So, random encounters

[HidesHisEyes]

I've started branching out into sandbox style gameplay. Or at least I'm trying to. One thing I would like to include is random encounters. Not just combat encounters but anything that might be interesting or noteworthy that adventurers might come across.

There's a wealth of premade encounter tables out there, but does anyone have any general advice about how to handle this aspect of the game? Some specific things I'm wondering about:

1) should I worry about whether each encounter has an actual gameplay element to it? Like, if it's not combat I still feel like it should have some possible danger or reward depending on how players handle it. Should I just throw in some "flavour" encounters like "you see a big rock carved into the shape of a dragon's head" that the PCs just notice rather than interact with?

2) related to point 1, what do you do about travelling on roads? It seems even harder to come up with interactable encounters on roads, since the whole point of a road is to get where you're going with a minimum of fuss. So do you stack your brains for engaging things to happen on the road or do you take the view that the players took the road to AVOID encounters so let them avoid them?

3) how many encounter rolls do you make? And do you split them into types e.g. one combat, one social, one environmental?

Any advice for someone new to the sandbox style of GMing is very welcome!

[martixy]

I'd say the first thing you need to consider is:
What purpose would these random encounters serve?

Fill time? Sate your players' combative lusts? Moderate progression? Reveal your world?

[HidesHisEyes]

I'd say the first thing you need to consider is:
What purpose would these random encounters serve?

Fill time? Sate your players' combative lusts? Moderate progression? Reveal your world?

I want the players to feel that the world they're in is alive and interesting and often dangerous. And I want travelling through that world to be a part of their adventures, not something to be skipped over in between one location and the next. If I can get some miniature (or even not so miniature) adventures emerging from random encounters in the wilderness, I'll be thrilled.

[Rockphed]

A road will probably have a different encounter table than open terrain, but it won't be filled with "nothing happens". Some ideas:
[list]
Some things on roads don't move. You could have bandits jump out at the players and demand money. Depending on how smart the bandits are, it might range from a fairly modest fee ("1 gold piece from each of you") to extremely exorbitant ("everything you've got, and your horses"). I would expect the former highwaymen to be a diplomacy/information gathering encounter, whereas the latter would be a combat encounter.
On a road, people travel in 2 directions. Meeting various people coming the other way is a way to flesh out the world a little or give information from where the players are going.
People move at various rates on roads. Overtaking a caravan carrying trade goods will happen. As will having a Royal Courier overtake the players.
Just because you are on a road doesn't mean things cannot move perpendicular to the road. Any time the river crosses a major river there is a chance that some boat is passing by. On the American Prairie, Buffalo herds were massive and went where they felt like. If there is a dragon in the area, their movement pattern is probably only loosely connected with the movements of the humans.

As for how I would run this sort of thing, first I would have a roll frequency based on terrain type. A flat prairie where you can see for days is probably going to have random encounters less often than a twisty track through a dense forest. If I have a basic map, I would note things like where there are crossroads and major (navigable) rivers. Then I would pick a number for how likely encounters are. Say I roll d% and want encounters about 25% of the time, then on a 75 or higher I would roll on the encounter table. If the roll is less than 75, then I add 1 to the next roll. I would also have a modifier column in the encounter table so that every time there is an encounter I add the modifier to the running total.

Example:

The players are traveling in lightly wooded farmland on a road along a major river. I decide that farmland has encounter chance every 2 hours, the river has encounter chance every 2 hours, and the road has encounter chance every 4 hours. So, after 2 hours of travel in a day I roll d% twice, once for the river, once for the farmland. On the river roll I get a 27, so on the farmland roll I add 1 changing my 67 into a 68 (still not enough to get an encounter). Then, after 2 more hours of travel, I roll 3 times, once for road, once for river, once for farmland. I roll 36 for road (+2 for 2 failed rolls), 18 for river (+3 for 3 failed rolls), and 72 for farmland (+4 for 4 failed rolls). Then I roll on the farmland encounter table, getting a result of "herd of sheep" with a modifier of +10. So I describe to my players how they have encountered a herd of sheep in the road and give them the chance to talk to the shepherd. They could also attack the shepherd if they felt so inclined (level 1 shepherd(5 hit points, shepherd stick (treat as quarterstaff)), 2 dogs (10 hit points each, bite attack)). Then 2 hour of travel later we roll again getting a 65 on the river table (+10 for herd of sheep, +0 for failed rolls) getting an encounter. I roll on the encounter table and get "hippopotamus" with a -5 modifier. The players are thus regaled with their meeting with a grumpy hippopotamus. I also roll on the farmland table and get a 47 ( +10 for herd of sheep, -5 for hippopotamus). Then, after 8 hours of travel I roll 3 more times. On the road table, I roll a 100, getting an encounter. On the road table I roll "royal courier" with a modifier of 0. On the river roll I get a 71 (+10 for herd of sheep, -5 hippo for a total of 76). On the river table I roll "Nixie" with a modifier of -15. On the farmland roll I roll a 95 (+10 herd of sheep, -5 hippo, -15 Nixie) and roll an encounter of "Haywain".

