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Encounter Staging

Determines other encounter circumstances: distance, terrain between, reaction, and surprise.

Used by: Wilderness Encounters; Camping; Dungeon Encounters.
Uses: nothing.
Goes back to: the invoking procedure.
Records to update: none.

Staging by encounter type

Step Wilderness Camp Dungeon
1. Distance Roll on Distance table Roll on Distance table; take half DM determines from map or context
2. Grounds Roll on Grounds table Use the camp's Features (see Camping); roll on the Grounds table for anything beyond the camp DM determines from map or context
3. Reaction Roll on Reaction table Roll on Reaction table Roll on Reaction table
4. Surprise Stealth vs Perception Stealth vs Perception Stealth vs Perception

Step 1: Distance

How far apart the groups are depends on terrain visibility.

Terrain Distance
Arctic, Coastal, Desert, Grassland, Mountain 4d8 × 10 ft (~180 ft)
Forest, Hill, Swamp, Underdark, Underwater, Urban 2d8 × 10 ft (~90 ft)
Sky 4d8 × 20 ft (~360 ft)

Fog, heavy rain, etc. halve the rolled distance.

Step 2: Grounds

What lies between the groups may have tactical effects:

  • Cover — protection from ranged threats.
  • Concealment — allows creatures to easily be hidden.
  • Difficult terrain — costs extra movement.
  • Obscured — sight is impaired; Wisdom (Perception) checks are at disadvantage.
  • Hazard — environmental danger.
  • Climb — requires climbing speed or Athletics to traverse vertically.

Arctic

d8 Feature Notes
1 Icy ridges Cover
2 Frozen stream Difficult terrain
3 Snowdrift Cover, concealment
4 Fog patches Obscured
5 Ice spires Cover, climb
6–8 Snow, low banks Concealment

Coastal

d8 Feature Notes
1 Driftwood piles Difficult terrain
2 Tide pools Difficult terrain
3 Rocky outcrop Cover, climb
4 Wreck or carcass Cover, climb
5 Sand dunes Cover
6–8 Field and brush Concealment

Desert

d8 Feature Notes
1 Dunes Obscured, difficult terrain
2 Ravine Difficult terrain, hazard
3 Dust cloud Obscured
4 Prickly plants Difficult terrain
5 Rock spires Cover, climb
6–8 Low dunes Concealment

Forest

d8 Feature Notes
1 Fallen tree Cover, climb
2 Dense underbrush Difficult terrain
3 Fog or dappled light Obscured
4 Animal den or burrow Beast encounter
5 Stream with stones Difficult terrain
6 Hanging vines Concealment
7–8 Sparse trees Cover, concealment

Grassland

d8 Feature Notes
1 Tall grass Obscured, concealment
2 Shallow gully Cover, difficult terrain
3 Old fence or wall Cover
4 Scattered boulders Cover
5 Grazing herd Cover
6–8 Field and brush Concealment

Hill

d8 Feature Notes
1 Sloped rise Cover, difficult terrain
2 Rocky ledge Cover, difficult terrain
3 Brambles Cover, concealment, difficult terrain
4 Sinkholes Hazard
5 Lone tree or standing stone Cover, climb
6–8 Rolling field Concealment

Mountain

d8 Feature Notes
1 Ravine Cover, climb
2 Boulder field Cover, climb
3 Narrow ledge Difficult terrain, hazard
4 Steep slope Cover, climb
5 Cave mouth Cover
6 Patch of trees Cover, climb
7–8 Rocky slope Concealment

Swamp

d8 Feature Notes
1 Murky water Difficult terrain, cover, concealment
2 Rotting bridge Difficult terrain, hazard
3 Thick reeds Obscured, concealment
4 Quicksand patch Hazard
5 Insect swarms Concealment, hazard
6 Gnarled trees Cover, climb, difficult terrain
7–8 Grass and brush Concealment

Underdark

d8 Feature Notes
1 Stalagmites Cover, climb
2 Fungal grove or spores Concealment, hazard
3 Chasm Hazard
4 Strange fog Concealment, hazard
5 Crumbling bridge Difficult terrain, hazard
6 Echo chamber Hazard, additional encounter
7 Ascending path Cover, difficult terrain
8 Stony ground Cover, difficult terrain

Underwater

d8 Feature Notes
1 Kelp forest Obscured, concealment, difficult terrain
2 Coral outcrop Cover
3 Currents or vents Hazard
4 School of fish Obscured, concealment
5 Ruin or wreck Cover
6–8 Open water (none)

Urban

d8 Feature Notes
1 Market stalls Cover
2 Alley clutter Difficult terrain
3 Crowds Cover, difficult terrain
4 Low wall or fountain Cover
5 Rooftop above Cover, difficult terrain
6–8 Open street (none)

Sky

d8 Feature Notes
1 Light cloud bank (none)
2 Thick cloud bank Concealment
3 Small land shard Cover
4 Floating debris Hazard
5–8 Open sky (none)

Step 3: Reaction

The initial attitude of the encountered creatures may be determined with a 2d6 roll. The DM may add or subtract 1-3 for naturally friendly or hostile creatures, or skip the roll if the reaction is obvious.

2d6 Reaction
2 Hateful
3–5 Hostile
6 Suspicious
7 Indifferent
8 Cautious
9-11 Open
12 Helpful

Step 4: Surprise

Determine surprise before rolling initiative. A surprised creature cannot take actions or move on its first turn, and can't take a reaction until that turn ends. A creature that detects a threat cannot be surprised.

Consider circumstances such as group sizes, terrain, and other factors that would affect detection.

No Stealth. If no creatures use stealth, all creatures are detected and none can be surprised.

Stealth. If a side uses stealth, find the lowest Dexterity (Stealth) result of that side's creatures (see Stealth under Using Skills). Any creature whose passive Perception is not higher than that Stealth result fails to detect any threats and can be surprised.

If neither side detects the other, they may meet at closer range.