TEXT: by Various Authors
  Short Encounters for
  Characters of Any Level
  
  Table of ConTenTs
  Foreword                                                                                              3
  Adventure Customs and Shorthand                                                                    3
  About the Authors                                                                                     4
  So, a Displacer Beast Cub and a Pack of Blink Dogs Ran Across Our Path… by Alan Tucker             5
  So, a Sverfneblin, Chased by a Duergar Posse, Walked into Our Campsite… by Chad M. Lensch         7
  So, a Poacher Walks Into a Lodge… by Harm Delva                                                      9
  So, a Goblin in a Cage Hangs Over the Road… by Ciaran O’Halloran                                   11
  So, an Exotic Merchant and a Crippled Aarakocra Landed on Our Campsite… by Elven Tower          13
  So, an Umber Hulk and a Slaad Fly Over the Road… by Tony Petrecca                                  15
  So, a Blind Woman and a Medusa Walk Along the Road… by Beatriz T. Dias                            18
  So, a Barghest and Its Goblin Prey Are Found on the Road… by David McDonough                     19
  So, a Child and His Sister Walk Onto the Road… by Matt Vaughan (Dungeon Rollers)                  21
  So, Two Clans of Goblins Gathered by the Road With a Hag—Then a Bunch of                                
  Bards Showed Up…  by George Sager                                                                 24
  So, a Magic Axe, a Skeleton, and a Crowd of Peasants Block the Road… by Duncan Rhodes            26
  So, a Campfire Appeared Along the Road… by Morten Greis                                           29
  So, Some Adventurers With a Locked Chest Step Onto the Road… by Richard Malena-Webber         30
  So, a Tearful Shepherd, Three Pixies, and Flock of Sheep Walk Onto the Road… by Karl Sciberras     32
  Encounter Modifier Tables by ELF Vesala                                                              34
  CrediTs
  Design & Layout: Alan Tucker
  Art: Alan Tucker, and licensed and modified stock art from DepositPhotos.com and DMsGuild 
  Community Resources
  Editing: Linda May and Alan Tucker
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, 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 ©2019 by MAD Design, Inc., Alan Tucker, Chad M. Lensch, Harm Delva, Ciaran O’Halloran, Elven Tower, Tony 
  Petrecca, Beatriz T. Dias, David McDonough, Matt Vaughan (Dungeon Rollers), George Sager, Duncan Rhodes, Morten Greis, Richard Malena-Webber, Karl Sciberras, 
  and ELF Vesala and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
  
  foreword
  The travel montage… as DMs, we’ve all done 
  it. The players only want to get from point A to 
  point B and skip over “the boring parts.”
  But, when things happen in between adven-
  tures, on the road, it can make your world seem 
  much more alive and interesting! So, make travel 
  and camping out beside the road fun and in-
  triguing and even a wee bit dangerous… 
  Following in the footsteps of the amazingly 
  popular So, a Cleric and a Vampire Walk Into a 
  Tavern, and the newly released So, a Wizard’s 
  Apprentice and a Demon Walk Into a Magic 
  Shop…, this collection of short encounters takes 
  your party on the road, trekking through the 
  wilderness. Inside, you’ll find imaginative stories 
  from some of the DMsGuild’s best and brightest 
  contributors. You’re sure to find something to 
  liven up that trip to the next adventure!
  I sincerely want to thank the tremendous com-
  munity of DMsGuild authors, artists, and other 
  contributors for their amazing support. This cre-
  ative collective is absolutely top notch and true 
  fans of this hobby we all love.
  —Alan Tucker
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters | Page 3
  advenTure CusToms 
  and shorThand
  Within the adventure, you will see text that is set 
  apart in a box, like this:
  This text is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased 
  to the players.
  Other items will be highlighted in bold, referring 
  to an ability check, saving throw, monster, or 
  item from one of the published D&D materials, 
  such as the Monster Manual. The core published 
  books for 5th edition are abbreviated as follows:
  PHB = Player’s Handbook
  DMG = Dungeon Master’s Guide
  MM = Monster Manual
  VGtM = Volo’s Guide to Monsters
  XGtE = Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
  MToF = Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
  
  Page 4  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  abouT The auThors
  AlAn Tucker
  Alan is a contributor and author of a number of 
  bestselling products on the DMs Guild, includ-
  ing Hey, Mister, Can You Help Me? and the highly 
  acclaimed Myriad, City of Tiers. Alan also has 
  several fantasy and science fiction novels to his 
  name. You can find more at www.AlanTucker.net.
  Chad M  Lensch
  Chad is a contributor to Villains and Lairs. He is 
  working on other projects to be released soon!
  Harm Delva
  Harm wanted to give something back to the com-
  munity after years of impressing his players with 
  stuff he mooched off the DMs Guild. This is his 
  first ever contribution.
  Ciaran O’Halloran
  Ciaran is a new contributor to the DMs Guild. 
  He is a DM, Dad, and Drama teacher.
  Elven Tower
  Elven Tower is a powerhouse of RPG content 
  creation. The small indie studio has created 
  hundreds of fantasy maps, short adventures, 
  and DM content for three years straight.
  Tony Petrecca
  Tony has been DMing since the last millenni-
  um. He is the author of several critically ac-
  claimed DMsGuild adventures. Check out his 
  best sellers Hunted, Journey Through the Center 
  of the Underdark, and Killer Kobolds.
  Beatriz T  Dias
  Mostly an adventure writer, the DMsGuild has 
  several of Beatriz’s works.
  David McDonough
  David is a new contributor on the DMs Guild 
  and author of the adventures The Priest, the 
  Witch, and the Lost Temple and Undermountain: 
  Caverns of the Many-Legged.
  Matt Vaughan (Dungeon Rollers)
  Author of the Treasures of… series, featuring 
  new magic items for use in all your campaigns. 
  Dungeon Rollers has many new items coming in 
  the coming months.
  George Sager
  George is a contributer to Storm King’s Barrows, 
  has a credit in Kobold Press’ Creature Codex, 
  and DMs a 5e campaign for friends when he 
  isn’t working on one of several other projects on 
  the go. Follow him on Twitter @GeorgeSCanada.
  Duncan Rhodes
  Duncan is the author of several best-selling 
  titles on the DMs Guild, most notably Esquiel’s 
  Guide to Magic Weapons, which brings 120 
  new blades, battleaxes, and bows to your game 
  (along with a treasure trove of more fun stuff). 
  He also blogs at www.hipstersanddragons.com.
  Morten Greis
  Morten is a new contributor to DMs Guild, 
  blogs at Stemmen fra ådalen and converts Dan-
  ish adventures to English on DriveThruRPG.
  Richard Malena-Webber
  Richard is a contributor and author of many 
  projects on the DMs Guild, including the Ravni-
  ca adventure The Tomb of Svogthos and Rise of 
  the Champions.
  Karl Sciberras
  Karl’s first adventure, All in a Day’s Work, was 
  released to the Guild in late 2018. More adven-
  tures will follow as he extracts all the stories 
  that are rattling around in his head.
  ELF Vesala
  ELF is a random generator aficionado blogging 
  at https://randomcreation.net/. His favorite die 
  is d10.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 5
  so, a displaCer beasT Cub 
  and a paCk of blink dogs 
  ran aCross our paTh…
  by alan TuCker
  suggesTed parTy level: any
  Traveling through this forest has been pleasant 
  for the most part, but you sense something in the 
  air this evening you can only describe as anticipa-
  tion or tenseness.
  While keeping your eyes peeled for a place to 
  make camp, you hear a plaintive, animal cry just 
  before a tiny, dark-furred creature bounds from 
  the brush into your path. Tentacles wave with 
  nervous energy from its shoulders.
  A moment later the air behind the little newcom-
  er shimmers and another, larger creature, with 
  canine features and long, pointed ears, pops into 
  existence. The dog bears its teeth and growls 
  at the smaller, seemingly helpless beast.
  The tiny creature is a displac-
  er beast (MM page 81) cub 
  (which experienced players 
  will likely recognize) and the 
  menacing canine is a blink 
  dog (MM page 318). The play-
  ers have stumbled onto an 
  ancient conflict and must 
  make a split-second decision: 
  help one creature or the other, 
  or do nothing and see what 
  transpires.
  While the displacer beast 
  is only a newborn, and many 
  players’ first thoughts might 
  be to keep it as a pet, the 
  creatures are inherently lawful 
  evil. The blink dog, on the oth-
  er hand, is lawful good. Your 
  party’s general disposition 
  along the good or evil spec-
  trum may come into serious 
  question depending on what 
  comes next.
  If the players do nothing, or aid the blink dog, 
  the cub’s parent(s) or pride will emerge from the 
  forest, possibly already bloodied from combat 
  before. The DM can determine an appropriate 
  amount of adversaries to challenge their party.
  If the party decides to help the cub, a pack 
  of several blink dogs will arrive to join the fray. 
  Again, it is left up to the DM to decide how diffi-
  cult they wish the encounter to be by adjusting 
  the number of dogs in the pack or by adding 
  additional fey as suggested in the Alternatives 
  section on the next page.
  continued next page…
  
  Page 6  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  displaCer beasT Cub
  Tiny monstrosity, lawful evil
  Armor Class 11 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 5 (2d4)
  Speed 20 ft.
   
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
   6 (-2) 
  10 (+0) 
  10 (+0) 
  4 (-3) 
  8 (-1) 
  7 (-2)
  Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 10
  Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
  Avoidance. If the displacer beast is subjected to an effect that allows 
  it to make a saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes 
  no damage if it succeeds, and only half damage if it fails.
  Displacement. The displacer beast projects a magical illusion that 
  makes it appear to be standing near its actual location, causing 
  attack rolls against it to have disadvantage. If it is hit by an attack, this 
  effect is disrupted until the end of its next turn.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The displacer beast makes two attacks with its tentacles.
  Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 
  (1d4 - 2) bludgeoning damage plus 2 (1d4) piercing damage.
  alTernaTives:
  This encounter offers many possibilities for 
  further adventure. The blink dogs could be part 
  of a Seelie Court (good fey) hunting party that 
  has crossed into the Material Plane for a bit of 
  sport. If the party has harmed or killed one or 
  more of the dogs in order to protect the young 
  displacer beast, the fey could become quite 
  cross with the adventurers, leading to some 
  interesting conundrums for the players— espe-
  cially if their characters are of good alignment.
  The displacer beasts could be from a breed-
  ing program run by a group of evil fey (Unseelie 
  Court) who have plans to cause trouble in the 
  Material Plane in the near future.
  abouT The auThor
  Alan is a contributor and author of a number of 
  bestselling products on the DMs Guild, includ-
  ing Hey, Mister, Can You Help Me? and the highly 
  acclaimed Myriad, City of Tiers. Alan also has 
  several fantasy and science fiction novels to his 
  name. You can find more at www.AlanTucker.net.
  This encounter originally appeared under the title 
  of “Wild Kingdom” in, Can We Keep Him?, anoth-
  er free collection of encounters with the central 
  theme of party pets.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 7
  so, a sverfneblin, 
  Chased by a duergar 
  posse, walked inTo 
  our CampsiTe…
  by Chad m. lensCh
  suggesTed parTy level: 8-10
  Can be adapTed To: 5-20
  overview
  Two duergar (MM p122), each riding a bulette (MM 
  p34), are chasing down Gutta Perchapulp, a deep 
  gnome (MM p164). She possesses a valuable black 
  sapphire she stole from a powerful duergar warlord, 
  and is trying to find a hiding place on the surface. 
  A duergar posse hunts down the thief, demands 
  the gem back, and insists the gnome will be killed 
  for retribution. This encounter may happen while 
  traveling on the road, exploring underground, or at 
  a campsite.
  seTup
  Off and on, through the main adventure, have the 
  party make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. 
  If it is successful, describe quiet, low-pitched rever-
  berations shaking the ground for a minute or two, 
  and decreasing in intensity before going still. This 
  cycle may happen as many times as the DM wish-
  es to create an enigma and build up the encounter. 
  These rumbling noises are actually the bulettes 
  traveling underground chasing Gutta, and can be 
  heard over the course of an hour, or even a day. 
  The hook
  When the DM is ready to initiate the encounter, 
  read or paraphrase the following:
  Suddenly, a gray-skinned gnome bursts from 
  foliage near you, breathing heavily and looking 
  over her shoulder. The distracted gnome trips and 
  falls, cursing and crashing to the ground in an 
  undignified flailing of arms and legs.
  She promptly sits up, looks at you with ter-
  ror-filled eyes, and shrieks, “Please help me! They 
  are going to kill me!” As if on cue, you feel a slight 
  tremor in the ground.
  guTTa’s desperaTe deal
  Gutta could not escape the posse. Her strategy 
  for evasion was to head to the surface, where the 
  sun would be unpleasant for the duergar. After 
  she meets the party, the desperate gnome pleads 
  with them for help. She lies to the party at first, 
  telling them the reason her pursuers are chasing 
  her is because they hate gnomes, and they al-
  ready killed two of her friends. If the party suc-
  ceeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight), Charisma 
  (Intimidation), or Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check, they see through Gutta’s story. If caught, 
  Gutta confesses she has stolen a gem and ap-
  peals to the party’s conscience. Without the help 
  of the party, she will be murdered by the noble’s 
  henchmen. As a last resort, Gutta offers the gem 
  as incentive for the party to help her.  
  If Gutta successfully lies to the party, she will 
  continue that lie through the encounter, or until 
  her lie is discovered.
  The posse’s arrival
  After the party has had a few minutes to talk 
  with Gutta, read or paraphrase the following:
  The tremors begin again, but grow in intensity. 
  Just when it feels as though the tremors are un-
  der your feet, they stop. A second later, the earth 
  around you explodes!
  As the dust settles, a hollow, metallic guffawing 
  is heard over a deep, resonant breathing. Before 
  you loom two huge, heavily armored beasts, with 
  razor sharp beaks, powerful front legs and thick 
  claws. They aggressively paw at the ground, and 
  turn their attention towards you. Each sports a 
  rider on their back, seated in a complex harness 
  made up of hardened leather straps, reinforced by 
  chains and metal collars around their legs, arms, 
  and necks. On the back of the harness is a sad-
  dle with a conical iron housing that resembles a 
  rounded fin. You watch as the leader unclips from 
  his harness, and pulls himself from underneath 
  the protective shield.
  The laughing stops, its metallic echoes fading as 
  he speaks, “You can try all you want, but you 
  cannot escape, you repulsive little worm! Give us 
  the gem, now!”
  continued next page…
  
