Free tables Travel — encounters by terrain

Random Desert Encounters and Travel Events — d20 Tables

Free d20 tables for desert travel in 5e: twenty things to pass and twenty encounters, half of them not fights.

Most campaigns skip the desert with "three days later, you arrive", because making up three days of it on the spot is work. These two tables do that work: something to see every day, and something that occasionally finds the party.

Each day, roll d20 on the first column for something the party passes. Then roll a d20 encounter check: on a 17 or higher, something finds them, so roll d20 on the second column. Make it 19 or higher on a quiet, patrolled road and 15 or higher somewhere nobody sensible goes. That works out to 10%, 20% or 30% a day.

About half the encounters aren't fights. A broken bridge or a lost traveller changes a journey just as much as wolves do, and it doesn't cost a spell slot. The fights use SRD creatures only, with their counts and challenge ratings, so you can rate them before anyone rolls initiative.

For the weather, don't roll fresh each day: that gives blizzard, sunshine, blizzard. Start somewhere mild and move it at most one step a day (better, the same, or worse on a d6: 1–2, 3–4, 5–6). Four days then read as a journey rather than a slot machine.

The table

20 results. Roll d20.

d20	On the way	If something finds them
1	A colossal stone head, half-buried, staring at the horizon.	Gnolls on the hunt pick up the party's trail. — 1d4+2 × Gnoll (CR 1/2)
2	The same mirage of a city, three days running.	A giant scorpion bursts out of the sand. — 1 × Giant Scorpion (CR 3)
3	The bleached bones of a whole caravan, camels and all.	Jackals follow at a distance, waiting for someone to fall behind. — 2d6 × Jackal (CR 0)
4	An oasis with clear water and no birds.	Giant vultures attack whoever has fallen behind. — 1d3 × Giant Vulture (CR 1)
5	Wind-carved arches like the ribs of a giant.	The wind has uncovered a tomb, and its guardian is awake. — 1 × Mummy (CR 3)
6	A single line of footprints the wind hasn't touched, heading into the deep desert.	Dust mephits whirl out of a dust devil. — 1d4 × Dust Mephit (CR 1/2)
7	Glass in the sand where something struck the ground very hot.	An ankheg erupts beneath the camp. — 1 × Ankheg (CR 2)
8	A dry well with a rope leading down into the dark.	Raiders on camels sweep down on the party. — 1d6+2 × Bandit (CR 1/8); 1 × Bandit Captain (CR 2)
9	A nomad camp, just abandoned, fires still warm.	Giant hyenas stalk the camp at night. — 1d3 × Giant Hyena (CR 1)
10	The top of a tower poking out of a dune.	A luxurious tent appears in the heat, and its owner invites the party in out of the sun. — 1 × Lamia (CR 4)
11	Vultures circling something just over the ridge.	A caravan offers water in exchange for guards.
12	A sandstorm on the horizon that isn't moving closer. Yet.	The waterskins are running low, and the next oasis is dry.
13	Cacti whose fruit someone has carefully harvested.	A nomad clan insists the party pay respects to their chief before crossing.
14	A salt flat so bright it hurts to look at.	A sandstorm forces the party to shelter for a full day.
15	A carved marker pointing to water that isn't there any more.	A traveller, half-dead from thirst, carries a strange map.
16	Scorpions all heading the same way.	The wind uncovers a sealed tomb entrance, with a warning in an old language.
17	A chariot wheel sticking out of the sand.	A merchant sells water at ruinous prices, and knows the party has no choice.
18	A shrine with offerings of water in sealed jars.	A camel wanders into camp with full saddlebags and no rider.
19	A night sky so clear the stars cast shadows.	The party's guide admits they're lost.
20	The dunes humming low whenever the wind blows.	A mirage oasis turns out to be real, and occupied.

Questions

How often should I check for random encounters?

Once a day of travel is plenty for a montage. Checking every few hours is for when the journey IS the adventure, and it slows the table down fast.

Should every random encounter be a fight?

No. A road where everything is a fight teaches the players that travel is a tax. Half the results here are people, obstacles and discoveries for that reason.