CapnZapp
Legend
If you follow the random tables precisely, you get one or maybe two encounters per day.
If these encounters are easy or medium, the party is going to rip through them since there is never more than two encounters tops per day. On the other hand, if encounters are challenging (and fun), that would destroy any notion of believability that the relatively small NPC parties you meet have any chance of surviving themselves - the Underdark might be dangerous, but a bunch of Scouts can't still be alive if the Underdark serves up a level 6 Deadly threat every day on average...
In short: have any of you considered creating, say, five encounters and then having the party deal with them (fight them, avoid them, etc) all in the same day?
Preferably linked or themed encounters?
Example: A side path covered in spider webbing. After killing a couple of spiders they can find a dying NPC telling them there are more people captured by the spiders in the side passage. Then perhaps a second spider combat before they reach a larger chamber where they see various monsters and can choose which ones to confront and which ones to try passing by. Finally, the main spider colony with at least one NPC still alive that can be saved.
Etc.
Main thing about this: it isn't very strange if they previously met a a scouting party or smallish caravan that must have passed this point, since they could have fought off the first set of spiders and then chose to not investigate further and instead moved on.
If these encounters are easy or medium, the party is going to rip through them since there is never more than two encounters tops per day. On the other hand, if encounters are challenging (and fun), that would destroy any notion of believability that the relatively small NPC parties you meet have any chance of surviving themselves - the Underdark might be dangerous, but a bunch of Scouts can't still be alive if the Underdark serves up a level 6 Deadly threat every day on average...
In short: have any of you considered creating, say, five encounters and then having the party deal with them (fight them, avoid them, etc) all in the same day?
Preferably linked or themed encounters?
Example: A side path covered in spider webbing. After killing a couple of spiders they can find a dying NPC telling them there are more people captured by the spiders in the side passage. Then perhaps a second spider combat before they reach a larger chamber where they see various monsters and can choose which ones to confront and which ones to try passing by. Finally, the main spider colony with at least one NPC still alive that can be saved.
Etc.
Main thing about this: it isn't very strange if they previously met a a scouting party or smallish caravan that must have passed this point, since they could have fought off the first set of spiders and then chose to not investigate further and instead moved on.