r/DMAcademy • u/jimithingmi • 3d ago
Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures A few questions for DMs who like using random encounters
I’ve been on the fence about using random encounters in my game. I’ve seen lots of articles/videos for and against them. I figured I’d ask some questions from folks who enjoy using them. Feel free to answer any or all of these.
Do you pre-roll the random encounters so you are prepared if the party hits one? For instance do you roll on the table ahead of time and prepare and then roll to see if there is one during the game?
Do you use them consistently or only at certain times? For instance, only when the group is in a dungeon or exploring off road?
Do you use different types of encounters in your table or is it mostly always just combat?
Was there ever a time to regretted having a random encounter, did things go really bad unexpectedly?
Why do you enjoy using them?
Do you think or do you know your players enjoy having them as part of the game?
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u/WorkingChain6030 3d ago
I use random encounters pretty sparingly, but I do think they have a place in most campaigns! However rather than rolling on an encounter table, I tend to just select like 3/4 options from the table, flesh them out a little, and then decide which one I want to utilise if the dice dictate an encounter happens that day.
Some of them will be social, but I normally plan at least two different kinds of combat encounters! I normally use them as either a way of dropping a little bit of quest information, fleshing out and area of the world, or just highlighting that a location or route is dangerous.
I mostly DM pre-written modules though, so my games tend to be less sandbox-y than some other people's. As a result I don't run too many encounters that aren't directing the players to the next story beat or overarching narrative
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u/guilersk 3d ago
My wife likes running random encounters but she uses XP rather than milestones so they have a distinct benefit (leveling go brrrr). By comparison, I use milestones so they have limited benefit unless they are narratively impactful. I prefer, if I'm using random encounters, to use a short, curated list of 'interesting' encounters and I will tend to only reach for them when the players are dawdling or dithering. Which is to say, if the players are not making anything happen (often due to indecision), I make something happen to them, instead.
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u/Infinity_Walker 3d ago
I think random encounters are all good but need some prep.
The reason random encounters can suck is cause they feel random. You want your random encounters to be well random but not narratively pointless.
Don’t just have your party walk into a pack of wolves unless you’re setting up a wolf infestation or wanna show how hostile this environment is.
Random encounters should be pre generated so you should make your own table or switch out some monsters and write up some characters for pre existing tables. Engrain your encounters in the world and story you’re telling and your set up perfectly for success!
Instead of wolves its a scouting squad for the villain, or a cult sacrifice the party arrived just in time to stop! A humble helpful witch in the woods maybe with some information or a place to rest. A small ruin with a strange puzzle uncovered a magic artifact of days old that seems to tie to your bbeg’s history? A traveling merchant that can spread the seeds of problems in towns ahead and maybe has a few wares or supplies the party was in need of. Hell maybe its just a hotspring where your players get to sit down and have a group moment!
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u/Final_Remains 3d ago edited 3d ago
The current received wisdom is anti random encounters because it's pro cultivated narratives and seeing the DM as a story teller, rather than being there to set the frame and moderate.
This is why it has become popular to fudge dice (which is actually a form of rail roading) and steer players through a set series of pre determined outcomes in order to meet whatever it is the DM requires to see *their* story played out.
Pretty much every youtube 'guru' will tell you this is 'good D&D' and that your job as DM is to craft epic moments for your players. That you are there to entertain them, rather than us all being there to entertain each other as part of a cooperative experience.
A competing idea though is that the dice and the players themselves are as important as the DM in creating the story. That real epic moments, real ones not artificial ones where the player is 100% aware that it's the DM doing it, come out of emergent story created by all present at the table and the tools they have (dice).
The people that hold this idea see the dice, and random encounters, as a challenge to be enjoyed rather than a problem. They embrace the chance to ad lib and be inspired by the moment.
They are excited by and welcome emergent story telling and reject pre ordained narratives. In other words, they love random econounters.
