Travel Dice

One thing that slows the pace of any TTRPG, as well as breaking immersion, is travelling. It's either boring, or doesn't happen at all and the party just teleport there. To change this up, roll a travel dice (or a few, for longer journeys) to see what happens along the road! A travel dice is just a d20, select a member of your party to roll. These are designed to be less challenging and just a bit of fun, but if you want to buff enemies to make them a little stronger, especially for encounters like #13, then totally go for it.
All of these events happen in a bubble, with a long rest having happened before and after so players can go wild with abilities and spells.
The list of what happens is as follows:

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4 : The party will spot a lone horse on the road. Upon inspection, is has a few slashes across its back and its reigns seem to have been cut loose. The horse is very scared of the party, and a animal handling roll of 15 or above will be needed to befriend it, or some food. If the animal handling roll is below five, the horse will be spooked and run off, ending the encounter. If the horse is befriended, it will try to lead the party to a clearing in a forest about 20 minutes away from where they found the horse. In the clearing, three 5e bandits are sat around an upturned caravan, rummaging through the possessions. Tied up next to the wagon are a small family of three - two parents and a child. If they are rescued, the family will thank the party but sadly say they have nothing to offer in return other than a homecooked meal. This meal will grant the party a +5 temporary HP on top of their max hp. This HP cannot be healed when lost, and acts as a buffer.

5 : A wagon is broken down along the main road and as the party draw near two merchants ask for aid. One of the wheels is stuck in a patch of Slipstone, a quicksand like material that quickly sets to solid stone. The party can ignore them, try to fix the wagon, or help transport them to the nearest town. If they walk them to a town, they add a lot of time to their journey becoming exhausted, having disadvantage on their next constitution saving throw. Either way, if the party help the merchants they will thank them with 500G each, as well as any item of their choosing from their stock. For this loot pool, I would use the Gear section from Kaufmanns shop, minus the Maximum Health Potion.

6 : The party discover a sleeping Mimic upon the road. If woken up, it will attack. The Mimic has an AC of 0, but unlimited health. After five turns, count up how much damage is dealt to the Mimic. If between 1-10, the Mimic will drop a d4 fortune crystal for each member of the party, 11-20 a d6, 21-30 a d8, 31- 40 a d10, 41-50 a d12, and 50+ a d20. The Mimic will fight back, with a single projectile attack of throwing molten gold that has a +4 to hit and deals 1d8 fire damage, which it can use twice on its turn. After these five turns, the mimic will run away into the wilds.

7 : The party come across a chain of caravans lead by three figures with skull looking masks. They are transporting rare animals from across the Continent to The Hollow Colosseum in the Bonelands. The party will witness one of the masked figures mistreating a scared looking Slugdrake, a gooey dragon from Chiton. If the party attempt to help the animals, the three figures will become actively aggressive and fight them, having the stats of 5e Bandits. If freed, the creatures will bow their heads to the party and run off to the wilds.

8 : The party encounter a fast flowing river blocking their way. They can either attempt to cross the river, or walk around it. If they walk around it, they add a lot of time to their journey becoming exhausted, having disadvantage on their next constitution saving throw.

9 : The party find a forgotten shrine to Leniviir along their travels. Any Dark aligned character who touches this shrine will have advantage on their next three rolls, and any Light aligned character who touches this shrine will have disadvantage on their next three rolls.

10 : The party arrive at their destination with nothing of note happening along the road.

11 : The party find a forgotten shrine to Vertira along their travels. Any Light aligned character who touches this shrine will have advantage on their next three rolls, and any Dark aligned character who touches this shrine will have disadvantage on their next three rolls.

12 : The party hear an enchanting duet coming from the thick trees along the road. If they investigate they will find two battling Songweavers, a sect of monks from Chiton who battle with their voices as well as weapons. They are engaging in a duel, one having wronged the other, and upon the party arriving they will ask for them to settle the dispute as to who one. The Weaver on the left is impeccable with their Glaive, but some of their notes are wobbly and off key. The Weaver on the right has an angelic voice but is shaky with their sword, and cuts line their shell. No matter who is chosen, they are gracious in defeat and listen to the audience over their pride.
If the party choose the left Weaver, the fighter, they will thank the audience by gifting them with a Songweaver dagger.
If the party choose the right Weaver, the singer, they will thank the audience by gifting them with a musicbox playing the song they sang.

13 : The party see a wagon piled high with bodies being transported by a masked figure ahead on the road. If they get too close, the Plague Doctor will ask them to come closer to help, complaining that the wagon has broken down. If they get within 6ft, the Doctor will attempt to grab the closest party member through a strength contest. If the Doctor wins, they will cackle about "another body for the wagon" and the party member will take 1d6 poison damage per round until let go. The Doctor has an AC of 14 and a HP of 25. With their spare hand, the Doctor will begin to cast a reanimation spell which takes three full turns to complete. As this happens, the bodies begin to twitch more and more violently per round. If the Doctor completes their spell, five zombies (5e Zombies but with only 15HP) will crawl from the wagon and begin to fight along side the Doctor. The Doctor will continue using this spell until all 20 zombies have left the wagon. When defeated the Doctor will have 250G for each member of the party in his coat.

14 : The party spot a lone horse on the road. Its black mane is overgrown and unkempt, and its hooves are cracked and damaged. Upon the party approaching, it will back slowly away from them. If anyone attempt to touch the horse its mane will entangle itself around their arm. Any attempts at cutting the hair will be met with it regrowing thicker. The horse will begin to back slowly into the woods or nearby thicket, dragging the person who is stuck with them to a nearby lake. If the party attack the horse, it has an AC of 9 and HP of 30, and on its turn will let out a horrifying screech dealing 1d10 necrotic damage to anyone who fails a wisdom saving roll of 14. The horse will take 4 turns to drag the person into the lake, and upon turn five they will have to make a constitution saving throw of 17 or take 2d20 crushing damage from drowning. Upon death, the horse will dissipate into strands of black hair upon the wind. Left behind will be two glass eyes, which when thrown with force at the ground will let out the same shriek as the kelpie and have the same effect upon all enemies.

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