Among the sand dunes are a few confused camels, clearly in distress. Nearby is a stone altar among five dead camels, but no immediate sign of what killed them...
Updated Desert encounters using D&D 2024 Monster Manual. Also a D&D 2014 version. Tables for Desert Encounters (levels 1-4, 5-10, 11+), Beasts, Humanoids, Monsters and Spirits
All terrains - arctic | coastal | desert | forest | grassland | hill | jungle | mountain | swamp | underdark | underwater | urban | all dnd 2024 encs
[Photo by Cody Doherty on Unsplash]
Desert Encounters
The desert conjures images of sun-blasted wastes, stark canyons and sandy ridges. Encounters may take place at a well-guarded oasis, a lonely mesa, among half buried ruins or in the bed of a dried up river.
A place of death and daily struggle against the elements, it is the home of nomadic herders, desperate outcasts and the souls and remains of many who have perished.
There is a 5e desert random encounter generator at ChaosGen. And also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Desert Encounters.
Desert Encounter Tables - creatures (2014) | creatures (2024) | locations | non-combat | enhancements
Desert Encounters Levels 1-4
MotM = Monsters of the Multiverse
| 1d8+1d12 | Desert Levels 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 blue dragon wyrmling or 1 revenant |
| 3 | 3d6 warrior infantry and 1 berserker with 5d6 camels or 1 couatl |
| 4 | 1d2 giant scorpions or 1d4 stone cursed (MotM) |
| 5 | 1d4+1 kobold warriors and 1d2 giant toads or roll on Kobolds lvl 1-4 |
| 6 | 1d4+1 thri-kreen marauders or roll on Monsters lvl 1-4 |
| 7 | 1d4 gnoll warriors and 2d4 hyenas or roll on Gnolls lvl 1-4 |
| 8 | 1d6+1 jackalweres or 1d2 leucrotta (MotM) |
| 9 | 1 giant hyenas and 2d6 hyenas or roll on Beasts |
| 10 | 1d4+1 death dogs or roll on Monsters lvl 1-4 |
| 11 | 3d6 camels or roll on Beasts |
| 12 | 2d6 bandits led by 1 bandit captain or roll on Humanoids |
| 13 | 1d6+1 dust mephits or roll on Spirits lvl 1-4 |
| 14 | 2d6 warrior infantry on camels or roll on Humanoids |
| 15 | 1d4 giant vultures or 1 dybbuk (MotM) possessing a giant hyena |
| 16 | 1 lamia or 1d3 guard drakes (blue, MotM) |
| 17 | 1 yuan-ti malison and 1d2 yuan-ti infiltrators or roll on Yuan-ti lvl 1-4 |
| 18 | 1d4 lions or 1d4 vargouilles (MotM) |
| 19 | 1d4+1 scouts or 2d4 firenewts (MotM) |
| 20 | 1d2 mummies or 1 fire elemental |
Desert Levels 5-10
| 1d8+1d12 | Desert Levels 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 efreet or 1 roc |
| 3 | 1 young blue dragon or 1d2 lonely sorrowsworn (MotM) |
| 4 | 1 fire giant with 2d4 death dogs or 1 kruthi hive lord (MotM) and 1d8 adult kruthiks (MotM) |
| 5 | 1d4 were-tigers or 1 githyanki gish (MotM) |
| 6 | 1d2 medusas or 1 warlock of the fiend (MotM) with 1d6 berserkers |
| 7 | 1d2 yuan-ti abominations or roll on Yuan-ti lvl 5-10 |
| 8 | 1 guardian naga or roll on Monsters lvl 5-10 |
| 9 | 3d6 gnoll warriors with 1 gnoll pack lord or roll on Gnolls lvl 5-10 |
| 10 | 1d2 lamias and 2d4 jackalweres or roll on Monsters lvl 5-10 |
| 11 | Roll on Desert Levels 1-4 table or 2d6+2 thri-kreen marauders |
| 12 | 1d4 fire elementals or roll on Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 13 | 2d4+1 berserkers on camels or 1d4+1 tlincalli (MotM) |
