Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 abs1nth Feb 03, 2015 13:36:08	Being the new DM that I am, I set out thinking that random ecnounters were the preferred tool of dungeon mastering. My ideal was to have a game which had a lot of random elements with the intent of creating a very dynamic and unpredictable experience for both my players and myself.   As idealism and reality clashed I was left with the realization that random ecnounters more often than not felt more like a burden, filler content in my otherwise tightly paced game. I know that they serve a purpose. They create a sense of danger, making travel meaningful. You cannot simply walk through the dark forest for days because bad monster are going to say hello. They are also invaluable when the party is resting in the wilderness. Especially when they are wounded, I don't want to play favors or be cruel, letting dice decide seems the best and fairest way in this case.   Some of the random encounters ended up being more memorable than not thanks to improvisational epiphanies but more often than not it is simply a time waster and I feel my players are largely sharing my impression. You try to go somewhere, a monster happens to appear, you fight, you move on.   Now you technically can prevent this by creating more elaborate random tables with already prepped encounter notes and I've tried that but there are a few problems with this. First off, it takes way more time to prepare without giving the players more options or the players really being able to appreciate all the work that went in. I don't get the sense that my players particularly care or notice the difference between a random encounter or a pre-planned one, I even announced that I was going to let the dice decide what is about to happen, still didn't think thtey cared, really. Secondly, when it was time to roll I often felt like I had a favorite of the encounters, one that I thought would be the most fun and fitting to happen at this point, so why not just prep my best idea and simply use it?   Random encounters are useful as a backup when plans take unexpected turns, I won't deny that. But the more I think about it, the more I feel that creating a fleshed out encounter, possibly even one in case of travel, possibly a peaceful one and a hostile one and let dice decide which one occurs, is preferable to using basic random encounters.   Lastly, I quite liked the example in the DMG of the elven scouts that can use a horn which causes another encounter on the random table to approach after 1d4 minutes. That's quite cool and if I could think of more ways to create more interplay between the random table and the encounter I would definitely make more use of it, as it stands random encounters are more of a last resort for me.     How do you feel about random encounters? How do use them in your campaings? What are some good/innovative uses for them?
#2 AaronOfBarbaria Feb 03, 2015 21:51:14	Random encounters meaning encounter that happens unexpectedly with random creatures that I haven't already figured out a reason for being present at this point in the adventure besides "so there are random encounters" = something I avoid entirely.   Random encounters meaning carefully considered encounters that have a purpose in the story and a reason within the setting of the adventure, and involve deliberately chosen creatures, but have been determined as happening at a randomly determined time if happening at all = a useful tool in helping make it feel like the world around the characters is living and moving independent of the characters or players desires.   To that end, I set up random encounter tables with things like monsters that live in the dungeon but patrol or wander about, NPCs that might also be exploring the same dungeon, or as various sorts of encounters one might have while traveling (a patrol, some bandits, other travelers, and so forth) - but I also make sure that any possible result on the random table is an encounter that will feel no different for the players than the encounters which they willingly sought out: each having its own purpose to it, and never being "there are some monsters - they attack you."
#3 bawylie Feb 03, 2015 23:23:39	Again, you have to consider the game as a game - what's the timeslot? Are you prepared to throw down something truly random and risk RNG TPK?    Think about the goals of play: Will this create a good memorable story? Will it make for a good time?   Youll find once you figure out your goals, you'll have far fewer dilemmas about what to include and to eschew.    If you ARE going to use random encounters, I have a few guidelines that I use in order for them to act the way I want them to act. That is, I use them as a reminder that the world keeps moving and if the players stand still or whatever, trouble might find them. 1.) Only monsters eligible to show up in a random encounter are those the party has already encountered. 1a.) Roster limited by venue, where applicable (no lions underwater e.g.). 2.) Random encounter will never be more difficult than "medium" but will usually be "easy."    These guidelines ensure that random encounters stick to my goals and serve my purpose. They'll never be a random TPK or take up an entire play session. They will remind players that the enemy moves - and sometime break up a lull (if there is one) by introducing some action.
#4 Timborama Feb 04, 2015 7:14:05	Agreed on setting limits. But one of my favorite things to do is use the random monster generator website and click "create" and then make an encounter based off of that. It's a fun mental exercise, to me, to come up with why/how there are 2 swarms of Piranhas and a Wild Boar. In this case, the piranhas will swarm unexpectedly, and if a PC tries to leap out of the water, the boar will hear the rustling and insta-charge   Obviously, though, if the Piranhas and Boar don't fit the environment and/or level restrictions I made, I just try again. Or just force something whacky to happen. We like whacky ("you open the next door in the dungeon...and suddenly you look like you're in a rainforest. Odd...")
