" An inquisitive guard approaches the characters, on a bridge with an abandoned cart. They are looking for someone and the characters might know them..."
Simple encounter tables for city streets in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Street Encounters, Street Encounter Details and Street Encounter Locations.
Fantasy City - all | trinkets | cemetery encs | port encs | sewer encs | street encs | tavern encs | crowds
[Art by Bob Greyvenstein]
Fantasy City Streets Encounters
The city streets are the parts of the cities where most live. The throughfare to the market, the streets of traders and artisans. The bustle of life outside of the palaces and estates of the rich or the dangers below the surface of the city. Places where urchins run on the streets, people sell you pies and people are trying to make ends meet in any way they can.
It's also a place of street traders, debris, carts, shouted insults, crowds, entertainers and bustle, locals and travellers.
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as City Street Encounters.
City Street Combined Encounters
These reference City Street tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | 10 City Street Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | an overturned cart of barrels, blocking street or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | an inquisitive (or agitated)... d10 (1-2. artisan 3. noble 4. adorable pet 5. traveler 6. scholar 7. guard 8. alchemist 9. servant 10. spellcaster's familiar) |
| 3 | a gaunt healer, trying to sell a potion to settle debts or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | several (or a pair of)... d10 (1-2. pickpockets 3. thugs 4. locals 5. acolytes 6. urchins 7. labourers 8. militia 9. protesters 10. apprentices) |
| 5 | a patrol of watchful guards with a dog or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | someone causing a scene, a(n)... d10 (1-2. entertainer 3. merchant with a cart 4. herder with goats 5. drunk mage 6. pair of adventurers 7. scavenging ravens 8. pair of nonhumans 9. local celebrity 10. married couple ) |
| 7 | a fresh piece of rude street art, showing local ruler or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | someone approaching (or following) a character, a(n)... d10 (1-2. vendor 3. urchin 4. street guide 5. fence 6. artist 7. preacher 8. prostitute 9. fortune teller 10. thief ) |
| 9 | a sad apprentice seeking a cousin, visiting from afar or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. con artist 3. ogre mercenary 4. ghost 5. enemy of a character 6. doppelganger 7. angry mob 8. gargoyle 9. few footpads 10. spy) |
City Street Encounter Details
Use 1d4 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | asking for food (or money); or connected to a nearby building |
| 2 | looking down a side alley at a(n)... d10 (1-2. still body 3. piece of graffiti 4. shapechanger 5. pair of lovers 6. break-in 7. fire 8. corpse being eaten 9. mugging 10. bright sign) |
| 3 | drawing unwanted attention, or in need of help |
| 4 | currently... d10 (1-2. eating 3. diseased 4. noisy 5. panicked 6. waiting 7. curious 8. hungry 9. trying to hide 10. watching a threat ) |
| 5 | enthusiastically supporting (or heckling) a(n)... d10 (1-2. musician 3. illusionist 4. street artist 5. hypnotist 6. actor 7. acrobat 8. juggler 9. poet 10. comedy double act) |
| 6 | looking for a person (or work); or having a loud argument |
| 7 | arguing with (or curious about) someone (or a shop) selling... d10 (1-2. local food 3. trinkets 4. a religion 5. loans 6. drinks 7. remedies 8. suspicious pies 9. something illegal 10. potions ) |
| 8 | displaying symbol of a local deity or watching over the area |
| 9 | looking after (or playing with) a(n)... d10 (1-2. dog 3. wheelbarrow 4. donkey 5. child 6. friend 7. unusual pet 8. family member 9. cat 10. doorway) |
| 10 | on a cart (or wagon); or looking for the group |
City Street Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | a wide (or narrow) street | mound of rotting waste or a tall tree |
| 2 | plaza with fountain (or gazebo) | stack of barrels (or flagstones) |
| 3 | a muddy (or busy) junction | a line of clothes or a spiked fence |
| 4 | a slippery slope or a bridge | a well or a coach with driver asleep |
| 5 | a street market or a city gate | a bench or steps to an open door |
| 6 | outside a tavern (or temple) | wooden barriers or a sewer grate |
| 7 | a crossroads or smelly canal | an unattended (or vegetable) cart |
| 8 | a communal park (or garden) | a hidden entrance or a dead animal |
| 9 | a line of statues (or trees) | scaffolding & ladders or a fish pond |
| 10 | a ruined building (or street) | a water trough or a stone statue |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as City Street Encounters.
If you liked these there are Fantasy Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