[SirBellias]

What I've done in this situation is to have 6 encounters with actual game play elements attached.

I usually do a separate encounter table for roads.

All creatures have to come from somewhere, and all somewheres don't have to have creatures in them (but they should come back eventually if there are any that make sense).

Encounter chance while traveling: usually a 10-12 on a d12 twice to three times per day (every 4-5 hour shift). Adjust to 11-12 if they're being sneaky, 9-12 if they're being specifically outrageous.

Encounter chance at night: same except 1 roll per 2 hour shift. If they aren't traveling, ignore anything that can't move unless it can temporarily be made noticeable (glows from the windows, fires).

If an encounter is rolled for, pick the most obvious or roll 1d6 until you get what you want. Kinda random?

The encounters themselves usually are hinted at from rumors or distance. Or they just land on you.

Usually 3 or 4 of the options are creatures, and the rest are notable locations. If they are combat or not is how much the players suck at social skills or Handle Animal.

[Psikerlord]

I suggest of mix of combat and RPing/side treks for roads & trails (example below from Low Fantasy Gaming RPG):

1d20 ROADS & TRAILS

1 - A broken down cart, filled with firewood and other timber. Two elderly wagoners ask for help to mend the axle and get them back on the road. The wagoners have lived in the region many years, and might have useful information.
2 - 2d4 Adventurers chasing a rumour of lost treasure, magic or glory. They might invite the travellers to assist, consider them rivals, or ignore them, depending on the circumstances.
3 - A thief locked in a crow cage is dying of starvation. She pleads with the travellers to release her, in return for a service or secret information of a valuable nature.
4 - 4d6 local Soldiers or Militia on patrol. They don’t suffer cheek.
5 - A merchant caravan (1d8: cloth, wine, foodstuffs, oil, trinkets/art, tools, plants, other) with 3d6 guards.
6 - 3d6 pilgrims making their way to a near (or far) shrine or temple.
7 - A carriage carrying a noble, escorted by 3d4 knights or other heavily armed guards.
8 - A robed woman with a shaved head on horse, escorted by three men with features reminiscent of a monkey, a pig and a fish. They are on a quest to locate some holy scriptures.
9 - 3d6 Bandits block the road, extorting a “road tax” from travellers. If asked how much, the leader replies “How much ya got?”
10 - A Hag, posing as an old crone, makes polite conversation with the party, hoping to gain their trust and accompany them for a time. When the opportunity arises, she attempts to eat one of them before escaping. She leaves behind an Evil Eye pendant, to spy on her pursuers should they track her.
11 - 3d10 Human Berserkers (60%) or 4d6 Beastmen (40%) have decided to risk raids on road travellers, despite the occasional guard patrols, in the hopes of earning more valuable booty.
12 - 1d6 Wererats (60%) or Werewolves (40%) in human form and posing as merchants, explorers, farmers, labourers, miners or artisans, attempt to befriend the party and accompany them for a time. If rebuffed, or when the opportunity arises (or at the next full moon) they attack.
13 - 2d4 Beggars line the thoroughfare, asking for alms. One or more might belong to a network of spies, keeping an eye on the to-ings and fro-ings along the road.
14 - A wagon carrying an undertaker and a number of coffins. He is armed with a well used sword, but would like the party to act as his guards till the next town (his prior guards got into a drunken brawl and were arrested). The undertaker might be Doppelganger, hoping to kill one of the travellers and take his place, hiding the body in one of the coffins.
15 - 1d6 smugglers with a carriage or textiles wagons, secreting transporting (1d8: false papers, slaves, gems, counterfeit currency, poison, floor plans, maps, other). Nosey travellers might get a sword in the gut, or an invitation to help out for a cut, depending on the circumstances.
16 - A saddled but rider less messenger horse thunders past, saddlebags intact. Half a mile up the trail is the dead messenger’s body with a broken neck, as if thrown from his horse. A severed chain dangles from a locked forearm clasp.
17 - 2d6 wealthy tourists visiting from the neighbouring towns and villages. They are accompanied by 4d6 guards. They are in good spirits and happy to share stories with other travellers.
18 - A troupe of 3d6 performers, artisans and bards. Some might be opportunistic thieves or spies on the side.
19 - A detachment of 4d6 Knights are urgently hunting a criminal, traitor, or other human enemy. They interrogate everyone they encounter for any useful information. There is a 20% chance one of the travellers resembles their quarry.
20 - A Bloodroot Treant has taken up residence beside the road, masquerading as a normal tree. Tell-tale signs of blood can be found around the base of the tree.

