Pardon the Interruption, but... (1d20 encounters)

On occasion, I idly think up outdoor encounters that could go several ways, depending on the PCs' actions and disposition. I like encounters that present a world just happening, not focused on the PCs (usually). Here is a collection of those encounters. I think of these are more entries to write into your existing encounter tables when you cross out an entry, but for ease of use I'll present them as a table unto themselves.

It's kinda like a Dungeon Dozen, with bonus entries? Only probably less clever?

01	A herd of cattle. Lots of them are busy right now digging holes.
02	A foreign army in the middle of massive coordinated exercises. (Think Indian army doing yoga. Like, thousands of soldiers at once.)
03	A dangerous, wild creature just smart enough to communicate with humanoids; it's looking for its missing young.
04	Giraffes humming to each other. Is the air flickering?
05	A group of ambulatory plant creatures having some kind of meeting; the sounds they make are frequencies humans can't hear.
06	A group of Vampires meeting to overthrow their masters.
07	Massive numbers of silent rooks in a field. One in the middle, making noises in a low, carrying voice.
08	A herd of rhino-sized creatures lolling in a field. They are expelling gas that is both harmful and flammable in an ever-expanding cloud. Any fire sources will act as a Fireball. Being in the gas area if it has not been burned away causes 1d4 damage and drains 1 pt of CON per round (restored with rest). All small animals and plant leaves below 6 feet have been eaten for a mile around.
09	A desperate theater troupe practicing a play. They will attempt to sell any passerby costumes, props, or convince you to be a paying audience.
10	Ghostly images of the PCs, mirroring their actions from some distance away. If the PCs proceed directly ahead into their reflections, the reflections will disappear. IF they attack or run away, the reflections will be "freed" from mirroring the PCs' actions and behave as an independent person, reacting to the PC's actions. They have the PCs' memories but no emotional connection.
11	Two demons fighting. (or dragons, if that makes more sense for your game)
12	The limb of a massive creature juts from the ground or sky. It's so huge you can't tell what limb it is or if the creature is humanoid-shaped.
13	A group of cats squall to each other. Upon noticing the PCs, they look panicked and run.
14	A creature is assembling itself out of local shrubbery.
15	A treasure golem from a local dungeon out for a walk and some sunshine. It will be cross if interrupted from getting it's fresh air.
16	Mimics and/or doppelgängers practicing, judging each other, sharing some drinks.
17	Drunken monkeys. They may seem silly, but they are excellent thieves and escape artists.
18	An outdoor adobe bread oven. (1-2 recently used; 3-5 bread is baking; 6 attended by nonhuman baker)
19	Unconscious naked people, just far enough away from each other that you're not sure if they were doing something together or separately. Orgy? Lycanthropes after a rager? Cultists? Fallen from the sky?
20	A chimney emerging from the ground about 4 feet. It goes down 2d6 layers into an underground “dungeon” (which could be a city or whatever that becomes dangerous once they figure out you’re outsiders.)

Evilspeak Encounters

Here is a *SPOILER* full and lazily compiled encounter chart of things in the movie Evilspeak (1981) which is excellent and you should watch it.

1   Powerful priest accompanied by 1d20 guards escorting heretic and 1d20 followers to exile

2. fetus with toad arms/toad with fetus arms

3.  cult priest giving a history lecture

4. military brass petitioning politician for funds

5.  zombie arms burst from walls/floor, holding party in place

6. preserved fetus forcing way out of jar

7.  demonic priest with magic sword

8. teen bullies with darts

9.    ignorant teen with spell book

10 annoying bully that is the son of a local important figure

11. hogs

12 a secretary trying to pry a valuable looking gem off of an evil artifact

13   a computer with a searchable index of rituals and spells

14  a sympathetic cook

15 bullies in animal masks pretending (convincingly) to be evil cultists, actually local youths

16   a computer possessed by an ancient evil priest, demands sacrifices, will lend powers

17 flesh eating hogs

18   a levitating, demon-posessed youth with a vorpal sword

19 a pedophile handyman

20  roll twice

Random Encounters in the Empire of the Flaming Moon

I'm not sure how I'm feeling about Empire of the Flaming Moon as the title for my "gritty fantasy Asia at war" game I'm brewing up, but still woolgathering about it. It'll be heavily informed rules-wise by the Games Workshop hardback of the Stormbringer rules, so the 1st-3rd editions of that game. Also Warhammer. But less fiddly.
Anyway, here are some boring tables posted for my own use spiced up with pictures. This is for areas between settlements, so interior to the country; areas ostensibly under the rule of the Emperor, Shogun, and Samurai.

