d100 Random Encounter Table [Archive] - Wizards Community

d100 Random Encounter Table [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jacosta
03-28-06, 01:37 PM Ok, running a filler hack-n-slash D&D game between other campaigns (we ran the first one a couple of weeks ago). Need some hints (I'm not to great with ELs and CLs and group size ... first time I've run a D&D campaign!).

The group consists of: 4th Ranger, 3rd Half-giant fighter, 3rd Stonechild fighter. Next time I run this, I'm expecting 4 more people to join (starting them all out either right at the end of 2nd or right at the beginning of 3rd levels), with one of them possibly playing a 3rd lvl cleric (of st. cuthbert). So, here's my questions:

1. What types of monsters could I throw at them (besides "all")?
2. How many of those types of monsters?
3. How exactly does EL/CL work out with monsters?
4. Monster CLs vary if using a class template, yes?
5. Once they start leveling up again (as this first game has proven), how do I adjust the CL/EL of the monsters to better suit them? I.E: Going to one town at first level I had them fight 4 Kobold Zombies (only because they had the cleric at that time). Later on in the night, they were fighting 2 Bugbear Zombies because the kobolds wouldn't have given them crap (that I know of).

Not all of the list is going to be dangerous. There are already 10 slots for "Nothing" and one slot for any dragon. Basically what I do is roll a d6 and determine 1-way travelling time to the next town. Then I roll 4x/day (twice for day, twice for night). They've been pretty good about getting different monsters to fight during their travels, however, the "Swarm of Toads" one was the most popular. I think that's about it ...
darth_borehd
03-28-06, 10:42 PM 1. What types of monsters could I throw at them (besides "all")?

Anything that has an appropriate CR (Chalelnge Rating) for the party in the monster's listing from the Monster Manual or the SRD found at http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm

To find out where your pary is at, find the average of their ECL (Effective Character Level). For the normal races found in the Player's Handbook, this is just their total class levels. Unusual races like half-giants have their levels adjusted due to starting as more powerful characters. The description of their racial abilities will have a a listing for level adjustment and possibly monstrous hit dice. I don't know about half-giants or stonechilds, but just as an example, ogres have a LA (level adjustment) of +2 as well as 4 hit dice for being a Giant. So a 1st level ogre fighter has an ECL of 7 (4 hit dice + 2 LA + 1 fighter level). You'll have to look up to see if the half-giant and stonechild has LA and/or starting hit dice because I don't have that book.

Once you find the average party level, then you know which monsters to throw at them. For a party that has the ogre fighter from above (ECL 7), a 4th level human ranger (ECL 4), and a 3rd level lizardfolk fighter (ECL 6), the average party level would be 5.66 (average ECL). A single monster with a CR of 5 or 6, or any combination of monsters whose Encounter Level (EL) calculates out to 5 or 6 would be an even match for the party described above. To make something a little more challenging, raise the CR up one or two.

Other than matching the CR with the parties average levels, I think the old standard of orcs, goblins, kobolds and the like will do nicely. try to add a few monsters that correspond to the ranger's favored enemies too. You can add levels to intelligent monsters to raise their individual CRs. A lizardfolk has a CR of 1 but a 4th level lizardfolk druid has a CR of 5. Note that CR and ECL have nothing to do with each other. A CR is a measure of how easy it will be for a party of about that level to defeat. ECL is to made to offset experience and levels for players starting with unusual races.

2. How many of those types of monsters?

Many or as few as you want. As a rule of thumb, a single high level bad guy is easier to beat than a bunch of low level little guys. This is because the party can concentrate all of their attacks at one target versus several targets. Of course more combatants slow down the game more because you have to cycle through their initiatives. A single Manticore is CR 5 and therefore Encounter Level 5 but 15 goblins (CR 1/3) are also encounter level 5.

3. How exactly does EL/CL work out with monsters?

CL is Class Level. This is only for intelligent monsters that pick up character classes, like orc barbarians or something. Encounter Level (EL) is the calculation of how tough the monsters are. Follow the chart in the DM's Guide or use the handy calculator found here http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm

4. Monster CLs vary if using a class template, yes?

I think you mean CR varies. Yes it does according to what is listed in the ticket. A vampire adds a +2 CR on the creature it is applied to. If it was a character, the level adjustment would go up +8 for a vampire. Remember, CR and ECL are two different things.

5. Once they start leveling up again (as this first game has proven), how do I adjust the CL/EL of the monsters to better suit them? I.E: Going to one town at first level I had them fight 4 Kobold Zombies (only because they had the cleric at that time). Later on in the night, they were fighting 2 Bugbear Zombies because the kobolds wouldn't have given them crap (that I know of).

Use the CR, or add more. 4 Kobold Zombies (CR 1/2) have an EL of 2. Twelve of them have an EL of 6.

This won't work for zombies, but if the monster is intelligent you can always add some class levels on the fly to bump up the difficulty.

Not all of the list is going to be dangerous. There are already 10 slots for "Nothing" and one slot for any dragon. Basically what I do is roll a d6 and determine 1-way travelling time to the next town. Then I roll 4x/day (twice for day, twice for night). They've been pretty good about getting different monsters to fight during their travels, however, the "Swarm of Toads" one was the most popular. I think that's about it ...

Not every encounter is a monster. Sometimes it can be a trap or a puzzle, which also have CRs. I highly reccommend purchasing Traps & Treachery if you don't already have it. The SRD also has some traps http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/traps.htm

How about a random dungeon crawl? Go here
http://www.aarg.net/~minam/dungeon.cgi

Or how about just downloading a free module instead of coming up a huge random table?
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b
Jacosta
03-29-06, 12:32 PM Cool! Thanks for the info. I've got a while to come up with something and understand the rules, though - we're in the middle of our main campaign now.

