The Forest, CR 1 – Random Encounters for Dungeons & Dragons: Fifth Edition

by jmgariepy · January 29, 2016

“Calm down!” Angar yelled. “We aren’t harming your tree!”

“I know that,” the dryad said as she clutched her arms and paced back and forth while the branches of her tree passed though her. “You think I don’t know that? I know that. A party of dwarves and clerics and whatnot. You’re city folk. Tourists passing through. I’m not afraid of you; I need your help. There’s a tribe of woodsman moving through the area, culling the best trees in the forest. They’re less than half a mile out and heading this way. They’re going to find my tree and cut it down. I know it! They’re going to kill my tree! They’re going to kill me!”

“It’s okay. We’ll talk to them and convince them to head in a different direction…”

“No!” the Dryad screamed. In one swift action, she grabbed the dwarf under his arms, lifted him off the ground and slammed him against a tree. “No, no no! They have to leave! Don’t you see? As long as they remain in this forest, they’ll find their way over here and drive an axe in my heart! It happened to a friend of mine, and now it’s going to happen to me! You need to remove them from the forest and be certain they never return!”

Dryad by Joanna Wolska.

Appropriate random encounters for four to five first level characters, two second level characters, or a lone fourth level character travelling through the forest. For more information on random encounters, when they are appropriate, and how often they should occur, see the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), page 85.

For more random encounter charts, go to the Random Encounters for Dungeons and Dragons: 5th Edition page.

When determining a random encounter, roll 1d12+1d8 and consult the chart.

d12+d8	Description	Relationship to Players	Result
2	Very Rare	Deadly Encounter	An ogre discovers some easy pickings.
3	Rare	Hard Encounter	Five tribal warriors and a pet bloodhawk descend on the unprepared.
4	Rather Unlikely	Hard Encounter	Two kenkus agree to rob the party blind.
5	Unlikely	Hard Encounter	A pair of giant lizards attempt to outflank the party.
6	Uncommon	Medium Encounter	An outcast yuan-ti pureblood takes its rage out against the world.
7	Plausible	Medium Encounter	A giant spider that’s always looking to cocoon more food.
8	Common	Medium Encounter	A brown bear charges out of the treeline.
9	Most Common	Friend or Foe Medium Encounter	Three overprotective blink dogs can’t decide if they should befriend the party, or drive them out of the woods.
10	Most Common	Easy Encounter	A silverbacked ape is asserting his dominance over this valley.
11	Most Common	Easy Encounter	A kobold riding a giant frog has too high an opinion of his own abilities.
12	Most Common	Common Roleplaying Encounter	A dryad confronts the party. A small bastion of commoner woodsmen are felling some of the best trees in the forest and carting them off. Consequently, the dryad is neurotic over the fate of her own beautiful tree. She is desperate in her plea for the characters to convince the woodsmen to leave the forest forever.
13	Most Common	Common Beneficial Find	A bushel of berries grow here. The berries are bitter, and should only be used for food if there are no other options. But a character who passes a DC 8 Nature or Medicine check will recognize these as knitwells. After they are gathered, all Medicine checks made within the next 3 days are done so at an advantage.
14	Common	Piece of Flavor	Two roads diverge in the woods. One is a well worn path, while the other is more wild, and less traveled.
15	Plausible	A Trap!	The character in the lead must pass a DC 10 Survival or Perception check, or fall into a 10 foot deep pit trap, built to catch small game. (DMG, p.122)
16	Uncommon	Uncommon Roleplaying Encounter	Piping voices cry for help come from above you. Two pixies are stuck in a spider’s web, though the spider is nary to be seen. The webbing is easy enough to remove, though climbing the tree may prove difficult.
17	Unlikely	Environmental Hazard	A short rickety bridge crosses a ravine. The first person to cross the bridge loosens ropes in the process. Consequently, every time the bridge is crossed, the crossing character must make a Dexterity check of DC 2+2 for each time a character crossed the bridge. If they fail, the ropes snap and the character falls into the ravine (1d6+2 falling damage. DC 12 to climb out.) The bridge can be repaired with DC 15 Strength or Intelligence check, but only from the far end.
18	Rather Unlikely	A Barrier	The trees in the section of the forest look identical, mirroring each other perfectly. The party leader must make an immediate Survival check at DC 13. If they fail, they become lost and journey in a random direction. (Roll 1d8. On a 1, the party goes North. On a 2, the party goes North-East. Etc, etc.)
19	Rare	A Lucky Find	The players find a culvet under the hollow of a large tree. A DC 7 Nature check tells any player who investigates that this is a wolf den, and the Wolves won’t be gone long. They aren’t here right now though, and hidden amidst the bones is a leather pouch with 24 silver in it, a pendant featuring a swooping eagle worth 15 gold, and a random item from Treasure Table A (DMG, p. 144)
20	Very Rare	Incredibly Fortuitous Find	In a clearing, a statue of an adventurer poses, wielding a wand. The wand is a wand of wonder (DMG, p. 212) which turned the erstwhile adventurer into stone. The wand contains seven charges, but something is wrong. It can only recharge one charge per day.