Why Random Tables Suck - GM Tips
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- We take a look at random tables, tables that offer random names, events and other information. I take a look why random tables suck and how I prefer use them to help me keep the flow and energy in my tabletop games.
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TLDR Use random tables, just don't use them randomly
And just as importantly, weight them to make more common options show up more regularly. It's fine to have an ancient red dragon on your random encounter table; it just shouldn't be exactly as likely as 2d4 goblins.
Edit: As a note, just because you rolled something on the encounter table, doesn't mean it's a fight. Just because I roll an ancient red dragon doesn't mean they fight or even interact with the dragon; they might just notice that they're in a dragon shaped shadow, look up and see a humongous dragon carrying a few horses back to its lair. It reminds the PCs that the more fantastical elements exist without necessarily being tied to their adventures.
@@Parker8752 100% agree, the ancient red dragon on your encounter table DO NOT I repeat DO NOT need to be a combat encounter. You can have it as a set piece, the party traveling suddenly hear the roar of the dragon and in the distance they see the bright red scales of the beast swooping through the air, in its claws a Hill Giant in the throws of mortal combat and just as fast as the event happened, it ends.
This kind of encounters reminds the NPC's of the dangers they could encounter in their travels. This same could be said with the 20 orc war party. Maybe they don't even stop to bother with the PC's cause they are on a time constraint and on a mission and can't afford to waste time.
IMO the best time to use a random table is before the game starts, during prep time.
I sometimes use random tables as inspiration before the game. Rolling some dice for names, encounters, locations... Some dice rolls I simply take as written, from other rolls I only use the raw ideas (not the stranger smoking a pipe in a dark corner of the inn, but a witch sitting there with her cat).
That's so with mentioning. I'll actually make lists of likely things to happen before the session - it's much quicker and naturalistic. Weather, or names for example. Maybe even traveling encounters but I won't prepare for things that might not even happen. That's when I'll actually roll on a table but... You have to know your tables.
Prepping something like a random creatures encounter is more about knowing how to slot them in and justifications for their behaviour Whether it's wolves, ghosts, kobold looters, or a disguised hag.
This! I'll often just roll a bunch of times while prepping a session until one result "clicks" or inspires something else
Sparingly*
The Game is not a List of set plot points. Players will make changes to what’s planned. Random tables can help with it by offering inspiration to come up with solutions. Also random tables rolled in game offer a feel of unexpected freedom.
I think random tables are great for inspiration, especially for new GMs!
I agree as a kid looking through the 3.5 dmg the random tables were great for introducing the fantastical elements of dnds dungeons and magic items and places.
I am thinking of a WebDM-video about random tables. They were sharing all their knowledge about random tables and how to use them. But in a later video they say that often they don’t even roll, they sometimes only use them as inspiration. I can understand why some players and GMs like the randomness and how it can produce suspense. But they are a tool that must be used wisely. If someone uses a random table for (close to) everything, that can be to much. I never liked the idea. My players already bring more than enough randomness to the table.
I like random tables for sort of uncontrolled environments. Who you run into in a Wilderness or in a pub or in the street but not in something as controlled as a Manor
@@Frederic_S absolutely agree. Especially when I have upwards of 5 different PC brains doing their thing. The randomness happens by itself!
"Hello, what's your name?"
*holds up a finger*
Video goes straight into an ad.
I swear the algorithms are learning to watch the videos!!
I have been DMing for 35 years and I have never rolled on a random table. If I use these at all, I just use them as a source of ideas and pick the option I think would be most appropriate or interesting.
Random tables for our campaign tend to be "next applicable number" tables, which balances the random with the realistic. In this model a number is rolled, and if the number doesn't make a single bit of sense, the next thing on the table which makes sense is the winner. And I love the idea of a moment of inspiration.
At 11:47, you said "I look at a table and go-" then an ad came on for some Looney Toons game "kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit". I happened to be listening, but not watching, and thought it was you doing a voice.
Should you use random tables?
Roll a d10:
*1:* Rocks fall...