[Green Elf]

Just some general advice:

Only give random encounters for reasons (IC or OOC)

Don't make random encounters to bring characters to or to the brink of death.

Any world building whether just cool places or culture is great to throw in on the road. For example, somewhere in this thread there was an example of a stone shaped like a dragon head. That's great! You could just say it's there, and maybe even use it as a location later.

You GM for players, not yourself. Sorry for the bad news, but you have to give up some fun to make the game the best one yet. Because when it comes to RPGs, your most recent adventure should be the best.

[Darth Ultron]

Note that just having a rock or tree is not an ''encounter''.

1.You do want encounters to have ''an actual gameplay element to it'', if you don't it is not an encounter.

2.Roads are a great place for random encounters as you can encounter anything on a road as anything can be traveling the road to anywhere for any reason.

3.A lot. Yes, a couple different tables.

[Thrudd]

Every area should have its own random encounter table based on environment and nearby residents, and how often you roll depends on how populated the area is (whether that be populated with civilized folk or monsters). Don't do stuff like "there's a rock". You can have a separate table for interesting terrain features, that isn't a bad idea - but roll it in addition to the encounters. Maybe once as they enter each hex.

What the road should do is allow faster travel time. So you still roll with the same frequency for that region, but the characters will get where they are going faster than if they were off-road (so there will probably be less encounters). Roads are generally only found in civilized areas, so the encounter table for that region could probably include the sort of stuff you see on the example table in the post above. Unless it is a road through an area controlled by monsters or some humanoids - then the table will be traveling bands of orcs or goblins or whatever lives there. The road doesn't inherently prevent dangerous things from appearing, that is a function of the danger level of the region it is found in.

Encounters should be things the characters can interact with, though not necessarily needing to always be mechanically. In non-civilized lands, it should pretty much all be dangerous monsters, most of which are likely to attack. Closer to civilization, more social encounters with fewer combats. Of course, what turns into a combat encounter will sometimes depend on how the players react. With intelligent creatures, there should be a reaction roll to see how the creature is feeling at that moment toward the characters - maybe they are distracted doing something else and not really interested in fighting, maybe they are wary and approach carefully giving the characters a chance to parley.

The point of random encounter rolls is that they are random - don't decide what sort of encounter it will be, just populate the table in a way that reflects the demographics of the region, and follow the dice.

The way you organize and arrange your charts should make sense to you and reflect how you way your world to be, there isn't one way that everyone does it. One approach is to always use the same chance of an encounter happening, but make checks more often depending on how dangerous/populated the area is. Alternatively, you could always make the same number of rolls for each day, but adjust the chance of an encounter happening. Or do both, so you can make some areas especially dangerous or especially easy.

[FreddyNoNose]

There are many reason for them. The worst advice imo, is that they need to have some deeper meaning for the campaign plot. They don't although you can make them that way. IMO, random encounters is a no brainer and if you are struggling with them, it might be you are making them out to be much much much much bigger than they should be.

Your goal of making the world more alive and interesting is the right way to look at it. Not every little detail needs to be planned and detailed out to the Nth degree. In some ways, it will open things up for you to grow as a DM as you learn to deal with the unexpected.

Now you don't have to do them. You don't need to do travel. You don't need to have the players wander around a dungeon killing everything off until the final boss. You could just have them teleport around the world walk into the dungeon and run into the final boss without all the "hassle". It would kill the game and make it not alive and interesting.


