Dangerous Encounters

Here is a first draft for Dangerous Encounters in this region.

General Encounter Chart

1-8      NPC
9-16    Mundane Encounter
17-19  Dangerous Encounter
20       Special Encounter

Dangerous Encounters

Forest, Cleared and Hill Hexes

Roll 2d12

2.             Goblin Raiding Party (1d6+6 goblin warriors)

3.             2-5 Wild Boars

4.             1d10+10 Wolves

5.             1d8+6 Coyotes

6.             Goblin Raiding Party (1d8+7 warriors)

7.             2 Anhkheg Encountered once, then treat as no encounter.

8.             2 Brown Bears 

9.             2-12 Stag Beetles (will flee if more than two are killed – there are a total of 12 Stag Beetles in the area)

10.          1-4 Giant Spiders

11.          1-3 Giant Boars

12.          2-8 Wild Boars

13.          17 Flinds

14.          A forlarren named Winiard. If killed, treat as no encounter.

15.          2-12 Ghouls 

16.          2 Hill Giants (also Mountain encounters #6)

17.          40-400 Gibberlings

18.          3-30 Stirges

19.          8 Trolls 

20.          Goblin Raiding Party (1d10+10 goblin warriors)

21.     1d4+2 Longarms

22.     1-2 Ettercaps and 1-4 Giant Spiders

23.     Griffons (hex _____and the Chantry's Beautiful Gate)

24.     Envoy of the Silver Queen (hex ________)

Mountain Hexes

Roll 2d10

2.             Goblin Raiding Party (1d8+6 goblin warriors)

3.             3-30 Stirges

4.             1d10+10 Wolves

5.             Goblin Raiding Party (1d6+5 goblin warriors)

6.             3 Hill Giants are wandering in the area, they are rather cowardly and will not willingly fight to the death (also Forest, etc. encounters #16)

7.             2-12 Griffons (there are 17 Griffons in the mountains)

8.             1-12 Giant Goats

9.             1-2 Behir

10.          1-3 Stag Beetles

11.          1-2 Cave Bears 

12.          1 Spectre – only one Spectre haunts the mountains, after defeating this creature, treat as no encounter

13.          2-4 Wights (nighttime only, if during day treat as no encounter)

14.          1-3 Wraiths (nighttime only, if during day treat as no encounter)

15.          Goblin Raiding Party (1d10+7 goblin warriors)

16.          1d10+15 Wolves

17.     1-6 Longarms

18.     Envoy of the Silver Queen (hex _____)

19.     1-3 Giant Eagles (a dozen giant eagles live in the mountains to the north)

20.     Avalanche!

Anhkheg: These monsters lie waiting underground, attacking when the party is directly over them.  If either of the Anhkheg does maximum damage on an attack, it will try to drag its prey underground (Dexterity check to avoid). A creature dragged underground will take damage each round until it breaks free or dies. If one Anhkheg succeeds in dragging a prey underground, the other will break off attack and follow its mate to their lair to feast. There are only 2 Anhkheg in the area.

Bears, Brown: The bears will attack if they feel threatened but otherwise will desire to leave the party alone. There are a dozen brown bears in the area.

Bears, Cave: These aggressive creatures are seeking meat. Weak opponents will be attacked from multiple sides at once. 

Beetles, Stag: 10 of these fearsome giant insects roam the region. When encountered, there is a 30% chance the beetles will flee on sight, 40% chance they will stand their ground, 30% chance they will attack on sight. Inside each beetle are 1d10+6 gp from a previous meal.

Behir: 5 hungry behir wander the mountains. If more than one is encountered, the behir will be encountered fighting each other. If uninterrupted, one will eventually kill the other and then turn on the party with only 20-50% of hit points remaining (10*1d4+1)

Boars, Giant: These creatures are slightly more intelligent than their wild brothers, though they are also of far more violent temper. Giant Boars will attack on sight, attempting a crude ambush if possible, and fight to the death.