*2:* Maybe
*3:* Roll twice
*4:* A pair of old boots
*5:* Yes
*6:* 1d3 gem worth 2d6+3 gold pieces
*7:* Ask your parents
*8:* 1d4+2 wolves
*9:* No
*10:* Cthulhu awakes
I actually think the insane options can be interesting, just dont be a slave of them.
Instead of the Dragon being a instant encounter, maybe they just hear a distant roar and when they look over the countryside they can spot it circling in the air.
While the players discuss their discovery, you can role a second time and if you are lucky maybe you roll two wolves, that they would have to deal with without causing a commotion, otherwise the Dragon might notice.
Or maybe you are really unlucky and roll the 22 Orcs, but that can be a camp they spot, so maybe they choose to try to sneak through the woods. There they meet a Wood Elve that may want to take revenge on one of the orcs for killing a family member, and if they help him he might reward them with a big sack of gold.
Trying to assasinate a beefy Orc sorrounded by ~20 other Orcs without catching the attention of a mighty dragon that lurks in the distance is quite adventurous.
But that's what we are here for.
Also the players are not forced into the Situation and if the dragon notices them; it is far away so running and hiding is always a option.
Yeah, you don't just roll and instantly face a dragon taking a deep breath within social distance.
Stopped it just shy of 4 minutes to share a successful story of using Random Encounter Generator for a Pathfinder 1e module.
The party was preparing to explore the hinterlands. Our session ended off just as they left town, which gave me time to prep and plan for next session. For shits and giggles, I rolled on the provided Wandering Monsters chart. 3 wild boars. Huh... Seems like a rather random encounter...
Some days go by and I'm setting up custom NPCs to throw into the story for fun. This was my first campaign as a GM and everyone knew I was trying to test out homebrew stuff to see what I liked and how I did GMing it. Got the idea of introducing 5 kids and a calf that follows them everywhere, nicknamed the Scooby Gang. As I was laying out the scene in my head, I'm reminded of the random encounter and a brilliant idea pops in my head. The session went as followed:
The party, on the way to the abandoned barn, were introduced to 5 kids and their pet calf. Each one had a unique personality and had something unique to say to each PC. They loved the random encounter, and carried on with their adventure.
After a few hours of investigation, they walk out and promptly hear a little girl screaming bloody murder "HELP ME!!! HEEEEELP!!! AAAAAAHHH!!!" Instantly the players knew who was in trouble.
When finally they could see, they saw the littlest of the group running for her life towards them as a small pack of charging boars barreled their way towards, intending to kill.
The encounter was over in a matter of seconds, because the mages of the group whipped out a devastating combo of magic, and whatever remained was torn to shreds by the Barbarian. When things had settled down, a pair of the other children ran over and explained that she had tripped down a hill and crashed into the pack, sending them into a frenzy.
Fast forward to after the session, I asked a player how I did that night. He asked if that scene was really from the module, because it was so well done but really out of place for official material. We talked and he said he really hated random encounters because they were always so pointless. Nobody put in the effort because nothing was expected to come out of it. But that encounter was different. There was immediate danger on a short timer, an investment to win at all costs, and no technicalities to pause everything. It was just go go go!
He said for the first time ever, he actually liked a roaming monster encounter. I've never felt prouder than being told that~ I hope this can inspire new GMs.
If you're entering a dwarven mine and everyone is NOT named Urist you're doing something wrong.
Or Dorf.
I am :rolls die and looks up result: very upset about your opinion. Also, I am being attacked by a covey of vicious mountain quail, who are all called Andrew.
🤣 fantastic
You’ve completely missed the beauty of tables that reference tables: expanded variety. 2nd edition did this to expand the variety of the random encounter tables and I can only wish ALL the 2nd edition encounter tables did this.
No more variety in a d20 table with 8 additional d10 tables than there is in a single d100 table. So instead of rolling on a separate table what color the dragon has you can give each color dragon their own slot on the main table. If you need more than 100 ideas, simply roll d4 and a d100 and the d4 decides if you start att 101, 201, 301 or 401. There is never a reason you couldn't include the additional table into the main one.
@@SwedishNeo That's too much work. You've already got the tables.
