Manimati Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Something that has been missing in the official published material for RQG is encounter charts. Yet, they are extremely useful to introduce random elements in a scenario, and sometime steer the adventurers towards a completely unexpected direction. The original RQ2 has encounter charts (appendix J on p 123 of RQ2 classic), the classic Griffin Mountain has a chapter devoted to encounters (p 129 of the Gloranthan classic edition), so do Pavis and Big Rubble (p 32 and p 189 of the Gloranthan classic edition) and Borderlands (p 157 of the Gloranthan classic edition). For Heroquest, the Sartar Companion has a very nice and extensive encounter chart for Sartar (p 90, I have been using this one for Sartar encounters), and Pavis Gateway to Adventure has one for the city of new Pavis (p 234). I wonder whether it is possible to create a Sartar encounter table for the Jonstown Compendium that complies with the Jonstown Compendium guidelines and doesn’t infringe on the copyright of previously published encounter charts (like that of RQ2 or Sartar Companion). I might be tempted to work on one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 14 minutes ago, Manimati said: I wonder whether it is possible to create a Sartar encounter table for the Jonstown Compendium that complies with the Jonstown Compendium guidelines and doesn’t infringe on the copyright of previously published encounter charts (like that of RQ2 or Sartar Companion). I might be tempted to work on one. Please do. 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 I used variations of the RQ2/Classic Encounter Charts for Secrets of Dorastor, so roll 1D20 and get a result, sometimes you go to a sub-table for more granular results. Due to the expanded monster sets, I tended to use encounters sich as Undead and roll on an Undead table rather than specify which kind of undead in the main table. Also, I tailored the tables for each area of Dorastor, not just for generic Wilderness, Chaos Nest, Aldryami Forest. It was both great fun and a pain in the butt to do them, but worth it in the end. 3 hours ago, Manimati said: I wonder whether it is possible to create a Sartar encounter table for the Jonstown Compendium that complies with the Jonstown Compendium guidelines and doesn’t infringe on the copyright of previously published encounter charts (like that of RQ2 or Sartar Companion). I might be tempted to work on one. That would be good. I would love one for each of the areas of Sartar, rather than just for Sartar, so one for the Praxian March, one for near Snakepipe Hollow, one for near the Dragonewts and so on. 3 Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nozbat Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 I'm just writing Random Encounters for my upcoming Anglo-Saxon Chronicle campaign and got to the point of 'Small Game'.. and while musing on what small game might be ...I thought...rabbits!!... which brings more thoughts ..'Is this all I can come up with in the category small game?.. and..What about the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog?' (Probably the connection is that I just perused The Adventures of the Great Hunt). My players will need to employ the services of a Læce to solve the mystery of their dead father and suffer a rather unsettling discorporation induced by being in a chemically altered state ... do you think I should also include a Quest for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in the Discorporation scene? It might be useful if the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog turns up as a Random Encounter. Of course, finding the Holy Hand Grenade will be the easy part, getting the instructions is another matter. "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it." This is a long rambling discourse is to point out the actual difficulties of actually formulating Encounter Charts and the ease one has of being distracted by erroneous (but sometimes humorous) thoughts from the tedious task of Encounters.. I think we should all help Manimati with the task.. or else he might suffer distraction by inconsequential thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nozbat Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Three coffees later, a few sidetracks and reading the news ...I've come up with this as a first draft of Random Encounters I intend to roll the encounters before hand as they might take a large part up of play tonight.. This is for my Anglo-Saxon Chronicle but hopefully others will find it useful to adapt to whatever they need. I think peoples views were that it would be good to have a Glorantha region specific so will need lots more work Hope that's helpful Random Encounters ASC.docx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) I have started drafting a document. Here is the outline : Introduction Role playing not roll playing and Maximum Game Fun Dynamics of encounters Range (close, medium, far) Awareness Reaction (Friendly, Cautious, Hostile) Types of terrain: each item has a description with a few examples Chaos nest Cultivated/settled land Forest Hills Marsh Mountain Prax March River/lake shore Road Troll land Wildland Encounter types: each item has a paragraph with stats for perception, hide and reaction rolls, and size of encountered party. Aldryami Adventurers Baboons Bandit Beastmen : sub-table Beggar, Stickpicker Caravan Chaos monster: sub-table Corpse Dragonnewts Dragon (Dream dragon, wyrm, wyrven…) Ducks Farmers Fishermen Giants Ghost/spirit Griffin/hippogriff Herds: sub-table Hunter Item: sub-table Merchant Military unit/militia Mostali Newtlings Patrol Pilgrim Raiders: sub-table vs terrain type Tusk rider Telmori Troll party Undead: sub-table Wild animals: sub-table vs terrain type Wind children Combination: roll twice and combine encounters Tables: type of terrain vs encounter type 1D100 scores 3 tables for Day travel, night travel, and night camp. Edited October 19, 2020 by Manimati typo +added "corpse" 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nozbat Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 3 minutes ago, Manimati said: I have started drafting a document. Seems more than started... thats already a major work.. and will be very detailed If you want to flesh it out a bit more I'm sure we can get a collaboration to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron Wulfraed Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 On 10/17/2020 at 12:24 PM, Manimati said: Something that has been missing in the official published material for RQG is encounter charts. Yet, they are extremely useful to introduce random elements in a scenario, and sometime steer the adventurers towards a completely unexpected direction. I've been hoping that the mythical/rumored Gamemaster/Campaign Guide would include such -- when ever it is released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffilz Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Put this up on JC and I'll buy it... Since you've got night split into travel and camp, I'd add day camp also (for those who need to camp to rest). Forage might be an interesting variation also, but may add too many columns... Prax probably needs several encounter tables, and different regions need some uniqueness to tables, though some of that could probably be coded into sub-tables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 (edited) I have started fleshing out the items in the outline. If all goes well, I should be done with the writing in about two weeks (I have a day job). Then comes the layout, for which I have absolutely no experience. I have also found a suitable picture for the cover (for which I own the copyright). BUT if Chaosium is going to include such a table in a forthcoming product, please let me know. I don't want to invest much time in a product that could buy instead... 😉 Edited October 19, 2020 by Manimati typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, ffilz said: Prax probably needs several encounter tables, Prax has very usable encounter tables in Borderlands (p 157 of the Gloranthan classic edition). I will be focusing on Sartar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffilz Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Manimati said: Prax has very usable encounter tables in Borderlands (p 157 of the Gloranthan classic edition). I will be focusing on Sartar. Last week I actually looked at the charts in Pavis, Gateway to Adventure. The Sartar Companion has encounter charts for Sartar. But comparing the Borderlands and Pavis, Gateway to Adventure tables, I see significant differences that suggest that encounter tables could be different by different regions. I think the same will be true of Sartar. Some of the differences will the the makeup of origin of human encounters which could easily be handled on sub-tables. Other differences will be because certain creatures are prominent only in small regions. Then there's the possibility that encounter tables should be different depending on the era of the campaign... For example, the Borderlands encounter tables represent the time of Lunar occupation. Before or after that, the human encounters should be different. Another consideration is how the vision of Gloranthan fauna has changed over time. The RQ1/2 encounter tables don't include dinosaurs while the Borderlands and later ones do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 5 hours ago, Manimati said: BUT if Chaosium is going to include such a table in a forthcoming product, please let me know. I don't want to invest much time in a product that could buy instead... 😉 My advice? Don't worry what Chaosium might or might not publish. If I worried that my material might be the same area as Chaosium's, then I wouldn't have written secrets of HeroQuesting and would still be waiting for the GamesMaster's guide. Publish yours anyway and then people can choose which one they want to use, or can use both. 1 Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajagappa Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 1 hour ago, soltakss said: Publish yours anyway and then people can choose which one they want to use, or can use both. This! And there's always room for more NPC's (e.g. the recent Dregs of Clearwine as well as Rubble Runners in the Jonstown Compendium). The main thing is that they are new NPC's that you have created and fleshed out that can complement or fit into other GM's campaigns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blindhamster Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 (edited) On 10/18/2020 at 2:39 PM, Manimati said: I have started drafting a document. Here is the outline : Introduction Role playing not roll playing and Maximum Game Fun Dynamics of encounters Range (close, medium, far) Awareness Reaction (Friendly, Cautious, Hostile) Types of terrain: each item has a description with a few examples Chaos nest Cultivated/settled land Forest Hills Marsh Mountain Prax March River/lake shore Road Troll land Wildland Encounter types: each item has a paragraph with stats for perception, hide and reaction rolls, and size of encountered party. Aldryami Adventurers