  Page 8  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  The posse was hired to retrieve the black sap-
  phire, and if possible, bring the thief’s head 
  back for extra money (an additional 50% of the 
  gem’s worth). They are not against talking with 
  the party to get the gem without a fight. (“We 
  have no quarrel with you; hand the gnome over 
  to us and we can all go on our way.”) However, 
  the duergar are not easily swayed from executing 
  their contract on Gutta, and are quite willing to 
  fight. The players must succeed a DC 20 Charis-
  ma (Persuasion, Intimidation, or Deception) 
  check, and have an exceptional description of 
  the argument/behavior/lie in order to change 
  the gray dwarves’ minds. 
  mounT and rider
  The bulette and its duergar rider wear special 
  harnesses that attach to each other, and allow 
  the riders to stay on the animals as they bur-
  row. The harness may be targeted by the players, 
  and has an AC 15 and 20 hp. If it is destroyed, 
  the duergar may no longer burrow underground 
  with the bulette.
  CombaT sTraTegies
  The posse attempts to keep Gutta from escaping 
  whenever possible. If she does run, the posse 
  disengages from the party to give chase. The 
  posse easily follows Gutta due to the bulettes’ 
  tremorsense. 
  The posse burrows into the ground and at-
  tempts to surround or flank its enemy. If it is 
  advantageous for the duergar, they may dis-
  mount to engage the party while the bulettes 
  flank them. 
  If the gem and the body (or head) of Gutta is 
  obtained, the posse attempts to burrow under-
  ground and leave.  
  sCaling suggesTions
  Use the following chart to adapt the difficulty of 
  the encounter:
   
  Party 
  # of 
  # of 
  Gem Worth
   
  Level 
  Duergar 
  Bulletes 
  (in gp)
   
  5 
  1 
  1 
  1,000
   
  6-7 
  2 
  1 
  2,000
   
  8-10 
  2 
  2 
  3,000
   
  11-12 
  3 
  3 
  5,000
   
  13-16 
  4 
  4 
  8,000
   
  17-18 
  6 
  6 
  12,000
   
  19-20 
  8 
  8 
  16,000
  Feel free to change the DCs in the encounter to 
  increase challenge higher level parties.
  abouT The auThor
  Chad is a contributor to Villains and Lairs. He is 
  working on other projects to be released soon!
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 9
  so, a poaCher walks 
  inTo a lodge…
  by harm delva
  suggesTed parTy level: 4-6
  A cold wind blows and the sky turns to an om-
  inous darkness. Before you know it you find 
  yourselves in a fierce, torrential downpour. In the 
  distance, just off the side of the road, you can just 
  barely see what appears to be a house. A faint 
  orange light glows from its windows.
  The house is a lodge built to give traveling traders 
  shelter for the night. There’s a small stable right 
  next to it which currently houses a single mule. 
  The hearth in the center of the room is almost 
  burnt out. The lodge itself is currently empty, the 
  only other notable thing in the room is a stack of 
  firewood in a corner next to the door. 
  The hunTer
  The mule’s owner walks into the lodge shortly 
  after the players do… 
  You’re just acquainting yourselves with the in-
  terior when the door swings open and a small, 
  drenched, cloaked individual walks inside. He 
  takes off his hood, revealing a distinctly gnomish 
  heritage. He has a few rabbits strapped to his 
  comically large backpack. Seemingly startled by 
  your presence, it takes a moment before he closes 
  the door and introduces himself. 
  The gnome is called Badger and he’s a local rang-
  er. This is true in the sense that he lives in these 
  woods, but he omits the fact that he hunts rare 
  animals to sell to his wealthy contacts. He just 
  got back from successfully stealing a basilisk’s 
  egg but the weather caught him off guard. If the 
  players ask what he was doing outside, he points 
  to the rabbits strapped to his backpack and says 
  he was hunting dinner. Should the characters 
  continue questioning him about his whereabouts, 
  or his backpack, let them make a Wisdom (In-
  sight) check, contested by a Charisma (Decep-
  tion) check by Badger. He isn’t a very good liar 
  and has no bonuses to his Deception skill.
  While he’s waiting for the storm to blow over, 
  Badger does his best to befriend the party. He 
  gladly shares his food, gives them useful survival 
  advice, helps them navigate the woods, etc. He’ll 
  also try to learn which direction the party’s head-
  ed, so he can go the other way in the morning. 
  He’s genuinely happy to have company this 
  night, however, and will share rumors or trade 
  stories if the players are interested. You can use 
  these stories to guide the characters in a certain 
  direction for further adventures. Have they been 
  fighting giants? He may have seen some large 
  footprints recently. Looking for some special 
  herbs? He lives in these woods, maybe he can 
  help. Or you can use some of these:
  • He came across a couple of mutilated goblin 
  corpses near the waterfall north of the lodge. 
  continued next page…
  
  Page 10  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  • He got caught by an owlbear once with his 
  pants literally around his ankles. 
  • He’s heard tales of a deer with antlers twice 
  the size of a gnome. 
  • He found a coin purse in a hollow tree by the 
  road. He only noticed it because a squirrel 
  threw a copper coin at him.
  The prey
  Before turning in for the night, Badger excus-
  es himself to check on his mule in the stable. 
  There’s an unpleasant surprise, however, waiting 
  for him: a mated pair of basilisks (MM p24) are 
  lying in ambush to retrieve their offspring.
  Badger dons his cloak, takes a deep breath, and 
  heads outside, braving the elements. Shortly 
  afterward, you hear a muffled voice from beyond 
  the lodge walls, “Berta? What happened to—”
  If the players investigate they find Badger eye-
  to-eye with two basilisks. Badger has the stats 
  of an archer (VGtM p210) but with a movement 
  speed of 25 ft. He was met with a double dose 
  of the basilisks’ Petrifying Gaze and his mule, 
  Berta, suffered the same fate. Unable to move 
  the egg to their lair, since it’s in Badger’s petri-
  fied backpack, the basilisks will live in the sta-
  bles until it hatches—or until someone forces 
  them out.
  Other than the basilisk egg, Badger has the 
  following items in his backpack:
  • An ornate but functional ivory dagger worth 
  20 gp
  • A rabbit’s paw that did not bring good luck 
  on this day
  • A handful of luminescent, dried mushrooms
  • 10 food rations
  • A bear trap
  • Skillfully removed, but untreated, wolf hides
  abouT The auThor
  Harm wanted to give something back to the 
  community after years of impressing his players 
  with stuff he mooched off the DMs Guild. This 
  is his first ever contribution.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 11
  so, a goblin in a Cage 
  hangs over The road…
  by Ciaran o’halloran
  suggesTed parTy level: any
  It is late in the day and your travel has been hard. 
  You will be lucky to reach safe haven in the two or 
  three hours left of daylight. Fortunately, the road 
  ahead cuts straight through the forest that sur-
  rounds it.
  Suspended about 12 feet above the road is what 
  looks like a large rusty bird cage, gently swinging 
  in circles. As you come closer, you see a small hu-
  manoid form slumped inside like a bundle of rags.
  If the party examines the area around the cage, 
  read the following:
  Surrounded by tree trunks is a sturdy wood-
  en post. Attached is a 10 foot bar that emerges 
  through the branches to make a crude gibbet. The 
  cage hangs from an iron hook fastened to the bar. 
  As you approach, there is sudden motion from 
  the rags and two grimy, green hands reach out. A 
  head emerges and a spindle nose pokes through. 
  Slender fingers curl around the cage bars. Look-
  ing up you see the yellow glint of hungry eyes as 
  the creature searches for your attention—
  “Thir— thirsty. Please….”
  The goblin hangs his pink tongue from his mouth 
  in desperation.
  The creature is Exarsht, a goblin who took up 
  with a fearsome gang of bugbear (MM p33) ban-
  dits. They have set up a lair in an abandoned 
  mill half a mile into the woods and intend to 
  use this spot to ambush unwary travelers. They 
  forced Exarsht to lay traps around their new 
  hideaway, but when they caught him stealing 
  from them, they hung him up in the gibbet as 
  punishment, intending to leave him to starve 
  and to mark their new territory. 
  Exarsht is angry at his ex-compatriots, but 
  was very happy when he was with them. He 
  looked with admiration at their vicious ways and 
  wants to regain their favor. He knows that if the 
  party are aware of the strength of the gang they 
  may be reluctant to fight them. Exarsht does 
  his best to portray the bugbears as a harmless 
  religious order who could provide the party with 
  healing and a safe resting place. If the party stop 
  to engage with him, he sees an opportunity to 
  talk his way to freedom. He tries to tempt them 
  into going to the old mill and paints himself as 
  indispensable for his knowledge of the forest and 
  the location of traps he has set. If they find the 
  gang, Exarsht intends to betray them and prove 
  his worth to his old captors.
  Exarsht may give some of the following re-
  sponses to the PC’s questioning:
  Who are you?
  “Exarsht. Exarsht trap-layer!”
  Who put you here?
  “Bo-bar. Bo-bar gang.”
  (Bo-bar is not the name of the order’s leader, 
  but refers to the bugbear.)
  Who is Bo-bar?
  “People. Bo-bar lead holy gang. Holy gang.”
  (The bugbears clothes are indeed tattered and 
  full of holes)
  Why did they put you here?
  “Bo-bar punish Exarsht. Bo-bar send Exarsht 
  away! Exarsht foolish. Exarsht take food!”
  (Exarsht was sent away for stealing food)
  Who is the gang? What does the gang do?
  “Bo-bar like prey. Gang like to prey all day. You 
  prey too! Gang like prey like you!”
  (The gang intend to prey on travelers they in-
  tend to ambush)
  Where are they?
  “Gang have new place. Make rest place. By wa-
  ter. With bed. You go to them! They happy to see 
  you! You big! They like you! You pray!”
  (The Bugbears will indeed be happy to see the 
  treasure-laden group)
  What were you doing with them?
  “Exarsht trap maker. Exarsht put traps 
  around hiding place. Exarsht know all traps. 
  Then gang punish Exarsht. Send me away. 
  Exarsht too wicked for them. They punish him. 
  They look after gang, not Exarsht.”
  (Exarsht hopes to give the characters the idea 
  that it is his wickedness the gang punished, to 
  imply the goblin is not their natural ally)
  What do the gang want?
  continued next page…
  