Tables are fine. Pre-roll your most commonly used tables before your session. Generate maybe 20 - 50 options at a time, fix duplicates and recently used items, improve bad rolls or weird combinations, etc. I always print off my pre-rolled results in a sort of matrix with enough space for notes/marking-up on the page. Then just pick an unused item from your list that appeals to you. Feng Shui 2 advocates for pre-rolled mook rolls.
I rolled on my youtube subscriptions table and ended up here.
36 years of DM'ing here. I use tables for tons of ideas and to spice up regional encounters with people and denizens native to the region or climate as long as it makes sense and adds excitement or an air of unpredictability to the game. I also keep a list of encounters that are ready to go. That way, I've thought out ahead of time the creature's motivations or reasons for being in an area. The other thing I do is have the PCs make some rolls as they start to head into potential "random encounter" territory. When they think they've rolled to have a wandering encounter by rolling a 1 or 2, I even have them roll percentile dice, which really gets them involved in the outcome. No matter what, I don't tell them what's coming or when it's coming - I don't feel obligated to throw the encounter at them right then and there. I may wait until a specific time or place that makes more sense. That gives me even more time to prepare or work the encounter into the plot line. Random tables are great when you need something like names on the fly or anything that doesn't affect the game or plot in a major way.
Jumped right on this as I was writing my campaign. Thank you again for extremely useful advice!
“My name is Burns Vinegar”.... Haha 😆
Intro is just awesome here
I find the idea of the entire mine full of dwarves with all their names starting with F/Ph totally hilarious. It would do for a more comedy-oriented adventure
I like using random tables for monsters, but I make my own tables and make a different one for each region. this keeps them plausible and appropriate for the party's level
I remember my first contact with random tables. Back the day was TDE 1st (DSA 1) and for D&D the red box. How young I was...
As I was drawing and extensive dungeon I used the D&D tables for inspiration and had really great fun with the ridiculous results. It made preparing games really really fun.
Later, there came books full of tables, like from Flying Buffalow, I think, books on generating character Backgrounds much more extensive than what Xanathars has and I really loved theses as well one for Fantasy one for SyFi...
Random tables are fun to use for inspiration and can help during the game IF you prepared it to fit.
I also totally agree, that one should make one's own tables and I often used tables to make sure I do include some variations in my games. Tables you don't only role on but you cross out things. So that maybe you make a table with 10 random encounters, 2x Gablins, 3x Orcs, 2x traders etc. and each time you hit one you cross it of making other encounters more likely.
I remember a DSA-table where the 100 was an volcanic eruption... even as inexperienced as a was back then I knew „this can’t be right“.
Hi Guy. Great points BUT I do like random tables because they tend to push the adventure in directions I never thought of (and I'm good at making up reasons for the plyers on-the-spot).
Anyway, in the AD&D 1E Monster Manual 2 there is a great article on making random encounter tables. Check it out, it walks you through the way they used to do it back in the day and the frequency of monsters appearing. It'd be easy to expand that to other types of encounters.
-Ol' Man Grognard
"Why was the polar bear attacking?". I think the writers of "Lost" were using that same random encounter table but were too lazy to think up a good reason for it to be there.
I use random tables before game night. Its great to get the brain juices flowing, and stuff can be easily adapted. Any time you would have rolled on the table for encounters or loot, I reference my list I've come up with earlier and slap something in that fits.
Why do I picture a DND version of Kitchen Nightmares, with Guy going to new DMs and revamping their entire gameplay, but still keeping their unique stylr bc Guy is so wholesome
And why? Is always the best question to ask yourself as a GM before you give the info back to the players.
I was part of a Pathfinder group for a short time and left once I realised the campaign was a big gloat fest of retired PCs from older campaigns acting as NPCs.
Before I left our party was tasked by the king (yes, it really was that generic) to retrieve a plot McGuffin from half a day's march to a small town. On the way there our GM rolled for random encounters for every - single - hex we traversed and had to traverse twelve of them. The environment was explained as temperate plains, yet we were first attacked by two bat swarms, followed by three giant bats on the next tile.
"What? Why? Where from?" were questions coming to mind, but the GM handwaved the questions away and said: "Random encounters".
