Barovian random encounter.. how much?

[Barovian gravedigger]

After a couple of games a realized that my encounter table gives too much encounter, i.e. too much roaming monsters for any common peasant to survive 3 weeks in the wild!

So what would be the right rate or amount of encounter?

[Nathan of the FoS]

It's one of the great Ravenloft cliches that "There are no random encounters in Ravenloft". While you don't have to make that true in your campaign, I think it is true that truly random encounters tend to break the flow of a Ravenloft adventure not in the hack-and-slash mode, and you might want to eliminate them entirely.

On the other hand, you could simply say, "Well, no ordinary peasant WOULD survive three weeks in the wild in Ravenloft," which is also entirely defensible, and leave the table as is.

[Barovian gravedigger]

I totally agree with you Nathan and i`m thinking to go in between, reducing the frequency of random encounter but keeping the lethality of these encounter as they are.

But the true intent of my post was more on the "mechanical" aspect of random encounters!
I mean should it be 10% per hour during the night and 25% during daytime... OR 15-20% per 6 hour periods OR simply once during the day and once again for the night?

That was the true intent of my post!

thanks

[Joël of the FoS]

Answer IMHO: as you see fit, to keep the pace of your game.

Prepare a few encounters, and throw them at your PCs as you see best, according to the session dynamics.

Joël

[Ail]

Answer IMHO: as you see fit, to keep the pace of your game.

Prepare a few encounters, and throw them at your PCs as you see best, according to the session dynamics.

Joël

I don't roll for random encounters. I simply say that if the PCs are in the wild, they have or not an encounter as I see fit to add to the mood. I plan them all before hand, and they're mostly part of the story anyway, even if they're there only for colour (as a brush with a Direwolf that they thought was a lycanthrope....)

Ail

[Darkknight]

I do the same as above. I roll for the sake of the players thinking I am doing something. If they are going to have an encounter, it was already planned out.

As for the original topic of this post, one roll in the day and one for each watch the pcs set up has always been effective for me in other campaigns. Also remember that random encounters need not always be an enemy. Sometimes Vistani wander through, one group had Jander sit down an play something for them. All is flavor, if the group wants to hack... let them. Adjust the % as you see fit. As for peasants not surviving a week... Rmember they are smart enough to lock doors, stay inside, and a re born with a natural sense of: Time to get out of here.

[Barovian gravedigger]

Thanks Darknight for remembering the original topic !

Every reply helped in a way or another... thanks all!