D&D Tomb of Annihilation

Appendix B:Random Encounters

RandomencounterscanoccurinPortNyanzaru,inthewilds
ofChult,andinOmu.Suchencountersaddmysteryand
atmospheretotheadventure,evenastheyincreasetensionby
winnowingawayattheparty’sresources.Randomencounters
arebestusedwheneverthere’salullinthegamesessionor
whenyourplayersseemrestless.Nomorethanoneortwoper
sessionisrecommended,sinceoverusingrandomencounters
canbogdowntheadventureandcausetheplayerstolose
trackofthestory.

PortNyanzaruEncounters

PortNyanzaruhasalotgoingonevenwithoutrandom
encounters,butifthecharactersspendtimeexploringthecity,
afewrandomincidentscanhelpbringthatexperiencetolife.
Rollad 20 threetimesperdayofgametime,checkingfor
encounterseachmorning,afternoon,andeveningornight.An
encounteroccursonarollof 16 orhigher.Rollad 20 and
checkthePortNyanzaruEncounterstabletodeterminewhat
thecharactersencounter,orsimplychooseanencounteryou
like.

d 20 Encounter

1 Aparrotpoopsonarandomcharacter’s

head.

2 Neartheharbor,anankylosaurusthat

towsboatsthroughthewarehousecanals

goesonarampageandmustbecalmed,

restrained,orkilled.

3 Amerchantshouts,“Stop!Thief!”asa

furtiveyoungster(commoner)rushespast

thecharacters.Ifthethiefiscaught,the

gratefulmerchantcanintroducecharacters

toamerchantprinceorprovidethemone

otherfavor.

4 Adrunkforeignsailor(unarmored

veteran)isloudlytryingtopickafightwith

threelocalcommoners,whoareclearlyno

matchforthelout.Ifthecharacters

intervene,thegratefullocalsbecomea

reliablesourceofinformationaboutPort

Nyanzaru,butthesailorandhisshipmates

ambushthecharacterselsewhereinthecity

lateron.

5 Abeggar(commoner)grabsacharacter

bythearmandshouts,“Theancientone

beneaththeForbiddenCitygivesbirthtoa

terriblenewgod!Thesnake-menknow!They

know!”Thenhestumblesawayintothe

crowd.Passersbytelltheadventurersto

ignorethebeggar,andthathispredictions

arewrongmostofthetime.

6 Alarmhornsdeclarethatundeadare

attackingMalar’sThroat.Mercenarieskeep

themonstersoutofthecityproper,but

peoplearetrappedinthetempleofTymora

andbesiegedby 2 d 6 zombiesand 2 d 6

skeletonsledbyaghoul.Ifthecharacters

defeattheundead,thetemplerewardsthem

with 5 gallonsoftejandapotionofhealing.

7 Shoutsof“Lookout!”giveacharactera

briefwarningasawaterbarrel,building

stone,orotherheavyweightcrashesdown.

ThecharactermustsucceedonaDC 12

Dexteritysavingthroworbestruck,taking 14

( 4 d 6 )bludgeoningdamage.Anycharacter

whosucceedsonaDC 15 Wisdom

(Perception)checkspotsadisguisedyuan-ti

purebloodslinkingawayfromthescene.

8 Atabaximinstrel(seeappendixD)asks

oneofthecharactersforagoldpieceto

stakeherforgambling,promisingtopayit

back.Ifthecharacteragrees,thetabaxi

makesgoodonherpromisethenextday,

returningapouchcontaining 10 gp.

9 Athief(spy)triestopickthepocketof

oneofthecharacters.

10 ThecharactersrunintoVolothamp

"Volo"Geddarm(seeappendixD),whois

deliveringacopyofhisnewbooktooneof

thecity’smerchantprinces.Thereisa 50

percentchancethatVoloisdrunk.

11 - 20 ThecharactersmeetanNPCwithaside

quest(see“SideQuests,”page 16 ).

WildernessEncounters

Whilethecharactersareexploringorcampinginthe

wilderness,rollad 20 threetimesperdayofgametime,

checkingforencounterseachmorning,afternoon,andevening

ornight.Anencounteroccursonarollof 16 orhigher.Roll

percentilediceandchecktheWildernessEncounterstablefor

theterrainappropriatetowherethecharactersare.After

determiningwhatthecharactersencounter,youcanusethe

informationpresentedlaterinthisappendixtobringthe

encountertolife.

ThemapsofChulthaveregionsmarkedasundead

territory(lesserorgreater).TheWildernessEncounterstable

hasseparatecolumnsyoushouldusewhendetermining

encountersintheseundead-infestedregions,orinregions

withnoundead.

Ifyourplayerstireofrandomencounters,makesuch

encounterslesscommonbyhavingthemoccuronarollof 18

orhigher,oronly 20 .Youcanalsolettheplayersnarratetheir

waythroughavoidingeasyencounters,oryoucanincreasethe

difficultyofeasyencounterstokeepthemexciting.Onewayto

makeanencountermorechallengingistohaveittriggera

secondrandomencounter.Forexample,afightwithgoblins

mightattractanearbypackofghoulsordinosaurs.Youcan

alsoshortenencountersbyhavingmonstersfleewhenthey

losethetacticaladvantageormostoftheirhitpoints.

Randomencountersaren’ttailoredtocharactersofa

particularlevel.Ifthecharactersencounterhostilecreatures

beyondtheirabilitytodefeat,givethemopportunitiestorun,

hide,negotiate,orotherwiseavoidcertaindeath.Youcanalso