Survival vs. Nightly encounters in the wilderness?

[Jon_Dahl]

How do you feel about connecting the chance of random encounters with the character's ability to survive in the wild?

In my current game I let players roll a survival roll when they are trying to find a good place to sleep. Usually it's only DC 10, but I never tell them the exact DC; It disencourages the use of "take 10"-rule. But I'm flexible, so if a player makes a good argument why he should be aware of the exact DC, I will tell it to him/her. 3.5 rules rule out "fumbles" (natural 1s) with skill checks, but a low survival modifier combined with natural 1 almost always brings you some unwelcomed nightly visitors.

I think it's good to give importance to PC skills instead of relying on random numbers. Aragorn in the wild won't break a sweat but Gimli would set himself as an easy target.

So how random should random encounters be?

 

[Omegaxicor]

It depends on the area, heavily infested areas have more enemies but I like the idea I am tempted to implement something similar in my campaign

 

[the Jester]

I allow Survival (or Wilderness Lore, or Nature, or... depending on the system) checks to find a good hidden campsite and thereby reduce the odds of a random encounter actually finding the pcs.

 

[Greenfield]

I usually ask for a Survival roll when they're picking a campsite, and I ask what they're looking for: Defensible, good view of the surroundings, hidden, easy access to water, etc.

My group knows that easy access to water may well mean a lot of wildlife coming by at night looking for a drink. It's really hard to find a defensible campsite that's also convenient.

It's really hard to find a hidden campsite that also offers a good view of the surroundings.

Depending on what they're looking for, and how well they roll, they'll have greater or lesser chances of being surprised by a night time visitor.

Our current group has a Ranger/Druid who routinely rolls in the high 20s to low 30s on that roll, so they pretty much get what they want every time.