Environmental Encounters

by Cheesey093

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Environmental Encounters

What are Environmental Encounters?

Environmental Encounters is designed to be a quick and easy way to breathe another level of life into the world setting of your game. Environmental Encounters are broken down into five categories that you, as the Dungeon Master (DM), can add to match the tone or location of the story that you are telling.

Why add Environmental Encounters?

By incorporating various random encounters, players can engage in a range of activities, including meeting new people, battling guards or gangs, and acquiring interesting magic items.

What This Guide Covers

The guide will discuss the setting of your story and how that impacts the encounters. The world setting helps create a distinct feel for each different category of encounters the players can face. The players' actions have different outcomes; they might ignore the situation and later face the disaster that follows, or they might help, which could earn them more favour from that part of town.

The Flower Festival
First Encounter
As the players walk through the bustling streets of the festival, they see a stray dog wandering between the market stalls, begging for food.
The party could feed the animal or let it continue to wander.
Secound Encounter
Further down the central street, a crowd gathers around a merchant playing three-card monte. A few people yell at the merchant, calling him a cheat, while others put down silver, hoping to win.
They could try the game out for themselves, make an Insight check and notice he is lying when he says he wins.
Third Encounter
As the party continues, a young girl comes up to them searching for her mother. She is clearly distressed and has been crying.
They can help find her mother, or leave the child to find someone else to help.
Fourth Encounter
Guards wander through the crowds, patrolling the streets with attentive eyes.
If the party is not wanted, they might tell the guards about the con artist or the missing girl; however if they are wanted, they may want to blend in to avoide detection.
Fifth Encounter
The party blends with the festival goers and engages with various vendors. But one particular stall catches their eye. Down an alley that breaks off from the bustle of the crowds, something draws the party towards it. The vendor is selling a variety of strange, magical items.
As the DM, you can decide what happens if they go down the dark alley. Are the party ambushed by clever thieves who seek to rob poor souls who wander from the path, or do they meet a seemingly honest vendor who offers to trade them for peculiar (and potentially cursed) items?

Building Encounter Charts:

To design effective environmental encounters, it is helpful to define each section of how the world feels for the party, including interactions and changes to the world the party has. Below are three wats to make the encounters feel unique:

Zi-Chin's Tip

I suggest keeping a round limit of 3 to 5 rounds to allow enough time, but not too much, so that the task is not too easy.

Components
Component Description
Setting The world is not just a location. The setting defines how the world’s heartbeats, and it establishes the environment, tone, and purpose of the encounters.
Category There are several encounter categories to help the narrative grow. They can range from weather events to significant morality tests with the world. Each encounter is an opportunity for the players to deepen their sense of connection to the world’s people, enemies and power.
Evolution Encounters the players participate in can grow and change; an event can develop further based on the players' choices and how they decide to deal with the encounter. They remind the players that time passes and actions matter. It also helps make the world feel reactive and personal for the players.

Let the Narrative Shine through the Mechanics

Environmental Encounters are built to prioritise storytelling over mechanical systems. Meaning it isn’t all about tracking numbers or rolling charts; it's about creating a world that feels alive and reactive. The dice only reveal what the world chooses to show next, and give the DM a thread to weave into something more. Every result should feel like a story beat waiting to happen, not a random event to tick off and move on from. The mechanics exist only to serve the narrative, never to overshadow it.

This guide is meant to create moments that live in memory rather than on paper. Each encounter becomes a spark: a moral test, a small tragedy, or a quiet triumph. Something that alters how players perceive their surroundings. The rules are intentionally light so DMs can focus on emotion, character growth, and consequence.

The world doesn’t act through mechanics; it breathes through story, and the players are the ones who decide how deeply they want to leave their mark.

Setting

Different types of settings need to be established before deciding what encounters you want.

Types of Environments

The first setting is the environment the players are in as this changes the encounters your party will face. Whether the party is walking through shadowy alleys of a city, or are in vast fields walking over rolling hills and through small rivers, or they are walking through thick and dense forest as the trees tower high above the players.

d4 Environment Brief Description
1 Mountain Walking over large mountains, slowly climbing higher, feeling the air getting thinner. They must survive harsh winds that try to sweep them off their feet, as well as unknown monsters lurking along the cliffs.
2 Coastal The ocean slams against the cliffs, breaking stone, as the party discovers caves hidden within, holding unknown secrets of the land.
3 Desert The heat from the sun scorches down as the dunes change each day, revealing hidden secrets, like a cave they did not notice the day before or a hidden temple.
4 Swamp The swamps are murky and disgusting as a player falls into the unknown depths of swamp water. As the party member hops up, they struggle, realising that unknown beasts below have grabbed him.