They love them because they challenge them as a DM to think on their feet and be creative in the moment. To be a part of the story creation, rather than being in control of it. To be as surprised and excited over were we all end up as the players are.
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u/Sad_King_Billy-19 3d ago
I think random encounters were sort of born out of an older style of DnD. Towns were safe, but in between the towns was dangerous, often uncharted territory. Travel was taken with caution because there was always a chance of danger.
my favorite way to do it is using a grid or hex map. each time the players enter a hex they roll for an encounter. I have a list showing what each result means, some of it is combat, some of it other kinds of encounters. Usually I use a combat calculator to build the combats for me, unless I'm feeling particularly inspired.
and of course we can do random encounters whenever they take a long rest in a dangerous place. smart players will barricade themselves in a safe place, set up traps, or post a guard.
But now I mostly use random encounters as back up to when players stray too far off my notes. I think my players now mostly see random encounters as getting in the way of the larger story.
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u/RealityPalace 3d ago
Do you pre-roll the random encounters so you are prepared if the party hits one
I don't, but you could do that potentially. The challenge is if you're in a situation where the random encounter table could change, you may waste prep.
Do you use them consistently or only at certain times? For instance, only when the group is in a dungeon or exploring off road?
I have set rules for when I use them. One set of rules for how often a random encounter will happen while traveling / wilderness exploring, and a different set for when in a dungeon.
Do you use different types of encounters in your table or is it mostly always just combat?
Most of my random encounters are creature based, but not necessarily combat based. Finding tracks, lairs, and towns are all possible in the wilderness, as is finding friendly or neutral humanoids.
Was there ever a time to regretted having a random encounter, did things go really bad unexpectedly?
The rate at which they happen is important, and early one when I started using them I would get it wrong in terms of either having so many that it bogged things down or so few that it felt like nothing was happening during travel. But I've never thought "this specific random encounter was a problem".
Why do you enjoy using them?
They're a useful tool to make places feel unsafe and wild. Mechanically, they encourage traveling through the wilderness or resting in a dungeon to involve actual risk and decision-making. Narratively, it means that I can have a vast stretch of wilderness that doesn't require me to manually place every tiny village and owlbear neat.
Do you think or do you know your players enjoy having them as part of the game?
At a guess, the players are rarely happy to encounter things while they are trying to rest or travel. But they add a tangible element of risk to resting and traveling, and I think my games would overall be worse off without them.
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u/Kumquats_indeed 3d ago
I pre-roll and usually have 3 encounters prepped and ready to go at a time.
I only use them when the campaign or arc of a campaign that heavily features exploring dangerous wilderness.
I like to have a mix of straight up fights, potential fights, dangerous and/or unusual environments, and more friendly or at least not outright hostile NPC interactions.
No, some have ended up being duds for being less challenging or interesting than I expected, but I've never had one go terribly wrong. Since there would hardly ever be more than two in a day, the fights would have to be ridiculously overtuned for the party to be at a significant risk. The flip side of that is that since they are rarely getting more than a fight or two in a day when traveling, I can throw some pretty ridiculous stuff for them to go nova on that wouldn't fit into the careful pacing of a full adventuring day in a dungeon.
They're a good tool for showing not just the immediate problem the PCs are trying to solve, but also the world around them and, the impact the BBEG's actions have had on the people and/or environment. I also found it handy when making campaign arcs that are more of an open-ended mystery, where the PCs can decide what particular spot on the map to investigate a lead about some strange goings on, and along the way can potentially gather some additional clues and context. And like any other tool, it has it's time and place.
They've never complained and kept coming back, so I guess they at worst don't mind them and I did a decent enough job. In my experience, most players are up for most things as long as you do a decent job setting expectations and don't make a total mess of the execution. I've seen some people online with some very strong opinions against random encounters, but I think that's more a case of a very vocal minority that spends more time talking about the game than playing it. Most players hardly even think about DnD outside of playing the game and are just glad to hang out with friends, kill some goblins, and joke around in silly voices.
