A Recipe for Encounter Stew: Threat, Stage, and Stakes

Here's a recipe I've recently brewed up for making interesting encounters. Just like most recipes, it's been handed down, stolen, refined, torn up, and taped back together.

Unlike most recipes online, we're skipping the details of that process.

You've got cooking to do.

Creating Encounters

There are three major considerations when planning an encounter, Threat, Stage, and Stakes.

Threat

The danger of an encounter can be expressed as Total HD (THD) and average Damage per Round (DPR), assuming all regular attacks hit (Yes, I know that they won't, but getting any more detailed than this runs into the issue of having more detail than is useful). 

Note that this is an estimation, as spells and abilities can cause this to vary widely. If an encounter features a particularly dangerous spell or condition, add it to the threat. 

For example, we could list threat as: "A Witch and 3 Homunculi (8 THD, 16 DPR, Polymorph)".

Choose or roll a threat from your favorite Monster Manual.

Stage

What interesting and useful props exist on the stage for the combatants to interact with during the encounter?

In our Witch example, we might list "Massive Trees, Cliff (drop), Poison Puff Mushrooms (if identified)".

Example Stage and Props:

1. Fire - Open flames, hot metal, lava
2. Water - Flowing quickly
3. Line of Sight - Boulders, pillars, trees, or tents to hide behind.
4. Rise - Climbable, platform at the top
5. Drop - Something nasty at the bottom. Stairs, cliff.
6. Mechanism - Cart with horses, turning mill, hanging chandelier, anything regular or activatable.

Stakes

Other than life or death, what does the party stand to gain or lose in this situation? Phrased another way, why can't the party just walk away?

To complete our Witch example, we'll say the Witch carries a pendant that holds the soul of the Mayor's daughter. If the party retrieves it, the mayor will be very grateful. The witch will threaten to eat the soul if she finds herself in a pinch.

Example Stakes:

1. Wealth - A large amount of gold.
2. Treasure - A single magical item.
3. Allies - By fighting this battle, the party could gain a permanent friend.
4. Passage - The encounter blocks the way to the party's goal.
5. Information - Secrets might be coerced from the encounter, or shared if the encounter is defeated.
6. Renown - Dealing with the encounter would win the party fame and honor from the locals.

Once the three ingredients are ready, combine in a simple paragraph:

"The witch—tall, pale, and stick-thin—wanders through the forest, a glowing green charm dangles from her neck. She commands three pudgy little figures made of hardened clay as they gather strange spherical fungi. They currently stand near a cliff, and the noise of rushing water rises from below."

Sample Encounters

Here are a few more, brewed up on the spot:

Ogre Stew

Threat: 3 Ogres (12 THD, 27 DPR)

Stage: Bubbling Pot, Open Fire

Stakes: A young cleric is about to be cooked. She, along with her deity, would probably be grateful if the party prevented this.

"Three ogres sit around a pot bubbling over a fire. One of them is sprinkling salt on a girl who is actively calling down the wrath of the Seven Sisters upon them."

Orc Warparty

Threat: 50 Orcs (50 THD, 225 DPR)

Stage: Large campsite, tents, fires and flickering shadows, rusty weapons, bickering.

Stakes: The husband of the village Head Witch was captured by these orcs. They amuse themselves by making him shift into strange forms (Nothing smaller than a fox) and taking turns catching him. She has no gold, but she will owe a serious favor to whoever gets him out.

"Between the dozens of hide tents, the firelight causes the shadows to dance. The smell of roasting meat and sound of bickering orcs is overpowering. You hear a distant male voice crying from somewhere within."

The Lady of the Lake

Threat: Vampire, Female, Waxy Skin (8 THD, 7 DPR, Drowning, Enthralls with Song)

Stage: A deep lake, abandoned boats, tall lake weeds.

Stakes: Wealth. Atop the Lady's hoard, the locals have amassed a notable reward.