I: Random Encounters as the Natural State of an Imagined World
July 26, 2023
What is this:
An examination of my general thoughts on a subject, combined as a bit of a development log for a project I had been working on as of late; Beyond the Pines - a setting zine for Frontier Scum. I intend to compose my development logs on this blog and ramble on about concepts and design modalities which I feel are useful for development of sandbox games.
Notion:
Random encounters represent the natural state of the imagined world, that which dwells in it, and should represent a vignette, scene, or vertical slice of existence within that world even if the narrative camera is not focused upon the end result due to the absence of the players.
Elaboration:
The use of random encounter tables allows for a glimpse into the natural state of the imagined world that is neither the static stuff of the presupposed content of a room or area, nor the free-associative referee’s hand upon the canvas of the game world. The entities upon the listing, be they events or individuals, speak to the routines, activities and occasions upon which the integrity of expectations for the reality of the game world is built –- they operate and reveal the logic of the existent world, and it is only upon interaction with the player characters that narrative is born.
Random encounters are the means of providing a sense of intrusion, a sensation which befits player characters - who by their nature are novel, new, unique, outsiders and strangers, interceding upon that which is normal by their very presence. They are guided by fate, by providence, by the unseen hand, and narrative emerges by virtue or malice of how they are that whom the proverbial camera follows.
The issue, and therefore the shame of (what I will broadly claim) to be most interactions by players with random encounters is that they are treated as obstacles to which one must expend direct resources or make direct peril of one’s lives.
The random encounters wherein a party comes across “a dragon” or “3d6 wolves” lacks the necessary or more importantly, immediate support structures so as to make such an encounter something which speaks to the natural state of the world - and from which an experience can be gained.
With regards to support structures which can provide use to an encounter which might be viewed as pastiche or expected, I have made use of interfolding randomizers which compound upon one another so as to ensure an end result which presents the intrusion of the party as more interesting than the mere affability of that which is encountered.
Examples from “Beyond the Pines” - General Random Events Table Excerpt
1-5 | Rival Scum - As Bandits, Bounty Hunters, or Gunslingers. | |||
d4 | 1. Making camp | 2. Looting a corpse | 3. Robbing a traveler | 4. Guns at the ready |
d4 | 1. Engaged in a petty argument, furious. | 2. Drinking on the job, or just drinking for fun. | 3. Being pursued by peace marshals. | 4. Hungry as all get out and ready to fight about it. |
6-10 | Wanderers - As Hucksters, Bar Scum, or Hunters. | |||
d4 | 1. Filthy, scuffed up; truly worse for wear. | 2. Singing loudly as they go on their way. | 3. Looking for the holler’s municipal seat. | 4. Taking in the wonders of the natural world |
d4 | 1. Scared, a stranger could be a danger. | 2. Confused, they’re a bit lost and need help. | 3. Starving, and they’ve grown quite desperate. | 4. Unwilling to admit they’re lost, belligerent. |
11-15 | Travelers - As Ranchers, Hucksters, Bounty Hunters or Trappers. | |||
d4 | 1. En route to a neighboring holler | 2. Carting a heavy burden of goods | 3. Searching for a missing beast of burden | 4. Taking a short break from their travels |
d4 | 1. Recently injured, ornery about that. | 2. Weary and exhausted, ornery. | 3. Spiteful from life on the road, not personal. | 4. Making good time, all things considered |
Further Examples from “Beyond the Pines” - Murkhill Holler Excerpt
9 | Murkhill Scum (d4+1 - Heels, Nucks, Pluckers, Finks, Prowlers, Pugs, Backwoods Scum and Fresh Fish.) | |||
d4 | 1. Offering a tip about a ‘sure thing’ job. | 2. Looking for an easy mark to scam or mug. | 3. Fleeing from pursuers, stolen goods in hand. | 4. Trying to get in on the schemes of PC scum. |
10 | Incorporation Lackeys (d6 - Carpetbaggers, Swindlers, Hustlers, Sure-Thing Men, and Coin Trimmers.) | |||
d4 | 1. Looking for a sucker to manipulate. | 2. Engaging in a pyramid scheme with locals. | 3. Selling poorly made, hazardous products. | 4. Looking upon the holler, bemoaning ‘the sticks..’ |
While specifically tailoring to tone every oppositional entry runs the risk of running out of interesting ideas, one should consider that the presentation of this information better fits that which is ubiquitous to the wider world.
To encounter Rival Scum does not inherently call for opposition or antagonism to the party; if they are engaged in a petty argument while making camp they’re not in any immediate condition to fight. If they have their guns at the ready but are as hungry as all get out and ready to fight about - the means to resolve this are readily telegraphed.
This in turn provides further usage by having two tiers of entries to define the entity. This effort is not entirely necessary in the event of a more specified local. Murkhill Scum can function like Rival Scum, but they are localized within Murkhill Holler and their means of specificity are less benighted and more petty in their small time aspirations.