  Page 12  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  “They look for travelers. They want them to 
  prey. They bring them to their hideout.”
  If the PC’s don’t themselves, Exarsht makes a 
  suggestion:
  “Exarsht take you to hideaway! Exarsht know 
  all trap places, he show you! Set him free, he 
  take you to Bobar.”
  Insight (Wisdom) checks reveal that the gob-
  lin is indeed telling the truth. A particularly high 
  check or magic may reveal that he is withholding 
  something.
  Exarsht can lead the characters along the 
  game trail that leads to the new hideout. Along 
  the way he shows them where he has created 
  a pit trap and laid a trip wire. If they are with 
  Exarsht they easily walk around the danger. 
  If not, they need to make a Perception (Wis-
  dom) check— adjust the difficulty to reflect the 
  strength of the party— the roll should be diffi-
  cult but not impossible.
  As they approach the old mill, Exarsht begins 
  to sing. He tells the party that this is a prayer 
  song to let the gang know that friends approach. 
  He insists the party join in. Make the players 
  chant the following:
    “Pray. Pray. All we do is pray.
    All day. Pray. 
    We like pray.
    But we don’t like
    Goblins.”
  The players may be suspicious at the au-
  thenticity of the song. If the players join in, the 
  bugbears will have time to position themselves. 
  They attack before the character can finish the 
  last line. 
  Two of the bugbears stay behind the cover of 
  the ruined walls and use crossbows, while two 
  stalk the party through the woods, attempting 
  to cut off their escape route. The other two stay 
  close to the mill, using partial cover and delaying 
  their action to try to goad the party closer and 
  over the pit traps, where they intend to engage 
  survivors in melee. They use the reach of their 
  spears to attack party members who have fallen 
  into a pit.
  The party could gain advantage if they realize 
  something is wrong and scout ahead for them-
  selves. In this case, Exarsht continues to ingra-
  tiate himself with them but will warn the bug-
  bears of their approach at the last minute. As 
  soon as the combat turns against the bugbears, 
  Exarsht flees into the forest.
  If the party flee back the way they came, the 
  bugbears give chase. The party risks triggering 
  the traps unless they slow to search— in which 
  case they risk the bugbears catching up.
  If the party overcome the bugbears and search 
  the mill, they find two barrels loaded with provi-
  sions, three unusable suits of leather armor, rid-
  dled with holes from crossbow bolts, and a pad-
  locked chest. The padlock can be opened by a 
  character proficient in thieves tools who makes a 
  DC 12 (Dexterity) check. Inside is a bag of 128 
  gp and 380 sp, as well as a silver inlaid hand 
  mirror worth 75 gp and a potion of gaseous 
  form (DMG p187). Lying discarded underneath 
  a small hammock is an antique book written in 
  common. It is titled, Ancient Tome of Puns and 
  Wordplay and is worth 120 gp to a collector.
  Include a number of bugbears and bugbear 
  chief(s) (MM p33) to be a significant challenge 
  for your party. For a party of 5th level, 4-5 bug-
  bears, led by a single bugbear chief should pres-
  ent a reasonable difficulty. 
  Exarsht uses stats for a normal goblin (MM 
  p166) but has two levels of exhaustion.
  abouT The auThor
  Ciaran is a new contributor to the DMs Guild. 
  He is a DM, Dad, and Drama teacher.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 13
  so, an exoTiC merChanT 
  and a Crippled aarakoCra 
  landed on our CampsiTe…
  by elven Tower
  suggesTed parTy level: any
  baCkground
  Farid is an exotic goods merchant who owns a fly-
  ing home that floats thanks to a hot air balloon. 
  He travels from settlement to settlement and buys 
  and sells all kinds of goods. Henna is the name of 
  his floating home/ship. The hot air comes from a 
  magic rod that produces fire on command.
  Farid seldom has any problems when traveling 
  but he recently caught the attention of a group 
  of four aarakocra bandits who followed Farid for 
  a few hours and then decided to attack, trying 
  their best to capture Henna in hopes of gaining 
  the command words for the magic rod. Farid 
  managed to grab the fire rod and turn it against 
  the aarakocra, successfully driving three of them 
  from his home.
  Garkaa, one of the aarakocra, suffered serious 
  wounds in his left wing and could not fly away. 
  Farid did not have the heart to throw him off the 
  flying ship and let him stay, for now. Unfortu-
  nately, the bandits damaged the balloon’s upper 
  fabric and it is leaking. Farid needs a few hours 
  to fix the balloon but he first has to land his 
  flying home as softly as possible, as it is losing 
  altitude fast.
  seTup
  This encounter happens on the road whenever 
  the party is resting or camping during the day.
  As you unwind during your well-deserved resting 
  time, a strange shape appears in the sky over a 
  low hill. At first, it appears to be a hot air balloon, 
  but the structure below is too big to be a basket. 
  The structure below is like a miniature home. 
  “Henna Shop” is printed in large blue letters on 
  the house’s façade.
  The balloon is quite big but its shape changes 
  with the wind. Something is not right. The mal-
  formed balloon can only mean it lacks air. It is 
  coming towards you, and it is falling fast!
  The floating home approaches with a high-
  pitched whistling sound. All characters are 
  aware of it. All creatures in the camp must 
  make a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving 
  throw, taking 12 (4d6) bludgeoning damage 
  on a failed save, or half as much damage on a 
  successful one. If a character rolls a natural 1, 
  they take double damage and are trapped un-
  der the floating home.
  duel of lies
  After crash-landing, Garkaa sees a chance to 
  profit from the situation. He jumps down and 
  explains to the PCs that the “evil merchant” used 
  fire magic to burn his wings a few days ago to 
  keep him as a slave. Farid jumps down, angry 
  and red, and claims that the aarakocra and his 
  “lackeys” assaulted his home/shop in mid-air.
  Garkaa can be very convincing and will play 
  the part of the poor victim in order to convince 
  characters of his enslavement by a cruel mas-
  ter (have characters roll a contested Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check to see if they are convinced or 
  not). Farid, on the other hand, is angry, frustrat-
  ed, and impulsive with his words and actions. A 
  successful DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check can 
  be used to determine which is lying. Each wants 
  the PCs to help them arrest the other and bring 
  them to justice in the nearest city.
  available evidenCe
  The PCs will probably look for evidence to dis-
  prove any of their claims.
  • A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) 
  check reveals that Garkaa’s wounds are not 
  days old but rather recent; a few hours at 
  most.
  • If a character climbs to the top of the deflat-
  ed air balloon, a successful DC 14 Intelli-
  gence (Investigation) check reveals that 
  the balloon’s fabric was torn by claws.
  • If a character enters the home/shop, a suc-
  cessful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) 
  check reveals that there are no facilities to 
  hold slaves in the house, nor are there any 
  handcuffs or similar restraining devices.
  • A passive Perception score of 12 or higher 
  or a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) 
  check allows any character to notice a map of 
  the local area with the ship’s itinerary for the 
  continued next page…
  
  Page 14  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  next month.
  • If a character examines the floating home’s 
  deck, a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Surviv-
  al) check reveals faint footprints of at least 
  three different aarakocra creatures, several 
  burn marks on the deck’s handholds, and 
  what could have been burnt feathers.
  If any of the PCs makes a claim that these dis-
  coveries disprove his version of the story, Garkaa 
  will attempt to justify and incorporate those 
  facts into a newly revised version of it. Garkaa 
  is a good liar and it might still be difficult to tell 
  whether he is for real or not.
  The DM is encouraged to let this situation play 
  out for as long as players are interested. The 
  characters could go either way and help any of 
  them, even making a terrible mistake. If you 
  would rather use a skill check, a successful DC 
  20 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that Garkaa 
  is acting.
  ConClusion
  If the PCs decide to help Farid and arrest 
  Garkaa, he thanks them and gifts them with 10 
  gp each. He then retires to his flying home as he 
  has a lot of repairs to do.
  If the PCs decide to help Garkaa and arrest 
  Farid, the merchant loses his mind and becomes 
  aggressive. He is just a peasant and cannot 
  resist the adventurers, though. If the PCs leave 
  with Farid, the aarakocra loots the place that 
  night with his allies. If the PCs appear interested 
  in the flying home, Garkaa takes whatever he 
  can and leaves on foot.
  abouT The auThor
  Elven Tower is a powerhouse of RPG content 
  creation. The small indie studio has created 
  hundreds of fantasy maps, short adventures, 
  and DM content for three years straight.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 15
  the stopper came loose, releasing master’s latest 
  prize, a gray slaad (MM p277). The Hunter leapt 
  from the burning vessel as it hurtled toward the 
  ground, intent on retrieving the flask and its 
  priceless contents. 
  As it inspects the ground, the Hunter will ig-
  nore, wave off, or shush any attempts to commu-
  nicate with it. Eventually it will turn its attention 
  to the PCs in order to examine each of them, 
  looming about each while leering with its mon-
  ocle of seeing (a monocle that functions identi-
  cally to a gem of seeing (DMG p172)). Once it is 
  satisfied that none of the people present are its 
  slaad quarry in disguise, the Hunter will turn its 
  attention back to the ground, listening and sniff-
  ing, and eventually move off to the east away 
  from the crash site, having seemingly picked up 
  some imperceptible trail. The Hunter has deter-
  mined the most likely direction of where the iron 
  flask may have landed and is heading that way 
  to search. 
  Should it be attacked at any point, it will visi-
  bly sigh in annoyance, roll its eyes, and burrow 
  into the ground to escape the hassle and inter-
  ruption of a fight. If the PCs attempt to follow 
  it, will attempt to shoo them off and, should its 
  efforts fail, it will burrow to get away. 
  The Crash siTe
  The craft crash landed roughly two miles west 
  of the PCs. Finding the site isn’t difficult. As the 
  PCs near the crash site, read or paraphrase the 
  following:
  A 100-foot-long, smoldering scar mars the land-
  scape—clearly caused by the impact of the fall-
  ing object. Trees are felled, underbrush charred, 
  and debris scattered about along the crash site. 
  Mulling about, seemingly searching for something 
  in the debris, are four large, stocky, hippopota-
  mus-headed humanoids.
  These four giff (MToF p204) were teleported down 
  from their triumphant spelljammer by their 
  client, the Archmage Accertep. Unbeknownst 
  to both the Hunter and his neogi master, the 
  slaad was an asset of the archmage, who had 
  planned to use it as part of his twisted magical 
  experiments. When Accertep realized his slaad 
  was stolen, the archmage commissioned a Giff 
  spelljammer to pursue and recapture the beast. 
  so, an umber hulk and 
  a slaad fly over The 
  road…
  by Tony peTreCCa
  suggesTed parTy level: 6-10
  fire in The sky
  During an evening’s travel upon a forested road, 
  read or paraphrase the following:
  Something burns from east to west across the 
  sky. Something large, something wooden, some-
  thing on fire and falling fast. A ship’s hull? May-
  be. Consumed by flame, it thunders overhead, 
  losing altitude fast, as the smell of smoke fills 
  the air. Towards the horizon it burns, lower, at 
  the treetops of the forest, lower… and then it hits 
  ground with a flash beyond the trees. A moment 
  later, a shock, like a rumbling thunder strike, can 
  be heard. 
  Suddenly, out of the darkness, something massive 
  hurls from the sky—slowing at the last minute, 
  tumbling to a thunderous one knee landing. The 
  strangest sight—a huge, beetle-like humanoid, 
  with monstrous mandibles and four eyes, hunch-
  es close to the ground. Holding one hand out, 
  palm up to silence onlookers, it places a telescop-
  ic monocle on one of its eyes and examines the 
  ground with what might be a sniff. 
  This exceptional umber hulk (MM p292), who’s 
  just done the super hero landing, is Braak’L-Tik-
  liktic, better known as the Hunter, a neogi ser-
  vant who travels from world to world gathering 
  valuable, often unique slaves for its neogi master. 
  Typically, neogi keep their servants close at hand, 
  but because of its remarkable strength, skills 
  and self-motivation, the Hunter has been granted 
  significant autonomy, and impressive equipment, 
  to carry out its duties. 
  The Hunter’s spelljamming vessel was attacked 
  while transporting an incredibly valuable recent 
  catch. During the attack, the cargo bay was shak-
  en open, and any cargo that wasn’t secured fell 
  from the sky. The Hunter’s iron flask (DMG p178) 
  was one such item, and when it hit the ground 
  continued next page…
  
