Tuesday 28 April 2020

WILDERNESS ENCOUNTERS

If you haven't yet read it, go and take a look at Arnold Kemp's Encounter Stew post over at Goblin Punch because it really is much more elegant than my version:

http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2019/07/encounter-stew.html

Google dice, uploaded to my google blog via my google android phone. Sleepwalking into dystopia...
I really loved the mechanic of encounter stew, not just for its elegance but also for its spectacle: we each chucked a die into the bowl with the same gay abandon of adventurous 40-year-olds tossing car keys at a party hosted in the house that grows pampas grass on its front lawn.

I ran it a few sessions, but then thought about making a few alterations to squeeze it into the skill attribute check/ skill system I'd built for my table, and then followed with some setting-specific encounter tables.


THE MECHANIC

Every time the party enters a new hex roll for encounters with a set of dice in a bowl, using different coloured dice if possible.

The standard dice are as follows:

  • Encounter die—a red D12. The GM is free to increase or decrease the die size to modulate the likelihood of encounters. 
  • Caution die—a blue D4. Use a bigger die if the pariahs are attempting to move stealthily (see below).
  • Awareness die—a yellow D6. If a party member has the listening skill, use that die instead.

Deduct the awareness and caution dice from the encounter die and consult the generic encounters table (below).

  • If the caution dies shows a “1” whatever they encounter is immediately aware of them (it cannot be surprised).
  • If the awareness die shows a “1” whatever they encounter automatically gains surprise.

Encounters occur at a distance of 4d12 feet. Roll an additional D12 for each “12” rolled and add to the total.

MOVING WITH CAUTION (STEALTH)

The party may increase their caution die from a D4 to a D6 if they move through the wilderness at half speed. This reduces the likelihood of an encounter, and also means they are more likely to catch
whatever they encounter unawares.

A group of more than ten pariahs is unable to move cautiously.

If a particularly stealthy pariah leads the group, they may increase the caution die to match their stealth skill. The party must still move at half speed.

HUNTING & TRACKING

A party moving at half speed may also elect to hunt & track: the purpose is to keep their eyes and ears open for signs of any big game or unusual creatures, to find their tracks and to trail them.
The dice set-up and how they’re interpretated differs somewhat from the usual encounter array:


  • A 4th die is added, a green D6. 
  • This might be a larger die if a party member is skilled at tracking. Note, this party member must take point and their stealth die must be used (if applicable).
  • Roll for an encounter as usual, but with the addition of the tracking die.
  • A roll of 4 or higher on the tracking die means a trail has been found:
      • If an encounter has also been rolled, the trail leads to that encounter (if the party choose to follow it).
      • If no encounter has been rolled, the trail will lead back to a lair/nest/camp of a randomly determined creature.
  • Tracking means the party/ band will spend their entire journey time exploring the hex. 

The GM is encouraged to supply as much additional information as they think appropriate to the situation, describing footprints, tracks  or other details the pariahs might observe, and encourage the players to act on this information as they see fit.

Furthermore, if desired, the GM can take other factors such as terrain and weather into account, and whether the pariahs have animal allies that can assist them on the hunt.

NIGHT ENCOUNTER

If the party is travelling at night, they will usually require some torches to light their way to avoid becoming lost (though they may navigate by the moon and stars in open country). Carrying torches or other forms of illumination has the the following effects on the party:

  • they may not use their caution die.
  • They also lose their awareness die as the confusing soundscapes of night and relative darkness confuse and confound their senses.
  • Instead, the encounter die is opposed by an illumination die. The size is set by the Gm (maximum D12, minimum D2): the brighter the light(s) the bigger the die.
  • Deduct the illumination die from the encounter die to calculate random encounters.


Parties travelling at night without torches increase their chance of getting lost and must move at half speed. To move stealthily they must move at ¼ of their normal rate.  Otherwise, use the same rules for generating encounters listed above

ENCOUNTER DISTANCE

Encounters occur at a distance of 4d12 x 10 feet. Roll an additional D12 for each “12” rolled and add to the total.

Example:
The GM rolls 8, 12, 1 and 6. The additional die roll 3, for a total of 30. The encounter will occur at 300’. 

