Wilderness Encounters

This section provides encounter tables by terrain type, using the standard monsters. Referees who are using additional (or alternative) monsters should either adapt the tables to include these, or should create their own encounter tables.

How to Roll an Encounter

Roll 1d8 and 1d12:

• Look up the d8 result on the column in the table below that corresponds to the terrain being explored. The result indicates which sub-table to consult.
• Look up the d12 result in the sub-table indicated.

Notes

Aerial encounters: Always use the Flyer table, in sub-table 1.

Lost World: In Lost World or prehistoric settings, any Animal result may be rolled on the Prehistoric Animal table, in sub-table 2.

NPC adventurers: Encounters with NPC adventuring parties are listed in the tables as “Basic Adventurers”, “Expert Adventurers”, “High-Level Cleric”, “High-Level Fighter”, or “High-Level Magic-User”. Guidelines for generating NPC adventurers can be found under Adventuring Parties.

Wilderness Encounter By Terrain

Wilderness Encounter By Terrain

d8	Barren, Hills, Mountains	City	Clear, Grasslands	Desert	Forest
1	B - Animal	C - Human	G - Animal	D - Animal	F - Animal
2	1 - Dragon	C - Human	G - Animal	D - Animal	F - Animal
3	1 - Dragon	C - Human	1 - Dragon	1 - Dragon	1 - Dragon
4	B - Flyer	C - Human	1 - Flyer	D - Flyer	1 - Flyer
5	B - Human	C - Human	G - Human	D - Human	F - Human
6	B - Humanoid	C - Human	G - Humanoid	D - Human	F - Humanoid
7	B - Humanoid	C - Humanoid	1 - Insect	D - Humanoid	1 - Insect
8	2 - Unusual	2 - Undead	2 - Unusual	2 - Undead	2 - Unusual
d8	Jungle	Lake, River	Ocean, Sea	Settled	Swamp
1	J - Animal	L - Animal	1 - Dragon	C - Animal	1 - Dragon
2	J - Animal	1 - Dragon	1 - Flyer	1 - Dragon	1 - Flyer
3	1 - Dragon	1 - Flyer	O - Human	1 - Flyer	S - Human
4	1 - Flyer	L - Human	O - Swimmer	C - Human	S - Humanoid
5	J - Human	L - Humanoid	O - Swimmer	C - Human	1 - Insect
6	J - Humanoid	1 - Insect	O - Swimmer	C - Human	S - Swimmer
7	1 - Insect	L - Swimmer	O - Swimmer	C - Humanoid	2 - Undead
8	1 - Insect	L - Swimmer	O - Swimmer	1 - Insect	2 - Undead

Sub-Table 1

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table 1

d12	Dragon	Flyer	Insect
1	Chimera	Cockatrice	Beetle, Fire
2	Dragon, Black	Gargoyle	Beetle, Oil
3	Dragon, Blue	Griffon	Beetle, Tiger
4	Dragon, Gold	Hawk, Giant	Driver Ant
5	Dragon, Green	Hippogriff	Driver Ant
6	Dragon, Red	Killer Bee	Killer Bee
7	Dragon, White	Pegasus	Rhagodessa
8	Hydra (or Sea Hydra)	Pixie	Robber Fly
9	Hydra (or Sea Hydra)	Robber Fly	Scorpion, Giant
10	Wyvern	Roc, Small	Spider, Black Widow
11	Basilisk*	Sprite	Spider, Crab
12	Salamander*	Stirge	Spider, Tarantella

* Re-roll at sea.

