Dungeon Master's Guide

•
•
• •
•
••• •
•
••
RANDOM ENCOUNTER CHALLENGE
Random encounters need not be level-appropriate
challenges for the adventurers, but it's considered bad
form to slaughter a party using a random encounter,
since most players consider this ending to be an
unsatisfying one.
Not all random encounters with monsters need
to be resolved through combat. A 1st-level party of
adventurers could have a random encounter with a
young dragon circling above a forest canopy in search
of a quick meal, but the characters should have the
option to hide or bargain for their lives if the dragon
spots them. Similarly, the party might encounter a stone
giant roaming the hills, but it might have no intention
of harming anyone. In fact, it might shy away from the
party because of its reclusive nature. The giant might
attack only characters who annoy it.
That said, a random encounter table usually includes
hostile (though not necessarily evil) monsters that
are meant to be fought. The following monsters are
considered appropriate combat challenges:
• A single monster with a challenge rating equal to or
lower than the party's level.
A group of monsters whose adjusted XP value constitutes
an easy, medium, or hard challenge for the party,
as determined using the encounter-building guidelines
earlier in this chapter.
SYLVAN FOREST ENCOUNTERS
d12 + d8
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Encounter
1 displacer beast
1 gnoll pack lord and 2d4 gnolls
1d4 gnolls and 2d4 hyenas
A grove of burned trees. Characters searching
the area and succeeding on a DC 10 Wisdom
(Survival) check find gnoll tracks. Following the
tracks for 1 d4 hours leads to an encounter with
gnolls, or the discovery of dead gnolls with elven
arrows sticking out of their flea-ridden corpses.
1 giant owl
An ivy-covered statue of an elven deity or hero.
1 dryad (50%) or 1d4 satyrs (50%)
1 d4 centaurs
2d4 scouts (elves). One scout carries a horn
and can use its action to blow it. If the horn is
blown within the forest, roll on this table again.
If the result indicates a monster encounter, the
indicated monster or monsters arrive in 1d4
minutes. New arrivals other than gnolls, hyenas,
owl bears, and displacer beasts are friendly
toward the scouts.
2d4 pixies (50%) or 2d4 sprites (50%)
d12 + d8
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Encounter
1 owlbear
1d4 elks (75%) or 1 giant elk (25%)
1d4 blink dogs
A magical plant with 2d4 glowing berries. A
creature that ingests a berry becomes invisible
for 1 hour, or until it attacks or casts a spell.
Once picked, a berry loses its magic after
12 hours. Berries regrow at midnight, but if
all its berries are picked , the plant becomes
nonmagical and grows no more berries.
An elven tune carried on a gentle breeze
1d4 orange (75%) or blue (25%) faerie dragons
1 druid (elf). The druid is initially indifferent
toward the party but becomes friendly if the
characters agree to rid the forest of its gnoll
infestation.
1 treant. The treant is friendly if the party
includes one or more elves or is accompanied by
a visible fey creature. The treant is hostile if the
characters are carrying open flames. Otherwise,
it is indifferent and doesn 't announce its
presence as the characters pass by.
20 1 unicorn
CHAPTER 3 I CREATING ADVENTURES
87