I agree! I really like them. I find it really changes my mindset on running encounters when I have no idea what their disposition will be until the moment!
For a game I DM'ed, I prepared encounters for the wilderness my characters were going to explore. I had 6 to 10 groups of Kobolds of varying size (scouts, pillaging parties, etc.) and a few groups of nomad tribes (Which could be friendly, suspicious or unfriendly). I had a map of the region and for each day of travel from my PCs, I would also roll the direction and the distance traveled by the non-random encounters. So in a way, the "non-random encounters" would however happen in a random order and frequency.
Excellent points! I don't mind lower encounter numbers in areas close to towns or otherwise patrolled. I rediscovered the BECMI reaction tables and rules recently. There you first roll as usual perhaps with a situational modifier of - 2 to +2. Then if there's no immediate hostility or friendliness, you roll again in case the PCs parley with the speaker's cha mod. If the original reaction roll was 3-5, the second roll would have - 4, if it was 9-11, then +4 modifier is applied. The roll results can ofc be interpreted situationally as well. A hostile pacifist priest might be extremely suspicious of the PCs for some reason or they might be driven to irrational behavior by some cause.
Sounds like an interesting system! I agree that you can have lower level threats closer to a safe haven if you want. And the farther the players go into the wilderness, then there can be more danger. But its okay to have threats as they make sense in the world too (e.g. Smaug next to Laketown)!
@@Earthmote Yeah. I find the BECMI version clearer procedurally than OSE (I don't have B/X). Eg. the monsters have surprise and DM rolls the reaction before the players get to act. There's no parley and cha mods yet. I admit I haven't had the chance to run the BECMI version extensively yet. I like the idea though. I agree, that it's probably nice even in a safer area to have encounters that are clearly beyond the PCs power. I like the simulationist idea behind the random encounters and I especially did the emergent play as well as immersion it helps create. Thanks again for an interesting video!
I'm currently running a hexcrawl sandbox game in 5E (heavily modified to be more gritty), and my random encounter procedure is pretty much the same as yours. No balancing of encounters, but I use a d12+d8 for a flat topped curve so the most dangerous encounters are more rare. I check for weather and any terrain feature that might come in handy in case there's a fight. I first check if an encounter is tracks (40% chance), if not I check if its a lair (20% chance). I got this from The Alexandrian blog. Then I check for surprise, visibility and audible distance. Lastly I roll "what are they doing?" and a classic 2d6 reaction roll. To top this off I have a handy solo-play oracle (the one in Ironsworn is my favorite) nearby if I want some extra context. I've found this makes random encounters feel very varied and complex, and is really really fun to generate. I generate a pool of encounters before a session, so if I trigger one during play I can just grab the next one on the list. Otherwise it would take too much time from my players if I rolled all this at the table.
Two things: 1 is know it is okay to pre roll random encounters, which will give you some time to figure out what that thing is and why is it there. 2 is let the players know they do not have to fight every random encounter. It is absolutely okay to simply hide or otherwise pass by that encounter.
I am finding that Stravagante! and Maze Rats have excellent tables for rolling up the motivation for NPCs in random encounters. Sometimes, the tropes line up easily, and others require magical and illusionist thinking. The results are always satisfying.
I wish they had never taken out "morale" out of the monster/NPC statblock. It was there FOR A REASON. It would have been so helpful to new DMs to 5e. If the monsters are down in hit points, you roll to see if they run or not.
Why does it have to be behind a die roll, though? In the games I DM, I'd much rather have my monsters fight and behave organically, rather than relying on the dice gods to determine the monsters' every move. Even my current Lv 10 party with overpowered skillsets still have trouble with enemies they are meant to kill that keep running away. 🤗
If you go by random encounters done on a one for a six sided die. A percentile die is mentioned in the 1e ad&d MM. These rolls can be combined into a rolls of just two dice, instead of three. A comparable chance is have very rare at 1%, rare at 2%, uncommon at 3%, and common at 11%. All rolls over 17 are considered no encounter. An encounter table shall be smaller, and more habitat focused.
