| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Crimson_King_of_the_Tower |
Posted - 12 Dec 2013 : 17:42:48
I've had this idea for a long time and wanted to post it here to see what everyone came up with. I'm hoping to compile a LARGE list of encounters for as many terrains as possible. Not just monster encounters either things like natural obstacles or anything of that nature the only limitation is the imagination. Put the encounter and the type of terrain it can be found in for example: Chasm, Natural mine/cavern. Or un-climbable cliff, Mountains. Again anything is welcome from traps to creatures to hidden portals to other places so lets see what we can all come up with I look forward to reading all the great ideas!! |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 20 Jan 2014 : 16:19:16
Encounter: Unfortunate Prey
Terrain: Any wilderness(typical), preferably an abandoned structure along a winding road, far from nearby villages
I typically let the praty spot the structure from quite far away, making it stand ontop of the locales largest hill. It is a particularly good place for large fast predators to have set up a lair (think sabrecats, small dragons or dire animals)
Description: [Example Hills]: You creep over the the last hilltop to see a blasted ruin of a mill (still squeaking its mechanics inside when the winds pick up) standing ontop of the large grassy slope of the larger hill. A faint path winds up through the clearing on the slope, accented by larger boulders here and there. The entrance to the mill is on an elevated base of stone slab (10 ft climb dc 15), the remains of a door hang on its hinges. **A successful DC 15 perception check**: will reveal a window entrance 20 ft higher (leading to the iron stairs), its forced door gently swayin in the wind. The 20 ft radius interior sections at the ground level are a decrepid, molded mess of timber (high chance for landbound predators to have made a concealed shelter right inside there). Its missing first floor appears to only have an old rusty iron stair leading to the third floor that remains largely intact. The top of the mill could house a 10 ft radius shelter for any flying predators of the area.
Further investigation (clearing away the timber) will reveal the smooth stone slab are housing a concealed living space (search dc 22 with spoiled foodstuffs, papers with evidence who the mill belonged to and treasure if you're feeling generous). You could have the party stumble on the remains of a victem scarred beyond recognition if you want to creep them out further... Could that hunter be still nearby?
DM-notes: The mill was struck by either a Talassan priest or tempest-wizard in a rage, a Malarite blood hunt or a natural beast/disaster, or all three at different times in the recent year. Perhaps the sole operator contracted lycanthropy and has been hunting in animal form ever since. At least one of the above will return later that night. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 29 Dec 2013 : 10:15:57
Encounter: Item Drop
Terrain The broken down ruins of a small keep, outpost or tower.
Description: While the PCs are resting in the ruin or otherwise exploring it, they hear the muffled sound of coins striking the stone from around the corner or beyond the next pile of stone.
Further inspection reveals a fist-sized calfskin pouch, its drawstring pulled tight and knotted, lying on its side on the flagstones between two legs of a freestanding arch of stone. DMs should play on the PC’s suspiciousness, allowing time for PCs who suspect an obvious trap to make any and all preparations before picking up the pouch (the contents of which include numerous platinum pieces or gems, but otherwise not dangerous).
At some point a glimmering sword falls point first through the center of a halo of blue light just below the arch. The light changes into a swirling blue mist that dissipates as soon as the blade is through. The sword clatters to rest on the stone, the naked blade falling over the pouch. A few moments later (timing again DM’s option) the light returns, heralding the arrival of a rolled up and tied sheet of freshly inked parchment.
The parchment reads, “Let us hope you are not late in receiving this time! The matriarch of the Hardivypers is visiting. Same time tomorrow you may expect a generous donation, and then no more until next season. ‘Spend’ the winter well.”
Just then several voices can be heard over the clatter of hooves, as a large group of men arrive on horseback. One voice rises above the others, commanding all to make haste into the ruin on foot.
Note to DMs: this ruin is one of several fortified outposts that were linked via miniature portals, through which small objects (primarily missives, written orders and the like) could quickly be passed. A keep was later built over one of those outposts, its current occupants unaware of the lesser portal within their abode. However, one or more individuals on the premises know how to activate the portal and are methodically pilfering choice valuables, which are then sent by portal to this and other ruins by a previously arranged schedule. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 23 Dec 2013 : 06:14:12
This is good stuff. Now we're getting somewhere. 
Encounter: Doom of the Dread Daggers
Terrain: Any recently abandoned upscale urban dwelling, warehouse, or secluded location.
