Random Wilderness Encounters... do you...?

[Ravellion]

I post this because I started a new campaign yesterday, and I use status quo Wilderness Encounters (ie. If PC's move through cold hills, they will encounter stuff such as Ettins, Frost Giants, Orcs, and they might just even encounter a white Dragon, however unlikely). How do you feel about those... I just can't believe that catered encounters would be helping verisimultitude.

Rav

 

[Holy Bovine]

Well lookee there I'm the first voter.

I use a mix of the first two choices (thus I picked the 3rd choice )

I try to have at least a 1/2 dozen detailed encounters for each major type of terrain the PCs will travel through (ie encounters appropriate to the PCs level in forests, hills, artic etc.). If some don't get used (and most don't) I 'recycle' them with tougher/more numerous monsters to make it harder.

I also have set areas that are inhabited by assorted nasties that if the PCs go to they will have to face. I try to give the PCs warnings ("Ahh, I wouldn't go into them hills - no one's come out of there alive in almost 10 years" etc) about the dangers they may face (if its an active race that raids & such that lives there they would certainly hear rumours around town). But if the PC s ignore the warnings or decide they want to try and tackle a really tough challenge I certainly am not going to stop them.

In my current campaign the PCs haven't had as much free reign as I normally allow - I'm trying a different style and it has worked well enough and the players certainly enjoy it but I think I will return to a much more freeform style in the future.

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I don't really cater to my PCs, but I wouldn't throw TOO much at them. Then again, I don't even really use random wilderness encounters...hmmm

*Adds number 24,365 to his how-to improve his DMing checklist*

 

[Ravellion]

In today's example, 4 1st level PCs encountered an ettin. They were very lucky to stay alive (+12/+12/+7/+7 isn't exactly easy for 1st level PCs to survive), and I, as soon as I rolled it from my custom chart, decided that it would kill one PC and leave, or if it took some punishment, it might leave (after making a morale check) after taking about one third of his hit points in damage and being greased, he decided to leave.

Now, three players were fine with this, one player really didn't like the aspect of getting killed in a random encounter.

Now, in some way, he does have a point. My dungeons arecatered to the party level, so why shouldn't the randome encounters be.

Just something that's on my mind, and I hope to get a discussion going.

Rav

 

[Tonguez]

3 Like Holy Bovine

I have set areas that are inhabited by assorted nasties that if the PCs go to they might have to face

these may or may not affect the current adventure (if any) but do fit within the ecology and ubrplot somewhere.

I also have a variety of possible encounters planned for those areas and can pick and choose amongst them

example a group of 1st level PCs come across a area of geothermal geysers and hotpools.
roll 1d4

1 1d6 Goblins emerge from the trees on the opposite side of the geyser (just random no impact on the adventure outcome)

2 Looking around PC's see 4 ropes going into one of the hotpools IF they pull up the ropes they will find food being cooked, the third rope is tied around the neck of a (almost cooked) goblin in 4d6 minutes encounter 3 will occur) NB the PCs also now know something that eats goblins is in the area

3 an ogre and 1d6 goblin slaves come down to collect the food cooking in the hotpool

4 No Encounter

with encounter 3 I have the option of running the ogre normally or running the old emaciated slave ogre who has minimum stats (Str barely above the level of the PCs, Int 3) and half or less HP. I can also drop the goblins entirely if neccesary.

If this needs extending then I know that the ogre was a slave to a Ogre family which lives further up the mountain and can improvise from there...
Also one particular member of this family will have a impact in a future adventure

I do this kind of things with all my 'settings' that don't have specific plot encounters in them.

eg just over the next valley from the above geyser area is a lagoon in which Sahuagin live my Lvl 1 PCs however didn't encounter anything there other than a small shark (I left the Sahuagin at sea until the PCs gain levels)

 

[LostSoul]

33 an ogre and 1d6 goblin slaves come down to collect the food cooking in the hotpool

I think this is a great idea. I don't believe that you should ignore the monsters that live in an area to cater to a PC's level; but at the same time, you don't want to kill PCs on a random encounter.

(I don't use random encounters at all, actually. I plan them all out and the PCs either have the encounter or not. If they don't, I save that encounter for later.)

Don't give the monsters any reason to fight the PCs.
-Maybe the PCs should encounter an Ettin loudly chewing away on a horse. When he's done, the PCs can check out the carnage and maybe bring news of an NPC's death to someone.
-Maybe they see a Dragon flying by overhead with a frozen cow in its claws.
-Maybe they come across a dead Frost Giant and many, many sets of tracks - forcing them to wonder "What could kill a Frost Giant?"

That way you're not spoiling the illusion of disbelief, and you're not killing your characters off because of an unlucky die roll.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Mix It Up

I do a bit of both.

First of all, the wilderness regions have very pre-defined ecosystems. They have things that prey on things and native humanoid communities and even things that regularly or occasionally eat a person. If they wander alone, unprotected, in a forest that has Green Dragons, they run the risk of meeting one at any level.

However, any random encouter I roll I expect the PC's to live through. I'll give them some way out. A hint, a clue, a potent NPC guardian, whatever. Also, monsters in a random encounter are a lot less likely to fight to the death. They may get winged, or decide that the PC's are too much hassle, and leave. They think like a predator -- they want an easy meal. If that meal isn't easy, they'll give up the chase, even if they may be able to catch it anyway. And they don't eat unless they're hungry (they don't attack the PC's unless they want something). If worst comes to worst, an NPC may just save the bacon after one or two of them bite the dust, and make them "repay" it. It doesn't work mulituple times, but it'll work once or twice. The rest of the time, they get other "outs."

...I only give them truly fatal encounters after they've slogged through minions, anyway. "Boss" battles of a higher CR than them.

 

[DMaple]

I said mix.

I suit the monsters to the terrain, then select something that maybe easy or hard or near impossible.

I rarely roll for 'random' encounters. If I need an encounter to add to the pace of the game then I introduce one. If the party are wasted and just looking for shelter I don't, well sometimes I do but I give them an opportunity to avoid it (by stealth or other methods).

 

[SableWyvern]

I went for the "mixed" response.

Generally, my random encounters will be fixed to be challenging but not likely to kill. They will almost never be easy, but that's because my random encounters are generally well spaced, and if easy they just become Wandering XP.

However, I have no fear of placing stuff completely out of the players league in their path, so occasionally a super-tough random encounter may occur. Almost all of my "random" encounters are pre-rolled, however, so I'll have a chance to think about a situation and prepare some "outs" for the party ... whether they take them or not is antoher issue.

On encounter strength in general, my party at the moment (6 x lvl 3 PCs) is wandering through a forest occupied by a dormant, adult, green dragon; a wierd magical tower that currently they couldn't feasibly survive past the fifth level (if that far); an orc tribe they'd be hard pressed to defeat; an underdark entrance where they almost suffered 4 out of 6 deaths because a couple of them didn't believe the deurgar could call up a 100 friends (in the end it just cost them 200gp and some dignity to leave with their lives); and the crypt they're looking for, which would probably kill them at the moment.

They know there's supposedly a dragon about somewhere, but they didn't gather a lot of info before setting forth, so it was a joy to see the reaction of some of the more experienced players when they found out they were adventuring on the doorstep of the underdark.

However, if they play it smart, by the time they find the crypt they'll be capable of finding what they need inside and they'll have a lot of places to come back to later.

Let 'em be heroes, I say, but keep them on their toes and keep them aware that its a big, bad world out there.

 

[birdboy2000]

I warn the PCs ahead of time where they are going. The standard adventure won't have them encounter ultra-powerful creatures that often, but if they go on that route they will be facing those creatures.