Encounters

Encounters Overview

Encounters, random or planned, are always a point of concern for GMs. An easy encounter is often treated as a speed bump, while a very difficult one often sends PCs to an early death. Balancing encounters is a difficult task. Even the best planned and thought-out encounters are based on dice rolls, and the outcome can vary greatly. There are no shot-cuts to easy and balanced encounters for any situation – Experience is the best teacher. With that said, here are some things to consider to make a difficult process a bit easier.

A suggested standard encounter roll is a 1 on a d12 (8.3% chance) - an equal chance for positive or hostile encounters. Typically, a roll of a 6 on a d12 results in a Weather encounter; rain, fog, and thunderstorms are the most common results. A roll of a 12 on a d12 results in a storyline/planned encounter that enhances plot elements. In the latter case, the encounter need not be a monster. Clues, helpful NPCs, and or the aftermath of a battle can be just as important.

Random Encounters: these encounters are not planned and often occur when PCs are traveling from one location to another. Often these encounters are time based. The GM should keep a mental note regarding how much time has passed in the game and make (or allow the players to make) encounter rolls. The length of time between rolls is up to the GM; here are some guidelines.

Weather – bad weather makes for a memorable journey. Rain, strong winds, blizzards, and even blistering heat waves can and should be part of any story. A rainy day could stop the adventures from traveling as trails become a muddy mess. Heat waves could spell disaster on the wildlife in the area resulting in dead creature along the way. A blizzard would be very difficult to navigate resulting in the PCs getting lost.

City Encounters – once every 12 hours unless the players are drudging through the sewers or catacombs. Breaking them up into Day and Night encounters makes things easier to remember. Although elaborate charts and encounter lists can be used here, experience works best. The GM should have a feel for the city, its inhabitants, their generalized alignment, and habits. Not all encounters are combat encounters, especially in cities with guard patrols and checkpoints. Political encounters can be very fun.

Rural Encounters – again once every 12 hours, Day and Night encounters are best. Often PCs are camped in tents and set up a guard rotation for nighttime encounters. In these cases, rolling a D12 or D8 for when the encounter occurs during the night will be helpful in determining which PC is on guard duty. Again, the type of encounter is left up to the GM. Keep in mind that sleeping PCs will not typically have access to their armor when waking up to deal with a threat. Again, not all encounters are combat encounters. A farmer and his family traveling to the city may wish to share a campfire with the PCs. He may even offer some of his goods as thanks for the protection the PCs provide through the night.

Wilderness Encounters – unpatrolled wild areas are often teaming with wildlife. An encounter once every 8 hours is recommended. Natural animals hunting, especially during early morning and dusk, are common. If the PCs are camping inside the confines of the territorial monster’s domain, this could be an encounter. Migrating wildlife, marauding orcs, or hunting manticores flying above are all possibilities. These encounters should be dynamic with varied creatures and situations. Danger in the open wilderness is at a higher level, that is why most people remain in populated patrolled areas. Out here anything goes.

As a general rule, if dice are to be rolled, 1 one on a D12 typically should equate a weather encounter regardless of terrain. A 6 on a D12 should equate a natural creature or monster encounter, and a 12 should be a situational encounter (an opening for a side quest, a burning wagon after a raid, or unexpected tunnels leading underground), something to investigate.

Planned Encounters: This aspect, after all, is the core of the role-playing game. Encounters, not necessarily bad ones, are what PCs have to interact with – they are woven together to form a campaign. Often it involves combat, but good roleplay situations should be thrown in as well to keep the players guessing. Players tend to catch on quickly and prepare for battle each time an encounter is rolled. A planned encounter is not something that necessarily tips off the players that something is going to happen.

GM's Perspective

Viewpoint of the Opposition: NPC, animals, and monsters are not just waiting around for the PCs to enact an encounter. They have their lives to live. The PCs are probably an encounter for them as well. That said, try to set up realistic settings, points of view, and a reason for antagonists to exist in the fantasy world. An orc camp that has run into hard times needs food and slaves to maintain operations, and a dragon that has just awakened after a 30-year rest is hungry and wants to add to its hoard are possible considerations. Every creature should have a purpose, a way to maintain its lifestyle, and a motivation to survive. Setting up encounters without such consideration is just plain lazy and ultimately counterproductive, as the PCs will jump from one encounter to another for treasure, magical items, and experience points – not the underlying story, which is the most important part of roleplaying.

Gauging the functionality of a Party: in other fantasy games, a level structure exists to provide a relative scale of power levels. In Point System Gaming, these lines are vague. The tier system can be used to provide a rough idea of player to NPC/monster power ratings. The creature catalog will have some variance as creatures are rated from Tier-0 (wimps, less than 50 exps values) to Tier-7 (4000+ exp values), just short of immortal power entities. Gauging the PC group is the hard part of the equation. Spellcasters and Psionic users are easier to gauge as their powers are based on a tier structure, warriors and rogues are harder as they can pick and choose abilities across the spectrum. The best way to gauge the effectiveness of a group is to obtain the AVERAGE total experience given out, and make sure the opposition is close to those totals (average or even difficulty). That could be a hundred orcs or a single dragon, again nothing replaces GM intuition.