The campaign was advertised as 'Heavy Roleplaying'.
I left the group that session.
GM probably forgot about the Alchemist experimenting on Them in a near by cave. Who ist now lying injured due to a failed Experiment and needs Help. XD
Random Tables actually caused immense player frustration in a game i was in. Magic items kept getting rolled for, we ended up with 4-5 spears/polearms, a battleaxe, and several other items that no one in the party could use. We also couldn't really sell things because the party was always travelling or on the move, I think we encountered roughly 3-4 shops within 6+ months of in game time.
Once, in mutant year zero which is some kind of hexcrawl, I tried to used random tables to generate encounters during session. After first session I realized, prepare some key points of the encounter beforehand.
I think the ideal session is one where the GM doesn't have to go to a table, but I would also want to have some ready anyways for when the players catch me flatfooted. Aside from name generators, because I'm bad at naming people, I'd probably only want like 4-8 options on a table custom tailored to where the party is in the campaign.
I write bounty hunter missions using the syntax available in TableSmith. Some of the bounty jobs generated are quite entertaining.
I use random tables mostly during preperation to scetch out things like npc tables for peasents, beggars, tavern guests
I use Random Tables when I am stuck on creation. Such as.... Generate 3 groups of enemies, now I pick one and rationalize why they are now part of the plot. It forces me to get my brain working instead of standing there blank. Sometimes I just ignore the results as they simply help me come up with a fourth option.
On Random Encounters I think it's bad to use them on the fly. Instead between games you can use them to help create some encounters. Then fine tune them since you have the time and maybe keep 3-4 of them on the side. Because you have plenty of time to iron them out instead of slowing down the pace of the game while you dice roll to create the world and have to think up stuff along the way. You should also roll tables that fit the area so you don't get like he mentions a Water Elemental in the middle of the desert. You can intentionally put out of place creatures in if you get a good reason for them to be there.
Also when he mentions if you do pure random then why have a DM reminded me of an old Board Game. I think it was called Hero quest and it was like DnD except you had a deck of cards which showed the layout of each room and a deck of monsters for what appears in the room. So it was a random dungeon crawler board game and there were some rules on how the monsters attack based on how close heroes were and how many were ganged up on a single target. So pretty much you didn't need a DM. In fact because the only thing the player choose what to do you could play it with 1 player and not know what was coming.
I'll see you, and I'll raise you.
Random tables are smarter than you.
Lol.
I think the exception to the go to another table point is if you're doing it digitally and it happens automatically. I have two npc name tables with another table for last names. Works well in foundry vtt.
Many, many tables are like not good and work like this video suggest. However there are some fantastic random tables out there. Ironsworn is an example of a game that has the latter.
I find that the only time I use random tables is for name generation when I put a game together. The only table I use during a game is a table for alert level and how an active complex might function according to what the players do.
I like using tables in game prep, but never during game. My first GM completely relied on tables for loot generation (among other things) and it was painful to just sit there while he rolled 10+ times to figure out what the bad guys happen to have on them.
Roll a 1d1 and you have to subscribe...lol 😆 that was really smooth and funny
I use random tables in my game, but really only for when my players are travelling about the city. when they want to go somewhere, I look at my map, work out how long it'll take, then ask them to roll for each half an hour of travel. I think it's important to let my players roll on the table, as it involves them in the process and keeps the game flowing, and also adds tension as they know that the lower they roll the worse the outcome will be. Most of the things on the table are just simple city happenings, such as they see a fight taking place, or they get a chamber pot dumped on them, but they also can be mugged and even encounter a random monster. it also varies depending on where they are in the city, with the roll always being worse in the slums. I also use a random magic miscast table for when spell casting goes wrong.
I agree, tables are great, "random" tables should be avoided. In fact I stopped using the random encounter tables in storybooks because they are too random. Better to create encounters that fit the situation
Or "custom" random tables where all the options fit the situation.
@@nickwilliams8302 yes, good wording.