  Page 16  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  who’s wanted by the giff and the Hunter. The 
  iron flask hit the ground roughly one mile east 
  of the PCs, and Skrelnik burst out and immedi-
  ately fled. Knowing the plane shifting ability of 
  the slaad, the Hunter took an extra precaution 
  and attached a pair of dimensional shackles to 
  the slaad before imprisoning it in the flask. The 
  shackles are intact and functional, preventing the 
  slaad from plane shifting, and cutting its move-
  ment speed in half.
  Skrelnik has polymorphed into the form of this 
  little girl to elicit sympathy from any folk it might 
  encounter. Through feigned sobs it introduces it-
  self as Alana and explains that it was kidnapped 
  by an umber hulk, shackled and imprisoned, to 
  be sold into slavery. While the tale of captivity is 
  entirely true, a successful DC 15 Wisdom (In-
  sight) check reveals that something about the 
  girl’s behavior seems a bit off. Of course, as the 
  horror of the situation is explained, and before 
  the slaad’s true nature is exposed, the Hunter 
  appears, burrowing out of the ground, to con-
  front its quarry. When that occurs, read or para-
  phrase the following:
  The ground surges nearby, and the umber hulk 
  bursts up from below, fifteen feet away.
  “Step away from that agent of chaos,” the umber 
  hulk states, speaking common quite clearly. “It is 
  not what it appears to be.”
  The little girl hisses—a frightening sound from 
  such a frail waif—as the umber hulk pulls a flask 
  from its belt, removes the stopper, and exclaims 
  “You’re mine!”.
  “You’re mine,” is the command phrase for the 
  iron flask, but the fall dented the flask, damag-
  ing it noticeably and reducing the Wisdom DC 
  to resist being trapped from a 17 to a DC 10. 
  Having been previously imprisoned by this iron 
  flask, the slaad has advantage on its save vs the 
  flask’s trap, and (for story purposes) automat-
  ically succeeds on this first saving throw. And 
  this is, of course, when the giff show up. Tele-
  porting in behind the PCs, the Leftenant ex-
  claims “We’ll be taking this beast, Hunter. Leave 
  now or suffer the consequences.”
  What happens next is largely dependent upon 
  the PCs’ reactions. If they attempt to parlay, all 
  sides will engage in the discussion. Both the giff 
  Having successfully destroyed the Hunter’s ves-
  sel, the Giff now search the crash site, hoping to 
  find the iron flask. Should they become aware of 
  approaching PCs, their commander, Leftenant 
  Biggatall, shall give a stern “Harrumph. I say, 
  who goes there?!” 
  The leftenant, a pompous, humorless fellow, 
  is wary and inquisitive, but not immediately 
  hostile. Should the PCs present themselves as 
  witnesses to the crash, he will demand a full 
  retelling of what they witnessed. Any mention of 
  an Umber Hulk will clearly peak his interest as 
  he presses for more information. 
  “Where did you last see the Hunter? What was 
  it doing? You let it go?!? Which direction? Har-
  rumph!”
  Once he’s extracted information pertaining to 
  the whereabouts of the Hunter he ends the 
  conversation with an abrupt “We’re done here,” 
  a code phrase for Accertep, who’s been scrying 
  upon Biggatall the entire time, to teleport them 
  back aboard their vessel. Once uttered, the five 
  giff shimmer out of existence. Should the PCs 
  become hostile at any point, the giff, who enjoy a 
  good fight, will defend themselves with vigor, but 
  Accertep will teleport them away after one round 
  of combat, much to Biggatall’s chagrin. 
  Should the PCs investigate the crash site fur-
  ther they will discover that virtually everything 
  of value was destroyed in the crash, though the 
  contents of a chest containing 1500 gp worth of 
  coin and gems is scattered about. For every 10 
  minutes of time spent searching the debris field 
  allow a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to 
  produce coins or gems worth 2d10 x 10 gp un-
  til, potentially, all is found. It is left to the DM’s 
  discretion if any local fauna might interrupt 
  said search.
  The slaad and The sTandoff
  Soon after the PCs finish investigating the crash 
  site and return to the road, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  A human girl, with tattered clothes and dishev-
  eled blonde hair, stumbles upon the road, cruel 
  shackles upon her ankles. “Please, please, you 
  must help me! Don’t let it take me! Don’t let the 
  slaver take me. Please! Help me!”
  This little girl is actually Skrelnik, the gray slaad 
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 17
  and the Hunter will reveal Skrelnik’s true na-
  ture as a beast of pure chaos. Meanwhile, Skrel-
  nik points out accurately that both parties are 
  kidnappers and slavers and demands that the 
  Hunter release it from its shackles. If the PCs 
  choose a side and combat ensues, Skrelnik will 
  take to the air with a fly spell, snarking “I can’t 
  believe this obvious little girl disguise worked,” 
  and toss a couple fireballs into the fray, before 
  attempting to flee. 
  afTermaTh
  If Skrelnik escapes it is quite possible that a 
  shackled Slaad remains on the loose, spreading 
  as much chaos as it can on this plane until it is 
  able to break the shackles and plane shift back 
  to Limbo. Should The Hunter survive, it will con-
  tinue to pursue its quarry. Accertep, meanwhile, 
  cuts his losses and moves on to other test sub-
  jects for his experimentations.
  abouT The auThor
  Tony has been DMing since the last millenni-
  um. He is the author of several critically ac-
  claimed DMsGuild adventures. Check out his 
  best sellers Hunted, Journey Through the Center 
  of the Underdark, and Killer Kobolds.
  The hunTer
  Large monstrosity (umber hulk), neutral evil
  Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
  Hit Points 133 (14d10 + 56)
  Speed 30 ft., burrow 20 ft. 
   
  STR  
  DEX  
  CON  
  INT  
  WIS  
  CHA
   22 (+6) 
  16 (+3) 
  18 (+4) 
  12 (+1) 
  14 (+2) 
  10 (+0)
  Skills Animal Handling +6, Perception +6, Survival +6
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages common, umber hulk
  Challenge 7 (2900 XP)
  Confusing Gaze. When a creature starts its turn within 30 feet of the 
  umber hulk and is able to see the umber hulk’s eyes, the umber hulk 
  can magically force it to make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw, unless 
  the umber hulk is incapacitated.
  On a failed saving throw, the creature can’t take reactions until the start 
  of its next turn and rolls a d8 to determine what it does during that turn. 
  On a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5 or 6, the creature takes no 
  action but uses all its movement to move in a random direction. On a 7 
  or 8, the creature makes one melee attack against a random creature, or 
  it does nothing if no creature is within reach.
  Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the saving 
  throw at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can’t see the 
  umber hulk until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes 
  again. If the creature looks at the umber hulk in the meantime, it must 
  immediately make the save.
  Tunneler. The umber hulk can burrow through solid rock at half its 
  burrowing speed and leaves a 5 foot-wide, 8-foot-high tunnel in its 
  wake.
  Actions
  Multiattack. The umber hulk makes three attacks: two with its claws 
  and one with its mandibles.
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 
  (1d8+6) slashing damage.
  Mandibles. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 
  15 (2d8+6) slashing damage.
  Equipment. Iron Flask, Iron Bands of Bilarro, Monocle of Seeing, Ring of 
  Feather Falling
  
  Page 18  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  so, a blind woman 
  and a medusa walk 
  along The road…
  by beaTriz T. dias
  suggesTed parTy level: 5-6
  meeTing The Couple
  Walking along the road the party finds two 
  figures walking the opposite direction, they are 
  both wearing hoods and trying to look inconspic-
  uous. One of them is Lara, a blind woman (aco-
  lyte MM p342) and the other is Niraya, a medu-
  sa (MM p214). Lara once got lost and ended up 
  in Niraya’s lair, a medusa known in the region 
  for petrifying anyone who dared to come close to 
  her. But due to the fact that Lara is blind, that 
  didn’t happen. Instead the two of them got close 
  and ended up falling in love. However, a group 
  of bounty hunters decided it was time to kill the 
  medusa. When the women found out they ran 
  away, trying to find somewhere else to live.
  Lara will be friendly if approached and has no 
  problems revealing that she can’t see. Niraya will 
  be standoffish and protective of Lara. Besides 
  the hood, Niraya has a large scarf that she will 
  use to try and avoid looking someone in the eye, 
  by covering her face and looking through the 
  fibers of the scarf.
  A DC 11 Wisdom (Perception) check will re-
  veal that under the ragged cloak, Niraya is wear-
  ing a very expensive green dress. And a DC 13 
  Wisdom (Perception) check is enough to notice 
  that Niraya is a medusa.
  If the party discovers that Niraya is a medusa, 
  she will warn them to back off and forget about 
  them, or she will have no problem defending 
  herself and her lover. Lara will be more diplo-
  matic, claiming that Niraya wouldn’t hurt any-
  one that didn’t deserve it, which is true. If the 
  party seems friendly, Lara will also inform them 
  that hunters are chasing the couple, wanting to 
  kill Niraya.
  bounTy hunTers arrive
  Not long after the party passes by the two wom-
  en, a group of 4 veterans (MM p350) will also 
  come from the same direction as the couple. 
  They are the bounty hunters wanting to kill 
  Niraya. They believe she is a dangerous monster 
  that needs to be put down and were promised a 
  reward of 3,000 gp for the medusa’s head. One 
  of them, Thym, is willing to give his share of the 
  reward (600 gp) to the party if they help with the 
  final battle. Thym is willing to forgo his reward 
  because the medusa killed his father and he 
  only wants is justice.
  Niraya will have no recollection of the bounty 
  hunter’s father since she has killed many people 
  in her lifetime, but in her opinion, she only killed 
  in self defense.
  The party can help the two women fight off the 
  bounty hunters, help the bounty hunters kill 
  Niraya, or try and take the full bounty by them-
  selves. In case of the later they will need to learn 
  who gave the bounty from one of the bounty 
  hunters. A successful DC 17 Charisma (Intimi-
  dation) or (Persuasion) check will be enough to 
  get the information. This can be a guard captain, 
  or a noble, from any nearby town or city. The DM 
  can choose what location suits the campaign 
  best.
  rewards and ConsequenCes
  If the party helps the bounty hunters, they get 
  600 gp and 1,500 XP, equally divided amongst 
  the party members.
  If the party helps the two women, they get 
  3,000 XP, equally divided amongst the party 
  members, and the gratitude of Lara and Niraya.
  abouT The auThor
  Mostly an adventure writer, the DMsGuild has 
  several of Beatriz’s works.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 19
  so, a barghesT and iTs 
  goblin prey are found 
  on The road…
  by david mCdonough
  suggesTed parTy level: 4-5
  A quiet road meanders in the midst of a forest, 
  a large rocky hillside on one side and thickets of 
  trees on the other. As you turn around a corner, 
  you see two small shapes tied to a large tree. They 
  writhe against their bindings. As the clouds part 
  overhead, the sun reveals the green skin, large 
  bulbous noses and sharp teeth of goblins. Pieces of 
  rope from what might have been a third captive lie 
  on the ground. 
  The goblins are muttering to themselves, their eyes 
  wide with fear, their skin dripping with sweat from 
  the exertion of trying to escape their predicament. 
  baCkground
  The two goblins (MM p166) are named Brax and 
  Kraz; they are the remnants of the Broken Teeth 
  clan that had made their home in the nearby 
  hill. The tribe was decimated with the arrival of a 
  barghest (VGtM p123)— a fiend born from goblin 
  parents that appears as a goblin but is soon able 
  to shapechange into its true form, which resem-
  bles a large fiendish canine.
  Barghests have their origins as a curse from 
  the General of Gehenna, who was betrayed by 
  the master of the goblinoid gods, Maglubiyet. 
  The barghest is born to devour the bodies and 
  souls of goblins— seventeen to be exact, in 
  memory of the seventeen oaths that Maglubiyet 
  had broken to the General, before the barghest 
  returns to join the yugoloth hordes under the 
  General’s command in Gehenna.
  This barghest had secretly begun its killings 
  of individual Broken Teeth goblins, all the while 
  hiding its true fiendish nature. It had chosen its 
  victims selectively, aiming to devour the more 
  prominent members of the clan, including the 
  top goblin warriors, bugbear enforcers, and even 
  the hobgoblin advisor to the chief. It had de-
  voured fourteen goblinoids before feasting on the 
  goblin chief Raznak, doing so in full view of what 
  remained of the clan, all of whom promptly fled. 
  The barghest has captured three of the goblins 
  who fled from the goblin lair; one of the goblins 
  had loosened its bonds enough to escape. That 
  goblin is Kazlak, son of the goblin chief, who the 
  barghest has since recaptured. The creature is 
  now returning with Kazlak’s unconscious body 
  when the characters run into this particular 
  encounter.
  on The road
  Brax and Kraz are speaking quietly in Goblin. 
  Characters who are proficient in that language 
  and succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) 
  check will hear them commenting with some 
  urgency about the “Beast,” and how they need to 
  escape lest they lose their chance to serve Maglu-
  biyet in Acheron. The goblins notice the charac-
  ters, unless all the characters succeed on a DC 
  16 Dexterity (Stealth) check.
  Both goblins are working furiously to try to es-
  cape, but can’t unless the characters offer them 
  aid. Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Dex-
  terity check can untie or cut the bindings with 
  a dagger or any slashing weapon. The bindings 
  can also be ripped apart by those who succeed 
  on a DC 20 Strength check. 
  If Brax and Kraz notice the characters, they 
  will beg for help in Common. Both goblins are in 
  a state of panic, as they expect the barghest to 
  return at any moment. They are pathetic figures, 
  blubbering and crying for the characters to help 
  them escape the Beast. They also promise to 
  change their ways and to never kill or hurt any 
  humanoids after this point. Characters who suc-
  ceed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check will 
  know that the goblins are lying.
  The beasT arrives
  Before the goblins are freed, the barghest will re-
  turn, dragging the unconscious form of Kazlak. 
  Characters who succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom 
  (Perception) check— or who have a passive 
  Perception of 18 or higher— will hear rustling in 
  the trees. If anyone hears this sound, Brax and 
  Krax will notice a change in the demeanor of the 
  character(s), and will start yelling that the Beast 
  is coming.
  Read or paraphrase the following:
  continued next page…
  
