D&D 5E Random Encounters in 5E

[CleverNickName]

Yes, they are in the books, but they are 100% optional and don't interact with anything on the character sheets or the monster stat blocks. They are only a tool to aide the DM in deciding what situations to throw at the PCs.

Ah, okay. Still...optional rules are rules nonetheless.

I have no problem with keeping them optional. But they were completely missing from 3.x, apart from a couple of third-party adventure modules. We had a list of monsters organized by CR, and it was definitely useful. But as others have said, it is nice to have a regional list as well. Add a blurb or two on how to create your own lists and how to use them in the game, and I would be a happy nerd.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

I've gone back and forth about REs in my years of gaming. When they're good, they're good, when they're lame, they're lame.

One thing that I think they can do very, very well, is create distance and a feeling of place. I had a DM many, many years ago, and he mostly DMed from a random encounter table he build for his game -- a very involved table with plot and story events built into it on multiple plotlines. But the one impression I remember most from playing his game, as a player, was looking at the map of his world, and a place we needed to reach from where we were, counting up the days of travel it would take to get there, and how many random encounter rolls that would mean.

The game's story moved kinda slowly, which was a drag, but you sure felt the distances. So, I think there's room in the game for REs, but I think they need to be used sparingly and used well.

-rg

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Just to pimp my own post, I threw this up the other day to present an alternative to simple random encounters -- using. It's probably a terrible idea...

http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4t...-sounds-dumb-but-its-working.html#post5826708

-rg

 

[kitsune9]

Yes, I'm very much into random encounters.

 

[OnlineDM]

I don't like random encounters. Of course, I've really only played 4e, and tossing in an extra, random, meaningless fight is a recipe for unhappiness as the game grinds to a halt during combat.

If I were playing an edition where a random combat might be done in 10-15 minutes, then I might be more amenable to having random encounters.

Also, I should note that I don't mean "every encounter should be precisely scripted." I'm definitely a fan of having "drop-in encounters" that will probably occur sometime over the course of an adventure, but it's up to the DM to decide the most appropriate time for that wandering band of orcs to come across the party. It's still planned in advance, but the particular timing and location of the encounter is very flexible.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

I'm definitely a fan of having "drop-in encounters" that will probably occur sometime over the course of an adventure, but it's up to the DM to decide the most appropriate time for that wandering band of orcs to come across the party. It's still planned in advance, but the particular timing and location of the encounter is very flexible.

As a 4e DM I'm with you on the desire to not waste a "whole encounter" (probably an hour or more) on something that, because it's "random", isn't going to advance the story. At the same time, part of me misses that feeling of chance playing a part -- will the PCs have an encounter overnight? Will they manage to finally get an extended rest even though they're sleeping in the open in wild territory?

If you could have a happy medium, maybe -- some sort of random chance of a prepared encounter -- that might work to scratch that itch. I've tried that. I've tried using skill challenges to represent travel (to convey the feeling of distance and the flavor of a part of the setting), and that kinda works, but the PCs seem to appreciate the scenery best when they're splattering it with gore. Go figure.

-rg

 

[billd91]

I like random encounters. But I can see why they don't work for games like 4e. Games with long combats aren't amenable to random encounters. So find a way for combat encounters to not be slog fests and I think random encounters will work great.

 

[Dice4Hire]

If combats are fast enough, and it is hard enough to heal (or regain other resources) between fights, I am all for random encounters.

I did not like random encounters in 4E as fights took too long and it was hard to get the players to expend enough resources to make the encounter worth the time.

In my Labyrinth Lord game, random encounters are working well.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Random is good. Yes please.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Seriously, what is a "random encounter"? I don't think I've ever seen such a thing in over 10 years of gaming.

Okay, I'm aware of the concept and I like the verisimilitude it implies, but it just seems completely impractical and time-consuming. I would never use any rules like that.