Boars, WIld: These viscious creatures attack if surprised or if injured. If one or more of their number is killed, the remaining boars will flee.

Coyotes: Cowardly, but hungry, these mangy beasts will attack chaotically, running away if injured.

Eagles, Giant: The Giant Eagles in the region are only dangerous if attacked, then they fight until reduced to 12 or fewer hit points. These Giant Eagles particularly hate goblins and will attack them on sight. They also hate dwarves, though only to the point of extreme rudeness.

Envoy of the Silver Queen: 

Ettercaps: There are 6 Ettercaps in this region (3 lairing in hex 15, 3 have wandered into this area and move around). Only 1 or 2 Ettercaps will be encountered at any given time, though accompanied by 1-4 Giant Greyback Spiders. 70% chance the encountered Ettercaps will be the wanderers, 30% chance they are from Hex 15. When 1 Ettercap is encountered, it will be feasting with its spider "friends" on the corpse of a moose. When 2 Ettercaps are encountered, they have set snares and traps and lie in wait (though the spiders accompanying them are impatient and are 60% likely to spoil an ambush).

Flinds: These 17 Flinds are trying to move with stealth, gathering information for their tribe which intends to potentially make war on the goblins of the region. They are cowardly and will run away if facing a powerful opponent. 

Forlarren Winiard: This creature is a collector of gold earrings. The creature does not attack on sight, but will parley, attempting to gain any gold earrings the PCs may have. Winiard has 9 gold earrings on his person (7 in his ears) worth 1d20+20 gp each as well as 3 small emeralds (worth 30 gp each) and 123 gp. Winiard will attempt to buy any golden earringsthe party possesses. If rebuffed, he will attack.

Ghouls: These undead are seeking human flesh to consume. There are19 ghouls in this area.

Giants, Hill: 2 Hill Giants are wandering in the area, they are rather cowardly and will not willingly fight to the death. They are running away from the Hill Giant King's Steading and are hoping to set up a lair of their own. They squabble with each other more than act aggressively toward anyone encountered.

Gibberlings: There is a horde of Gibberlings that nests in this region. They frequently move their nest and rarely molest intelligent beings in the area. If more than 80 Gibberlings are encountered, the nest has been encountered. Gibberlings swarm their opponents, striking the strongest looking opponents first. If the nest is encountered, the Gibberlings fight to the death. Otherwise, they will withdraw after losing 20% of their number, gathering the whole nest to harrass the party with hit and run tactics. There are a total of 400 Gibberlings in this nest.

Goats, Giant: Good for eating, but aggressive in nature. Giant Goats take everything as a threat to their territory and try to butt interlopers into a pulp.

Goblin Raiding Parties: Goblins have been sent out from the Godking at the Chantry of the Deepflame to:

          1. get slaves 

          2. get loot 

          3. get food 

          4. find an item 

          5. torment the Sisters of Mercy (hex 20) 

          6. destroy the Brothers Five (hex 19) 

          7. gain intelligence 

          8. push around allies of the King Under the Water

          9. seek out the Gibberling nest in this region

         10. get a powerful hostage (for the godking to 1. ransom 2. eat to grow stronger 3. torture for pleasure 4. feed to the tentacled horror)

Griffons are on the prowl for horses. If the party is riding/leading horses, one griffon will attempt to swoop down and grab a horse while the others try to distract the party. There are 17 Griffons nested in the mountains and 12 Griffons nested at the Beautiful Gate.

Longarms: (New Creature) These creatures are envoys of the Gnome King, using illusion to make themselves appear to be disfigured goblins. They prefer to parley and flee rather than fight. They are traveling to:

           1.    The Chantry of the Deepflame

           2.    The Greenhag

           3.    Back to the Gnome King's Hall

           4.    Back to the Gnome King's Hall but are lost

           5.    The King Under The Water

           6.    Wisdom Falls (hex 42)

Spectre: A single Spectre haunts this region. Always encountered at night, the Spectre wanders looking for his daughter. Children (or halflings) will cause the Spectre to flee. Any red-haired woman will be approached by the Spectre for an embrace (which is, in effect, an attack). If the embrace is not returned, the Spectre will fly into a rage and attack everyone accompanying the red-head. If the party contains no red-haired women, use standard encounter reactions.

