City Encounter Locations for Dungeons and Dragons 5e
Urban Encounter Locations

City Encounter Locations for Dungeons and Dragons 5e

Duncan Thomson
"Artfully tended ivy grows on an artisan's workshop. Wards protect the area and gnomish devices protrude from holes in the roof. "

Tables for Wilderness, Semi-Civilised and Unusual Urban locations. Result is from Urban Unusual Locations.

Locations by terrain - arctic | coastal | desert | forest | grassland | hill |  mountain | swamp | underdark | underwater | urban

[Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash]

Urban Encounter Locations

Urban terrain are the towns and cities of fantasy worlds. Narrow twisting streets, parks with boating ponds, crumbling neglected slums, towering walls and raucous taverns.

There is a 5e Urban random encounter generator at ChaosGen.  And a separate tool for encounter locations including Urban.

There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Urban Encounters.

Ruins Encounters Random Tables on DM's Guild Ruins Encounters Random Tables on DM's Guild

Urban Tables - encounters | locations | non-combat | enhancements

Urban Outdoor Locations

d8+d12 Urban Outdoor Locations
2 A line of statues surrounded by a thorny hedge (beside a foul-smelling canal)
3 A bed of white flowers and a metal statue (nearby is a patch of bright blue mushrooms)
4 A crumbling bridge with several patches of fungi (nearby is a beast pen holding goats)
5 A plaza with large piles of dirt (it is crowded)
6 An ivy-covered fountain among rows of pinkish flowers (there is bright sunshine)
7 A wide street and a pile of bricks (there is no-one else around)
8 A meadow of long grass and flowers (several animals are grazing)
9 A tall stone wall covered in vines (there is a a wanted poster for a famous local)
10 A pair of bridges over a waste-filled stream (it is misty)
11 A small park with a large yellow tent (nearby is a muddy pond)
12 An area of blue flowers with a recently finished monument (there is a mound of bricks)
13 A muddy junction with a mound of rotting waste (there is a battered cart)
14 A damaged tree by a polluted pond (the area is cursed)
15 A fish-filled pond surrounded by weeds (someone has left a bulging sack)
16 Slippery steps leading up a slope. There is a pile of debris (close by is a stream fed by a spring)
17 A covered well surrouded by rubble by (someone has left some underwear)
18 A ferry over a deep river. A few boats are tied to a jetty (hail is falling)
19 An imposing tomb atop a steep hill (the sky is filled with dark clouds)
20 A tended lawn of grass surrounded by cobbles (there are several dead cats)

Urban Building Locations

1d8+1d12Urban Building Locations
2 A temple of black stone, covered in murals (near a catacombs entrance)
3 A tailor's shop with a small garden. There are steps leading down (there is a foul stench covering the area)
4 A fortified brewery with several notices in Dwarfish (there is a wagon stacked with barrels)
5 A mansion surrounded by scaffolding (near a large set of steps)
6 A haunted watchtower surrounded by debris (near a wooden bridge)
7 A brightly-painted tavern with a balcony (there is an overturned cart)
8 An old food market (someone has left a trinket) (nearby is a stream meeting a river)
9 A derelict shop with shutters covered in posters (something is shouting for help nearby)
10 A well-kept smithy with a ladder leaning against it (nearby is an uncovered hole)
11 A crumbling artisan's workshop. There is an ivy-covered beast pen (heavy rain is falling)
12 A foreboding tower with steps spiralling up the outsiden (it has an impressive view)
13 A whitewashed bakery with gargoyles on the roof (there is a long queue outside)
14 A mill covered in ivy (close by is a shrine to a forgotten power)
15 A citadel decorated with a mosaic of shells (a fog is forming)
16 A workshop with dirty windows beside a polluted stream (something is on fire)
17 A tall inn with a duck pond and a few outside tables (nearby are a few decorated trees)
18 An alchemist's workshop surrounded by rubble (there are several empty potion bottles)
19 A monastery beside a ruined shrine (nearby is a deep well)
20 A asylum surrounded by thorny bushes (there is a fresh corpse)

Urban Unusual Locations

1d8+1d12Urban Unusual Locations
2 A towering plant is surrounded by a small park. Its purple leaves are ridden in ponds nearby. Illusionary fey flit around the plant.
3 A majestic hedge borders a market in an old square. At night locals stay away as traders from the Shadowfell setup very different wares.
4 Embassy of Wind. This domed stone disk floats a few feet above the city, powered by a runed monument. As it roams, rope ladders trail from open gates. Its spirit emissaries talk to all who enter.
5 An overgrown graveyard is warded by a forbiddance. Robed figures use it as a hamlet. A shack houses a shop selling bone carvings.
6 A stream runs through a ruined dwarven bathhouse, home to many cats. Images show dwarves creating items and in athletic poses.
7 Artfully tended ivy grows on an artisan's workshop. Wards protect the area and gnomish devices protrude from holes in the roof.
8 Founding Figures. On an island where two muddy streams meet are statues said to be the city founders. A market is being setup here.
9 This citadel has spectacular stained glass windows. Its elegant towers have grand views if the city. Black vines grow on one tower.
10 Angular tombstones line a narrow street. Passersby catch snatches of ghostly music. Legend says those who listen too long go mad.
11 This monastery was built by elves and has a pleasant symmetry. It encircles a spring and is home to a large number of snakes.
12 Coin Castle. A fenced ruin was once a mint. Some hunt for caches of cursed coins here. A guardtower houses watching phantoms.
13 A boating lake has a marble island with a leaning tower. Beneath the tower is a portal to a nearby hilltop. A weekly contest is held here.
14 A massive iron bridge contains tiny wooden doors and is home to a shanty village. A troll is said to guard it but no one has seen them.
15 A stone arch with lurid murals is circled by ugly statues. It leads to a demiplane with a luxury mansion. Draconic warnings line the area
16 Dreadspire. An abandoned citadel causes fear in living things that approach. Surrounding it are haunted ruins and debris. A wide cobble path bordered by thistles leads to it.
17 A belltower guards entrance of old catacombs. Benches dedicated to heroes look out from tower. Locals mobilize when the bell rings.
18 Glowing grass surrounds a circle of red slabs. It is said a giant laid the stones to imprison a fire spirit. Many come to meditate here.
19 Moss covers a row of tall houses and a nearby fountain. The once-majestic fountain has luminous water and is home to ducks.
20 Plaza of New Beginnings. Each building around this plaza is painted a different color. A plaque tells of a fiend defeated in battle here. Many wooden amulets hang from a tree guarding a central well

More Encounters and Locations

There is a 5e Urban random encounter generator at ChaosGen.  And a separate tool for encounter locations including Urban.

There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DM's Guild as Urban Encounters.

Ruins Encounters Random Tables on DM's Guild Ruins Encounters Random Tables on DM's Guild

If you liked these there are D&D Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.