| 14 | 2d6 giant hyenas and 2d6 hyenas and 1 gnoll fang of Yeenoghu or 1 champion (MotM) with 4d6 guards |
| 15 | 1d6+2 mummies or roll on Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 16 | 2d6 hobgoblin warriors & 1 hobgoblin captain on camels or 1 necromancer (MotM) and 1d2 spawn of kyuss (MotM) |
| 17 | 2d4 giant scorpions or 1d2 howlers (MotM) |
| 18 | 2d6 yuan-ti malisons or 1 war priest (MotM) with 1d4 scouts and 2d6 warrior infantry |
| 19 | 1 cyclops sentry with 3d6 camels or 1 githzerai enlightened (MotM) |
| 20 | 1 young brass dragon or 1 sphinx of lore |
Desert Levels 11+
| 1d8+1d12 | Desert Levels 11+ |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 adult brass dragon or 1 zaratan (MotM) |
| 3 | 1 djinn and 1d4 air elementals or 1 animal lord |
| 4 | 2 young brass dragons or 1 retriever (MotM) |
| 5 | 1 efreet and 1d4 fire elementals or 1d3 orthons (MotM) |
| 6 | 1 sphinx of valor or 1 yuan-ti anathema (MotM), 1 yuan-ti pit master (MotM) and 2d4 yuan-ti broodguards (MotM) |
| 7 | 1 salamander inferno master and 1d2 salamanders or 1 ki-rin (MotM) |
| 8 | 2d4+2 were-tigers or 1 oinoloth (MotM) |
| 9 | 1d2 sphinxes of lore or 1d2 eidolons (MotM) |
| 10 | 1d4 fire elementals and 1d4 air elementals or 2d6 berserkers with 1 champion (MotM) and 1 war priest (MotM) |
| 11 | Roll on Desert Levels 5-10 table or 1 yuan-ti anathema (MotM) with 2d4 yuan-ti malisons |
| 12 | 2d6 yuan-ti malisons and 1d3 yuan-ti abominations or 1 necromancer (MotM) with 2d6 mummies |
| 13 | 3d6 wights or 1d4+1 howlers (MotM) |
| 14 | 1 purple worm or 1 githaynki kith'rak (MotM) & 1d3 githyanki knights |
| 15 | 1 bandit crime lord with 1 bandit deceiver and 2d6 bandit captains or 1 skull lord (MotM) |
| 16 | 2 young blue dragons or 1 phoenix (MotM) |
| 17 | 1 archpriest with 2d4 warrior veterans or 1d2 boneclaws (MotM) |
| 18 | 1 adult blue dragon or 1 githyani supreme commander (MotM) with 2d4 githyanki warriors (MotM) |
| 19 | 1 mummy lord and 1d3+1 mummies or 1 nagpa (MotM) |
| 20 | 1 dracolich or 1 elemental cataclysm |
Desert Beasts (Levels 1-4)
| 1d8+1d12 | Desert Beasts (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1d4+1 death dogs |
| 3 | 1d6 flying snakes or 1d2 phase spiders |
| 4 | 2d4 giant wolf spiders |
| 5 | 2d6 giant fire beetles or 1d6 giant venomous snakes |
| 6 | 3d6 hyenas led by 1 giant hyena |
| 7 | 1 giant constrictor snake or 1 swarm of stirges |
| 8 | 1d4+1 giant hyenas |
| 9 | 1d2 giant scorpions |
| 10 | 4d6 hyenas |
| 11 | 3d6 camels |
| 12 | 2d4 giant lizards |
| 13 | 1d4 giant vultures |
| 14 | 1d4 swarms of insects |
| 15 | 1d4 lions or 1 giant vulture and 2d4 vultures |
| 16 | 2d4 mules with pack saddles |
| 17 | 1d4 giant toads |
| 18 | 1d4 giant spiders or 1d4 sphinxes of wonder |
| 19 | 2d6 stirges |
| 20 | 1 pseudodragon |
Desert Humanoids (Levels 1-4)
| 1d8+1d12 | Desert Humanoids (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 weretiger or 1 tlincalli (MotM) |
| 3 | 3d6 warrior infantry and 1 berserker |
| 4 | 1d3 ogres |
| 5 | 1 druid with ... 1d2 giant hyenas (or roll on Beasts) |
| 6 | 3d6 commoners with 1d4 camels |
