Encounters....
No doubt about it, DM'ing is hard work. It ain't easy coming up with coming up with new and different encounters to liven up the time spent travelling, resting at the inn, or just seeing the sights in the city. So I'm here to help!
Use these simple, yet effective, encounters for a little flavor in a boring part, when the dice call for it, or when you just want to. Feel free to change things to suit your campaign, or pick and choose the parts you like....
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The Paladin
© 1998, C. Simons
The party is traveling south through the forest together on their way to Vuln and witness a man kill a bugbear begging for mercy. This man is wearing extremely well kept armor, it gleams in the sunlight, and he carries a small metal shield with a red open-handed gauntlet painted upon it, and three black arrows embedded flat into the shield.
He realizes what he's done, and drops to his knees and begs for forgiveness. Upon finishing his prayer, he notices that the party is there, and asks for them to escort him back to Vuln. Just your luck! That's where you're headed!
Mid-height, defined muscles, medium build. Blonde hair, brown eyes, and a deep, and very friendly voice. He strikes you as very trustworthy. He introduces himself as Kuleto, Sword of Torm.
| Kuleto, Paladin of Torm | |||||
| Str 16 | Dex 11 | Con 13 | Int 10 | Wis 13 | Cha 17 |
| Human | Paladin of Torm | Level 1 | 9 hit points | 18 years old | |
| Lawful Good | AC 3, splint + shield | Thac0 20 | Dmg by weapon, +1: Str. | ||
| He carries a broadsword and a dagger at his side. | |||||
Watchful Venturer High Priest Woody tells him he has received word from Torm. He must now do penance to regain his paladinhood. He will lose all abilities, except for the ability to detect evil. His penance is to go out and help 5 communities in need, and must convert 10 laymen to Torm.
Being a young paladin, it is his choice to go it alone, or he may go with a party.... Of course he will ask party to come with him. It is up to the party to help guide the young paladin back to Paladinhood....
Of course, it is entirely up to you what the paladin does, what happens, what it means, and whether or not he asks the party to aid him in his quest.
Orcs!
© 1998, C. Simons
Walking down the road from Vuln, you crest a small hill and see the village of Shiff at the bottom, and what do you know, the town is being attacked by a small band of orcs! Or a large band if you prefer....
There are three orcs holding a boy over the dead bodies of two adults, and another is getting ready to beat him to death. Orcs are all over the place, looting, pillaging, and every round after the PC's arrive, a building catches fire. There is an orc battling with a man in front of the stables, he is armed with a bastard and is wearing sloppy leather armor. He is apparently struggling....
The man's name is Braniff. He is the owner of the stable, and is the father of two young girls hiding in the hay loft. He fights the orcs off a lot, and has thusly gained experience as a fighter.
| Braniff, stable owner, town leader | |||||
| Str 12 | Dex 13 | Con 13 | Int 11 | Wis 14 | Cha 10 |
| Human | Fighter | Level 2 | 17 hit points | 38 years old | |
| Neutral Good | AC 8, Leather Armor | Thac0 19 | Bastard Sword, 2d4/2d8 | ||
| He likes to fight two-handed, with a powerful swing. | |||||
To determine how many orcs should be present to challenge your party, use the handy-dandy table below to figure it out....
| PC Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 | # of Orcs 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.5 2.75 | To figure the number of orcs, add a number of orcs equated to the PC's level, round the sum up, then add one for good measure.
Example: You have 1 level 2 PC, 2 level 3's, and 2 level 4's. Add 1.5 + 1.75 + 1.75 + 2 + 2 = 9 + 1 for good measure, makes 10 orcs to battle. |
If you have Kuleto in the party, add one or two for him, and always have at least 6.
If the encounter goes too easy, have more orcs arrive late, getting yelled at by the orcs that were already there for being tardy.... The orcs will run away if depleted to 1/4 of their force. These orcs will remember being defeated, so it leaves a good opening for a later encounter....
If the party successfully saves the boy, award a couple hundred extra experience, if they successfully save Braniff, they should get a bonus, too. If they defeat all of the orcs before they can high-tail it out of there, give a little extra....
For successfully saving Braniff, they will be offered a free meal, and a free place to stay whenever they pass through Shiff..