Wandering Monsters article 11/13/13

[howandwhy99]

This one is all about Encounters and the concept of Wandering Monsters. Chime in with your comments.

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4wand/20131113

 

[Kinak]

This is a good article and a nice break from revisiting individual monsters.

I think he makes a pretty good case for random encounters as setting tone, discouraging lollygagging, and telling a story.

In my experience, it's also important that not every encounter is about the main story. Unrelated encounters (whether random or preset) help make the story feel more like it's taking place in a broader world.

Granted, if combats take long enough at your table or you just want to get on with the story, it might not be worth the time. But it really adds a lot at my table.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[The Human Target]

Never got em, have never used em, this didn't change my mind.

 

[Weather Report]

Good module.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I don't know nothing about "storytelling," but isn't he basically just describing how wondering monsters have always been?

 

[TerraDave]

Its wandering monster 101, but that makes sense, given the column name and all.

And I guess I also liked it from his example. Lief Liepzig was the accountant for my PCs for years.

 

[MJS]

Wandering monsters are the reason you have night watches, among other things. They are very important to creating the feel of being on an adventure.

I allowed a current player to choose an eagle familiar - wandering monsters are here an important check to the eye in the sky - the beasties on the aerial charts are much nastier than on land, and the familiar is alone. A failed surprise roll is a likely death in that case.

Overland journeys should be perilous, otherwise, where's the fun?

In dungeons, it adds a sense of life and movement. And underscores why resting underground is very dangerous.

What the article barely touches on, though, is that Wandering Monsters are also there to be avoided! Smart parties avoid them, anyway. Not doing so when they have the chance is a good way to get somebody dead.

 

[MarkB]

I've never been particularly keen on random encounters, and haven't used them in any recent game. Whilst I can see how the approach used in the article might be applied usefully to set a tone, I prefer to build fully fleshed-out encounters within a dungeon environment.

I might be more tempted to use random encounters during overland travel, but even there, I tend to think that tailored encounters will do better to portray the area's nature.

 

[The Human Target]

I've never been particularly keen on random encounters, and haven't used them in any recent game. Whilst I can see how the approach used in the article might be applied usefully to set a tone, I prefer to build fully fleshed-out encounters within a dungeon environment.

I might be more tempted to use random encounters during overland travel, but even there, I tend to think that tailored encounters will do better to portray the area's nature.

Yup same here.

Random doesn't have to mean random.

 

[howandwhy99]

I really don't like Final Fantasy and it's exactly because of the endless stream of meaningless "encounters" (unavoidable combats), while on the road to read the next story. I mean, I really don't like its combat system anyways, but walking all the way around monster zones is a waste of my time. Sure, in D&D the players control the clock, but you're also never outside the monster zone. The catch is, no monsters in D&D are meaningless (i.e. disconnected from everything else and endlessly "respawned").

And! Encounters don't have to do with combat either. I mean, if you go out in dangerous places you are bound to bump into ones that try and kill you, but you don't have to respond in kind. You could fight the lamppost in front of you, if that's what you want. You don't need to wait for a monster to kill. Monsters are just other people like you or me. Well, more or less. Fighting them is an option. One of many. There is so much more we can do in D&D, and not just with creatures. Which is a good thing when you don't want an endless stream of meaningless combats in your game.