TEXT: EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
   
  writing  Connors
   color art  Cat Lu
   
  editing  James Haeck
   
  layout  Eric Life-Putnam
  T
  here is so much more To random en-
  counters than what the player characters 
  experience. Often, a group of hostile mon-
  sters unexpectedly appear while the characters are 
  traveling, forcing the heroes to deal with a minor 
  annoyance before continuing on their quest. 
   How often are random encounters with crea-
  tures just wandering around or “patrolling,” even 
  if they are nowhere near a lair to actively patrol? 
  This is sufficient and even appropriate for many 
  encounters, and an easy option to fall back on 
  Motivated 
  Encounters
  Spicing up Random EncountERS
  EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
  
  Motivated Encounters | EN World EN5IDER
  Random Encounter Motivation
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  01–02 Accompanied by Other Creatures. Combining 
  two random encounter rolls can lead to 
  interesting relationships. If the encounter 
  includes multiples of the same creature (e.g., 
  three orcs), replace two of these creatures with 
  two other monsters of the same challenge 
  rating. These two encounters are not hostile to 
  one another and likely working together. You 
  may wish to roll a second time to see what this 
  combined group is up to.
  03–04 Alternative Movement. The encounter is 
  currently moving using a method other than 
  walking, such as running, swimming, climbing, 
  burrowing, swinging, riding, flying, or sliding.
  05–07 Ambush. The encounter is hiding and ready 
  to strike. This might be a favored hunting spot 
  for beasts or an elaborate set-up by intelligent 
  creatures. If possible, it is likely that intelligent 
  creatures have booby-trapped the area. 
  08–09 Bickering or Fighting. This is an internal scrap 
  or argument, not one with other creatures. It 
  is likely a fight for dominance, food, mates, 
  shelter, or because someone cheated in a game 
  or contest.
  10–11 Constructing. The encounter is presently 
  building a home, lair, shelter, stronghold, 
  religious site, monument, or bridge. Simple 
  beasts encountered in this way are settling a 
  lair or den.
  12–14 Camping. The creatures of this encounter 
  are preparing to rest. A camp usually involves 
  shelter, food and a fire.
  15–16 Captured. The encounter rolled is the prisoner 
  of another encounter. (Roll a second encounter 
  to determine the captors or determine that the 
  captors have left them to die.) Prisoners are 
  likely tied up, usually to a pole or to each other, 
  or even caged.
  17–18 Collecting Food and Drink. The encounter 
  is actively fetching food and drink. This could 
  involve foraging, hunting, skinning, butchering, 
  fishing, digging, or simply carrying their 
  takings.
  when the GM has been given no advice on what 
  the creatures are doing or what they want. It’s 
  easy to forget that the creatures they encounter 
  must have a reason to exist—giving your random 
  monsters motivation or showing them in the mo-
  ment combat begins before helps create encoun-
  ters your players will remember forever. 
   Detailing every random encounter is time-
  consuming and takes up space in a published 
  adventure, so it is often left for the GM to deter-
  mine how and why the encounter takes place. 
  The following ideas can add spice to both written 
  adventures and homebrew campaigns.
  Using the Table
  This chart is to help a GM add context, interest 
  and hopefully, a little fun to their random encoun-
  ters. It’s not an encounter chart in itself; it is to be 
  used alongside your random encounter charts. 
  After determining which creatures the characters 
  encounter, the GM then rolls on this chart to see 
  what the encountered creatures are up to at that 
  time.
   Using the chart below will also add verisi-
  militude to your setting. How often do the PCs 
  encounter creatures without seeing signs of their 
  occupation in the area? Some of the entries in-
  clude coming across signs of encounters, or even 
  finding them dead. Encounters like these can be 
  used to warn players when dangerous creatures 
  are around. Some can also be used to alter the 
  difficulty of an encounter. If you want to throw 
  an orc war chief into the mix but feel the party 
  can’t handle one yet, then perhaps the war chief 
  is Wounded (see below).
   Very few of the entries below require modifica-
  tions to the encountered creatures however—they 
  are merely for dressing and adding motives for 
  the creatures. Not all entries will suit all creatures. 
  If you don’t like the result, roll again, choose an 
  alternative or fall back to patrolling.
   Roll percentile dice or choose from the follow-
  ing table.
  Motivated Encounters | EN World EN5IDER
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  19–20 Common Annoyance. Encounter is suffering 
  from or has recently suffered from a pest of 
  some sort, such as fleas, mosquitoes, hornets, 
  or poison ivy. In any case, the encountered 
  creatures are agitated; depending on the 
  creatures’ nature, they may be spoiling for a 
  fight or itching to retreat.
  21–22 Conducting Business or Diplomacy. Generate 
  another random encounter. These two 
  groups of creatures are currently involved 
  in conversation or interaction of some 
  importance. For beasts, this could be a display 
  to attract a mate or move rivals on.
  23
  Counting Wealth or Divvying Loot. The 
  encounter is sorting through, divvying up, or 
  counting their gains.
  24–26 Crafting. The encounter is creating new things, 
  such as magical items, arrows, weapons, 
  armors, common equipment, alchemical or 
  herbal concoctions, clothing, or even a large 
  item (wagon, trap, canoe, etc.).
  27–30 Dead. The party stumbles upon a dead 
  encounter.  Generate another encounter to 
  determine what killed them; the victorious 
  party may have left tracks that the party can 
  follow.
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  31–33 Devious. This encounter has no interest in 
  confrontation, but it does try to relieve the 
  group of some items, possibly even pets or 
  mounts. Encounters of this nature could 
  involve pickpockets while in the city or kobolds 
  setting up traps while underground. Beasts 
  encountered in this fashion could be stalking 
  the party, keen on devouring their horses, but 
  hoping to avoid a confrontation with the whole 
  group.
  34–35 Carousing. The encounter is currently enjoying 
  a meal and drinking.  Each of the encountered 
  creatures must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution 
  saving throw or are intoxicated by what they 
  are drinking and are Poisoned for the next 
  hour.
  36
  Escaped. The encounter has recently escaped 
  and is fleeing its tormentors. Generate another 
  random encounter to determine their pursuers.
  37–41 Evidence of Encounter. The characters don’t 
  actually encounter a creature, just evidence 
  of its presence in the area.  This could include 
  dung, refuse, tracks, blood, a dropped item, 
  commoners spreading rumors, remains from 
  recent kills, diggings, scratches on nearby 
  trees, or an abandoned lair.
  EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
  