| 7 | 1d4+1 hobgobin warriors |
| 8 | 1d4+1 gnoll warriors led by 1 gnoll pack lord or roll on Gnolls lvl 1-4 |
| 9 | 1d4+1 thri-kreen marauders or 1d2 maezels (MotM) |
| 10 | 2d6 warrior infantry |
| 11 | 1d4+1 scouts with 2d6 camels |
| 12 | 1d6+1 jackalweres |
| 13 | 2d4 bandits and 1 bandit captain mounted on camels |
| 14 | 1d3 yuan-ti infiltrators with 1d4 cultists or roll on Yuan-ti lvl 1-4 |
| 15 | 1d3 gnoll warriors mounted on giant hyenas or roll on Gnolls lvl 1-4 |
| 16 | 1 lamia or 1d4 firenewts (MotM) & 1 firenew warlock of Imix (MotM) |
| 17 | 2d4 kobold warriors with 1d4 winged kobolds or roll on Kobolds lvl 1-4 |
| 18 | 2d6 guards with 1d6 mules led by 1 scout |
| 19 | 1d3 yuan-ti malisons or roll on Yuan-ti lvl 1-4 |
| 20 | 1d4 ogrillon ogres |
Desert Monsters (Levels 1-4)
| 1d4+1d6 | Desert Monsters (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1d4 sphinxes of wonder or 1 blue dragon wyrmling |
| 3 | 1d3 ogres or 1 adult kruthik (MotM) with 2d4 young kruthiks (MotM) |
| 4 | 1 lamia or 1d2 berbalangs (MotM) |
| 5 | 1d4+1 death dogs |
| 6 | 1d6 jackalweres or 1 swarm of stirges |
| 7 | 1d6+1 dust mephits or roll on Spirits lvl 1-4 |
| 8 | 1d2 phase spiders or 1d4+1 giant vultures |
| 9 | 1d4+1 thri-kreen marauders |
| 10 | 1 weretiger or 1 spawn of Kyuss (MotM) |
Desert Monsters (Levels 5-10)
| 1d4+1d6 | Desert Monsters (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 roc or 1 kruthik hive lord (MotM) & 1d8 adult kruthiks (MotM) |
| 3 | 2d4 phase spiders or 1d2 stone golems |
| 4 | 1d3 cyclops sentries or 1 orthon (MotM) |
| 5 | 1d2 lamias with 2d4 jackalweres or 1 sphinx of secrets |
| 6 | 1 guardian naga or 1d4+1 tlincalli (MotM) |
| 7 | 1d4 fire elementals or roll on Spirits lvl 5-10 |
| 8 | 1d2 fire giants or 1d4 spawn of Kyuss (MotM) |
| 9 | 1d2 medusas or 1 cyclops oracle |
| 10 | 1 sphinx of lore or 1 rot troll (MotM) |
Desert Spirits (Levels 1-4)
| 1d4+1d6 | Desert Spirits (Levels 1-4) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 fire elemental or 1 revenant |
| 3 | 1d2 flaming skeletons |
| 4 | 1d4 mud mephits or 1 ghost |
| 5 | 1d2 wights or 1d4 stone cursed (MotM) |
| 6 | 1d6+1 dust mephits or 2d4 skeletons |
| 7 | 1d4 salamander fire snakes or 1d4 vargouilles (MotM) |
| 8 | 1d2 mummies or 1d3 azer sentinels |
| 9 | 1 couatl or 1 dybbuk (MotM) |
| 10 | 1 air elemental or 1 salamander |
Desert Spirits (Levels 5-10)
| 1d4+1d6 | Desert Spirits (Levels 5-10) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 efreet or 1d3 lost sorrowsworn (MotM) |
| 3 | 1 couatl with 2d6 flying snakes or 1d2 howlers (MotM) |
| 4 | 1d4 revenants or 1d6+2 mummies |
| 5 | 1d4 fire elementals or 1d4+1 dybbuks (MotM) |
| 6 | 1d4 salamanders or 1 air elemental and 2d6 dust mephits |
| 7 | 2d4 wights or 1 summer eladrin (MotM) |
| 8 | 1d4 air elementals or 1d2 graveyard revenants |
| 9 | 1 azer pyromancer with 1d8 azer sentinels or 2d6 vargouilles (MotM) |
| 10 | 1 djinn or 1 ki-rin (MotM) |
More Encounters
There is a 5e desert random encounter generator at ChaosGen. And also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Desert Encounters.
If you liked these there are D&D Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