  Page 20  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  A goblin’s high-pitched voice emerges from the 
  woods, saying in Common: “Fifteen have been 
  taken. Two are still owed to the General. Kazlak 
  here has been spoken for. Time for you to decide 
  which one of you is worthy to join him.”
  A goblin emerges from the thick woods near the 
  road. It’s a small goblin, a runt even compared to 
  its small kin, with ill-fitting clothes that doesn’t 
  look like they even belong to him. Yet it is drag-
  ging an unconscious goblin by the hand with little 
  strain, and throws the body on the road with the 
  flick of its wrist.
  “Looks like we have visitors,” the goblin says, its 
  eyes glinting dangerous. “This matter does not 
  concern you. The General is owed two more goblin 
  souls. Leave, and you won’t be harmed.”
  The barghest will not harm any characters who 
  leave, as it is fixated on devouring the souls of 
  two more goblins and returning to Gehenna. If 
  the characters leave, the barghest will eventually 
  transform into its true canine shape, and let the 
  two trapped goblins try to prove that they are 
  not worthy of being devoured, before killing both 
  and picking one to consume its soul. 
  The barghest will laugh at characters who 
  insist on helping the goblins, reminding them 
  that goblins are vicious creatures that would not 
  think twice of torturing and eating them if given 
  the chance. The fiend will also point to a pouch 
  being carried by Brax. If the characters open 
  that pouch, they will see several human and elf 
  ears and noses inside it. 
  If the characters still look hesitant, the bargh-
  est will offer them a choice: they can pick one 
  goblin, either Brax or Kraz, to escape with them. 
  The goblins will then start begging the charac-
  ters to pick one of them to escape. If the charac-
  ters refuse the barghest’s offer, the creature will 
  transform into a large fiendish canine and attack 
  the party. If the creature is reduced to 20 hit 
  points, it will cast dimension door to escape. 
  Characters who leave the encounter without 
  fighting the barghest, either alone or with one of 
  the goblins in tow, and who succeed on a DC 15 
  Wisdom (Perception) check will hear the screams 
  of goblins being eaten. These are the final goblin 
  souls the barghest needs to consume to fulfill its 
  mission. It then disappears back to Gehenna.
  afTermaTh
  If the barghest successfully escapes after a fight, 
  it will take time to rest and temporarily forgo its 
  hunt for goblins in order to take revenge on the 
  party. An encounter with the barghest can occur 
  a day or two later when the characters are least 
  expecting it. 
  If one goblin escaped with the characters, or if 
  they protected all the goblins from the barghest, 
  the goblin(s) will profusely thank the characters 
  and will leave to try to find their remaining kin 
  from the Broken Teeth clan. But, at the charac-
  ter’s next long rest, several goblins— including 
  any of those who survived this encounter with 
  the barghest— will try to waylay the charac-
  ters during their rest. If the characters try to 
  ask any goblins that they recognize from this 
  encounter why they’d attack them after being 
  rescued, the goblin will merely shrug and say: 
  “It’s in our nature.” 
  Characters can also try to find the location of 
  the goblin lair, which will still have some of the 
  goblin chief’s treasures, goblin prisoners who 
  have been left in their cells, and other possible 
  avenues for further adventuring opportunities. 
  abouT The auThor
  David is a new contributor on the DMs Guild 
  and author of the adventures The Priest, the 
  Witch, and the Lost Temple and Undermountain: 
  Caverns of the Many-Legged.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 21
  so, a Child and his 
  sisTer walk onTo The 
  road…
  by maTT vaughan (dungeon rollers)
  suggesTed parTy level: 2-4
  “Mummy! MUUUUMMMY!”. A small human boy, 
  no more than 6 years old, walks into the road. 
  Dragged behind him is an even younger girl, 
  obviously his sister. Both are covered in mud 
  with tears streaming down their face. “I want my 
  MUUUMMY!”
  Upon seeing you the boy stops screaming and 
  looks up. “P-p-p-please…h-h-help us.  M-mum-
  my was taken by some…fings.” He sniffs up the 
  previous contents of his nose. “We was out in 
  the woods picking some berries. Me and my little 
  sister Ana were playing when we heard mummy 
  scream and she was dragged away by something 
  big! Please help her. PLEEEAAASE!”
  The boys says his name is Nathaniel; in truth, 
  he is an orc who has been polymorphed into a 
  human child and is attempting to trick the party. 
  He claims his mother “Amelia” has been dragged 
  off by some “big scary creatures, with fangs and 
  red eyes.” He is accompanied by a smaller poly-
  morphed orc, who appears to be a young human 
  girl around 3 years of age named Ana. She will 
  not speak. Characters with truesight can see the 
  true form of both Nathaniel and Ana. Charac-
  ters who succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check will suspect that Nathaniel is not telling 
  the truth, though he may come across as simply 
  confused.
  This whole ploy is in fact a trap. The orcs are 
  led by a priestess, named Vanegri Deathspeaker, 
  who channels the powers of Mrykul through her 
  necromancy. She is in need of a blood sacrifice 
  in order to resurrect the previous tribal leader: 
  Goludirk the Bloody Fury. 
  “Nathaniel” and “Ana” can take the party back 
  to where Amelia was allegedly taken. They will 
  do their best to join the party, including follow-
  ing from some distance away, in order to take 
  part in the trap, unless physically or magically 
  prevented from doing so. They will remain in 
  their polymorphed shapes until they are either 
  reunited with Vanegri (see “Encounter”) or the 
  necromancer is defeated.
  following The orCs
  The scene of Amelia’s capture is obvious as you 
  approach. Ripped beige cloth from her dress lays 
  pressed into the wet mud. Clumps of the ground 
  are ripped up, intermingled with still-wet blood 
  from where the scared woman clawed at the floor 
  as the creatures dragged her away. Large tracks 
  clearly lead away from the area.
  Tracking the orcs is simple; the party will find 
  no challenge in following them to their lair: a 
  large forgotten barrow. The barrow is surround-
  ed by thick woods, filled with bird noises, the 
  scuttling of creatures through the undergrowth 
  and the howl of the wind through the air. 
  While tracking the orcs, the party will attempt 
  the five challenges below during the hour it takes 
  to track the creatures. In so doing, they will learn 
  some clues into what is really going on. At the 
  same time, they will gain benefits or drawbacks in 
  the final encounter based on the number of suc-
  cesses— this represents the knowledge they have 
  acquired during their pursuit.
  • Check 1: Prints in the Mud. DC 12 Wisdom 
  (Survival). Pass shows that the creatures are 
  humanoids, but larger.
  • Check 2: Cloth in the Trees. DC 14 Wisdom 
  (Perception). Pass shows that the captors 
  are wearing tribal clothing, common among 
  the warring races. 
  • Check 3: Scent on the Air. DC 16 Intelli-
  gence (Nature). Rotting flesh, but no signs 
  of animal carcasses.
  • Check 4: Symbols on the Trees. DC 14 
  Intelligence (Arcana). These are symbols of 
  necromancy.
  • Check 5: Bones on the Ground. DC 14 Wis-
  dom (Survival). Many of the bones are from 
  humans, dug up by the beasts in the woods. 
  This may have been an area of great respect 
  in a past age.
  Note: A severely poor roll during this tracking sec-
  tion could result in a random encounter. Wolves, 
  bears, giant spiders, bears, ogres and even ank-
  continued next page…
  
  Page 22  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  hegs are known to reside in the local area.
  enCounTer
  Your tracking leads you to a barrow in the middle of 
  a small opening in the dense woods. A worn path, 
  recently used, leads up to a stone that has been 
  forced aside. An entrance to the burial chamber lies 
  underneath.
  The smell of rotting flesh and excrement hits you 
  as you enter through the small opening. Mold 
  grows on the walls, and the dim light of candles 
  flickers before you.
  “Ah, my sacrifices arrive,” the throaty speech from 
  the orc priestess before you seems to fill the air. 
  “Not what you expected? So noble, so brave— so 
  nearly dead.”
  If accompanied by Nathaniel and Ana:
  As you look on, Nathaniel and Ana start to 
  change, their bodies growing in stature and their 
  skin turning a dark green hue. Beside the priest-
  ess stands a huge orog marked with bloody war-
  paint. You realize there is no Amelia, no one was 
  taken, and this is a trap.
  Otherwise read:
  A huge orog stands beside the orcish priestess in 
  front of you, flanked by blood-daubed orcs. You 
  realize there is no Amelia, no one was taken, and 
  this is a trap.
  The trap has been set, and the following crea-
  tures are in the barrow depths:
  Vanegri (stats) Orc Priestess of Myrkul
  1x orog (MM p247)
  2x orcs (MM p246) (optional for higher level 
  parties)
  Nathaniel and Ana, if accompanying you, have 
  their enchantments undone by Vanegri, reveal-
  ing 2 additional orcs.
  Vanegri Deathspeaker is an orc priestess who 
  has learned that the path of Myrkul, god of 
  death, can help bring back the most fabled war-
  riors of the tribe. In the barrow are the bones of 
  Goludirk the Bloody Fury, leader of the Stone 
  Chewer tribe seven generations past. Vanegri 
  is attempting to resurrect him, using the party 
  as the sacrifice in the ritual. She stands over a 
  stone altar covered in bloody runes.
  During the encounter, the orog will attempt to 
  grapple the character closest to him, and drag 
  them towards Vanegri to begin the ritual. If a 
  character is brought into contact with the al-
  tar they must succeed a DC 18 Strength sav-
  ing throw or be stunned, and placed prone on 
  the altar. At this point Vanegri will attempt the 
  ritual, this will take 3 rounds and if successful 
  Goludirk will be resurrected and the character 
  reduced to 0 hit points. A character can attempt 
  to free the sacrifice by succeeding on a DC 18 
  Strength (Athletics) check to pull them free; 
  this is made at disadvantage if the orog is adja-
  cent to the altar.
  Vanegri will stay by the altar, commanding her 
  troops and using her ranged spells freely to attack 
  the party. The orcs will charge forward, engaging in 
  combat as fast as possible.
  benefiTs/drawbaCks
  • 1 Success: Too much noise! The Orcs and 
  Vanegri all start in ¾ cover and will launch 
  spears at the party as they enter the room. 
  This occurs at Initiative 30 and does not 
  count as their turn in this combat.
  • 2 Successes: Prepared. All enemies have 
  advantage on all attacks in the first round of 
  combat.
  • 3 Successes: No effect
  • 4 Successes: Well Trained. Each party mem-
  ber’s AC is increased by 2 for the duration of 
  the combat.
  • 5 Successes: Unnaturally Skilled! Each par-
  ty member has advantage in the first round 
  of combat, and their AC is increased by 2 for 
  the duration of the combat.
  resoluTion
  The characters are free to search the barrow 
  after the encounter, discovering:
  • A spellbook on Vanegri, this contains a 
  scroll of resurrection and a scroll of speak 
  with dead.
  • A selection of coins totaling 48 sp
  • 1d8 bronze or silver offerings, worth 20 gp 
  each 
  If still alive, Vanegri will plead to be able to 
  return to her tribe and promises not to contin-
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 23
  ue necromancy (a successful DC 16 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check proves this to be a lie). If Ana 
  and Nathaniel are not part of the encounter in 
  the barrows, Vanegri’s defeat will result in them 
  returning to their normal selves. They will flee 
  the area.
  vanegri deaThspeaker
  Medium humanoid (orc), chaotic evil
  Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 51 (6d8 + 24)
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
   16 (+3)  14 (+2)  18 (+4)  13 (+1)  
  9 (-1)  
  8 (+1)
  Skills Intimidation +3, Religion +1
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages Common, Orc
  Challenge 2 (450 XP)
  Aggressive. As a bonus action, Vanegri can move up to its speed 
  toward a hostile creature that it can see.
  Gruumsh’s Fury. Vanegri deals an extra 4 (1d8) damage when she hits 
  with a weapon attack (included in the attack).
  Spellcasting. Vanegri is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability 
  is Intelligence (spell save DC 11, +3 to hit with spell attacks). She has 
  the following wizard spells prepared:
  Cantrips (at-will): chill touch, prestidigitation, ray of frost
  1st level (4 slots): burning hands, fog cloud
  2nd level (2 slots): ray of enfeeblement, suggestion
  Actions
  Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 
  20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d6 + 3 plus 1d8) piercing damage, or 12 
  (2d8 + 3) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee 
  attack.
  abouT The auThor
  Author of the Treasures of… series, featuring 
  new magic items for use in all your campaigns. 
  Dungeon Rollers has many new items coming in 
  the coming months.
  