The way I do random encounters for my 5E games is to treat them as modular planned encounters. A planned encounter doesn't mean that it's "balanced", but that the context and purpose of the encounter has already been figured out in advanced and it has a place in the world that can be foreshadowed or called back to in future encounters. I don't know exactly when or where these encounters will happen, but when they do happen, it will make sense for the area and tie into other things that are going on. I feel that this makes the world feel much more immersive. If you really like the emergent storytelling aspect, you can still have that, I'm just saying to roll ahead of time as part of your session prep so that you have plenty of time to come up with context and possible tie-ins. A well-thought out encounter will always be better than something made up on the spot.
Interesting thoughts! I do like to add named NPCs into the random encounter tables. That way the players can meet different characters that may or may not recur. But they have defined goals, motivations, or information that might be useful to the players. That way I'm not planning set encounters fully, but it does give me a bit more to go off of if they encounter a named NPC.
Just found the channel. Great video. I use reaction tables as well as a basic morale system for running 5e. And random encounter tables I make out of love. If I wanted a pre determined outcome, I’d try writing a (probably terrible) novel. The random aspect keeps me guessing and engaged along with the players. Would you be willing to share the table you kind of glossed over that indicated your 61 strong orc horde we’re going to a gathering?
Interesting to think about how many of the off-feeling parts of 5e are a result of mimicking the form of older editions while wanting to function differently
Yeah, the game design has changed over time, but it does feel like 5e added a lot of relics/sacred cows of the past that just don't quite fit right with what the modern game is trying to achieve (as opposed to the OSR scene).
@@Earthmote Yeah, 4e's difficulty getting over with 2e and 3e fans really undermined Hasbro's faith in the concept of trying to grow the game by trying new things.
You're right, 5E is really a superhero game with safety wheels, water wings and rubber bumpers on it. A no-challenge game for the participatory award crybaby crowd to "enjoy". Hilariously lame.
I think Reaction Rolls need to be used more in modern gaming too, such as 5e or PF2e.
I agree! I really like them. I find it really changes my mindset on running encounters when I have no idea what their disposition will be until the moment!
For a game I DM'ed, I prepared encounters for the wilderness my characters were going to explore.
I had 6 to 10 groups of Kobolds of varying size (scouts, pillaging parties, etc.) and a few groups of nomad tribes (Which could be friendly, suspicious or unfriendly).
I had a map of the region and for each day of travel from my PCs, I would also roll the direction and the distance traveled by the non-random encounters.
So in a way, the "non-random encounters" would however happen in a random order and frequency.
An incredible video. You've got a really good delivery style and I love these types of discussions. Subbed.
Thank you! Welcome aboard the Earthmote.
Glad to see my opinion echoed so exactly! Really miss the reaction roll in modern games
Yeah its a good tool!
Excellent points! I don't mind lower encounter numbers in areas close to towns or otherwise patrolled. I rediscovered the BECMI reaction tables and rules recently. There you first roll as usual perhaps with a situational modifier of - 2 to +2. Then if there's no immediate hostility or friendliness, you roll again in case the PCs parley with the speaker's cha mod. If the original reaction roll was 3-5, the second roll would have - 4, if it was 9-11, then +4 modifier is applied.
The roll results can ofc be interpreted situationally as well. A hostile pacifist priest might be extremely suspicious of the PCs for some reason or they might be driven to irrational behavior by some cause.
Sounds like an interesting system!
I agree that you can have lower level threats closer to a safe haven if you want. And the farther the players go into the wilderness, then there can be more danger. But its okay to have threats as they make sense in the world too (e.g. Smaug next to Laketown)!
@@Earthmote Yeah. I find the BECMI version clearer procedurally than OSE (I don't have B/X). Eg. the monsters have surprise and DM rolls the reaction before the players get to act. There's no parley and cha mods yet. I admit I haven't had the chance to run the BECMI version extensively yet. I like the idea though.
I agree, that it's probably nice even in a safer area to have encounters that are clearly beyond the PCs power. I like the simulationist idea behind the random encounters and I especially did the emergent play as well as immersion it helps create. Thanks again for an interesting video!
