Page 85 - Dungeon Master's Guide

:ncrease the difficulty of the encounter by one step filled with bats, wraiths, giant spiders, and zombies
":-am easy to medium, for example) if the characters creates a sense of horror, and tells the adventurers to
-2.·;e a drawback that their enemies don't. Reduce the prepare for battle with even more powerful creatures
_ - culty by one step if the characters have a benefit that of the night.
-eir enemies don't. Any additional benefit or drawback Drain character resources. Random encounters can
: .:-hes the encounter one step in the appropriate drain the party's hit points and spell slots, leaving the
: :-ection. If the characters have both a benefit and a adventurers feeling underpowered and vulnerable.
::-awback, the two cancel each other out. This creates tension, as players are forced to make
- ituational drawbacks include the following: decisions based on the fact that their characters aren't
at full strength.
~he whole party is surprised, and the enemy isn't.
Provide assistance. Some random encounters can
~he enemy has cover, and the party doesn't.
benefit the characters instead of hindering or harming
~he characters are unable to see the enemy.
them. Helpful creatures or NPCs might provide the
-he characters are taking damage every round from
adventurers with useful information or assistance
some environmental effect or magical source, and the
enemy isn't. when they need it most.
The characters are hanging from a rope, in the midst Add interest. Random encounters can reveal details
of scaling a sheer wall or cliff, stuck to the floor, or oth- about your world. They can foreshadow danger or
provide hints that will help the adventurers prepare
erwise in a situation that greatly hinders their mobility
for the encounters to come.
or makes them sitting ducks.
• Reinforce campaign themes. Random encounters
ituational benefits are similar to drawbacks except can remind the players of the major themes of the
'-ar they benefit the characters instead of the enemy. campaign. For example, if your campaign features an
ongoing war between two nations, you might design
.:uN COMBAT ENCOUNTERS random encounter tables to reinforce the ever-present
:-3e following features can add more fun and suspense nature of the conflict. In friendly territory, your tables
a combat encounter: might include bedraggled troops returning from bat-
tle, refugees fleeing invading forces, heavily guarded
Terrain features that pose inherent risks to both the
caravans full of weapons, and lone messengers on
characters and their enemies, such as a frayed rope horseback riding for the front lines. While charac-
bridge and pools of green slime ters are in hostile territory, the tables might include
Terrain features that provide a change of elevation,
battlefields littered with the recently slain, armies of
uch as pits, stacks of empty crates, ledges,
evil humanoids on the march, and improvised gib-
and balconies bets holding the bodies of deserters who tried to flee
Features that either inspire or force characters and
the conflict.
their enemies to move around, such as chandeliers,
kegs of gunpowder or oil, and whirling blade traps Random encounters should never be tiresome to you
Enemies in hard-to-reach locations or defensive or your players. You don't want the players to feel as if
positions, so that characters who normally attack at they aren't making progress because another random
range are forced to move around the battlefield encounter brings their progress to a halt whenever they
Different types of monsters working together try to move forward. Likewise, you don't want to spend
time distracted by random encounters that add nothing
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS to the adventure narrative or that interfere with the
overall pace you're trying to set.
.~s characters explore a wilderness area or dungeon Not every DM likes to use random encounters. You
omplex, they are bound to encounter the unexpected. might find that they distract from your game or are
i<.andom encounters are a way to deliver the unexpected. otherwise causing more trouble than you want. If
:hey are usually presented in the form of a table. When random encounters don't work for you, don't use them.
a random encounter occurs, you roll a die and consult
<he table to determine what the party encounters. TRIGGERING RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
Some players and DMs view random encounters in an Because you want random encounters to build on the
adventure as time-wasters, yet well-designed random intended narrative of a game session, not compete with
encounters can serve a variety of useful purposes: it, you should choose the placement of those encounters
Create urgency. Adventurers don't tend to dawdle carefully. Think about a random encounter under any of
if the threat of random encounters is hanging over the following circumstances:
their heads. Wanting to avoid wandering monsters The players are getting off track and slowing
creates a strong incentive to look for a safe place to down the game.
rest. (Rolling dice behind the DM screen can often The characters stop for a short or long rest.
accomplish this even without an actual encounter.) • The characters are undertaking a long,
Establish atmosphere. The appearance of uneventful journey.
thematically linked creatures as random encounters The characters draw attention to themselves when
helps to create a consistent tone and atmosphere they should be keeping a low profile.
for an adventure. For example, an encounter table

CHAPTER 3 I CREATING ADVENTURES