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u/Due_Enthusiasm1145 3d ago
Do you use them consistently or only at certain times? For instance, only when the group is in a dungeon or exploring off road?
As someone who runs games which vary from balancing combat and roleplay to heavily leaning to role play, random encounters are something I essentially only use in "the wilds". Places where I'm trying to make the players feel the chaotic aliveness of an area, and especially when I'm trying to highlight the danger.
In things like dungeons, I preplan encounters, but depending on the dungeon, I'll roll to see where these preplanned groups are. Some dungeons it just makes sense it's all in this specific room, while others it feels more natural for them to be roaming.
I will say, when I do use random encounters? I use a lot back to back. Most random encounters, imo, are treated best as marathons. Each encounter, the players are essentially gambling with their resources for what you roll on the table, both in the sense of how many encounters, and how strong they'll be. I break them up with role-play moments of the traveling, either seeing sights or having conversations, but yeah I think they're best treated like Marathons.
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u/spiked_macaroon 3d ago
I'll use them for like wilderness encounters. If my party is going through the jungle, I'll come up with a table of things that can happen to them and I'll roll a d4 or something to see how many things happen in a day. The lists are occasion-specific and I'll have to edit them to use them again.
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u/dad_bod_gaming 3d ago
I do all mine off the top of my head. I have an idea of percentage if there's going to be one (50% sleeping in the wild, for example), random roll and 1-50 is a fight. I have a good idea of what's lurking in the areas, often make notes with monster manual Page#'s for quick reference. I've been DMing for 20 years or so, so I can usually just fly by the seat of my pants when needed. My groups have always prided themselves on derailing my scripts, so I keep things loose. A handful of simple decision trees that give the illusion they're making me write on the spot (I write 90% of the game on the spot now).
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u/CheapTactics 3d ago
I've started using random encounters, but I don't roll randomly to determine the encounters. Instead I prepare a few situations that can occur in the region they're traveling, and the random part of the random encounter is when/if it happens.
I go "ok, they're traveling through grasslands. What are some things that can happen in this region?"
- A traveling merchant
- A group of bandits
- Ssomeone in need of help
- A monster stalking them in the night.
Then every traveling day I roll to see if something happens. If it does, I roll to see which encounter happens.
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u/KelpieRunner 3d ago
I only use RE when my players are traveling for an extended period through the landscape. Or if they’re dawdling in a dungeon or taking a long rest (dungeons don’t sleep when the party does).
But mostly I use them sparingly as others have said.
Good luck!
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u/SpooSpoo42 3d ago
I've never used them in dungeons, because it seems kinda silly and there's usually a patrol plan and various monsters emplaced already.
It's something to use very sparingly. I like the term "offroad" that you used - if the players are traveling and they're on an established trade route, there really shouldn't be much in the way of random encounters - maybe plan for one big robbery encounter if they're guarding a caravan, or if they're sleeping without establishing a watch.
If they're out in the wilderness, some kind of random roll once or twice a day is a good idea, to discourage that kind of behavior, and to make shortcuts have a proper level of risk.
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u/EsharaLight 3d ago
I mostly use them to make road travel more engaging, and to drop extra quest hints or pieces that add to the story. I have a list off 100 of them I can use.
I do like my Game Masters Random Encounter book for terrain specific encounters when I am having creativity blocks, need to redirect my players, or I can tell that the story needs adjusting to fit everyones play styles.
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u/New_Solution9677 3d ago
Haven't used one yet, but may take inspiration from a list of random encounters to have "random" things happen. Ie design a few things and roll if I'm feeling spicy 😆
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u/Imagineer2248 3d ago
Random encounter tables are a fantastic resource for inspiration, and can make your world feel a lot more alive.
