Random Encounters I

I'm not a big fan of random encounters.

By which I mean that I don't like sitting at the table, during a game, and rolling on a table to decide what (if anything) is going to attack the players while they're busy doing something else, like sleeping.

I do like random encounter tables, though, because they can provide inspiration in the planning stages of a session.  And I like wandering monster tables for dungeons, because they can add to the theme of the dungeon and even move the plot along.

So, maybe I am a fan of random encounters, as long as they're done well and used sparingly.

At any rate, I like making random encounter tables, so here's one for a generic high-fantasy setting.

Roadside encounters (fantasy)

1. A poorly dressed peasant selling trinkets from a shoddy wooden cart
2. An unconscious woman with disheveled blue wings
3. 2d6 bandit elves who are masquerading as traveling minstrels
4. A depressed titan
5. 1d4 lycanthrope children (siblings) who are hiding under an overturned cart
6. An abandoned cart full of weapons and armor of varying quality and material
7. A red flag planted in the middle of the road
8. A young, silk-adorned red dragon charging a toll to pass through a canyon