An arcane orange jelly encompasses several bones, trying to appear as a humanoid and mimic their actions. It feeds on magical energies.
Simple encounter tables for caves in any fantasy setting. Tables for Cave Encounter Prompts, Cave Hazards & Distractions and Quick Cave NPCs.
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Fantasy Cave Encounters
Cave encounters might be miners following a map, an elf who loves spiders or a magical serpent warning intruders away. There might be magical darkness or mould that sucks out heat.
A place of little light, with looming caverns and twisting tunnels, home to strange creatures adapted to the darkness. A place of stalagmites and stalactites, fungi and moulds, bats, spirits and earth-magic.
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Cave Encounters.
10 Cave Encounter Prompts
| 1d10 | 10 Caves Encounter Prompts |
|---|---|
| 1 | A group of ragged cultists have made an altar here to a forbidden god. They are desperate and about to try to communicate with it. |
| 2 | A intelligent serpent with a humanoid head warns the characters away from a particular cave. It protects them with magical powers. |
| 3 | An arcane orange jelly encompasses several bones, trying to appear as a humanoid and mimic their actions. It feeds on magical energies. |
| 4 | A merchant from deep below wants to establish trade contacts. They have samples of rare fungi, unusual potions and dwarven guards. |
| 5 | A tentacled creature with sharp teeth camouflages against the rock and can cause magical darkness, preying on creatures within. |
| 6 | A bitter ghost wanders the caves, a former careless adventurer who can't rest until their corpse is put to rest in a nearby lake. |
| 7 | A group of miners is following a map that promises a deposit of gems. |
| 8 | A few large shaggy humanoids with low intelligence. Their leader is telepathic and tries to communicate that they wish to trade. |
| 9 | An greenish ooze can take the form of fungi and plants. It considers itself the caretaker of the caves and communicate through spores. |
| 10 | An elf wearing clothes made of webs asks the group to leave. They can change into a spider and can command spiders from nearby. |
Cave Hazards and Distractions
| 1d10 | There is (or are)... |
|---|---|
| 1 | a crude net trap or a maze of spiky fungi |
| 2 | a light source, ... d10 (1-2. luminous fungus 3. fireflies 4. a small fire 5. glowing slime 6. fire beetles 7. a torch 8. bright runes 9. a few candles 10. crystals) |
| 3 | risk of a collapse or mould that sucks out heat |
| 4 | a fungus that shrieks loudly when light (or movement) is near |
| 5 | the strong smell of ... d10 (1-2. mould 3. smoke 4. spores 5. something rotten 6. sulphur 7. a dead body 8. fresh water 9. bat guano 10. something sweet) |
| 6 | an area of flammable gas or a beckoning figure made of fireflies |
| 7 | poisonous (or hallucinogenic) spores covering area or thick webs |
| 8 | sounds of ... d10 (1-2. banging 3. scraping 4. slurping 5. moaning 6. splashing 7. rumbling 8. loud chanting 9. digging 10. drumming) |
| 9 | magical darkness or a quake causes fissures and rockfalls |
| 10 | a disturbance of many bats or a stalagmite carved with runes |
Quick Caves NPCs
| 1d10 | Descriptor | Profession | who... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | muscular or gnome | hermit | is making a map (or a raft) |
| 2 | goblin or telepathic | miner | can smell out gems (or metal) |
| 3 | wary or troglodyte | warrior | seeks a way out (or a portal) |
| 4 | dwarf or lucky | beast friend | is with giant lizards (or spiders) |
| 5 | old or fungi-folk | hunter | wears a gemstone ring (or tiara) |
| 6 | undead or paranoid | scavenger | argues with a pet bat (or slime) |
| 7 | singing or dark elf | scout | is tending to fungi (or blue moss) |
| 8 | kobold or blind | earth mage | has escaped captivity |
| 9 | diseased or ooze-like | smuggler | likes tasting unknown substances |
| 10 | lizardfolk or gaunt | renegade | has limbs of metal (or stone) |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Cave Encounters.
If you liked these there are Fantasy Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