Description:Handjak’s Brigade was a mercenary company that operated in the lands between Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. Two swift battles whittled down their numbers and their founder, Harandak “Handjack” Jakthur released from duty all but his most trusted surviving “daggers” (i.e. his lieutenants, who were in charge of individual banners consisting of 10-50 men).
With these daggers he formed an adventuring company, the Dread Daggers, and proceeded to plunder the homes, warehouses, hidden supply caches and country estates of every rich merchant and noble on the Sword Coast that Handjak suspected of lying and double dealing.
Where Handjak’s Brigade found folly and death, the Dread Daggers found success and good fortune.
In five years time the Dread Daggers voted to disband, each member rich in coin, gems and property. However their retirement was short lived, as an unlikely consortium of merchants hailing from Baldur’s Gate and Waterdeep pooled their resources to seek vengeance on the Daggers. The merchants paid the exorbitant fee of an archmage claiming to hale from Halruaa, who abducted Harandak and his five surviving fellows, spell-tortured them and then bound their spirits to a set of six matched daggers.
Cooperation between the merchant consortium was short lived and soon the archmage was presented with competing offers from the merchants, each seeking the a swift, bloody death of the others.
The archmage accepted, using the newly animated Dread Daggers as his means of slaying. But the last merchant to be so accosted caught the archmage by surprise, using a magic item to temporarily render him powerless. In short order the Dread Daggers fell upon the archmage, then turned on the merchant as he fled.
The six Dread Daggers remain in the place where the archmage was slain and have killed a score or more who've intruded on their territory. They will do not leave the location, are hostile to most living creatures and seem to have a thirst for blood and bloodletting; their attacks coordinated and deadly. They will not attack anyone carrying a Handjak’s Brigade banner or unit patch, nor any of the living relations of those adventurers who were made into the animated, flying daggers.
DM’s discretion on the attacks, statistics (flying speed, etc.) and damage dealt by the six flying daggers. |
| Cards77 |
Posted - 20 Dec 2013 : 23:54:11
Encounter: Ancient grave yard
Terrain: Any Forest (typical), or rolling hills/moors (burial mounds or cairns)
DM note: I typically wait and use these during days or nights of FOGGY weather when visibility is reduced to less than 100 feet. MOST players I know will NOT willingly get close to ANY graveyard thus use of the fog is key, and also adds sinister atmosphere to an already scary place. It is a particularly good place for undead with high stealth like wraiths.
Description: [Any Forest]: You enter a large clearing in the forest, filled with what appears to be mostly ferns and other undergrowth. Due to the fog you can't make out much detail, nor can you see the other side of the glade. A few stones can be seen here and there. A faint path winds through the clearing. **A successful DC 15 perception check**: will reveal sections of what appears to be old rusty wrought iron fencing poking out here and there through the undergrowth. Further investigation (clearing away some undergrowth) will reveal very old, smooth stone slabs sticking up vertically out of the ground (the classic tomb stone). So old the inscriptions are nearly weathered away. You realize you're kneeling at a tombstone, your blood goes cold. You peer through the fog and you can see several other tombstones partially hidden by the undergrowth. Then to your horror, you see the fog in front of you begin to unnaturally swirl about near the ground....
[Rolling Hills or Moors]: Substitute a clearing for a hidden dell between two rocky hills. Substitute wrought iron fencing for a rock wall, and tombstones for burial mounds or cairns. |
| Crimson_King_of_the_Tower |
Posted - 20 Dec 2013 : 19:18:07
These are all awesome ideas I love them and will definitely fold them into something. Here's one I thought might be nifty:
Encounter: Sunken ship
Terrain: Underdark/Deep natural cavern
Description: The PC's come into a large open cavern the edges of which can't be seen. It is an underground ocean of types with the large body of water stretching out into the dark. Under the water emanates a light blue glow revealing a ship through the clear cavern water about 25 feet down. Everything else is at the DM's discretion.
Thanks for all the ideas keep em coming! |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 19 Dec 2013 : 08:25:43
Encounter: Dwarf Hold and Mines
Terrain: Any mountainous region
Description: Whether because of earthquake, nearby volcanic eruption, the impact of a falling dragon or meteor strike, orcs or kobolds foolishly undermining the structure of the place, or simply thanks to the passage of time and perhaps the effect of water seeping into the rocks that freezes and widens cracks in the stone in the wintertime, the entire side of a tree-covered mountain sheers off and falls away, exposing several levels of an abandoned dwarf hold and mine complex.
