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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7006263" data-attributes="member: 20323">[MENTION=6812740]Brotton Goodfellow[/MENTION] You have a mechanical framework that's basically ok. Three thoughts...(1) Why does a faster travel pace increase the likelihood of a random encounter? Shouldn't it just make it more likely you get surprised? For example, imagine 2 horseback riders coming down a trail. One is sauntering along at an normal pace, and seems very approachable by other travelers and perhaps potential target by bandits. The other is galloping along at a fast pace, and others travelers might be inclined to get out of their way while bandits have to assess whether it's worth it to go after someone who's already in "fight or flight" mode. IOW, logic suggests the % chance of a random encounter is the roughly the same regardless of your travel pace.(2) Also, step #1 under random encounter percentages...that doesn't map to my experience of how random encounters work at the table. As DM I don't go "ok, let me confer the map, realize there are enemies in hex 7B, and now adjust the % change of an encounter based on that." Too many steps! When I use random encounters, it usually needs to flow quickly, so I want to roll that dice and implement the results ASAP so as not to keep the players waiting.(3) A 30% base chance of an encounter is equivalent to 15+ on a d20. Whereas the 5th edition DMG suggests a encounter check of 18+ on a d20 as a baseline (15%). Your assumption suggests a wilderness twice as populated as the default assumption of 5th edition. Nothing wrong with this, but it is something to be aware of...especially if you have a party traversing long distances & making checks every 4 hours!</blockquote>

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