TEXT: By dawn & jeff Ibach 
  
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, and all other Wizards of the 
  Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.  
   
  This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under 
  the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.  
   
  All other original material in this work is copyright 2016 by Jeff & Dawn Ibach and published under the Community Content Agree-
  ment for Dungeon Masters Guild.  Version 1.0 
  DM’s random encounter: “You see a bugbear.” 
  Players: “We kill it!” 
  DM: “Roll initiative”. 
   
  DM’s random encounter: “You see a bugbear teaching two younger ones the art of stealth.” 
  Players: “Ummm. Huh.” 
  ————————————————————————————————————— 
  DM’s random encounter: “You see a displacer beast.” 
  Players: “We kill it!” 
  DM: “Roll initiative”. 
   
  DM’s random encounter: “You see a displacer beast up in a tree, resting, the remnants of a re-
  cent kill at the trunk.” 
  Players: “Let’s make our way...around it. 
  DM: “Roll stealth checks.” 
  ————————————————————————————————————— 
  This is an article we wrote long ago for our own campaigns. Many adventures today sometimes  
  detail what the individual(s) randomly rolled are doing. But if not, we were a little tired of a ran-
  dom encounter meaning initiative, combat and loss of resources with no storytelling aspect to it.  
   
  Sometimes combat is good (especially if you using it to wake everyone up or give them a kicking 
  the head to get moving or make a decision), but if you like the idea of making your adventure 
  (and campaign) more meaningful, consider extrapolating from the following list to help you 
  paint more dynamic random encounters. 
  By Dawn & Jeff Ibach 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy for personal use only.               
   
                                   Activities 
  1 
  
                     Randomizing Random Encounters 
   
   
      By Dawn & Jeff Ibach 
   
  Randomize random encounters with these tables. Not 
  every encounter needs to be a meeting of mature hunt-
  ers intent on attacking the PCs. These encounter ideas 
  are best suited for the following type of encounters: 
  Beast, Celestial, Dragon, some Elementals, Fey, Fiend, 
  Giant, Humanoid, and Monstrosity. You won't usually find 
  Aberrations, Constructs, Oozes, Plants and Undead par-
  taking in most of the suggestions below. 
   
  Activity (1d20) 
   
  1 
  Bathing 
  2 
  Digging 
  3 
  Eating 
  4 
  Fighting 
  5 
  Fishing 
  6 
  Grooming 
  7 
  Hiding 
  8-10 
  Hunting 
  11 
  Marking 
  12 
  Maintenance 
  13 
  Mating 
  14 
  Playing 
  15 
  Practicing 
  16 
  Resting 
  17 
  Searching 
  18 
  Sleeping 
  19 
  Spying 
  20 
  Worshipping 
   
  Type (1d12) 
   
  1 
  Adolescent 
  2 
  Adult male and female 
  3 
  Female and young 
  4 
  Male and young 
  5-11 
  Mature Adult(s) 
  12 
  Young (lost?) 
   
  Condition (1d12) 
   
  1 
  Dehydrated 
  2-6 
  Healthy 
  7 
  Poisoned 
  8 
  Rabid/diseased 
  9 
  Starving 
  10 
  Trapped 
  11 
  Wounded 
  12 
  Roll Twice and combine 
   
  Here are some examples based on whether you roll an 
  encounter with humanoids (trolls, elves, hobgoblins or 
  monsters (owlbears, displacer beasts, perytons). 
   
  Bathing. 
  Humanoid or Monster—Using whatever is appropriate for 
  its type, water(fall) dirt, mud, leaves, fire. 
   
  Digging.  
  Humanoid - Perhaps digging a new dungeon entrance, 
  or for food or water, for treasure, setting up a pit trap or 
  an ambush. 
  Monster – To bury food for later, hide offal or waste, or 
  starting a nest or burrow. 
   
  Eating.  
  Humanoid - Generally most humanoids are not picky eat-
  ers and will eat anything they can kill or forage, some-
  times as soon as they catch it or find it. Coming across 
  such a grisly feast could prove hazardous. 
  Monster – It’s downing its catch, and this could lead to 
  either indifference (it is satisfied with the meal) or imme-
  diate combat (it’s guarding the meal from others). 
   
  Fighting (Arguing).  
  Humanoid or Monster - A battle with each other, one or 
  more of its own kind, an opposing creature, a personal 
  squabble between two combatants, a fight between two 
  tribes or packs for hunting area or a lair. Anything worth 
  something is worth arguing for. Some examples might 
  include the biggest or better tasting portion of a meal, a 
  trinket, a shiny rock, the best weapon or boots, the best 
  trail or best lookout spot. 
   
  Fishing.  
  Humanoid - Either on shore with a stick and line or in the 
  water with a spear or bare hands are options. 
  Monster – Wading into the water, swiping or spearing the 
  water with natural weapons. 
   
  Grooming.  
  Humanoid - Another example not used much by human-
  oids, but this could also be a form of pre-mating ritual. It 
  could also be delusions of grandeur for the likes of derro, 
  kobolds, or other slightly unhinged folk. 
  Monster – Removing parasites or debris, softening coat 
  or dealing with wounds. 
   
  Hiding.  
  Humanoid or Monster - This could be an ambush ap-
  proached from the unguarded side, a scout/lookout, or 
  young unsure of his/her prowess. It could even be hiding 
  from another monster that is hunting it. 
   
