Lots of nasty creatures lurk in the dark corners of dungeons, tombs and ruined temples. Sooner or later the delvers are going to meet one. And it will not be on the terms that they expect. For monsters in the dungeon do not sit idly in their rooms waiting for adventurers to come kick in the doors, kill them and then steal all their treasure. Sometimes they are out collecting their treasures. Sometimes they may be out foraging for food. Or sometimes they might even be out…..looking for adventurers who are trespassing on their turf. Random encounters are essential in Dungeons and Dragons.
Random Encounters Should Be Random
I am certainly in favor of rolling frequently when adventurers choose to do stupid things. See my previous article about sleeping in the dungeon for my views on that. But I do believe in keeping the regular random encounter checks to certain intervals of time. Dice should be used. And if the dice indicate an encounter then one should occur.
Not Every Encounter is Hostile
Sometimes the explorers may encounter creatures that are not inherently hostile to themselves. These creatures might even be potential allies in a hostile place. Whether they are friendly or hostile to the adventurers is going to depend upon their actions and perhaps reaction tables should you wish to use them.
Some Encounters Will Be Hostile
Some creatures met in the dungeon are just plain mean. They will always be unfriendly to just about anyone that they meet. Some are not even that friendly to others of their own species.
Using Tables
I believe that a dungeon master would be best served by making their own random encounter tables for their dungeons. It makes little sense for the delvers to bump into an owlbear in a tomb filled with undead. But if you rely upon the DMG random encounter tables something like that might happen. It makes far more sense to pick monsters that are currently set encounters in your adventure and make your table from these residents of the dungeon. Those are far more likely to be met as wandering monsters. And you can place some other creatures that are unlikely to have a real home in the dungeon but often lurk there anyway. Gelatinous cubes, green slimes, black puddings and the like might be found in the hallways or other corners. These might not otherwise have a set location in the dungeon.
Surprise!
Surprise will be covered in more detail in a later article. But obviously surprise is an important part of random encounters. It is easily possible for either party to be surprised in such an encounter. And it is also possible for both parties to be surprised. And this, of course, can change the dynamics entirely. One party that might be weaker might gain a significant advantage by being more aware than the other.
The Effects of Wandering Monsters
Random encounters contribute to the depletion of resources that the delvers are depending upon to survive in this hostile environment. And this is a good thing. Because once your adventurers begin to feel safe in the dungeon the game itself begins to have less attraction. Keeping the adventurers on their toes keeps a certain level of suspense going which is essential to keeping a happy dungeons and dragons group.