Types of Genres

Genre defines the rules your world obeys; it's not just magic or machines, but its heartbeat. A fantasy forest filled with fairies will feel gentle and curious, while a noir forest of smugglers and betrayal feels cold and heavy. The genre tells the DM what kind of encounters belong here, and what tone of mystery or danger they should aim for.

d4 Genre Brief Description
1 High Fantasy A world of wonder and power where magic is common, and heroes are shaped through actions, myth and destiny.
2 Space Vast galaxies stretch out before the players. Every comet is a guide to rare artifacts, each planet holds strange life, and each universe is bountiful in secrets.
3 Pirates The sea is alive with danger and glory. Beneath crashing waves lie monsters, treasures, and forgotten legends.
4 Steam Punk Gears and steam drive a world of innovation; however, with each step towards a mechanical utopia, unrest rises in the grimy streets of the steam-powered cities.
Zi-Chin's Tip:

When you mix environments and genres, you create worlds no one’s seen before, like a comet racing through space, covered in forests and life.

Types of Tone

Once the genre gives your world its structure, tone gives it its soul. Tone determines how players should feel when they enter your world: fearful, curious, hopeful, or heartbroken. You can have a fantasy world that feels warm and heroic, or the same fantasy world that feels doomed and paranoid. Tone is the emotional thread that ties the environment, the genre, and the player’s perspective together.

The Tone is not just about the atmosphere of the adventure; it is also about the emotions being told in the story. It is divided into three categories: enemies, civilians, and players to fit the overarching tone of the campaign. The enemy’s motives and honour code are revealed, and their impact on the world is shown through their power. The civilians mirror the state of the world: is it crumbling all around them, or is it mostly a good place to live? The players themselves determine how the tone evolves through their actions.

Session Zero

When setting the player tone it is hard to know what they might do or want in the world.

In a Session Zero this is a good point before the campaign starts to learn what your players may want and cater to those needs better.

Zi-Chin's Tip:

The Tone does not control the story; it helps frame it. Let players move with or push against it.

D4 Overarching Tone Enemies Civillians Players
1 Hopeful Foes are misguided, not monstrous, but they believe their actions are right, fixing the world. People rebuild, forgive, and share what little they have. Players see that kindness changes how the world responds to them.
2 Desperate Enemies fight to survive, driven by loss or fear rather than malice. Civilians cling to false hope, praying for heroes that may never come. Players decide whether to stand as beacons or fall into the same despair.
3 Corrupted Enemies are echoes of what they once were; their humanity is twisted but visible. Civilians turn cruel or apathetic, reflecting how decay spreads throughout the world. Players choose between cleansing the corruption, exploiting it, or succumbing to it.
4 Rage Enemies attack aggressively, with very little planning, with casualties. Civilians are afraid of being next, blaming the rulers for allowing such atrocities to occur. Enemies lash out without reason, consumed by fury or vengeance.

Category

Below are five categories of events that can occur within the world. They have been broken down into these groups to limit the amount at the table while also allowing ease of use when creating a more unified world for the players.

1: Weather Events

Adding potential weather changes during the players' travel makes the world feel real. There could be fog that covers the streets, reducing visibility and making a fight tougher, or the players could be walking through fields as a lightning storm breaks out, threatening to strike the players and start fires nearby.

These small changes create interesting moments for players and build depth to the world. Not all events need to be a major story point; sometimes, rain is just rain. But keeping these features in mind lets you build on what would usually be a throwaway line to describe the scene.

Let the weather push players to think smarter about how to approach a setting, whether it is sunny, stormy, or bitingly cold. Players may start to consider preparing weatherproof gear, taking more careful routes, or learning to brave the environment around them.

2(a): Brief Interactions: Social Events

Social events are small opportunities for players to stop on their journey to talk to people, learn new skills, or make new friends. These events are quick to pass by, but they help round out your world and add that little bit of extra life.

A potential encounter of this category would be the players meeting an assassin while navigating through a swamp. The assassin could teach a player how to take venom from certain types of creatures and make a powerful coating for their weapons.

2(b): Brief Interactions: Environmental Hazards

Environmental hazards pose small challenges that players must overcome. It could be as simple as a tree blocking the path, forcing them to climb over to continue, or a runaway cart flying through the streets of a city, endangering civilians and players. Introducing these types of hazards creates a few more unique issues the players can face and also connect to civilians or enemies in different ways.

Zi-Chin's Tip:

Due to some of the mini-adventures taking longer than other encounters, pick one option depending on what your characters are craving for the session.

3(a): Mini-Adventures: Combat

The goal of combat challenges is to enhance the story and have combat keep the drama or evolution of a character moving forward. For instance when the players are eagerly and quickly killing adding in an encounter where the players face consequences like: they kill them in front of the guards, or the enemy was a friend of a close NPC to the party. By having each combat with an emotional and personal moment it allows for both action and storytelling.

