Encounter Tables - Basic / Holmes Campaigning

Encounter Tables - Basic / Holmes Campaigning

I am reworking my encounter tables for the Warholds of the North. This means looking at all of the flora and fauna, organizations, cults and plots available in the North and organizing these into the appropriate charts. I don't run everything off of these charts but I do reach for them frequently as they help flesh out adventuring content for the players.

STEADING ENCOUNTERS - A steading in the Warholds of the North is a semi fortified farming community too small to really be called a village. More a few farming families and maybe a tradesman who have built their homes close together for protection. Population 3d4 Male Adults, 3d4 Female Adults, 1d6 Seniors, 2d6 Children / Minors of varying ages.

Roll an Encounter only once per day spent at the Steading. Chance of an encounter is a roll of a six on 1d6 but as DM you can decide to throw in an encounter any time you want to spice up the action.

Roll 1d100
01-02 Sleeping Guard
03-04 Door, Gate, Window left open and obviously unsecured and unwatched
05-06 Overly Friendly Dog - Follows a character until driven off, does nothing useful.
07-08 Barking Cowardly Dog - Barks and Barks and Barks, then runs out of kicking range to return to bark, on and on for 1d12 + 4 Minutes. Dog belongs to a farmer or guard or the only tradesman in the Steading.
09-10 Hanging Tree - One Dead Bandit. Has been hanging there for 1d6 days.
11-12 Human Mercenary for hire. Chaos / Evil aligned.
13-14 Cultist of "The Piper".
15-16 Small Stone Shrine of Ohcnabog - Northern God of Metal and Smithing
17-18 Wandering Serene Temple Monk
19-20 Wandering Druid of the Henge - Doom Speaker
21-22 Sworn Warriors of Hraedir 2d4, Riding through on their way to the Kingdom of Morgwen. Will look for opportunities to get into fights.
23-24 Small Accidental Fire. If ignored in 2d4 Combat Rounds will turn into a large accidental fire. If ignored in 2d6 more combat rounds will spread to 1d3 other nearby buildings.
25-26 Serious Weather Develops. A deep fog. A sheet of pouring rain. A howling thunderstorm. Heavy Snow and sleet. Serious weather lingers in the region for 2d12 hours impacting travel.
27-28 Playing Local Children 1d6+1
29-30 Arguing local husband and wife.
31-32 Teenage local. "Running away to become an adventurer, join the warriors in Hraedir, headed to Svordheim to find the Pentagarchy to learn to become a wizard, etc...
33-34 Rumor Subtable
35-36 Growing Herbs - Apple Leaf 2d6 Gatherings
37-38 Growing Herbs - Butcher's Grass 2d6 Gatherings
39-40 Growing Herbs - Beggar's Buttons 2d6 Gatherings
41-42 Growing Herbs - Candle Wick 2d6 Gatherings
43-44 Elven Grain growing wild at the edge of a farmer's garden. 1d6 Gatherings.
45-46 Sworn Warriors of the Kingdom of Morgwen, 2d4. Traveling towards the Kingdom of Hraedir on business. Will keep to themselves unless pressed and then will get suspicious, defensive, even hostile.
47-48 Renegade Trollborn Youth / Escaped Convict
49-50 Scorched One Beggar - Untouchable individual so badly disfigured by dragon fire that they are forced to beg for the rest of their lives.
51-52 1d4 Human Prospectors. Coming for supplies. Very suspicious and protective of their very minor surface mine about a day from the location.
53-54 Lizard Man Mercenary - Neutral Alignment
55-56 Hallow - Human warrior who specializes in hunting and destroying undead, is currently between assignments.
57-58 Gupper Halfling Spies 1d4+1
59-60 Militia performing their rounds, will stop and question adventurers about their business and remind them of the rules of the Steading. 1d4
61-62 Dwarves 1d4 - Wandering members of a regional Free Company looking for opportunities for wealth.
63-64 Cultist of the "Rag Man".
65-66 Centaur Traders 1d3
67-68 Wandering Apostate Monk. Will challenge any other monk to a non lethal martial combat. "Your monkey style is no match for my three legged dog style!"
69-70 Temple of the Voice - Missionary.
71-72 Pentagarchy Scarlet Riders 1d4+1 - Roaming the Kingdom of Ostvick looking for any rumors about arcane spell casters who might be either unsanctioned practitioners of "legal" magic or heretics.
73-74 Ragged Cloak Druid - Scouting for Queen Geirrid.
75-76 Attack on the Steading by Picts (Berserkers) 2d6+2 Berserkers
77-78 Attack on the Steading by angry Neanderthals 3d6+2
79-80 Attack on the Steading by Pig Faced Orcs 4d6 + 1 Orc Shaman
81-82 Small Shrine to Balder - God of Warriors and Leadership
83-84 Gnome Wagon with 2 sway back horses and 1d4+2 wandering Gnome entertainers.
85-86 "Metal Warrior" located near the town well at the center of town, half grown into the side of a tree and almost completely covered in weeds and vines. The warrior is an ancient automated warrior constructed by the Elves many centuries ago. It is without power BUT if an Elf touches this robotic creation its internal mechanism will slowly power up and whir into action. The Metal Warrior will not move or do anything unless ordered by the Elf that activated it using their TAS either purposely or accidentally. The Metal Warrior is badly damaged but will follow the Elf and will attempt to guard it from perceived enemies until it is destroyed.
87-88 Herbs Flame Petals Plant 1d6 Gatherings
89-90 Herbs - Monk's Weed 1d4 Gatherings
91-92 Herbs - Maiden's Skirt 1d6 Gatherings
93-94 2d6+1 Bandits riding into the Steading on light riding horses posing as either a militia patrol from a nearby village or wandering mercenaries. They are at the Steading to peacefully purchase supplies and relax for a few days but they are still bandits. If provoked they are evil and will have no problem jumping the characters or local guards.
95-96 Local Leader on his or her way to perform important duties, followed by 1d6 militia acting as guards.
97-98 High King's Ransomed Men - 2d6+1 mounted on light riding horses. They are from the garrison at the Kingdom's capital and are currently on an errand hunting a group of monsters which have been causing trouble for the area. They do not want the character's help but will chat with them in a friendly fashion unless provoked. If they are attacked or severely insulted they carry the authority of the High King and they can subdue and arrest and hang anyone who insults the authority of the High King or who attacks his sworn warriors.
99 The characters observe that the white graves blanket flowers planted in the local graveyard has a swath of bruised purple leading to an open barrow, new grave or old cairn or sepulcher.
100 A Drake attacks the Steading. It hopes to inflict enough property damage to drive the men out of the area, hoping to pick off any livestock they abandon or cannot defend during its raids. If the Drake cannot grab a cow or other large domesticated animal to fly off with for a meal it will happily grab a human child or any other available target to fly off with to its lair to gobble up. It will return once every 2d12 hours to keep damaging and raiding the Steading until it is abandoned. It will attempt to escape by flying off any time it reaches half hit points. Every hour that it is away and resting it regenerates 5 hit points until it is fully regenerated.