Wandering Encounter Tables [Take I]

One of the first things I did in developing the Great Dungeon was to work out wandering monster charts for the first few levels. I wanted to begin with something immediately gameable that would also help flesh out what was going on with each level. Simply laying out typical encounters for each level began to suggest possible factions, and along with that potential alliances and rivalries in the Dungeon. It also began adding flavor to the levels and suggesting themes for new zones.

The resulting tables were intentionally generic: I wanted them to reflect typical representatives of various monster types; creatures that could be encountered almost anywhere in the Dungeon. So the “goblin” entry is just a vanilla 1st-level warrior goblin. Special areas or zones would get specialized encounter tables to match. So Dungmarket would have goblin guards with fighter levels, and the Statuary would have goblins with rogue levels.

Another goal was to have the average number appearing for each entry result in a 3.5e Encounter Level that matched the Dungeon Level. So 2d6+2 Tiny monstrous centipedes, Challenge Rating 1/8 each, results in an average of 9 CR 1/8 monsters, which is an EL 1 encounter. Suitable for the First Level.

Although the first iteration was built for 3.5, I looked to the Wandering Monster tables from Moldvay and Holmes, the Monster & Treasure Assortment, and Appendix C: Random Monster Encounters from the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. The composition of the upper levels, therefore, reflects Gygaxian Naturalism with plenty of mundane (but nonetheless dangerous) giant vermin. But it also reflects, as pointed out by Planet Algol, a surprisingly large number of human encounters.

Human NPC encounters immediately posed an interesting problem. Moldvay and the Monsters & Treasures Assortment have numerous encounters that consist of one or more NPCs of the same class and level. So you might run into “1 footpad” or “3 cutpurses.” This is easy to replicate in 3.5e and reflected in my tables.

The AD&D tables instead had NPC parties, that is to say mixed groups of different races and classes, along with their henchmen. In 3.5e, an NPC with levels in a PC class has a Challenge Rating equal to its character level. So a 1st-level fighter has a CR of 1. Two CR 1 monsters make for an EL 3 encounter; four make for an EL 5 encounter. Add in some henchmen with NPC classes, and a typical NPC party made up solely of 1st level characters is almost too tough to place on the First Level of the Dungeon. I do want NPC parties to represent some of the toughest encounters the PCs might face, but within reason.

Pathfinder lowers the CR of NPCs by 1, so an NPC with levels in PC classes has a CR of character level -1, while an NPC with levels in weaker NPC classes has a CR of character level -2. This is probably a more accurate rating; in 3.5e NPCs seem notoriously fragile compared with monsters of the same Challenge Rating. This helps the problem a little, but not much. My initial cut used 3.5e challenge ratings, so NPC parties didn’t appear until the Fifth Level. Subsequent playtesting has pushed them down.

In developing the monster tables, I used the Moldvay convention of applying specific species names for the various vermin and animals rather than bland descriptions. So we have “deathback spiders,” which I find more flavorful than “Tiny monstrous spider.”

As I went deeper, I first ran into the problem of having too many choices around Level Four or Five, but above Level Seven soon ran into the problem of not enough options. I initially planned to create a full 20 levels of encounter tables. But in the deeper levels most of the monsters are solitary, powerful individuals, with demons and devils being a notable exception. Maybe you could have a bunch of bone devils running around, but multiple pit fiends or balor demons? And it just seems crazy to have multiple liches on a wandering monster chart. So I ended up compressing the lowest levels to reflect a range of Challenge Ratings.

So the following illustrates one of my first attempts at developing encounter tables for the Great Dungeon of the North. In addition to the number and type of monster, I’ve also included the source. “TOH” is the great Tome of Horrors, one of my favorite 3.5e books and invaluable for developing old-school adventures.

The First Level is a largely played-out area overrun by goblins, humans, animals, and vermin. Although it is the most mundane level, it does see its share of inexplicable Dungeon weirdness.

