Big fights in roleplaying games (including the brand-new Tales of the Valiant roleplaying game) risk descending into an uninspired series of die rolls to see who hits who how many times and how hard.

Inject some strangeness into your battlefield scene by rolling 3d8 on the Battlefield Chaos Encounters table!

Roll one d8 for each column, and combine the Area, Creature, and Strange Event results with your imagination to create something unique for your campaign.

Have fun with the results you get. If a result seems incongruous, ask yourself why it could be like that and embrace the strangeness.

Battlefield Chaos Encounters

d8	Areas	Creatures	Strange Events
1	Sinkhole	Giant worm	Lightning strike
2	Large puddle	Hag	Sudden silence
3	Edge of the battle	Ancient ghost	Stench cloud
4	Allies’ rear defense	Bloodlust elemental	Message from a Celestial
5	Offensive front	Banshee	Message from a Fiend
6	Enemy’s rear defense	Celestial guardian	Sharp screech that melts metal
7	Boulder field	Chaos demon	Cold air current that corrupts wood or leather
8	Tall grove	Enemy defecting	Cone of rebellion

Areas

These are the areas where the encounter takes place.

A large sinkhole opens up on the battlefield. This could open up under the PCs or nearby within sight of the PCs. 

A large puddle divides allies from opponents who try to find ways to attack and defend around it. The water is dark, hiding its depth.

The edge of the battle is near woods or a field with only a few combatants expanding the battle to this new area.

The allies’ rear defense is the part of the battlefield where leaders plan and healers help the wounded in tents.

The offensive front is the part of the battlefield where the strongest fighters meet their opponents. The fighting here is fiercer than any other part of the battle.

The enemy’s rear defense is the part of the battlefield where enemy leaders conspire and dark magics brew new danger.

A boulder field contains many places for combatants to find cover. Some might climb to the top of boulders to fire weapons at their enemies.

A tall grove of trees offers cover as combatants fire weapons at their enemies, some shooting from treetops. 

Creatures

These are the creatures present in this encounter. Decide the number of creatures based on the numbers and levels of the PCs.

A giant worm uses stats of a purple worm, amphisbaena, or remorhaz. It explodes from the ground, swallowing a few combatants and threatening many others. If near a sinkhole or puddle, it emerges from those. If near a grove or boulders it emerges from cover, at first hidden by the obstructions.

The hag (or a coven of three) appears and offers the PCs a deal in exchange for aid. If near a rear defense area, the hag deals with a field general instead of the PCs, but within earshot of the heroes. The type of hag can change depending on the area. 

An ancient ghost emerges between two groups of combatants, or next to a troop leader if near a rear defense area. The ghost is a warrior from an ancient battle from ages past, and warns about the horrors of battle. His reaction, either attacking or fading away, depends on whether the PCs interact with or ignore him.

A bloodlust elemental has the stats of a fire elemental but deals force damage instead of fire damage. When within 5 feet of an ally, it has advantage on attacks, roaring with rage. It appears from the blood or body of a dead soldier, either in the battlefield or from a healing tent.

A banshee appears within sight of the PCs in the middle of the battle, slaying combatants from both sides with its deadly wail, moaning that death comes for all. Then it approaches the PCs.

A celestial guardian flies down from the clouds and appears in front of the PCs or a nearby field leader. The guardian uses the stat block of a solar, planetar, or deva. It attempts to convince leaders to end the fight. If ignored, the Celestial uses an area of effect like a firestorm or thunder wave on those nearby to punish them.

A chaos demon emerges from the blood on the ground. Use a stat block of a demon of appropriate CR. The demon encourages warriors of both sides, eventually siding with those who support it more. The demon uses an area of effect attack on their opponents, but then turns and attacks its allies.

The PCs encounter an enemy defecting from their side of the battle. If confronted, the warrior swears to fight for the PC’s allies, even begging for her life. If attacked, she tries to flee.

Strange Events

These actions describe what’s happening to shake up the battle.

On initiative count 0, a lightning strike hits a random PC and one current opponent. If the area is wet it does ½ damage to anyone in the area of the water. It will banish a ghost or banshee. A hag, celestial or demon has the ability to redirect the lightning in any direction they choose.

A sudden silence covers the part of the battlefield where the PCs are. A supernatural creature might control this effect. If a banshee is in the area, her wail is silenced after one round. PCs can get above the silence effect by climbing a tree or boulder. The source of this silence is mysterious, and it dissipates after 1 minute.

A stench cloud covers a 20-foot radius around the PCs (or the largest group of PCs). All in the area need to succeed on a DC 15 CON save or be poisoned.

A message from a Celestial resounds, warning against the deadly battle and encouraging a peaceful surrender. If a demon or hag is present, it is disintegrated in 1d6 rounds after hearing this message. If a banshee is present, her wail is altered to have the effect of a healing word spell. 

A message from a Fiend is carried quietly on the wind. The message encourages combatants to fight their allies. Any who hear it must succeed on a DC 15 WIS save, or attack the nearest ally for 1d6 rounds.

A sharp screech that melts metal rips through the air, rendering all metal armor and weapons within a 20-foot radius useless.

A cold air current that corrupts wood or leather blows through, rendering all leather armor or wooden weapons (GM’s choice) in a 20-foot radius useless.

A cone of rebellion appears. This invisible force forces all those in a 15-foot cone near one (random) PC to succeed on a DC 15 WIS save or switch sides in the battle.

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