Is Making Custom Random Encounter Tables Worth the Time in D&D?

Custom Random Encounter tables are worth it maybe… sometimes…

In the hierarchy of Dungeons & Dragons DM prep activities, creating custom tables of random encounters ranks low. There are many more valuable things we can do before we start writing these tables. The list of preparation steps from Sly Flourish’s Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is a good starting point. We can prepare strong starts, secrets and clues, locations, NPCs, monsters, and treasure before we run out of things to do.

So is creating random encounter tables worth our valuable prep time at all? Well, maybe. Sometimes. It really depends…

Creating custom random encounter tables is fun and good practice

There is something especially appealing about creating a random encounter table. We flip through our favorite monster book and choose a roster of adversaries that fit the theme or the location we are creating. In our own mind’s eye we envision throwing these foes at our party. We see an awesome piece of monster artwork and imagine the characters facing off against it. Monsters are fun. Random encounters are fun. So if creating random tables of encounters brings you joy, no one is going to tell you to stop.

It is also an activity that is good DM practice. The usual design of a random encounter forces us to condense the entire dramatic potential of a scene into just a few sentences. “The shadows of trees begin to follow the characters. 1d4+1 undead treants finally block the party’s path and demand tribute. They want a pint of blood from each of the characters before they let them pass.” Writing a random encounter table drills our DM brain to find the potential action and drama in each outlined scene. There’s no long exposition or lore dump. No flowery prose. Creating these tables can train us to find the spark of action in each scene. This skill transcends the exercise of designing random encounter tables.

However, it does take time

Creating custom random encounter tables is not quick. We might be able to throw together a list of thematically fitting monsters in a few minutes. But then we haven’t really designed a random encounter table. We’ve just created a list of monsters. Random encounters need the potential for a small (or not so small) scene.

So we might create a first draft that is mostly monsters with a little bit of dramatic context. Then in a second pass over the random encounter table, we add more details, and revise some of the scenes. In the third pass, we iron out small problems, and fine-tune the writing of each encounter. Then we have a robust random encounter table. One that can be a tool for improvisation when we’re running the game.

But it’s not a quick thing. We need multiple revisions to arrive at an inspiring random encounter table.

The amount of time still varies, however. We usually don’t need more than a list of 10 to 20 encounters for the table to inject enough randomness into our game. A d6 table might be enough but rolling a d10 or d20 will make the outcome feel more unpredictable. We can use multiple dice to weight the probability of individual encounters. But except for in very specific circumstances, we do not need more than 20. So we can stop ourselves when we get to that number, and focus on revising, editing, and improving instead of churning out more random encounters.

This allows us to cut the time necessary for creating random encounter tables. Yet, the process still requires a non-trivial amount of time.

The majority of our random encounter table will never see play

Let’s be honest. The majority of our random encounter table will never see play. We might create 20 awesome, inspiring, drama-and-action-focused encounters. Then we roll the d20 one, or maybe two times if we’re lucky. Then the party moves on. They leave the area, the dungeon or the wilderness behind. And 90% of the encounters in the table never reach the players.

There are undoubtedly prep activities that have a better yield in terms of seeing use when we’re running the game. Creating secrets and clues that the party can discover falls in that category. Choosing monsters for “non-random” encounters, like a strong start, is bound to give us better returns at the table.

So, in this regard, designing a custom random encounter table is really a luxury. It is on the higher levels of the DM equivalent of Maslow’s pyramid of the hierarchy of needs. There are many things a DM needs to handle before custom encounter tables appear on the horizon of possible prep activities.

Unless…

Unless your campaign depends on random encounter tables

There are types of adventures and campaigns that benefit much more from random encounter tables. For these kinds of D&D games, the value of creating random encounter tables jumps up dramatically. Are the characters spending multiple levels traversing a vast and dangerous decaying marsh region? Are they crawling their way through a multi-level mega-dungeon? Random encounter tables are crucial for the flow and atmosphere of these types of campaigns.

The world should feel dangerous. Monsters lurk at every corner. Movement, exploration, and travel become core features. And random encounter tables provide the necessary ammunition for DMs to make the characters feel the frontier-style environment they are in.

Whenever the characters are spending prolonged periods of time in one area, designing random encounter tables can be very rewarding. When we can be sure that we’ll be using a table for more than one or two sessions, the value of designing such a table increases dramatically.

Beneficial side effects of creating random encounter tables

Even though much of our random encounter tables might never see play, creating them can still help us as DMs.

We might be able to directly recycle some of them in later sessions. The characters might have left the region for which the table was designed. But with re-skinning we can repurpose a lot of the encounters. They can be part of a new random encounter table, or use them as inspiration for planned encounters.

If nothing else, creating a random encounter table, is a great DM brain exercise. It fills our mind with ideas that can later become fuel for improvisation. Coming up with ten to twenty encounters, will force us to get creative. And that creativity is there to stay even if we never look at the random encounter table again.

Pre-made random encounter tables can inspire us

The alternative to creating our own encounter tables is using pre-made ones. Xanathar’s Guide to Everything contains tables for every tier of play and many adventure environments. And sometimes these pre-generated tables are exactly what we need. They can force us out of a creative rut. They can motivate us to flex our improvisational muscles.

Before we rolled the dice and looked at the tables in Xanathar’s, we had no idea there was a young blue dragon on the lonely island the characters are passing by. But now we our brain is working. Why is the dragon there? How can we tie him into the overarching narrative? Maybe this dragon is actually a rejected son of the ancient blue wyrm that has been the nemesis of the characters for many levels.

Using non-customized random encounter tables can inject the unexpected into our game. And sometimes they can create wonderful unpredictable story elements that we’ll remember for a long time.

So is it worth it?

If you’re pressed for time, probably not. Creating random encounter tables is a luxury prep activity. There are many things we can do that will be more useful at the table. And if we need a random encounter table, there are many pre-made tables out there we can use.

Nonetheless, if we have the time, creating our own random encounter tables can be fun, useful, and good practice for our DM brain.