To me, this is inherently more useful to running a game than determining if the opposition to the player characters are friendly or unfriendly; as it gives these entities a form of environment work and allows the intrusion of the player characters to determine how they wish to interact. There is more logic from which to determine how a situation should or could play out; albeit at the cost of the binary ‘fight or aid’ that a traditional reaction table might provide to random encounters.
But this is all concentrated, above, on the concept of presenting a random encounter as an encounter with those dwelling within the natural imagined world; when a random encounter should also include interaction with the elements and sights of the imagined world. Weather is a common means to shift the paradigm of interaction one has with the imagined world; though unless the weather is interesting itself it is little more than set dressing.
Which is not inherently a negative, but a blustery day is seldom memorable unless that bluster has a meaningful impact upon the imagined world, those who dwell within it, and the player characters who are forced to interact with this shift in the paradigm.
Making weather interesting, worthy of events all their own, is a structure I do feel worthy of pursuit. Thus a day may undergo Heavy Rains, potentially soaking any and all parties out in the field - and thus changing what it might mean to encounter any of those above encounters while out in the hollers; but there should be a chance to also roll upon a random encounter/event which relates specifically to this form of weather; an attempt for which is displayed below.
Further Examples from “Beyond the Pines” - Weather Event Excerpt
d6 | Heavy Rains Events | |||
1-2 | The rain comes down and floods the watershed; flooding the roads and turning the paths to muddy quagmires. Check Grit TN10 while riding a horse or vehicle, or risk getting stuck in the mud, breaking a leg, losing a boot, or otherwise suffering additional injury as the rain continues relentlessly to pour down. | |||
3-4 | The incessant flow of water bears down upon the hollers, loosing a mudslide upon a distant hill. The mudslide makes passage through the border of an adjacent hex all but impossible until the rain dies down and 1d4 days have passed to allow it to settle. | |||
5-6 | The knees of old timers rattle strangely, and the waters come down even stranger still. The heavy rain is accompanied by falling creatures, ripped up from the world somewhere further afield. These animals fall down, splattering upon the ground in puddles of gore. Those that smack upon a player scum may be less than overjoyed as well… What’s falling with the rain today? | |||
d4 | Gog-eyed frogs that burst upon impact. | Weird-toothed catfish, flailing as they fall. | Snakes, fearful and furious. Squirming wild. | Spiders by the thousand. Skittering for shelter. |
A day of Heavy Rains may always run the risk of being a miserable day because you spent it in the rain; but when a mudslide happens, your horse breaks its leg, or you witness frogs exploding as they hit the tin roof of the pub - that’s memorable, that’s something the world must react to; and furthermore, that is something which will not happen every day in which Heavy Rain are felt. And thus, it is an experience to get through a day where such an event occurs in a way that has measurable influence upon the imagined world.
Endnotes:
With the current mathematical spread; the randomization one encounters is composed of rolling to determine the Weather (1-of-8 options), 19 Random Encounter categories; 16 of which possess 2d4 compounding randomizations. If a weather event is triggered, there are approximately 3-4 entries per each of the 8 permutations, some of which possess an additional d4 compounding randomization per entry. If instead local encounters are rolled, d10 entries exist defined and compounded by a further d4 per entry category.
It is cumbersome to write it as such, but in flow — and in likely, eventual, automation of rolling (such as via perchance) — it has confluence of use.
Concessions:
Building support structures to these sorts of random encounter tables is a travail; but one I do believe is a worthy pursuit for the benefit of the field and further understanding of design modalities used to better create imagined worlds - sandbox or otherwise. For the purposes of Beyond the Pines, I have had to create an extremely large general listing of random encounters which cover events, entities, and areas to discover while out and about - which in turn means adding additional randomization matrices to compound those entries which allow such things to be used more than once.
This labor is then further compounded in the effort by making specific encounter tables defined by the locality they exist within (such as the above Murkhill Holler encounter entries) which exist to subsume, replace, or act in tandem with the more generalized entries. What could have been a simple table with little further in the way of flavor to dictate purpose instead bloats itself to nourish as best it can - it is the difference between putting out a plate of crackers or getting catering; even if all you wanted was a bit of cheese on a cracker.
This is a laborious undertaking when broadly expressed across an entire setting; one that can allow a GM to carry tone and theme more easily, and to ensure that a scenario feels a novelty that does not inherently require too much more than facilitation of information on their part.
There is a happy medium to find in all this, but for the purposes of building an imagined world that has use at the table rather than creating a setting toolbox which exists primarily for sake of prepping the imagined world beforehand - it is an undertaking I find worthy of pursuit and worthwhile to study as I try my hand at it. Through the labor, obsolescent as parts of it will be to the consumer; I think I will realize the best end results for my purposes.
To put the long thing short:
I desire encounters to give a glimpse of the imagined world, to be useful at the table at a glance, to speak to the themes of the imagined world, and I believe more to it must be present than simple numbered entries or spark table like results to color said entries.
Sometimes the most important and useful things to build credibility in an imagined world are things that those playing will not fully view even if it is a primary means of engaging with the imagined world.
Release forthcoming, such is the nature of the beast.
- Brian Yaksha, 7/25/2023