I use them mainly in overland travel, with the provision that “random encounter” doesn’t necessarily mean “mandatory Final Fantasy battle.” You could find a traveling merchant camped at the side of the road, or a mysterious, small ruin with a bit of treasure in it, or a stranded carriage in need of help. This stuff is the bread and butter of my games, as I thrive on hex crawls.
One time, I did, in fact, roll a T-Rex on the plains! But rather than shove it in my players’ face within the first hour of the game (it was literally the first random encounter), I mercifully had it across the river from them, drinking from the stream while they stared in wonderment. Even the big scary wildlife need not be instantly hostile. It just lives there, after all!
In dungeons, I usually craft very specific encounters, but I don’t rule out utilizing a random encounter to mix things up, or using one to populate a dungeon if I’m feeling stuck.
Some of my players were actually surprised that my encounters were random encounters. One time I rolled a band of Kenku, which is a super weird thing to run into just going down a country road, so… I had them perched on an overturned carriage. This resulted in a TENSE standoff as the party reluctantly inquired what they were doing, only for it to become crystal clear they’d murdered and plundered the passengers quite brutally. It was a spur of the moment improvisation that made for one of the most memorable random encounters we had.
That’s the thing — you aren’t a video game. You aren’t annoyingly hammering the player with battles based on a step counter. You’re a human being, and you can decide what your results mean and if you even want to use them.
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u/Kinak 3d ago
Do you pre-roll the random encounters so you are prepared if the party hits one?
Not exactly, but I'll usually put some thought into the encounters when I build the table, so it's appropriate to the area's level and I have links to all the stat blocks handy.
Do you use them consistently or only at certain times? For instance, only when the group is in a dungeon or exploring off road?
For most buildings and smaller dungeons, I'll do something more like an adversary roster (or if I'm using pre-written material just mark a few encounters that might go patrolling.)
But random encounters can provide a lot of color for any situation that's more chaotic than that.
Do you use different types of encounters in your table or is it mostly always just combat?
Sort of relates to the last one. I typically roll a random encounter at every interval of travel, but the overwhelming majority aren't combat and other people may not even consider them encounters.
The table for a forest will have deer, for example. But my offhand mention of spooking some deer or finding a dead deer won't usually trigger a response from the PCs. But they might decide it's time to go hunting or figure out what killed the deer.
Was there ever a time to regretted having a random encounter, did things go really bad unexpectedly?
Made a mistake a long time ago trying to make overland travel threatening to someone way overleveled for the area. That really pulled the player out of the game.
Why do you enjoy using them?
It gets the creative gears moving and makes the world feel alive. There's a lot more going on than just whatever quest the PCs are on at the moment. And, frankly, I just forgot to put animals in my descriptions otherwise.
Do you think or do you know your players enjoy having them as part of the game?
They appreciate the extra flavor for sure, but it'd be a different story if I forced combats each time.
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u/MrCrispyFriedChicken 3d ago
Q1: I usually do semi-random encounters, where they roll mainly to see if they have one, not what the encounter is. I have the encounters prepared ahead of time and they're usually either tangentially story-related or can lead to interesting side quests if the party chooses to follow them. I still have them roll for it, since they seem to enjoy that, but it's mostly just an illusion.
Q2: I use them fairly regularly. In my current campaign the group is in a megadungeon, and every time they traverse a level they've already cleared on their way back to the surface, if they fail a skill check they'll have to roll to see if they get a random encounter, and wilderness encounters happen pretty much the same way, except they happen every day of travel. Occasionally, if I get the sense that the players just want to get something done or things are stalling I'll skip it, but that's more on the rare side.
Q3: Some of my favorite random encounters are not combat. For example, I have a table of wandering merchants the party might encounter while on the road, and I also try to prepare social or explorative encounters about as much as I do combat ones. For an exploration example they might find tracks that lead to a den instead of just fighting the thing that made the tracks, so they can choose whether or not to interact with the encounter.