1-2. Samurai
3. man-scaled monster(s)
4-6. commoners
7. merchants (50% Yakuza)
8. spirit(s)
9. army or huge monster
10-11. animal(s)
12. roll twice; fight or tense negotiation in progress

mood:
1. grim
2. light-hearted
3. practical
4. formal
5. panicked
6. tense/mysterious

if Samurai:
1. on Diplomatic mission
2. hunting with Noble
3. on manhunt
4. accompanying Emperor or Shogun

if commoners:
1. priests
2. crazy old man priest antagonistically teaching you a lesson
3. Nunekin in disguise
4. Yakuza, disguised or not

(images from the films 13 Assassins, Roshomon, Throne of Blood, and the mangas Kamui Gaiden and Legend of Kamui, and some random Oni and Bakemono from the internet)

More ANARCHYCORE - a cult and some tables

Paul SchaeferYesterday 11:37 AM (edited)

+Joey Lindsey you great gob of putrid pus, make me a cult that sews things together all Franstein/Dr. Moreau style.
Anyone else, I will draw some of your stupid ideas and make them seem like treasures to humanity.

THE STITCH

This cult's members believe that everything is better remade. Natural forces do not guide anything to it's best form. All must be cut asunder and stitched back into new combinations. Some carry this edict out physically, as crude brutes or refined serial killers, cutting up human, demihuman, and animal, and attempting to give life to new creations from the pieces.

Other members of this cult are more subtle. Seemingly innocuous, they give friends advice and happen to have the right bit of gossip to break up couples - but hey, they also know just the right person to encourage your affections toward next. They often take government positions, hiding their agenda, sewing discord and mistrust until treaties are broken and revolutions and wars erupt. They will then work to form new alliances, forge new pacts.

They see no contradiction in breaking up alliances and combinations they themselves previously formed, after a time. The seams must show. When the scars fade and the stitches come out, whether physical or metaphorical, it is time once again to cut and reassemble.
Members can be identified when searched by the results of their initiation - two initiates cut off a finger and sew on that of the other.

Scrap PrincessYesterday 12:26 PM

+Joey Lindsey landspeeders are stupid, you are stupid , make me a stupid table of city encounters

Scrap PrincessYesterday 1:07 PM

Actually I don't want that anymore +Joey Lindsey , make me a "so you decided to become a wizard table"

SORRY SCRAPPER YOU GET BOTH

STUPID TABLE OF CITY ENCOUNTERS
1. A wandering baby hippo with huge cute eyelashes that the city folks cower from in fear and try to pretend isn't there.
2. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Nobleman and Scholar. He writes down everything you say, but seems to miss the point. He can make the most interesting events seem boring, and wants to follow you everywhere, narrating what is happening.
3. Street closed. Workers from the "Oh Shit Construction Co" are working. The whole block looks mysteriously like really even blue lines and shaky pencil sketches.
4. A really sexy person who isn't interested in talking to you, but asks a leading question every time you try to walk away.
5. A Deity doing paperwork, listening to worshipers, and sweeping up the temple because their Priests formed a union and got the day off.
6. Meeting of the Priests' Local Union 103. They are violently arguing about dental care or something.
7. A big ol alligator that all the children and some adults are playing with, like it's a huge puppy. Scratching it's chin and everything.
8. Yourself, coming the other way. The other you is super awkward for some reason.
9. A Thief's Guild has set up a little booth with streamers, stuffed animals, and pamphlets, hoping to recruit.
10. The Big Bad you killed last month, undead (again), being super nice and all apologies.
11. A bear on a motorcycle being chased by slimes. "Get on, there's no time to explain."
12. A bunch of lawyers who want to take you out to lunch.