  Motivated Encounters | EN World EN5IDER
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  59–63 On Patrol. This encounter is simply scouting 
  out their territory. If there are guards on patrol, 
  there is usually a lair or camp nearby. A beast 
  might be marking their territory.
  64–65 Preparing for War. The creatures are 
  sharpening weapons, donning armor, erecting 
  defenses, and loading or constructing siege 
  engines. Beasts are gathering as a pack to hunt 
  a huge creature together.
  66–67 Ritual or Rite. Reroll this result if applied 
  to beasts. The encounter is conducting a 
  religious rite or arcane ritual. The ritual might 
  include: uttering blessings, writing insignias 
  on gear, war chants, dancing, or a more formal 
  service such as wedding, funeral, sacrifice or 
  summoning .
  68–69 Repairing or Cleaning. Creatures are bathing 
  or simply washing their clothes or gear.
  70–72 Relaxing. The encounter is kicking back, but 
  is not sleeping. Perhaps they are basking in a 
  recent glory or rolling around full after a decent 
  meal. They may be enjoying a recreational 
  activity, such as playing or composing music, 
  reading, or writing.
  73–74 Seeking Someone or Something Important. 
  This encounter is on a quest, looking for a 
  missing person or item, or even the player 
  characters. Perhaps they’re hunting the same 
  person or item that the player characters are! 
  75–78 Sleeping. The encounter is asleep. Almost 
  every creature needs to sleep at some stage, 
  and today the PCs are in luck. This encounter 
  works best if the PCs can hear the creature 
  snoring or it is clearly visible.
  79–81 Struggling Against the Elements. The 
  encounter is contending with nature or the 
  terrain. This depends a lot on where the 
  encounter takes place, but they may be trying 
  to keep warm, cooling off, drying off, trudging 
  through mud, or taking shelter from a storm or 
  a rough wind.
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  42–43 Fighting Another Encounter. Generate 
  another random encounter; the two groups of 
  creatures are locked in combat. You may wish 
  to determine what they are fighting over, or 
  what one group was doing before the conflict, 
  by rolling a second time on this chart.
  44–45 Competing. The encounter is involved in a test 
  of might or a game of chance such as cards or 
  dice. Some contests include balancing, largest 
  vegetable contest, archery , riddling, arm 
  wrestling, or playing dice games. For beasts, 
  this may be a contest for pack leadership or for 
  a mate, such as two stags locking antlers. 
  46
  Grooming or Dressing. The encountered 
  creatures are getting ready to go out or simply 
  preening themselves. 
  47–49 Guarding. PCs stumble upon guard or scout 
  for larger group, or come across larger group 
  that has guards posted. These guards may 
  be watchmen for a larger horde, or they are 
  protecting a secret location or object.
  50
  Inconvenient Situation. The encounter is 
  caught with its pants down, perhaps quite 
  literally. The situation can vary from the serious 
  (caught in a trap, stuck in a web, drowning, 
  shedding skin, giving birth) to the embarrassing 
  (attending to bodily functions, mating).
  51–54 Lost. The encounter does not know where it is 
  and is wandering aimlessly.
  55–56 Secret Society or Betrayers. Reroll this result 
  if applied to beasts. The encountered creatures 
  have ulterior motives that they must conceal 
  from their kin. Perhaps they belong to a cult 
  or society not allowed in their home, or simply 
  wish to betray their leader. This encounter may 
  lead to a roleplaying situation where normally 
  there would be combat.
  57–58 Merrymaking. The encounter is currently 
  involved in a party, festival, or shindig. This 
  likely involves music, dancing, singing, and 
  drinking.
  Motivated Encounters | EN World EN5IDER
  
  EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  82–84 Suffering. The encounter is suffering in some 
  way. This could be reflected by the poisoned 
  condition, applying the effects of a disease, 
  by adding levels of exhaustion or something 
  as simple as reduced Speed. This can be an 
  effective way of reducing the difficulty of an 
  encounter. A second roll on this chart or your 
  random encounter table could indicate what 
  caused their suffering.
  85–86 Training. The encounter is conducting or 
  receiving training for combat, hunting, a class 
  ability, skill, feat, or membership into an 
  organization. They could even be teaching a 
  group of younger creatures, such as a lioness 
  teaching her cubs to hunt.
  87–88 Transporting Goods. This encounter is seeking 
  a trade. It is for intelligent creatures only. Think 
  about what these creatures might have to offer. 
  It could be orcs transporting slaves, hobgoblins 
  with weapons, or gnomes with magical 
  lanterns.
  d100
  Creature Aims and Actions
  89–90 Trapped. The encountered creatures are 
  caught in a trap. Generate another encounter 
  to determine who built the trap. If nothing else 
  makes sense, perhaps the terrain itself has 
  trapped the creatures.
  91–93 Traveling or Adventuring. This encounter 
  has a destination in mind. They may or may 
  not know exactly where it is, but they are not 
  just wandering aimlessly. Perhaps it is the 
  same place the characters are headed. Other 
  possibilities include a pilgrimage, to honor a 
  leader, to join another tribe, or to find treasure.
  94–95 Working the Environment. The encounter 
  is making use of the local environment for its 
  resources.  They may be involved in logging, 
  quarrying, mining, or foraging. Beasts are 
  simply devouring food from the area.
  96–00 Wounded. Similar to Suffering, but the 
  encountered creatures are obviously wounded. 
  Reducing hit points by half is an easy way to 
  show a creature is wounded, though a GM 
  could choose to reduce them by any amount. 
  A second roll on either the random encounter 
  chart or this chart is the reason for the injury.
  EN World EN5IDER | Motivated Encounters
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 046 - Motivated Encounters.pdf