Spider, Giant Greyback: (New Creature) These spiders drop from trees or shoot webs from dark holes to try to snare prey. These are the favored "pets" of the Ettercaps in the area (see Ettercap entry for information). When the encounter indicates only spiders, they will work together until one opponent is down, then they will squabble among themselves to get the dead/paralyzed vicitm.

Stirges: If more than 12 stirges are encountered, they will attack in waves, one-third of their number at a time. If fewer than12 are encountered, they total number will swam opponents one at a time. If half the stirges are killed, the remaining stirges will feed on their fallen brothers, igoring their oponents.

Trolls: These mindless creatures attack on sight, clawing at opponents' eyes, trying to blind them. The trolls are seeking to make a lair in the area. They flee from fire and acid, but otherwise fight ferociously.

Wights: These wicked undead spirits haunt the region seeking to slay the living.

Wolves: A pack of very hungry wolves attacks the weakest looking opponent or any stragglers. These wolves will try to swarm their prey, dragging down an opponent with the sheer volume of their attacks. If half or more are killed or injured, they will flee and gather with another pack, returning to exact revenge.

Wraiths: These are spirits of fallen warriors haunting the region. They attack clerics first. They will not flee.

Hex 17

17. Woodland Marsh

            This entire hex is a swampy marsh and movement in this hex is cut in half. A druid lives in this marsh and has been ensorcelled by the Green Hag. He is in love with her and will do almost anything she demands – though she hasn’t yet turned him completely evil. He is very conflicted and mutters to himself, second guessing every evil deed he commits, yet so enthralled with the Green Hag is he that he is compelled to please her, by committing these minor atrocities. She has not yet convinced him to perform the task she charmed him to do: release the bound Will-o-Wisps in the marsh. He is dangerously close to doing so, however.

Most of the marsh is unremarkable. Use the following encounter table and the following encounter key for interesting or dangerous features. The DM may roll on the Mundane Encounter table as he/she sees fit.

Roll d8        Marsh Encounter

1.             2-4 alligators

2.             Swamp Gas (save vs. spells or become nauseated for the next hour, fight at -2)

3.             Geryon (see area 8.9)

4.             Green Hag (see Hex 12)

5.             Swamp Gas (save vs. spells or become light headed, AC penalty of -2 for one hour)

6.             2-5 alligators

7.             Unexpected boon (a friendly sprite, a scroll tube with a random scroll, a bone flute, a dagger, a friendly alligator, etc)

8.             Pestilence (see 8.4 for details)

17.1        Mossy Oak: This oak tree is really a Hangman’s Tree that Geryon has twisted from the original mossy oak that grew here.

17.2        Sandy Shore: The ground here is sandy and unstable, difficult to move across, though there is no quicksand here. Movement in this area is at ¼ normal rate because of the unpredictable footing. A catoblepas lairs here and will attack any living thing that comes nearby.

17.3        The Druid’s Mark: The trees here are carved with a symbol, a stylized “G” it appears to be. The symbols radiate a faint magic. If they are touched, Geryon is instantly aware of the touch and the location. If the symbols are traced by a human finger (gloved or ungloved), the symbol will begin to glow and then the symbol will appear on the forehead of the symbol’s tracer and Geryon and the Green Hag (see hex 12) will become able to locate the bearer of the Druid’s Mark no matter where they go.  Remove curse at 7^th caster level to remove the mark.

If the party has the opportunity to ask Geryon about the marks on the trees, he will tell them that they are the mark of the goddess’s blessing and if they trace the symbols, the mark of the goddess will appear on their foreheads and they will be marked as friends of the forest.

