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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Wandering Monster Frequency

There are a couple different methods out there for rolling wandering monsters: every turn, every three turns, every hour. I think I've even seen people say "never".

Here's what I think I'll use from now on. Roll 1d6 once every time:

  • An hour passes,
  • The party stops moving,
  • There's a loud noise in the same area,
  • The party does something that can attract a specific kind of nearby monster.

On 6+, a monster shows up. Roll on appropriate table, unless the action that triggered the roll is only detectable by a specific kind of monster: mind-magic or psi near psionic creatures, for example. Some things may adjust the roll (maybe torches should add +1, candles and burning oil are normal, dousing lights and removing boots and metal armor subtracts 1.)

If there's an extended loud noise (fight lasts 3+ rounds, for example,) the dungeon is on alert: roll every turn instead of every hour. On a roll of 1, the alert status returns to normal.

Some areas are always on alert.

1 comment:

  1. The loud noise in the same area is a good one to bear in mind, more so when the characters are keeping quiet.

    It's also worth considering how a sound might travel, the clicks and clangs echoing down passages, and whether we modify a roll, or roll more dice, if the catchment area is wider.

    And when players - sometimes improbably - start hammering at things, deep in spaces unknown but for their potential dangers, maybe every so many strikes...

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