To run a great game of D&D, you’ve got to have great encounters. And sometimes all you need is a setup for one.
If there is a single “building block” of D&D, it’s probably in the Encounter. They’re about as discrete as it gets, in terms of distinct moments of “a D&D adventure” or “a D&D campaign.” In a nutshell, an Encounter is a little moment of gameplay. Whether it’s a fight with someone, running into a merchant, exploring a chamber of a crystalline cavern, or talking to an NPC about something you’re interested in.
An encounter is a small but complete section of the game. Sometimes they can sprawl out, like an encounter might start off small, but get larger as goblin reinforcements arrive, or whatever. Either way, here are some encounter setups to get the juices flowing.
Ambush!
Sometimes the best encounters are the ones that the party might not see coming. When you’re not sure what to do, a good ambush is usually a way to shake things up. There are plenty of reasons an ambush might be happening. Could be bandits, misjudging their marks; could be assassins trying to get the PCs and stop them.
They don’t even have to be completely unseen, either. In fact, if player characters can spot the enemies hiding, that will make those points in Perception or related feats, like Alert, feel like they’re paying off.
An Inviting Campfire
Of course, not every counter needs to be a combat one. Sometimes an encounter can start with something as simple as an inviting-looking campfire that you see from the road. Adventurers who are curious might wonder who’s sitting at the campfire, while cautious adventurers might suspect a trap. Either way, this is a great run-up to an encounter that can involve sharing a fire, sharing a meal, and doesn’t have to devolve into combat.
This can be a good way to introduce a helpful NPC or pass along some important information to the PCs. The sky’s the limit.
Minions With A Message
Sometimes though, you need to send a message. Or the bad guys do, at any rate. When PCs start meddling in affairs they shouldn’t – when they start getting a little too close to the nefarious schemes of the Eldritch Council, it’s time to send a message. And by message, I mostly mean armed thugs looking to do some damage.
This is a great way to further your story. You can signal to the players that they’re on the right track. They get to beat up some goons. And everyone is happy. Except for the hapless minions who’ve been sent to make sure the PCs know to “stop poking their noses where they don’t belong.”
Secret Chamber
If you want to mix in a little exploration into your games, a great encounter can be one that involves a secret room. You could start by having the PCs be aware of the secret entrance – or maybe they have to discover it and figure out how to get the door open.
But once they do, the encounter is all about what they find within. It can be purely roleplay, or you could add in a few mechanical challenges, like traps or hazards (because those are also parts of good encounters), for the PCs to overcome. Just make sure that whatever is in the secret room is worth finding ,and you’re good.
Dragon Attack!
And then there’s the “dragon attack.” This is a great encounter that can be the setpiece of a whole session. Dragons are meant to be these big, primal powerhouses, and one of the few ways you can show that off (without making the players feel bad) is by having them rain death and destruction down upon hapless NPCs like a calamity from the skies.
A dragon attack feels especially dangerous if you’re in a town or the like. Somewhere populated and with buildings clustered together, so that when the dragon soars overhead, breathing gouts of flame the flame spreads. Or if it’s poison gas, there are people to be caught in it. An encounter like this is all about helping the NPCs as much as it is trying to stop or drive off the dragon. Depending on the PCs level, they may not even be able to take them one. So what do they do instead? Get people to safety or put out the fires or the like.
Happy adventuring!
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