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Message: <blockquote data-quote="bouncyhead" data-source="post: 5481554" data-attributes="member: 19115">I voted yes but I rarely use 'random' wandering monsters. Instead I pretty much always have a group of dynamic participants in play during adventures and I try and track their activity around the adventurers. Currently, for example, my adventurers are tracking a group of cultists (dynamic element 1) through a sprawling dungeon environment.The cult have stolen a religious artefact (The Luster of St. Susanna) and are trying to reunite it with it's anti-version in order to cause trouble. The PC's were engaged in the chase by the victims of this theft, another set of cultists called the Hermaphrahood (it's a long story). They don't trust the PCs to despatch their duties efficiently so are also tracking around underground, occasionally getting in the way (dynamic element 2).The sprawling Halls of the Hidden (our mega-complex) are currently over-run by nasties from the depths called Those Who Wait - they launch raiding parties into the upper levels which the PCs occasionally encounter (dynamic element 3).Defending the Halls from Those That Wait are a brotherhood of warriors, the Brotherhood of the Broken Staff. who patrol the labyrinth. The PCs are adventuring in the Halls of the Hidden without an official Commission from the Brotherhood so must avoid them (dynamic element 4).In the meantime there is another adventuring party who have entered the Halls through a dimensional gate. They are not hostile but they are a lot higher level (dynamic element 5).And to cap it all off a powerful NPC, Utrendish Fung, whom the PCs crossed earlier in the campaign, has hired a hit squad to hunt down the PCs (dynamic element 6).The actual Halls of the Hidden themselves are cobbled together from published modules and homebrew elements, all joined up with each other to provide a sprawling arena, pre-populated with static (and dynamic) elements, for the party of and all these other interests to interact within. So in fact my whole campaign is really just a set of (managed) 'wandering encounters' and the 'static' elements really only provide background and colour. I deliberately mis-match the strength of some of these elements to the party so that the PCs know there are people out there they just shoudn't mess with (I make sure that at first meeting, the PCs get an opportunity to learn this lesson and flee, or face the consequences). So the PCs have an incentive to improve and turn the tables on these people, or avoid them.My players are loving it, but the amount of thinking I have to do during sessions is doing my head in.</blockquote>

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