" a circling pair of hippogriffs are watching a cave mouth by a burning fire, on the side of a foggy valley ..."
Simple encounter tables for mountains in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Mountain Encounters, Mountain Encounter Details and Mountain Encounter Locations.
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Fantasy Mountain Encounters
Mountains, crags and ancient peaks are home to ancient creatures, peoples mining stone and ore, monsters of elemental earth, mountain bears and sleeping dragons. A giant mountain goat investigating a caged creature in an abandoned quarry, several dwarves on a narrow clifftop path, studying a flock of birds in the sky or a basilisk making a lot of noise, near a waterfall into a lake by a stone arch...
A place of rocks, snow, giants, eagles, mist, llamas, goblins and clouds.
There is a fantasy mountain encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Mountain Encounters.
Mountain Combined Encounters
These reference Mountain tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Mountain Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | a huge carved face appears watch the group; or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | a solitary (or giant)... d10 (1-2. bear 3. hawk 4. lion 5. bat 6. mountain goat 7. lynx / cougar 8. winter wolf 9. mountain ape 10. wolverine) |
| 3 | a scruffy mystic who claims to be a powerful druid; or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | several (or a pair of)... d10 (1-2. hunters 3. miners 4. dwarves 5. mounted warriors 6. ogres 7. herders with livestock 8. kobolds 9. bandits 10. orc mercenaries) |
| 5 | a dryad who shows visions in a pool; or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | a few (or many)... d10 (1-2. wolves 3. giant goats 4. deer 5. undead spirits 6. gargoyles 7. llamas 8. ponies 9. goblin wolf riders 10. acolytes of a nature deity) |
| 7 | heavy rain and strong winds make travel difficult; or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | a circling pair (or group) of ... d10 (1-2. hippogriffs 3. wind spirits 4. giant eagles 5. drakes 6. griffons 7. warriors on flying mounts 8. birdfolk 9. wyverns 10. pteranodons) |
| 9 | A stone giant trader with a huge bear and many sacks or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. giant 3. earth elemental 4. roc 5. basilisk 6. fire dragon 7. pack of worgs 8. troll 9. undead giant 10. guardian golem) |
Mountain Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | on a long journey (or quest); or near to death |
| 2 | studying (or hiding from) something in the sky... d10 (1-2. an approaching storm 3. a cloud castle 4. a flock of birds 5. a kite 6. oddly-shaped clouds 7. a flying mount and rider 8. plumes of smoke 9. a dragon 10. an airship) |
| 3 | making a lot of noise; or with their young |
| 4 | following (or being followed by) something; or near their home |
| 5 | investigating (or watching) a (or an)... d10 (1-2. cave mouth 3. winged statue 4. rockfall 5. corpse 6. full sack 7. huge footprints 8. stone carving 9. caged creature 10. ice sculpture) |
| 6 | sheltering from bad weather or catching fish |
| 7 | herding animals or being careful not to trigger an avalanche |
| 8 | cooking some meat or lighting a beacon |
| 9 | swimming (or wading) in a lake (or stream); or admiring the view |
| 10 | climbing something or waiting in ambush |
Mountain Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area, a(n)... | Feature, a(n)... |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | steep slope of mud (or bracken) | rope bridge or pile of furs |
| 2 | bridge or abandoned quarry | pen of goats or a mine entrance |
| 3 | foggy (or glacial) valley | fish-filled stream or a huge nest |
| 4 | ford over a raging (or deep) river | burning campfire or an icy pool |
| 5 | grove of pine (or sinister) trees | long drop down or thick snow |
| 6 | treacherous (or snowy) cliff | rope ladder to a hole (or shrine) |
| 7 | waterfall into a lake (or chasm) | thorny bush or minecart |
| 8 | narrow (or icy) clifftop path | stone stairway to an unstable statue |
| 9 | meadow (or cloud castle) | patch of slippery ice or unlit beacon |
| 10 | fence (or tower) at a clifftop | mound of snow or stone arch |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy mountain encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Mountain Encounters.
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