Variable encounter distance

Encounter Distance by Ambient Light
Environment
Light conditions
Distance
Cave/interior
Very good
4d6 x 10 feet
Cave/interior
Dim
2d6 x 10 feet
Cave/interior
No light
1d4 x 10 feet
Wilderness
Very good
4d12 x 10 feet
Wilderness
Dim 
2d12 x 10 feet
Wilderness
Very low light 
(or poor weather such 
as fog or snow)
1d12 x 10 feet

THE EXPLORATION TURN

This encounter method is also employed during the exploration phase of play, though the dice are rolled each ten minute turn instead of only when a new hex is entered.


WILDERNESS ENCOUNTER TABLES

GENERIC ENCOUNTERS TABLE
Roll
Plains
Woods
Swamp
Mountain/
 hills
Desert
Jungle
River/Lake
Ocean
1 or less
No encounter
2
Animal
Animal
Swimmer
Animal
No encounter
Animal
Swimmer
Swimmer
3
Animal
Animal
Swimmer
Animal
Insect
Animal
Swimmer
Swimmer
4
Insect
Animal
Insect
Flyer
Flyer
Insect
Swimmer
Swimmer
5
Flyer
Insect
Flyer
Flyer
Flyer
Insect
Animal
Swimmer
6
Human
Human
Human
Insect
Animal
Human
Flyer
Flyer
7
Human
Weird
Weird
Human
Human
Weird
Human
Flyer
8
Weird
Spirit
Spirit
Weird
Weird
Spirit
Weird
Weird/
human
9 or more
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit
Spirit

Roll or choose an appropriate encounter from the corresponding sub-table below.




ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS BY HABITAT

1d12
Plains
Woods
Swamp
Mountain/
 hills
Desert
Jungle
River/Lake
Arable
1
Gazelle
Deer
Flamingo
Goat
Gazelle
Boar
Gazelle
Auroch
(domestic)
2
Auroch
Giant bees
Racoon
Cave Bear*
Auroch
Lizard*
Auroch
Giant rat
3
Warthog
Boar
Chimp
Baboon*
Zebra
Giant Spider*
Warthog
Dog*
4
Rhino
Hawk *
Giant Spider*
Llama
Serpent*
Serpent*
Rhino
Elephant (domestic)
5
Jackal**
Serpent *
Flyer
Auroch/ yak
Jackal**
Serpent*
Jackal**
Auroch (wild)
6
Zebra
Giant ants*
Human
Racoon dog
Vulture**
Monkey
Zebra
Elephant (wild)
7
Giraffe
Tortoise
Salamander
Serpent*
Lizard*
Salamander
Giraffe
Giant locust
8
Elephant
Pony
Giant frog
Weird
Baboon*
Giant frog
Elephant
Boar (domestic)
9
Baboon*
Chimp *
Dragonfly
Hawk*
Goat
Baboon*
Gazelle
Goat (domestic)
10
Hyena **
Wolf *
Serpent*
Wolf*
Elephant
Chimp*
Giant catfish
Pony (domestic)
11
Cat * (leopard/
cheetah)
Grizzly Bear *
Giant crab *
Leopard*
Hyena*
Panther/
leopard
Piranha shoal*
Human
12
Cat * (lion/ sabretooth)
Giant spider *
Crocodile*
Mountain Lion*
Lion*
Tiger
Crocodile*
Lion*


*  For predators, roll again for prey/rivals on 1d20. Results higher than 12 indicate the predators are resting and no other animals are nearby.


** For scavengers, roll again for prey/rivals on 1d20. There is a 75% chance that any additional creatures are already dead. Results higher than 12 indicate the scavengers are resting and no other animals are nearby.


All other animals have a 1 in 4 chance of being accompanied by another creature (1 in 8 in the desert).


INSECT/ BUG BY HABITAT

1d10
Plains/ desert/ mountains
River/lake/swamp
Jungle/forest
1
Giant scorpion*
Dragonfly
Giant bees
2
Giant ant*
Robber fly*
Giant ants*
3
Giant locust
Giant leech**
Giant spider*
4
Scarab
Water spider*
Tiger beetle*
5
Trapdoor spider*
Water beetle*
Robber fly*
6
Insect swarm
Parasitic worm***
Giant scorpion*
7
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
Giant snail
8
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
9
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
10
Insect swarm
Insect swarm
Insect swarm


*  For predators, roll again for prey/rivals on the animals table with 1d20. Results higher than 12 indicate the predators are lying in wait and no other animals are nearby.