Baboons Bandit Beastmen : sub-table Beggar, Stickpicker Caravan Chaos monster: sub-table Corpse Dragonnewts Dragon (Dream dragon, wyrm, wyrven…) Ducks Farmers Fishermen Giants Ghost/spirit Griffin/hippogriff Herds: sub-table Hunter Item: sub-table Merchant Military unit/militia Mostali Newtlings Patrol Pilgrim Raiders: sub-table vs terrain type Tusk rider Telmori Troll party Undead: sub-table Wild animals: sub-table vs terrain type Wind children Combination: roll twice and combine encounters Tables: type of terrain vs encounter type 1D100 scores 3 tables for Day travel, night travel, and night camp. this sounds like an excellent idea and will be a thing i pick up if you publish it for sure! To me, the journey is an important part of any adventure, so random encounters can spice things up and allow for impromptu journeys to feel interesting without the GM needing to get 100% creative, they can use the chart and you can bet a cool idea will spawn from the result Edited October 20, 2020 by Blindhamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soltakss Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/18/2020 at 2:39 PM, Manimati said: I have started drafting a document. Here is the outline : That looks good. Are you planning on having sample stats of NPCs? If so, will they be like RQ Classic's Foes/Fangs or more detailed like those in Borderlands? I always liked the Borderlands Encounters book for named encounters and Foes/Fangs for just random un-named encounters. Quote Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. www.soltakss.com/index.html Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blindhamster Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 3 minutes ago, soltakss said: That looks good. Are you planning on having sample stats of NPCs? If so, will they be like RQ Classic's Foes/Fangs or more detailed like those in Borderlands? I always liked the Borderlands Encounters book for named encounters and Foes/Fangs for just random un-named encounters. IMO you'd need to keep a random encounter doc very generic. As you say, specific special encounters should have more detailed stat blocks and writeups about the NPCs though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 I have already written about 1/5 of the text so far. I have also included Vasana-like example texts featuring Rollo longblade, an Etyries Craftsman, refugee from Esrolia adventuring near the Colymar lands. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 Close Encounters of the Sartar Kind is now available at the Jonstown Compendium. It is an 11 pages supplement with encounter tables for Sartar. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilHibbs Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 (edited) Very nice. Any chance you could include links, so you could click on the encounter type that you rolled and go straight to the page for that entry? Also it would be nice to see the range rolls arranged as a table. Edited May 13, 2021 by PhilHibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Brooke Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Thanks, these will do the job until the Sartar box comes along. The layout is fine and the material is well organised. I'd suggest striking the only mention of "time of the encounter" / "Daytime" (p.3, third line of body text), as in the end you didn't include separate day / night / camp tables. One quibble: Hill terrain gives the Starfire Ridges as an example, but then Rollo's GM rolls on the Wildland encounter table when he's crossing the Starfire Ridges. Possibly worth tidying this up, as it's not entirely clear what happened there. 1 Quote Community Ambassador - Jonstown Compendium, Chaosium, Inc. Email: nick.brooke@chaosium.com for community content queries Jonstown Compendium ⧖ Facebook Ф Twitter † old website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 9 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said: I'd suggest striking the only mention of "time of the encounter" / "Daytime" (p.3, third line of body text), as in the end you didn't include separate day / night / camp tables. One quibble: Hill terrain gives the Starfire Ridges as an example, but then Rollo's GM rolls on the Wildland encounter table when he's crossing the Starfire Ridges. Possibly worth tidying this up, as it's not entirely clear what happened there. Thanks, I'll fix this promptly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godlearner Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Quote Thanks, I'll fix this promptly. Wait a couple of days, just in case there are a few other things that need changing and do it all at once. Otherwise you can get into numerous versions listed at the same time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimati Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 43 minutes ago, PhilHibbs said: Any chance you could include links, so you could click on the encounter type that you rolled and go straight to the page for that entry I'll try to see if I can find a way to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Brooke Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 2 minutes ago, Manimati said: I'll try to see if I can find a way to do that. IMO the product is too short and too well organised for that to be necessary, but Phil’s MMV. Quote Community Ambassador - Jonstown Compendium, Chaosium, Inc. Email: nick.brooke@chaosium.com for community content queries Jonstown Compendium ⧖ Facebook Ф Twitter † old website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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