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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6870556" data-attributes="member: 6787650">I do something completely different: generate random encounters which are interesting to the players, which may or may not be randomly super-deadly encounters (even though I do advocate going way above Deadly relatively frequently, for reasons unrelated to your post). It doesn't even have to result in a fight. The goal is to create an interesting experience (&quot;encounter&quot;) for the players. A midget pushing a wheelbarrow can be interesting. So can two hobgoblins on horses. So can dragon-tracks, and so can an Aurumvorax's lair, and so can a weird-looking tree. Maybe the weird-looking tree is a Treant, or a Blight, or just a tree, or maybe it's weird-looking because it grew up around a magic sword which was thrust into the tree when it was just a sapling. Don't be afraid to let your players miss 70% of the treasure.Ideally there should be multiple ways to engage with a random encounter with intelligent opponents. Six hobgoblins may not be much of a fight for high-level adventurers, but they aren't just targets for murder--they are potential information sources, potential hirelings, perhaps skilled metalworkers, a possible &quot;in&quot; to the hobgoblin organization, maybe even potential future PCs. A random encounter constitutes a choice to spend table time doing something interesting during travel. That doesn't always have to mean someone is going to die.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6870556, member: 6787650"] [COLOR=#333333] I do something completely different: generate random encounters which are interesting to the players, which may or may not be randomly super-deadly encounters (even though I [I]do[/I] advocate going way above Deadly relatively frequently, for reasons unrelated to your post). It doesn't even have to result in a fight. The goal is to create an interesting experience ("encounter") for the players. A midget pushing a wheelbarrow can be interesting. So can two hobgoblins on horses. So can dragon-tracks, and so can an Aurumvorax's lair, and so can a weird-looking tree. Maybe the weird-looking tree is a Treant, or a Blight, or just a tree, or maybe it's weird-looking because it grew up around a magic sword which was thrust into the tree when it was just a sapling. Don't be afraid to let your players miss 70% of the treasure. Ideally there should be multiple ways to engage with a random encounter with intelligent opponents. Six hobgoblins may not be much of a fight for high-level adventurers, but they aren't just targets for murder--they are potential information sources, potential hirelings, perhaps skilled metalworkers, a possible "in" to the hobgoblin organization, maybe even potential future PCs. A random encounter constitutes a choice to spend table time doing something interesting during travel. That doesn't always have to mean someone is going to die.[/color] [/QUOTE]

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