" A few water buffalo are hiding among the reeds from something, near a circle of trees with a damaged boat..."
Simple encounter tables for the otherworldly in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Otherworldly Encounters, Otherworldly Encounter Details and Otherworldly Encounter Locations.
Fantasy Otherworldly - all | trinkets | otherworldly encs
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Fantasy Otherworldly Encounters
The otherworldly in fantasy could be nearly anything, from elemental spirits to angelic avengers, planeswalking sages, dead souls, trickster fiends and dream entities. A clockwork construct playing a strange game in a grove of glass trees, a cursed demigod on a floating island with a monster skeleton or a few curious minor spirits curious about a crack in reality, near an ethereal river...
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Otherworldly Encounters.
Otherworldly Combined Encounters
These reference Otherworldly tables for Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Otherworldly Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | a cage with bars of green fire, apparently empty or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | an elemental (choose fire, earth, water or air)... d10 (1-2. giant 3. genie (or noble) 4. construct 5. ooze 6. spirit 7. armoured warrior 8. sprite 9. mount 10. beast) |
| 3 | manipulative sentient magic item or roll on Creature Creator |
| 4 | a creature of chaos (or order), a(n)... d10 (1-2. guardian warrior 3. fiery (or aquatic) leader 4. psychic monk 5. shadow (or sun) spirit 6. succubus 7. serpentine trickster (or sage) 8. avenging archer 9. winged fiend (or angel) 10. clockwork construct |
| 5 | a half-human bounty hunter with a supernatural pet or roll on NPCs |
| 6 | a few (or many) aggressive (or curious)... d10 (1-2. imps 3. insects 4. flyers 5. minor spirits 6. scavengers 7. acolytes 8. guardian beasts 9. constructs 10. warriors) |
| 7 | a shimmering door covered in warning runes or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | a local inhabitant (or creature from far away), a(n)... d10 (1-2. group of beasts 3. trickster 4. mount 5. leader with guards 6. messenger 7. guardian 8. spy 9. spellcaster 10. predator) |
| 9 | friendly shapechanging ooze or roll on Creature Creator |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. planar traveler 3. vehicle 4. mercenary band 5. divine avatar 6. adventuring party 7. demigod 8. cambion 9. undead mage 10. titan) |
Otherworldly Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | not what they first seem or merged into the environment |
| 2 | currently... d10 (1-2. feeding 3. dancing 4. afraid 5. restrained 6. injured 7. noisy 8. excited 9. angry (or sad) 10. cursed ) |
| 3 | guarding the area or part of a planar conflict |
| 4 | spying on (or waiting for) someone else; or allied to someone nearby |
| 5 | curious about... d10 (1-2. a mysterious doorway 3. a glowing gem 4. an alien plant 5. signs of another creature 6. a bad omen 7. an illusion 8. a crack in reality 9. colourful liquid 10. an abandoned object) |
| 6 | marked by (or bearing symbols of) a deity (or faction) |
| 7 | trying to get to a planar city (or legendary location); |
| 8 | playing a strange game or surprisingly helpful |
| 9 | attending a planar gathering (or reunion); or glowing with energy |
| 10 | looking for the characters (or someone they know); or on a journey |
Otherworldly Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area, a(n)... | Feature, a(n)... |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | colourful (or ethereal) river | cloud of incense (or ghostly faces) |
| 2 | grove of bone (or glass) trees | rock covered in writing (or insects) |
| 3 | impressive illusion (or temple) | circle of bright runes (or mushrooms) |
| 4 | tall crystal (or stone) structure | wall (or cage) of energy; or stone hut |
| 5 | strange metal house (or statue) | patch of lifeless (or weird) plants |
| 6 | lake of slime (or fire); or village | monster skeleton or planar window |
| 7 | area of elemental energy | pile of stone heads (or silver symbols) |
| 8 | translucent (or rainbow) bridge | glowing (or locked) portal (or door) |
| 9 | crack in reality or mist of glitter | magic shrine or huge polished mirror |
| 10 | floating island (or castle) | pool of shimmering lights (or acid) |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Otherworldly Encounters.
If you liked these there are Generators at Chaos Gen and a monthly random tools Newsletter. Or find us on the Rand Roll Discord or an instagram of Random Tables.