The rubble and timber falls into a wide, uninhabited valley, leaving a gentle slope (albeit covered in jagged stone and splintered tree trunks) that can be climbed with moderate difficulty.
Success in making the climb allows characters to reach approximately the midpoint of the former dwarf hold, where they can enter any of several exposed rooms and hallways.
From there, intrepid characters may explore up or down, with up providing a majestic open air view of the valley and surrounding mountains (save for those portions of the upper levels that go deeper into the part of the mountain that’s still standing) and down remaining dark and forbidding, thanks to the rubble and wide base of the mountain.
The hold itself may be abandoned, occupied by the aforementioned orcs and kobolds, or frequented by any number of other creatures, as the DM sees fit. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 19 Dec 2013 : 01:03:38
Dunno if this would count as an encounter so much as an actual adventure but I had an idea about a Cloud Dungeon. No castle or anything like that on it, just a normal looking cloud floating around up there with a 'cave' entrance. The walls would be solid fog but the interior would be full of mist (and need to be dealt with). I considered it an alternative to a wizard's cloud castle (too conspicuous considering dragons and cloud giants) and yet it could still be as large as you need it to be. The domicile goes where ever the wind leads it (so no clouds moving against the wind to draw attention to it).
I've also used a haunted mansion that appears in random locations throughout the planet but only on nights of solstice or equinox (or on full moons, alternatively). It can appear anywhere the original inhabitants could have survived (so on land or anywhere underground large enough to hold the structure). It always appears away from large populations, but often appears close enough to populated areas so as to be known of in bard's tales.
A permanent magical field created by fey creatures that causes random (read: pranksome) effects to occur on those within. Anything non-harmful but aggravating to the average person. This creates a chance for good roleplaying.
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| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 06:24:26
Encounter: Stone Tower Ruin
Terrain: Any temperate forest isolated from major trade roads and populations.
Description: Within a forest thick with tall, arrow-straight trees, a round wall of old, moss and lichen covered grey stone can be seen.
Closer inspection reveals a wide, flat base of grey flagstone set into the earth that is surrounded by an irregular stone wall, ranging from no stone at all (one can walk directly onto the flagstone that formed the floor for the tower’s ground level at such points) to five or six feet in height.
One of the flagstones set within the old tower floor is made of pure white marble. Any character stepping onto that flagstone and remaining there for one full round is instantly rocketed up into the air (1d6x10 feet). Characters traveling at least 40’ up have a chance of grabbing onto the tree branches that form a canopy over the ruin. Characters traveling 50 or 60 feet up risk being struck by thick branches (DM discretion on damage dealt) and have a harder time grabbing on to branches before gravity takes hold. (This particular flagstone was once part of a levitation system that allowed occupants to rise up to the other levels of the tower, but time and magical catastrophe have turned it into something of a levitation canon).
The remainder of the stone that once formed the tower walls can be found in heaps for half a mile around the tower base. A close inspection of the trunks of the trees immediately surrounding the ruin shows scarring, gouges and torn limbs. In some cases coins and other objects may be found imbedded in the treebark (penetrating as deep as the heartwood of the tree, depending on the object)
About ¼ mile away sits the fifth level of the tower, which comprised the spell casting/spell testing chambers used by the mage who built the tower. It sits more or less intact and the moldering corpse of the mage who precipitated the tower’s destruction (not necessarily the builder of the tower) may be found within.
A thick steel band rests on the middle finger of the corpse. The top of the band is flattened and a rune or symbol is carved into it, resembling the letter "H", except the horizontal bar is raised up near the top of the vertical lines.
Any character who wears the ring while standing in the tower base will see that one of the flagstones is transparent and that a steep incline of steps, starting from just below the flagstone, descend into the earth below the tower. If the ring-wearing character touches the flagstone it will dematerialize for 1d6 minutes.
Characters keeping watch while they are on the tower floor have a 50% chance of spotting a dim blue glow at night (anytime between midnight and 4 a.m.), up within the trees, approximately 60' in the air. Characters not on the tower floor may not see this glow, even with Detect Magic.
