At first glance you mistake the winged creature ahead for two creatures or mount and rider. Then you make out three heads and a jet of flame as it hovers around a circle of floating runes. It can only mean trouble...
Simple sky encounters from an upcoming Collected Encounters pdf.
Tables for Sky Encounters (levels 1-4 & levels 5-10), Encounter Details and Sky Beasts.
Flying journeys, airships, elemental air, sky islands. All suitable for sky encounters.
[Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash]
Tables for... all terrains | caves | dungeon | farmland | market | river | sewers | sky
Sky Encounters (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | Sky Encounter Table lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2d4 aarakocra or 1d4 giant owls |
| 2 | 1d3 pegasi or roll on Elemental Air lvl 1-4 |
| 3 | 1d4 swarms of ravens or roll on Sky Beasts |
| 4 | 1d3 griffons or 1 veteran with wings of flying |
| 5 | 1 priest riding a pegasus or 1d3 quetzalcoutluses (VGtM) |
| 6 | 1d2 bearded devils or a magical mist (or cloud) follows the party |
| 7 | 1d4 will-o'-wisps or 1 archer (VGtM) mounted on a griffon |
| 8 | 2d4 pteranodons or roll on Sky Beasts |
| 9 | 1d4+1 mephits (mix of any type) or 1d6 swarms of bats |
| 10 | 1d4 hippogriffs or 1 succubus / incubus |
| 11 | Powerful winds (Stong Wind - DMG) or 1d2 nightmares |
| 12 | 1d3 hobgoblins mounted on hippogriffs or 1d4+1 ice mephits |
| 13 | 2d6 blood hawks or roll on Sky Beasts |
| 14 | 1d3 perytons or 1d4 aarakocra with 1d2 pegasi |
| 15 | 1d2 manticores or 1 imps |
| 16 | 1d4 giant vultures or 1 shadow demon |
| 17 | 1d4 harpies or 1 couatl |
| 18 | 1d4 giant eagles or roll on Sky Beasts |
| 19 | 1 helmed horror or 2d4 flying reindeer (elk stats) |
| 20 | 1 air elemental or 1 young white dragon |
From Collected Encounters on DM's Guild
Sky Encounters (Levels 5-10)
| 1d20 | Sky Encounter Table lvl 5-10 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | An airship carrying 2d4 veterans and 1 mage; or 1 roc |
| 3-4 | 2d4 aarakocra with 2d4 pegasi or 1 djinni |
| 5-6 | 1d3 wyverns or a lightning storm |
| 7-8 | 1d2 invisible stalkers or 1d2 cloud giants |
| 9-10 | 1 young dragon (any metallic or chromatic) or 1d3 archers (VGtM) on manticores |
| 11 | A glowing portal to the Plane of Air (or the Upper planes); or 1d2 cambions and 1 oni |
| 12 | 1 night hag on a young black dragon or 1 gynosphinx |
| 13 | 1d4 air elementals or 1d4 hobgoblins and 1 hobgoblin devastator (VGtM) on griffons |
| 14 | 1 deva or 1 conjurer (VGtM) with 1 air elemental myrmidon (MToF) |
| 15 | 1d2 drow mages with brooms of flying; or 1d2 black abishai (MToF) |
| 16 | The Four Winds Society, halfling adventurers on a flying carpet - 1d2 veterans, 1 priest, 1 assassin and 1 mage; or 1 horned devil |
| 17 | 1d6 helmed horrors or 1 necromancer (VGtM) on a beholder zombie |
| 18 | 1d2 chimeras or 1 blackguard (VGtM) on a nightmare |
| 19 | 1 efreet or 1d6 elven scouts and 1 knight on giant eagles |
| 20 | 1 githyanki knight on a young red dragon or 1 frost giant on a roc |
Encounter Details (Levels 1-4)
Use 1d10 for beasts and non-sentient creatures.
They are... (or one is...)
| 1d20 | Sky Encounter Details |
|---|---|
| 1 | fleeing something |
| 2 | curious about a floating circle of runes (or a strangely shaped cloud) |
| 3 | battling strong winds or awakened |
| 4 | following (or being followed by) something |
| 5 | wary about something approaching |
| 6 | strong flyers (flying speed +20 ft.) |
| 7 | playing in clouds |
| 8 | watching an event in the distance |
| 9 | tired (or seeking shelter from a storm) |
| 10 | investigating a floating lantern (or balloon) |
| 11 | watching the weather or enjoying the a warm breeze |
| 12 | circling a potential disaster |
| 13 | enjoying some solitude (or time away from home) |
| 14 | searching for a floating island (or castle) |
| 15 | playing a game of chase (or catch) |
| 16 | patrolling for threats |
| 17 | making loud noises |
| 18 | scouting for larger group |
| 19 | trying to alert others of danger |
| 20 | carrying a ring of feather falling (or a potion of fire breath) |
Sky Beasts (Levels 1-4)
| 1d20 | Sky Beasts lvl 1-4 |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 2d6 blood hawks |
| 3-4 | 1d4 insect swarms or 1d2 hawks |
| 5-6 | 1d4 swarms of ravens |
| 7-8 | 1d4 giant vultures or 1d3 quetzalcoutluses (VGtM) |
| 9-10 | 1d2 eagles |
| 11-12 | 2d4 pteranodons or 1d6 vultures |
| 13-14 | 2d4 giant owls |
| 15-16 | 1d4 giant eagles |
| 17-18 | 2d4 giant bats or 1d4+1 giant wasps |
| 19-20 | 1d4 hippogriffs or 1d4 bat swarms |
From Collected Encounters on DM's Guild
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