Several beetle with glowing glands are scuttling around a trapdoor. They appear to be...guarding it? Is something controlling them? Are they not what they seem?
Simple dungeon encounters from an upcoming Collected Encounters pdf.
Tables for Dungeon Encounters (levels 1-4 & levels 5-10), Encounter Details and Dungeon Beasts.
[Photo by Elena Maffioli on Unsplash]
Tables for... all terrains | caves | dungeon | farmland | market | river| sewers | sky
Dungeon Encounters (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | Dungeon Encounter Table lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 cult fantatic and 1d4 thugs or 2d6 giant centipedes |
| 2 | 2d4 kobolds with 1 winged kobold and 1d2 giant wasps or 1d2 minotaurs |
| 3 | 1d2 swarms of rats and 2d4 giant rats or roll on Dungeon Beasts |
| 4 | 1d4+1 mephits (any mix of dust, ice, magma, mud, smoke and steam) or 1d4 bronze scouts (MToF) |
| 5 | 1 gelatinous cube or Roll on Fungi and Oozes lvl 1-4 |
| 6 | 1d6 shadows or there is risk of a collaping roof (DMG) |
| 7 | 1d2 carrion crawler or 1 animated armor with 1d4 flying swords |
| 8 | 2d6 giant fire beetles or roll on Dungeon Beasts |
| 9 | 1 mimic or 1 minotaur skeleton with 1d4 skeletons |
| 10 | 1d2 shriekers and 2d4 zombies or 1d4 stone cursed (MToF) |
| 11 | A patch of Brown Mold (DMG) or 1d6 troglodytes with 1 giant lizard |
| 12 | 1d6 goblins mounted on giant lizards or 2d4 oblex spawn (MToF) |
| 13 | 1d6 swarms of bats or roll on Dungeon Beasts |
| 14 | or 1 vegepygmy chief (VGtM) and 1d4 vegepygmies (VGtM) |
| 15 | 1d2 displacer beasts or 1 black pudding |
| 16 | 1d4 duergar or 1d6 swarms of insects |
| 17 | 1 flameskull or 1d2 wererats |
| 18 | 1d4 giant spiders or roll on Dungeon Beasts |
| 19 | 1d3 nothics or 1d2 ghouls with 1 imp |
| 20 | 1 otyugh or 1 oaken bolter (MToF) |
Dungeon Encounters (Levels 5-10)
| 1d20 | Dungeon Encounter Table lvl 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1 mage with 1 shield guardian or 1 blackguard with 1d2 hell hounds |
| 3-4 | 1 stone golem or 1d2 wights with 2d4 ogre zombies |
| 5-6 | 1 oni with 2d4 ogres or a talking magical door |
| 7-8 | 1 wraith with 1d4 specters or roll on Guardians lvl 5-10 |
| 9-10 | 1 spirit naga or 1 earth elemental with 1d6 gargoyles |
| 11 | A rolling sphere trap (DMG) or 1d4 iron cobras (MToF) and 1 stone defender (MToF) |
| 12 | 1 drow mage on a nightmare or 1 deathlock mastermind (MToF) |
| 13 | 1 chain devil or 1d3 shadow dancers (MToF) |
| 14 | 1 grick alpha with 1d6 gricks or 1d2 shadow demons with 2d4 shadows |
| 15 | 1d3 galeb duhr or 1 deva |
| 16 | 1 nycaloth or 1 corpse flower (MToF) with 2d4 zombies |
| 17 | 1 cambion with 1d4 doppelgangers or 1 elder oblex (MToF) |
| 18 | 1 priest with 1d2 ghasts and 2d4 ghouls or 1d3 stone giants |
| 19 | 1d2 clay golems or 1 drider with 1d2 drow elite warriors |
| 20 | 1 beholder or 1 devourer (VGtM) |
Encounter Details (Levels 1-4)
Use 1d10 for beasts and non-sentient creatures.
They are... (or one is...)
| 1d20 | Dungeon Encounter Details |
|---|---|
| 1 | guarding a trapdoor (or portal) |
| 2 | tidying the area |
| 3 | under the effects of a curse |
| 4 | attracted to any source of light |
| 5 | hiding from (or watching) a nearby danger |
| 6 | injured |
| 7 | investigating (or consuming) a corpse |
| 8 | not what they first seem to be |
| 9 | trapped by something |
| 10 | exploring (or lost) |
| 11 | building (or resetting) a trap |
| 12 | hiding something |
| 13 | studying inscriptions (or carvings) |
| 14 | playing a game |
| 15 | washing (or swimming) in a fountain (or pool of water) |
| 16 | patrolling the area |
| 17 | investigating (or repairing for) a secret door |
| 18 | on high alert |
| 19 | having an argument |
| 20 | carrying an immovable rod (or potions of gaseous form) |
Dungeon Beasts (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | Dungeon Beasts lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1d4 giant spiders or 2d6 stirges |
| 3-4 | 1d3 swarms of bats or 1d2 guard drakes (VGtM) |
| 5-6 | 1 giant constrictor snake or 2d4 giant wasps |
| 7-8 | 1d4+1 giant lizards or 1 swarm of rot grubs (VGtM) |
| 9-10 | 3d6 giant rats or 1 gazer (VGtM) |
| 11-12 | 1d4+1 darkmantles or 1d6 giant bats |
| 13-14 | 2d6 giant centipedes or 1 choker (MToF) |
| 15-16 | 1d2 rust monsters or 2d4 giant weasels |
| 17-18 | 2d6 giant fire beetles or 1d6 swarms of rats |
| 19-20 | 1d4 swarms of insects or 1 swarm of cranium rats (VGtM) |
From Collected Encounters on DM's Guild
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