Fix Your Encounter Tables!

We discuss the humble overland encounter table today. While most random encounters in games like Dungeons and Dragons feel arbitrary and flat, this method uses THE POWER OF MATH to help encounters feel like they are happening in a cohesive and living campaign world.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Joke Intro
0:19 - Knave Map and Introductions
2:12 - Start with a Map
4:42 - Faction Goals and Area Beasts
7:03 - 2d6 Encounter Type Table
8:37 - Alertness and Distance Tables
10:25 - Example Encounter
11:54 - Wrap Up
13:35 - Patron Thanks

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[DungeonMasterpiece]

That's the most beautifully succinct definition of Fantasy Geopolitics I've ever heard. Thanks for the shout-out!!

[LaceSabatons]

Appreciate the shout-out. I'm glad my work has been useful for you. -Nick LS Whelan

[tagg]

I use random tables for two reasons. One is when i have literally no idea what could be in an area, the other is when i know what is there but want to randomize what they encounter. A lot of books and zines have the first, but the second practically requires me to handmake it for every area. Using this table to randomize how the local factions bleed into eachother is also how is use them, thanks for the video!

[badlad]

This is an excellent tool! I love the ways the numerical thresholds conform to the roles of the encounters, like how the table encodes that outside factions can never be found resting in another faction's territory but will always be undertaking some kind of task there. Great design!

[coreeclinton]

Wow, this is a really well designed idea! I like how dense it is with improv seeds, and how easily it generates interesting stories and factional play. I also like how specific the motivation improv is, as opposed to something like traditional Odnd reaction tables that can feel a little underdeveloped. I'm currently putting together a faction-based hexcrawl and this looks like a really good fit for my game!

[AxiomDelver]

oh sweet! a new video! welcome back, you were missed!

Great video! Definitely going to try this out. I had to watch the example more than once, because you said the distance 3 is Nearby when in fact is Not far (11:04).

[jakoblogan]

I love thinking about randomised encounters, this wait was worth

[petsdinner]

Got my Monstrous and Knave 2e pdfs! Cheers Kyle!

[salty-nick]

I got Monstrous and it's amazing. Very creative, and a breath of fresh story-based air in the sea of predominantly mechanics-oriented monster books.

[kmoustakas]

I clicked like on the intro, good job. I've been playing since 1992 and I love hexcrawls!

[minimoose]

Woah, that's a fantastic and yet simple way to make immersive random encounters. Thanks so much, Kyle!

[aidenb]

Good to see you back! Great video as always!

[Magic__]

He's back ... ok everyone act cool

[spaced-cadet]

As a fledgling DM/Worldbuilder/Tinkerer, this is a subject I hadn't touched on yet but it gives me a lot to think about since I will be running an exploratory, vehicle-heavy custom system at some point in the near future. First session I've ever run will be this next Sunday (The 18th of Feb) so I've been gorging on the content you've produced where possible!

[zzlord]

That's so awesome, What I feel can be added to this on top of that is something such as a counter saverety roll, What are the monsters doing during the random encounter, players stepping in the middle of a faction war or a monster camp site

[김승민-oz]

hey, map crow, your videos are very interesting and fun, and i would really like to see a video series of you making your own monsters that dont already exist in dnd

[TronHammer]

Great to have you back, awesome first video of the year and beautiful art as always :D

[leviasin]

Always a good day when there's a Map Crow upload! I'm about to start a campaign which will have a lot of traveling around the same general area, and have been looking for engaging ways to fill that space. This is just perfect! Can't wait to get started writing up my own encounter tables.

[MrCowabungaa]

The maths in this makes this triple-table-2d6 beautifully elegant. But... I am kinda bothered with the more results on the alertness/distance (or whatever one could personally use, like disposition instead of distance or something). It means that whatever you set on value 2 and value 12 would always be encountered in the same fashion. Even though those two results are less likely to happen, I'd still like there to be more variety there. Being able to take a faction leader by surprise sounds exciting! You could fix that by just rolling again for the other 2 tables?