Random Encounters in D&D - What You Need to Know

6.6K views • 3 years ago • 31:18 In Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs, travel encounters are a common occurrence. It would be quite odd if a campaign never featured any combat while the characters were traveling from one location to another. But what is the best way to handle such encounters? Random encounter tables? Pre-planned battles that the GM designs for wilderness locations? Whichever approach you take, there will be some price to pay and some downside (along with the positive). Some game masters prefer to not use travel encounters or random encounters at all, instead focusing completely on the dungeons and adventure sites that are pertinent to the campaign plot. This is the simplest approach, and it does make the GM’s job less complicated, but this method also involves some sacrifice and has its cons. In this video, I discuss a few of the main approaches to travel encounters in D&D, and I provide tips and advice on how to mitigate the negative aspects and bring out the good aspects. 100 Encounter Circumstances Table: https://www.patreon.com/posts/newsletter-jun-85039601 —Esper the Bard Links— 🤝 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EsperTheBard 📜 Free newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/dgJBb9 🖥️ Discord: https://discord.gg/zZ3J2Hn 📚 5e book and modules: https://esperthebard.com/shop 📱 Instagram@esper_the_bard 🔵 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Esper-the-Bard-645947038769607/ ————— Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiijm2GhKAA&t=4874s Bandcamp: https://karlcasey.bandcamp.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/5678689/posts ————— Chapters 0:00 Travel Encounters in D&D / TTRPGs 1:07 Example sequence of a GM using random encounters 6:29 How Should You Handle Travel Encounters? 7:37 Approach #1: Random Encounters 8:17 Random Encounters - Pros 9:26 Example Random Encounter Tables 10:03 Example Encounter Chance Table 10:31 Random Encounters - Cons 15:32 Random Encounters - Tips 16:32 Encounter Circumstances Table 19:05 Gritty Realism - Two House Rules 22:26 Approach #2: No Random Encounters 22:49 No Random Encounters - Pros 23:42 No Random Encounters - Cons 25:11 No Random Encounters - Tips 25:34 Approach #3: Planned Travel Encounters 25:54 Planned Travel Encounters - Pros 27:13 Planned Travel Encounters - Cons 27:57 Planned Travel Encounters - Tips 30:02 Outro