  Page 24  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  darkness.
  From the top of the hill the party can try to ob-
  serve the gathering below, making Wisdom (Per-
  ception) checks, and noticing more or less depend-
  ing on how high they roll.
  • DC 10: Though some time has passed, nei-
  ther group has gotten noticeably closer to 
  the other.
  • DC 14: You can make out individual shouts 
  in Goblin from the din. “Prepare for agony, 
  ass-pigs!” “Your prayers of mercy will be 
  mocked vigorously by us!”
  • DC 16: Each group of goblins has their own 
  distinct markings and dress. Several are ges-
  turing toward the full moon.
  • DC 18: The bound animal is large and clear-
  ly alive, but not humanoid, just some beast.
  • DC 20: You see a decrepit, sinister-looking old 
  lady smiling from the edge of the wood, fire-
  light shining in her eyes. 
  If the party manages to sneak part way downhill 
  decrease the difficulties by 2, but the goblins no 
  longer have disadvantage on rolls to notice the 
  party. At the bottom of the hill decrease the DCs 
  by 4, and the goblins now have advantage on 
  their Perception checks.
  If a party member gets noticed, the goblins 
  do not immediately attack. Those that noticed 
  nudge a few comrades who turn quiet and stare 
  menacingly as the majority of their clansfolk 
  rage on.
  Ask your players what their characters are doing 
  and how long they plan to observe.
  After several minutes the hag, Granny Pesti-
  lence, steps from the edge of the woods into the 
  firelight. The goblins on both sides are whipped 
  into a greater frenzy. A successful DC 15 Intel-
  ligence (Nature or Arcana) check reveals that 
  Granny is likely a night hag. 
  If the players try to engage Granny Pestilence 
  in Common, she grins at them. A successful DC 
  13 Charisma (Persuasion), or DC 16 Strength 
  (Intimidation) check gets her to call out an 
  answer, if not a helpful one. “Just you stay right 
  there dearies. It won’t be long now.”
  Soon, several nicely-dressed musicians 
  (bards) arrive, and fearlessly stand near Gran-
  ny. The goblins from both sides toss coins and 
  treasures into the space between the clans, and 
  so, Two Clans of 
  goblins gaThered by 
  The road wiTh a hag—
  Then a bunCh of bards 
  showed up… 
  by george sager
  suggesTed parTy level: any
  The evening chill has set in, balancing out the 
  heat of your cookfire. A perfect night for telling 
  tall tales. You begin a joke, but a staccato drum 
  rhythm splits the air, swallowing the punchline. 
  You silently abandon camp and creep back to-
  ward the King’s Road, crouching low to crest the 
  hill without being seen by whoever is making the 
  increasing racket. 
  You blink in disbelief. The clearing below is over-
  run with goblins. Two hordes are gathered, fac-
  ing each other, screeching and banging weapons 
  together. Nearby, a huge pile of wood is just start-
  ing to burn beneath an even larger spit with some 
  unlucky struggling creature tied ready to cook. You 
  could probably just keep on moving unseen, but 
  what will happen if all of these deadly creatures 
  are left so close to civilization?
  The two clans actually intend no harm this 
  evening, except to their rivals’ honor. The par-
  ty has stumbled upon a sacred seasonal ritual 
  that they take very seriously: a dance off. They 
  are engaging in traditional trash talk, hurling 
  insults, boasts, and threats at each other in 
  Goblin. Include enough goblins to pose a threat 
  to the party, particularly if both groups were to 
  turn on them.
  The action is all happening in a large clearing 
  at the bottom of the hill, between the road and 
  the woods beyond. Anyone who approaches risks 
  being spotted. If the clans are attacked or ha-
  rassed they temporarily put aside their animosi-
  ty to wipe out the interlopers. 
  The bonfire blaze grows, throwing more light 
  into the clearing, and imposing disadvantage 
  on the goblins trying to see anything out in the 
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 25
  at the feet of the musicians. When the musi-
  cians begin to play the shouting dies down and 
  the dance off begins.
  The rules of the contest are unclear. Generally, 
  goblins enter the middle area and dance. Granny 
  Pestilence watches, declaring after each dance a 
  seemingly arbitrary amount of points for one of 
  the clans. Even after watching for a few rounds 
  it takes a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check to figure out the subtle cues that guide 
  the proceedings. 
  Silence falls if anyone intervenes. If a par-
  ty member asks to join in, a successful DC 14 
  Wisdom (Persuasion) check (made with ad-
  vantage if they were successful in figuring out 
  the contest cues) makes Granny bid them to try 
  it, at their own risk. Otherwise she may halt 
  the festivities and goad them into participating. 
  “There are no spectators on this night, only par-
  ticipants, and fools for the feast!”
  A successful DC 12 Charisma (Performance), 
  or DC 14 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check results 
  in wild laughing and cheering from both sides, 
  and some acceptance granted to the party. Fail-
  ure is met with utter silence. They may try again 
  with the difficulty increased by 3. Another fail-
  ure means that party member’s banishment on 
  pain of death.
  Once accepted, party members can join the 
  dancing (in fact each member is encouraged 
  to), receiving cheers and boos in roughly equal 
  measure. 
  The dancing lasts most of the night, eventually 
  shedding any pretense of turn taking, and ending 
  with the winning clan erupting in victory, mostly 
  forgetting to pick up their winnings. Granny Pes-
  tilence even busts a move when the mood strikes 
  her. No spectators after all. Anyone accepted by 
  the clan can join in the wild post-dance barbecue 
  with the musicians. At dawn the revelry ends, 
  and the field is cleared unceremoniously.
  adjusTmenTs
  Neither clan needs to be goblins. The gener-
  al idea is that each is a group of sentient, but 
  wild creatures, not speaking in Common, and 
  gathered in numbers that would be deadly to 
  any party of adventurers. Each clan member 
  uses their regular statblock, with the addition of 
  between +1 and +5 in Performance. Some other 
  potential clan creatures could be: bullywugs, 
  cyclops, dryads, gnolls, hobgoblins, kobolds, 
  lizardfolk, ogres, or even slaadi.
  abouT The auThor
  George is a contributer to Storm King’s Barrows, 
  has a credit in Kobold Press’ Creature Codex, 
  and DMs a 5e campaign for friends when he 
  isn’t working on one of several other projects on 
  the go. Follow him on Twitter @GeorgeSCanada.
  
  Page 26  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  so, a magiC axe, a 
  skeleTon, and a Crowd 
  of peasanTs bloCk The 
  road…
  by dunCan rhodes
  suggesTed parTy level: 2-4
  overview
  On the road to Oakhelm, a magic axe stands at 
  the center of a local power struggle, and could be 
  the catalyst for a new quest. 
  “Forget it, it won’t budge,” spits the brawny 
  huntsman. Grudgingly, he releases the handle 
  and wipes his brow. The veins around his tem-
  ples bulge from his failed attempt and the huge 
  greataxe remains steadfastly embedded in the tree 
  trunk, its gleaming blade reflecting the sunlight 
  as sharply as a polished mirror. Clasping the very 
  end of the axe shaft is a fleshless hand, con-
  nected to a brown, weathered skeleton with its 
  head bowed and its legs half-buried in moss and 
  weeds. A gaggle of citizens from the nearby village 
  of Oakhelm are gathered around the trunk, mut-
  tering between themselves.
  If the adventurers inquire as to what’s going on, 
  any of the villagers will gladly tell them. A confi-
  dent youth of seventeen summers, Willem (halfling, 
  commoner (MM p345), proves particularly chatty, 
  relishing the chance to share this local piece of lore 
  and legend.
  “This here is the axe of the mighty warrior Gwen-
  luin! She was the finest fighter of our village, a 
  paladin of Ilmater, and protector of these lands 
  you walk in. She was tricked into coming to this 
  crossroads by a devious witch, who had fallen 
  in love with her husband. The witch surprised 
  Gwenluin in the dead of night, stabbing her with 
  a knife laced with deadly poison. Before Gwenluin 
  breathed her final breath, she uttered a prayer 
  to Ilmater and besought him to keep her weap-
  on safe until a warrior with a pure heart should 
  claim it and avenge her death. With that she sunk 
  her axe into the trunk right here. That was 25 
  years ago to this day! Ever since, the people of 
  Oakhelm gather here on this date to try to claim 
  the weapon as their own.”
  If the characters ask what happened to the hus-
  band, Willem will say that, having killed Gwenlu-
  in, the witch abducted him and took him to her 
  lair, deep in the forest.
  After the huntsman stands down, next in line 
  to try their hand at removing the axe is a butch 
  young woman with broad shoulders, wearing a 
  chain shirt with a longsword sheathed at her 
  side. Her name is Reilyn Rosefire (lawful good, 
  human guard (MM p347) with 16 Strength and 
  Athletics +5).Those that succeed on a DC 15 In-
  telligence (Religion) check notice that a symbol 
  of two hands bound with red cord on the wom-
  an’s doublet is the sign of the god Ilmater. Young 
  Reilyn is training to become a paladin in his 
  service, following the steps of her hero Gwenluin. 
  Before the young woman has time to step up to the 
  axe, there’s a clamor of hooves on the dirt road and 
  five horses thunder to a halt just a few yards from 
  the crowd. A handsome young man dismounts ag-
  ilely from his stallion and—pushing several villagers 
  out of his way—he marches straight towards the 
  axe. His retinue of thuggish-looking companions 
  follow closely behind.
  “People of Oakhelm I call you to bear witness to 
  my feat. The high priest of Oakhelm declared that 
  whoever frees this axe should become the rightful 
  protector of our town and its lands. According to 
  their visions, I, Arter Wolfenheim, will do so before 
  my 21st year. Those that swear loyalty to me will 
  prosper under my rule!”
  Arter Wolfenheim and his retinue are human 
  thugs (MM p350) equipped with chain shirts (AC 
  13), longswords, and short bows. Arter himself is 
  stronger and more charismatic than the rest of 
  his band, with 16 Strength and 12 Charisma. He 
  has Athletics +6 and Intimidation +4. His align-
  ment is neutral. The dream of which he speaks 
  prophesied a young champion, but it did not in 
  fact specify that it would be him who drew the 
  axe from the tree.
  freeing The axe
  Freeing the axe requires a successful DC 25 
  Strength (Athletics) check. Certain conditions 
  increase or decrease your chance of success. If you 
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 27
  are of good alignment you gain a +2 bonus to your 
  roll (+3 if you are lawful good), if you are female 
  you gain a +2 bonus, and if you are a true follower 
  of Ilmater (Arter isn’t) you gain a further +2 bonus. 
  If you are attempting to remove the axe on any day 
  other than the anniversary of Gwenluin’s death 
  you suffer a -5 modifier.
  Second attempts: If you fail on your first 
  attempt you can make two more attempts, both 
  at disadvantage, provided you rest 1 minute 
  between attempts. After three failures, you must 
  complete a long rest before trying again.
  gwenluin’s axe
  Gwenluin’s axe is an Axe of Cleaving (as detailed 
  in Esquiel’s Guide to Magic Weapons), which has 
  gained sentience since Gwenluin’s spirit inhabited 
  it, upon her death.
  Axe of Cleaving
  greataxe, very rare (requires attunement)
  This huge double-headed axe has a haft over 
  five feet long, and a wickedly sharp blade. When 
  swung with full force it cleaves through oppo-
  nents’ armor with ease, slicing chain, plate and 
  shields like melons, its deadly momentum often 
  carrying it towards a second target.
  When you attack with this magic weapon, you 
  score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
  Additionally, when you hit a creature with this 
  axe, you may choose another creature within 5 
  feet of your original target and within your reach. 
  If the original attack roll would hit the second 
  creature they take damage equal to half the 
  amount dealt to the original target.
  Sentience  The axe is a lawful good weapon 
  with an Intelligence of 10, a Wisdom of 12 and a 
  Charisma of 14. It has hearing and normal vision 
  out to a range of 30 feet.
  The weapon communicates telepathically with 
  its wielder.
  Personality  Gwenluin’s ghost is determined 
  to avenge herself of her ignoble death, and will 
  pressure the weapon’s owner to hunt down the 
  witch that killed her. If the witch is killed, Gwen-
  luin’s ghost is laid to rest and the axe becomes 
  a non-sentient axe of cleaving. If the weapon 
  owner refuses the quest, Gwenluin’s personality 
  obstructs their ability to wield the axe, giving 
  them disadvantage on attack rolls made with the 
  weapon.
  possible sCenarios
  Arter is keen to free the axe and use this event 
  as a sign he is destined to rule Oakhelm and the 
  surrounding lands, which are currently run by 
  alderman Joenas Brackenbelt. Brackenbelt is 
  a childless and frail old man, who is just in his 
  ruling, but considered weak by those such as 
  Arter who oppose him. Not only will Arter insist 
  on trying his hand first at freeing the axe (he will 
  then make a second and third attempt, before 
  giving up), he will oppose and obstruct others 
  from trying if he thinks he can get away with it. 
  Especially any outsiders “who have no business 
  in these lands”. 
  If someone succeeds in freeing the axe, Arter 
  will claim that he loosened the axe from the tree. 
  He will try to intimidate them into giving it over to 
  him, and is willing to resort to force. The crowd of 
  commoners are scared of Arter and easily swayed 
  by his words, although the huntsman (thug (MM 
  p350), armed with a handaxe and shortsword) is 
  willing to stick up for what he feels is right. Both 
  the crowd and the huntsman are more likely to 
  stand up for Reilyn than for adventurers passing 
  through. 
  continued next page…
  
