One of the first things I did in developing the Great Dungeon was to work out wandering monster charts for the first few levels. I wanted to begin with something immediately gameable that would also help flesh out what was going on with each level. Simply laying out typical encounters for each level began to suggest possible factions, and along with that potential alliances and rivalries in the Dungeon. It also began adding flavor to the levels and suggesting themes for new zones.
The resulting tables were intentionally generic: I wanted them to reflect typical representatives of various monster types; creatures that could be encountered almost anywhere in the Dungeon. So the “goblin” entry is just a vanilla 1st-level warrior goblin. Special areas or zones would get specialized encounter tables to match. So Dungmarket would have goblin guards with fighter levels, and the Statuary would have goblins with rogue levels.
Another goal was to have the average number appearing for each entry result in a 3.5e Encounter Level that matched the Dungeon Level. So 2d6+2 Tiny monstrous centipedes, Challenge Rating 1/8 each, results in an average of 9 CR 1/8 monsters, which is an EL 1 encounter. Suitable for the First Level.
Although the first iteration was built for 3.5, I looked to the Wandering Monster tables from Moldvay and Holmes, the Monster & Treasure Assortment, and Appendix C: Random Monster Encounters from the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. The composition of the upper levels, therefore, reflects Gygaxian Naturalism with plenty of mundane (but nonetheless dangerous) giant vermin. But it also reflects, as pointed out by Planet Algol, a surprisingly large number of human encounters.
Human NPC encounters immediately posed an interesting problem. Moldvay and the Monsters & Treasures Assortment have numerous encounters that consist of one or more NPCs of the same class and level. So you might run into “1 footpad” or “3 cutpurses.” This is easy to replicate in 3.5e and reflected in my tables.
The AD&D tables instead had NPC parties, that is to say mixed groups of different races and classes, along with their henchmen. In 3.5e, an NPC with levels in a PC class has a Challenge Rating equal to its character level. So a 1st-level fighter has a CR of 1. Two CR 1 monsters make for an EL 3 encounter; four make for an EL 5 encounter. Add in some henchmen with NPC classes, and a typical NPC party made up solely of 1st level characters is almost too tough to place on the First Level of the Dungeon. I do want NPC parties to represent some of the toughest encounters the PCs might face, but within reason.
Pathfinder lowers the CR of NPCs by 1, so an NPC with levels in PC classes has a CR of character level -1, while an NPC with levels in weaker NPC classes has a CR of character level -2. This is probably a more accurate rating; in 3.5e NPCs seem notoriously fragile compared with monsters of the same Challenge Rating. This helps the problem a little, but not much. My initial cut used 3.5e challenge ratings, so NPC parties didn’t appear until the Fifth Level. Subsequent playtesting has pushed them down.
In developing the monster tables, I used the Moldvay convention of applying specific species names for the various vermin and animals rather than bland descriptions. So we have “deathback spiders,” which I find more flavorful than “Tiny monstrous spider.”
As I went deeper, I first ran into the problem of having too many choices around Level Four or Five, but above Level Seven soon ran into the problem of not enough options. I initially planned to create a full 20 levels of encounter tables. But in the deeper levels most of the monsters are solitary, powerful individuals, with demons and devils being a notable exception. Maybe you could have a bunch of bone devils running around, but multiple pit fiends or balor demons? And it just seems crazy to have multiple liches on a wandering monster chart. So I ended up compressing the lowest levels to reflect a range of Challenge Ratings.
So the following illustrates one of my first attempts at developing encounter tables for the Great Dungeon of the North. In addition to the number and type of monster, I’ve also included the source. “TOH” is the great Tome of Horrors, one of my favorite 3.5e books and invaluable for developing old-school adventures.
The First Level is a largely played-out area overrun by goblins, humans, animals, and vermin. Although it is the most mundane level, it does see its share of inexplicable Dungeon weirdness.
