Random encounters are tradition of RPGs that requires some re-examining.

How many of them I’ve encountered in my playing career hasn’t been many; although, honestly, I’ve rarely been privy to a DM’s planning during the actual session. This is a good thing. Some will tell you the stats of the monster you’re fighting to make things easier, but this time saver kills my immersion – like getting critted by a Minotaur sized great axe with a handful of hit points left. In my beginning days as a player, we weren’t even allowed to page through the DMG or Monstrous Compendium – EVER! Not even on our own time, alone in a bookstore, where you could easily be reaching for a book of fantasy art and accidentally grab a rulebook as an honest mistake. Also, our dice were like lumps of wax with numbers carved in them like Stone Age cave etchings and our dungeons needed a week trek up a mountain to get to during spring thaw (adventuring season in many of our games).

I think setting-specific encounters are a great way to make an environ feel real. Sensory-stimulating descriptions are a must, but when the world reaches out to fuck with you it makes an impression. The heroes on their way through a desert should have to deal with water thieving bandits, a sandstorm, stumbling across an Ankheg’s pit, having their blood drained by carnivorous cacti. If they don’t, you might as cut scene through the whole trek – but, if you can describe dunes of sand in enough ways to make it entertaining for half an hour, more power to you. Frank Herbert had to introduce Dr. Kynes to explain the beauty of such an exotic desert ecosystem. A specialist ranger would do, but it’s still a dry subject. HAHAHA! (Hoping for contagious laughter … will be disappointed).

Why let the dice decide how these encounters are arranged though? “It’s the fair way,” is the common answer. Chaos is fair, ask Harvey Dent, but it doesn’t respect the flow of a story. You roll and get some result that often doesn’t fit, so you roll again or pick something you want. Why even roll then? A party beaten up after a tough victory and barely strong enough to haul away all their gold and booty that runs across a huge bandit party is … exciting, but can end in suckage. A vindictive DM will roll on the encounter table at this time and hope for such a thing, choosing the foil of their desire even if they don’t roll it. This is when the dice become scapegoat, “I let them fall where they may. It’s not my fault.” Cowards, the term “pussy” is too good for them as it implies femininity. I’ve had female DMs that will plainly tell you everybody in the tavern is your level in a fucking heroic class – pinch a serving girl’s ass and get power attacked with a tray that doubles as a light shield … the bitches.

Best to write out some scenarios that can happen in a locale and use them as desired. If the party is doing a lot of planning as they move, time for some action – Hello, Blue Dragon! After the dragon is felled, they later find an ancient magical artifact that offers a foreshadowing clue of what’s ahead. To the players these will still be random, but you the GM are handling things by your design. All of the excitement for the players, your audience, none of the headaches or wasted time looking up something you had no idea you’d be using. Also, overuse bleeds away the excitement over time.

Shouldn’t have let them read the Monstrous Compendium … dummy.

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