  Page 28  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  Reilyn is keen to free the axe as Gwenluin is a 
  personal hero to her, and she wants to continue 
  her work as a paladin and protector of Oakhelm. 
  If the characters help Reilyn free the axe (and 
  keep it from Arter), she will invite them to her 
  home to eat and rest. Upon understanding the 
  will of Gwenluin, she will invite them to help her 
  on her quest to kill the witch. 
  avenging gwenluin
  If the heroes free the axe for themselves, or for 
  Reilyn, they are likely to take up the side quest of 
  avenging Gwenluin and laying her ghost to rest. 
  The witch in question is a green hag (MM p177) 
  called Lady Gargle. After murdering the paladin, 
  she kidnapped her half-orc husband and lives 
  with him in a warren of caves where the forest 
  is darkest and foulest. By appearing as a beau-
  tiful, but depraved, young woman, the hag has 
  seduced the half-orc into loving her, and he is 
  willing to defend her with his life. Lady Gargle is 
  cunning and knowledgeable in poisons, and you 
  can further adjust the difficulty of the quest by 
  populating her lair with deadly pets who attack 
  on her command. Or you could create any other 
  side quest of your own invention, with Gwenluin’s 
  ghost as the catalyst.
  abouT The auThor
  Duncan is the author of several best-selling 
  titles on the DMs Guild, most notably Esquiel’s 
  Guide to Magic Weapons, which brings 120 
  new blades, battleaxes, and bows to your game 
  (along with a treasure trove of more fun stuff). 
  He also blogs at www.hipstersanddragons.com.
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 29
  so, a Campfire 
  appeared along The 
  road…
  by morTen greis
  suggesTed parTy level: 2-4
  You have been traveling for most of a day along 
  quiet dirt roads. You have seen few other travelers, 
  and most were local peasants traveling from one 
  village to another. In the distant horizon the sun 
  is setting obscured by heavy gray clouds. Rain has 
  fallen time and time again during the day, and 
  trees and grasses around you are still wet. 
  As darkness begins to set there is no village or 
  roadside inn in sight, however, there are the 
  dancing lights of a campfire ahead you. Some-
  how, somebody succeeded in lighting a fire even 
  though everything around you is soaked.
  As the PCs approach:
  You see an empty camp with a lively campfire. 
  Bedding is laid out around the fire, and it seems 
  almost as if the camp has just been set, but no 
  one is in sight.
  Then you hear a voice call out. “Greetings weary 
  travelers! Come, sit and sleep at my campfire. My 
  warmth and light is yours for tonight.”
  baCkground
  The campfire is a fire elemental (MM p125) that 
  has learned to camouflage itself as a simple fire. 
  It can take the shape of a small bonfire or camp-
  fire, but what might reveal it is that it does not 
  consume the wood in the fire. It has, however, 
  learned to use charcoal and burned wood as the 
  basis of its fake campfire to enhance its camou-
  flage.
  The campfire calls itself Baalogbrand, and it is 
  friendly to humanoids. It has learned that they 
  appreciate fire, heat and light—especially on a 
  cold, wet night—and it now sells its services as a 
  campfire. 
  Baalogbrand will speak through a disembod-
  ied voice and likes to make people think that 
  the campfire is the will of invisible fae.
  paymenT in sTories
  Baalogbrand likes company and also takes its 
  payment in stories. Anyone sleeping in the camp 
  can entertain Baalogbrand with a story. Have 
  each player tell a brief story about their char-
  acter’s exploits. If a character refuses to do so, 
  then Baalogbrand will cease to be a campfire for 
  the company and will leave.
  Baalogbrand will remain alert throughout the 
  night and warn, if hostile creatures approach. 
  If befriended, Baalogbrand may even assist the 
  travelers, if they are attacked during the night. 
  It may come as a surprise for both the PCs and 
  their assailants, when the fire suddenly rises up 
  as an elemental.
  paymenT in gold
  Baalogbrand prefers to keep its true form hid-
  den during the night, and then reveal itself in 
  the morning. When the sun rises, Baalogbrand 
  awakens the travelers by calling out and asking 
  them to leave a payment of 4 gold each (a suc-
  cessful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check 
  may reduce it to 2 gold each). If Baalogbrand is 
  not paid, then it will angrily leave, cursing the 
  PCs: until they leave their payment in front of a 
  fire, they will be unable to light any non-magical 
  fire.
  abouT The auThor
  Morten is a new contributor to DMs Guild, 
  blogs at Stemmen fra ådalen and converts Dan-
  ish adventures to English on DriveThruRPG.
  
  Page 30  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  so, some advenTurers 
  wiTh a loCked ChesT 
  sTep onTo The road...
  by riChard malena-webber
  suggesTed parTy level: 4-7 
  The Common good
  As the sunlit path ahead stretches out before you, 
  a small dust cloud appears just at the edge of the 
  horizon. After a few minutes, you see a small group 
  traveling towards you. Three of the adventurers are 
  on horseback, while a huge, smiling goliath drives 
  a large wagon filled with supplies. Among the 
  goods strapped in the wagon bed is a large, iron-
  bound chest. From within, you can hear a steady 
  pounding noise. The adventurers give a friendly 
  wave as you approach, and a tall elf calls out “Well 
  met, travelers! Any news about the path ahead?” 
  The adventuring party is known as the Com-
  mon Good. Their leader, an elven woman named 
  Sheylen, laughs as she explains the title. “With a 
  name like that, people always know we’re willing 
  to help ease their troubles, no matter where we 
  travel. And, if at times we decide to keep a little 
  extra gold for ourselves, well it all goes to serve 
  the Common Good!” 
  The Common Good is a rowdy troupe, and 
  Sheylen’s friends seem ready to joke along 
  with the PCs as if they were sharing a pint in 
  the local tavern. A quick appraisal reveals that 
  Sheylen is some kind of priestess, while her two 
  human companions, Alath and Vezir, a ranger 
  and a rogue, are carrying thin blades and bows. 
  The goliath, Kalmar, wears a loose collection of 
  animal hides and a massive battleaxe rests on 
  the wagon bench next to him. 
  Sheylen is more than willing to share news 
  about the road ahead and can give useful knowl-
  edge about wherever the PCs are bound. 
  As the PCs interact with the Common Good, 
  they may make skill checks to learn more about 
  the adventurers.
  • With a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Percep-
  tion) check, the PCs are able to determine 
  that something within the iron-bound chest 
  is knocking in a regular pattern. 
  • With a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check, the PCs notice that Kalmar is acting 
  in a strange way. He is polite and soft-spo-
  ken, and when he speaks with the other 
  members of the Common Good, he does 
  so in a tentative manner, as if Kalmar isn’t 
  used to making jokes with the rest of the 
  adventurers.
  • With a successful DC 14 Strength or Intel-
  ligence check, the PCs can roughly gauge 
  the power of the Common Good, and sees 
  that they are almost a match for the PCs. 
  The Common Good freezes up immediately if 
  anyone inquires about the iron-bound chest 
  or the pounding within. Sheylen says that “we 
  trapped a demon and are taking it to where it 
  can be safely banished,” which is revealed as a 
  lie to anyone who succeeds at a DC 12 Wisdom 
  (Insight) check. If confronted, the members of 
  the Common Good refuse to change their story. 
  If the PCs move toward the iron-bound chest, 
  read or paraphrase the following. 
  The barbarian’s eyes grow wide as he stands up 
  and shakily wields the battleaxe. Before anyone 
  can move, Sheylen shouts “Kalmar! We need to 
  stay calm. Why don’t you take that axe and cut us 
  some firewood for tonight’s camp. Now.” The goli-
  ath frowns, but takes his axe and starts heading 
  away from the path. 
  Once Kalmar has stepped away. Sheylen ap-
  proaches the PCs for a whispered conversation. 
  “Okay, I know how this is going to sound, but 
  we’ve all agreed that it’s for the best. The goli-
  ath? That isn’t Kalmar.” She points over at the 
  iron-bound chest. “That is.”
  Sheylen explains that they hired Kalmar as 
  extra muscle a few months ago, but the angry 
  brute brought them nothing but grief and a 
  mountain of fines and property damage. The bar-
  barian regularly attacked members of the clergy, 
  bristled at authority, and started brawls in their 
  favorite bars. He even stole from the adventurers 
  during their quests. So, when Kalmar’s demeanor 
  abruptly changed two days ago, Alath and Vezir 
  did some digging. They learned that they’d passed 
  a colony of doppelgangers on their travels, and 
  wondered if their unwelcome comrade may have 
  been replaced. 
  Meanwhile, the new Kalmar helped the compa-
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 31
  ny with chores, listened to their problems, and 
  made their journeys more friendly and comfort-
  able. Since the pounding sound started from the 
  iron-bound chest, the Common Good made a pact 
  to ignore it and continue on their way. The party 
  clearly supports the doppelganger, and have made 
  plans to set the angry goliath free with enough 
  supplies to make it back to town. 
  ConClusion
  Once they have the full story, the PCs can decide 
  how to proceed.
  If the PCs wish to allow the Common Good to 
  continue on their way, Sheylen calls out to Kalmar 
  the Doppelganger, who returns to drive his wagon. 
  With only a hasty goodbye, the adventurers ride 
  away with the captive goliath.
  If the PCs wish to free Kalmar the Barbarian, 
  Sheylen sighs in frustration, but agrees. She only 
  asks the PCs to allow her to explain the situation 
  to the captive goliath. Sheylen claims that all 
  three of them were fooled by the doppelganger, 
  who told them that an angry demon had been 
  trapped in the chest during the night. She apolo-
  gizes, but says she truly believed they should stay 
  away until they found a priest who could perform 
  a banishment. Kalmar swears at Sheylen and 
  shouts insults at Alath and Vezir and kicks up a 
  storm of stones and dirt, but the goliath somehow 
  believes the lie because, deep down, Kalmar is 
  terrified of demons. The doppelganger vanishes 
  into the surrounding hills, never to be seen again. 
  If the PCs wish to attack the Common Good, 
  the adventurers fight back, though they attempt 
  to flee if brought below half their hit points. The 
  doppelganger returns from the woods, drops an 
  armload of firewood, and immediately begins to 
  protect his newfound companions.
  Use the following NPCs from the Monster Man-
  ual for a 4th level encounter:
  Sheylen: cult fanatic (MM p345)
  Alath: spy (MM p349)
  Vezir: scout (MM p349)
  Doppelganger: berserker (MM p343)
  abouT The auThor
  Richard is a contributor and author of many 
  projects on the DMs Guild, including the Ravni-
  ca adventure The Tomb of Svogthos and Rise 
  of the Champions. 
  Encounter inspired by:
  
