Random Encounters

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Random Encounters
« on: May 30, 2011, 06:31:44 PM »
So I'm building this West Marches style game.  The characters will be the first to set foot outside of this real small, fortified village at the edge of a brand new continent.  Nobody has seen anything.

The random encounter (in some form, an important caveat) will be pretty important then, I figure, at least until they get a better handle on the lay of the land.  But I don't think a standard random encounter table is exactly... sweet enough for DW.  Not as integrated, as fiction-forward.

Anybody want to help me Dw-ify random encounters?  Or have you done it already and want to share the wealth?

Here's what I've got so far:

When you travel with no particular destination...
Roll + Wis - number of people in your party.  On a hard hit, you get the drop on them.  On a soft hit, you surprise each other.  On a miss--where the hell did they come from?

Or maybe

When you travel with no particular destination...
You find trouble.  Roll + Wis and choose 2 or 1:

You surprise the trouble
The trouble includes a clue to something cool around here
???

P.S.> Fronts are going to be pretty important here, too.  I think every front I make will have the countdown clock start at "Someone from Landfall (the village) shows up in X region."  Then, fronts are ticking in the background and I've got some cool ideas for how to make "random" encounters kick ass when a party comes back.

P.

*

elkin

  • 41
Re: Random Encounters
« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2011, 06:42:10 AM »
What about a less random option?

When you're out in uncharted territory looking for trouble, you find it all right. By default, it's a small group of monsters native to this region, of a level equal to the Area Rating [or whatever], who are hostile and will attack the party on sight.

Choose one of the following to be true (two, if your party is accompanied by a ranger or an otherwise skilled guide):
* They hint to or reveal something cool nearby.
* They have vital information about areas you have already visited.
* They carry particularly neat or valuable swag.
* Who said anything about monsters? You find some other sort of troubles. It is going to be trouble, though.

Also choose at least one of the following to be true. For each advantage, the GM may choose a disadvantage. You may also choose more options from the previous list, for the same cost.

* The monsters are not immediately hostile (but they won't be friendly, either).
* You lie in ambush for the monsters.
* The monsters are youngsters or weaklings, with lower level than the Area Rating.
* The monsters are natives of an adjacent region, and may not call for help or reinforcements.
* You have something the monsters want badly.
--
* The monsters are numerous, a medium group instead of small.
* The monsters are particularly fierce or cunning members of their kind.
* The monsters have a hidden ace up their sleeve.
* The monsters get the drop on you.
* The monsters are particularly adept at using that specific terrain to their advantage.
* You have something the monsters want badly.

*

sage

  • 549
Re: Random Encounters
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2011, 05:46:43 PM »
The GM move to introduce a monster is already a bit like a random encounter. Since GM moves happen when they look at you to find out what happened or when they give you an opportunity, that seems like a good fit for random encounters.

Early DW had a GM move to "roll on a random table." It's not there anymore, but you could totally add it back in. When it's your turn to make a move, if it sounds like the right time to roll for a random encounter, that's your move.