RANDOM ENCOUNTERS:
A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
Chapte r 3 o f the Dungeon Master's Guide provides guid-
a nce o n us ing random e ncounte rs in your gam e. This
secti on builds o n tha t guida nce, offe ring a host of r a n-
dom e ncounte r tables for you to use w he n you de termine
tha t a rando m e ncounter is going to ta ke place.
Using the mo ns te r lists in appe ndix B of tha t book as
a basis, we've built a set o f t a bles for each environment
cate gory: arc tic, coa s tal, desert, forest, grassla nd, hill,
mounta in , s wamp, Underdark, underwa ter, a nd u rba n.
Within each category, separate tables a re provide d for
e ac h of the four tiers of play: l eve ls 1- 4, 5- 10, 11- 16,
and 17 -20.
Eve n thou gh you can use these tables "out o f the box,"
the advice in the Dungeon Master's Guide s till holds
true: tailoring such tables to you r ga me can re inforce
the the mes and flavor of your campaign. We e ncourage
you to customize t hi s ma te ria l to ma ke it your own.
In the ta bles, a n a m e in bold re fe rs to a stat block in
the Monster Manual.FLIGHT, OR FIGHT, OR?
Each of the results on these tables represents a certa in
kind of ch alle nge or potentiaJ c halle nge.
If yo u let the dice have their way a nd the result is a
la rge numbe r of mons ters, the ge nerate d e ncounte r
might be too diffic ult or d a n gerous for the characte rs in
their present circums ta nces. T hey might wa nt to flee to
avoid contact, or no t t o approach a ny closer after per-
ceiving the monsters from a di sta nce.
Of course, you a lso have the freed om to adjus t th e
numbe rs, but it's important to re m e mber tha t not every
e ncounter involving a mons ter need s to result in combat.
An e ncounte r might indeed be the pre lude to a ba ttle ,
a parley, or som e othe r inte raction. Wh a t happens next
de pends on w ha t the cha racte rs try, or w hat you decide
is bound to occur.
T he ta bles also include entries for w ha t the Dungeon
Master's Guide calls "encounte rs of a less m on strous
natu re." Many of these resu lts cr y out to b e cus to mized
o r detaile d, which offers you a n opportunity to connect
the m to the story o f your campa ign. And in so doing,
you've take n a ste p tow a rd making your ow n persona l-
ized e ncounte r ta ble. Now, keep going!dlOO
1 8- 20
21 -2526 -2 9
30 - 35
36 - 40
41 - 45
46 - 50
51 - 53
54 -^55
56 - 57
58 - 60
61 -6 566-68
69 -7 0
71 - 72
7 3- 75
76- 80Encounter
l d3 winged kobolds wit h ld 6 kobolds
The partially eaten carcass of a m ammoth, from
whic h ld4 weeks of rations can be harvested
2d8 hunters (tribal warriors)
l half.ogre
Single -file tracks in the snow t hat stop abruptly
ld3 ice mephits
l brown bear
ld6 + l ores
l polar bear
ld 6 scouts
l saber-toothe d tiger
A frozen po nd with a jagged hole in t he ice that ap-
pears recently made
l berserker
l ogre
l griffon
l druid
3d4 refugees (commoners) flee ing from ores
81 l d3 veterans
82 ld4 orogs
83 2 brown bears
84 l ore Eye ofGruumsh with 2d8 ores
85 ld3 winter wolves
86 - 8 7 ld4 yetis
88 l half-ogre
89 l d3 manticores
90 l bandit captain with 2d6 bandits
91 l revenant
9 2-93 l troll
94- 95 l werebear
96 - 97 l young remorhaz
98 l mammoth
99 l young white dragon
00 l frost giantArctic Encounters
dl 00 Encounter
01 - 05 2 saber-toothed t igers
0 6- 07 ld4 half.ogres
08-10 l d3 + l brown bears
11-1 5 l d3 polar bears
16 -2 0 2d4 berserkers
21 -25 A half-ore druid tending to an injured polar bear. If
ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS (LEVELS 1-4) the characters assist the druid , she give s them a
dlOO Encounter
01
0 2- 05
06 - 08
0 9- 10
11 - 12
1 3- 17l giant owl
ld6 + 3 kobolds
ld4 + 3 trappe rs (commoners)
l owl
2d4 blood hawks
2d6 banditsCHAPTER 2 1 DUNGEON MASTER'S TOOLS26- 30
31 -35
36- 4041- 45
4 6- 50
51 - 53vial of ant itoxin.
2d8 scouts
2d4 ice mephits
2d6 + l zombies aboard a galleon trapped in the
ice. Searching the ship yields 2d20 days of rations.
l manticore
2d 6 + 3 ores
ld 6 + 2 ogres