Note on general formatting here - some of these charts I wrote in Blogger, some in Word - the formatting is wonky, I know...
General Encounter Chart
1-8 NPC
9-16 Mundane Encounter
17-19 Dangerous Encounter
20 Special Encounter
Mundane Encounters
1-5 Animal
6-8 People
9 Weather
10 Special
Mundane Animal Encounters
Roll 1d20
1 Deer: 1d4 doe with 1d6 fawns 50%, 1d3 buck, 3d4 doe, 3d6 fawns 50%
2 Moose: 1 bull 60%, 1 cow 30%, 1 cow and one calf, 10%
3 Elk: 3d4 bulls 50%, 4d4 cows with 4d4 calves
4 Rabbit: 1d12
5 Quail: 1d4
6 Pheasant: 1d6
7 Grouse: 1d4
8 Groundhog: 1d3
9 Songbirds: 3d8
10 Porcupine: 1
11 Skunk: 1d3
12 Badger: 1d3
13 Beaver: 1d6
14 Raccoon: 1d4
15 Bees: 1 nest
16 Wasps: 1 nest
17 Wolf Howl in the distance (d8 for direction: 1 North, 2 North East, 3 East, etc.): 1d4+1 miles distant
18 Turtle: (1) 55%, (2) 30%, (1d4) 15%
19 Frogs/Toads: 1d12 Frogs (near water)/ 1d12 Toads (away from water)
20 Potentially Dangerous Animal
Potentially Dangerous Mundane Animals (Sub-Sub Table)
Roll 1d6
1. Lynx
2. Bobcat
3. Mountain Lion
4. Lone Wolf
5. Lone Coyote
6. Lone Wild Boar
Mundane People Encounters
Roll 1d20
1 Little Girl Lost
2 Tinker
3 Deluded Wandering Knight
4 1d4 Villagers (from nearest village)
5 Woodcutter
6 Old Woman
7 Old Man
8 Lost Caravan Guard
9 Injured Man
10 Wandering Thief
11 Bandit Scout
12 Wizard In Disguise
13 Wandering Beggar
14 Pilgrim
15 False Pilgrim
16 Noble In Disguise
17 1d6 Villagers (from nearest village)
18 1d6 Monks of St. Albaran
19 Demon In Disguise
20 Angel In Disguise
Mundane Weather Encounters
Roll
1 Wind doubles in velocity for 1d8 rounds
2 Lightning strikes a tree 1d4 miles away (d8 for direction: 1 North, 2 North East, 3 East, etc.)
3 Clouds cover the sun/moon for 1d4 hours
4 A sudden rainshower soaks area 1000 yards in diameter for 1d6 turns (if raining, then 1000 yard diameter break in the rain for 1d6 turns)
5 Wind changes direction every round for 3d8 rounds (d8 for direction: 1 North, 2 North East, 3 East, etc.)
6 Temperature rises 3d10 degrees over the span of one hour
7 Temperature drops 3d10 degrees over the span of one hour
8 No wind (or sounds of nature) for 1 hour
9 Wind blows in opposite direction
10 Temperature rises 10 degrees over the span of one hour
11 Temprature drops 10 degrees over the span of one hour
12 Wind carries smell of death
13 Wind smells of rain/snow
14 Wind gusts unpredictably for 2 hours (velocity varies from 2-40 mph, shifting every 1d10 rounds)
15 Wind changes direction every turn for 2d4 hours (d8 for direction: 1 North, 2 North East, 3 East, etc.)
16 Sun/moon dims noticably
17 Wind smells musty
18 Temperature rises 5 degrees then drops 20 degrees over the span of two hours
19 Lightning strikes a tree 3 miles away, then another tree 2 miles away, then another tree 1 mile away (d8 forinitial direction: 1 North, 2 North East, 3 East, etc.)
20 Wind doubles in velocity for 2d6 turns blowing tiny debris (dirt, leaves, etc) through area
Mundane Special Encounters
(I love oxymorons :) )
Roll 4d12 or select.
4. An abandoned campsite. Extra wood
for a fire is piled to one side(enough for 10 hours of fire) though it appears
this campsite is weeks old (at least).
5. Huge, flat stones paving a road
for 200 yards in a place where no road is marked or expected to be. Locals (if
any) refer to this as “The Giants’ Road.”