17.4        Pestilence:  The bones of many animals are partly buried in the muddy soil here. A plague of biting and stinging insects will attack any living creature who enter these areas. The insects do 2-8 hp damage per round (save vs. dragon breath for half damage). Running reduces the damage to half (quarter damage if save is made) and the cloud of insects will disperse after running for 4 rounds, otherwise, the swarm of insects continually renews itself and attacking relentlessly.

17.5        Alguduir Nest: A pair of Alguduir nest here, deep the underbrush. One of the creatures will be on the nest (with their egg) and the other will be stalking silently nearby (3-8 chance of surprising the party). The Alguduir give both Geryon and the Green Hag a wide berth since they have had dangerous encounters with both of them in the past.

17.6        Deep Water: The water here is extremely, and unexpectedly, deep. Anyone tramping through the water without testing the ground ahead with a pole or staff or branch or the like will find themselves suddenly sucked down in a deep well, the current unexpectedly drawing them downward (a sort of enchanted vortex). The bottom of the natural well here is 40’. Touching the bottom breaks the enchantment and allows the captured person to swim upward. The enchantment is such that it takes 4 minutes for a person to reach the bottom, minus ten seconds per AC point below 9 (thus AC -1 would be 4 minutes -100 seconds, or 2 minutes and 20 seconds). Breath holding mechanic can be CON check minus the  number of minutes breath is held (that is roll CON – 4 on d20 to determine if the PC can hold his/her breath long enough) or some other method the DM determines.

17.7        Piles of Bones: Four huge piles of bones are mounded here, mostly small animal bones, but a few very large (6-8’ long femurs, for example) can be picked out of the piles. There are no skulls. There is no indication why the bones are here or what killed the creatures.

17.8        Caged Light: Three Will-o-the-Wisps are in iron cages here. The cages are enchanted to contain the creatures. If any magic is cast upon the cages themselves, the doors will creak open and the Wisps will launch attacks. If freed, the Will-o-the-Wisps will attempt to kill every living creature they contact. The Green Hag believes she can control them (she is wrong, however). If released, the Wisps will spread out, seeking living creatures, and feed throughout the valley.

17.9        Mud Hut: Geryon lives here. The mud and stick hut appears hastily built and barely standing. The doorway is very large, covered over by what appears to be a weaved grass mat.

Inside, the contents are in disarray, as Geryon constantly battles his inner demons. He lairs here with two large brown bears that he has named Carus and Darus. They will defend him with their lives.  

Geryon, Druid, 7^th Level, S 11, I 12, W 17, D 13, C12, Ch16 hp 26 Al N(E)-charmed, going insane

Level 1   Entangle, Locate Animal, Pass Without Trace, Speak With Animals

Level 2   Charm Mammal, Cure Light Wounds, Heat Metal, Obscurement

Level 3   Cure Disease, Snare, Stone Shape

Level 4   Hold Plant

Brown Bear: AC 6; MV 120’; HD 5+5; hp 26, 37; THAC0 15; #AT 3; D 1-6/1-6/1-8; SA Hug (2-12); SZ L; Int Semi; AL N; XP 456/522. (MM)

TO FINISH: Map

Weather

I doubt this is at all realistic, and it's probably too fiddly for most people, but here's a draft of a general weather chart that I'm considering using for this region.

Table: Random Weather
d20	Weather	Wind Table	Temp Table	Precip Table	Temperate Climate
1-13	Normal weather	1d10	1d10	1d6-1	Normal for season
14-15	Abnormal weather	2d6	2d6	2d4	Heat wave (01-50) or cold snap (51-100) 1d8+12 on Temperature Table
16-17	Inclement weather	3d4	3d4	1d4+6	Precipitation (normal for season)
18-19	Storm	1d10+6	1d10+6	1d6+6	Thunderstorm, snowstorm
20*	Powerful storm	1d10+10	1d10+10	1d4+8	Windstorm, blizzard, hurricane, tornado
* Roll d20 again – if abnormal weather is indicated (14-19), the storm is a powerful storm as listed below, if a second 20 is rolled, the storm is a “storm of the century” table listed below.