** For giant leeches and parasitic worms, roll 1d20 on the animals table for their prey, ignoring results higher than 12.


All other animals have a 1 in 4 chance of being accompanied by another creature (1 in 8 in the desert).



FLYERS BY HABITAT

1d10
Mountain/ desert
River/lake/swamp
All other
1
Pterosaur (winged terror)
Bat swarm
Giant bees
2
Bat swarm
Dragonfly
Insect swarm
3
Giant bat
Feathered serpent
Bat swarm
4
Hawk
Flamingo
Robber fly
5
Giant hawk
Griffon 
Flamingo
6
Manticore
Insect swarm
Hawk
7
Griffon
Insect swarm
Griffon
8
Sphinx
Manticore
Sphinx
9
Feathered serpent
Robber fly
Feathered serpent
10
Roc
Spirit
Roc


SWIMMERS BY HABITAT

1d10
Swamp
River/lake
Ocean
1
Crocodile
Crocodile
Dolphin
2
Feathered serpent
Feathered serpent
Dragon turtle
3
Giant catfish
Giant catfish
Giant octopus
4
Giant crab
Giant piranha
Giant squid
5
Giant leech
Glaucon
Glaucon
6
Glaucon
Hippo
Great shark
7
Hydra
Human
Great whale
8
Insect swarm
Hydra
Human
9
Insect swarm
Piranha shoal
Kraken
10
Salamander
Salamander
Megacarp
11
Serpent
Serpent
Serpent
12
Spirit
Spirit
Titan

HUMAN ENCOUNTERS

1d12
Wilderness
Arable land/ settlement
1
Cursed pariah party (roll for curse template)
Chieftain
2
Herder + 5d6 animals
Farm labourers 
3
Hunting party, neighbouring band
Farm labourers 
4
Hunting party, unknown band
Farm labourers 
5
Hunting party, settled peoples
Farm labourers 
6
Lone pariah
Farm labourers 
7
Pariah band
Farm labourers
8
Shaman
Herder + 5d6 animals
9
Sorcerer or witch
Priest
10
Spirits disguised as a humans (roll again)
Raiders (hunting party)
11
Trading party, settled peoples 
Warriors
12
Trading party, unknown band
Wisewoman (witch)


SPIRIT ENCOUNTERS BY TYPE & REALM

1d12
Type*
1d12
Realm*
1
Elemental (conjuration)
1
Dawn
2
Elemental (conjuration)
2
Dawn
3
Hunting party, neighbouring band
3
Dusk
4
Greater spirit (daemon)
4
Here (& now)
5
Spirits disguised as a humans (roll on humans table)
5
Here (& now)
6
Spell spirit (invocation)
6
Here (& now)
7
Spell spirit (invocation)
7
Here (& now)
8
Spell spirit (invocation)
8
Moon
9
Spell spirit (invocation)
9
Sun
10
Spell spirit (invocation)
10
The Beyond
11
Spell spirit (invocation)
11
There (death)
12
Spell spirit (invocation)
12
There (death)


*Roll each column separately.



WEIRD ENCOUNTERS

Create unique encounters for the “weird” option or roll on this table.
1d12
Weird encounter
1
Animal spirit
2
Bloodrinker
3
Elemental (conjuration)
4
Feathered serpent
5
Ghost
6
Ghoul
7
Glaucon
8
Jackalwere
9
Nameless one
10
Sorcerer or witch
11
Spirit (roll on table)
12
Spirit-touched human and attendants 

2 comments:

  1. Good lord, I feel like your encounter tables really give a sense of the landscape and lore. And there's just so *much*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All cribbed from the Cook Expert set (with some amendments)!

      And I thinks that's as it should be, right? Rather than reams and reams of historical and geographical text for a GM to read through and occasionally bore the players with the players can learn about the world around them through the characters and creatures they meet.

      Delete