EL 1 Encounters

Roll (%)	Encounter	Source
01–02	1 acolyte of chaos	human cleric 1
03–04	1 apprentice magic-user	human wizard 1
05–06	1 apprentice thief	human rogue 1
07–09	1d3 bandits	human expert 1
10–18	2d6+2 birdkiller centipedes	SRD, Tiny monstrous centipede
19–21	1d3 brigands	human warrior 1
22–30	1d4+1 catkiller centipedes	SRD, Small monstrous centipede
31–39	1d4 cave crickets	ToH
40–48	1d4+1 deathback spiders	SRD, Tiny monstrous spider
49–52	1d4+3 dire rats	SRD
53–55	1d3 dwarves	SRD, dwarf warrior 1
56–65	1d4+1 giant fire beetles	SRD
66–69	1d4+2 goblins	SRD, goblin warrior 1
70–73	1d4+3 kobolds	SRD, kobold warrior 1
74–75	1d4+3 mites	PGRD
76–79	1 mountain adder	SRD, Medium viper snake
80–83	1d3 piercers [hazard]	ToH
84–86	1d3 pledged	human adept 1
87–88	1 recruit	human fighter 1
89–91	1d4 skeletons	SRD, human warrior skeleton
92–95	1 swarm of blackfang spiders	SRD, spider swarm
96	1d3 tieflings	SRD, tiefling warrior 1
97	1d4 vulchings	ToH
98–100	1d3 zombies	SRD, human commoner zombie

The Second Level is full of strife, as two separate orc tribes and the hobgoblins battle for control. Fewer humans are found here, but many horrid types of vermin and animals abound.

EL 2 Encounters

Roll (%)	Encounter	Source
01–05	1 bat swarm	SRD
06–07	1d2 berserkers	human barbarian 1
08–09	1 brown mold [hazard]	SRD
10	1 cave python	SRD, constrictor snake
11	1 choker	SRD
12–26	1d4+1 crab spiders	SRD, Small monstrous spiders
27	1 dire weasel	SRD
28–42	1d4+1 dogkiller centipedes	SRD, Medium monstrous centipede
43–44	1 footpad	human rogue 2
45–49	1d4+2 hobgoblins	SRD, hobgoblin warrior 1
50	1d3 lemure devils	SRD
51	1 living statue	SRD, Medium animated object
52–53	1 medium	human wizard 2
54–55	1 mountain rattler	SRD, Large viper snake
56–57	1 novitiate	human cleric 2
58–62	1d3+1 orcs	SRD, orc warior 1
63	1 quasit demon	SRD
64–68	1 rat swarm	SRD
69–83	1d3 shriekers	SRD
84–98	1d3+1 stirges	SRD
99–100	1 veteran	human fighter 2

The hobgoblins maintain a redoubt on the Third Level, which is also home to ghouls and gnolls. On this level the Dungeon weirdness really begins to ramp up, as the waking world begins to give way to the Mythic Underworld.

EL 3 Encounters

Roll (%)	Encounter	Source
01	1 allip	SRD
02	1 ethereal filcher	SRD
03	1 ethereal marauder	SRD
04–09	1 gelatinous cube	SRD
10–15	1d3+1 ghouls	SRD
16–21	1 giant cave rattler	SRD, Huge viper snake
22	1 giant living statue	SRD, Large animated object
23–28	1d2 giant lizards	SRD, monitor lizard
29–34	1d3+1 giant ticks	ToH
35–49	1d4+1 giant trapdoor spiders	SRD, Medium monstrous spider
50–55	1d4+1 giant worker ants	SRD
56–61	1d4+1 gnolls	SRD
62	1d2 imp devils	SRD
63–77	1d4+1 mulekiller centipedes	SRD, Large monstrous centipede
78	1 phantom fungus	SRD
79–80	1 robber	human rogue 3
81–82	1 seer	human wizard 3
83–84	1d6 skulks	ToH
85–86	1 slithering tracker	ToH
87–88	1 stunjelly	ToH
89–90	1 swordsmaster	human fighter 3
91–96	1d4+1 troglodytes	SRD
97–98	1 underpriest of chaos	human cleric 3
99–100	1d4 wolf skeletons	SRD