Wilderness Encounter Procedure¶
What this is¶
The wilderness encounter procedure resolves what the expedition has run into when an encounter check comes up positive during travel. It dispatches to patrols, lairs, or standard creature encounters, and stages the meeting.
Invoked by: a positive encounter check during the Travel Procedure, or DM judgment.
Invokes: the Lair Encounter Procedure (on an uncontrolled-hex lair roll); a faction template (for patrols in controlled hexes); the Encounter Staging Procedure (for distance, grounds, reaction, and surprise).
Returns to: the invoking procedure (usually Travel), once the encounter resolves.
The encounter check¶
An encounter check is a single 1d20. A roll of 18 or higher is positive (an encounter happens).
Encounter checks are typically made:
- Every 4 hours during wilderness travel (6 per day).
- Each dungeon turn during dungeon exploration.
- Whenever the DM judges that the situation warrants one.
Controlled or uncontrolled wilderness¶
Before generating the encounter, identify whether the current hex is controlled (by a faction with active patrols) or uncontrolled.
If Controlled wilderness¶
Roll 1d4. On a 1, the encounter is with a patrol belonging to the faction that controls the area. The patrol is normally one core formation from the controlling faction's template. Use the Encounter Staging Procedure.
If the roll is 2 or higher, proceed to the continued procedure below.
If Uncontrolled wilderness¶
Roll 1d20. On a 1, the expedition has come upon a lair. Use the Lair Encounter Procedure.
If the roll is 2 or higher, proceed to the continued procedure below.
Wilderness Encounter Procedure, continued (when no patrol or lair was rolled)¶
The encounter is a random meeting in the wilderness.
Step 1: Determine creatures¶
If the population and active factions of the area have already been determined, the creatures may be obvious without a roll. Similarly, a patrol rolled above already names the creatures.
Otherwise, roll on the random encounter table appropriate to the current terrain:
- Table: Random Encounters — Controlled
- Table: Random Encounters — Uncontrolled
Step 2: Stage the encounter¶
Invoke the Encounter Staging Procedure for distance, grounds, reaction, and surprise.