Encounter Seed Ideas

[Volos]

I've been working on making my encounters suck less. To that end I've developed some Encounter Seeds. The bare mote of an idea for a scene or event for the players to stumble upon, or for that scene/event to stumble upon them. My list so far is rather extensive but I feel there is still room for improvement. They are very simple but set the tone for a random encounter that may or may not develop into a fight, roleplay scene, or series of skill checks. So, here is my Encounter Seeds as they are so far. If anyone else has some ideas for some, especially non-combat encounters, I'd love to see them.

EDIT:: I've updated the list to include ideas provided by the community as well as others I've been inspired to add from other sources.

Spoiler: Encounter Seeds

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Encounters While Stationary or Moving

Foes/NPCs Gathering Resources
Foraging for Food
Hunting Animals or Creatures
Collecting Treasure from Location
Collecting Loot from Bodies
Foraging for Herbs and Medicine
Collecting Water at Good Source

Foes/NPCs on the Road
At the Start of Travel
Lost during Travel
Midway Through Travel
Ambushed During Travel
Travel with Injured or Sick
Stuck in Snare or Trap
Crossing Terrain Hazard
At the End of Travel

Haunts
Ghost Unaware of Death
Ghost Angry About Death
Ghost Possessing Objects
Ghost Possessing the Living
Ghost Possessing the Dead
Ghost Possessing Animals

Fey
Playing with Wildlife
Making Plants Grow
Playing with Animals
Picking Fruit/Nuts
Obsessing Over Shiny's
Pulling a Prank
Playing at Host to NPCs
Enchanting NPCs

Natural Disasters
Flash Flooding
Wildfire
Tornado
Earthquake
Thunderstorm
Snowstorm/Rainstorm
Rockslide/Mudslide
Wild Magic

Encounters While Moving

Scenery Encounters
Excess of Animal Chatter/Activity
Lack of Animal Chatter/Activity
Dead Animal Corpses
Excess of Fish in River/Lake
Lack of Fish in River/Lake
Dead Fish in River/Lake
Excess of Fruit/Nut/Vegetables
Lack of Fruit/Nut/Vegetables
Spoiled Fruit/Nut/Vegetables
Abandoned/Broke Wagon/Boat

Path & Scenery Changes
Natural Hazard Reveals Hidden Treasure
Natural Hazard Reveals New Path
Natural Hazard Reveals Dead Body
Natural Hazard Reveals Monster Lair
Natural Hazard Conceals or Destroys Path
Natural Hazard Damages or Destroys Bridge
Natural Hazard Damages or Destroys Watchtower
Natural Hazard Damages or Destroys Cabin/Lodge
Overgrown Area Hampers Travel
Fallen Trees/Rocks Hampers Travel
Washed Out Ground Hampers Travel
Illusions Conceal Path Hampering Travel

Foe/NPC Encounters
NPC with Dead Allies
NPC with Wounded Allies
Wounded NPC with Allies
Child NPC Lost and Alone
NPC Offering Travel by Wagon/Boat
NPC Traveling Merchant, Selling Wares
NPC Traveling Merchant, Refusing to Sell
NPC with Illicit Items, Hiding or Concealing
NPC Return from Hunt with Prey/Trophy
NPC with Crashed/Broken Wagon/Boat

Foes/NPCs at Camp
Making Camp
Preparing Food
Sleeping & Keeping Watch
Being Ambushed
Defending Camp
Planning Movements
Breaking Camp

Foes/NPCs Setting an Ambush
Ambush during Travel
Ambush at Empty Camp/Lair
Ambush at Resource
Ambush at Trap
Ambush at Planted Treasure
Ambush at Dead Bodies
Ambush at Natural Hazard
Ambush at Food Source

Foes/NPCs Fighting
Winning a Fight
Evenly Matched
Losing the Fight
Fighting Pinned Foes
Being Pinned by Foes
Waiting on Reinforcements
Running from a Fight
Chasing Quarry

Foe/NPCs Encounters
Talking to Ally
Talking to Foe
Trading for Items
Threatening Subject
Stalking Subject
Tricking Subject
Toying with Subject
Handling Animal

Trained Animals
Lost in the Wild
Guarding Dead Owner
Guarding Wounded Owner
With Liter of Young
Carrying Fresh Prey
Hunting Live Prey
Caught in Trap
Stuck in Natural Hazard

Wild Animals or Monsters
Sleeping in Unusual Place
Sleeping in Den/Lair
Guarding Den/Lair
Hunting Prey as a Pack
Hunting NPC as a Pack
Eating Food/Prey
Marking/Patrolling Territory
Fighting for Alpha Status
Fighting for Mates
Caught in a Snare/Trap
Baby Monster/Animal in Unusual Place
Powerful Monster Slain in Unusual Place