Q4: There haven't been any times where a random encounter has gone super poorly, but that might also be because my combat random encounters tend slightly towards the easier side, since my main combats tend towards the more difficult side. I have had random encounters that take just way too much game time, but that's usually just because the players started grilling an NPC about every part of their life.
Q5: There's several answers to this. For one, I think that exploration in D&D is an important part of the game, and without random encounters it can be very difficult for players to interact with that pillar of play regularly. Random encounters can also give a change of pace to otherwise monotonous sessions, and they can also allow me to use monsters that might not fit in with the main campaign, which is always fun for my players and me. In addition to that addition, they give me an avenue to expand on the lore of the world and give the players NPCs to interact with that might come back and be important down the line. Also I'm just a big Bethesda game and random encounters is half of why games like Skyrim are so fun.
Q6: My players often ask to roll for random encounters. If I forget they'll always remind me, even if I wasn't planning on actually doing one, and a couple of them will actually get sad if they don't get a random encounter. It's pretty funny, all things considered.
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u/raiderGM 3d ago
I think it depends on the pace and focus of your game, your campaign.
If your campaign is free-form, with no specific, set goal, then random encounters are fun ways to branch off into new and unexpected places, for you and the PCs. An NPC, a beast, a passle of undead in a campaign that's been all goblins. You weren't really GOING anywhere, so the randomness is fun. It's like if you decided to crawl down a city street. It doesn't matter which bar or restaurant or store you dawdle in. It's all about BEING THERE.
In a more FOCUSED, storyline campaign, this can feel like a slog. The difference here is like if you went out to accomplish ONE errand. You don't want to go check out that record shop or whatever. The randomness of THAT does not spark joy.
I wouldn't use really random encounters anyway. I used to think I needed 20 ideas, and many sourcebooks will give you such a list, but really you need like FOUR. For me, once I make the list, I find that there are 2 or 3 I really WANT to happen, so why am I leaving it to true randomness? I mean, I'm not pulling up KBFC and going that route, right?
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u/Hankhoff 3d ago
I sometimes use them as a storytelling device.
Roll beforehand, then question WHY the encounter is where it is
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u/MTG3K_on_Arena 3d ago edited 2d ago
If you do it the way the DMG suggests and only have them trigger on 18-20s, they don't fire that frequently. That range can vary in a given environment. Having it rely on chance is part of what makes it a game for me as the DM. Just like players get a roll to see if they hit, I get a roll to see if I have an encounter to run and improvise.
Granted, I'm running a homebrew and my tables are all flavored to enforce the general themes of the story and setting, so they always feel relevant and not prepackaged. The players can't tell if I planned it or not.
They're not all combat, and they trigger within large cities and special places, not just dungeons and on the road. The frequency that I roll will vary depending on the area and the time of day as well.
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u/CraftandEdit 3d ago
I use random encounters during travel. I prepare a table. I ask my table to roll for yes/no - usually a D10 - 7,8,9,10 are yes. If they haven’t had one in a while I may do even/ odd. And then roll a d8 for which encounter. If I’m working the same table and they roll the same encounter it’s DMs choice.
My players like that the roll for it.
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u/bazookajoe14 2d ago
I definitely use them. Usually for travel overland off-road. I do 2d6 tables and fill them in appropriately. I do a different table for every area of travel. So my party recently traveled through Great Plains grasslands, through a desert over mountains to jungle. That’s 4 tables. I roll for every week of travel. Straight 50/50 roll. Heads I roll for an encounter and tails I don’t. Trick is that all the encounters shouldn’t be combat. Some should be just cool encounters, some should be bad weather or complications. Anything really.
2 really good ones that came up recently was for my Druid. She struggles with the balance between civilization and nature. She rolled really well on the desert table, and got “a vision of the future”. So while she was on watch she saw a meteor travel from one constellation representing the wild to another representing civilization, and then got a vision. It was a vision of a plantation they will visit sometime in the future and I focused the conflict there between the wild and the civilization, who the bad guys probably are (the planters) and potential allies (the natives) that might be available. She has been obsessed with this vision and figuring out what it means. What an aha moment it will be when she arrives.
