Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
Random encounters are a polarizing topic in the land of Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs.
There is one camp who feels that randomized encounters are the only way to make the world feel inhabited, dangerous, and alive,
Another camp feels that an encounter that is totally random can take a tightly-paced, story-driven session and derail it entirely, feeling like the random element was a tacked on waste of time.
But what if you could take the best of both worlds and smash them together to create something totally new that does both of these things?
In this Tabletop Terrors video, James, Jeff and Tim talk about an entirely new way to look at random encounters that takes danger and chance and blends it with story and characters in a meaningful way.
We've never used random encounters because we were of the camp that they felt tacked on and didn't contribute to the overall narrative. However, we also feel the solution put forth in this video fixes that problem we felt existed, without losing the essence of imminent danger that makes randomization fun.
Chapters:
---
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - Random Encounters are a Polarizing Topic
1:05 - Random encounters - What if WHAT you Randomize Changes? Add a narrative.
2:53 - Some people LOVE random encounters... Hmm...
3:48 - Build Random Encounters based on your player's actions. Random = Repercussions
5:44 - Famous DM Cadence: "There Are Goblins Approaching"
5:55 - The players will realize the things they do matter.
6:33 - Make Narrative Encounters Inform the Story - It's Not Isolated, It's Connected
10:25 - *We Show You an Example* (Xanathar's Guide to Underwear)
12:00 - How Do You Use Random Encounters? Love? Hate? Don't Care?
12:20 - Consider Subscribing! Welcome!
12:55 - TabTerian Toast
13:10 - Endcard - Where Did James Get His Idea?
#Random #Encounters #RPG #D&D
═══════════════
✠ The Dungeon ✠ (Get XP Below!)
═══════════════
► SUBSCRIBE! (1,000 XP)
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=tabletopterrors
► COME HANG OUT! JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP! (1,000 XP)
facebook.com/groups/absolutetabletop
► SUPPORT: Our indie RPG publishing company! (1000 XP)
absolutetabletop.com
► MORE TIPS! See more content like this on our website!
TabletopTerrors.com
► LET'S CONNECT!
➜ facebook.com/tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜twitter.com/tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜ google.com/+tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜ Mends the First Break eNewsletter
eepurl.com/4YjqP (10,000 XP)
═══════════════
⁜ The Θubliette ⁜
═══════════════
Comment below!
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Random encounters are a polarizing topic in the land of Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs.
There is one camp who feels that randomized encounters are the only way to make the world feel inhabited, dangerous, and alive,
Another camp feels that an encounter that is totally random can take a tightly-paced, story-driven session and derail it entirely, feeling like the random element was a tacked on waste of time.
But what if you could take the best of both worlds and smash them together to create something totally new that does both of these things?
In this Tabletop Terrors video, James, Jeff and Tim talk about an entirely new way to look at random encounters that takes danger and chance and blends it with story and characters in a meaningful way.
We've never used random encounters because we were of the camp that they felt tacked on and didn't contribute to the overall narrative. However, we also feel the solution put forth in this video fixes that problem we felt existed, without losing the essence of imminent danger that makes randomization fun.
Chapters:
---
00:00 - Intro
00:17 - Random Encounters are a Polarizing Topic
1:05 - Random encounters - What if WHAT you Randomize Changes? Add a narrative.
2:53 - Some people LOVE random encounters... Hmm...
3:48 - Build Random Encounters based on your player's actions. Random = Repercussions
5:44 - Famous DM Cadence: "There Are Goblins Approaching"
5:55 - The players will realize the things they do matter.
6:33 - Make Narrative Encounters Inform the Story - It's Not Isolated, It's Connected
10:25 - *We Show You an Example* (Xanathar's Guide to Underwear)
12:00 - How Do You Use Random Encounters? Love? Hate? Don't Care?
12:20 - Consider Subscribing! Welcome!
12:55 - TabTerian Toast
13:10 - Endcard - Where Did James Get His Idea?
#Random #Encounters #RPG #D&D
═══════════════
✠ The Dungeon ✠ (Get XP Below!)
═══════════════
► SUBSCRIBE! (1,000 XP)
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=tabletopterrors
► COME HANG OUT! JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP! (1,000 XP)
facebook.com/groups/absolutetabletop
► SUPPORT: Our indie RPG publishing company! (1000 XP)
absolutetabletop.com
► MORE TIPS! See more content like this on our website!
TabletopTerrors.com
► LET'S CONNECT!
➜ facebook.com/tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜twitter.com/tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜ google.com/+tabletopterrors (1,000 XP)
➜ Mends the First Break eNewsletter
eepurl.com/4YjqP (10,000 XP)
═══════════════
⁜ The Θubliette ⁜
═══════════════
Comment below!
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
