In the first article in this series, I set out to prove Vaarsuvius wrong, to salvage random encounters in overland travel. I found that the problem lies in the interaction of travel, Random Encounters, and resting, which is what I’ll tackle in this article. Part 4 of On Wandering Monsters lays out a couple of ways in which the use of Wandering Monsters in dungeons can smooth out some of the roughness between classes, and part 2 discussed how they can be used to further, rather than distract...| Sir Poley
Rich Burlew’s Order of the Stick #145 rather accurately expresses the nature of the problem with Random Encounters when travelling overland. Go read the strip before continuing; it only takes a second and it’s worth it. You don’t have to know anything else about the series to understand the point made in this particular page. In the strip, Vaarsuvius convincingly demonstrates (far better than I ever could) exactly why Random Encounters are a waste of time—but do they have to be that w...| Sir Poley