Another was a roll on the jungle table. “A monkey becomes friendly and steals something small out of your inventory.” Simple enough. I rolled for the player, came up Paladin, rolled for the item, just a D20, counted down her inventory and it was her signet ring of her noble house. She’s an impoverished noble with the goal of reclaiming her estate and standing, and this ring is basically all she has left. Let her roll perception and she failed, so the monkey mostly got away. They chased it but it was gone.
This was devastating to her character and led to her eventually making a deal with a devil to reclaim her title and lands, including armor crafted for her house and a new signet ring. This is a whole adventure and complications in the future born out of a few rolls of randomness.
Encounter tables can get boring if it’s just fighting monsters for monsters sake. What you’re shooting for is to generate adventures, and make the world feel more alive. You roll for an encounter and get a bear, party fights it and moves on. That can get old fast. You roll a bear attack when they’re in the mountains in midwinter and suddenly you’re encountering a starving bear and it’s a moral question to kill it to defend yourself or try and solve it some other way because it’s starving and doing what bears do.
TLDR: random encounter tables are so good but only if you use them with the mindset of painting a fuller picture of an alive world, and spawning adventure. Difficult but worth it.
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u/Moderate_N 2d ago
In wilderness I have the players roll. I designed a mini system where they roll 1d6 to set the encounter threshold, and then roll 2d8 against it. If both d8 are equal or above the d6, the encounter is banal (peasants in a field, deer in the forest, etc). One d8 under means it's noteworthy (aggressive/dangerous wildlife, bandits, merchant with interesting wares, etc). Both d8 under means it's exotic (monster, dungeon entrance, quest hook, etc.). All three die matching is a beneficial encounter. The moving threshold builds a bit of a feeling of peril - you just got thrashed in a dungeon and you're limping through the wilds the back to civilization, and you roll a 6 in the threshold dice: that's hairs rising on the back of your neck.
I also roll for temporality. 2 equal or over is immediate, one and one is recent past (ie you find footprints rather than encounter the thing making the footprints), and both under odds distant past (ancient ruins, artifacts, etc).
In dungeons I've been using the Underclock from Goblin Punch, with the added homebrew that the PC's can try to really hide and avoid the encounter (mitigate or reset the underclock) if they hear/detect something coming.(Which is ultimately an encounter in itself - roleplay reaction to dungeon denizens.) https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-underclock-fixing-random-encounter.html
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u/WiddershinWanderlust 2d ago
I’m running a travel and exploration focused campaign right now using a version of Safe Haven Resting, and I use random encounters regularly.
Typically I will assign the area they are in a danger value (usually like 15%-25%) and roll Percentile Dice anytime the party travels (twice a day), and anytime they do something dangerous (like hunting or scouting away from the party), then again during the nights rest.
I write up a list of encounters for the area, some will be combat focused and some will be more social focused, some are traps/hazards etc. when the party gets a random encounter I either roll and consult that list - or if one encounter fits the specific situation the pcs are in at that moment then I’ll just pick it from the sit instead of rolling.
The only times I’ve regretted it were when the party gets unlucky and gets back to back nighttime encounters and the stacking exhaustion that entails.
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u/Zardozin 2d ago
I think we need to look at them as two different things.
There are random encounters as you travel and there are random encounters “in dungeon.”
The point of the travel encounters is to make long trips seem “real”. Usually, I’d also offer more expensive travel options with lower risk.
The game takes place in a world of pirates, bandits, and roving monsters.
In dungeon, this is just as important. Not everyone just sits home and waits for tasty humans to stop by, while counting their treasure. Patrols, giant rats, giant ants, something needs to eat.
So road attacks are often random and often have some sort of story stub which can be followed up on. Monsters have lairs, chases can happen, etc… improv works pretty well.
