Random Encounters (5e Fallout Supplement)

Random Encounters

When attempting to make a journey more interesting, one may use the following random events. Roll 1d100, bringing the associated encounter to the party. On a 100, roll 1d20, adding that amount to the result. Encounters above 100 could be considered “wacky”, and as such may be rerolled if you wish.

1. Herd

The party comes across a pack of 2d4 brahmin and 1d4 townies herding them. They may trade with them for meat, hides, or even the brahmin themselves. If killed or robbed, each herder has 1d4 brahmin hides, 1d6 brahmin steaks, 2d4 bottles of water, and 2d10 caps.

2. NCR Scouts

The party encounters 2d6 NCR troopers. They will ask them to either: a.) fix their mobile radio with a DC 14 Arcana check for 4d6 + 2 5.56mm rounds or caps, b.) ask for directions to a local settlement where they will treat the party to a drink, or c.) ask the party to repair one of their rifles in exchange for a ballistic pistol with 1d4 full magazines of ammunition.

3. Brotherhood Patrol

The party encounters 2d4 Brotherhood knights. They will attempt to seize any obvious piece of technology more advanced than a laser pistol (laser rifle, plasma pistol, robots), but will not search them for said tech.

4. Super Mutant Patrol

The party encounters 1d12 super mutants, mutant hounds, or centaurs. They will either attack the party on sight or continue on their way, giving the party a wide berth for various reasons including scouting for a larger force or wariness of humans due to discrimination.

5. Enclave Patrol

The party encounters 1d4 Enclave soldiers. They will attempt to kill any creatures available except those who appear to be from a vault, who they will attempt to kidnap.

6. Shootout

The party encounters 3d4 scavengers defending a diner from 2d8 raiders. Both parties will be unaware of the party. Unless the party enters the diner or attacks one group, they will be ignored.

7. Wandering Merchant

The party encounters a humanoid with 2d4 guards (raider stats) and 1d4 brahmin. They can trade with this humanoid, who’s inventory is average at best. The guards will attack if the party approaches within 15 feet of the merchant with weapons drawn.

8. Raiders

The party encounters 1d6 raiders. They will attack the party on sight.

9. Gecko Nest

The party wanders into the nest of 3d8 geckos. They will attack on sight.

10. Hunters

The party encounters 1d4 scavengers fighting 1d6 beasts.

11. Slavers

The party encounters 2d6 raiders and 1d4 townies, the latter of which are slaves. The raiders will either 1.) attempt to sell the slaves to the party for 100 caps each or 2.) attempt to enslave the party.

12. Mole Rat Nest

The party encounters 2d4 of each rat type. They will attack on sight.

13. Deathclaw Nest

The party encounters 2d12 deathclaws and 1 deathclaw matriarch and alpha. They will attack on sight.

14. Pack of Dogs

The party encounters 3d4 dogs of any type. They will not attack unless attacked.

15. Brotherhood Paladins

The party encounters 1d6 Paladins. They will not be agressive to the players, and will be en route to a pre-War ruin to recover technology.

16. I think-bush, therefore I...

The party encounters a small canyon with a well worn road running through it. 3d4 safety cones line the road, each with a fragmentation mine under it, and there is an overturned semi-trailer. 2 raiders hide on both sides of the 30 foot high canyon and can be seen with a voluntary Perception check or Passive Perception of 15. If the party enter the canyon, they will be attacked after they reach halfway through or set off 1 mine. Inside the overturned trailer is a varmint rifle with a scope and 30 5.56 Caliber rounds.

17. Stand-off

The party encounters a group of 2d4 townies and scavengers each in a stand-off over a closed fridge. Both groups are equal size. The party may attempt to diffuse the situation, let the group shoot each other, or shoot them themselves. Inside the fridge is 1d6 food items and cans of water each.

18. Bounty Hunters

The party encounters a group of 1d6 couriers who will approach them, tell the party they were payed 10d10 caps to kill them, and attempt to do so unless the party can match the offer.

19. Stars of the Midnight Ranger

The party encounters 1 veteran ranger aiming their anti-material rifle at a group of 2d4 legionaries with 1d4 slaves.

20. Legion Patrol

The party encounters 3d4 legionaries. They will either pass the party without conflict, attempt to enslave the party by force, or barter for slaves and other goods.

21. Desert Stalkers

The party encounters a strangely flat 200 ft. by 200 ft. area of desert. Randomly scattered across this area are 15 Hidden desert stalkers. Animal and human bones line the sides of the only safe path through. They will not be aggressive unless the party enters a nest. Desert stalkers will not come to each other’s aid.

22. Desert Stalker Mating Season

The party encounters a strangely flat 200 ft. by 200 ft. area of desert. 20 desert stalkers swarm across this land, laying and fertilizing eggs. The party enters this area, all desert stalkers aware of them will become hostile.

23. Small Farm

The party stumbles across a small farmhouse with 1d4 townies and 1d2 Brahmin. The crops can be bartered for or the party can attempt to steal the crops with a successful DC 14 stealth check and a successful DC 10 slight of hand check. If stolen, the party gains 2d6 raw plants.

