by Steven Laskoske

Created on: October 06, 2010

Random encounters have been part of most D&D campaigns from the very beginning.  The idea is a simple one:  the adventurers are at a point of the story where there is nothing happening.  This normally happens during a long trip or when camping for the night.  One player rolls a die (during their watch or for part of the travelling day) and, if the number matches the DM, something happens.  The DM may set up a combat or have something other action or observation for the party.  Generally, the DM will have a table of possible encounters the party could potentially face.

Depending on how this is done, there are good points and bad points to a random encounter.  The big issue with most random encounters is that they are a divergence from the story plotline.  While one could argue that they, because of this, detract away from the adventure, this isn’t necessarily the case.  In the introduction to The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler once wrote “When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.”  Sometimes a break in the storyline is helpful, especially if the story is getting bogged down and the players are getting bored.  Also, it gives an opportunity to show a portion of the bigger world, which can be especially useful in the case of high fantasy (like the Forgotten Realms).  Finding out that there’s more to the world than just the character’s limited story can make it more real and add to the stress of the actual adventure. 

On the other hand, an element that doesn’t have anything to do with the story might be unwelcome by the players who might simply want to stay with the story instead of following a distraction.  One way to do this would be to have a list of encounters that tie in to the story.  No encounter should hold crucial information since it would not necessarily come up during the course of the adventure.  (If it is vital to the story, it should probably be a set encounter instead of a random encounter.)  For example, in a mystery scenario, a possible witness might be found.  “I didn’t get a good look but he was pretty tall.”  It gives the party a clue but not a vital one.  Of course, doing this might mean that it would have been easier to have it as a set encounter anyway.

In the case of combat, the situation becomes more problematical.  In a standard battle, there is likely (at least, in the later versions of D&D) minis or tokens and some sort of map or dungeon tiles for a combat to keep it interesting.  Aside from creating various scenarios for different fights that might not happen, a random combat breaking out might not make sense in the context of the adventure.  Again, if a combat is needed to break up the story somewhat, make it a planned story element instead of a random encounter.

Finally, the big issue is that characters end up rolling the dice instead of interacting with the story and the world.  After a session is played with nothing but random encounters and the dice rollers, players get bored.  It is generally far better to either speed the story along (“Your trip was swift and uneventful.”) or to have a planned break to add in a planned story element.  This way, the characters are involved in the adventure and not lost from some minor combat after several dice rolls.

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