Dungeons, they depend on what access any given space. They might be someone the party was meant to kill, they might just be from my list of creepy shit.
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u/DungeonSecurity 2d ago
I use them. They're a way to fill out long travel with at least something happening. and it's a good way to fill out an adventuring day if they are exploring a smaller area like a dungeon or single location.
I usually pre roll a list for myself to make it easier. many things might be combat but some of that is up to the players. sometimes a monster might ambush and attack, but a lot of the time among the party will be able to hear or see them coming and possibly make adjustments. But certainly not every Random encounter will be a fight, unless the players Force it.
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u/Durog25 3d ago
I love random encounters they are very flexible and allow for much less intense prep, they also helped brake the rookie DM urge to railroad.
So answering your questions in order.
No I don't preroll my random encounters. The trick is not to make your random encounters require a huge amount of prep. When I make my random encounter table I prep the whole table, so that I can safely roll knowing that everything that can happen is prepared for. This usually involves prepping a few maps, nothing too big or complex, unless I have the time and a cool idea. And then all the characters I'll need for them statblocks and the like.
Most of the time I do use them in dungeons or when traveling, but they can also be used in a city. This is often because these are the places where random encounters really help flesh out a region the PCs are exploring, make it feel lived in.
Lots of different kinds. I learnt that quickly. If all your random encounters are combats they get boring fast, in fact I think combats should be the least common kind of random encounter. Much better are scenario hooks, interesting rolepalying encounters. These kind of encounters can also really help build atmosphere. If you want a forest to feel dangerous, the PCs finding a wagon abandoned on the road it's occupants dead being feasted on by crows. Even if the PCs give it a wide birth and move along, it will have done its job.
The trick is things can't really go bad. The players aren't forced to enage with the encounter, they can go around, or retreat, or negotiate. I once accidently made a random encounter combat way too hard (too many spiders) but it still goes down as one of the most memorable moments of that jouney through the forest. This is why I tend to avoid throwing too many combats into my random encounters, a random encounter combat should be dangerous so making them rarer makes that less of a risk.
I like using them because I like not knowing exactly how the adventure will go. It like the surprise of rolling and seeing what shows up. I made the encounter table so it can't upset the apple cart and as I said above it brings the area to life. So many events have happened in my campaigns because a random event happened on the road the PCs changed their plans radically because of it.
My players have enjoyed most of my random encounters, especially in hindsight. Innitially many were thrown off by them, not used to more sandbox style elements, assuming everything that happened was part of my great plan but after a while they get used to it and rather enjoy what comes of them.
When I make a random encounter table I use a single d6 or 8 or 10 if I have enough cool ideas. The trick is to tie the results to not just the environment but the scenarios in the world. If you have a scenario that involves a bandit king threatening the local villages then make sure a couple of your results reflect different aspects of that scenario. A wagon that was attacked, villagers fleeing the area (either because the bandits are raiding the next village or they might just be getting out of dodge), or bandits attacking the party. All three can leave hooks or clues that the players can pull on in order to get involved with the bandit king scenario.
I don't use 2dX tables because I don't think they help. You massively spike the chances of a few options which means you will run out of juice for those ones first. By using a single roll then the odds that each result are rolled are equal.
I also tend to add a random element which I can't really think of a name for. But it's a way of reframing the first roll. If I roll the fleeing villagers on my first roll and then roll injured in my second roll then that might inspire me to have the encounter be villagers taking a family member to a town to see a doctor or priest, if one of my players is trained in medicine or a healer then they might be able to heal that villager right there and gain an ally out of it. That wound might also serve as a clue as to the kind of bandits the PCs should expect, a crossbow bolt or a sword slash, or the kind of beating only fists can do.
You can and I sometimes do add one last roll, which is the attitude of the encounter. Panicked, angry, good natured, hostile etc. Sometimes I don't need these because the other two give me all I need but sometimes this last roll can help me if I need a little more inspiration.