"Two large white bears approach an iced over pool. One of the bears is missing half it's left foreleg and has heavy burn marks. The other turns into a dwarf in furs and taps on the ice."
Generated from the arctic locations tables and encounter tables below. Tables for Arctic creatures (levels 1-4, 5-10, 11+), Beasts, Humanoids and Spirits
Arctic Encounter Tables - creatures | locations | non-combat | complications
[Photo by Chris Yang on Unsplash] Updated from original article in 2018
Arctic Encounters Levels 1-4
| 1d8+1d12 | Artic Levels 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 young remorhaz or 1d2 white dragon wyrmlings |
| 3 | 1 ghost or roll on Artic Spirits lvl 1-4 |
| 4 | 1 veteran with 1d4 tribal warriors or roll on Arctic Humanoids |
| 5 | 1d2 yetis or roll on Artic Spirits lvl 1-4 |
| 6 | 1d3 scouts and 2d4 mastiffs with a sled or roll on Arctic Humanoids |
| 7 | 1 druid with 1d3 giant owls or 1 warlock of the archfey (VGtM) with 3d4 commoners |
| 8 | 1d3 berserkers or 1d2 vampiric mists (MToF) |
| 9 | 1d4+1 ice mephits or roll on Artic Spirits lvl 1-4 |
| 10 | 2d6 tribal warriors or roll on Arctic Humanoids |
| 11 | 1d6+1 wolves or roll on Arctic Beasts |
| 12 | 1d4+1 orcs or roll on Orc Encounters lvl 1-4 |
| 13 | 2d6 reindeer (elk stats) or roll on Arctic Beasts |
| 14 | 1d2 winter wolves or 1d3 guard drakes (white, VGtM) |
| 15 | 1d2 polar bears or roll on Arctic Beasts |
| 16 | 3d6 kobolds or roll on kobold Encounters |
| 17 | 1 saber-toothed tiger or roll on Arctic Beasts |
| 18 | 1d6 gnolls or roll on Gnoll Encounters lvl 1-4 |
| 19 | 2d4 axe beaks or roll on Arctic Beasts |
| 20 | 1 winter wolf with 1d3 wolves or 1 werebear |
Arctic Encounters
Encounters in the Arctic occur in icy tundra, tall glaciers and snowy peaks. They might occur outside an igloo, on an iced over lake or in a winter blizzard.
Defined by cold weather and how to survive it, this wilderness has few signs of civilisation. Furry beasts such as yetis and white bears are hunted and respected by savage tribes and frost giants.
There is a 5e arctic random encounter generator at ChaosGen. And a separate tool for encounter locations including arctic.
There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Arctic Encounters.
All terrains - arctic | coastal | desert | forest | grassland | hill | jungle | mountain | swamp | underdark | underwater | urban
Arctic Levels 5-10
| 1d8+1d12 | Artic Levels 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1d2 young white dragons |
| 3 | 1d3 werebears and 1d3 polar bears or 1 deva |
| 4 | 1d4 wraiths or roll on Arctic Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 5 | 1d4 young remorhazes or 1 bheur hag (VGtM) with 1d3 trolls |
| 6 | 1 abominable yeti or roll on Arctic Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 7 | 1d4+1 winter wolves or 1 warlock of the archfey (VGtM) with 2d4 scouts and 1d3 berserkers |
| 8 | 1d3 air elementals or roll on Arctic Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 9 | 1d2 frost giants or 2d4 vampiric mists (MToF) |
| 10 | 1d4 mammoths or 1 winter eladrin (MToF) |
| 11 | Roll on Arctic Levels 1-4 table or 1 frost salamander (MToF) |
| 12 | 5d6 tribal warriors lead by 1d4+1 berserkers |
| 13 | 3d6 orcs led by 1 orc war chief or roll on Orc Encounters lvl 5-10 |
| 14 | 1d4 trolls or 1 bheur hag (VGtM) with 1d6 ogres |
| 15 | 1d2+1 winter wolves and 2d6 wolves or 1 warlock of the great old one (VGtM) with 1 cult fanatic and 2d4 cultists |
| 16 | 2d6+4 gnolls with 1 troll and 1 gnoll fang of Yeenoghu or roll on Gnoll Encounters lvl 5-10 |
| 17 | 2d6 orcs with 1 orc eye of Gruumsh and 1 polar bear or roll on Orc Encounters lvl 5-10 |
| 18 | 2d4 yetis or 1 necromancer (VGtM) with 1d4 ogre zombies |
| 19 | 1 air elemental and 2d4 ice mephits or 1 warlock of the fiend (VGtM) with 1 berserker and 1d3 guard drakes (white, VGtM) |
| 20 | 1 remorhaz |
Arctic Levels 11+
| 1d8+1d12 | Arctic Levels 11+ |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 ancient white dragon or 1 boneclaw (MToF) bonded to 1 archmage |
| 3 | 1d2 djinni or 1 storm giant quintessent (VGtM) |
| 4 | 1 adult white dragon or 1 nightwalker (MToF) |
| 5 | 1d4+2 werebears or a coven of 3 bheur hags (VGtM) |
| 6 | 1 abominable yeti and 2d4 yetis or 1 boneclaw (MToF) bonded to 1 mage |
| 7 | 2d4 air elementals or 2d4 winter wolves with 2d6 orcs and 1 tanarukk (VGtM) led by 1 orc blade of Ilneval (VGtM) |