I use random encounter tables during prep work to make faux random encounters; not just to determine the monsters themselves, but also the die rolls that determines on what days and at what time the encounters will occur. Encounters that are planned outside of game, but appear random to the players. I'll even throw in a few fake random encounter check rolls (though in actuality, they could be Stealth and Perception checks) during play to add suspense so they never know when something is coming. A bit of GM showmanship and legerdemain goes a long way.
I used random tables exactly three times in my current campaign (so far). All of them I created myself.
One for random travel encounters. There was things on it from intense rain to a herd of sheep. It was not that good, and before the party next travels, it will be heavily edited.
The second and third were loot tables. One for an alchemist laboratory. They were able to find a bunch of potions (or nothing) and had fun with it during a fight there. Exactly as planned and it was great.
The other was for prizes won after some carnival games. I loved it.
I think personally I will never use random encounter tables if they are not travelling. Maybe I will make one for their next game, of nightly encounters, but never like what will they fight, more so like what might happen, what will they see. I dislike random fighting encounters, because it makes me prepare more than I want and also if I am not prepared it will make me waste time during a game. Not fun.
To be fair, not every encounter has to be a combat one... if your party is level one and they encounter a green dragon, they either better have a sacrificial elf to placate the master of the nearby woodlands... or pray that the dragon is in a good mood so they don't get eaten or melted by acid.
Could be a great way to introduce very early on that Surrender and Die! isn't the only policy your group should have.
To be honest, it makes me want to incorporate some themes from Ultima 4 into a game, with the 8 principles of the Avatar, having a GM track those values in secret can be a good way to have NPCs react in genuine confusion when the PC's can't activate one or more shrines despite being "Heroes"
If you can honestly say that you only ever apply the results the dice generate for the outcome of "Random" tables I can assume two things.
1. You have had some very confusing, often illogical, situations occur as a result.
2. You are probably a robot.
Lists are great for naming unprepared NPCs the players happen upon, and my advice is to pick one as soon as they approach rather than waiting for the players to ask "What's your name?"
It is just as easy to make a list as it is a random table, and probably far easier in fact.
As for "Random Encounters" particularly in long overland journeys, the best way is to prepare a couple in advance, and just drop them in at the best time to shift the mood of the game. The whole "Rolling stuff up on the fly" is one of the most likely things to ruin the mood. Every encounter the players have should begin with the possibility in their minds that it is important to the quest. As soon as the players realise it's just "Random" they know it means nothing and they treat it as such and it will feel like the filler material it is.
A good idea is to allow your players to make the roll for you during play. Especially when it comes to encounters for traveling and weather conditions.
One key point: if you like the idea of having a major encounter that's vastly overpowered to the party's level, you can do it. You can have that ancient green dragon encounter a party of level 1 characters. You just have to control the encounter the right way. Maybe you see that green dragon swoop down off in the distance, hear a distant thud, then it flies up and over the party carrying some moose or elephant or whatever to be its next meal. Party panics and hides because "incoming dragon!" are not words you want to hear as a level 1 party, but the dragon is really just interested in its meal and will only actually stop to kill someone if they're dumb enough to take potshots at it...and maybe not even then. Some dragons would rather leave you terrified than just kill you outright...so punish the dumbass ranger by landing, breaking their bow and proceeding to play for a bit like a cat plays with a mouse, then wander off when it gets boring..
Hell, I've been in the party in Storm King's Thunder (minor spoilers) where we encountered that ancient green dragon at way too low a level, because we were deliberately looking for it. That was nerve wracking AF.
I once used an online loot generator to give some mundane items for the players to find above the actual "treasure" and it generated mostly normal stuff, but also several high quality wigs and 37 grappling hooks. Weirdest goblins.
Just to make everyone mad.
I'm about to be running a campaign where the entire thing, including the campaign, big bad, town, everything, even the party, is all randomly generated.
Yes, the players are on board.
Yes, it's going to be a complete fucking disaster.
Yes, it's going to be fun.