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy for personal use only.               
   
                                   Activities 
  2 
  
  Hunting.  
  Humanoid - A group of hunters is what is usually en-
  countered but try opening up the possibilities. Consider a 
  lone hunter, perhaps he is on a vision quest or is a scout. 
  Perhaps it is a young male out to prove his worth by 
  hunting a wild animal to kill in single combat and bring 
  back the pelt as proof. Another example is a young sha-
  man out to find his totem or collect herbs or animal parts 
  or components. 
  Monster – Just out for food (or sport if that counts). 
   
  Marking. 
  Humanoid – Leaving clues on a trail to find one’s way 
  back, carving hunter’s signs of warning or information 
  about the area on a tree or stone for others. 
  Monster – Marking a territory with waste, other kills or 
  skeletons littered around, or even signs of power like rak-
  ing claws or leaving bite marks on trees or rocks. 
   
  Maintenance. 
  Humanoid - Sharpening a weapon, repairing armor, 
  mending clothes. 
  Monster – Sharpening claws or teeth, or ensuring its 
  body is suited for the coming activity. 
   
  Mating.  
  Humanoid or Monster - We won’t get into this much, ex-
  cept to consider the rituals involved. Perhaps there is a 
  battle to take place between the male and female or be-
  tween two or more males for the female, or vice-versa. 
  If they’re already in the act, disturbing it would either lead 
  to fleeing or immediate combat. 
   
  Playing.  
  Humanoid - Most evil humanoid races have games unfit 
  for polite description, but any type of game that allows 
  someone or something to be hurt or increases battle 
  prowess is applicable. 
  Monster – More than likely young learning to hone their 
  skills, or adults keeping each other in shape and ready. 
   
  Practicing.  
  Humanoid - Practicing weapons skills like archery or 
  swordplay, craft skills (if they are known to have any they 
  probably deal with weaponry) or learning to swim or fish. 
  Monster – Sparring for sport, engaging in hit and run tac-
  tics with its peers, or just honing other skills like stealth 
  and perception. 
   
  Resting. 
  Humanoid – Storytelling or journal entry, meditation, just 
  relaxing. 
  Monster – Zoning, resting after a battle or meal or just 
  keeping watch over an area in a comfortable spot. 
   
  Searching.  
  Humanoid - Looking for escaped prey or prisoner, a hid-
  den cache of loot or supplies, a trail, a hidden lair or tem-
  ple entrance, or the adventurers themselves! 
  Monster – Looking for tracks, a new lair or place to nest 
  or hide young, or something new that caught its eye or 
  nose. 
   
  Sleeping.  
  Humanoid - A sleeping group of humanoids could have 
  been forced from their home for some reason and are 
  looking for another; they have traveled far and are ex-
  hausted. A sleeping scout, a hunter could have fallen 
  asleep after gorging himself, and a sleeping lookout in a 
  tree or behind cover are good examples. 
  Monster – For whatever reason, the trick is to decide if 
  this is good way for the party to get a jump on it, or how 
  to best sneak around and avoid it! 
   
  Spying.  
  Humanoid or Monster - Usually a lone spy is encoun-
  tered, but a pair is possible. Spying out game trails, rival 
  tribe or pack scouts, human encampments, or the adven-
  turers. 
   
  Worshipping. 
  Humanoid – Anything from stories, to ritual dancing, a 
  sacrifice or unusually quiet contemplation. 
  Monster – Depending on its intelligence, it could have 
  some way of acknowledging a deity or other power, or 
  maybe it is just relishing a natural condition of its envi-
  ronment, like rain, snow, a full moon, eclipse, etc.  
   
   
   
   
  It was mentioned in the beginning that these ideas may 
  not be of use for the likes of Aberrations, Constructs, 
  Oozes, Plants and Undead. But, consider loosening up a 
  little on stereotypes: 
   
   
  A Ghoul family, elders and children following them. 
   
  A Flump looking for its friends or spying on the party. 
   
  A Construct, unfinished or in the form of a small child. 
   
  An Ooze could certainly be hunting, eating or hiding. 
   
  Vegepygmies are plants but could easily be involved  
        in any of the activities above! 
   
  Random encounters can be made into so much more 
  than a simple battle with a little creativity. Who knows, 
  they may even spark a series of following adventurers 
  based on the actions of the PCs or the encountered 
  creatures themselves. 
  Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy for personal use only.               
   
                                   Activities 
  3 
  
  Also from Toolbox Publishing... 
  CREDITS—TOOLBOX PUBLISHING 
  Written by Dawn & Jeff Ibach 
  Editing and Layout: Jeff Ibach 
   
  Contact: jeffibach.DM@gmail.com 
   
  Jeff and Dawn are the ENnie-award winning authors behind AEG’s 
  Toolbox (2002) and Ultimate Toolbox (2009).  
  Dawn also has written nearly a dozen “Miscellaneous Mishaps” 
  articles for Dragon & Dungeon Magazines between 1997 and 2003. 
   
  “MGG VENTURES” 
  This book is part of a new imprint focusing on quality, imaginative 
  PDF support for 5th edition D&D through the DM’s Guild website. 
  The “Marauders Game Group” is a game club in New Jersey USA 
  consisting of over 20 members collaborating to bring products you can 
  trust and count on to deliver useful tools for your campaign. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Toolbox Publishing/Toolbox Publishing - Random Encounter Activities.pdf