Encounter Table - Bandit Blood Swamp
This week I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and using my Universal Encounter Table as the basis for a region-wide Encounter Table.
I've written up 12 new creatures, recycling the same statblocks wholesale from the UET. So if I'm using the same statblocks as the UET, then what's changed? I've:
- swapped out weapons and damage
- renamed the statblocks, and
- written up to 3 dotpoints for each to spell out abilities, environmental context and lore.
I won't lie - it was a bit of work, simply because there are 12 entries. But each creature was lightweight enough that I'm confident I could improvise an individual statblock at the table if need be. The tools are right there - a basic statblock, and a few region-specific tags for inspiration.
If nothing else, it would be worth coming up with a couple of rough concepts in your prep, to build the rest of your encounters around. Once I had the first few creatures down, the rest came fairly smoothly.
Intermission: Dice Goblin Update
Dice Goblin has already updated their original post, Just Use Bears... Or Wolves, Dragons or Spiders in response to the Universal Encounter Table.
He's taken a different tack to me - rather than building an encounter table with all of the archetypal beast statblocks, he slots a selection into a Nick-Whelan-style 2d6 table - a different selection based on the region. (I keep bringing Nick's blogpost up, I really need to get some new material.)
This has a couple of benefits:
- Since Nick's table comes prepackaged with results for 2, 7 & 12, there are only 8 statblocks that need to be placed into each region.
- The probabilities of various encounters appearing can be shuffled to give each region its own feeling.
But I've got a concept to prove, so I'm sticking with the Universal Encounter Table laid out in last week's post, and fleshing out the Bandit Blood Swamp.
A Quick Refresher
To generate a wilderness encounter, draw 2 cards and keep the lowest.
Refer to the card's rank for the encounter.
Refer to the card's suit for the reaction:
♠️ - hostile
♣️ - unfavourable
♦️- favourable
♥️ - friendly
Bandit Blood Swamp
Description
- A low-lying region off the sweep of the river. Stands of cypress trees jut from the swamp. A variety of plants and animals proliferate, reflected perfectly in the waist-high water. It is beautiful here, though dangerous to those who don't know the ways.
- Sparsely populated. Some few build homes on boats or islands, but it is considered safer to be removed from the water, either in hammock homesteads suspended from trees, or in stilt houses. Swampfolk have a hospitality custom extending to groups of 3 or less.
- The swamp is all but impossible to tax or police. In recent years a self-proclaimed Bandit King has begun to organise raiders and collect tithes from residents. Rumours hold that the lord of the nearest holding wishes to drain the swamp entirely.
Themes
- outlaw
- aquatic
- bloodsucking
- hiding
- slimy
- overgrown
Statblocks
2: Pilgrims
Statblock: Deer
Tags: (NA - Deer is a prey animal, so I wanted something for the more dangerous encounters to prey on.)
4 HP, 8 STR, 14 DEX, 6 WIL, walking staff (d6)
- Sandal-clad. Warily travelling to a holy site in next region in small groups. Attempt to keep to dry land.
- May not know that swampfolk hospitality extends to groups of 3 or less.
- Skittish near strangers, but may offer payment for a trustworthy escort.
3: Bandit Swampfolk
Statblock: Boar
Tags: Outlaw, hiding
4 HP, 12 STR, 9 DEX, 8 WIL, sickle (d6)
- Peasants who raid - or raiders who farm. Swampfolk must do both to get by.
- Experts at navigating and hiding in swampy terrain.
- Wear bandanas and carry a smokestick - an especially smoky torch used to keep Swampfly at bay. Melee within a smokestick cloud is Impaired unless wearing a face covering.
4: Swampfly Swarm
Statblock: Rat
Tags: bloodsucking
4 HP, 6 STR, 12 DEX, 11 WIL, bite (d3), detachment
- Noisy flies the size of a marble. Bloodsuckers with a painful bite.
- Swarm in clouds an armspan across. Attracted to carrion; dispersed by smoke.
- Critical Damage: Limb-Lock Disease. Target is Deprived, and must save STR or lose d6 DEX.
5: Root Snake
Statblock: Snake
Tags: Hiding, aquatic
3 HP, 5 STR, 12 DEX, 3 WIL, bite (d6)
- Brown, knobbled-looking snakes that camouflage amongst exposed tree roots. Track targets' approach through the movement of nearby water.
- Its poison sac is known as an Ambergris Purse, and is prized by perfumiers.
