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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6668016" data-attributes="member: 4937">What you describe is a poor random encounter generator combined with a DM that doesn't know how to use a random encounter generator.First of all, no random encounter generator in my opinion is complete without 'Roll Again Twice'.  Roll Again Twice is really interesting because it means you encounter some sort of weird alliance or walk into the middle of some sort of preexisting encounter.   For example, you might get 'Orcs' + 'Stegosauruses'.   So the devious DM will decide, "Is this an encounter with a group of Orcs mounted on tame Stegosauruses, or is this a group of Orcs that have encountered a Stegosaurus?"  In the former case, now you've got this weird nutty unexpected fight, and in the later case the PC's have the option to side with one side or the other and potentially make unexpected allies.  Secondly, even as far back as 1e, an encounter with orcs didn't necessarily mean a group of homogenous orcs.  The 1e Monster Manual made clear that if you encountered a warband, there would be a variety of leaders and in some cases supporting spell casters.   A properly designed random encounter table entry for orcs would in the details section read like:Orcs: One orc will be a 2nd level fighter for every 8 orcs encountered.  If at least 40 orcs are encountered, there will be a Subchief that is a fighter of level 1d4+2, who will have a body guard of 2d4 2nd level Barbarians.  There is a 10% chance that the entire group is mounted on light warhorses.  There is a 40% chance that the warband will be accompanied by 2d4 tame wild boars ('war pigs').  In any group, there is a 30% chance of a scout who is a Ranger of level 1d4.  Also in any group there is a 20% chance of a priest of level 1d6, and a separate 30% chance of a witch doctor that is an adept of level 2d4.   If either priest or witch doctor is of the maximum level, they will have 1d4 acolytes that are 1st level members of the appropriate class.   The remainder, if any, will be 1st level warriors.Finally, a DM shouldn't feel hidebound to his random encounter generator and should also keep in mind that its purpose is to provoke innovation.  A DM should always fudge the roll if the result would be boring, or would derail the session, or if he can think of no way to make the result fair.  However, a DM should always be looking for creative ways to make the suggestion interesting.   If the suggestion is, "Mature Adult Red Dragon", and the party is but 8th level, then perhaps the encounter is with a Dragon that is recently fed and which feels a desire for conversation, and as such is not immediately hostile turning a combat encounter into an uncomfortable RPG opportunity (and a tax deduction, as the Dragon insists on some present in exchange or bribe), or perhaps it is with a high flying Dragon that really has no interest in the party and merely flies over head at a distance provoking panic.   Or perhaps the entry shouldnt' have been on the table in the first place.</blockquote>

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