20 non-combat random grassland encounters!

We didn't play Stonehell this weekend, unfortunately. But, that doesn't mean I can't share a fresh article!

The party is six days into a fourteen day journey across the Highwind Plains. They've been very meticulous in tracking their rations, spending time foraging and hunting, finding fresh water, and setting camp. The GM is rolling for random encounters one or two times per day, and an encounter has come up three times in a row. The GM braces themselves, lets out a low breath, and rolls the d6. 6. Again.

The thought of running another combat against 2d6 wolves is galling. But a good GM can weave together a story - maybe the grassy plains are rife with wolves who've been pushed out of the nearby wood by hunger and now roam wide, seeking to fill their bellies with whatever they can catch be it rabbit or man.

But what if you want to run something that has a bit more of a mystery to it? Something perhaps that rewards the players for exploration with either a curiosity, some danger, or perhaps a new adventure hook that may lure them away from whatever they had planned so that the bad guy's schemes can advance for a couple days. If that's the case, try these bespoke encounter prompts from the Lich's Library!

1. The body of a human male in loose fitting, colorful clothes and a smock. A smashed easel and a palette loaded with paints lay nearby. There is no sign of a canvas.
2. A large menhir juts out of the grass. Someone has carved strange, swirling, intersecting lines in a random fashion across its surface.
3. The sound of buzzing insects comes from a 250ft wide pond surrounded by abnormally large plants. There is a campsite set up on the far side. Investigation reveals the campsite is abandoned. There is rotting food and bags of equipment. The pond is the lair of three giant frogs.
4. Five ruined buildings stand to the side of a dried gulch. A colony of feral cats make their home here and rush to see any visitors. They are the highly intelligent descendants of a family of homesteaders who were cursed by a passing witch and turned into cats. They can talk and reason and may help passing adventurers, for a price.
5. Six wooden tombstones stand in a line with rusted helmets laying nearby. The last tombstone is much newer than the others. One of the graves is false, containing 3d6x20 sp, 1d8 x 10 gp, 2 gemstones worth 50gp and 75gp, and a minor magic item.
6. A caravan of 3d8 goblins with 2 enormous beetles (3hd; one attack- horn charge, 1d6+2 damage), guarded by 2d6 bugbears. They are moving tribute from their tribe's camp to an encampment of hobgoblins.
7. A circle of 2d4+3 druids conduct a divination ritual near a ring of standing stones on a lonely, windswept hill. A lamb is tied up in the center, which the druids will sacrifice to learn the fate of the next harvest for a nearby village.
8. A group of teenage humans are found lost and starving. They were looking for a 'haunted' system of caves. To prove their bravery, they set out 3 days ago. They want to continue their 'quest' and will beseech the party for their help to continue.
9. Glorathia, the elderly hill giant, was exiled from her tribe and now wanders the plains. She is delirious with hunger which, coupled with her advanced age, makes her easy to trick but also unpredictable.
10. 1d20 aurochs forage here. One of them has a backpack wrapped around one horn. Inside is 1 health potion, 2d10 rations, and a treasure map. 12 nomadic hunters lurk nearby, ready to strike and claim the aurochs and bag.
11. The halfling families Hallfoot and Greenbell have established a shared farmstead here in the plains. They are friendly and welcoming, in light of the wedding of Rosepetal Hallfoot to Barley Greenbell. Rosepetal is greatly unhappy with the match and is desperate for an escape.
12. Two knights battle a duel while their squires look on, banners planted and blowing in the wind. When one knight is slain, the winner challenges any visible, martially inclined characters to 1v1 combat to the death.
13. 1d3 sets of clothes lay neatly folded on a stone. Tracks in the grass lead to a small spring. There are no signs of any bathers.
14. A gold dragon wyrmling suns itself in a clearing. It is down on its luck and offers to scout for the group for 50gp for a single day.
15. 2d8 Satyrs cavort on the edge of a copse of trees. They invite the party to join them if they approach. Drinking from their wineskins causes the drinker to feel exultant end euphoric for 1d6 hours before falling asleep for 12 hours. They will awaken with no memory of the festivities, but if the entire party joins the Satyrs then one of them will have a treasure map tucked into a bag, signed with a grimy kiss mark. Any drinkers will additionally have a -1 penalty for 1d6 hours to all rolls, on account of the nasty hang over.
16. On the banks of a stream lay an elf-made skiff. Inside is the body of a gnome piled high with crude, small-sized weapons. The gnome was pierced with many arrows, though they have been removed. He clutches a +1 dagger, sized like a longsword in his hands, and broken horn hangs from a leather thong about his neck.
17. A long, broken down wall runs for a mile north and south which has been decorated with geometric patterns. Crossing over the wall leads to a pocket dimension of endless green grazing lands. A herd of 150 sheep are found grazing close to the wall. The field is unaffected by weather or season on the other side of the wall.
18. The broken remains of a 747 airliner that crash landed here over 50 years ago. A human skeleton sits in the pilot's seat. The calcified remains of some sort of creature are still attached to the face of the skeleton.
19. A stone table sits in a clearing, surrounded by stubs of candles. Four manicles are attached to the corners of the table, which is deeply stained. 1d4x10 minutes after arrival, a murder of crows begin to gather. They begin to caw deeply, threateningly and expectantly.
20. A 15ft wide, 200ft long, 45ft deep ravine cuts across the grassland. At the bottom are the ruins of a building that fell inside when the ravine was formed, barely visible under the piles of dirt and stone. Clearing away the debris takes 4d10 man-hours before a strongbox is found. Inside are three bags of magical reagents worth 75gp each, 3 lvl 1 scrolls, and a wand of light with 6 charges remaining. Scattered about are bits of mining equipment. (Picks, shovels, broken lanterns, 100ft of rope, etc.)

Would you run these at your table? Let me know in the comments! We likely won't be playing Stonehell again this week, but maybe I can convince people to play something non-fantasy together and if so I will report on it here.