Page 93 - DnD 5e - Xanathar's Guide to Everything

RANDOM ENCOUNTERS: dlOO Encounter
18-20 ld3 winged kobolds with ld6 kobolds
A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
21-25 The partially eaten carcass of a mammoth, from
Chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master's Guide provides guid- which ld4 weeks of rations can be harvested
ance on using random encounters in your game. This 26-29 2d8 hunters (tribal warriors)
section builds on that guidance, offering a host of ran- 30- 35 l half.ogre
dom encounter tables for you to use when you determine
36- 40 Single-file tracks in the snow that stop abruptly
that a random encounter is going to take place.
Using the monster lists in appendix B of that book as 41- 45 ld3 ice mephits
a basis, we've built a set of tables for each environment 46- 50 l brown bear
category: arctic, coastal, desert, forest, grassla nd, hill, 51- 53 ld6 + l ores
mounta in, swamp, Underdark, underwater, a nd urba n. 54- 55 l polar bear
Within each category, separate tables are provided for 56- 57 ld6 scouts
each of the four tiers of play: levels 1- 4, 5- 10, 11- 16, 58- 60 l saber-toothed tiger
and 17-20.
Even though you can use these tables "out of the box," 61-65 A frozen pond with a jagged hole in the ice that ap-
the advice in the Dungeon Master's Guide still holds pears recently made
true: tailoring such tables to your ga me can reinforce 66-68 l berserker
the themes and flavor of your campaign. We encourage 69-70 l ogre
you to customize this material to ma ke it your own. 71- 72 l griffon
In the tables, a name in bold refers to a stat block in 73-75 l druid
the Monster Manual.
76- 80 3d4 refugees (commoners) fleeing from ores
FLIGHT, OR FIGHT, OR ? 81 ld3 veterans
82 ld4 orogs
Each of the results on these tables represents a certain
kind of challenge or potentiaJ cha llenge. 83 2 brown bears
If you let the dice have their way a nd the result is a 84 l ore Eye ofGruumsh with 2d8 ores
large number of monsters, the generated encounter 85 ld3 winter wolves
might be too difficult or dangerous for the characters in 86- 87 ld4 yetis
their present circumstances. They might wa nt to flee to 88 l half-ogre
avoid contact, or not to approach any closer after per- 89 ld3 manticores
ceiving the monsters from a distance.
90 l bandit captain with 2d6 bandits
Of course, you also have the freedom to adjust the
numbers, but it's important to remember that not every 91 l revenant
encounter involving a monster needs to result in combat. 92-93 l troll
An encounter might indeed be the prelude to a battle, 94- 95 l werebear
a parley, or some other interaction. What happens next 96- 97 l young remorhaz
depends on what the characters try, or what you decide 98 l mammoth
is bound to occur. 99 l young white dragon
The tables also include entries for what the Dungeon 00 l frost giant
Master's Guide calls "encounters of a less monstrous
nature." Many of these results cry out to be customized
or detailed, which offers you a n opportunity to connect ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS (LEVELS 5-10)
them to the story of your campaign. And in so doing, dl 00 Encounter
you've taken a step toward making your own persona l-
01- 05 2 saber-toothed tigers
ized encounter table. Now, keep going!
06- 07 ld4 half.ogres
08-10 ld3 + l brown bears
11-15 ld3 polar bears
16-20 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 gives them a
dlOO Encounter vial of antitoxin.
26- 30 2d8 scouts
01 l giant owl
31-35 2d4 ice mephits
02- 05 l d6 + 3 kobolds
06- 08 ld4 + 3 trappers (commoners) 36-40 2d6 + l zombies aboard a galleon trapped in the
ice. Searching the ship yields 2d20 days of rations.
09-10 l owl
41- 45 l manticore
11- 12 2d4 blood hawks
46-50 2d6 + 3 ores
13-17 2d6 bandits
51- 53 ld6 + 2 ogres
CHAPTER 2 1 DUNGEON MASTER'S TOOLS