Wind Table		Temperature Table***		Precipitation Table
1	No Wind 0 mph	1	10 degree change	0	Very dry, cloudless
2-3	Light Wind 0-10 mph	2-3	5 degree change	1	Dry, clouds
4-7	Moderate Wind 11-20 mph	4-7	No change	2-3	Dry, very cloudy
8-10	Variable Winds**	8-9	5 degree change	4-5	Partly cloudy, brief drizzle
11-12	High Winds 20-50 mph	10	10 degree change	6	Rain, 2d4 hours, overcast
13-14	Severe Wind 50-70 mph	11-12	15 degree change	7	Heavy Rain, 3d4 hours
15-16	Dangerous Wind 70-90 mph	13-15	20 degree change	8	Soaking Rain, 2d6 hours, overcast
17	Deadly Wind 90-120 mph	16-17	25 degree change	9	Hard Rain, 3d8 hours, thick cloud cover
18	Hurricane Winds 120-150 mph	18	30 degree change	10	Hard Rain, 2d12 hours including 1 hour of hail, sun-blocking clouds
19	Tornado Winds 150-200 mph	19	40 degree change	11	Hard Rain, 6d4 hours, flooding, sun-blocking clouds
20	Unnatural Winds 200+ mph	20	50 degree change	12	Hard rain, 24 hours, flooding, extreme lightning, sun-blocking clouds
** Variable Winds: Winds blowing from 10-40 (1d4x10) mph with gusts 50-90 mph (1d4+4x10). Check for gusts any time something is attempted that might be adversely affected by winds *** Temperature changes are based on the previous day’s temperatures. Unless otherwise directed, a 50% chance of raising and 50% chance of lowering temperatures.

Storm of the Century
1d8	Temperate Climate
1	Hurricane/Tornado cluster (2d4 tornadoes touch down)3d6+12 inches of rain over 24 hour period, massive flooding
2-4	1d8+4 inches of rain falls for 1d12+12 hours, flooding, cluster lightning
5-7	Hail the size of grapefruits falls for 10d6 minutes (each does 1d6 damage), +1d4+8 inches of rain over 12 hour period, flooding
8	Golf ball sized hail for 10d4 minutes (1 point of damage each), +12d6 inches of rain over 20 hour period, cluster lightning

Hex 7

7. Woodbridge

This "village" which fords the headwaters of the Whitewater River is home to several families of loggers. These woodsmen cut trees in the area and stockpile them in the area until the spring floods when they float the logs down the river toward <__________> where the logs are sawn into boards and the bark is stripped and used in local tanneries.

Woodbridge is a bit of a misnomer here in that no bridge crosses the river here, but the river is fordable here. The 14 buildings of the village are rough hewn logs chinked with mud and stone, built well away from the banks of the river (due to the spring flooding) and surrounded by a log palisade. Depending on the season of the year, there may be as many as 200 logs piled here or as few as a dozen or so. The village consists of 32 men, 11 women, 17 children, 4 men too old to work in the woods, 12 oxen and 4 horses, and two buckboard wagons. Supplies are drawn from Faller Village to the north (typically old men go for supplies) once every four to six weeks. 

Headman: Durias Ashford (F2, 7hp)

The Men:
Giffan, Bully, Will, Agar, Hagrin, Danforn, Mical, Andars, Kellran, Timoth, Landon, Mytan, Gil, Galen, Sammat, Ashar, Trunk, Gold, Dorn, Garn, Horace, Hillan, Oran, Bran, Fillian, Petran, Edgar, Del, Mossy, Dale, Alan

The Women:
Rose, Gilly, Ila, Lily, Guin, Lana, Missy, Elean, Eileen, Audry, Ester, Robin

The Elders:
Janran, Mandan, Duster, Grimm

Children:
Girls: Guinny, Wenda, Dastan, Millie, Windy, Abby, Dana, Mally
Boys: Buff, Michan, Mical, Landon, Gil, Gundy, Kelly, Sonny, Danny

TO FINISH: Details for NPCs, map