll

OLD HILLS
A series of forts dating back to the earliest Nerath settlers, called the Ring forts, dot the tops of these hills.

Old Hills
Regional Encounter Table (1-5)
Gnoll
Goblin – Hobgoblin
Goblin – Bugbear
Griffin – Hippogriff
Human – Bandit
Kobold
Snake – Death Rattle Viper
Wolf – Gray Wolf

RAZOR PLAINS*
North to the Gardbury Downs
South to the Witchlight Fens and the Umbron Forest*
West to the Ogrefist Hills
East to the Cloak Wood and the Witchlight Fens
This inhospitable plain is completely overgrown with head-height razorgrass, sharp enough to cut through chainmail. A simple change of wind can slice a traveler to shreds.

Razor Plains
Regional Encounter Table (16-20)
Bulette – Dire Bulette
Carrion Crawler – Enormous Carrion Crawler
Troll – Fell Troll

SHADOWFELL

Shadowfell
Regional Encounter Table (Any)
Bat - Shadowhunter
Beetle – Rot Scarab Beetle
Bodak
Dark One
Devourer
Giant – Death Giant
Shadar-Kai
Hound – Shadow Hound
Nightmare
Night Walker
Panther – Spectral
Snake – Shadow Snake
Sorrow Sworn
Wyvern – Fell Wyvern

SILVER MOORS*
Small plain to the southeast of Lake Wintermist, south of the Winterbole Forest
Constantly shrouded in a silvery fog, these moors are said to be haunted. The locals give them a wide berth.

Silver Moors
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Crocodile – Feymire Crocodile
Ghost - Banshee
Hag – Night Hag - U
Hydra – Fen Hydra
Skeleton – Tomb Guardian

STONEMARCH
A rugged land of stony hills and deep gorges cut by white-rushing rivers, the Stonemarch is home to tribes of dangerous humanoids and giants. Orcs, ogres, giants, and trolls haunt the farther reaches of these barren lands. Fortunately for the residents of the vale, the monsters rarely come east over the Cairngorm Peaks. A great orc-warren known as the Fanged Jaws of Kulkoszar lies in the northern part of the wasteland; here the chief of the Bloodspear tribe rules over hundreds of the fierce warriors.

Stonemarch
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Basilisk - Stone-Eye Basilisk
Chimera
Giant – Hill Giant
Giant – Earth Titan
Manticore
Ogre
Orc
Roc – Roc
Troll – War Troll
Wyvern

TALONWOOD*
Patch of woods west of the Old Hills

Talonwood
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Lamia
Owlbear
Bear - Dire Bear
Scorpion – Hellstinger
Boar – Thuderfury
Manticore

UNDERDARK

Underdark
Regional Encounter Table (Any)
Aboleth
Balhannoth
Bear - Cave Bear
Beholder
Carrion Crawler – Carrion Crawler
Choker – Cavern Choker
Chuul
Destrachan
Displacer Beast
Dragonspawn – Blackspawn Gloomwing
Drider
Drow
Foulspawn
Gargoyle
Gibbering Beast
Grell
Grick
Grimlock
Hook Horror
Hydra
Kruthik
Kuo-Toa
Medusae
Mind Flayer
Minotaur
Ooze
Otyugh
Purple Worn
Roper
Spider – Blade Spider
Sword Wing
Troglodyte
Umber Hulk

WINTERBOLE FOREST

West Winterbole Forest
Regional Encounter Table (11-15)
Bear - Dire Bear
Choker – Feygrove Choker
Ettin
Owlbear – Winter Claw
Cyclops
Vine Horror – Strangler


East Winterbole Forest
Regional Encounter Table (6-10)
Bear - Dire Bear
Dryad
Hag – Howling
Harpy
Ogre
Owlbear – Owlbear
Snake – Crush Grip Constrictor
Spider – Blood Web Swarm

Central Winterbole Forest
Regional Encounter Table (16-20)
Cyclops
Treant
Worg – Guulvorg

WITCHLIGHT FENS

Outer Witchlight Fens
Regional Encounter Table (16-20)
Beholder – Eye Tyrant
Hag – Death Hag
Hydra – Mordant Hydra
Yuan-Ti

Deep Witchlight Fens
Regional Encounter Table (21-25)
Abomination - Blood Fiend (unique)
Dragon or Dracolich (unique)

OTHER
Abomination – Atropal Roams the planes
Abomination - Tarrasque Earth's Core
Angel Any Plane
Archon Any Plane
Bats Any wilderness – Night Only
Battlebriar Construct plants - military
Beetle – Rot Scarab Beetle Shadowfell and places touched by death
Berbalang Dunno
Boar Any wilderness
Boneclaw Construct undead hunter/killers
Cambion Half-devil, some raised in natural world, some raised in the Hells
Colossus Construct made by demon lords/divine exarchs
Crocodile – Visejaw Along rivers
Death Knight
Demon The Abyss
Devil The Nine Hells
Doppleganger Any, usually towns or cities
Dracolich Unique
Dragon Scatter several uniques around
Dragonborn Integrated into human society
Drake – Spiretop Drake Cities, towns, populated areas
Drake – Guard Drake Commonly used by rural folk as pets
Drake – Needlefang Drake Rarely used as pets by rich nobles
Eidolon Clerical construct – can turn on creator
Eladrin Not indigenous
Flameskull Constructs used as guardians
Galeb Duhr - Earthbreaker No low level mountains to put them in
Gargoyles Summoned guardians – cities
Ghost Haunts place of death
Ghoul Undead
Ghoul – Abyssal The Abyss
Golem Construct guardian
Guardian Construct
Hag – Bog Hag Low level Swamp
Helmed Horror Elemental Construct
Homunculus Construct Guardian
Horse Mounts
Hound – Hell Hound Pets for Fire Giants
Hound – Shadow Hound Pets for Shadar-Kai
Hound – Wild Hunt Hound Guard Dogs for Eladrin Nobles
Hyena – CackleFeind The Abyss – Yeenoghu
Larva Mage
Lich
Lizard Folk Along Rivers/Marshes/Lakes
Lycanthrope
Mummy Undead
Naga Immortal ,Work with Yuan-Ti
Otyugh Sewers
Rakasha
Rats All locations
Rot Harbinger Undead
Sahaugin Salt Water
Shambling Mound Low level Swamp (6-10)
Shifter Possible PC Race?
Skeleton Undead
Skull Lord Undead
Snake – Shadow Revered by Yuan-Ti
Sorrow Sworn Grim Reaper
Spectre Undead
Sphinx Immortal
Spider – Demon Web With Lolth in Pits
Vampire Undead
War Forged Possible PC Race?
Wight Undead
Wraith Undead
Zombie Undead

