This relates to:
"Flexible Progression: This technique is when you present options to the player and if they do not pick the option you need, you simply continue with an alternate result. You activate the event or choice you want to occur when they do finally make the selection you desire. "
So one of my groups had an overland journey through several different areas. I created a short random encounter list with "seeds" of ideas (not fully fleshed out). (I redacted information that could be relevant later)
The core thing with monster/npc encounters is motivation/mood - I didn't put anything for the desert giants or defilers since I assumed they were hostile. For the frost giants I did decide they were cautious up front. Sometimes I will decide in the moment what their position is, once you "become" that character it usually feels pretty natural.
Random encounter (Desert)
- Desert Giants
- Accursed Defilers
- Orc Rebels fighting against the drow (ettin leader)
- An orc camp that’s been set on fire (loot, bodies of orcs and drow)
- A old, evil tree - knows of (Redacted)
- A dwarven shrine (necromantic energy - possessed by spirits (mallaqui)
Random encounters (Drow Occupied Orc Fortress)
- (Redacted) researchers are enslaved, ask for help
- Drunken orcs in furs are arguing over moonshine, want an opinion on the flavor
- An orc slave escaped from the experiment pits, has a slaad in him (drow want him back)
- Myconids being escorted (they’re going to be sold as slaves) - one know a secret
- Shrine maiden carrying (Redacted) to a shrine of lloth
- Couple traders, stuck in lowfort, hoping they can travel soon - gambling.
Random Encounter (mountains)
- Frost Giants - wandering raiding party - cautious
- Ravenous Rhemorazzes (fight through crevaces
- An Pillar, shaped like a Cabiri, that's oracular and will answer three questions
- A destroyed ley line place.. Leaky magic - wild magic effect.
- A ruin - Mallaqui, trying to summon (redacted) (good terrain, stop the ritual)
- Tracks leading to old, broken dam - armored warrior body
In the desert travel, I rolled for weather affecting travel (this was already in DMG) and managed two encounters (10% chance per roll, 5 rolls per day)
Team hit the orc camp, but didn't waste time, and then found the orc rebels on the following day, incidentally they weren't the same group as the camp.
The team didn't want to engage, but I decided to push the encounter since they weren't necessarily hostile.
From there, the encounter evolved:
The paladin misinterpreted what one NPC said about their leader, thinking that the leader was her sworn enemy (a two headed dragon) when it was just an Ettin. The Ettin as an orc leader had been established two years back but it was a piece of trivia I didn't expect anyone to remember. I could have done some Illusionism there, and suddenly made the orc encounter much more dangerous.
Where things got interesting was when I remembered a plot point of one of the characters carrying seared orc flesh (for cooking). One of the Ogres in the orc camp noticed and got the Ettin leader.
That's when I went for the Illusionism and moved an encounter I had in mind from later, to the present.
One of the PC's had a plot point where they were trying to get an orc village to surrender to their enemies (to lower casualities on both sides) and was unable to convince the NPC orc leader, and wound up thrown in jail.
I decided to bring in that orc leader. In my mind, that encounter was likely to happen, but I had placed the orc leader in the Orc Fortress. Note that it actually wasn't on the random encounter list for the orc fortress. The Illusionism was moving the encounter. Same time, the PC having to own up to failure they had in the past was cited as a good character building experience.
I also accidentally moved an encounter from the desert list to the mountains list, but it worked out fine.
Normally, this is why I leave the details open ended, and don't worry about revealing possible encounters that didn't happen - the core ideas can get recycled later.
I do feel a little odd about pushing the NPC encounter in the way I did, but end of the day it worked out. I generally wouldn't do it though.
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