Characters who stay within the circumference of the tower while ascending to the glowing light discover a flat vertical field of blue, the top of which is rounded off, standing about one foot above a stout tree branch that can be walked on by those with good balance. Characters touching the field (with an extremity or a held object) are instantly transported to the sixth floor of one of four other towers located in the surrounding area (roll a d4).
This magical portal allows travel in one direction only. Characters straying outside of the tower circumference loose sight of the glow and must return to the ground floor to catch sight of it again.
The particulars of the tower ruin's underground level, as well as the other towers (including their state of (dis)repair, objects and furnishings within, occupants and the keys needed, if any, to activate the other portals) and their histories are left up to the DM. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 05:11:59
This is a brilliant idea for a scroll. I look forward to what others scribes come up with. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 03:32:19
quote:
Originally posted by Crimson_King_of_the_Tower
I've had this idea for a long time and wanted to post it here to see what everyone came up with. I'm hoping to compile a LARGE list of encounters for as many terrains as possible. Not just monster encounters either things like natural obstacles or anything of that nature the only limitation is the imagination. Put the encounter and the type of terrain it can be found in for example: Chasm, Natural mine/cavern. Or un-climbable cliff, Mountains. Again anything is welcome from traps to creatures to hidden portals to other places so lets see what we can all come up with I look forward to reading all the great ideas!!
I seem to recall 1st Edition had a global encounter list on types of creatures would be encountered based on terrain. I would need to check, however even so it clearly would need to be adjusted for the Realms.
I might even have the Encounter temple in a PDF on the other computer, when WotC offered some free downloads. I should have some Realms as well on the other box.
It clearly is possible that the downloads still can be found on WotC site as well, though finding them sometimes can be hard.
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| Cards77 |
Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 03:03:27
One thing I've been doing for my Silver Marches campaign is putting emphasis on the "Silent Enemy"...that is the weather. Thunder storms can be deadly if you're caught in the mountains on open ground. Even a lightning strike that occurs hundreds of feet away can potentially harm the party. One of our PCs took shelter under a tree, well a tree nearby was hit, and it arced to her horse (metal), and she also suffered some effects. The horse was killed. If you've ever seen ball lightning or other types of lightning like I have, you can really play it up, it makes a great non-combat encounter.
Also, I think forest fires are extremely under represented in the realms. In fact all of north should have a much higher frequency of naturally occurring fires. If you take a look at the Western US, even the higher precipitation forests, that would say compare to the High Forest or the Moon Wood, have frequent fires. Mainly because there is such a huge area, even if a given area only have a fire return interval of 100 years, some parts of the forest would be on fire at any given time during the summer. Given extreme conditions these can be a nuisance/travel problem or become deadly. Or, the fires can displace or concentrate what would normally be rare monsters or animals, or monsters that normally wouldn't range far. Giving the opportunity for unique encounters. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 12 Dec 2013 : 19:25:14
Well number 1 for a mine is about 3,000 kobolds (according to BG 1 anyway).
I am partway through running a massive campaign in the Underdark and I did notice a lack of interesting encounters for the general environment.
So far I have an abandoned dwarf city inhabited by orcs, goblins, troglodytes, minotaurs, a dwarven vampire, trolls, a shadow dragon and his half dragon servants.
The mine beneath the city is full of urdunnir, and shadow infused earth elementals lead by a shadow infused Dao.
We have a fortress full of orogs. The leader is secretly being controlled by an illithid who is masquerading as his favoured word (using a psychoactive skin) - this is kind of a detective scenario with a few clues lying about, some of which are falsely planted to point at the orog shaman.
A chasm containing the haunting presence of an atropal scion (the aborted foetus of a godling). The chasm is full of undead and in order to stop unlimited waves of zombies attacking the party have to exorcise the haunting presence
A massive tunnel cavern that is home to bands of quaggoths, gibberlings, troglodytes, and they all fight for the attention of a half illithid deep rothe.
A huge earth/evil node that is hollowed out and was the home to a wizard. Creatures and effects have been stored in the node but the party have no way of knowing what is stored there. Plus the whole place is full of illusions and traps.
There is an underground city populated only by undead. Its a fully functioning city. The sentient skeletons (awaken undead) do the hard work while the more powerful ghouls, vampires, mummies, wights etc all live in luxury. The skeletons grow fungus to feed a vast catacomb of mongrelmen beneath the city.
That's just a few encounters I had to make up to keep the Underdark interesting and stop it from turning into a giant slogfest dungeoncrawl.
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