d20 Wilderness Situations

Next on the random tables is wilderness encounters. I don't use only monster in my encounter charts, but ruins, caves, and tower as well. It use this chart, roll 1 repeating d4 on every major road the PCs cross and roll that many d20s on the table below. There is a 2 in 6 of players running into some each weak of travel (did they actually spot the ruins on the hills or were they too tired to pass them by).

1. Tavern in the Middle of Nowhere – Great place to hear rumors and do a little carousing, but the tavern keep always has some sort of scheme up his sleeve and/or caters towards inhuman folk.

2. Madman – Some sort of naked, crazed hermit or drunken disposed noble.

3. Strange Ruin – Usually of Roman, Egyptian, or Babylonian construction.

4. Wizard’s Mance – A teetering tower, underground grotto, floating castle, walking house, or just a plain old hut.

5. Knight Errant – Off a tourney, questing for relics, preparing for war, maybe even exiled by his ex-lord.

6. Religious Pilgrims – pious monks, dangerous cultists, drunken nature worshipers, naive lawful types. Usually led by a spell-casting cleric.

7. Rural Village – Indigenous raiders, cursed peasants, religious zealots, disguised fey.

8.  Ancient Statue – Celtic god, Greek hero, magical beast, usually possessing some sort of magical power.

9. Magical Pool – Predicting the future, granting wishes, teleportation, transformation, or healing.

10. Fey – Remember, they’ve always got a tricky plan or two up their sleeves to cause mayhem and chaos.

11. Castle – A lone castle in the middle of the wilderness. 

12. Magical Valley - Of talking animals, addictive fruits, vines that come to life after nightfall.

13. Legendary Beast – Unique beasts of wonder and legend, giant snakes with the legs of a wolf and forked tongue of a devil or massive scarab beetle with dripper purple pincers and poison that kills by dehydration.

14. Normal Animals – Wolves, bears, boars, wild game.

15. Cave – May house wild animals, buried treasure, portal to the Overworld, hell, or another planet.

16. Brigands – Bandits, raiders, berserkers, impersonators, just ready to strip the PCs of more than their earthly goods.

17. Lonesome Institution - Invisible school of sorcery, isolated monastery, or headquarters of some demonic cult.

18. Merchant Caravan – Greedy merchants with armed guards, but the booty is usually worth an adventure’s while.

19. Lost Travelers –  Damsel is distress, kidnaped children

20. Blatant Anachronism – Cavemen, metal diving suit, crashed spaceship, time travelers.