Adventure Guide: Wandering Encounters

Chaotic Mist

These creatures will always be encountered within or near a heavy fog.

Fantastic Creatures

Most animal-like fantastic creatures will hardly notice the characters; those that eat livestock might descend upon the characters’ packmounts if they have any, but unless the characters do something stupid to attract the attention of, say, a gryphon, these fantastic encounters will be marvels to tell about having seen when they return home.

Multi-race brigands and travelers

When the encounter is with multi-race brigands, determine how many brigands there are and then roll again on the main table, limiting results to Civilized Peoples and Humanoid Creatures. These two categories should always be next to each other, allowing you to roll a smaller die if possible. For example, on the Offroad to the Long Lakes encounter chart, there will usually be two to seven brigands in a multi-race band. Civilized Peoples and Humanoid Encounters run from 01 to 30 on the Main Table. So rather than rolling d10 and d10 to get a number from one to one hundred, you can roll d3 and d10 to get a number from one to thirty.

If that’s confusing, don’t worry: just use a normal d100 and ignore results which do not indicate Civilized People or Humanoid Creature.

Kinds of Encounters: Undead

Vampires tend to be encountered as one vampire with the rest consisting of vampire slaves. Undead encounters will occur in an appropriate location: phantasms or poltergeists in abandoned homes, ghouls in a cemetery.

Deep Creatures

These creatures tend to be encountered in dark places or caverns, or at night.

Highland encounter notes: Animals

Characters encounter animals all the time, and almost certainly more often than will be indicated on the encounter charts. Rolled encounters are encounters that have significance. So, rather than simply seeing the animals, the animal encounter may somehow impede the character’s progress, provide a comedic interlude, or otherwise impact on the character’s tale.

Many of the animals listed on the charts do not have a corresponding entry in the Encounter Guidebook. Such animals are not normally a threat to the characters.

South of Unicorn Pass, dire wolf encounters only occur in the winter.

Humanoid Creatures

Encounters with Goblins south of the Leather Road are 75% likely to include d4 Hobgoblin leaders. North of the Leather Road, encounters with Goblins are 25% likely to include d3 Hobgoblin leaders. Far north, encounters with Goblins are 15% likely to include a single Hobgoblin leader.

Masquerades

Many of the masquerade encounters also show up elsewhere on the charts. The difference is that masquerade encounters will be with a creature acting as a human. Deity encounters may be with deities acting as just about any creature or thing, as appropriate. The characters may never know they met a werewolf, dryad, phantasm, or god. Such encounters are unlikely to result in combat now, but may set up a later adventure when the characters discover that their acquaintance (perhaps by then a friend) has a secret.

Highland encounter notes: Snakes

Copperheads, watersnakes, and rattlers are standard poisonous snakes.

Highland encounter notes: Cats

There are no housecats in East or West Highland, though feral Egyptian cats exist deep in the Deep Forest. Highland does have bobcats and cougars and, further south, jaguars. Jaguars are called tigers by Highlanders, as the term “jaguar” is unknown.

The High Divide

From Hightown Pass to the Dowanthal River there will be villages on the roads and in the foothills of the mountains, but these are small and rare, especially further north. Encounters occur 20% of the time every 12 hours.

West Highland: The Roads

When traveling the Low Road (the Leather Road), the Old Road, and the High Road encounters occur about 20% of the time every 24 hours. For Halfling, Elf, and Dwarf, and travelers encounters, see Medium Groups.

On the Low and Old Road encounters with “Caravan” are really with “Merchant”.

Offroad to the Long Lakes

Encounter 10% of the time every 24 hours.

The Eastern Foothills

These encounters cover the area around Hightown and Biblyon and somewhat further north. When traveling north of the Leather Road, encounters occur about 20% of the time every 24 hours.

The Deep Forest

When traveling south of the Leather Road, encounters occur about 20% of the time each day and each night.

High Divide to Sea Haven

From the High Divide to the Sea Haven. Encounters occur 10% of the time every twenty-four hours. In East Highland, powerful apparitions (such as phantasms) are sometimes called “Edge Demons”.

The Celtic Valley

The Celtic Valley, far north and protected by the High Divide and the Great Mountains, is mostly immune to invasion, but it has its own special creatures to beware of. Encounters occur 20% of the time every twenty-four hours.

The Cold North

The mountains of the west from north of Erventon to the Far Pass. Encounters occur 25% of the time every twenty-four hours.

The Warm North

The mountains of the east, from the Dowanthal River up to the far pass. Encounters occur 30% of the time every twenty-four hours.

Beneath West Highland

Encounters occur on 15% every 24 hours. Salt traps are dangerous: if walked upon, each character must make an Evasion roll or fall in, becoming covered with salt. Suffocation will occur unless the character is removed.