#5 strider13x Feb 04, 2015 10:04:55	I include monster encounters appropriate to the setting but the only random part is when they show up. Example- while running LMoP I know I wanted the Owlbear to show up, as well as Ghouls (foreshadowing the next adventure, Ravenloft), but ignore Hobgoblins (doesn't fit my narrative). While the party is in the wilderness I roll for random encounters. They encountered the Owlbear while traveling and the Ghouls while they set camp. I relied on random rolls to determine when this happened but knew which encounters they would come across.   For our D-Series campaign I have mapped out which encounters they will meet and will roll randomly each mile to determine when they happen. I want the party to face Xorn, a gnome merchant, giant spiders eating giant ants, a drow hunting party, mind flayers, and a purple worm (because they all have an underdark feel), but I randomize when those encounters occur. They will face each encounter eventually.   By taking this approach I help the narrative and give a sense of a dangerous environment because the players know I am rolling for random encounters as they travel. By not making it totally random I reduce the "oh no, not another random monster! We'll never make it where we need to be!", or the chance that the party never encounters anything in the wild making them feel too safe.   I dont do random encounters in a dungeon, but include wandering monsters that appear when they narrative warrants it. If they party alerts the inhabitants then the wondering monsters move to the appropriate place in the dungeon.
#6 abs1nth Feb 04, 2015 14:30:25	Definitely with y'all on setting specific encounters, it's something I've been doing, too. It's also a reason why I don't particularly like using a tool to create random encounters because I find that too often some of the monsters that appear don't really fit the vibe and setting that I'm going for with that region.   Something I haven't done yet which I totally should is having monsters fight with other monsters. A coold idea I had was to have one entry on the random table say: "Roll twice and have the monsters/NPC encounter each other." It could also create some cool scenarios where you have a friendly and helpful NPC being attacked by monsters and the fight could be about saving that person.
#7 Rhenny Feb 04, 2015 15:51:33	I like to create random events/encounters that add flavor to travel or turn into possible problems that a party has to deal with that could be "randomly" triggered.  I put "randomly" in quotations because most of the time (even if I'm running a pre-made with random encounters) I choose what would work best when I decide to use the event.    I generally use a"random" encounter if I don't want action to lull or if resting is less of an option or if I think it will fit in the game for a reason, or if the pcs dally too much and I want to create a sense of urgency or havoc.
#8 Archon007 Feb 04, 2015 19:08:43	I don't like the random part. What I would suggest is just have a basic plot losely in mind and let the players run with it.    Look up no myth roleplaying   http://inky.org/rpg/no-myth.html
#9 Psikerlord Feb 05, 2015 3:58:09	I think random encounters are good for:   1. discouraging players from trying to take rests when you want to keep the pressure on 2. getting random treasure 3. players getting bored. BOOM! RANDOM ENCOUNTER!   Making up a short d6 table works pretty well. 1 easy, 1 med, 1 hard, 1 deadly, 2 odd/interesting situations. Take it from there.   ps - i really like an earlier poster's idea of having 2 monsters fighting each other, classic!
#10 Imaculata Feb 05, 2015 3:58:56	I only use random encounters that I've written out before starting the session. I always keep a big list of possible events at the ready, with elaborate descriptions. They include discoveries of loot, meeting npc's, flavor encounters, monster encounters, and extraordinary events. Of course this requires a ton of preparation.
(Reply to #3) Coredump00	bawylie wrote:
#12 bawylie Feb 05, 2015 8:04:24	Something like that I treat as scenery, generally. I don't like to prep things I won't be using.
(Reply to #12) AaronOfBarbaria	bawylie wrote:
#14 Noon Feb 05, 2015 17:11:15	abs1nth wrote:
#15 strider13x Feb 05, 2015 18:26:49	Since yall liked my idea of the random encounter with monster vs monster allow me to expand (hopefully by players won't see this thread)   In the D-series one of the encounters is a vampire and a succubus. That didn't feel to Underdark to me so I was going to combine them with a Drow patrol. When the players show up it appears the Drow patrol is attacking a merchant wagon when it's actually the Vampire attacking the Drow patrol! The party will presumably attack the Drow and then the Vampire will convince them to help him to the next destination. The succubus will be hiding in the wagon. lots of possible RP outcomes!     Another thought is Xorn eating the Snevblin Gnomes gems out of their mine. Trolls and Purple Worm. Beholder will be alone though (im not a total jerk DM!)   By combining two Underdark monsters in one encounter I give the feel while keeping up the pace. If I had a separate encounter for each "classic" Underdark monster we would never get through them all!
#16 abs1nth Feb 06, 2015 3:09:50	Noon wrote:
#17 Noon Feb 06, 2015 20:07:35	The thing is, do they ask themselves 'should we really risk going through area X??' or do they think 'I just wanna get to Y - so we go through X, ok?'   It seems like they don't think it's a decision. You can either go with that and have no travel encounters, or you can go on to enforce travel encounters - keeping in mind that they may potentially give up on going to Y and that'd be part of the game to appreciate.