- Critical Damage: Target exudes strong rotting smell, attracting Swampflies - the true diet of Root Snakes.
6: Needlebeak
Statblock: Hawk
Tags: bloodsucking
4 HP, 5 STR, 13 DEX, 12 WIL, hypodermic beak (d6)
- Wading birds. By day they can be seen fishing in trios - one spears a fish while the other two drain it of blood with their hypodermic beaks. Also known to feed on larger prey if it's sleeping - including unwary humans.
- Hunted for the powerful anaesthetic secreted in their beaks.
- Critical Damage: Target area is anaesthetised and goes numb. Add a Fatigue.
7: Slime Troll
Statblock: Bear
Tags: Slimy, overgrown
6 HP, 15 STR, 13 DEX, 5 WIL, fists (d8+d8) or club (d10)
- Trolls who have once been burnt often move to swamp environments. Gigantic warty humanoids with cracked pink patches of skin.
- Drape themselves in slime, and sleep half-submerged in mud. If burnt or deprived of moisture, attacks are Impaired.
- When taking Critical Damage, a Troll will continue fighting, despite loss of flesh and limb. Only when their STR is 0 are they truly killed. Will fully regenerate within 1d4 days if kept moist.
8: Bandit Enforcer
Statblock: Wolf
Tags: Outlaw, blood
6 HP, 12 STR, 14 DEX, 8 WIL, spear (d8) or machete (d6)
- Form named gangs feared by nearby holdings. The most successful have cults of personality amongst the local swampfolk.
- Use thornmoss before battle. A stimulant, thornmoss is wrapped around bare skin, where it drips blood. Leaves bright red tracery on users' arms.
- If affected with thornmoss, first attack in a melee is enhanced. Additionally, will never flee while HP is above 0.
9: Alligator
Statblock: Crocodile
Tags: aquatic, hiding
6 HP, 14 STR, 10 DEX, 8 WIL, bite (d8) or claws (d6 + d6)
- Same thing, right?
- Critical Damage: Grapples the target, diving into water to drown them.
10: Swampdog
Statblock: Horse
Tags: aquatic, slimy
4 HP, 12 STR, 14 DEX, 10 WIL, bite (d6)
- Slick, sleek, mottled brown-green. Four-legged seal-like mammals that travel in small family units.
- Able to hold their breath for a couple of minutes. Sneak up on prey from beneath shallow water.
- Can be trained if raised from young. Commonly used in pairs to tow single-passenger skiffs. A yearly race is held amongst younger swampfolk.
J: Moss Stalker
Statblock: Tiger
Tags: Hiding, overgrown
6 HP, 14 STR, 14 DEX, 6 WIL, claws and teeth (d8+d8)
- A wiry primate with grasping fingers and sharp teeth. Apex predator that drapes itself in moss and foliage for camouflage.
- Attracted to shiny objects, and will often prioritize stealing loose valuables over hunting a meal. Swampfolk always travel with a polished metal object perched on their boats for this reason.
Q: Bog Golem
Statblock: Elephant
Tags: Slimy, overgrown
9 HP, 16 STR, 6 DEX, 11 WIL, pummeling mud (d10)
- A true golem, spontaneously generated from the swamp. All the arts of sorcery struggle to replicate this natural phenomenon. Still-wet mud makes a morphing, shifting form around bones of roots. Sometimes humanoid, but just as often stranger.
- A bog golem is born when some great disruption or damage occurs to the swamp. Draining, dredging or felling a large area of trees might spawn one.
- Critical Damage: The target must save STR or become incorporated into the golem's body. Their face and voice are occasionally recognisable in its shifting form.
K: **Armored Boat, *Blood Dragon***
Statblock: Dragon
Tags: Outlaw
12 HP, 2 Armor, 14 STR, 15 DEX, 18 WIL, crossbow (d8) or spear (d8) or ballista (d12, no blast damage), detachment
- Crewed by 4 loyal Enforcers and 8 swampfolk rowers. Reinforced with the salvaged timbers from a beached sea vessel, and its figurehead, a dragon.
- The Bandit King's personal vessel, in which he leads raids and enforces tithes. Parts of the swamp remain are not navigable to Blood Dragon, and the Bandit King has teams dredging and clearing constantly, to expand his reach.
- Crew are instructed to use cruel tactics to undermine and intimidate opponents.
Thanks for reading.
Come back next time, for some reflection on this post's writing process and an intriguing lesson learned.