  Page 32  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  so, a Tearful 
  shepherd, Three pixies, 
  and floCk of sheep 
  walk onTo The road…
  by karl sCiberras
  suggesTed parTy level: any 
  …Or more accurately the pixies fly over the road, 
  the young shepherd pulls himself along about 
  two meters off the ground by grabbing onto any-
  thing he can reach and the sheep, being too dull 
  to really understand the concept of moving in 
  three dimensions, bob haphazardly throughout 
  the area, occasionally bumping into the charac-
  ters, trees, and each other.
  naughTy sheep
  Earlier in the day the sheep angered the pixies 
  by eating and trampling a toadstool ring, their 
  favorite entrance to the Feywild. The pixies took 
  revenge on the sheep and the hapless shepherd 
  by casting a levitate spell on the lot of them. But 
  the little fey are not done yet: they demanded the 
  shepherd take them back to his home so they 
  can trample on it and “make things fair.”
  nervous shepherd
  Upon seeing the characters, the shepherd (Albie 
  Gill, commoner, MM p345), will call out fran-
  ticly, expecting them to help resolve the predic-
  ament. The young boy is desperate for help and 
  continuously blubbering about how “he didn’t 
  do anything,” “he needs help,” and “his family 
  will starve without his sheep.” Due to his emo-
  tional state and the fact that he didn’t actually 
  see what happened, Albie is of little actual help 
  in clearing up or clarifying the situation. From 
  Albie’s point of view everything was going well 
  when he and the sheep began to float and the 
  angry pixie clique threatened to do much worse 
  unless their demands were met.
  angry pixies
  The pixies (Colivren, Eerith, and Aerwolph) (MM 
  p253), on the other hand, will very clearly ex-
  plain the situation from their point of view. The 
  pixies expect the characters to side with them 
  out of fairness, because the sheep were the boy’s 
  charges. During the conversation the DM should 
  portray the individual personalities so that the 
  players are able to formulate arguments.
  hungry sheep
  The sheep just want to eat.
  dealing wiTh The pixies
  At least two of the pixies will need to be persuad-
  ed separately to drop the vendetta and each pixie 
  is influenced by a different factor, detailed below 
  in the Personalities section.
  A successful DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) 
  check will convince a pixie to accept a different 
  consequence for the destruction of their faerie 
  ring. The nature of the change is up to the DM. 
  Keep in mind fey logic is alien to mortals. The 
  check is made at disadvantage if the characters 
  attempt to argue that no punishment is required. 
  A successful DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation) 
  check on each of the pixies is enough to cow 
  them. The pixies will be unhappy and hostile but 
  will not engage in combat unless provoked.
  pixie personaliTies
  Colivren 
  Colivren is a stickler for the rules. By fey con-
  vention an action of equal import is required to 
  balance the scales. A well-reasoned argument 
  grants advantage on the Persuasion check with 
  Colivren.
  Aerwolph
  Aerwolph is impetuous and really just wants to 
  bash something because it is fun. Any solution 
  that involves her destroying something of Albie’s 
  grants advantage on the Persuasion check.
  Eerith
  Eerith wants to prove himself competent to the 
  other two members of his clique. He tends to be 
  quiet except when acting to support the other two 
  pixies. If Colivren is already convinced to support 
  the characters, or if the characters press Eerith 
  to make a decision, the Persuasion check is made 
  with advantage.
  developmenTs
  While the conversation is going on sheep will 
  begin to drift away. Albie’s emotional state and 
  the levitation spell prevent him from gathering 
  his flock.
  A level-appropriate predator, such as a moun-
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 33
  tain lion (either lion, MM p331 or panther, MM 
  p333) or a peryton (MM p251), could appear, 
  capitalizing on the limited mobility of the herd. 
  Should the pixie clique become impatient with 
  the party, they summon other pixies who begin 
  playing pranks on characters not involved in the 
  discussions and otherwise being nuisances that 
  need to be dealt with.
  ConClusions
  This encounter is not intended as a combat en-
  counter. Let the players have fun with the situ-
  ation and reward creativity. Pixies are tricky, ex-
  citable, and easily bored. These pixies know they 
  are physically outmatched but are incensed and 
  will hold their ground on principle until attacked 
  with magic, mundane weapons, or sufficiently 
  persuaded or intimidated. Killing or harming the 
  pixies could have unexpected consequences:
  • Raising the ire of a more powerful fey being.
  • Being identified as troublemakers by the 
  mortal ruler of the area who is concerned 
  that the characters have upset the fey.
  • Leading the pixies to the Albie’s home will 
  cause hardship for the family and could 
  raise friction between the mortals and fey 
  in the area. The villagers will find out that 
  it was the characters who led the fey to the 
  village.
  • Losing too many sheep during the encoun-
  ter could also result in hardship for Albie’s 
  family.
  abouT The auThor
  Karl’s first adventure, All in a Day’s Work, was 
  released to the Guild in late 2018. More adven-
  tures will follow as he extracts all the stories 
  that are rattling around in his head.
  
  Page 34  | Roadside and Campsite Encounters
  enCounTer modifiers
  by elf vesala
  The classic random encounter is a confrontation 
  with creatures that are automatically hostile and 
  attack the adventurers. The modifiers below can 
  add variation to these kinds of engagements with 
  intelligent monsters. 
  It is not recommended to roll on every single table 
  below before the encounter. Rather, choose one of 
  the tables as a starting point and pick or randomize 
  a modifier from there. That should be enough to 
  make an encounter more unpredictable. Use any 
  additional tables only when it feels appropriate. 
  organizaTion
  The way creatures have organized themselves 
  can have a major impact on the outcome of the 
  encounter. 
   d6 
  Organization
   
  1 
  Escapees: A disorganized array moving fast, perhaps escaping 
  a more powerful creature or a natural disaster. The group is far 
  from stealthy and can be easy to avoid or surprise. 
   
  2 
  Scattered: The creatures are not in immediate contact with 
  each other. Maybe they have lost their way or are spread out, 
  searching for something? 
   
  3 
  Guardians: A group protecting someone weaker and more 
  vulnerable than themselves, perhaps their young or an 
  elderly dignitary. They are willing to take risks to protect 
  their ward. 
   
  4 
  Rivals: A divided group competing with each other, perhaps 
  playfully, or perhaps in a deadly serious contest to win 
  someone’s favor. 
   
  5 
  Patrol: An organized team scouting the environment, ready 
  for trouble and capable of calling in reinforcements. 
   
  6 
  Retinue: A group consisting of individuals with varying roles, 
  typically in the service of a high-ranking leader. (See the Roles 
  table for inspiration.) 
  roles
  The function the creatures serve can affect their 
  tactics and equipment. 
   d6 
  Role
   
  1 
  Weakling:  The group consists mainly of young, infirm, or 
  otherwise weakened variations of the standard specimen. 
   
  2 
  Grunt:  Standard specimens of their type. 
   
  3 
  Scout:  Faster moving and lightly equipped variation. 
   
  4 
  Elite:  More heavily armored specimen with stronger than 
  standard attacks. 
   
  5 
  Mystic:  The creatures have with them an individual with 
  mystic powers, be they magical, miraculous or psionic. 
   
  6 
  Leader:  The creatures accompany a high-ranking individual 
  with a special weapon, such as a magic item or even an 
  artifact. The leader may also have valuable information or be 
  worth a ransom. 
  approaCh
  Intelligent creatures can choose different ap-
  proaches for dealing with the intruding adven-
  turers. Roll with disadvantage for low intelli-
  gence creatures and with advantage for highly 
  intelligent individuals. 
   2d10 
  Approach
   
  2 
  Inattentive: The creature is oblivious to its environs, fully 
  concentrated on its current task. 
   
  3 
  Occupied:  The creature is already busy dealing with 
  something else. 
   
  4 
  Observing:  The creature is aware of the adventurers but 
  wants to find out more about them before making its move. 
   
  5 
  Intimidation:  The creature tries to avoid direct confrontation 
  by scaring the adventurers away.
   
  6 
  Entrapment:  The creature tries to lure the adventurers into 
  an unadvantageous position before attacking. 
   
  7 
  Ruse:  The creature attempts to trick the adventurers by 
  giving them a wrong idea about its plans and tactics. 
   
  8 
  Attack from Cover:  The creature aims to stay in a well-
  protected position and attack safely from there. 
   
  9 
  Ambush:  The creature waits in hiding until the perfect 
  moment to launch a full-scale attack. 
   10 
  Sneak Attack:  The creature starts combat with a surprise 
  attack for example from behind, above or underneath, as 
  appropriate. 
   11 
  Direct Attack:  The creature attacks the adventurers directly. 
   12 
  Capture:  The creature is interested in just one of the 
  adventurers. As soon as it manages to capture its victim, it flees. 
   13 
  Thievery:  The creature wants to steal something. When it has 
  managed to grab what it wants, it flees. 
   14 
  Bribe Collection:  The creature is willing to let the adventurers 
  go without a fight if they agree to pay a bribe. 
   15 
  Deception:  The creature acts friendly, but is ready to betray 
  the adventurers when an opportunity presents itself. 
   16 
  Trade:  The creature wants something from the adventurers 
  and is willing to trade it with some trinket or equipment it has. 
   17 
  Negotiation:  The creature needs an item or information it 
  believes the adventurers may be able to provide. It is willing to 
  negotiate the terms involved. 
   18 
  Information:  The creature desperately needs to know 
  something. If the adventurers are willing to satisfy its 
  curiosity, there is no need for confrontation. 
  
  Roadside and Campsite Encounters  |  Page 35
   19 
  Interaction:  The creature is bored and just wants some 
  entertainment. Perhaps listening to a tale, participating in a 
  riddle contest or playing a game. 
   20 
  Alliance:  The creature faces an undertaking it is not able to 
  handle without help. It is willing to side with the adventurers 
  to get their help. 
  TaCTiCs
  Most intelligent monsters are able to utilize more 
  tactical approaches than just charging head-on. 
   d8 
  Tactics
   
  1 
  Guerrilla Tactics:  The creatures observe the adventurers, 
  making quick and dirty attacks when they are at an 
  advantageous position. 
   
  2 
  Sabotage:  The creatures initially target the adventurers’ 
  equipment and other assets to set them to a disadvantage in 
  actual combat, which soon follows. 
   
  3 
  Ranged Combat:  The creatures remain at a distance, attacking 
  with ranged weapons as applicable. (If they have no ranged 
  attacks, choose another option.)
   
  4 
  War of Attrition: A tactic to wear down the adventurers over 
  a longer period of time, initially causing only minor damage 
  but giving them no opportunity to recover. 
   
  5 
  Flanking: The creatures do not face the adventurers directly 
  but prefer to strike from the sidelines or behind. A strong 
  creature can act as a decoy to draw the adventurers’ 
  attention to itself. 
   
  6 
  Divide and Conquer: The creatures aim to separate the 
  adventurers from each other and deal with them one at a 
  time. 
   
  7 
  Hit and Run: The creatures make a single charge and then 
  quickly retreat into safety to re-evaluate the situation. 
   
  8 
  Attacks in Waves: The creatures take turns to attack to be 
  able to recover between attacks. 
  foreshadowing powerful CreaTures
  While it’s fine to encounter run-of-the-mill mon-
  sters directly, you can get more mileage from 
  powerful creatures by using foreshadowing. Ini-
  tially, you can give the players just a hint about 
  the creature’s existence, and after that show 
  them more and more evidence of the creature’s 
  power. That will make the final encounter much 
  more significant—and with luck, make the play-
  ers fear what lies ahead. 
  The following table contains increasingly 
  powerful ways to hint about a creature and its 
  power. If you want to randomize the stages of 
  the foreshadowing process, make the initial roll 
  using a d4, and with additional encounters, pro-
  ceed to use d6, d8 and finally d10. 
   d4... d10 Foreshadowing
   
  1 
  Lore: The adventurers learn about an old legend or prophecy 
  hinting at the existence of the creature. 
   
  2 
  Rumor: A recent rumor claims to give insight about the 
  alleged activities of the creature. The rumor does not 
  necessarily have to be true. 
   
  3 
  Premonition: One of the adventurers has a dream or a vision 
  about the creature. At least initially this does not need to be 
  anything concrete - an uneasy feeling or a symbolic image 
  can be more efficient. 
   
  4 
  Eyewitness: The adventurers meet someone who claims to 
  have seen the creature from afar with their own eyes. 
   
  5 
  Traces: Indirect evidence of the creature’s existence—for 
  example destruction it has caused in the past, perhaps 
  years ago. 
   
  6 
  Tracks: Footprints or other evidence about the creatures past 
  presence in the area. 
   
  7 
  Spoor: A fresh scent, broken foliage, disturbance in magical 
  energies or other evidence of the creatures recent presence. 
   
  8 
  Sighting: The creature can be seen in the distance, probably 
  too far away to reach. Apparently it is not aware of the 
  adventurers. 
   
  9 
  Lair: The adventurers find the den or home base of the 
  creature. They may not be able to enter, and the creature 
  seems not to be present. 
   10 
  Close Encounter: The adventurers finally encounter the 
  creature eye to eye. 
  abouT The auThor
  ELF is a random generator aficionado blogging 
  at https://randomcreation.net/. His favorite die 
  is d10.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Tables & Charts/Encounters/Fantasy/On the Roads/437667497-RoadEncounters-PrinterFriendly.pdf