Now, if you are doing the "narrative style", you have to make it into a pretentious epic story and the advice gets tossed out. Everything is important and more important is to make the players feel like they are the most important thing in the game world. Why? Because those players need that and you have to provide it.

[Grod_The_Giant]

1) should I worry about whether each encounter has an actual gameplay element to it? Like, if it's not combat I still feel like it should have some possible danger or reward depending on how players handle it. Should I just throw in some "flavour" encounters like "you see a big rock carved into the shape of a dragon's head" that the PCs just notice rather than interact with?
If it can't be interacted with, it's not an encounter, it's part of the travel narration. It's absolutely a good idea to work such details into your descriptions of the trip, to give the land some character, but those aren't encounters.


2) related to point 1, what do you do about travelling on roads? It seems even harder to come up with interactable encounters on roads, since the whole point of a road is to get where you're going with a minimum of fuss. So do you stack your brains for engaging things to happen on the road or do you take the view that the players took the road to AVOID encounters so let them avoid them?
More encounters with NPCs, fewer with monsters or mysterious terrain. The party probably isn't the only thing on the road. Heck, depending on the surroundings, the roads might be more dangerous-- perhaps the local tyrant has patrols out sweeping the roads for enemies...


Any advice for someone new to the sandbox style of GMing is very welcome!
I haven't done much true sandboxing, but-- as GM-- the key question to ask yourself in... pretty much every situation is "will this be interesting?" Don't just throw random encounters in for the sake of rolling dice, or breaking up a trip. They don't have to tie into some overarching plot, but random encounters should

Reveal things about the world. An owlbear in the Owlbear Woods doesn't tell you much. An owlbear in the desert tells you something weird is afoot. (If only with the GM's encounter tables :smalltongue:)
Be... not safe, exactly, but you shouldn't get dangerous surprises. Surprise being the key-- the players shouldn't turn the corner and come face-to-face with the tarrasque, to use an extreme example. If they're wandering around a particularly dangerous area, they should know about it beforehand. If a particularly deadly monster is afoot, there should be tracks, maybe corpses to warn them. If they do come face-to-face with something overpowering, flight should be achieved. Fatalities should be caused by bad decisions, not bad rolls on a random table.
Be fun on their own merits. A random encounter shouldn't be "two bugbears on an open plain," it should be a neat little roleplaying encounter, or an interesting tactical situation, or a clever puzzle. Something enjoyable for what's happening now, not for what it says about the future or for what's happened in the past.

Ultimately, they should be worthwhile. Otherwise, if they exist only as padding, skip 'em.

[hymer]

1) should I worry about whether each encounter has an actual gameplay element to it? Like, if it's not combat I still feel like it should have some possible danger or reward depending on how players handle it. Should I just throw in some "flavour" encounters like "you see a big rock carved into the shape of a dragon's head" that the PCs just notice rather than interact with?

Each random encounter should have a potentially meaningful effect. The big rock carved as a dragon's head needs something, however subtle. How about having it found only where the local kobolds (who worship a dragon as their god) patrol? Now you know why it's there, and the PCs may find out something by studying it (Investigaton and History, and perhaps some tool prof to guess what kind of creature made it and with what purpose in mind). Even if they fail to find something out this time around, they may eventually find out, one way or another, that those carved rocks are there for a reason. They may ask some NPCs about it, which opens up some RP options.
But just having a local non-hostile person as an encounter can be potentially meaningful. S/he likely knows something about the area, or you may come up with some small problem s/he's having. And if you have an encounter table that sometimes has you roll for two encounters, and you must then come up with what's going on, you can have that person someone the PCs can save, e.g.


2) related to point 1, what do you do about travelling on roads? It seems even harder to come up with interactable encounters on roads, since the whole point of a road is to get where you're going with a minimum of fuss. So do you stack your brains for engaging things to happen on the road or do you take the view that the players took the road to AVOID encounters so let them avoid them?

You could have a separate roads encounter table. Personally, I just reroll an encounter that doesn't make sense while travelling, e.g., on a road, or just have it be nothing after all. But roads aren't the best place to avoid travelling pedlars and highway robbers, for instance. People looking for people are likely looking by the roads. And changes in the weather, or a potential earth slide, or a horse throwing a shoe? These can all happen on roads.
What I do instead is make sure the PCs get a Perception check to notice groups of creatures. Usually one of them rolls quite well, and they get to decide whether to (attempt to) evade the encounter altogether. It can be over very quickly if the group are agreed on that course, but they still get to make a decision.