3(b): Mini-Adventures: Exploration

The world is full of ancient and forgotten tribes and villages, and the players stumble upon some and learn about the cultures from before their time. They gain insight into how the tribe functioned: maybe they hunted a lot, and the players found their notes, gaining more knowledge and understanding of the beasts, or perhaps they found journals from wise mentors and gained different perspectives on life. The players who explore and learn can gain proficiency in some areas or advantages on certain throws with the new information.

How to use these Categories when World Building

When the players are exploring different environments depending on the time they are exploring you can roll dice to determine what they encounter. Below is a chart to help with the length of time but it is a guide and you can do more or less depending on what you want.

Length of Travel # of Weather Events # of Brief Interactions # of Mini-Adventures
An hour or less 1d4 1d8 1d8
One Day 2d4 3d8 1d8
One Week 5d4 5d8 2d8
Three or More Weeks 6d4 6d8 3d8

Evolution

When using encounters, it is good to have them change and update in between sessions, depending on where the players are in your story and how they have interacted with the encounters in the past. Below are two in-depth examples of this:

1. Social Interaction: The Beggar

If the players encounter a beggar, their interaction could change if they meet them again.

Provide the Beggar with Money:

When they first met the beggar, the players decided to give them the money they needed to change. The next time they meet the beggar, they now have a job and a crappy apartment. But they are happier for the most part.

Or the beggar struggled with the money and ran out before they could make the difference the beggar needed to in order to change their life. However, this time they do not want money as they want to change their lives on their own and believe they can, unlike the last time the players helped.

Did not provide the Beggar with Money:

The players turn the beggar down but were nice about it; then the next time, they might ignore the players, showing how they are annoyed. However, if they were rude or seemed condescending, then the beggar might try to steal from the players as a way to get revenge.

Environmental Hazards: The House Fire

As the party weaves through twisting city alleys, they catch the smell of smoke on the wind. The air tastes sharp, ash drifting across the cobblestones. Turning a corner, they see a building ablaze with black smoke rising higher into the sky. They see a man is being held back by a woman. As he is shouting out the name “Orthal.” They can see two shadows moving within the fire. People are still trapped inside, and the fire can spread to other buildings.

Helped the people in the building:

The players rush forward through smoke, debris and collapsing beams to help the two people stuck in the fire.

They managed to save everyone and contain the fire from spreading. When the party passes here again, they find the building is mostly rebuilt and see the family they saved having a meal and playing a game. The wife of the family comes outside and gives the party a small heirloom, a silver pendant.

If they saved them and then immediately demanded a reward, they would receive one, but the gratitude would not be there from the citizens. Some people would stare at them with disgust at them for using a fire as an opportunity to get paid.

Or the party only saved one person, and the other was lost. When they pass next time, they are remembered as heroes, not with celebration but with quiet gratitude mixed with grief for the person who was not rescued.

Ignored the people in the building:

The players continue past the flames, the heat biting at their backs as they leave. The fire consumes the building. Three people perished inside, one was the son of a father who was being held back by his wife, the father also perished by trying to save their son, and the other person was an unfortunate dwarven woman who could not escape.

Days later, when the party returns to this street, they find the blackened husk of the house still standing, scorched timbers now framing a makeshift shrine. A mother and two children kneel quietly in front of the burnt house, laying small flowers in the ash. No one blames the heroes; no one even knows they were there. But the silence weighs heavier than accusation ever could.

This choice doesn’t make the party evil; it simply forces them to live with the moment they didn’t act.

Example Encounter Chart

In this setting, the party is protecting the city from different gangs trying to take over, fighting for dominance. There is a mysterious gang that has entered the city and has been slowly pushing into different gang territories, trying to take over.

Environment: The Living City

The streets are alive with motion, a thousand people trying to survive in close quarters. You smell bread baking in the morning air, hear the calls of merchants competing for attention, and see the mix of tired faces: bakers, beggars, guards, thieves. Every street corner tells a story, whether it is a deal made, a debt unpaid, or a rumour whispered under breath. Yet beneath that heartbeat of civilisation is a constant pulse of fear.

The city isn’t safe anymore. The walls are cracked, the guard posts undermanned, and the alleys heavy with silence that shouldn’t exist. A storm hangs low on the horizon, its shadow spilling over the rooftops. This is the stage: alive, but fragile.

Zi-Chin's Tip:

Let the environment breathe with the players. Describe smells, sounds, and small human gestures before the chaos begins.

Genre: Medieval Fantasy Crime

This is a world of swords and smoke, not high fantasy of wizards and dragons, but a grim, street-level struggle. Rival gangs rule the slums, bribing guards and bleeding the poor dry. Rumours tell of a new faction in town, one without a name or emblem, only whispers of masks and silent killings.

In a city like this, the “law” is whoever can afford the most blades. The adventurers arrive as outsiders: people too strong to ignore, yet too unpredictable to trust. Every action they take, helping, stealing, or ignoring, shifts how the city perceives them. The genre here focuses on moral pressure: not good versus evil, but survival versus decency.