Pests or Vermin
Swarm Attacking NPCs
Swarm Eating Carcasses
Swarm Destroying Vegetation
Swarm Wandering Area
Two Swarms Clashing
Sea of Swarms Overtake Area

Locations
Stone Ruins of Humanoid Origin
Stone Ruins of Magical Origin
Stone Ruins of Alien Origin
Abandoned Ghost Town
Ruined Mine/Sawmill/Quarry
Primitive Worked Stone Caves
Advanced Worked Stone Caves
Decrepit Watchtower
Abandoned Hunting Cabin/Lodge
Empty Natural Tree Houses
Empty Natural Hill Burrows
Magically Hidden Forgotten Cabin/Lodge

Signs, Markings, Warnings
Drawing or Mark on Small Landmark
Drawing or Mark on Large Landmark
Signpost on Path Warning of Hazard
Signpost on Path Warning of Monster
Signpost with Location Directions & Distances
Signpost with Bad Location Directions & Distances
Directional Marker Pointing Away From Path
Directional Marker Pointing Way You Came
Directional Marker Pointing Way You're Going
Altered Plants/Roots/Vines to Spell Words
Altered Plants/Roots/Vines to Make Spell Runes
Dead Body Laid to Point in a Direction
Intentional Trail/Path Markers Left by NPC
Unintentional Trail/Path Markers Left by NPC

Strange Findings
Statue of NPC in Unusual Place
Statue of Monster in Unusual Place
Golem posing as Statue in Unusual Place
Mundane Crafting Furniture in Unusual Place
Cache of Useless Items in Unusual Place
Oddly Colored Animal in Unusual Place
Magical Light Object in Unusual Place
Magic Weapon/Tool Stuck in Natural Feature
Old Illusion of NPC Still Functioning
Old Illusion of Bridge/Path Still Functioning

[5crownik007]

Here.

Spoiler: Encounter Seeds

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Traveling Along Roads
-Overturned wagon. It's just a farmer who flipped his wagon somehow.
-Army on the march. The local lord has called for able men at arms.
-Road ends unexpectedly. It's just gone. Possibly misread the map or some guy magically removed the road for some reason.
-Dead bandits, just lying in the road. Looted. They must have ambushed some adventurers, and the bodies are just lying here now.
-Other adventuring party is walking past down the road.
-A babbling villager sprints past, driven insane by something.

Random Events
-Local wizard accidentally creates massive explosion while researching/brewing potions/wizarding and creates giant crater. Debris falls down from above.
-The people in the next village have been completely replaced with replicas/soulless homunculi of some kind so that the local evil man can take the souls of the real villagers for evil reasons.
-The surrounding area is actually magically separated from the rest of the world, allowing ingress but not egress. Continuing down whatever road/street/village you are in will just loop you back to the start. This is some wizard's fault.
-There is a boat. Whether the party is near a beach/ocean/body of water doesn't matter. There is a boat or ship run aground. It may have arrived there by magical means, and the crew is no longer there.
-A floating castle passes overhead. It appears to by suspended by some kind of magic.

[Ken Murikumo]

Traveling:
--Encounter traveling merchant selling rare/exotic materials/items
--Same as above, but with cursed items
--Interesting ruins can be seen from the road
--(When on the sea) Encounter moving island. Its actually a massive (passive) creature.

Anywhere:
--Encounter a group of adventurers that looks suspiciously like the PCs. Not doppelgangers or perfect copies, but close enough to be unsettling.

[sleepy hedgehog]

Spoiler: Encounter Seeds

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Scenery Encounters:
Oddly colored animal

Wild Animals
Animal Nest/Baby animal

Foes/NPCs Gathering Resources
Eating/Telling stories around fire

Swarms of bugs:
Locust swarms (optional hungry farmers)
Spider swarms (with tree-fulls of webs)
Caterpillar/Butterfly

Weather Changes:
Temperature (Warmer/Colder)
Clouds (Clear/Cloudy)
Humidity

Natural Disasters:
Dust storms

Old ruins:
Half standing columns
Decrepit village

Magical Objects:
Fountain (possibilities include looking into, throwing coins, drinking)
Sword in stone (or any of the infinite subversions)

Vehicle hampering issues
Overgrown area
Fallen trees
Flooded out area

Objects Emanating Effect
Tree
Door
Cave

[Volos]

Spoiler: Encounter Seeds

Show

Scenery Encounters:
Oddly colored animal

Wild Animals
Animal Nest/Baby animal

Foes/NPCs Gathering Resources
Eating/Telling stories around fire

Swarms of bugs:
Locust swarms (optional hungry farmers)
Spider swarms (with tree-fulls of webs)
Caterpillar/Butterfly

