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View Full Version : Random Encounter Chart Generator 3.5



TheOverlord
2010-06-11, 09:59 PM
If you have ever wanted to generate more than just a single encounter at a time your wildest dreams have just come true. You can now generate whole encounter charts of creatures and customize that chart by base encounter level, environment, creature types, templates to apply, and alignment. The chart isn't just a static chart. Every creature on your chart is pre-generated with a link to the generated stat block of the described creature(s). These creatures will have class levels, advanced hit dice, larger sizes, templates (that you can restrict) and will also be grouped into encounters of similar creatures.

You can't make this stuff up.
Did I mention it is just as free as all the other tools? Why would you abandon 3.5...it is just starting to get good...and easier for the DM (and arguably more frightening for the players...but sometimes they need a good challenge).

Random Encounter Chart Generator (http://www.monsteradvancer.com)

Navigator
2010-06-11, 10:48 PM
Very, very nice. I definitely plan on playing with this a bit. For my current game, generating encounters this way isn't really an option, but this coming fall I will probably be able to give it a great amount of use.

Are you looking for any help with this? I'm a programmer and I love to make D&D related things (see my wealth tool).

Koury
2010-06-11, 11:32 PM
I've actually used this for a while. It's good. *thumbs up*

TheOverlord
2010-06-12, 07:00 AM
I've actually used this for a while. It's good. *thumbs up*

Koury, I appreciate your support. I hope you didn't miss that I just released a brand new generator last night. It creates whole charts of monsters rather than just a single encounter. (It pre-generates all their stat blocks and links them via the chart).

Rannil
2010-06-12, 11:17 AM
Joy! Really happy to see something new and useful, especially in the sandbox game I'm currently running. Was already having troubles making new monster-lists each time the party went a new direction. Certainly going to use it. Many thanks.

Just one question/request. I noticed that are was a range of CR, which is neat, but it seems a bit deadly at times. For a random level 1 party I got challenge ratings scaling from 0 to 7(!). Could you add something to add max ranges of CR or at least limit it down a bit?

Volthawk
2010-06-12, 11:34 AM
Wow, another add-on to the site! I like. Funny how if you don't have anything for the selections, you get a Tarrasque.

TheOverlord
2010-06-12, 12:51 PM
Joy! Really happy to see something new and useful, especially in the sandbox game I'm currently running. Was already having troubles making new monster-lists each time the party went a new direction. Certainly going to use it. Many thanks.

Just one question/request. I noticed that are was a range of CR, which is neat, but it seems a bit deadly at times. For a random level 1 party I got challenge ratings scaling from 0 to 7(!). Could you add something to add max ranges of CR or at least limit it down a bit?

The current system is based on a 3d6 roll (this will be adjustable eventually as well).

The central numbers are by far the most frequent so the EL range goes from EL -1 to EL +2 in general. However, the 2 end points (3/18) have a range of EL of EL + (3-6) representing a significant encounter that probably should not be run as a real "battle" encounter unless you want to murder your party.

There are 2 reasons I originally did this. One, there is no real reason you can't have encounters that you have the party encounter from a distance to help establish area depth so that they start taking time to determine that an encounter is for them or whether they should avoid it altogether. Two, the probability of rolling a 3 or 18 on 3d6 is 0.46% each...which means the chance of either of these super hard encounters is 0.92% per roll.

Regardless of my initial motivations I plan on you providing you the ability to specify min CR max CR and whether you want the dangerous encounters on the end rolls. This shouldn't be too long before I can provide this...if it starts to take longer than I hope I will go ahead and make the end points less lethal for the default chart layout.

As a quick aside on probability and encounter charts. Rolls like 3d6 provide bell curve style probability by default. (See AnyDice (http://anydice.com/) Web app)

3d6 provides 16 slots of encounters with a center point of (10-11) which accounts for exactly 25% of all rolls on 3d6 and end points described above 3/18 @ a total of 0.92%

3d8 provides 22 slots of encounters with a center point of (13-14) which accounts for 18.76% of all rolls and end points of 3 and 24 which account for a total of 0.4%

4d6 provides 21 slots with a center point of exactly 14 @ 11.27% and end points of 4 and 24 @ a combined total of only 0.16%.
At that point we could put the Tarrasque as one of the end points (0.08%) that would be a 1-8 on a 1d1000 and go with it and let it be a nice flavor encounter as opposed to a combat encounter.

So, when we use dice that automatically provide a nice bell-curve (not a d%) we have a nice way to ensure that most encounters are close to the EL you have specified and those end points can really be left for exceptional flavor.

OracleofWuffing
2010-06-12, 12:57 PM
You can't make this stuff up.
:smalleek: Then from whence did it came!?

I always wanted to get some more entropy in my designs, and I guess some recursion is always good. Also, repeating things. Crossbow.

TheOverlord
2010-06-12, 03:50 PM
:smalleek: Then from whence did it came!

The main idea was ripped directly from Thoon's gaping black maw after mastering my own madness and reaching The Great Silence at the end of the Far Realm. I just don't like to talk about it. Thoon is Thoon and Thoon is all!

TheOverlord
2010-06-12, 08:22 PM
Wow, another add-on to the site! I like. Funny how if you don't have anything for the selections, you get a Tarrasque.

You are definitely the first to notice this! A random CR 20-37 Tarrasque to be exact. :)