Sub-Table 2

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table 2

d12	Prehistoric Animal	Undead	Unusual
1	Bear, Cave	Ghoul	Basilisk
2	Cat, Sabre-Toothed	Ghoul	Blink Dog
3	Crocodile, Giant	Ghoul	Centaur
4	Mastodon	Mummy	Gorgon
5	Pterosaur, Pteranodon	Skeleton	Lycanthrope, Werebear
6	Rhino, Woolly	Skeleton	Lycanthrope, Wereboar
7	Snake, Pit Viper	Spectre	Lycanthrope, Wererat
8	Stegosaurus	Wight	Lycanthrope, Weretiger
9	Titanothere	Wraith	Lycanthrope, Werewolf
10	Triceratops	Vampire	Medusa
11	Tyrannosaurus Rex	Zombie	Treant
12	Wolf, Dire	Zombie	Warp Beast

Sub-Table B: Barren, Hills, Mountains

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table B: Barren, Hills, Mountains

d12	Animal	Flyer	Human	Humanoid
1	Ape, White	Gargoyle	Bandit	Dwarf
2	Ape, White	Griffon	Berserker	Giant, Cloud
3	Bear, Cave	Harpy	Berserker	Giant, Frost
4	Cat, Mountain Lion	Hawk	Brigand	Giant, Hill
5	Hawk	Hawk, Giant	Brigand	Giant, Stone
6	Herd Animal	Hippogriff	Expert Adventurers	Giant, Storm
7	Mule	Manticore	High-Level Cleric	Gnome
8	Rock Baboon	Manticore	High-Level Fighter	Goblin
9	Snake, Pit Viper	Pegasus	High-Level Magic-User	Kobold
10	Snake, Rattler	Roc, Small	Merchant	Orc
11	Wolf	Roc, Large	Neanderthal	Troglodyte
12	Wolf, Dire	Roc, Giant	Neanderthal	Troll

Sub-Table C: City, Settled

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table C: City, Settled

d12	Animal	Human, City	Human, Settled	Humanoid
1	Boar	Acolyte	Acolyte	Dwarf
2	Cat, Tiger	Basic Adventurers	Basic Adventurers	Elf
3	Ferret, Giant	Bandit	Bandit	Giant, Hill
4	Hawk	Bandit	Bandit	Gnome
5	Herd Animal	Expert Adventurers	Expert Adventurers	Gnoll
6	Herd Animal	High-Level Fighter	High-Level Cleric	Goblin
7	Rat, Giant	Merchant	High-Level Fighter	Halfling
8	Shrew, Giant	Noble	High-Level Magic-User	Hobgoblin
9	Snake, Pit Viper	Trader	Merchant	Ogre
10	Spider, Tarantella	Trader	Noble	Orc
11	Weasel, Giant	Trader	Trader	Pixie
12	Wolf	Veteran	Veteran	Sprite

Sub-Table D: Desert

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table D: Desert

d12	Animal	Flyer	Human	Humanoid
1	Camel	Gargoyle	Expert Adventurers	Giant, Fire
2	Camel	Gargoyle	High-Level Cleric	Goblin
3	Cat, Lion	Griffon	Dervish	Hobgoblin
4	Cat, Lion	Hawk	Dervish	Hobgoblin
5	Hawk	Hawk, Giant	High-Level Fighter	Ogre
6	Herd Animal	Hawk, Giant	High-Level Magic-User	Ogre
7	Herd Animal	Manticore	Merchant	Ogre
8	Lizard, Gecko	Manticore	Noble	Orc
9	Lizard, Tuatara	Manticore	Nomad	Orc
10	Snake, Pit Viper	Roc, Small	Nomad	Pixie
11	Snake, Rattler	Roc, Large	Nomad	Sprite
12	Spider, Tarantella	Roc, Giant	Nomad	Thoul

Sub-Table F: Forest

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table F: Forest

d12	Animal	Human	Humanoid
1	Boar	Basic Adventurers	Bugbear
2	Cat, Panther	Bandit	Cyclops
3	Cat, Tiger	Bandit	Dryad
4	Hawk	Berserker	Elf
5	Herd Animal	Brigand	Giant, Hill
6	Lizard, Gecko	Brigand	Gnoll
7	Lizard, Tuatara	Brigand	Goblin
8	Snake, Pit Viper	Expert Adventurers	Hobgoblin
9	Spider, Crab	High-Level Cleric	Ogre
10	Unicorn	High-Level Fighter	Orc
11	Wolf	High-Level Magic-User	Thoul
12	Wolf, Dire	Merchant	Troll