| Roll (%) | Encounter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 01–02 | 1 acolyte of chaos | human cleric 1 |
| 03–04 | 1 apprentice magic-user | human wizard 1 |
| 05–06 | 1 apprentice thief | human rogue 1 |
| 07–09 | 1d3 bandits | human expert 1 |
| 10–18 | 2d6+2 birdkiller centipedes | SRD, Tiny monstrous centipede |
| 19–21 | 1d3 brigands | human warrior 1 |
| 22–30 | 1d4+1 catkiller centipedes | SRD, Small monstrous centipede |
| 31–39 | 1d4 cave crickets | ToH |
| 40–48 | 1d4+1 deathback spiders | SRD, Tiny monstrous spider |
| 49–52 | 1d4+3 dire rats | SRD |
| 53–55 | 1d3 dwarves | SRD, dwarf warrior 1 |
| 56–65 | 1d4+1 giant fire beetles | SRD |
| 66–69 | 1d4+2 goblins | SRD, goblin warrior 1 |
| 70–73 | 1d4+3 kobolds | SRD, kobold warrior 1 |
| 74–75 | 1d4+3 mites | PGRD |
| 76–79 | 1 mountain adder | SRD, Medium viper snake |
| 80–83 | 1d3 piercers [hazard] | ToH |
| 84–86 | 1d3 pledged | human adept 1 |
| 87–88 | 1 recruit | human fighter 1 |
| 89–91 | 1d4 skeletons | SRD, human warrior skeleton |
| 92–95 | 1 swarm of blackfang spiders | SRD, spider swarm |
| 96 | 1d3 tieflings | SRD, tiefling warrior 1 |
| 97 | 1d4 vulchings | ToH |
| 98–100 | 1d3 zombies | SRD, human commoner zombie |
The Second Level is full of strife, as two separate orc tribes and the hobgoblins battle for control. Fewer humans are found here, but many horrid types of vermin and animals abound.
| Roll (%) | Encounter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 01–05 | 1 bat swarm | SRD |
| 06–07 | 1d2 berserkers | human barbarian 1 |
| 08–09 | 1 brown mold [hazard] | SRD |
| 10 | 1 cave python | SRD, constrictor snake |
| 11 | 1 choker | SRD |
| 12–26 | 1d4+1 crab spiders | SRD, Small monstrous spiders |
| 27 | 1 dire weasel | SRD |
| 28–42 | 1d4+1 dogkiller centipedes | SRD, Medium monstrous centipede |
| 43–44 | 1 footpad | human rogue 2 |
| 45–49 | 1d4+2 hobgoblins | SRD, hobgoblin warrior 1 |
| 50 | 1d3 lemure devils | SRD |
| 51 | 1 living statue | SRD, Medium animated object |
| 52–53 | 1 medium | human wizard 2 |
| 54–55 | 1 mountain rattler | SRD, Large viper snake |
| 56–57 | 1 novitiate | human cleric 2 |
| 58–62 | 1d3+1 orcs | SRD, orc warior 1 |
| 63 | 1 quasit demon | SRD |
| 64–68 | 1 rat swarm | SRD |
| 69–83 | 1d3 shriekers | SRD |
| 84–98 | 1d3+1 stirges | SRD |
| 99–100 | 1 veteran | human fighter 2 |
The hobgoblins maintain a redoubt on the Third Level, which is also home to ghouls and gnolls. On this level the Dungeon weirdness really begins to ramp up, as the waking world begins to give way to the Mythic Underworld.
| Roll (%) | Encounter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 allip | SRD |
| 02 | 1 ethereal filcher | SRD |
| 03 | 1 ethereal marauder | SRD |
| 04–09 | 1 gelatinous cube | SRD |
| 10–15 | 1d3+1 ghouls | SRD |
| 16–21 | 1 giant cave rattler | SRD, Huge viper snake |
| 22 | 1 giant living statue | SRD, Large animated object |
| 23–28 | 1d2 giant lizards | SRD, monitor lizard |
| 29–34 | 1d3+1 giant ticks | ToH |
| 35–49 | 1d4+1 giant trapdoor spiders | SRD, Medium monstrous spider |
| 50–55 | 1d4+1 giant worker ants | SRD |
| 56–61 | 1d4+1 gnolls | SRD |
| 62 | 1d2 imp devils | SRD |
| 63–77 | 1d4+1 mulekiller centipedes | SRD, Large monstrous centipede |
| 78 | 1 phantom fungus | SRD |
| 79–80 | 1 robber | human rogue 3 |
| 81–82 | 1 seer | human wizard 3 |
| 83–84 | 1d6 skulks | ToH |
| 85–86 | 1 slithering tracker | ToH |
| 87–88 | 1 stunjelly | ToH |
| 89–90 | 1 swordsmaster | human fighter 3 |
| 91–96 | 1d4+1 troglodytes | SRD |
| 97–98 | 1 underpriest of chaos | human cleric 3 |
| 99–100 | 1d4 wolf skeletons | SRD |
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