6. A seemingly crazed man leaps out
of cover (brush, behind a boulder, etc.) brandishing a branch as a sword and
wearing a turtle shell as a helmet and a breastplate of woven cornstalks (or
some other plant). He waves the sword at the party and speaks in an unknown
language and then tries to run off. He will not defend himself if attacked (he
will curl into a fetal position and whimper). If followed, he will lead the party
on a chase through the wilderness, making so much noise that the chance for
dangerous encounters is tripled. He seemingly never tires (he can run for four
days before collapsing from exhaustion).
7. A pile of stones is not simply a
geologic happenstance, but the overgrown ruin of a house foundation. If
searched, twenty more foundations will be discovered and a well (still usable,
covered over by unstable boards – stand a reasonable chance of falling in while
searching – say, save vs. spells or DEX check per PC searching). The well is
20’ down to water level and the water is 20’ deep, fed by an underground
spring. At the bottom of the well is a skeleton (non-animate).
8. Suddenly, a huge deer jumps into
the middle of the party (if in the forest) or a huge groundhog runs through the
middle of the party (if in the hills/near a settlement) or a mountain goat
bounds through middle of the party (if in the mountains) and then runs off,
terrified by the presence of so many humans.
9. Hanging in a tree is the remains
of a lute. It is unsalvageable and unplayable.
10. A wheelbarrow leans against a
tree with a shovel and a pick. They have been in the weather for a long time,
but are still useable (though the wheelbarrow has a 100 lb. weight limit, over
that and it will collapse and the pick and shovel will break on a roll of 1 on
a d20 when used).
11. A wolf growls from a distance,
stares at the party for a moment, then lopes off.
12. Goblin tracks cover everything,
but they just seem to appear here, there is no discernible trail to or from this
area (even a ranger cannot detect a trail).
13. A hawk swoops down and tries to
grab something small from the characters. It will try up to three times. If
successful, the hawk will fly off with the item to the tallest tree in visual
range of the PCs. The hawk’s nest is in the tree and a lone goblin is climbing
the tree to ransack the nest. If the party approaches the tree, the goblin will
be startled, lose its grip on the tree and fall out, breaking its neck and
killing it. If the PCs dispatch the goblin, the hawk will drop the item back to
the PCs and fly off with a cry. If the PCs do not dispatch the goblin, the hawk
will fly off with the item and drop it in the nearest river.
14. A woman, barely alive, lays in
the dirt. If her wounds are tended and she is given water, she will fade in and
out of delirium, either being at home with her husband and children on a sunny
day playing “jacks and sticks” or falling into a horrified babbling about
goblins and fire and blood. She will die within 3 rounds unless magical cures
are given. Her name is Constance and she is
from one of the hamlets nearby.
15. A shallow grave is partly
exposed. The skeleton is very small, probably human.
16. The ground here is mounded in an
odd way. If looked at from above, the ground has been shaped into a huge rune
(150’ across) intended to draw fertility into the field.
17. Three feral dogs approach the
party menacingly but stop short of attacking. They growl and bark at the party
but do not give chase. The noise might attract a dangerous encounter (roll on
table).
18. Four grave markers, crudely
carved in fresh planks of wood. Amelia, Deris, Mysia
and Ashan. The graves have sunken in. If the party investigates, the bodies
have been stolen…from underground somehow…
19. A garishly painted wagon sits in
a lonely spot, two horses hitched to it. No one seems to be about. Inside, the
wagon is filled with “Brother Ambrose’s Miracle Cure” bottles and a snoring,
drunken man (presumably Brother Ambrose).
20. A bag half full of moldering
flour lays on the ground here.
21. Four caltrops are on the ground
here, rusty but effective. Unless the party is VERY observant, horses have a 1
in 8 chance of stepping on one, people walking have only a 1 in 20 chance of
stepping on one, for 1-2 hp damage. Wounded beings have a 10% chance of
contracting a disease (see DMG).
22. A pool of water is here. Though
there is no wind, the surface of the water ripples as if a light breeze were
dancing across it.
23. A wild-eyed mule comes crashing
toward the party. It will “attack” a random PC in its frenzy to get away from
whatever has terrified it. If calmed (e.g. charm
animal), it is completely healthy and able to serve as a pack animal.
