" A few water buffalo are hiding among the reeds from something, near a circle of trees with a damaged boat..."
Simple encounter tables for swamps in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Swamp Encounters, Swamp Encounter Details and Swamp Encounter Locations.
Fantasy Wilds - all | trinkets | coastal encs | cold encs | desert encs | forest encs | plains encs | swamp encs
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Fantasy Swamp Encounters
Swamps, fens, bogs and marshes host a myriad of aquatic beasts, reptilian creatures and other things in the muck, mud, slime and undergrowth. lizardfolk gathering insects in the shadow of an ancient ruin, a heron investigating a crate floating in the water near a sunken green pillar, or a will-o'-wisp shrouded in mist, among a copse full of webs...
A place of lizards, lily pads, boats, frogs, muddy islands, life, spirits and decay
There is a fantasy swamp encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Swamp Encounters.
Swamp Combined Encounters
These reference Swamp tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Swamp Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | glowing lights float from a pond of bubbling slime or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | a solitary (or giant)... d10 (1-2. crocodile 3. bog octopus 4. spider swarm 5. hippopotamus 6. poisonous snake 7. heron 8. snake swarm 9. bear 10. ape) |
| 3 | an old priest who grows herbs and interprets dreams or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | several (or a boat of)... d10 (1-2. lizardfolk 3. foragers 4. snake-kin 5. orc hunters 6. ghouls 7. frog-kin 8. warriors 9. goblins 10. aquatic humanoids) |
| 5 | a group of travellers seek a witch's hut or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | a few (or many)... d10 (1-2. giant frogs 3. water buffalo 4. giant crayfish 5. vampire bats 6. mud imps 7. giant rats 8. boars 9. giant spiders 10. marsh faeries ) |
| 7 | clouds of harmless insects, drawn to bright things or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | an aquatic creature... d10 (1-2. marsh drake 3. mud elemental 4. swamp dryad 5. giant toad 6. bog wight 7. frog fiend 8. vine blight 9. ochre ooze 10. mist spirit) |
| 9 | a tattooed dwarf berserker, who seeks to kill a troll or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. will-o'-wisp 3. hydra 4. plant monster 5. carnivorous mist 6. frog-monster 7. wraith 8. treant 9. bog troll 10. aquatic dragon) |
Swamp Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | eating insects (or brightly mushrooms); or covered in leeches |
| 2 | investigating something in the water, a(n) d10 (1-2. raft 3. mass of frogs 4. dead crocodile 5. weird fish 6. bloated corpse 7. glowing light 8. crate 9. overturned boat 10. ) |
| 3 | wallowing (or stuck) in mud or resting on giant lily pads |
| 4 | hiding (or watching from) among reeds or shrouded in mist |
| 5 | looking at (or trying to reach) something in the trees, a(n)... d10 (1-2. diseased corpse 3. stream of insects 4. crying ghost 5. cage 6. animal totem 7. wet rucksack 8. treehouse 9. large nest 10. wisp ) |
| 6 | following a trickster spirit or shouting for help |
| 7 | repairing (or in) a boat or trying to find somewhere dry |
| 8 | gathering d10 (1-2. frogs and toads 3. fish 4. herbs 5. mushrooms 6. peat 7. insects 8. reeds 9. poisonous creatures 10. leeches ) |
| 9 | hunting (or being hunted by) a beast |
| 10 | lost and confused or chopping down trees |
Swamp Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area, a(n)... | Feature, a(n)... |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | field of mud (or quicksand) | stagnant pool of insects (or slime) |
| 2 | copse full of webs (or fungi) | mossy island or rocky outcrop |
| 3 | bright hut on stilts (or an island) | stream of glowing sludge (or ) |
| 4 | putrid (or shimmering) river | sunken green pillar (or frog statue) |
| 5 | jetty with boats or large nest | damaged boat (or old shrine) |
| 6 | area of long reeds (or thorns) | pool covered in lily pads (or fungi) |
| 7 | island with a tower or tomb | slippery walkway (or line of stones) |
| 8 | meadow of sedge (or berries) | freshwater spring or wasp nest |
| 9 | ancient ruin (or battlefield) | raft (or coracle); or rotten tree |
| 10 | circle of tall trees (or stones) | bubbling pool with mud geysers |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy swamp encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Swamp Encounters.
If you liked these there are Generators at Chaos Gen and a monthly random tools Newsletter. Or find us on the Rand Roll Discord or an instagram of Random Tables.
