What happens while the characters are plodding along the king’s roads connecting towns and cities in fairly populated lands? These encounters are intended for roads where the heroes are more likely to meet other travellers than wildlife or monsters.
This table is designed for a European inspired fantasy set in a technological and cultural age equivalent to the Middle Ages up to the Early Modern Period (ca. 1100-1750 AD.).
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The road winds its way past an ancient oak or yew with heavy branches decorated with scraps of cloth in all colours as well as small figures of injured or sick people—there may even be a couple of crutches abandoned by its roots. Local legend holds that if one crawls through the hole in the tree at midnight, one is cured of all ailments. True? Who knows?An eloped couple left home a little too quick; the bride’s shoes fell apart after just a few hours on the muddy road and they don’t have a blanket between them.
A travelling merchant with her cart or donkey is happy to see the characters, both because they may be potential customers but also because sticking nearby them may provide protection against brigands or highwaymen. Not so fortunate for the merchant if the characters are the brigands or highwaymen.
A large black dog always sits along the same stretch of road each night. It howls when someone passes by who is likely to die or risk death during the next couple of days. Locals will tell the story if asked about that strange, big dog.
Alert heroes may notice tracks along the side of the road and in turn discover the naked bodies of a small group of men. A while further down the road they are approached by what appears to be armed soldiers or guards, demanding to search their goods. These are highway robbers who stole the soldiers’ uniforms to be able to exact tolls ‘legally’.
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