Posts by Sarah Madsen

Coastal/Ocean 2d20 Encounter 2 2d4 sahuagin (75%) or 2d4 sahuagin in the company of a yavalnoi (25%, see Tome of Beasts 2). 3 Tide pools filled with a riot of marine life, including hermit crabs, sea stars, tiny fish, and a purple slime (see Creature Codex). 4 2 kelp drakes (see Tome of Beasts 2), […]

TUNDRA 2d20 Encounter 2 2d8 ice mephits causing harm and misery for the pure enjoyment of it. 3 2d4 hungry roggenwolves (see Creature Codex), surrounding the party in hunting formation. 4 A glacial behemoth (see Tome of Beasts 2), a dire threat to nearly any party. 5 1d4 + 4 kamaitachi (see Tome of Beasts

UNDERWORLD 2d20 Encounter 2 A rogue pale screamer (see Tome of Beasts 2), pulling itself from a slow-moving subterranean river. 3 1d4 + 2 basilisks are roused from their slumber by the encroaching party. 4 A dark lake stretches out across a portion of the cave, and 2d4 cavefish zombies (see Tome of Beasts 2)

Desert or Wasteland 2d20 Encounter 2 An ammut (see Creature Codex) pursuing an accursed defiler (see Tome of Beasts). 3 5 + 2d4 subek (see Tome of Beasts) alongside a riverbed. They are either friendly, if the waters are low (75%), or in the aggressive throes of flood fever if it is the rainy season

Cities 2d20 Encounter 2 A servant of the vine elf (see Creature Codex) drinking at the local tavern, night after night. He isn’t a problem immediately, but the longer he is there, the more unhappy the townsfolk become. 3 2d4 bandits (75%) or 2d4 bandits and a bandit captain, emerging from the shadows to shake

Swamp/Marsh/Bog 2d20 Encounter 2 1d4+1 viirets (see Tome of Beasts 2), feasting on a diseased tree. They are not aggressive to the party unless attacked—but if a party member is currently suffering from disease of any kind, the viirets target them. 3 A mass of 2d4 putrid haunts (see Tome of Beasts) lying in the

Jungle/Rain Forest 2d20 Encounter 2 1d4 death butterfly swarms (75%)or 1d4 greater death butterfly swarms (25%) (see Tome of Beasts). 3 A placid pond, laced with vines and fallen branches. A bukavac (see Tome of Beasts) waits within with nothing but its eyes and horns visible above the water. 4 Several strangely lifelike statues are

Ruins 2d20 Encounter 2 1 medusa guarding her lair 3 2d6 clockwork beetles (75%) or 2d4 clockwork beetle swarms (25%) (see Tome of Beasts) pouring out of cracks in the walls 4 A mummy, awakened from its slumber 5 A lawful good fane spirit being pursued by a fleshspurned (see Tome of Beasts 2) 6

Jungle 1d10 Challenge/Encounter 1 A giant ape, watching the party from the canopy. 2 Two awakened shrubs and an awakened tree, or one shambling mound, unhappy at the intrusion.  3 Overgrown Path. The vines and vegetation have overtaken the path. The PCs must succeed a DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check in order to continue in

Desert/Waste d10 Challenge/Encounter 1 A curious fennec fox (see Tome of Beasts 2) that, if fed or otherwise treated kindly, leads the party to a small, buried cache of treasure concealing 50 gp and a gold-and-emerald ring. If the fox is attacked, 2d6 additional fennec foxes arrive and attack the party. 2 Quicksand: The ground

Mountains 1d10 Challenge/Encounter 1 2 hill giants hurling stones and yelling insults. 2 2d4 bereginyas (see Tome of Beasts) eager to inflict harm. 3 Avalanche/Landslide. A rumbling sound is the only warning before a mass of snow and/or rock hurtles down the mountainside. All creatures must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a

1d100 Mildly Magical Curios 1–2 A thin silver ring with a round center stone that you can change the color of by rotating the ring around your finger once 3–5 A linen shirt that never needs to be ironed 6–7 A felted brown toy goat that bleats when squeezed 8–10 A black top hat that,

1d20 Smell 1 Moldy 2 Dank 3 Dusty 4 Rotten 5 Decay 6 Ashy 7 Fresh 8 Clean 9 Earthy 10 Sickly sweet 11 Fragrant 12 Floral 13 Burnt 14 Acrid 15 Metallic 16 Grassy 17 Smokey 18 Musty 19 Tangy 20 Sulfur 1d20 Sounds 1 Dripping 2 Shrieking 3 Trickling 4 Grinding 5 Clattering

A GM’s work is never done, so to make things easier on you, we’re providing a series of tables to help you flesh out your encounters, your adventures—your world. This table provides 33 unique environmental encounters… not encounters of the combat sort but strange, wonderous, or disturbing things for your adventurers to happen upon while,

A GM’s work is never done, so to make things easier on you, we’re providing a series of tables to help you flesh out your encounters, adventures—your world. In this round of Dungeon Tables, we present to you Instant Town! Simply roll on the charts below to create a settlement from the ground up. Then after