Sub-Table G: Clear, Grasslands

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table G: Clear, Grasslands

d12	Animal	Human	Humanoid
1	Boar	Bandit	Bugbear
2	Cat, Lion	Bandit	Elf
3	Elephant	Berserker	Giant, Hill
4	Ferret, Giant	Brigand	Gnoll
5	Hawk, Giant	Expert Adventurers	Goblin
6	Herd Animal	High-Level Cleric	Halfling
7	Horse, Wild	High-Level Fighter	Hobgoblin
8	Mule	High-Level Magic-User	Ogre
9	Rock Baboon	Merchant	Orc
10	Snake, Pit Viper	Merchant	Pixie
11	Snake, Rattler	Noble	Thoul
12	Weasel, Giant	Nomad	Troll

Sub-Table J: Jungle

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table J: Jungle

d12	Animal	Human	Humanoid
1	Boar	Bandit	Bugbear
2	Cat, Panther	Berserker	Cyclops
3	Herd Animal	Brigand	Elf
4	Lizard, Draco	Brigand	Giant, Fire
5	Lizard, Gecko	Brigand	Giant, Hill
6	Lizard, Horned Chameleon	Expert Adventurers	Gnoll
7	Rat, Giant	Expert Adventurers	Goblin
8	Shrew, Giant	High-Level Cleric	Lizard Man
9	Snake, Pit Viper	High-Level Fighter	Ogre
10	Snake, Rock Python	High-Level Magic-User	Orc
11	Snake, Spitting Cobra	Merchant	Troglodyte
12	Spider, Crab	Neanderthal	Troll

Sub-Table L: Lake, River

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table L: Lake, River

d12	Animal	Human	Humanoid	Swimmer
1	Boar	Basic Adventurers	Bugbear	Crab, Giant
2	Cat, Panther	Bandit	Elf	Crocodile
3	Cat, Tiger	Brigand	Gnoll	Crocodile
4	Crab, Giant	Buccaneer	Hobgoblin	Crocodile, Large
5	Crocodile	Buccaneer	Lizard Man	Fish, Catfish
6	Crocodile, Large	Buccaneer	Lizard Man	Fish, Piranha
7	Fish, Piranha	Expert Adventurers	Nixie	Fish, Sturgeon
8	Herd Animal	High-Level Cleric	Ogre	Leech, Giant
9	Leech, Giant	High-Level Fighter	Orc	Lizard Man
10	Rat, Giant	High-Level Magic-User	Sprite	Merman
11	Shrew, Giant	Merchant	Thoul	Nixie
12	Toad, Giant	Merchant	Troll	Termite, Water

Sub-Table O: Ocean, Sea

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table O: Ocean, Sea

d12	Human	Swimmer
1	Buccaneer	Dragon Turtle
2	Buccaneer	Hydra, Sea
3	Expert Adventurers	Merman
4	Merchant	Octopus, Giant
5	Merchant	Sea Dragon
6	Merchant	Sea Serpent
7	Merchant	Shark
8	Merchant	Shark
9	Pirate	Snake, Sea
10	Pirate	Squid, Giant
11	Pirate	Termite, Water
12	Pirate	Whale

Sub-Table S: Swamp

Wilderness Encounter Sub-Table S: Swamp

d12	Human	Humanoid	Swimmer
1	Basic Adventurers	Gnoll	Crab, Giant
2	Bandit	Goblin	Crocodile
3	Bandit	Hobgoblin	Crocodile, Large
4	Berserker	Lizard Man	Crocodile, Giant
5	Brigand	Lizard Man	Fish, Catfish
6	Expert Adventurers	Lizard Man	Insect Swarm
7	Expert Adventurers	Nixie	Insect Swarm
8	High-Level Cleric	Ogre	Leech, Giant
9	High-Level Fighter	Orc	Leech, Giant
10	High-Level Magic-User	Troglodyte	Lizard Man
11	Merchant	Troll	Lizard Man
12	Trader	Troll	Termite, Water