 

[Entropi]

Other stuff that might be of interest:

[B]Encounter Die Chart[/B]
Time of Day	           Encounter Die
Day		              1d8
Night 		              1d6
Night (with campfire)    1d4
[B]

[B]Encounter Interval Chart[/B]
Terrain 		Interval	
Hills		          4 Hours	
Mountains	      3 Hours
Plains		         6 Hours
Road*		       8 Hours
Swamp		     1 Hour
Woods		      2 Hours
   * Only when traveling – when camping use surrounding terrain

Make one encounter roll every interval (or fraction thereof).
A die roll of 1 indicates an encounter.  A die roll of 2 indicates an encounter if the party is Patrolling.


[B]Patrol[/B]
The party will sometimes gain quests to patrol an area.  They may also sign on with the Fallcrest Militia and ride daily patrols in the regions bordering the Heartlands.  The party is also considered to on patrol whenever they are actively seeking wilderness encounters.  
Patrolling parties travel at half their normal overland movement speed (their tactical movement is unaffected) and have an increased chance of random encounters.
The party is never considered to be on patrol while camping.

[B]Campfires[/B]
The party must decide whether or not they will build a fire when camping in the wild.  Building a fire will increase the chance of an encounter occurring.  However, many non-intelligent monsters fear fire and will keep their distance from it.  Also, the fire will provide light in case the party is attacked (which could be important for human characters).  So a campfire has advantages and disadvantages that must be considered.

[B]Wilderness Random Encounter Step-By-Step[/B]

1.  Consult the campaign map and determine which region the party occupies.  Roll on the Regional Encounter Table for that region.

2.  Roll on subtables as directed until the encounter is determined.

3.  Determine if the monsters are eligible for Ambush.  Monsters are eligible for ambush if they have a Stealth skill modifier of +5 or higher, and are intending to ambush.
If so, make a Stealth check for the monsters opposed by the Passive Perception of the party.  Use the Stealth modifier of the least stealthy member of the group (a monster/group that is 10 squares or more away from the other monsters may make a separate Stealth check).  If the Stealth check is successful, the monsters achieve surprise.  Proceed directly with step 

4.  Make an opposed Perception check.  Each side uses the highest modifier among it's members.  If either side beats the other by more than 10, that side achieves surprise.

5.  Determine encounter distance based on the result of the opposed check in step 4.

6.  Lay out tactical map configuration.

7.  Designate a set-up zone for the PCs.  PCs set up their minis.

8.  Determine set-up zones for the monsters as necessary.  Set up monsters.

9.  Conduct surprise round or roll for initiative.




[B]Encounter Distance Table[/B]
Opposed PER	                   Hills &	   Woods &	Swamps &
Check Result		            Plains	    Mntns 	  Deep Wds
				
Monsters achieved surprise	8-10	       2-3	        1
Monsters won by 6-10	        9-11	       3-4	        2
Monsters won by 1-5		12-14	       5-6	        3
PCs won by 1-5		           15-17	 7-8	          4
PCs won by 6-10		          18-20	         9-10	         5
PCs achieved surprise		   21-23	11-12	         6

Road Encounters
Roll on Terrain Table of surrounding terrain
Traveling Merchant
Militia Riders
Humanoid Ambush
Bandit Ambush
Farmer and Cart
Small Caravan
Nobles
Hunting Party
Mercenaries
Adventurers
Whitecloaks
Pilgrimage
Flyer Table
Traveler
Tradesmen
NPC	

There is a chance of militia intervention in any monster encounter on a patrolled road.  Roll for intervention at the start of combat.  If it occurs, 2d4 militia minions and a captain arrive after 1d3 rounds. and assist the PCs in their battle as necessary.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Very cool!

 

[egarvue]

Excellent work! I was going do this myself, but you've already got the ball rolling. I think it is possible to give each area (zone, to crib from MMORPG language) its own flavor. I know from another thread/idea that a person ran a whole campaign like this, where the further you got from towns, the harder the encounters would get. Rather than doing every monster in the book though, I was planning on making the Nentir Vale a Heroic-tier area only, where I would really only populate it with lvls 1-15 monsters.

Once again, thanks for all the hard work on this.

 

[Quickleaf]

Nice job!
The only question I have is about your wilderness vs. road encounter time intervals. What about a patrolled area where the PCs leave the road in order to reduce the frequency of encounters?

 

[Entropi]

Well, the road already has the longest interval between checks, and thus the lowest frequency of encounters. The party would not be reducing encounter frequency by travelling off-road.

I make the assumption that there would be several more encounters with civilized peoples on the road than what is actually rolled - but that these encounters are mundane and do not result in any interaction beyond a nod and a greeting.

If you wanted the road to feel 'busier', the interval could be reduced.