Hey all

Sorry, another question! I'm trying to revamp my campaign at the moment, so getting as much input as possible.

Does anyone use random encounters in their games? I feel like there're a few spaces where they might really be useful. If you do use them, do you tie them into the narrative dice? As in...if you roll enough threat, you trigger an encounter? Or maybe you tie it into destiny point spending? Really interested to see how people are doing this.

If you're not using random encounters (or something similar), why not? (That sentence looks accusatory...it's not meant to be! Please read it in an inquisitive tone.)

Thanks in advance.

Prepared encounters/scenes that can easily slot into current goings-on - yes.

DnD-style random encounters, where the GM rolls on a table and now the PCs have to fight 2d6 goblins and 1d4 orks without any story context - no.

It's Despairs that do sometimes trigger "random" encounters (or rather stock encounters - there's no encounter table involved), such as customs inspections, random identity checks, pirate attacks, identity mix-ups by bountyhunters, attempted ripp-offs, muggings, friendly neighbourhood watch visits, bar fights etc.

1 hour ago, Stan Fresh said:

Prepared encounters/scenes that can easily slot into current goings-on - yes.

DnD-style random encounters, where the GM rolls on a table and now the PCs have to fight 2d6 goblins and 1d4 orks without any story context - no.

Pretty much this.

I keep a handful of what I call 'standby encounters' ready at all times; usually triggered by things which a PC might do which are not directly related to the current job. For example, I ran one not long ago in which one of the PC's ran into an old flame who (unbeknownst to him) also happened to be a wanted criminal who'd once slipped away from another PC (who was a bounty hunter). I didn't write it to happen at any particular place or time, just "the next time both of these PC's visit a bar on a reasonably out-of-the-way planet". I usually keep at least a bar encounter, a market encounter, and a hotel encounter in my pocket.

I have a pretty negative view of what most people think of when they think of random encounters. They have utility in different games, like D&D, where part of the challenge is to whittle away at the PC's hit points and spell slots so when they face the "boss" it's not a cakewalk. So random encounters are an artifact of the mechanics. As a player I always felt far less interested and invested in dealing with random encounters, because it put the story on hold.

This game doesn't really have that "whittling" problem, so I like to make every encounter story-based. A "random" bar brawl might end with the PCs noting that one of the instigators has a familiar-looking tattoo, or something like that. I might have some plug and play encounters available, but they are tailored on the fly to relate to the current situation.

The Environmental Set Pieces document has a few suggested encounters for certain locations. As mentioned, ,ost of them occur because of threats and despair results.

Me and my Co-GM like to use destiny points for patrolling stormtroopers and other encounters, in the case of "there is a chance to meet"

54 minutes ago, whafrog said:

I have a pretty negative view of what most people think of when they think of random encounters. They have utility in different games, like D&D, where part of the challenge is to whittle away at the PC's hit points and spell slots so when they face the "boss" it's not a cakewalk. So random encounters are an artifact of the mechanics. As a player I always felt far less interested and invested in dealing with random encounters, because it put the story on hold.

2

So I agree that random encounters can be tedious. But one thing I think they can do really well is add a risk/reward element to otherwise mundane elements of the games, while removing any sense of "railroading". For example, if the PCs explore the lower levels of Coruscant, it feels like there should be a risk of being jumped by criminal gangs without necessarily having such an encounter guaranteed. The same could be said for looking for wrecks to salvage in an asteroid field, foraging for food in a swamp, or trawling through cantinas looking for clues...essentially, anything with a more exploratory nature.

I just remembered - the PCs were doing streetwise checks to find the black market and they rolled with multiple threats but success. They found the black market, but they found themselves in the middle of a gang turf war.

31 minutes ago, edwardavern said:

But one thing I think they can do really well is add a risk/reward element to otherwise mundane elements of the games, while removing any sense of "railroading".

Agreed. I often use "random encounters" to help steer the PCs back on track. I haven't had the sense that my players know the difference.

1 hour ago, whafrog said:

Agreed. I often use "random encounters" to help steer the PCs back on track. I haven't had the sense that my players know the difference.

Ha. Fair enough.

On 10/4/2017 at 9:42 AM, whafrog said:

Agreed. I often use "random encounters" to help steer the PCs back on track. I haven't had the sense that my players know the difference.

I will second this. If the PC's are waffling on what to do, some times its best to bring to them a small "plot" squad that when defeated just so happens to have a clue in their datapad or be alive to give up some clue when interrogated.

*Edit; Don't overuse or the players will expect to be spoon fed.

Re: Coruscant lower levels, an encounter can be a gang or threat observed or even just perceived -- kind of like finding tracks or spoor in fantasy. If done right it'll change player behavior without the necessity of something formal or relatively time-consuming like combat.

Otherwise, like Stan, I have encounters that fit moods and moments.

It took me a while (and took the group even longer), but I try to use non-combat encounters as "randoms." The thing is, the GM and the PCs are making the story up, together, as they go along... so any bit of narrative interaction can go from narration --> to social encounter --> to social combat -->to actual combat, based on the actions of the involved parties (and narrative dice). For the longest, my group's PCs assumed that any "encounter" was supposed to result in a fight, because that's the D&D model we were used to. I find that this game is more interesting when the combat encounters are fewer and farther between. It's also makes for more interesting PCs, rather than optimized killing machines.

Now, my PCs know that when I'm glossing over details that whatever I'm describing in the scene isn't really germane to the story; it's just fluff. When I start layering on more detail and specifics, they know that the story's reached a decision point and their actions will have an impact on the progress of the story. The fun begins when one of them gets a wild hair, latches on to something I said, and narrates himself - and the group - into an unplanned encounter. That's collaborative storytelling at its best! The Adversary Decks are a godsend at moments like that, and I keep a few modular encounters handy for those sorts of moments. Often, I can reuse encounters a session or two later because the set-dressing, NPC re-skinning, and PC input means that the same encounter "feels" very different.