Random encounter tables are a cornerstone of Old-School RPGs that add a high level of verisimilitude to your game world. Not only do they make travel a more interesting (and potentially dangerous) experience, but if used on-the-fly they also allow a Ghastly Affair Presenter (or GM) to experience a level of novelty and surprise usually reserved for the Players.

The following tables are generally applicable for the spring, summer, and autumn of most late 18^th / early 19^th century European regions not currently at war, or undergoing a major natural disaster. Determine one potentially interesting encounter for the morning, one for the afternoon, one for the evening, and one for night (if the PCs travel then). Naturally, there might have been other travelers and animals along the way, but they are assumed to have ignored the PCs, been too far away to interact, etc. If the PCs are traveling by carriage, an encounter are likely to occur when the carriage has temporarily stopped so the horses can rest, and the passengers relieve themselves.

Old-schoolers will probably recognize the d8+d12 mechanic for encounter tables, which gives a spot of equal probability for numbers from 9 – 13, with decreasing probabilities on either side of that range. I find the limited possible range of results to be actually creatively stimulating, as it forces one to focus on only the most evocative and interesting encounters. Also, I personally enjoy rolling the odder shapes of polyhedral dice. I know, it’s a sickness.

Thanks to Blogger Ynas Midgard for suggesting a need for these tables.

Morning, Afternoon, & Evening – On the Road Between Villages (d4):

Morning, Afternoon, & Evening – Passing Through a Village:

Roll on Table 4: Daylight Village Encounters

Night – On the Road Between Villages (d4):

Night – Passing Through a Village:

Roll on Table 2: Night Road Encounters

If you’re not referring to an actual map, assume that travelers along a main road will pass through a village every 2 miles (roughly 3.2 km), if more than 10 miles (approximately 16 km) from a major city. Off the main roads, villages can be as much as 5 miles (approx. 8 km) apart. If within 10 miles (approx. 16 km) of a major city, travelers might pass through a new village every mile (approx. 1.6 km) until they enter the suburbs that extend about about ½ to 1 mile from the formal city limits. A village is usually part of the greater estate of an aristocratic family whose Grand House will be located within 2 miles of the village square. Travelers on main roads will reach a coaching inn (where they can eat, get lodgings, and rent a fresh team of horses) every 5 – 9 miles (approximately 8 – 14.5 km). Most travel occurs in the morning, afternoon, and evening, but a coach is also likely to travel through the night to reach its destination (or an acceptable inn). It was not unknown for coachmen traveling by night to fall asleep, causing horrible accidents.

Table 1: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Road Encounters

Table 2: Night Road Encounters

Table 3: Obstacles and Curiosities

Table 4: Daylight Village Encounters

For those wishing to make their own d8+d12 Encounter Tables, here are the assumed encounter frequencies, and actual odds of each result:

A Helpful Reminder for my Fellow Americans

The settlement pattern of most 18^th Century European countries differed quite significantly from the sprawling, low-density model of modern rural (and suburban) America. In general, the structures in a village were not spread-out, but built quite closely together. The typical inland village consisted of a square mile of farmland, with a compact nucleus of attached or semi-attached houses surrounding a central square. The population mostly preferred to live in close proximity to each other, and would generally commute out to the fields they rented (or worked in the employ of the local landlord). The exact density of the village varied by the area, of course. While the houses of an English village might possibly have a few feet of space between them, an Italian village could often be as densely packed as a city (albeit a very small one). In general, those who wanted to live a distance away from others were assumed to be criminals, religiously unorthodox, or otherwise undesirable. Isolated farmhouses were usually sizable homes inhabited by the relatively few, upper-middle class families who owned their own land, and employed live-in servants and workmen (for example, the Earnshaws of “Wuthering Heights”).