Weather Changes:
Temperature (Warmer/Colder)
Clouds (Clear/Cloudy)
Humidity

Natural Disasters:
Dust storms

Old ruins:
Half standing columns
Decrepit village

Magical Objects:
Fountain (possibilities include looking into, throwing coins, drinking)
Sword in stone (or any of the infinite subversions)

Vehicle hampering issues
Overgrown area
Fallen trees
Flooded out area

Objects Emanating Effect
Tree
Door
Cave

That's what I'm talking about! Well done. Every other person I've talked to about this seems to miss the point. Simple, basic, bare-bones, minimal idea seeds that can easily be used to create an interesting encounter. Traveling merchant with wares to sell, too complex. An oddly colored animal. Boom! That's the stuff. Thanks for the input, I'll post more seeds of my own when I get more.

[DanDare2050]

Markings
Eye carved in a tree.
Warning sign in stone blocking the road.
Animated cloud in the sky making monstrous shapes.
A big arrow indicator in a creek bed.
Trees grown to spell out a message.
Helium balloon with "beware" written on it.
Small sign post "not far now".

[Jay R]

You come upon a recent battlefield. No survivors, except a baby lying alone on the blanket.
In a heavy wind, a tree falls over, revealing something under its roots.
You come across a beast you've never seen before. [Baby dinosaur, with mother nearby?]
A merchant's wagon is stuck, and with a broken wheel. The merchant is nowhere in sight.
A recent rockslide reveals a cave hidden for centuries.
The river is swollen from recent rains upstream, and the bridge you expected to use is gone.
Bed of quicksand, with one hand sticking out of it.
A large statue, honoring of an immortal emperor you've never heard of.
Crossing the direction you're going, you see a trail of breadcrumbs.
In the middle of a jungle is a stove, with a cake baking in it.

[Volos]

Please don't misunderstand me, I love your suggestions. They have given me some really great stuff to work with and have explored some ideas I didn't even think of... but they are still a bit too detailed for me and my purposes. The way I've been using my Encounter Seeds, they give me a good platform to build an encounter or scene. My creativity is great with prompts but not so great at coming up with the prompts on the fly. If I have "NPC losing Fight with Monster" then I can turn it into "Paladin on his last leg, beating back three fiendish wolves while looking for a chance to escape". So here is how I would use your ideas to make Encounter Seeds.

Markings
Eye carved in a tree.
Warning sign in stone blocking the road.
Animated cloud in the sky making monstrous shapes.
A big arrow indicator in a creek bed.
Trees grown to spell out a message.
Helium balloon with "beware" written on it.
Small sign post "not far now".

Drawing or Mark on Small Landmark
Signpost on Path Warning of Hazard
Magically Altered Weather Illusions
Directional Marker Pointing Away From Path
Altered Plants Appear as Words in Random Language
Floating Magic Item with Small Sign
Sign Post with Directional Information

You come upon a recent battlefield. No survivors, except a baby lying alone on the blanket.
In a heavy wind, a tree falls over, revealing something under its roots.
You come across a beast you've never seen before. [Baby dinosaur, with mother nearby?]
A merchant's wagon is stuck, and with a broken wheel. The merchant is nowhere in sight.
A recent rockslide reveals a cave hidden for centuries.
The river is swollen from recent rains upstream, and the bridge you expected to use is gone.
Bed of quicksand, with one hand sticking out of it.
A large statue, honoring of an immortal emperor you've never heard of.
Crossing the direction you're going, you see a trail of breadcrumbs.
In the middle of a jungle is a stove, with a cake baking in it.

Baby NPC Alone Near Dead NPC Bodies
Natural Disaster/Weather Reveals Hidden Thing (Could make a few variations. Treasure, Body, Monster Lair, Etc)
Baby Monster Alone in Unusual Territory
Abandoned Wagon/Cart with Damage and Treasure
Same as 2nd one in this list
Natural Disaster/Weather Hides or Removes Feature(s) (Bridge, Watchtower, Path, Road, Etc)
NPC Dead Body within Natural Hazard Area (Monster Dead Body, Undead Body, Treasure no Body, Etc)
Sculpture or Statue of NPC in Unusual Location (Golem pretending to be Statue, Woodshaped Tree, Etc)
Scraps of Food Left Behind (NPC Food, Monster Food, Golem Fuel, Etc) OR Trail Reminder Markers Left Behind (Breadcrumbs, Chalk Markings, Lipstick Markings, Broken Branches, Etc)
Mundane Item Crafting Equipment in Usual Place (Recently Used, Currently in Use, Brand New, Broken)