" A guardian fiend is performing a ritual, as it does every morning at the crumbling shrine in the abandoned barn..."
Simple encounter tables for ruins in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Ruins Encounters, Ruins Encounter Details and Ruins Encounter Locations.
Fantasy City - all | trinkets | cemetery encs | market encs | port encs | ruins encs | sewer encs | street encs | tavern encs | crowds
Fantasy Dungeon - all | trinkets | cave encs | dungeon encs | ruins encs | sewer encs | tomb encs
[photo by Tijs van Leur on Unsplash]
Fantasy Ruins Encounters
Ruined cities, abandoned farmsteads and crumbled towers are some of the most iconic places for adventures. Many monsters made lairs in them, and they are often host to outcasts, outlaws and others on the fringes of society. A pair of goblins scavenge for anything of value in an abandoned inn, a vengeful undead spirit is imprisoned among a line of statues and many giant bats guard the ruins of a forlorn watchtower, serving a greater power.
A place of scavengers, nonhumans, spirits, traps and vines. Of guardians, ambushes, decay and bones.
There is a fantasy ruins encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Ruins Encounters.
Ruins Combined Encounters
These reference Ruins tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Ruins Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | an illusion of a goblin making rude gestures or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | a scavenging (or disturbing)... d10 (1-2. rat swarm 3. giant vulture 4. giant weasel 5. fungal beast 6. swarm of crows 7. bear 8. wererat 9. yellow jelly 10. insect swarm) |
| 3 | a gaunt warlock interested in a murder here long ago or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | several (or a pair of)... d10 (1-2. goblins 3. bandits 4. zombies 5. ogres 6. smugglers 7. refugees 8. animal-folk 9. nonhumans 10. were-creatures) |
| 5 | a cat familiar of a nearby spellcaster or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | a few (or many)... d10 (1-2. giant spiders 3. giant wasps 4. gargoyles 5. giant bats 6. fey tricksters 7. apes 8. giant beetles 9. giant centipedes 10. imps ) |
| 7 | a diseased corpse at the bottom of a hole or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | a guardian... d10 (1-2. group of skeletons 3. stone statue 4. wraith 5. fiend 6. wight 7. sphinx 8. ghost 9. earth elemental 10. warrior spirit ) |
| 9 | a veteran bounty hunter looking for a famed bandit or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. plant monster 3. cockatrice 4. owlbear 5. predatory ooze 6. troll 7. gorgon 8. harpy 9. vengeful undead spirit 10. dragon) |
Ruins Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | watching over (or guarding) the ruins or haunted by spirits |
| 2 | currently... d10 (1-2. resting 3. scavenging 4. washing 5. imprisoned 6. possessed 7. injured 8. hiding 9. diseased 10. cursed ) |
| 3 | hiding from (or watching) a nearby threat; or skittish |
| 4 | foraging for sustenance or close to death |
| 5 | curious about... d10 (1-2. a body 3. bright fungi 4. a lever 5. an old sign 6. a trapdoor 7. a skull 8. weird markings 9. a hole 10. discarded clothes) |
| 6 | guarding (or watching over) the local area; or with their young |
| 7 | scavenging for valuables or spying on someone else |
| 8 | searching for someone (or an item); or performing a ritual |
| 9 | making... d10 (1-2. a meal 3. a hole 4. lots of noise 5. a trap 6. a map 7. a new friend 8. art 9. lots of mess 10. a fire ) |
| 10 | partway through (or ending) a journey; or waiting in ambush |
Ruins Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area, a(n)... | Feature, a(n)... |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | vine-covered house (or windmill) | cracked gravestone or trapdoor |
| 2 | line of grim statues or orchard | poisoned well or campfire |
| 3 | collapsed tower or old road | secret door or mushroom ring |
| 4 | fenced garden (or enclosure) | pile of bones (or rusty weapons) |
| 5 | abandoned inn (or barn) | trapped (or illusionary) door |
| 6 | deserted cottage (or stairs down) | metal lever (or grate); or old sign |
| 7 | fountain (or statue) in a courtyard | broken column (or wagon) |
| 8 | overgrown monument (or tomb) | crude cairn or mossy stone wall |
| 9 | ruined bridge (or temple) | reed-filled pond or thorny hedge |
| 10 | forlorn (or haunted) watchtower | crumbling shrine or bronze bell |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy ruins encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Ruins Encounters.
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