Three enormous blue toads are investigating the remains of a barge. Is it a recent wreck? Are the toads anything to do with it?
Simple river encounters from an upcoming Collected Encounters pdf.
Tables for River Encounters (levels 1-4 & levels 5-10), Encounter Details and River Beasts.
Tables for... all terrains | caves | dungeon | farmland | market | river | sewers | sky
From Collected Encounters on DM's Guild
[Photo by Jairo Gallegos on Unsplash]
River Encounters (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | River Encounter Table lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 veteran and 1d4 guards in a boat or 1d3 plesiosauruses |
| 2 | 1d6 mud mephits or 1d2 deep scions |
| 3 | 2d4 giant frogs or roll on River Beasts |
| 4 | 1d4 lizardfolk and 1d3 giant lizards or roll on Lizardfolk lvl 1-4 |
| 5 | 1d6 vine blights or 1 merrenoloth (MToF) with a boat |
| 6 | 1d3 merrow or dangerous rapids |
| 7 | 1 dryad and 1d6 sprites or 1 barge with 1d6 commoners and 2d4 guards |
| 8 | 1d6 crocodiles or roll on River Beasts |
| 9 | 1d6 acolytes and a priest on a raft or 1 druid with 2d4 blood hawks |
| 10 | 1 chuul or 1d4 swarms of quippers |
| 11 | An overturned boat or 1d3 nothics |
| 12 | 1d3 bullywugs on giant toads or 1 lizardfolk shaman with 1d6 flying snakes |
| 13 | 1 giant constrictor snake or roll on River Beasts |
| 14 | 1d4 commoners with 2d4 water bison (giant goat stats) |
| 15 | 2d4 kobolds with 1d3 giant poisonous snakes or 2d4 dimetrodons (VGtM) |
| 16 | 1 ghost or 1 sea hag with 1d4 bullywugs |
| 17 | 2d4 tribal warriors in canoes (or coracles); or 1d3 black (or green) guard drakes (VGtM) |
| 18 | 2d6 giant crabs or roll on River Beasts |
| 19 | 2d6 river merfolk or 1 tortle druid (MToF) and 1d4 tortles (MToF) |
| 20 | 1 water elemental or 1 giant crocodile |
River Encounters (Levels 5-10)
| 1d20 | River Encounter Table lvl 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1d4 berserkers and 1d6 scouts in a boat (or canoes) or 1 marid |
| 3-4 | 1 hydra or 1d4 aquatic trolls (swim 30 ft) |
| 5-6 | 1 cyclops with 2d4 giant toads or an area of razorvine (DMG) submerged in the water |
| 7-8 | 2d6 lizardfolk with 1d6 plesiosauruses or roll on Lizardfolk lvl 5-10 |
| 9-10 | 2d4 giant boars or 1 tortle druid (MToF) with 1d3 water elementals |
| 11 | A maelstrom in the water or 2d4 bullywugs with 1 froghemoth (VGtM) |
| 12 | 1d4 hobgoblins and 1 hobgoblin captain on griffons or 1d4 brontosauruses |
| 13 | 1 shambling mound with 1d4 chuuls or 1d3 catoblepases (VGtM) |
| 14 | A riverboat with 1d6 veterans and 1 priest or 1 yuan-ti abomination with 1d3 giant constrictor snakes |
| 15 | 1 treant with 1d4 awakened bushes or 1d2 hydroloths (MToF) |
| 16 | 1d2 water elementals and 1d6 mist mephits or 1 kraken priest (VGtM) and 1d4 cult fanatics with 1d4 giant octopi |
| 17 | 1d2 giant crocodiles and 2d4 crocodiles or 1 banshee and 1d4 vampiric mists (MToF) |
| 18 | 1 young black dragon or 1 druid with 1d4 elephants |
| 19 | 1 aboleth or 1 morkoth |
| 20 | 1 dragon turtle or 1 storm giant |
Encounter Details (Levels 1-4)
Use 1d10 for beasts and non-sentient creatures.
They are... (or one is...)
| 1d20 | River Encounter Details |
|---|---|
| 1 | drinking from the water |
| 2 | on an island |
| 3 | curious about a damaged boat (or roll on River Watercraft) |
| 4 | trying to catch fish |
| 5 | strong swimmers (swim 30 ft. or increase swim speed by 20 ft.) |
| 6 | investigating a body (or wooden box) on the water's edge (or floating in the water) |
| 7 | playing in the shallows (or enjoying the sunshine) |
| 8 | by a pool guarded by a water weird (or water elemental) |
| 9 | hiding from (or watching) a nearby threat |
| 10 | swimming or bathing in the water |
| 11 | in a boat (or roll on River Watercraft) |
| 12 | examining a bridge in disrepair or guarding the water's edge |
| 13 | gathering unusual stones (or frogs) |
| 14 | making something with reeds or repairing a boat |
| 15 | performing a ritual (or rite of passage) in the water |
| 16 | playing a game involving sticks (or a raft) |
| 17 | washing something in the water or searching for a stream that feeds into the river |
| 18 | filling containers with water or dumping something in the water |
| 19 | about to cross a ford or carrying a boat |
| 20 | carrying a folding boat (or a quaal's feather token - swan) |
River Beasts (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | River Beasts lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1d4 swarms of quippers or 1d4 giant toads |
| 3-4 | 1d6 crocodiles or 1d2 cave bears (polar bear variant) |
| 5-6 | 2d6 blood hawks or 1d2 giant octopi |
| 7-8 | 2d4 giant frogs or 2d6 river dolphins (VGtM) |
| 9-10 | 1 giant constrictor snake or 2d4 dimetrodons (VGtM) |
| 11-12 | 1d3 plesiosauruses or 1d3 swarms of poisonous snakes |
| 13-14 | 2d4 water bison (giant goat stats) or 1 brontosaurus (VGtM) |
| 15-16 | 1d3 black bears or 1d4+1 giant lizards |
| 17-18 | 2d6 giant crabs or 1d3 giant boars |
| 19-20 | 1d6 large fish (giant seahorse stats) or 1 giant crocodile |
River Watercraft
| 1d20 | River Watercraft |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | A rowing boat |
| 4-5 | A fishing boat |
| 6-7 | A keelboat or one or more coracles |
| 8-9 | A canoe |
| 10-11 | A barge |
| 12-13 | A raft |
| 14-15 | A kayak or longship |
| 16-17 | A pleasure boat |
| 18-19 | A flat-bottomed boat or a ferryboat |
| 20 | A clockwork (or magically-powered) boat |
From Collected Encounters on DM's Guild
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