24. A rusty sword hilt is half buried
in the ground here. The blade is pitted and ruined and has nearly rusted away,
but the hilt has some silver on it (could be worth up to 1 gp).
25. Unnaturally large mushrooms grow
here. If eaten fresh (within one turn or so of “gathering”) they nourish a
person as if they have eaten for a full day. However, if gathered and consumed
later, they lose their efficacy, satisfying only as normal food. After two
days, they become mildly poisonous (causing dysentery). Everyone who lives within the region knows
about these mushrooms and calls them Goblin Mushrooms (most won’t eat them
because they fear them).
26. A severely wounded wild boar
limps from cover and falls dead at the feet of the party.
27. The party startles murmuration of
starlings. They fly in a circle above the party until the PCs leave the area.
28. The party startles a dozen ravens
feeding on the rotting body of a dead man.
29. The body of a dead giant spider
is here. It was recently killed. Trussed up in the webs are four goblin husks
and a human woman husk.
30. The bones of something huge are
mostly buried here. The bones are dragon bones and a recent rainstorm has
washed away some of the hillside, exposing the bones (front legs and some
ribs).
31. One tarot card lays trampled on
the ground here (alt. playing card or card of a deck of many things).
32. An ancient silver piece lays on the
ground here. If the area is searched, a second can be found. Then a third. A
total of seven silver pieces can be found, seemingly in a trail leading
to…nothing.
33. A rotted door is lying on the
ground here. A rune of some sort can be discerned having been painted on it. If
the door is moved, it will crumble. Beneath the ruin of the door is a human
skeleton (male).
34. The torso of a statue is here,
lying on the ground. The weather has worn away most of the features of this
armless and headless statue so that it is not discernable even whether or not
the statue depicted a man or a woman.
35. The ground here has a crack,
about 18” wide at its widest point, narrowing on each end. The crack is 20’
long and as deep as the DM determines.
36. A goblin body is hanging from a
noose off a huge branch of an oak tree here. The body has been hanging for
several days and has been slashed and bludgeoned.
37. A pool of black, thick, oily
substance collects on the ground here, occasionally bubbling slightly. This
ooze is non-magical, non-animate and non-flammable, and bubbles up from a
deeper pool of ooze somewhere beneath the ground. The pool is 8’ across and 2’
deep.
38. An opening in the ground here
climbs down into a 10’x10’ chamber with a 5’ ceiling. What appears to have been
a corridor leads off to the north, but has been collapsed (this is an old,
ransacked Goblin House).
39. Shards of recently broken pottery
litter the ground here smeared with something sweet smelling (raspberry jam).
40. A ghostly human figure wearing
tattered armor appears 100 yards from the party. The figure points toward the
party, then points toward the northwest, then fades.
41. Regardless of the weather, a
lightning bolt strikes a tree 100-1000 yards (d100x10) from the party, sending
limbs and splinters of wood 200’ in all directions.
42. The remains of a camp are here,
the coals of the fire inexpertly doused, are still warm. Tracks lead off to the
east.
43. Goblin tracks here indicate that
the goblins have dragged several large items or creatures through this area. If
followed to the source, some kind of ambush happened 100-1000 yards (d100x10)
where the area is flattened down and large amounts of blood cover the
ground. Following the trail in the other
direction leads to a butchering area ¼ mile away. The ground at the butchering
area is bloody and dozens of large and small bones. The trail is lost at the
nearest river.
44. A small box is on the ground
here. If opened, it will appear to be empty. However, the opener must save vs.
spells or be cursed with bad luck (suffer a -1 on all rolls until remove curse is cast on the opener).
45. A flagon from a famous inn in a
faraway city lays on the ground here, dented and dirty.
46. A shadow passes over the sun. But
the sky is clear of clouds and nothing flying, not even birds, can be seen for
miles…
47. Day or night, wolves are heard
howling far in the distance. Far off in the other direction, coyotes yip and
howl as if in response.
48. The strong smell of sulfur
permeates the air here. A small crevice in a rock or in the ground here is the
source of the stench, opening to a large deposit of pure sulfur which is being
eroded by a recently diverted spring.