3) how many encounter rolls do you make? And do you split them into types e.g. one combat, one social, one environmental?

My encounter rolls come when the PCs enter a new hex. If they travel quietly, the chance of an encounter is low. If they're travelling in an area with lots of activity, the encounter chance is higher for that.
After the roll for whether there is an encounter, I roll on a table that indicates what sort of encounter. Friendly/neutrals, journey trouble (anything from a shift in weather over a torn shirt to risk getting lost), or a potentially dangerous encounter (monsters or wildlife; but whether it turns to battle depends a lot on what the PCs do). And then I roll on that table. So one to three rolls per random encounter chance.
Oh, and how many encounter checks during a long rest depends on how good a campsite they've found. The better their Survival roll to set up camp, the fewer rolls.

[the_david]

Skip the random part. Don't bother making up a list of encounters that could happen if you could just take the good ones. So instead you could use some preset encounters that the players randomly walk into. They're usually tied to a location, or they're triggered by an event.

If there have been reports of highwaymen robbing people you can expect your players will run into these bandits if they use the roads. (You can turn this in another side quest leading to the bandit hideout.)
The players ignored a shepherd who asked them to slay that monster that has abducted his herd because the poor man had no money? Surprise! The road is blocked by a herd of sheep and a Gray Render. (Another side quest, return the sheep.)
If they travel by river you could have a Lacedon try to pull one of the PCs out of the boat.
You can even have preset encounters in the city. They could just walk into madam Sunny, 5th lv. commoner vampire. (Cities are full of locations with preset encounters.)

Keep in mind that too many random or preset encounters effectively turn the game into a railroad.

[Thrudd]

Skip the random part. Don't bother making up a list of encounters that could happen if you could just take the good ones. So instead you could use some preset encounters that the players randomly walk into. They're usually tied to a location, or they're triggered by an event.

If there have been reports of highwaymen robbing people you can expect your players will run into these bandits if they use the roads. (You can turn this in another side quest leading to the bandit hideout.)
The players ignored a shepherd who asked them to slay that monster that has abducted his herd because the poor man had no money? Surprise! The road is blocked by a herd of sheep and a Gray Render. (Another side quest, return the sheep.)
If they travel by river you could have a Lacedon try to pull one of the PCs out of the boat.
You can even have preset encounters in the city. They could just walk into madam Sunny, 5th lv. commoner vampire. (Cities are full of locations with preset encounters.)

Keep in mind that too many random or preset encounters effectively turn the game into a railroad.

I disagee. The point of random encounters is that you aren't choosing them, it's actually random, just like a real world's encounters would be. If it makes sense for a specific thing to happen at a specific place and time, then you can make that happen, but that doesn't preclude the chance of other things happening.

Having random encounters is the opposite of a railroad- "too much" randomness would possibly mean less coherence, but only if it is done wrong or irresponsibly.

Also, why wouldn't everything on the list be "good ones"? You're making the chart, remember? Not just randomly flipping pages in the monster manual.

In general, the random encounter table should be actual encounters with people or creatures. Weather should be its own table that you roll based on the season and climate. Descriptive environmental features yet a different chart. The trick to it is taking the result from the chart and discerning what makes sense for the narrative given the present context. Use the tables to give you ideas and make fun in the moment adventures. It makes the DM job a lot easier and more fun, once you've done the prep work.

[Jay R]

1) should I worry about whether each encounter has an actual gameplay element to it? Like, if it's not combat I still feel like it should have some possible danger or reward depending on how players handle it. Should I just throw in some "flavour" encounters like "you see a big rock carved into the shape of a dragon's head" that the PCs just notice rather than interact with?

No. They will spend three hours trying to figure out the secret of the dragon's head rock, if there isn't one to find.


2) related to point 1, what do you do about travelling on roads? It seems even harder to come up with interactable encounters on roads, since the whole point of a road is to get where you're going with a minimum of fuss. So do you stack your brains for engaging things to happen on the road or do you take the view that the players took the road to AVOID encounters so let them avoid them?

If it's a sandbox, you aren't deciding if they take the road, except by including cool places off in the wilderness.

I tend to assume a wilderness world with pockets of civilization. Many places can't be reached on the road. But you don't "take the view" that the players took the road; you ask them where they are going.