I might use a random table for an idea, but I write up the entire encounter ahead of time. This is even more important with COVID, using Roll20, as I want to set up a battle map for the encounter. And, why just do a fight when you can make the fight mean a little bit more. I'll get inspiration from a video, random tables, or just a thought in the shower. If the party has moved on to where it doesn't make sense anymore, I'll reskin it. Then, especially when the party has been doing only RP for a long time, I'll put it in. I'll often have a variety of monsters and will decide how many to use when putting in the encounter. Sometimes they are very important plot hook that don't need to be immediately given, sometimes they are foreshadowing something else that is coming up, and sometimes just a way to get them to hate the villain a little more.
In the star wars ffg, used story cubes to make npcs on the fly when an unplanned path is taken, or they flipped a point to insert an NPC. Ie; the other players felt stuck so as I flipped a point I looked at another player oh hey you remember Chad. Just making someone's name up. Gm rolled the cubes. No idea about anything just that I knew someone. So when I met him was kinda surprising but I pretended like I already knew him and it prevented downtime.
And here I thought random tables were online DnD groups where players are constantly being shuffled so that no 2 people play with each other ever again! Oh well...
Random tables are great when preparing a session and you need a bit of inspiration. Then you got the time to tweak whatever came up on the table to your needs. I've never used a random table during game. At least not in D&D. Ever played Rolemaster? You had to roll on multiple tables to determine the outcome of a critical hit or a skill check.
I disagree the whole point of random tables is to reduce session to session prep, random encounters when used properly can also act as a sort of time limit in dungeon crawls a style of play that without time limits becomes meaningless, theres no challenge to get from one end of the dungeon to another if you can take infinite rests inbetween with 0 risk of ambush, lastly randomness is fun it keeps the game interesting and unexpected for the players and the DM and if its not why play a dice based system in the first place?
One useful thing to employ along these lines is a "tension pool".
theangrygm.com/tension-on-the-road/
Basically, every time the party does something that would take time (eg. thoroughly searching a room) or might increase the risk they are in (eg. making a lot of noise), the GM puts a d6 into a bowl. When the pool hits six dice, they all get rolled. If any die comes up with a one, something happens. Usually a "random encounter", but it could be something like a series of earth tremors that increase in intensity.
Two things with random encounters though. One, you need a table where all the options are appropriate for the adventure. Two, PCs don't get experience for random encounters (ie. they can't just do stupid stuff to farm XP).
You dont need randomness to populate a dungeon,make it dangerous or interesting
Also why would a gm need a game to be random to be interesting?
If he doesnt care about immersion than yeah.
@@Henry_Slatyki yes random tables are a labour saving device, instead of painstakingly stocking every room of a dungeon you can use a random table to do it for most of the rooms saving time and reducing the DM's workload, also the whole idea that random tables ruin immersion is nonsense whats the difference between 5 gnolls that you choose to put in a room and 5 gnolls that turn up as a random encounter? If you don't want certain results don't put them on your random table or if you don't want uncommon mosters to show up the whole time maby using the sum of multiple dice like 2d6 as opposed to rolling a single dice, this results in a curved probability where the middle results on the table come up more than those at the extremes
@@Alex-sf5uz but...thats half the fun?
Seriously every dungeon,lab,spaceship,cave
Must make sense to the world
Every room must make sense
I dont get it why would a GM want to skip on that
The difference is they might have patrols,or they might be talking
Maybe doing something that gives a hint to the Pcs
They just showing up cause the dice said so is kinda lame.
@@Henry_Slatyki yes it should make sense i mean the monsters won't site in one room indefinitely hence random encounters to give a sense of life and time progression, one thing i have seen before is the use of dungeon population sheets, so when you kill a patrol of orcs for instance you are actually impacting on the number of orcs in the dungeon so there isn't just an infinite supply and now maby the room the orcs where in is now empty. I don't see how you can claim that random tables make the game make no sense unless you are using a generic one found in the DMG. Yes you should be making random tables Based in the setting the game takes place in and to your tastes what's the point of using someone elses random table if you think half the stuff is stupid?
Awesome, thanks!
This post right after I bought a random table 🙄 lets see if my reasoning for getting it is ripped apart
:update: lol nope I'm good, using it as "inspiration" or a source book for my in between prep isnt a terrible idea 😊
"Do not let a random table make world-shaking events for you"
Have you ever played mörk borg?
