“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters
Out of the Box Encounters Using Daern’s Instant Fortress Introduction:
Another popular cliche or trope that seems to endlessly occur in every D&D game is this: Defeat monster, check it’s pockets, take it’s stuff. Here’s a way to rethink that. What if the magic item is part of the encounter. What if that magic item defined the encounter such that it makes it very difficult to acquire without damaging it. What if that self-same magic item was also highly desirable?
Now, let’s add something to that concept. Let’s apply a template to that encounter that takes a common everyday monster (zombie) and applies it to a monster less common…say, one that makes it harder to just take the magic item?
“The Passenger” – Out of the Box #22 D&D Encounters
movies, Horror follows this the most. Good horror has a bait and switch, or a surprise hook, that takes the viewer by surprise. There are many foes within the Monster Manual capable of this with the right delivery. What should follow is the generation of tension, and perhaps a little player paranoia, to add depth to the next few encounters. The right moment or delivery of this “bait and switch” can set the tone and give your players pause.
“Counting Sheep”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters # 21
Introduction: I can’t speak for every table, but a touch of the ridiculous can often turn a normally staid affair into one that hooks players into memorable encounters. Even darker humor is often better than none. If you can add a description to that...
“The Menagerie”- Out of The D&D Encounters Box #20
“Shell Game”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #19
show up and be willing to have a good time. “Shell Game” is one such encounter. It uses the resources on the table as the encounter starts, and uses those limited resources to maximum effect to create an oddball moment that might come up in later conversations. And really, isn’t that what it’s all about?“The Albatross”- Out of the Box #18
listening to the radio in my car, or a playlist on my phone while showering, can lead to outbursts of “I have to write that down!” Songs inspire character concepts, back stories, encounters, scenes I want to lay out for my players, or images that lead to character sketches and other artwork. This encounter was inspired when I heard “Albatross” by Big Wreck.“Fountain of Fortunes”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters #17
see value in monetary things, but this may simply a pragmatic outlook and not greed. The reality is that things generally cost money. However, many others place value on the intangible. Some place value in concepts or ideals. Love, honour, faith, hope, justice, and freedom…, or even death, carnage, corruption and tyranny. Add to that a bit of flavor text I read in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, and we have an encounter.
“Mirrors of The Soul”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #16
this, it can sometimes be hard to get players to try certain paths, enter portals, or take risks that are new. More experienced players tend to be guilty of this whereas brand new players are not.
“The Eyes Have It”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #15
without “homebrew” input from a DM. Using these relationships can be used to justify other interactions that can create a chain of encounters that are not only logical, but generate a build in excitement. Intellect Devourers and Illithids, Orcs and Ettins, Goblins, and Worgs…all are existing relationships where you can hint at what comes next and then scale up the danger. Even seeing one may not necessarily lead to another, but even the hint that it might could lead to some great tension or scene building.“The Argument”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #14
in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, one that seems to be missing is the Helm of Alignment Change. This was a cursed magical item that, once worn, converted the wearer’s alignment to whatever was diametrically opposed. The only alignment that was unaffected was Neutral, as it had no opposite. Some old school players and DMs will remember this awful item, either as a victim or as the DM who seeded a treasure trove with this bad boy to see if a greedy player would take it.OUT OF THE BOX ENCOUNTERS –
“Coin Flip”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #13
cannot nor desire to use tactics or think through solutions. This has often been raised as an issue, and DMs can find it frustrating to build an encounter involving complex layers only to have their players charge through and then blame the DM for any failures. I’ve seen this myself several times. The key is to embrace your party’s chaotic nature from time to time. Engaging the players whom have this “random” outlook at least periodically can only improve rapport at the table. A DM might even find this can lighten the mood at the table, and satisfy the needs of the “chaotic” player so that they might be open to more involved or thought-provoking encounters later on.Somewhere within a dungeon, the party will enter what looks like an empty room. Once everybody is inside, the floor will appear to fall away, with the exception of a ledge on their side and a similar one on the far side. into clouds below. A “new floor” will appear occupying this empty space between the two ledges. What will appear will be an interlocking pattern of giant coins laid flat floating like an interlocking floor, square in shape, with a solid ledge on the far side. Each giant coin is large enough for one player to stand upon, and since they touch each other like circular floor tile, it appears that the floating floor can be crossed. Each “coin” piece is a 10’ diameter tile.
“Island In The Storm”- Out of The Box D&D Encounter #12
5, pages 108 and 109 have two great ones. Each item on these tables can generate a good encounter. Mixing them can generate a great one.“Rube’s Cube”- Out of the box D&D Encounters #11
Out of the box D&D Encounters Introduction:
Sometimes an encounter occurs because fo a single “what if”. It can lead in all sorts of unexpected directions. Imagine an illusionist’s castle, dungeon, or other lair. Imagine an environment filed with puzzles, tricks, and other dangers. Within such a confine, “Rube’s Cube” can exist.
For this encounter, I wanted to use an under-apprecited monster (ooze) in a way other than a hit point sponge or ambush predator. What followed was a series of “what if” questions.
What if a normally non-spellcasting creature had access to a spell or spell-like effect? In this case, I thought of Mirror Image.
No item to my knowledge creates such an effect outside of a ring of spell storing with the correct spell, so a little extra creativity was called for. What if you made such an item? In the end, you take what would normally be an ambush predator who may not survive more than three rounds, and you’ve created a mystical shell game with one ooze and one item. What if you take that creature, and that magic item, and place them in a room that is custom made for both in a fun way? Hmmm…
And so “Rube’s Cube” was born.
Environment: Dungeon
Suggested level: 2-3
“A Standing Warning”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters #10
description and setting can establish the right mood and put the players on edge. This can allow the DM to set up other encounters or drop hints from their campaign setting. Such encounters may just be red herrings intended to throw characters of the trail or to make them think.“Mirror Mirror” Out of the Box D&D Encounter # 9
Introduction:
This encounter brings up two points that are commonly overlooked.
When anyone makes a campsite, there’s always some kind of preparation. No one simply makes a fire. There’s wood collection, digging or preparing a fire pit, and the like. These activities provide an opportunity for a DM to drop clues or create an encounter. Taking such common activities and making them uncommon can change how players behave during these moments. It might even make them look for things in new ways in other settings, making clues easier to pass on.
Secondly, players, especially experienced ones, are jaded when it comes to monster motivations. Goblins are thieves. Orcs are savages. Undead are mindless. Sometimes it pays to make a player question what they know. It makes them think in new ways and consider new directions. Overall, it may help them grow as a player. Many assumptions are correct for good reasons. Taking these assumptions as a solid rule all of the time can lead players into traps.
The following encounter can turn what would normally be a cut-and-dried combat encounter into a social one. It questions judgement, honesty, motivations and greed.
For your consideration, I present…
Out of The Box D&D Encounter #9 – “Mirror Mirror”
Environment: Wilderness -Forest/Swamp
Suggested Level: 4
One night as the party settles to camp for the night, the normal activities with making camp are interrupted with a strange discovery. As the party makes their fire pit, they uncover a small hand mirror that was buried in a shallow home of leaves, dead grass, or whatever surface in which they are digging. The mirror is covered in dirt and such, but once it’s cleaned up, anyone who peers into it’s reflective surface will see their reflection looking back at them – but as if they were a child version of themselves. The mirror will detect as magic, but possesses no other unusual properties. Later that night, conversations and such that occur around a campfire are added to with the distant sound of sobbing.