| 8 | 3d6 berserkers mounted on dire wolves or 1 boneclaw (MToF) |
| 9 | 2d4 trolls or 1d3+1 frost salamanders (MToF) |
| 10 | 3d6 mammoths |
| 11 | Roll on Arctic Levels 5-10 table or 1d3+1 winter eladrin (MToF) |
| 12 | 1d4+2 frost giants or 1 frost giant everlasting one (VGtM) |
| 13 | 1 orc war chief mounted on a winter wolf with 1d3+1 orc eyes of Gruumsh and 6d6 orcs or 1 roc |
| 14 | 1d2 remorhazes or 1 dire troll (MToF) |
| 15 | 1d3+1 frost giants and 1d4+1 trolls or 4d6 gnolls with 1d3+1 gnoll fangs of Yeenoghu led by 1 flind (VGtM) |
| 16 | 1 gnoll pack lord leading 5d6 gnolls and 1d4 trolls |
| 17 | 1d4+1 frost giants with a pet young white dragon |
| 18 | 1 remorhaz with 1d2 young remorhazes or 1d4 frost giants led by 1 frost giant everlasting one (VGtM) |
| 19 | 1d4 young white dragons |
| 20 | 1 ice devil or 1 elder tempest (MToF) |
Arctic Beasts (Levels 1-4)
| 1d8+1d12 | Arctic Beasts (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 young remorhaz |
| 3 | 1 winter wolf with 1d4 wolves |
| 4 | 1d2 griffons |
| 5 | 2d6 blood hawks |
| 6 | 1d2 brown bears |
| 7 | 4d6 deer |
| 8 | 1d2 winter wolves |
| 9 | 1d3 woolly rhinoceroses or 1d3 aurochs (VGTM) |
| 10 | 2d4 wolves |
| 11 | 2d6 reindeer (elk stats) |
| 12 | 1d2 polar bears |
| 13 | 1d2 saber-toothed tiger |
| 14 | 1 snowy owl or 1d2 guard drakes (white, VGtM) |
| 15 | 2d4 mastiffs with a sled |
| 16 | 1d4+1 giant owls |
| 17 | 1 manticore |
| 18 | 2d4 axe beaks or 1 giant elk |
| 19 | 1 white dragon wyrmling |
| 20 | 1 mammoth |
Arctic Humanoids (Levels 1-4)
| 1d8+1d12 | Arctic Humanoids (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 werebear |
| 3 | 1d2 ogres with 1d2 half-ogres or 1 warlock of the archfey (VGtM) with 2d4 tribal warriors |
| 4 | 2d6 tribal warriors mounted on reindeer (elk stats) |
| 5 | 1d4+1 half-ogres or 2d4 tribal warriors with 1d2 guard drakes (white, VGtM) |
| 6 | 2d4 winged kobolds or roll on Kobold Encounters |
| 7 | 1d3 berserkers or 1 warlock of the archfey (VGtM) |
| 8 | 1d2 ogres |
| 9 | 2d6+6 kobolds or roll on Kobold Encounters |
| 10 | 2d6 tribal warriors led by 1 berserker |
| 11 | 2d6 orcs or roll on Orc Encounters lvl 1-4 |
| 12 | 1d3 scouts and 2d4 mastiffs with a sled |
| 13 | 1 druid with 1 brown bear (or roll on Beasts for companion) |
| 14 | 2d6 gnolls or roll on Gnoll Encounters lvl 1-4 |
| 15 | 2d6 bandits led by 1 bandit captain |
| 16 | 2d6 commoners with 1d4 mastiffs |
| 17 | 1 druid and 1d4 scouts |
| 18 | 1d4+1 orcs led by 1 orc war chief or roll on Orc Encounters lvl 1-4 |
| 19 | 1 scout guiding.. (roll again on Humanoid Encounters) |
| 20 | 1 troll |
Arctic Spirits (Levels 1-4)
| 1d4+1d6 | Arctic Spirits (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 revenant or 1 air elemental |
| 3 | 1d2 shambling corpses encased in ice (use mummy stats but without causing tomb rot) |
| 4 | 2d4 blink dogs (with resistance to cold damage) or 1d2 poltergeists |
| 5 | 1d2 frost wights (wight stats but replace necrotic damage with cold damage) |
| 6 | 1d4+1 ice mephits or 1d3 meenlocks (VGtM) |
| 7 | 1d2 yetis or 2d4 skeletons |
| 8 | 1d4 snowmen animated by spirits (use specter stats) |
| 9 | 1 ghost or 1d2 vampiric mists (MToF) |
| 10 | 1 ice elemental (earth elemental stats with vulnerability to fire damage and immunity to cold damage) or 1 night hag |
Arctic Spirits (Levels 5-10)
| 1d4+1d6 | Arctic Spirits (Levels 5-10) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 ice elemental (earth elemental stats with vulnerability to fire damage and immunity to cold damage) with 2d6 ice mephits |
| 3 | 1 banshee with 2d4 specters |
| 4 | 1 abominable yeti or 1d3 invisible stalkers |
| 5 | 1d4 revenants or 1 bheur hag (VGtM) |
| 6 | 1d4 ice elementals (earth elemental stats with vulnerability to fire damage and immunity to cold damage) |
| 7 | 1d4 wraiths or 1 winter eladrin (MToF) |
| 8 | 1d4 air elementals |
| 9 | 1d4+1 frost wights (wight stats but replace necrotic damage with cold damage) with 3d6 zombies |
| 10 | A coven of 3 night hags |
More Encounters
There is a 5e arctic random encounter generator at ChaosGen. And a separate tool for encounter locations including arctic.
There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Arctic Encounters.
If you liked these there are D&D Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