24. Well Where is the Rest?

The party finds the trunk portion of a Highwayman with no signs as to where the rest of the vehicle is. The trunk can be opened with a successful DC 15 strength check or successful DC 12 thieves' tools check. Inside the party can find 3d4 MicroFusion Cells, 4d4 Small Energy Cells, 1d4+1 Scrap Metal, and a canteen with the number "13" written on it, seemingly from a Vault.

25. A Tribute

The party encounters a man named Paul in NCR Riot Gear (Stats of The Courier) asking for directions to Vegas offering them 4d12 worth of caps, upon making a DC 10 Perception check the party can gleam that the man is armed with a pair of spiked mittens as his only weapon, if the party points him in the correct direction if the party ever goes to Vegas, or returns to Vegas if they've been there before, he will reward them with 10d12 more bottlecaps as well as 1d4 bottles of Nuka-Cola Quantum.

26. What's The Matter Smooth-Skin

The party encounters 2d6 non-feral ghouls. They will either pass the party without conflict or attempt to trade with them.

27. Too Quiet

The party comes across a small town with 2d6 "bodies" strewn about, the party will also encounter a strangely well preserved car if they attempt to open the car the alarm will go off and the "bodies" will rise turning out to be Feral Ghouls.

28. This Book Is Not Yet Closed

The party encounters a man in Custom Black Power Armor (Stats of Armored Elder) sitting near a campfire reading a book, the man will offer the party to rest by the fire and listen to a story. If the party accepts they all gain 1 free Bardic Inspiration (1D6). If they decline he will simply say "A story for another day then." and will simply walk away, leaving behind a sack that contains 1d20 bottlecaps

29. Reformer Enclave Patrol

The party encounters 1d4 of Enclave Reformer Soldiers and 1 Enclave Officer, they will either attempt to trade with the party or will ignore the party unless spoken to otherwise.

30. A Strange Salesman

The party encounter a ghoul salesman wearing a yellow trench coat and hat, upon encountering the party he will attempt to sell them various pre-war foods and appliances, upon a DC 13 Insight check the party can tell the man is at the end of his rope and that clearly, business has been going well.

Special Encounters

101. Café of Broken Dreams

The party encounters a run down diner. Inside are various NPCs the DM considered using, but didn’t and unfinalized versions of player and non-player characters.

102. Crashed Shuttle

The party encounters a crashed shuttle from Star Trek. It must have gone though a space-time distortion. Its red-shirted occupants have the statistics of a BoS scribe, as well as 2d10 stimpacks and 1d4 alien blasters with 45 pieces of ammunition per blaster.

103. Guardian Portal

The party encounters a large stone ring. Walking through the ring results in them being sent back in time temporarily. Regardless of the actions taken by the players, they ultimately cause the instigating event of their adventure before being sent back to their proper time.

104. King Arthur’s Knights

The party encounters 5 men wearing large suits of elaborate armor and wielding swords. These characters use the statistics of Brotherhood paladins with shishkebabs. They will ask if you know the direction of the “Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch”. After giving them an answer, the party will be rewarded 500 caps, even if the answer is incorrect.

105. King Arthur’s Knights Fighting a Rabbit

The party encounters 5 Knights fighting a particularly strong rabbit. This rabbit uses the statistics of a legendary deathclaw, save for being Small, and the knights have the statistics of a BoS knight, save for a Dexterity of 13. On the other side of the fight sits a cave, inside which is a Holy Hand Grenade. This can be used to kill the rabbit instantly. Each knight has 500 caps and 200 microfusion cells.

106. A Man Guarding a Bridge

The party encounters a man wearing purple robes guarding the only bridge over a treacherous canyon. He will ask the party 3 questions. If the party answers all questions correct, he will move from blocking the bridge. If they answer a question wrong, the man will attack. He has the statistics of a BoS scribe, but with an AC of 13. If they ask the man a question he does not know the answer to, which isn’t particularly difficult, he will explode, leaving behind only his robes which act as an oversuit with the statistics of a full set of combat armor, not including the helmet, and weighs 1 pound.

107. Maud’s Muggers

The party is ambushed by 6 old women wielding rolling pins that use the statistics of scavengers.

108. Recon Craft

The party encounters a hovering alien spacecraft. The door is locked, but 3 aliens (zetans) wielding blasters patrol the exterior. One will be designated the captain, wearing orange highlights. The aliens will not attack unless ordered by the captain to or attacked themselves. Each alien will have 40 alien power cells. The door can be picked with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check and a bobby pin. Inside are 5 fusion cores at full charge, and 3 MicroFusion Breeders, each with a magazine of 10 when found.

109. The Monster’s Name is Gigan

The party encounters 1 geckozilla engaged in combat with a super mutant behemoth whose hands have been replaced with obnoxiously large knives. The remaining creature will be hostile to any other creature.

110. Strange Mine

The party encounters a mine burrowing straight into the ground with perfectly square walls. If the party delves into the mine, they will discover a cube chest with 5 gold bars and 5 pieces of scrap metal. If they delve further, they will find 2d6 giant cube spiders that use the statistics of ants.