Tone: Mystery, Desperation, and Anti-Heroism

The emotional tone of this world is uncertainty.

The Enemies: They hide in shadow, using secret areas to deliver goods or secrets. Sometimes, gang wars can happen in the street, or innocent people's houses are destroyed to send messages. They use fear and force to get what they want, while protecting the identity of their gang and leader.

The People: They whisper in private, worried to be overheard even when discussing normal conversations; they smile politely at everyone, and you can feel forced kindness as they’re afraid of everyone.

The Players: They have a choice of whether to be protectors who help everyone they can, opportunists by gaining good public perception while trying to become a powerful gang themselves or just be monsters to everyone to show how tough they are.

Encounters here aren’t just about combat; they're emotional trials. A beggar’s plea might reveal a spy; a gang brawl could expose betrayal. Every moment tests not just the dice, but the party’s identity.

On the next two pages are example charts:

Weather Events
d4 Weather
1 Heavy rain: Streets become slippery, and low visibility.
2 Fog: Dense fog reduces visibility to a few feet. Navigating the streets becomes a challenge, and ambushes are more likely.
3 Thunderstorm: Lightning strikes and loud thunderclaps create chaos, possibly causing small fires or panicking crowds.
4 Cloudy: The sky dims with a haze of clouds, their grey edges rippling with wind. Maybe signalling hope is still there.
Social Interactions
d8 Encounter
1 A religious person is chanting about the devil and how they are taking this town over.
2 Shop keepers are scared as they cannot afford the increasing amount to pay for gang protection.
3 Players see a guard being bribed by a mysterious figure.
4 As the players walk past an alley they hear someone cussing, and see an angry towns person exiting.
5 A dog is barking and growling at the corner of a street, maybe he has seen something.
6 A beggar on the streets is asking for money, if the players give him some he provides a warning of a soon to happen gang attack.
7 The party bumps into a nervous store owner in the street.
8 They see a couple crying, they have lost something important to the gangs (a child, a shop, their house).
Environmental Hazards
d8 Encounter
1 A shopkeeper is thrown out of a window and lands on top of the players.
2 A runaway cart with people screaming inside, and off in the distance is some laughter presumably gang members.
3 A market stampede breaks out as someone screams “assassin”.
4 The party walks past a building and sees it suddenly begin to crumble with people trapped inside.
5 They see a baker being robbed, and the thief runs by the party.
6 A construction site is being hassled by gangs and the balcony they are building breaks above the players.
7 A swarm of rats flood out of the sewers, running for their life.
8 The party hears laughter and sees someone releasing an owlbear from its cage, as it begins to charge into the street where innocents are.
Combat
d8 Encounter
1 A street fight breaks out between two gang members, and the party is caught in the middle before they realise which side they’re on. They can try to break it up, pick a side, or slip away unseen.
2 A beggar calls for help in a dark alley; if the party assists, they’re led into an ambush by a rival gang looking for fresh victims.
3 The party spots a figure from a wanted poster. If they kill him, they find a cryptic map; if they follow him, it leads to a human trafficking ring.
4 After helping a marked group of civilians escape, the party finds themselves hunted by assassins working for the same gang.
5 The party intervenes in a gang skirmish and can gain a new ally, or they are being used by a fake ally.
6 Guards mistake the party for gang members and try to arrest them. The misunderstanding could turn violent or become an opportunity to infiltrate the watch.
7 A carriage explodes nearby, scattering debris and panicking civilians. Amid the chaos, masked thieves attempt to rob the players and civilians caught in the blast.
8 They see a couple crying, they have lost something important to the gangs (a child, a shop, their house).
Social Interactions
d8 Encounter
1 The party notices strange marks on several houses. Some houses have healthy people, others are sick, and some are violently sick. After investigating multiple homes with an average DC of 16, they notice the same set of flowers in each home. The flowers are releasing the toxin.
2 They spot a gang member leaving the sewers, the players decide to investigate the sewers and uncover a hidden meeting spot where smugglers exchange coded phrases and goods.
3 Observing street beggars and market criers, the players realise they’re acting as lookouts for a gang’s communication network.
4 The party spots an unmarked shed that leads into a secret underground storeroom filled with gang contraband, and possibly a magical relic.
5 Exploring an ancient tunnel hidden beneath collapsed masonry, the party finds an outpost holding an item of immense importance to the gang. Taking it weakens the gang's control.
6 A noble house displays lavish artwork and gang sigils merged together, revealing corruption in the city’s elite. Investigating could uncover a conspiracy.
7 An abandoned tavern’s floorboards creak strangely. Beneath lies a safehouse filled with coded notes and a hit list, with the characters' names on it.
8 The players notice three bird coops with a larger-than-normal amount of crows. After investigating, they discover this is how they communicate.
Example Bosses
Even In Shadow These Bosses Strike Fear Into The Hearts Of Their Foes

Thraxis

(Setting of this World)

The environment is used to show the balance between beauty and destruction, as Thraxis is a combination. Before he was trapped in the mechanical bull, he was a hero and adventurer doing good, yet now he is built for destruction. This tragedy is shown through the encounters the players face.