SO YOU DECIDED TO BECOME A WIZARD
1. GREAT! Waddaya want me to do about it? Good luck with that. Here's a hat.
2. A creature who lives in the dangerous forest/volcano lava/local dungeon/clouds has cast "Find Wizard", and you're the closest schmuck with no familiar calling yourself a Wizard. You feel uncontrollably compelled to seek them out.
3. A real Wizard hears you wrong and polymorphs you into a lizard. Oops! That was off a one-use scroll. They feel real bad about it though, and would be happy to take you on as a lizardy apprentice.
4. Geez, if you'd realized there was so much paperwork, you might have said something else - Fighter, Assassin, I mean hell, even Elf! Oh well, now you're signed up with the Inter-Regional Magic Authority. Hope you like writing quarterly reports.
5. "The Wizard! You have come! Just as the prophecy said! Let us show you to the dragon..."
6. You begin as a 0-level human that can cast Nahal's Reckless Dweomer a number of times a day equal to your INT bonus. If you choose this path, you skip 1st level, and are 0-level until you have the XP for 2nd.
7. You are actually just a person who is followed around by 2 0-level theater people in black catsuits and masks who do their best to carry out (with props) how they imagine the effects of whatever spell you say you're casting are. They pretend they aren't there, like no one could see them. You pretend you're a Wizard. Maybe it'll work out?
8. That's cool, but somewhere in the world your nemesis has been unleashed. It can track you by the energy from your spells, so better move on pretty quick after casting.
9. Bonus! A local witch just threw down her flying broom and said, "I quit! Take this, you'll need it."
10. Wizard Bus pulls up with a bunch of senior citizens in cargo shorts and Hawaiian shirts. You signed up just in time for the Annual Beach Retreat!
11. A bear on a motorcycle being chased by slimes pulls up. "You the Wizard? Get on, there's no time to explain."
12. Everybody's like "Oh god I hope it's a phase. But you follow your dreams, honey." Mom buys you a whole second set of equipment (double starting cash, but must spend it).

Encounter Tables for The Grey Waste of Kalak-Nur & Random Weapons

I used these during the play by post to some extent, but modified the results situationally.

d20 Grey Waste Encounters, roll twice, ignore dupes if necessary
1-3. 3d6 scavengers, 1d4: 1-humans 2-bugmen 3-giant beetles 4-whispering creepers
4-5. cult, 1d4: 1-worship still working part of crashed ship 2-worship local strong personality 3-worship legit deity from another plane 4-worship demon
6-7. 3d6 skeletons, 1d4: 1-armed 2-armed&armored 3-spellcaster 4-wearing your clothes from the future
8. ghosts; roll 1d4 as entry 1-3.
9. looted/burned out caravan, 30% chance survivor hiding in wreckage
10. 1d4 hungry Fire Lizards
11-12. 2d6 Goat Men working for Mocata
13. cargo from crashed ship with intact loot; roll 1d4 then roll 1d12 twice more on Encounters table for this location; 1d4: 1-1d4 "land speeders" 2-1d4 blasters 3-week's worth of food; 30% perishable; 30% intact refrigerated container 4-works of art or other treasure
14. crashed ship, 1d4: 1-In pieces 2-small 3-medium 4-large; if rolled again see # 13.
15. unattended weapon just laying there in the sand
16. Powerful inhuman presence; possibly technological
17. Trading expedition
18. survivors of catastrophe in need of help; roll 1d8 on this chart to find out what's nearby they need saving from
19. If South, lost Sahaguapede; If North, errant Ludo; if middle, intact trading caravan
20. roll again using 1d12

d12 Random Weapons
1. decent sabre; d6 or as medium sword
2. roll again and is of good make, +1 or 3 more charges
3. blaster, 1d4 charges
4. laser sword and dying Sister of the Black Veil looking for honorable person to entrust it to
5. stupidly large anime-scale sword; 1d10 and acts as shield but penalty to all stealth
6-7. standard from LL or LotFP equip chart
8. laser sling, as normal sling but no need for bullets and +1 to hit
9. bola
10. explosive
11. spear
12. laser atl atl, 3 charges