Good GMs will not necessarily attack with the ‘full boat’ of creatures against a party right off the bat. A larger bulk of the creatures can be used to ‘test’ the encounter, with reinforcements arriving later in the contest to either add difficulty or turn an easy encounter into a memorable one. Further, most creatures, especially humanoid ones, don’t want to die and rarely fight to the death. Moral checks in combat are important as most creatures will turn tail and flee when things are not going their way. Experience points for an encounter, should not be based on the actual number of ‘beasties’ killed, but the actual number encountered. Thus, if a portion of the beasties flee, the party should still gain the full amount of experience for the encounter they DEFEATED. Loot and treasure can be minimized based on the creatures dispatched. Leaders, masterminds, and manipulators of a given opposing encounter are probably the most intelligent and will be able to assess the odds of victory better than the minions – they will most likely be the first to flee or order a retreat. Better to lose an encounter than die. Those that flee can gain reinforcements and come back with a vengeance in the future.

Morale

Morale Checks: When to make a morale check is as important as who/what makes it. As a general rule, the Standard Morale Roll is 2d10s. Rolling high equals superior courage in the face of danger. Where the creature/group must roll 11 or above to remain engaged. As stated above, the GM makes these calls and should have a good feel for the courage, or lack thereof, based on the beasties fielded and the motivation(s) that are driving them. A cougar hunting for its morning meal will typically not risk its life for food, but if the PCs are lurking/camping near its lair, where young may exist, a fight to the death may be in order. Therefore, motivation becomes a big part of morale checks. A GM can add or subtract +/-1 to 3 based on motivation. A moral check is automatically made when opponents suffer at least 60% damage or have 60% of the attacking/defending troop fall.

When dealing with humanoid encounters, the GM should have an idea of what the attackers want to achieve. A scouting band of 12 orcs may be out hunting or looking for an opportunity to ambush travelers; this would be standard. Their goal would be to obtain loot, food, slaves, or all three. Numbers matter; said 12 orcs may be willing to attack a group of 5-6 adventurers but not a heavenly armed patrol of 20 guardsmen. If a sub-chief leads the 12 orcs, then things get a bit more complex as he will grant bonuses to the group, barking out orders and using tactics on the battlefield. Regardless of race, each leader type will add a +1 bonus to the morale check while it is still ALIVE. Should the leader die or fall, that is grounds for an automatic morale check. Multiple leaders offer multiple bonuses but also provide multiple morale checks should they go down.

Large groups with multiple leaders need not fold entirely based on one poor morale check. If three bands of orcs (12 each) with sub-chiefs commanding them are attacking a town under the direction of an orc chief and a shaman, that entire group would have a base +5 to their morale check off the top based on the number of leaders. If one sub-chief were to fall, only the group of 12 orcs he is leading would be subjected to a possible failed morale check. The orc chief, seeing the fleeing orcs, can attempt to rally them and get them back into the battle before they vacate the battlefield.

Magic or psionic individuals, often hidden, can also provide additional bonuses that the adventurers cannot see. Flashy spells cast by an orc shaman can inspire orcs, while a psionist can mentally immobilize charging foes. Again, the GM can grant bonuses as he/she sees fit for such circumstances. Further, there is the factor of terrain advantage. Orcs in ambush would gain bonuses to attack unsuspecting targets. This is a favored tactic of lesser races, such as goblins and kobolds, who are not personally strong in personal combat. Finally, there can be bonuses for creatures defending their ‘territory’ from invaders. Call it the home turf factor. This can apply to territorial animals, monsters, and even dragons.

Mass Combat Morale: sometimes, PCs are given the opportunity to lead troops. In these cases, morale checks are made for those under their command and generally follow the guidelines stated above. The leader (the PC) rolls morale for his troop, and he rolls his Charisma + D10 + bonuses. Further, an automatic +1 is granted because he is the leader of the troop. Some talents, enhancements, and skills can add bonuses that are not available to beasties. Morale checks should also open Role-play opportunities for PCs to rally their troops. Role-play bonuses should not exceed a +3 for exceptional courage in most cases.

Results of a Failed Morale Check: A failed morale check means that the group turns tail and runs away. Some wimpy creatures (25%) may drop weapons, gear, and prisoners in hand, but most militaristic races or those with some training will not discard a weapon or shield. A routed group will automatically incur a free attack of opportunity in melee as they turn tail and run. Range attacks can be applied until such time as the routed enemy is out of range. Typically, the Armor Class and PDR of the routed enemy are NOT affected.

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