Environment: The Fractured Mountains

The approach to Thraxis’s domain begins in the forests, green canopies pierced by broken pillars of stone. The higher the players climb, the more nature and ruin blend together. Great roots pierce through shattered marble, and waterfalls cut through collapsed fortresses.

By the time they reach the upper cliffs, the land has turned into a strange harmony of beauty and destruction. Trees grow from cracks in the cliff faces, and luminous moss clings to charred ruins, glowing in soft defiance. The mountain feels like it’s alive and hurting, mourning something ancient that once stood proud and noble.

This environment sets the emotional baseline: wonder mixed with sorrow. It’s a place that still has beauty, even while breaking apart.

Genre: High Fantasy Tragedy

Thraxis’s world embodies high fantasy, but stripped of triumph and glory. The villages that once stood as symbols of pride are now hollow, and the myths of the “heroic age” are burned away. Here, fantasy isn’t about dragons or relics; it’s about loss, legacy, and consequence.

The players aren’t just adventurers; they’re witnesses to the ruin of ideals. Every crumbling statue and half-buried temple reminds them that this land was once built on promises now betrayed. It’s a tragedy in slow motion: even the magic that sustains life seems tired.

This genre invites reflection. When the players face Thraxis, they aren’t simply fighting a monster; they’re confronting what happens when hope is left unattended for too long.

Tone: Beauty, Mystery, and Regret

The tone of this region is quiet and reflective. The mountain hums with the echo of old prayers, and the air is damp with regret. When the rain begins to fall, it feels almost cleansing, as if the world itself is trying to heal.

Thraxis is not just a threat but a symbol: the beautiful person turned physically and psychologically into a monstrosity, the guardian turned destroyer. As the players move through his territory, the tone shifts from curiosity to reverence to dread. The fight itself should feel poetic, not just powerful, a culmination of beauty fighting its own corruption.

Zi Chin's Tip:

Never rush the approach to Thraxis. Let the environment speak before he ever does; every rockslide and echo is part of his story.

Encounters

A few interesting encounters that can be used in the world, and why they speak to Thraxis and the idea of his betrayal and new form. Below will be a quick example of how the world can play out before the fight with Thraxis:

The Fractured Mountains

First Encounter
The party finds a deer with semi-circle bites taken from it, a tear in the skin.
They could investigate the wounds or move on before whatever made them return.
Second Encounter
As the players climb higher up the cliff, they see a half-burned camp sitting in a cave. Inside a
journal, someone's entry ends mid-sentence, and the journal's edges are blackened by fire.
They could read the remains, search for survivors, or take the supplies and leave.
Third Encounter
As they get closer to Thraxis’ lair, they begin to see scorched marks as rain begins to pour down.
The players see that the scorched marks go in different angles. Foreshadows the second phase of Thraxis.

The encounters are designed to further show the beauty and destruction as a reflection of Thraxis and his turmoil.

When rolling for weather, roll 1d4 to reflect the mountains’ natural extremes. The higher the players climb, the harsher the conditions become.