Random Encounters in the Westlands of Kalak-Nur, Underground 1d20

Random Encounters in the Westlands of Kalak-Nur, Underground 1d20

1. 1d6 Mind-Eating Beetles, hungry, dumb and easily scared off
2. 3d6+2 Mind-Eating Beetles, Hive Mind INT score = number present; interested in large quantities of trash or dead bodies
3. 1d4 Whispering Creepers; look like aliens from Aliens but stats as Whispering Ghouls from Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque (Call of Undead power summons other Creepers; no Undead immunities)
4. 2d6 Whispering Creepers and Brood Queen
5. 1d6 lost Goblin workers; looking for specific tunnel they were hired to maintain
6. 3d4 Goblin Workers doing construction on the tunnel you're trying to get through
7. 2d4 Goblin Workers in secret cult meeting
8. 1d100 + 80 Goblin Workers; entire Local Branch of the Independent Collective of Goblin Workers
9. 1d4 malfunctioning robots; spitting sparks and shouting oddities; probably creating trap situations
10. an immature Fire Lizard; intelligent and looking for food to store up or things of intellectual curiosity
11. a mature Fire Lizard; as in the Monster Manual
12. a witch hiding from the law of Mocata the Witch King (he's to the east a bit)
13. a party of NPC scavengers; will size up party and attack or grill them for places to loot
14. 3d6 zombies trapped in odd mishap; maybe you just let them out of their room?
15. 3d4 zombies collected by 1d6 Whispering Creepers who will be mad if you kill them
16. a group of droids from Victarion's plantation delivering food to some community far away
17. as 16 but they are delivering food somewhere close
18. an emissary and 2d4 guards seeking an audience with Victarion to negotiate for food supply
19. an old droid looking for help; he's from a crashed ship; maybe no one's scavenged it yet!
20. 1d4 Goat-Men and 2d6 Skeletons under their command looking for escapees of Mocata's "justice".

d20 Encounter table for the Western lands of Kalak-Nur

The Western Lands: Encounter tables

Above ground: 1d20

1. 1d4 large basking lizards; can be trained as mounts for Halflings or Dwarves but hard to tame
2. 1d4+2 starved coyotes; 30% chance of bite conveying zombie infection
3. 2 vultures; roll 1d20 for INT due to radiation exposure; talks if INT over 7; one possibly can be acquired as companion as DM sees fit; 30% chance of bite conveying zombie infection
4. armed NPC party of scavengers, will assess you and potentially attack to get your stuff; interested in any treasure or tech you can lead them to
5. 1d4 agressive, hungry cougars
6. starving family that wandered West looking for food even though they knew better; 75% chance are infected with zombie plague but haven't changed yet
7. giant fucking sandworm! SHIIIIIT! Oh, whew, it has a rider/controller. If you don't mess with him, he'll probably steer clear.
8. an old, malfunctioning robot or other machine from spaceship or mining facility; stats as electrical trap or shrieker that attracts zombies
9. hawk made of finely worked metal, speaks common, has task for you from powerful figure
10. 1d6 lost robot workers from Victarion's plantation estate; would appreciate escort home; roll 1d10 and consult 11-20 from this chart for random encounters while escorting them
11. one scavenger; survivor of zombie attack on NPC party; hurt and pitiful at first but 75% chance will turn on party for their stuff if opportunity arises (knows of second NPC party and leads you to 4)
12. giant fucking sandworm! SHIIIIT! It's wild!
13. 1d4 zombie coyotes
14. 3d4 slow zombies
15. 3d4 slow zombies and 2d4 fast zombies
16. 1d10 + 10 slow zombies and 1d4 intelligent zombies
17. 1d10 + 10 slow zombies and an Awakened Sorcerer
18. 1d4 "Zombie Kings", big balls of entangled zombies rolling toward you
19. huge mass of zombies; will notice loud sounds; better gone around or tricked into leaving than fought
20. Victor Victarion and 3d4 armed robot escorts on hovercraft out surveying the area

This can also be used as a progressive 1d8 chart; the closer you are to Victarion's plantation in the Western Lands, the higher your 8 options on the chart are.

Tomorrow: below ground.
after that: 1d12 benefits of hanging with the Goblins for a week.