So basically everyone has no idea how to use random tables. Don't worry, you will at the end of this blog post:
Dice are who decides something when the GM doesn't have an outcome already in mind. But dice can be made subservient to the canny GM by putting percentages in what they are expected to be for any given scenerio. let's get simple:
Let's say you have a forested hex. The forest itself is called something innocuous like Fell's Wood and expands beyond the boundaries of this hex. So for starters, you don't have a "forest" encounter chart. No. You have a "Fell's Wood" encounter chart. This is pinnacle because it sets up that each forest, plain, and mountain range is it's own unique entity, they aren't merely going to a zone in a video game where there's always the same chance or boars or rocs or dragons spawning. Then you have some decisions to make:
What is the percentage chance of encountering nothing? Some places are more desolate than others and this is important for that reason.
What is the percentage chance of encountering beasts of some stripe? See above.
What is the percentage chance of encountering monsters? See above.
What is the percentage chance of encountering other people? See above.
This is virtually every potential encounter in the game. A trap is placed by someone, perhaps a monster. A village is a people encounter. A lair is a monster or beast encounter. The differentiation between beasts and monsters is to make the area more mundane/real world or more fantasy/bizarre world. If Fell's Wood is primarily a mundane forest, that is semi-populated by peoples, the initial chart may look something like this:
1 Monster
2-4 People
5-10 Beasts
11-18 Nothing
19: Special (or Nothing)
20: Roll 2d10 on this table and combine results.
After this initial chart, you have to make the next four charts:
Beasts: What beasts can be encountered in this wood? Usually you say like wolves, bears, etc. Keep the populations in mind when making this table as well. If a forest is mainly full of wolves, make them happen much more often on the die roll than bears. Own these tables, don't be stupid.
Monsters: When I was naming the wood I decided it was named after the local big bad monster. Fell could be an grizzly owlbear, a massive trapdoor spider, a flesh-eating Pegasus, basically whatever you want. In this case I'd call him the only or perhaps the main monster of this wood. If you roll him you get him, but not necessarily in his lair. Or perhaps you merely get his lair. It's good to have these be separate entries, and have a percentage chance of him being in his lair should it be rolled.
Nothing: Nothing can be exactly that, or if you have special but non-combaat or interaction encounters you can place them here. A portion of ruined road, a burnt out cottege with nothing inside, a hollowed out tree, an empty freestanding church, Empty doesn't need to be empty, just a seemingly useless diversion.
People: Who lives here, and how populated is it? Is it much more likely to find people wandering about, hunting, travelling, or living in a freestanding village or even city?
Special: If you want something specific to go down, but not certainly go down, put it on the chart. I'd also place encounters that don't fit the geography here, like having a monster from a nearby plain passing through this forest, for example. This is not always worthwhile, so I suggest doing it sparingly.
So, that's how you make encounter tables. It's tedious but ultimately correct.