:D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jacosta 03-28-06, 01:37 PM	Ok, running a filler hack-n-slash D&D game between other campaigns (we ran the first one a couple of weeks ago). Need some hints (I'm not to great with ELs and CLs and group size ... first time I've run a D&D campaign!). The group consists of: 4th Ranger, 3rd Half-giant fighter, 3rd Stonechild fighter. Next time I run this, I'm expecting 4 more people to join (starting them all out either right at the end of 2nd or right at the beginning of 3rd levels), with one of them possibly playing a 3rd lvl cleric (of st. cuthbert). So, here's my questions: 1. What types of monsters could I throw at them (besides "all")? 2. How many of those types of monsters? 3. How exactly does EL/CL work out with monsters? 4. Monster CLs vary if using a class template, yes? 5. Once they start leveling up again (as this first game has proven), how do I adjust the CL/EL of the monsters to better suit them? I.E: Going to one town at first level I had them fight 4 Kobold Zombies (only because they had the cleric at that time). Later on in the night, they were fighting 2 Bugbear Zombies because the kobolds wouldn't have given them crap (that I know of). Not all of the list is going to be dangerous. There are already 10 slots for "Nothing" and one slot for any dragon. Basically what I do is roll a d6 and determine 1-way travelling time to the next town. Then I roll 4x/day (twice for day, twice for night). They've been pretty good about getting different monsters to fight during their travels, however, the "Swarm of Toads" one was the most popular. I think that's about it ...
darth_borehd 03-28-06, 10:42 PM	1. What types of monsters could I throw at them (besides "all")? Anything that has an appropriate CR (Chalelnge Rating) for the party in the monster's listing from the Monster Manual or the SRD found at http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/monsters.htm To find out where your pary is at, find the average of their ECL (Effective Character Level). For the normal races found in the Player's Handbook, this is just their total class levels. Unusual races like half-giants have their levels adjusted due to starting as more powerful characters. The description of their racial abilities will have a a listing for level adjustment and possibly monstrous hit dice. I don't know about half-giants or stonechilds, but just as an example, ogres have a LA (level adjustment) of +2 as well as 4 hit dice for being a Giant. So a 1st level ogre fighter has an ECL of 7 (4 hit dice + 2 LA + 1 fighter level). You'll have to look up to see if the half-giant and stonechild has LA and/or starting hit dice because I don't have that book. Once you find the average party level, then you know which monsters to throw at them. For a party that has the ogre fighter from above (ECL 7), a 4th level human ranger (ECL 4), and a 3rd level lizardfolk fighter (ECL 6), the average party level would be 5.66 (average ECL). A single monster with a CR of 5 or 6, or any combination of monsters whose Encounter Level (EL) calculates out to 5 or 6 would be an even match for the party described above. To make something a little more challenging, raise the CR up one or two. Other than matching the CR with the parties average levels, I think the old standard of orcs, goblins, kobolds and the like will do nicely. try to add a few monsters that correspond to the ranger's favored enemies too. You can add levels to intelligent monsters to raise their individual CRs. A lizardfolk has a CR of 1 but a 4th level lizardfolk druid has a CR of 5. Note that CR and ECL have nothing to do with each other. A CR is a measure of how easy it will be for a party of about that level to defeat. ECL is to made to offset experience and levels for players starting with unusual races. 2. How many of those types of monsters? Many or as few as you want. As a rule of thumb, a single high level bad guy is easier to beat than a bunch of low level little guys. This is because the party can concentrate all of their attacks at one target versus several targets. Of course more combatants slow down the game more because you have to cycle through their initiatives. A single Manticore is CR 5 and therefore Encounter Level 5 but 15 goblins (CR 1/3) are also encounter level 5. 3. How exactly does EL/CL work out with monsters? CL is Class Level. This is only for intelligent monsters that pick up character classes, like orc barbarians or something. Encounter Level (EL) is the calculation of how tough the monsters are. Follow the chart in the DM's Guide or use the handy calculator found here http://www.d20srd.org/encounterCalculator.htm 4. Monster CLs vary if using a class template, yes? I think you mean CR varies. Yes it does according to what is listed in the ticket. A vampire adds a +2 CR on the creature it is applied to. If it was a character, the level adjustment would go up +8 for a vampire. Remember, CR and ECL are two different things. 5. Once they start leveling up again (as this first game has proven), how do I adjust the CL/EL of the monsters to better suit them? I.E: Going to one town at first level I had them fight 4 Kobold Zombies (only because they had the cleric at that time). Later on in the night, they were fighting 2 Bugbear Zombies because the kobolds wouldn't have given them crap (that I know of). Use the CR, or add more. 4 Kobold Zombies (CR 1/2) have an EL of 2. Twelve of them have an EL of 6. This won't work for zombies, but if the monster is intelligent you can always add some class levels on the fly to bump up the difficulty. Not all of the list is going to be dangerous. There are already 10 slots for "Nothing" and one slot for any dragon. Basically what I do is roll a d6 and determine 1-way travelling time to the next town. Then I roll 4x/day (twice for day, twice for night). They've been pretty good about getting different monsters to fight during their travels, however, the "Swarm of Toads" one was the most popular. I think that's about it ... Not every encounter is a monster. Sometimes it can be a trap or a puzzle, which also have CRs. I highly reccommend purchasing Traps & Treachery if you don't already have it. The SRD also has some traps http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/traps.htm How about a random dungeon crawl? Go here http://www.aarg.net/~minam/dungeon.cgi Or how about just downloading a free module instead of coming up a huge random table? http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b
Jacosta 03-29-06, 12:32 PM	Cool! Thanks for the info. I've got a while to come up with something and understand the rules, though - we're in the middle of our main campaign now. :D