Thraxis Encounter Chart

Weather Events
d4 Description
1 Sunny: The day starts bright, sunlight glinting off slick rock and high tree leaves. Warm air rolls through the valleys, carrying the faint scent of pine and smoke.
2 Cloudy: The sky dims with a haze of clouds, their grey edges rippling with wind.
3 Fierce Winds: It whips through the mountain paths, scattering dust and bending trees. Any climb or ranged attack becomes difficult.
4 Heavy Rain: It crashes down in waves, turning paths into rivers of mud. Thunder rolls in the distance, getting closer to them the higher they go.
Social Interactions
d8 Encounter
1 The party stumbles upon a group of hunters, breathless and terrified, having just fled the forest. They speak of a monster that hurled boulders through the trees; some call it a demon, others a bull, none can agree on what they saw.
2 A small cabin sits in a quiet clearing. The owner is a lone hunter who is fishing nearby in silence. He swears he’s seen no monster here. Thraxis does not feel threatened by the fisherman.
3 The group finds travellers lost in the woods, hungry and exhausted. They claim they’ve been wandering for days, having lost the road after following a false trail.
4 An abandoned mountain village lies in ruins. Houses are crushed, not burned, as though a furious creature trampled through. Charred dolls lie in the ash, and dried hoofprints are sunk deep into the earth.
5 Two wild animals drink peacefully from a stream. The rare calm stands out against the chaos of the mountain, as though nature itself is holding its breath.
6 A displaced predator blocks the path, its territory overrun by Thraxis’s growing domain. It snarls defensively confused, starving, and afraid. They can feed it, fight it or avoid the path.
7 The party encounters dwarves riding mountain goats. The riders share a campfire and tales of the high cliffs, offering to teach the adventurers how to ride if they wish to brave the upper trails.
8 Distant chanting echoes through a ruined valley. The source is unclear, but those who follow the sound find an altar of broken horns half-buried in the dirt. No one else is there.
Environmental Hazards
d8 Hazard
1 The party crosses an area where trees stand splintered in a perfect line, as though something massive had charged through. The shape roughly matches a bull’s outline.
2 Smoke curls above a ridge. A wildfire burns across the slope, heat waves distorting the air. The players can push through or retreat to find another route.
3 A stampede of goats thunders through the pass. They aren’t running from the players; something else is moving behind them.
4 Clusters of glowing mushrooms grow from blackened roots. Their faint heat suggests the land itself remembers fire.
5 Loose rocks tumble down the mountain. It could be a chance… or a warning that Thraxis is aware of intruders.
6 The players find thick vines rooted into the cliffside. They can be used for safer climbing or could snap under strain if overburdened.
7 Carvings on the stone, with dashes — the more dashes, the closer they get to Thraxis. They can learn this immediately if they have talked to the dwarves from the social interactions, or learn it as the path gets more dangerous.
8 Through the night fog, a green light pulses along the mountain trail. It moves slowly, following the party from a distance.
Combat Challenges
d8 Encounter
1 The party encounters hunters setting a trap baited with fresh meat. If they approach, they’re told to leave or risk being mistaken for the beast’s allies.
2 A starving pack of wolves hunts the party through the woods. They are skinnier than most wolves, as if they can barely find proper meals.
3 A poison-maker tests new toxins on wildlife nearby; if interrupted, they release clouds of green smoke that affect the player's nervous system. A DC 14 Constitution saving throw; if they fail, they gain one exhaustion.
4 A green pulse surges through the forest as deer stampede past, fleeing something unseen. The party must dodge or be trampled.
5 The party sees a bear with burn marks on its fur. The bear is smashing through trees, and ripping the ground up. This is not normal bear behaviour as it locks eyes with the party.
6 A group of enemies sees the party and stalks them until they are vulnerable or the party spots them.
7 A hostage breaks through the thicket and finds the players and begins begging for help. Soon the kidnappers appear and a fight breaks out, the hostage stabs the party in the back. They were not really hostages.
8 A carriage crashed in the forest, and the survivors tried to escape but were hunted down. One survivor was left but with no escape and low food sources he ate the other survivors. Now the party comes across an unstable cannibal who tries to eat them.
Exploration And Puzzles
d8 Encounter
1 The party finds an abandoned campsite with a locket engraved with a message to Thraxis’s wife, a trace of his humanity. “Please if you find this, bring it to my wife Sarah. Thank you, Thraxis.”
2 They explore a dwarven cave settlement driven out long ago; the carvings describe the early days of the corruption. Gain advantage on History checks in this region.
3 A golden oak tree drips glowing sap. Drinking from it grants insight, but the knowledge burns the throat and insides leaving internal scars. Gain advantage on Nature checks in this region.
4 The party discovers a ruined temple with a hidden chamber. In the chamber they find a prophecy stating “The thing created can destroy the creator.”, and a mural of a metal face surrounded by fire. Gain advantage on Insight checks into who Thraxis is.
5 The party sees something glittering in a ravine, as they climb down towards it they find an empty cave. However, in the cave there are some gold pieces. If taking a closer look the party can find an abandoned traders storage area covered up by vines and dirt. Gain new items, maybe some magical items.
6 They stumble upon a lake which is muddy and slimy, as they look into the water they can see their reflection. However, their reflections are twisted by their greatest desire turning them into monsters. Gain advantage on Insight checks into what happened to Thraxis.
7 The group finds a forgotten dwarven forge, they can study a few manuscripts and learn the art of old techniques. If they study it long enough they can turn weapons into +1 weapons.
8 They find a harp lying on the ground, and if they play it magical glowing lights appear as laughter echoes from the wilderness. This laughter is now distorted by the new voice Thraxis has.

Gorath

(Setting of this World)

The environment is used to show how Gorath has plagued the lands and ruined the world around them. The sacrifice he made to spare his people has taken the land from them. Gorath is honourable and respectful but does not like people intruding on his land. Before the encounter with him the players can see and understand how his sacrifice was a heavy price but to him it was worth it.

Environment: The Decaying Forest

The path to Gorath’s hideout is through what was once a thriving woodland. Now the trees rot from the roots upward, their bark grey and soft, the air thick with decay. Mist crawls along the ground like a living thing, swallowing sound and colour alike.

