" A few skeletons are trapped in a sludgy pool, near a makeshift bridge of mismatched wood. Sensing something near, they make renewed efforts to escape the sludge..."
Simple encounter tables for sewers terrain in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Sewer Encounters, Sewers Encounter Details and Sewer Encounter Locations.
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[Art by Henrik Karppinen]
Fantasy Sewers Encounters
Sewers in fantasy are a combination of city environment and dungeon. They are places where oozes lurk, shady deals are done, and cultists perform nefarious deeds.
It's also a place of muck, waste, stenches, city workers, blockages, fouled waterways and forgotten ruins.
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Sewer Encounters.
Sewer Combined Encounters
These reference Sewers tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | 10 Sewer Encounter Prompts |
|---|---|
| 1 | an oily mist that causes vivid hallucinations or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | a scavenging (or giant)... d10 (1-2. rat swarm 3. alligator 4. poisonous snake 5. hunting spider 6. octopus 7. constrictor 8. fungal beast 9. bat swarm 10. brown ooze) |
| 3 | a hooded priest, searching for a secret community or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | people from the city (or underground), several (or a pair of)... d10 (1-2. smugglers 3. refugees 4. thugs 5. cultists 6. guards 7. adventurers 8. spies 9. scavengers 10. wererats ) |
| 5 | a pair of mutated humanoids who are curious but flee any trouble. Part of a hidden community nearby or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | a few (or many)... d10 (1-2. giant centipedes 3. skeletons 4. giant spiders 5. giant beetles 6. fungi folk 7. giant toads 8. giant rats 9. mud imps 10. giant crabs ) |
| 7 | several burning candles, but no-one around or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | a(n)... d10 (1-2. mud spirit 3. giant tentacled centipede 4. sentient slime 5. diseased zombie 6. wight 7. restless spirit controlling sewage 8. undead rat swarm 9. gargoyle 10. group of aquatic humanoids ) |
| 9 | a diseased goblin scavenger who tries selling a boat or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. pack of ghouls 3. tentacled ooze 4. water elemental 5. skeletal giant crocodile 6. sludge horror 7. shadow fiend 8. vampiric mist 9. swarm of carnivorous fish10. shambling plant) |
Sewer Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | connected to other creatures nearby or fleeing something |
| 2 | covered in ... d10 (1-2. sewage 3. strange slime 4. bites 5. flies 6. bright fungi 7. spiders 8. charms 9. scars 10. weeping sores ) |
| 3 | trapped in a sludgy pool (or a trap); or not supposed to be here |
| 4 | eating a body (or rats); or carrying a dangerous disease |
| 5 | examining a(n)... d10 (1-2. corpse 3. glowing liquid 4. humming pipe 5. claw mark 6. secret door 7. lever 8. wooden box 9. a lit lantern 10. rainbow slime) |
| 6 | avoiding greenish slime |
| 7 | scavenging through junk (or papers); or mapping the area |
| 8 | repairing something or on their way to the surface |
| 9 | putting rats (or spiders) in a bag; or performing a ritual |
| 10 | looking for a lost person (or pet); or calling for help |
Sewer Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a circular pool or inflowing pipe | a rusty grate or thick slimy webs |
| 2 | a sloped passage or a tomb | ladder to surface or a secret door |
| 3 | a makeshift bridge or a mosaic | a shrine of debris or a nest |
| 4 | maze-like tunnels or a crossroads | a broken pipe or a sluice gate |
| 5 | old ruins or stepping stones | a boat or pulsing black slime |
| 6 | pool of rainbow slime or a jetty | flourescent algae or stairs |
| 7 | a corpse (or crate) blocking flow | a fungal growth or steep chute |
| 8 | slippery walkway or dead end | planks over sewage or a hatch |
| 9 | opening to caves (or a river) | a large lever or hanging chains |
| 10 | a blockage in the sewer flow | a winch or door in the water |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Sewer Encounters.
If you liked these there are Fantasy Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