Chamberlen's assistant is what I would imagine it being called
Ain't gotta work too hard there unless your players are medieval history buffs and hate you.
complex tables are great for rolling up a couple of complex random events ... in advance ;-)
Man, I can't agree more with your assessment of random tables.
Mainly because I have a DM that RELIGIOUSLY uses random encounter tables. And he has the BBEG arrive on it.
It sucks because he shows up every time to try and recruit us. WHEN WE TOLD HIM ALL AT LEAST 10 TIMES COMBINED TO FUCK OFF. We're only level 9 or 10 as well.
I feel your pain. My DM rolls on a random encounter table but never ignores the roll or rolls again if its something we've fight before. "Oh, it's giant spiders again..." 🙄
@@hericles10 Oh, there was the one night that the BBEG showed up in five random encounters in a row. He was laughing and having fun while all three of the players were like. "Dude, what the hell. This guy is annoying as fuck."
@@DeusMachina_EXE that sucks. Enough to break the game or do they still run a good table despite that? Is a shame good DMs are so rare.
@@hericles10 he makes good monsters and some interesting story encounters.
Luckily we swap DMs every week.
On the topic of random tables, what's your opinion on the D&D 5e Wild Magic surge table?
I agree, usingnthe random tables can make thing very lame. Especially for random encounters. The ecosystem of the “dungeon” will not seem authentic if you just roll on the table.
I would suggest to everyone to try out a pure random table game and dare tell me that it wasn’t a lot of fun.
from villains, plot, party, NPCs, twists, items, dungeons and encounters.
Every bit you rolled random becomes fact of the world in the future. I created great worlds that way
I love those 1d1 random tables. ;-)
Uh, chamberlain's man? Why not derive a weather table which would reference your geography and thus the encounters? Your odds of encountering a storm giant drop off considerably, but is pre staged in the sense a "dark day" and a storm have been indicated before the "1 in 20" that kicks out the giant. You put an asterisk on the Storm Giant result and you can modulate this even more by saying something like "30% chance for elementalist, 30% for storm spirit in this event..." IDK, I tend to link my random tables together for the purpose of a coherent effect of supporting immersion and play experience.
How dare you!!
I haven't even watched the video yet!
In all seriousness i think RNG tables are great for filling empty spaces for big dynamic open world games.
I use kobold fight club to set up some encounters and then roll from there.
So if I am understanding this correctly. Use random generator for names... Only. Use tables for quick inspiration in and out of a game but don't roll unless you want to roll before the game so you have time to plan the encounter?
Funny how some long term dms swear by them and others absolutely hate them.
One of the first times i disagree with you. Sandobox games make you build the world along the way. If you roll a dragon encounter its a dragon encounter, if you roll it 5 times there are 5 dragon encounters. That means its probably a nesting area or something like that, You create the reason. Also not all encounters have to end in combat.
To be honest i despise the idea of "balanced encounters". You get what you get regardles if its there cause it makes sense in the world or its a sandbox game and it was rolled there (you have to think of a reason on the spot). There is this thing called retreating and you should not expect to meet enemies tailored to your party abilities.
What's the title of the Chamberlain's assistant?
Assistant to the Chamberlain
Be me;
Write entire settings and engines geared for randomised content. Use a D64 for bell curve rolls to make weird but rare gladiator hires that lannista have to bid fiercely for. Determine a realms ethnicity and politics randomly. Create bell curves for specific regional environments making specific monsters and ethnicities more or less likely. Determine the bell curve distribution of random bandits ethnicities, political beliefs, socioeconomic status, random mutations, favourite bed time story, like or dislike of children, ties to nearby bounty board quests. Determine entire worlds and solar systems randomly. Determine the weeks physics randomly. Determine the games rules using random rolls every session.
Turn one takes three days to play.
*Cries*
random tables are a piece of...... (dice rolling)...... uhh..... beauty
Gotta watch out for that aggressive pickpocketing.
I always make my own encounter tables. Different environments get appropriate encounters. Should I find that the PC's took out the group of 10 goblins too easily, "quantity is a quality all it's own" and I can up the power levels, add more, or both. I also predetermine treasure as well.
