Northern Arandish Forest d30 Encounter Table

To accompany my previous post on the geography and culture of Achelon, I here offer an exciting encounter table usable in any northern forest in Ara, be it in northern Achelon, the Western Lands, even near the Ghardash Wilderness in Telengard -- though the latter will also have its own particularly nasty encounter table (forthcoming).

For the d30-less (poor forsaken souls!), I also offer a d20 version of this encounter table, included on the free downloadable pdf version of the Northern Arandish Forests d30 table.  See also two new Arandish forest-dwelling monsters at the end of this post!

Northern Arandish Forests Encounter Table – 1d30
1: Bear, Grizzly
2: Bee, Giant Killer
3: Bugbear
4: Cat, Panther
5: Dwarf
6: Elf
7: Ghoul
8: Hobgoblin
9: Lycanthrope, Werewolf
10-11: Men, Brigands (30% chance that the band includes rodians)
12: Men, Lone Mad Hermit
13-14: Men, Local Patrol*
15: Men, Ranger
16: Ogre
17: Ogre, Wild**
18: Orc
19: Owlbear
20: Roc, Small
21: Snare: One PC rolls initiative vs. the snare and is caught if s/he loses.  The trappers (50% chance human brigands, 50% chance tree trolls) appear swiftly and attack.
22: Spider, Giant Black Widow
23: Troll, Hill
24: Troll, Tree**
25: Wight
26: Wolf
27: Wolf, Dire
28: Encounter a Ruin***
29: The party stumbles across a partially decayed corpse
30: A dying Magic-User propped against the base of a tree hands a party member an indecipherable scroll, then perishes

* In Achelon, this would be the Queen’s soldiers; in Telengard, the Roughriders; in the Western Lands, any one of many possible local militias – maybe two competing ones!
** New Arandish monster, described below.
***I suggest you use the Random Ruin Generator by Robert Lionheart, in Knockspell #3.

New Monsters

Ogre, Wild
No. Enc. 1d4 (2d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
AC: 4
HD: 6
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d10 / 1d10 / 1d12 + rabies infection
Save: F5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class:  II + V
XP: 570

Faster, stronger, and far more bloodthirsty than normal ogres, the wild ogres of northern Ara are fearsome opponents.  Wild ogres are larger and hairier than standard ogres, and attack mainly with long, sharp, deadly claws.  Wild ogres are fiercely territorial and do not like to be disturbed by humans or other "civilized" beings.  A wild ogre's bite attack infects its target with rabies unless a save vs. poison is made -- the rabies infectee goes mad and dies within 1d6 days unless cured via the cleric spell Cure Disease.

Troll, Tree
No. Enc.  1d6 (3d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Move: 120' (40')
AC: 5
HD: 3
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite), set traps (see below)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d8
Save: F4
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: X
XP: 65

A smaller and more mischievous cousin to the larger trolls of Ara, tree trolls are in fact extremely rare EXCEPT in the forests of Northern Ara, especially in Achelon, where they seem to proliferate.  Tree trolls are not typically keen on direct attack strategies, preferring instead to soften their foes with tricks, psychological warfare, and rope or vine snares before attacking in large groups.  Unlike, say, rock trolls, who tend to fight to the death once they smell blood, tree trolls will retreat in the face of particularly strong foes and/or combat circumstances that turn against them.  Tree trolls have the same regeneration abilities and susceptibilities to acid and fire as their larger brethren.  Tree trolls live in treetops and hollow stumps and logs.