🔐 Random Encounters¶
Spoilers Ahead!
This entire page is meant as DM information. If you're not the DM, you should probably not be reading this!
| n | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Con-Artist |
| 2 | The Game Show |
| 3 | Baby up a Tree |
| 4 | Baked Sand Castles |
| 5 | The Hoarding Host |
| 6 | The Runaway Prisoner |
| 7 | The Appearing Apprentice |
| 8 | The Bard's Cart |
| 9 | Buried Chest |
| 10 | Landslide |
| 11 | The Lonely Tree |
| 12 | The Nest |
| 13 | Promised Land |
| 14 | Scarlet Pass |
| 15 | Thorny Vines |
| 16 | Trapped Farmer |
| 17 | Yellow Dust |
The Con-Artist¶
A con-artist tries to sell the group a shiny green stone, which feels warm to the touch. He claims that he's been told that the stone contains the immortal soul of a young woman and acts as a ward against evil spirits. Or, they can set it free if they want.
He wants to sell it for 20 gp, but is willing to let it go for 10 if pushed.
An arcana check will reveal that the stone is magical, a DC 18 Arcana check will reveal that it likely is an illusion of sorts.
The artist has cast Prestidigitation on the stone to heat it up. The effect will stop after an hour. The stone is not much more than a piece of glass or worthless shiny crystal.
The Game Show¶
At their camp site, a shriveled old male Gnome wearing a suit shows up and asks if he may spend the evening with them for safety. If they agree, he takes out a large parasol and opens it up. As it does, the camp site is covered in blackness and the man explains that he can't sleep with the persistent sunlight.
He explains that he's an intuitor, which means that he can tell feel what you are thinking about and tell the truth of almost any statement. Hey says it's difficult to explain, but that he can easily show what he means by playing a game. If they win the game by getting most answers right, they can have his parasol, he has a spare. The item is a Parasol of Opacity.
He intently looks at each of the subjects for a minute and asks:
- Gadot: What is Wolf's real name? (Baern)
- Tiran: What is Pasha's favorite color? (Blue)
- Sah-Sauj: What is the name of Tiran's most recent crush? (Greta Thunderberg)
- Pasha: What was Gadot's father's occupation before working for AU?
- Wolf: How did Sah-Sauj prank people at their cloister? (Fake poop)
Baby up a Tree¶
While walking down the road, the adventurers come across a male Half-Orc whose infant child appears to be stuck in a tree. The baby seems to be having a great time up there and looks to be heading for a brightly colored bird, resting on a thin branch nearby. He claims that he stopped for a moment to rest his feet and when he turned, the baby had crawled from its swaddle and ended up in the tree. Can they help?
A DC 15 Nature check reveals that his bird is a Tchuktuk, a bright red scavenger bird that doesn't attack, but is known to lure its prey into deadly situations by making appealing sounds.
Baked Sand Castles¶
A naked young Human woman covered in what looks to be some kind of transparent film comes bursting out of the brush on the side of the road right in front of the adventurers. She ambles difficulty in front of them and smilingly says while hiccupping, "that's the last time I bake sand castles!"
Her eyes don't seem to be moving in the same direction and when she walks, she occasionally stumbles. All of her speech seems to be random, such as:
- The stars are about two books in his music hall.
- Oh, a frog? Fifteen crystals slide on soft whiteness.
- Round people have little skies in Tom's stable.
- Moon button watches the scissors.
- Uproot lint flavors!
- Diagonal gums have hard crowns for them tonight.
- Some minds reward leather gaskets.
A DC 16 Perception check reveals very thin and long strings coming out of the back of her head, all the way back where she came from.
When she has enough of it, she says "okay, well, that's that," and walks backwards into the woods, occasionally shivering.
If they follow, they will be faced with a Puppeteer Worm, who wetly pours out of a hollow tree. As it prepares for an attack, the woman splits bloodlessly down the her vertical center. A thin mucus-like film covers her internals, keeping them in place and intact. The worm gently places the two parts aside where they lay twitching and gasping for air. The worm opens its mouth, revealing a writhing mess of hair-thin tentacles and needlelike teeth.
Roll for initiative.
The Hoarding Host¶
After a long day of traveling, the adventurers come upon a clearing on the bank of a stream where they can set up camp. Not far downstream, they can see the remnants of an old watermill crumbled and partially fallen over into the water.
After setting up camp, a River Naiad (Theros pg. 236) appears to them, steps out of the water, and asks them who they are and what they're doing here. It welcomes them to its home and tells them it doesn't mind them trespassing. It doesn't ask for permission to join them in their camp and begins rifling through their belongings. It will be attracted to something important to them and take it with them, back into the water.
The Naiad seemingly disappears, but with a DC 13 Perception check, they can see the item moving towards the old watermill underwater. If they follow it, they must swim upstream 100 ft. (4x movement speed) and wade 50 ft. (half movement speed) upstream.
Once they arrive, they can either climb 25 ft. over the broken wall to get on top of the crumbled structure and enter from there, or dive 10 ft. underneath a collapsed section to get in through the Naiad's pool.
