Wandering Monster Charts

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FakeHealer
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Wandering Monster Charts

Post by FakeHealer »

So I was looking on my RPG table and the Corebook for BFRPG is sitting there, open to page 110 and a beautiful drawing of a pegasus...it got me thinking. Most wandering monster/random encounter charts only seem to focus heavily on defeatable foes and evil creatures. Looking through the wilderness encounter charts I see a couple entries that could serve as not so much a battle, like merchant parties or nixies but I seem to remember that back in the 80s there seemed to be a broader focus with a bit more encounters that had less nefarious intentions. Things not necessarily meant as a challenge but more as a point of interest on a long journey, like pixies playing pranks or a unicorn that is spotted grazing in the distance, a small herd of deer, etc. I was wondering if anyone feels similarly or if I am just being goofy. Would charts featuring a more even range of encounters that cover non-combat/points of interest be something people would like to see?
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CptClyde
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by CptClyde »

Absolutely agree with this. When I started back into OSR rules2 years ago I sat down and played D&D Rules Cycplopedia solo but just wandering the wilderness and randomly generated dungeons and rolling on the appropriate random encounter tables. I remember once of my first wilderness encounters was a pony. lol just a pony. I deduced it had run away from town (since i discovered it one hex outside of town) so I rolled a couple reaction rolls (based on wisdom instead Charisma to simulate of animal handling) and we were able to befriend the pony and lead it back to town..... where we kept it and hence forth had a pack animal for free. That kind of gold is missing from the current BFRPG core rules tables. Those tables are a great start, but I'd really like to have a much bigger group of tables to roll on which included all the monsters from the Field Guides aswell, all depending on terrain.
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SmootRK
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by SmootRK »

I agree. Great random tables can lead to very interesting scenarios on the fly, even when the choices are sometimes odd or seemingly illogical.

A great supplement idea (even if not "official" by including materials not yet fully realized) could be crafted. Including bits like mundane creatures/events/etc is a great idea.
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MinkyBoodle
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by MinkyBoodle »

I really like this idea. I'd love to see a chart or a table for something like that. I've got about half to 3/4 of an adventure idea in the back of my head and an encounter table like this would prove beneficial to it (not to glom onto your work and take it for my own, though).
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Tazer_The_Yoot
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by Tazer_The_Yoot »

I always view the encounter tables in a published rules set or modules as a starting point. I always modify or make my own tables to suit the campaign that's ongoing and the players' areas of interest.
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SmootRK
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by SmootRK »

This discussion reminded me of a great D20 book I came across once by AEG called "Toolbox"
If you have access to this somewhere, take a look. It is basically almost 200 pages of tables, much like what is being talked about (albeit using other game rules).
I have a PDF of this book, but I really need to take the time to get this one printed some time.
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chiisu81
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by chiisu81 »

A good starting point would be the Monster Index, since it has all listed entries.
The Core Rules uses 1d12 and 2d8 for its tables (144-146); I've seen other supplements use 1d20, 1d30, or even 1d100.
Tables can use sorting/categorizing by hit die, area type, etc.
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Solomoriah
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by Solomoriah »

The best way of handling wandering monsters in a dungeon, IMO, is the tables in Iron Falcon. I love how that system (that I originally discovered elsewhere) allows uplevel and downlevel monsters.
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Tazer_The_Yoot
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by Tazer_The_Yoot »

Solomoriah wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:46 pm The best way of handling wandering monsters in a dungeon, IMO, is the tables in Iron Falcon. I love how that system (that I originally discovered elsewhere) allows uplevel and downlevel monsters.

Yep. There's a range of levels and sometimes the wandering monsters are punching up or down from their comfort zone. It's somewhat balanced and predictable but somewhat random. Good blend.
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FakeHealer
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Re: Wandering Monster Charts

Post by FakeHealer »

Solomoriah wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:46 pm The best way of handling wandering monsters in a dungeon, IMO, is the tables in Iron Falcon. I love how that system (that I originally discovered elsewhere) allows uplevel and downlevel monsters.
Gonna have to check that out...
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