3) how many encounter rolls do you make? And do you split them into types e.g. one combat, one social, one environmental?

Random encounters are groups of people or monsters. You should have some idea what their goals are, and that will affect what they do first. But often the strangers aren't going first. The players will decide if they attack or talk.

Environmental hazards come out of designing a place. They aren't usually random.

One of the purposes of random encounters is to break into stretches of boredom. If the players take more than a few minutes feeling unsure, indecisive, and bored, then it's time to roll initiative (or have somebody drop in who might have the clue they need).

[Tinkerer]

1) should I worry about whether each encounter has an actual gameplay element to it? Like, if it's not combat I still feel like it should have some possible danger or reward depending on how players handle it. Should I just throw in some "flavour" encounters like "you see a big rock carved into the shape of a dragon's head" that the PCs just notice rather than interact with?

It depends on your group, as was pointed out some groups will spend forever trying to figure out why there is the dragon head but others will just move on. I like including them because my players know that unless they are on the look out for a dragon head rock it's most likely just a dragon head rock. They may approach it and kick it a few times but generally they'll just make a note of it and move on. Just make sure you adjust it to what is relevant for the area. If you put that in there you should know why (carved by a local tribe who worships dragons?)



2) related to point 1, what do you do about travelling on roads? It seems even harder to come up with interactable encounters on roads, since the whole point of a road is to get where you're going with a minimum of fuss. So do you stack your brains for engaging things to happen on the road or do you take the view that the players took the road to AVOID encounters so let them avoid them?

When I'm running this style of game I usually make roads use a different table (I actually use cards instead of a table but it's the same basic parameters). While you may have fewer combat encounters on a road, except for bandits, you are much MORE likely to run into social encounters.



3) how many encounter rolls do you make? And do you split them into types e.g. one combat, one social, one environmental?
I do. As I mentioned I usually use a deck of cards where the suits dictate the type of encounter. I then allocate a number for each of the suits depending on how likely you are to run into that type of encounter, the lower the number the higher the chance of an encounter. For instance a road might be combat 9, social 5, environmental hazard 8, place of interest 5. If I draw above the number then an encounter takes place. How often I draw depends on a number of factors including the danger level of the area and how I feel the pacing should go. And if I draw an ace than I draw another card and combine the results.

I don't often use the complete sandbox style but when I do that's roughly the system I use (I have a few variations)

[Pugwampy]

I usually prep my sessions with one Awesome fight which i make the 1st encounter . All the cool decor and tactics go into this one .

3 random encounters. Basically to kill time , fun , loot and xp .

My advice is keep it different , make your own list of favorite monsters and make types of encounters eg. 6 bandits or 3 knights on horseback ,1 Big monster , 10 little monsters and Enemy adventurers , stuff like that. Humanoids and warbeast little humanoids with giant crossbow.

Remember you are a giant when viewed gobs and kobs , if they hunt you why would they not have "harpoons" ?

Players enjoy classic monsters as well as unknown monsters try to mix it . Also try to mix the difficulty , half the fun of this game is the next fight going to be super easy or so hard you have to cheese it .

For me an open road does not mean safe travel . Roads are like waterholes , its a food source for preds , its loot for bandits
Safe travel for me is renting horses , griffins or a coach or teleport.

[weckar]

Roads are AWESOME for random encounters. Just think of all the other people traveling on that road, either overtaking or meeting you. Trade Caravans, a vampire's servant driving his master's coffin in the back of a covered cart, snake oil salesmen...

[Vogie]

Other options are:

create a map with a bunch of routes that cross and go through each other... and not show it to the party. The you can place encounters on the map, but as the party travels, they decide which route to go, and that determines whether or not they have a "random encounter".
Create a world or event that has an excessive amount of people travelling at the same time - large sporting event, religious pilgrimage, mass migration, recently open border, trade caravan, refugees fleeing from war or a natural disaster. That way, there are lots of people surrounding the party a the same time, and the party's interactions with those people dictate whether or not they have an 'encounter' or not.
Have the world be sparsely populated, but be a web of interconnected tiny villages. The road doesn't have any encounters, or very few, but each of the towns have a handful of potential encounters - anything from the typical "we're under siege", "I can't find my son", or "we need wolf pelts" miniquests to spontaneous "attacked by raiders" or "the barn's on fire" encounters.