Once inside the old mill, they see a veritable treasure chamber of junk mixed with a few valuable items. They can spot the stolen item in the room as well. There's a pool in the center of the chamber, which the Naiad uses to come and go. When they take the stolen item back, the Naiad appears from the pool and is very angry at them for trespassing and touching its stuff. It is open - though will not offer the possibility itself - to trade for something else or fight if nothing is offered as a replacement for what they took.
The Runaway Prisoner¶
Along the road, they are stopped by a male Cuniko, wearing an Aldarion Unlimited uniform. He hates to admit it and ask for help, but he was transporting a prisoner and they just now managed to escape. He was transporting the prisoner in a horse-drawn paddy, and the prisoner managed to pick the lock. He says that the prisoner is silver-tongued and will say or do anything to prevent capture.
A DC 17 Investigation check will reveal that the Cuniko's clothes are a bit too small for him. A roll of 20 or higher shows the marks of manacles through his fur. A high enough Insight check may reveal that he's lying and also that the closest prison is in Korban's Landing, which is in the opposite direction that he's traveling in.
The "prisoner" can be found in the woods in the direction that the Cuniko pointed towards. He's laying face down in a dark patch of the forest, and many dust motes seem to dance in the air here. A DC 15 Perception check will reveal that they are spores, and nearby mushrooms between the roots of trees and in dark spots. If they approach, a DC 14 Constitution saving throw is needed to prevent getting infected and falling asleep. These mushrooms are commonly referred to as Snoozeshrooms, and infect creatures with their spores, which puts them to sleep. Unless helped, the creature won't wake up, die, and decompose into fertilizer for more Snoozeshrooms.
The true background is that the Cuniko was the actual prisoner, and on his way to prison in Korban's Landing. But, he managed to pick the lock and subdue the AU guard, placing them in the paddy instead. However, the guard was able to snag a key and unlock the paddy during transport. The Cuniko is afraid that the guard is heading back through the woods to alert his fellow company men. He also doesn't think his sentencing of 10 years in prison is fair for simply stealing a horse.
The Appearing Apprentice¶
On the road ahead of them, a wizard's apprentice appears out of nowhere in a puff of green smoke. They ask the adventurers where they are and says they're thousands of miles away from where they started from. They ask if they can travel along with them to the nearest city, and regardless of the adventurers' answer, they will disappear a short moment after in a puff of green smoke.
The Bard's Cart¶
WIP
A halfling bard sits atop a broken-down mule-drawn cart, playing their lute to their mule. The bard isn't strong enough to lift the cart and fix its broken wheel. They will gift the adventurers something on success. Cart is filled with something heavy, high DC.
Buried Chest¶
While traversing a bog along a wooden boardwalk, they come across a group of peat cutters. They mutter something among themselves and call out to the adventurers for assistance. While cutting peat, they bumped onto a chest buried deep in the bog, wrapped in chains. They think that they've found treasure and are willing to split it if the adventurers can help out. When they open the chest, inside is a slightly smaller chest. This chest is a mimic and will attack once it has been released.
Landslide¶
On a steep hillside, a recent landslide has washed away a 20 ft. chunk of the road. There are trees nearby and some 100 ft. up the hill, they can see the continuation of the road above them as it snakes up the hill.
The Lonely Tree¶
They find a nice quiet spot to set up camp in a clearing around a giant ancient tree. Unbeknownst to them, this is a Treant who will awaken if they are loud and tell them boring stories about being a tree there that will keep them awake all night unless they are able to convince it to stay quiet. If they are on good terms with it, it will protect them all night, which will pass uneventfully.
The Nest¶
WIP
After a long day of travel, the adventurers find a nice, cozy place, not too far from the road. It's cleared of brush, has thick bushy walls, and is almost shaped like a bowl, indented into the soil. A nature check reveals that this is the nest of an enormous bird. The bird returns and is angry to find its nest defiled.
Promised Land¶
A camp with cultists who are on a mission from their god to start a new country. However, their promised land is already populated, but their god commands them to take it regardless.
Scarlet Pass¶
They come across a sign on the side of the road that says: "SCARLET PASS 1 MILE. UPHOLD TRADITION OR TURN AROUND." Hanged from the trees by their roped-up clothes are hundreds of bodies in various stages of decay, all carrying a sign in red letters around their necks with the word: "INSOLENT." A DC 18 investigation check will reveal that none of the bodies wore clothing with the color red. The Scarlet Pass is a walled section of road guarded by two enormous stone golems. If they don't wear red, they will attack.
Thorny Vines¶
The road is overgrown with a thicket of thorny vines. Through a hole in the thicket, they can see the other side of the road. If they start cutting through it, once surrounded, the vines will grow shut behind them, thorns piercing their skin.
Trapped Farmer¶
They pass a farm field where a farmer is trapped beneath his horse-drawn plow. He's wounded and bleeding. The smell of his blood has attracted scavengers.
Yellow Dust¶
A dust storm stirs up and blocks their vision. However, this is not a regular dust storm. The dust is bright yellow, tastes bad, makes them sneeze, and cakes their eyes. CON saving throw, or become blinded for the duration of the storm plus 1d4 hours after. Those whose checks were below a certain threshold become poisoned, since the dust is a type of harmful fungus.