111. You’re Finally Awake

The party encounters a small town. Above it flies 1 geckozilla with a flying speed of 60 feet that will attack any creature it sees.

112. Johnson and the Arugulas

The party encounters a single legionary on a raised concrete platform fighting off 6 skeleton-like ghouls.

113. Kings of Monsters

The party encounters one geckozilla fighting an ape-like mega sloth. The fight doesn’t last that long.

114. The Nest

The party encounters a ridiculously large cave. Deep within are 15 geckozilla and a set of 16 suitcase-like lead-lined metal boxes. Each box has 5,000 caps.

115. World at War

The party encounters a band of what appears to be time travelers, they say the apocalypse is upon them. They're a band of misfits, like the party: a Japanese Honourman (BoS scribe not allied with the actual BoS), German Scientist (courier who always has advantage on checks related to science), American Soldier (NCR trooper allied with the pre-War American military), and Russian Alcoholic (townie who has disadvantage on all checks, attacks, and saves). Roll 1d20. On a roll of 10 or lower, 2d4 zombies, using the stat block of feral ghouls, appear and start to attack. On a roll of 11 or higher, a magic monkey toy appears, using the stats of a fragmentation grenade, save for exploding at the beginning of the thrower's next turn and making a loud noise when thrown, attracting any creatures with an Intelligence score of 8 or lower to the bomb.

116. What're Ya Buyin'

The party encounters a courier wearing a long jacket, hood, and mask. Approaching him, he offers a variety of weapons, all horribly rusted and broken, with a few only being damaged. His prices are ten times the cost of what even pristine weapons would be valued at, save for a single pristine hunting rifle that he's willing to sell for 1d6 + 1 caps.

117. Figured They’d Try Shooting Their Way Out

The party encounters a lawful good hellfire trooper wearing green armor and wielding an assault rifle, and a lawful good lakelurk capable of speaking Common wielding a sword-like proton axe fighting a group of 3d10 aliens and 3d4 hairy super mutants.

118. Rock "Rats"

The party, upon entering a very rocky area, encounters 3d20+10 Tiny spaceship-like robots that come pouring out of the rocks, wielding either 1 forward-mounted grease gun (challenge of 4), 2 side-mounted swiveling hunting rifles (challenge of 6), or 2 forward-mounted missile launchers (1/3 damage, challenge of 9) and have a fly speed of 40 feet. They all have health and AC equivalent to assaultrons. Leading this attack is a Large horned robot with a fly speed of 20 feet and wielding 8 mounted swiveling grease guns, 2 forward-mounted gatling lasers, and, upon entering battle, producing additional tiny robot reinforcements at the rate of 3 robots every minute (challenge of 15) It has AC and health equivalent to a legendary deathclaw's stats. Guarding the horned robot are 1d4+2 Medium solar-powered robots, each wielding 1 forward-mounted laser rifle, are able to cloak themselves (turn invisible) for up to 5 minutes, and have a fly speed of 30 feet (challenge of 12). They have AC and health equivalent to a sentry bot's stats. All of them have condition immunities equivalent to mk. 1 securitrons. Altogether, they call themselves the Turanic Raiders and attack the party on sight. Any of their mounted weapons the party recovers will be broken.

119. Greenskin Bones

Looking around in one secluded corner of the Wasteland, the party stumbles upon the bones of a rather large super mutant. However, its arm, leg, and skull proportions are odd, and it has a very large jawbone full of large, dinosaur-like teeth. What's more, the gun lying next to it is unlike anything the party has ever seen. It is large, has one oversized barrel, is seemingly ramshackle, and is painted red with patches of black-and-white checkerboard patterns. The ammo it takes is .308 rounds. Studying it, the weapon is fully automatic, has a standard range of 30/70, does 3d10 damage, and is worth around 2000 caps, if it were pristine. However, it is in Poor condition. Fortunately, with 20 scrap metal, 15 hours of work, and succeeding a DC 20 Arcana check, its condition can be increased by 1. The scrap isn’t wasted on a failed check.

120. Battlebots

The party encounters two large robots fighting each other using several weapons built into themselves. The first robot is a stoutly-built humanoid, complete with arms, legs, and a head to match. However, its head resembles a skull, something that is unnerving to the party (Frightful Presence, DC 15). It wields 4 musket lasers, 1 laser pistol, two tommy guns, a broadsider, and two missile launchers. The other is an odd hunched figure walking on two birdlike legs, and its other features include two boxlike arms swinging stiffly to either side of its hunched torso, a head in the middle of that torso resembling a prewar passenger airplane cockpit, and has a double-missile launcher mounted on its top-left side. Its other weapons are 8 plasma pistols, 2 broadsider cannons, and 1 gatling laser. The fact this odd robot is standing strong against its scary-looking skull-headed counterpart is terrifying by itself (also Frightful Presence, DC 10). Both robots have double the health stats of a sentry bot, are Medium, have the AC of an assaultron, can walk as fast as a robobrain, and have a challenge rating of 15. Neither start out aware of the party, who may get involved or just watch from the sidelines. When one robot defeats the other, it becomes hostile to everything else around itself. Any weapons recovered from these robots will be broken.

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