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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 9475135" data-attributes="member: 20323">You are probably accustomed to the typical D&D random encounters approach - day by day, checking, rolling, playing it out, etc. These encounters can serve to build suspense, foreshadow things at the destination, expend resources, dispense clues/treasures relevant to the destination, or simply evoke a theme/feel.I have a mythic desert for a 15th level game – this is soon to enter playtesting, but it's ultimately for publication (so a little different from improving it for home game). By high levels, players are probably well-versed in the usual random encounter procedure... and I have an idea to flip the script that's pretty wild. I could use some conversation to work through its shortcomings and figure out if the "juice is worth the squeeze."Tl;dr What if... the region being traveled through saps memories so that players roll for the outcomes of the encounters their PCs had, but only have vague impressions of what happened?[SPOILER=Detailed Writeup]The deeper one travels into the mythic desert known as the Great Anvil, the more one’s memory and perception of time blur like sandstorms rolling across the dunes. Rather than rolling for random encounters and playing through each day for 240 miles – a procedure players who’ve advanced PCs to 15th level will be plenty familiar with – this journey begins with the PCs reaching their destination (the Citadel), haunted by vague impressions of what transpired, and perhaps changed in some way. During the course of exploring the Citadel, they can uncover memories of what transpired in the Great Anvil by interacting with flashback triggers, utilizing genie wishes, or magically restoring their memories.Instead, have the party describe their approach to traversing the desert, such as: “The druid casts wind walk, and if we need to stop to rest, the ranger’s hawk scouts out a safe spout, where the wizard erects a Leomund’s tiny hut.” Use their approach to determine how many days their journey takes, and have the players roll 1d20 per day. Whether the outcome of the roll has any impact on a party will depend on their method of travel, what sort of magic (if any) they use to rest, and their unique capabilities. For the purposes of these forgotten “encounters”, keep a running tally of damage each PC has suffered – they’ll surely have the magic to heal it all, but the magical desert has a long memory. A PC who sustains damage over the course of the journey equal to their hit points becomes haunted by desert phantoms.It’s entirely possible the party will use magic to reach the Citadel, circumventing the desert…for now. Later during the adventure, it’s possible for the PCs to be tricked or teleported into the desert, or even to venture into the Great Anvil of their own accord.[/SPOILER]</blockquote>

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