I'm currently running a hexcrawl sandbox game in 5E (heavily modified to be more gritty), and my random encounter procedure is pretty much the same as yours. No balancing of encounters, but I use a d12+d8 for a flat topped curve so the most dangerous encounters are more rare. I check for weather and any terrain feature that might come in handy in case there's a fight. I first check if an encounter is tracks (40% chance), if not I check if its a lair (20% chance). I got this from The Alexandrian blog. Then I check for surprise, visibility and audible distance. Lastly I roll "what are they doing?" and a classic 2d6 reaction roll. To top this off I have a handy solo-play oracle (the one in Ironsworn is my favorite) nearby if I want some extra context. I've found this makes random encounters feel very varied and complex, and is really really fun to generate. I generate a pool of encounters before a session, so if I trigger one during play I can just grab the next one on the list. Otherwise it would take too much time from my players if I rolled all this at the table.
Sounds like a good system!
Oh that's a cool idea for a video.
Loving the clean background!
Thanks!
Two things: 1 is know it is okay to pre roll random encounters, which will give you some time to figure out what that thing is and why is it there. 2 is let the players know they do not have to fight every random encounter. It is absolutely okay to simply hide or otherwise pass by that encounter.
Great advice!
I am finding that Stravagante! and Maze Rats have excellent tables for rolling up the motivation for NPCs in random encounters. Sometimes, the tropes line up easily, and others require magical and illusionist thinking. The results are always satisfying.
Sound likes good resources!
Well played... and well explained.
Thank you!
Yay a new video!
I wish they had never taken out "morale" out of the monster/NPC statblock. It was there FOR A REASON. It would have been so helpful to new DMs to 5e.
If the monsters are down in hit points, you roll to see if they run or not.
Yep, I like it when not everything stands to fight to the death.
Why does it have to be behind a die roll, though? In the games I DM, I'd much rather have my monsters fight and behave organically, rather than relying on the dice gods to determine the monsters' every move.
Even my current Lv 10 party with overpowered skillsets still have trouble with enemies they are meant to kill that keep running away. 🤗
Excellent and insightful. I had completely forgotten about Reaction rolls. I’ll have to reintroduce them into my campaign
They are a useful tool!
If you go by random encounters done on a one for a six sided die. A percentile die is mentioned in the 1e ad&d MM. These rolls can be combined into a rolls of just two dice, instead of three. A comparable chance is have very rare at 1%, rare at 2%, uncommon at 3%, and common at 11%. All rolls over 17 are considered no encounter. An encounter table shall be smaller, and more habitat focused.
Thanks for sharing! I'll have to see if I can find that somewhere
This is the best thing I ever saw.
The way I do random encounters for my 5E games is to treat them as modular planned encounters. A planned encounter doesn't mean that it's "balanced", but that the context and purpose of the encounter has already been figured out in advanced and it has a place in the world that can be foreshadowed or called back to in future encounters. I don't know exactly when or where these encounters will happen, but when they do happen, it will make sense for the area and tie into other things that are going on. I feel that this makes the world feel much more immersive.
If you really like the emergent storytelling aspect, you can still have that, I'm just saying to roll ahead of time as part of your session prep so that you have plenty of time to come up with context and possible tie-ins. A well-thought out encounter will always be better than something made up on the spot.
Interesting thoughts! I do like to add named NPCs into the random encounter tables. That way the players can meet different characters that may or may not recur. But they have defined goals, motivations, or information that might be useful to the players. That way I'm not planning set encounters fully, but it does give me a bit more to go off of if they encounter a named NPC.
Just found the channel. Great video. I use reaction tables as well as a basic morale system for running 5e. And random encounter tables I make out of love. If I wanted a pre determined outcome, I’d try writing a (probably terrible) novel. The random aspect keeps me guessing and engaged along with the players.
Would you be willing to share the table you kind of glossed over that indicated your 61 strong orc horde we’re going to a gathering?
Interesting to think about how many of the off-feeling parts of 5e are a result of mimicking the form of older editions while wanting to function differently
Yeah, the game design has changed over time, but it does feel like 5e added a lot of relics/sacred cows of the past that just don't quite fit right with what the modern game is trying to achieve (as opposed to the OSR scene).
@@Earthmote Yeah, 4e's difficulty getting over with 2e and 3e fans really undermined Hasbro's faith in the concept of trying to grow the game by trying new things.
I run 5e and planned and random encounters are never balanced. It makes the players feel risk and treat scenarios with care (usually).
As it should be!
Levels 2 and 3
You're right, 5E is really a superhero game with safety wheels, water wings and rubber bumpers on it. A no-challenge game for the participatory award crybaby crowd to "enjoy". Hilariously lame.
NOICE.