Graves and broken idols scatter the undergrowth, and every gust of wind sounds like a sigh. Even the animals are wrong, thin, twitching shapes that flee before they’re seen. The deeper the players go, the less light reaches the soil. It’s as if the forest is collapsing inward, retreating from the world.

This is not just a battleground, it’s a graveyard of nature. The environment itself feels cursed by Gorath’s presence, feeding on despair.

Genre: Horror and Myth

The genre here is a dark mythic horror, a world where death is not a stranger but a companion. Gorath’s story feels ancient, like a folktale that should never have been told aloud.

The world still remembers the knight who fell and became a beast, and every vine and branch whispers his name. The horror isn’t in blood or gore, but in recognition: seeing what happens when honour rots into obsession.

Players should feel like explorers of legend, retracing the steps of a cautionary tale that went wrong. In this genre, truth and fear are the same thing.

Tone: Oppression, Guilt, and Dread

The tone is suffocating. Fog muffles every word, rain slicks every weapon, and silence presses in like a weight. The players’ torches flicker and die, not from wind but exhaustion.

Emotionally, this encounter is about confronting the decay of the world, of ideals, of mercy. The players can learn more about both sides of Gorath, the good and the bad. In the fight they get to pick how they end it, like the same decay that has taken the world or with the understanding for mercy.

The fight against Gorath should feel personal and heavy, almost spiritual, not about victory, but about understanding what has been lost.

Encounters

A few interesting encounters that can be used in the world, and why they speak to Gorath and the idea of sacrificing your soul for the good of your people. The players can slowly try to get more of his story and see both sides of the tale as they get closer, from his allies and his enemies. Below will be a quick example of how the world can play out before the fight with Thraxis:

The Withering Woods

First Encounter
At an altar, the party sees some minotaurs carving a message into it: “Beware those who enter the Clan of Bloodhorn”.
The players could eavesdrop on the minotaurs, kill the clan members, or destroy the altar.
Secound Encounter
The party continues their journey further into the woods and comes across a graveyard, which has been split by two banners (one of Clan of Bloodhorn and an unknown Clan). Minotaur sentries stand watch. Each grave bears Gorath’s mark, carved into both friend and foe.
The players see a more respectful side of Gorath, honouring both fallen allies. If spotted by the sentries, the players will be attacked.
Third Encounter
A heavy fog settles over the woods, and the wind does not affect the fog; the weather does not work the same. Off in the distance, the players see mutated deer shadows running through the woods.
They can see creatures in pain and could end it or continue forward.

The encounters are designed to further show both sides of Gorath as well as the new environment he has made through his deal with a demon.

The weather around Gorath’s domain is unpredictable and often overlapping. When rolling for weather roll 2d4 and combine the results to reflect the forest’s unnatural imbalance.

So an unnatural combination of weather can occur like lightning in fog, hurricane winds that fail to move the mist. Doing this reminds the players that this land no longer obeys natural laws.

