(Very) Random Encounters in Context

Based on this discussion: LINK to Tenkar's Tavern

I don't prep.  I roll encounter dice and read 3s as evidence of activity if someone is tracking, 2s as obvious recent activity or tracks (what have you), and 1s as encounter events.

Next, I grab my Koplow dice, now dubbed Quisitor dice, comprised of a Greater Than/Less Than die and a Likelihood die, roll them together and determine if something actually happens.

After I know something happens, I roll two colour dice (red through violet) and use that to stimulate my imagination/understanding of the situation, taking terrain, time of day, season, etc. into account.

If the Quisitors give me a high likelihood of an event, and the colour dice suggest it is hostile, I then roll critter dice (again, Koplow), to impromptu create a type of thing to be encountered, doing away with the need for monster lists.

Then to determine strength of encounter, I roll a d20 or something that makes sense for circumstances, then in the ten seconds or so this process took, I ask the players to roll perception or initiative, etc. to then describe the results.

Urutsk Space Age hack of Encounter Critical

Sunday Evening Game-

The crew of the HSS Arden formally sides with the first group of Arkay against the Dsato who refuse to acknowledge their existence and have incurred 40% of their sphere. Some portion of the Dsato (sided with a cantankerous group of [more] belligerent Arkay) fire a missile at the HSS Arden. The Arden's captain tells the PCs to 'F' them up.' The PCs proceed to do so, and using my mass combat rules, they take over the Dsato ship crewed by 80 with a force of 15. Taking control of the bridge and shutting off life support helped that. The Humanosphere now have a Dsato ship and have agreed with the Dsato, that this means war. The majority of Arkay have aligned/allied with the Humanosphere.

The percentage Ability Score bonuses I have in the playtest document are too high, and it was good to confirm that in play. I'm working on that and speeding up chargen a lot through easy techniques.

Other good stuff going on in the development.