5E Non-Combat Encounters Help

[d20 Miscreant]

Hey, Playground, I'm going to be DMing a 5e game coming up.

First time for all of us to be playing 5e (though we've all had experience with 3.5). The party is first level; a tiefling monk and a human fighter (planning on eldritch knight). The characters aren't quite finished yet, so I can't really fill in more details about them as of yet.

As far as my question goes, do any of you have any suggestions for non-combat encounters? I plan on having them guard a merchant wagon and through the trip I'll probably throw a boar, a couple of wolves, and maybe a goblin or three at them (I've heard low level 5e can be pretty gritty). But my wife (the tiefling) has expressed interest in some things other than combat.

Tl;dr - two-person 1st level party (monk and fighter) guarding a merchant wagon. I'm looking for some interesting non-combat encounters for them.

[weaseldust]

Inconvenient things that can happen to you while escorting a merchant:

The wagon falls in quicksand! You have to get it (and the horses, and the merchant, and the merchant's wares) out safe.

You take the wrong path and have to cross a great ravine! You'll need to make a bridge somehow. There's a friendly gnomish handyman present, though you'll have to talk him out of the giant hang-glider he's planning, and mighty trees for wood, but they'll be tough to cut down safely.

The wagon is careering downhill! You have to avoid being thrown off, dodge the boulders scattered on the hillside, and keep the fragile wares safe in the meantime.

Tricksy fey steal the horses! They don't want to fight, but they'll make their prizes hard to find. They might be polymorphed, or in the feywild, or just being ridden across the plains at break-neck speed. You either have to steal them back or negotiate for their return.

The merchant promises to sell something to a wizard for X gold. Later, a warlock turns up and offers 2X gold for it! Either the merchant sells it to the warlock, in which case you have to steal it back or find a replacement to sell to the (notoriously short-tempered) wizard, or the warlock steals it, in which case you have to do the same anyway.

Another merchant is travelling to the same destination with the same wares and is making much better time. If she gets there first, she'll be able to exploit the market for your wares before you can, and your merchant will make much less money! You'll have to persuade her to change course, race her there, or sabotage her wagon. If you do the latter, you might find she has some kind of magical assistance you can steal or cause to backfire.


Do any of these sound useful?

[Gritmonger]

When I hear "non-combat encounters" I tend to think of political or interpersonal challenges more than physical ones. Maybe the caravan they're guarding is escorting a prisoner - a prisoner that is an escaped indentured servant. Maybe the usury laws are still such around here that somebody can buy somebody's debt and own them. Make the debt for not more than the party has, or maybe a little more, and see what they do in conversation. They could ignore it and let "justice" take its course, they could argue with the bounty hunter who is getting a share for bringing them back, they could free the prisoner during the night or during a physical skirmish, they could try and buy the debt outright, only to be told that while the bountyhunter might hand the person over for the bounty they'll have to negotiate with the leanholder.

It might not seem like much at first - but consider it in terms of medieval debt-collectors and credit rating agencies, and see if the plight doesn't hit home a little.

Feel free to make the NPC indentured servant as likeable or unlikeable, or as influential or non-influential as you see fit. They might want their freedom, or might feel like they owe the PC's now that they have bought the debt - and the law might see it that way, too.

[d20 Miscreant]

Helpful replies, thank you. Might combine some things... Have the wagon run into quicksand, nearby gypsy camp will help, for a price. Perhaps escorting one of their indebted troublemakers to a nearby town.

Feel free to toss any other ideas out there!