Gorath Encounter Chart

Weather Events
d4 Weather Effect
1 Fog: A heavy grey fog rolls in, obscuring vision beyond 10 ft. It moves against the wind and muffles sound, as though alive.
2 Hurricane Winds: Sudden gales tear through the trees, throwing leaves and branches in every direction. Makes it harder to walk, minus 10 feet of movement for all creatures.
3 Heavy Rain: The rain pours in endless sheets, turning paths to sludge and washing away tracks. Every sound echoes strangely in the downpour.
4 Thunderstorm: Lightning flashes, briefly revealing silhouettes off in the distance.
Social Interactions
d8 Encounter
1 Three cultists kneel before a cracked stone altar, muttering praises to “the Bull Who Broke the Sky.” They speak of Gorath as a saviour, not a monster.
2 The party discovers a ruined village from Gorath’s first conquest. Scorched banners still hang, and burnt journals describe the day one creature crushed two thousand men. The final entry trails off mid-sentence.
3 A wounded druid-hunter tends to dying animals. He explains he’s studying mutations spreading through the forest, searching for the cause and that the curse began after Gorath’s rise.
4 Among rows of moss-covered graves, a group of minotaurs protect the grave site. The players notice that the graveyard is split into two clan groups and the minotaurs honour both sides by lighting candles.
5 A pair of spies lurk among the trees, studying Gorath’s movements. Detecting them requires a DC 15 Perception check. If found, they’ll trade intelligence about upcoming raids for supplies.
6 Travelling through the mists, the players find a desecrated shrine half-sunken in the mud. A blood-stained inscription reads: “Honour became hunger.”
7 A patrol of forty corrupted clan soldiers marches through the swampy terrain, their torches casting sickly light. The party can observe or flee; a direct confrontation could be fatal.
8 A ragged bard sings softly beneath a rotting tree, strumming an instrument of bone. He tells stories of Gorath’s mercy, the lies that keep peasants from rebelling.
Environmental Hazards
d8 Hazard
1 Roots shift beneath the players’ feet like living things, threatening to entangle or trip them. The ground bleeds when cut.
2 Pools of black water reflect scenes that don’t match the surroundings. Looking too long may cause confusion or false memories.
3 A fallen tree crackles with residual lightning energy. Touching it shocks for minor damage; striking it ignites a blue flame that doesn’t burn the wood.
4 A chorus of distant roars echoes through the mist. Each roar sounds closer than the last, until silence falls. Then something large moves in the fog.
5 Corrupted animals prowl the undergrowth: twisted boars, eyeless wolves, skeletal deer. They flee when light is shown at them, but follow sound.
6 Acidic rain begins to fall, hissing where it touches exposed skin or armour. The trees drip with steam.
7 A sinkhole opens suddenly beneath a moss-covered path. Falling in reveals a network of burial tunnels filled with bones.
8 Pillars of stone jut from the soil like gravemarkers. Some bear carvings of horns or names scratched out by claw marks. The closer the party gets to Gorath’s lair, the fresher the scratches become.
Combat Challenges
d8 Encounter
1 A group of lizardfolk walk the forest path, an ambush for the party as minotaurs lie in wait among the trees and bushes.
2 A mutated bull, skin cracked and glowing faintly purple, charges from the brush, its horns dripping blood.
3 Dark thorned vines writhe to life and spit necrotic sap that burns through armour.
4 The players walk on soft moss and fail to notice how weak the ground is. It collapses beneath them, revealing a trap set by lurking lizardfolk below.
5 A desperate dwarf begs for help finding his friend; when found, the friend is surrounded by two minotaurs.
6 Minotaurs battle a bear to protect its cub; the outcome depends on whether the players intervene or watch.
7 The party finds a prisoner camp where humans and beastfolk are forced to work and gather resources to make weapons, food, and contraptions for the minotaur clan.
8 An open arena sits near the forest’s edge, where champions duel for coin and glory. The gold earned funds Gorath’s mission; if they manage to kill Gorath’s champion, they earn fame and take gold from Gorath.
Exploration And Puzzles
d8 Encounter
1 A small cathedral can be explored, and hidden inside are peace offerings to Gorath from other clans. The party gains a small amount of gold and some poison.
2 An old battleground can be explored in a large hill through underground tunnels. Investigating, they see dead lizardfolk and one large minotaur who was blocked in. The minotaur wears the clan sigil. Gain advantage on history checks in this area.
3 As they spot several large creators in the ground, they see golden armour in the middle held up by a greatsword. The players see a skeleton that looks like the spine was ripped out from the body. The platters are about to grab the armour as they feel the ground shake and they fall into a pit. Suddenly, footsteps from above get louder. People are coming. Gain plate armour.
4 They come across ancient ruins and learn about the demon that Gorath made a deal with and the curse. The wounds of the chosen burn, further fueling the beast's anger and pain. Learn about his weaknesses.
5 The party sees a source of the darkness corrupting the beasts; it is a black, oozy river. It can be blocked to save non-mutated beasts. Gain advantage with animal handling in this area.
6 After not seeing the sun for so long, they begin to experience day terrors. If a character does not succumb to their worst horrors haunting them, then they gain proficiency in Constitution.
7 They spot a watchtower with no one in it. When climbing up it they find a floor board with weird scratches and a hole in it. When placed on the right fence facing a cathedral, they can spot a hole in the roof. Gain a second entry into the boss battle.
8 They find an old village intact and search the houses. They find in one house a hidden book, describing a summoning spell for demons and how powers work from certain ones. Learn how Gorath gains power when transitioning to his second phase.
Environmental Encounters

Welcome to the first enhanced boss battle from Zi Chin’s Guide to Epic Fights!

Artist Credits:

  • Page 1: Alayna Danner – Journey to the Lost City
  • Page 2: Eelis Kyttanen – Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
  • Page 3: Alex Horley-Orlandelli – Mire's Toll
  • Page 4: Josh Hass – Goblin Trailblazer
  • Page 5: Torgeir Fjereide – Deadly Dispute
  • Page 6: Campbell White – Burn Down the House
  • Page 7: Francisco Miyara – Beloved Beggar
  • Page 8: Raymond Swanland – Undercity Informerm
  • Page 9: Jack Wang – Search the City
  • Page 13: Iris Compiet - Ten Wizards Mountain
  • Page 15: Titus Lunter – Mystic Forge
  • Page 17: Jurijus Chitrovas – Brotherhood Spy
  • Page 19: Alexander Forssberg – Isolated Watchtower

If you'd like to explore more of my design ideas, including the philosophy behind Zi Chin, then you can check out my blog on Tumblr.

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  • Alex Deery - Editor-in-Chief
  • Karl Orallo - Artist (Footer Art)
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