One time at bandit camp...
Nothing should be random? What about the giant banana?
Isn't a violent pickpocketer just a mugger?
I like to use tables when I am building the encounters, but not really during sessions. A table of random NPC names is pretty useful to have on hand though, but not for NPC who are involved in the story too heavily. The rest is, as always, just improve.
1:13 -- Burns Vinegar ???
random tables are great, but as one quickly learns when doing solo RPGs especially, they are a suggestion. An idea. Not a law
Random tables today...
Random tables tomorrow...
Random tables FOREVER!!!
I like the idea of having a list of pregenerated names with ideas for personalities already attached, then ask the PLAYERS is it a guy or girl? What race are they? Because realistically, they will choose who to randomly walk up to.
If my players never stick to the script anyways. So they know whenever they ask for a name and I reply with Bob, then they know they're off script or if there is no need to remember this npc.
7:30 Having a chamber servant sounds good, especially if you are running _that_ kind of campaign =P
Also, more seriously: what about a game that uses random tables for the sake of satirizing D&D cliches? Always wanted to run an intentionally comedic game. Could also make it yourself I suppose.
I’m sure the random table was invented in a dentist’s waiting room.
"My name is Guy..." Sure, don't even try to come up with a name. Maybe you need a random table generator. /Jk
Isn't "aggressive pickpocketing" just mugging?
Wow I have never been first before!
why a polar bear is attacking? because it's a bipolar bear! :D
If you use your "random" tables as inspiration tables why even call them random tables and why give them numbers when you can simply call them Inspiration tables or "Encounter Ideas"? :P
This title is very click-baitey. I came in ready to defend random tables as being good for inspiration and he beat me to it. Once again I've been click-baited!
Polar bears will totally attack people, because no reason ;)
I liked this article a lot, it shows a way of using tables I never did before.
gnomestew.com/my-secret-to-compelling-lore-random-encounter-lists-to-hook-into-setting-tropes/
Random event tables bug me no end.
Much like the way Sheldon Cooper runs his role-play session in Big Bang Theory.
It's just not how it should be done.
By all means, use random name generators, hell even random item generators when you "need" it but event tables can do one!
I found a number of concerns to be either hyperbolic or misattributing the purposes and uses of random tables in this video.
First off, the DM is not a slave to the random table rolls. The DM is the final arbiter, not the random table. If the DM finds the result nonsensical (or is simply stumped on the result rolled, in the case of interpretative results), then re-roll on the random table or just pick a result. A water elemental in the desert random table encounter? That should be a singular encounter, not something on the random table. If rolled, the DM could say "a water elemental makes no sense, but a fire or sand elemental makes much more sense." Repeatedly pointing out that random tables can be used improperly to come up with ridiculous results like the man named Judy seems like a deliberate attempt to bash on random tables instead of an inexperienced (or stupid) DM.
Second, I think you're making too big a deal about having the players wait 10-20 seconds while the DM rolls for a random encounter. It's a roll that occurs once per encounter and the time it takes to resolve an encounter varies greatly. Grown-ups can wait 10-20 seconds for a random encounter to be generated; immersion is not that precious. The time you took to determine that it would be interesting to encounter a polar bear (for pacing purposes) and the reasons for that encounter can take as long (and often take longer) than rolling up a random encounter. In fact, coming up with the justifications for that encounter before the party even demonstrates an iota of curiosity is often a waste of time.
Third, nothing should be random? How can you say that when, in your very next breath, you roll for a random encounter when you say "and the dice say you should be attacked by orcs." And why not randomly determine their motivation? You can do that with a "Seven Deadly Sins" random motivation table and riff off of that!
I understand that it's silly to roll random tables ad infinitum, but that's where logic and interpretation come into play. Roll once (or twice) on random tables, pick the first logical interpretation of those results, and roll with it (no pun intended). It's what you do in this video, which kind of invalidates your criticisms of using random tables.
As an aside, the Mythic GM Emulator is great for this kind of stuff and answers the rhetorical question you posit at 6:58 when you ask "why have a GM, then?"
they don´t look at DCC