The Forest, CR 5 – Random Encounters for Dungeons & Dragons: Fifth Edition

by jmgariepy · March 18, 2016

“Well, I don’t trust you Merrybottom! You always play favorites, you’re a constant cheat, and you’re fat!”

“Oh look, oh look, oh look, oh look! Adventurers! Brave souls blazing their way by blasting blades of whey with blades! Risking life and limb while whisking tree limbs for night life and gin! You waste your time, ladies and laddies. Tree loins aren’t lined with gold coins!”

“Or are they…”

“Shut up, Merrybottom! Nobody likes you!”

“That’s it! The adventurers can judge our talent contest for pixies! That way, the judging judges can judge impartially! Will you, won’t you magistrate our majesty, your majesties?”

“Psst. I wouldn’t say no if I were you. People who don’t play along with pixies tend to get played with…”

“Yeah… but you know what Pixies hate more than fuddy duddies? Pixies hate to lose…”

Sir_Joseph_Noel_Paton_-_The_Quarrel_of_Oberon_and_Titania_-_Google_Art_Project_2

The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania, by Joseph Noel Paton

Appropriate random encounters for

Seven fourth level characters
Four fifth level characters
Three sixth level characters
Two seventh level characters and a fourth level hireling.
Or a lone eleventh level character travelling through the forest.

For more information on random encounters, when they are appropriate, and how often they should occur, see the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), page 85. For more random encounter charts, go to the Random Encounters for Dungeons and Dragons: 5th Edition page.

When determining a random encounter, roll 1d12+1d8 and consult the chart.

d12+d8	Description	Relationship to Players	Result
2	Very Rare	Deadly Encounter	A young green dragon searches for a new home to conquer.
3	Rare	Dangerous Encounter	A green hag manipulates a banshee, convincing her through illusion that the adventurers are those who mocked the tortured soul while she lived.
4	Rather Unlikely	Hard Encounter	Three halfling berserkers, and three halfling tribal warriors charge out of the brush.
5	Unlikely	Hard Encounter	Five vine blights, four needle blights, and four twig blights, uproot and swarm the party.
6	Uncommon	Medium Encounter	A petulant gorgon trammels everything in its way.
7	Plausible	Medium Encounter	A troll’s belly is forever grumbling.
8	Common	Medium Encounter	An orc eye of Gruumsh leads four other orcs in an assault.
9	Most Common	Friend or Foe Medium Encounter	A werebear, who used to be a Chaotic Good elf ranger, is angry at the world for cursing her.
10	Most Common	Easy Encounter	An ogre with his pet dire wolf and giant owl makes an ill-advised attack on the party.
11	Most Common	Easy Encounter	A pack of eight wolves tail after the party.
12	Most Common	Common Roleplaying Encounter	A horse and wagon trundle through the forest. Accompanying the wagon are eight tiefling children of various ages, ushered by an old fortune teller. The clairvoyant is happy to tell the character’s fortunes, and does so for no charge. But when the last character’s fortune is told, the seer reveals that that character is cursed; and the curse will remain, threatening that character’s life, until they bury 400 gold in the ground between two nearby trees and walk away.
13	Most Common	Common Beneficial Find	If a character makes a Nature check at DC 10, they recognize a patch of dusk hemlock. If dusk hemlock is applied to a slashing or piercing weapon, the first creature that weapon damages must make a DC 13 Constitution check or takes 2d10 damage and becomes poisoned. There is enough hemlock to create 6 doses, but each dose requires a DC 15 Nature check to harvest. (See more poison rules in the DMG, p. 257.)
14	Common	Piece of Flavor	Under layers of clinging ivy, one can make out a collection of human-sized statues, all gesticulating wildly.
15	Plausible	A Trap!	Unless the character leading the party makes a DC 15 Perception or Survival check, they fall into a twenty foot pit trap (2d6 damage). At the bottom of the pit is a patch of yellow mold, that sprays out spores on contact. (DMG, p. 105) Climbing out of the hole requires a DC 10 Athletics check.
16	Uncommon	Uncommon Roleplaying Encounter	The characters stumble upon a talent competition among twelve pixies. The pixies are arguing among themselves, because none of them can be impartial judges. When they see the characters, though, they insist they must play be their judges. If the characters refuse to play along, the pixies will lose interest in their talent show and instead decide to play with the players. But electing a pixie to show in last place… that might be worse…
17	Unlikely	Environmental Hazard	The skies gray. Within half an hour, a lightning storm will wrack the forest. If the characters are sheltering by a large tree, near a high peak, or near a source of water, there’s a 50% chance they will be struck by a stray bolt of lightning for 4d6+3 damage (DC 15 Dexterity or Survival check for half damage. And yes, you can feel the onset of a bolt of lightning.) Either way, movement and visibility is heavily restricted in this torrential downpour, and (if the characters don’t find shelter) treat them as being under the effects of Frigid Water (DMG p. 110) for the next 30 minutes (the time it takes the thunderstorm to pass.)
18	Rather Unlikely	A Barrier	This section of the forest is coated in webs. (DMG, p. 105) The six giant spiders who created this gauzy home aren’t home right now. But if the players spend too much time disentangling themselves, the vibrations in the webbing will alert the spiders who are never far away.
19	Rare	A Lucky Find	A lush of drunkards stumble through the woods. When questioned, they point the adventurers to two arched trees, which operate as a portal to the Feywild. Once breached, the forest gives way to a bustling town, each building cropping up wherever a large tree in the Material World stands. The adventurers arrive in the Feywild just as a festival is winding down, and booths are packing up. If they’re interested in buying something exotic, they better move fast.
20	Very Rare	Incredibly Fortuitous Find	A character stops to catch their breath and leans against a tree. The bark of the tree sloughs off, however, and there appears to be something written on the other side. Is this some sort of treasure map?