There's a Road to the Dungeon, and It's Paid for by Adventurers

Here's something that I mentioned very briefly in my post about the AD&D DMG's section on "taxes" (including duties, excises, fees, tariffs, tithes, and - most notably with regards to this post - tolls) and the indentured servitude of those who fail to pay - the local municipality maintains a road to "the dungeon":

We can interpret "the dungeon" in this case as referring to the single dungeon with which campaign play begins, as described in the opening to the section titled "THE CAMPAIGN":

This is not dissimilar to the guidance in the section titled "THE WILDERNESS" in OD&D's Book III: The Underworld and Wilderness:

While a dungeon can be very big (even infinite) and can sustain entire campaigns all on its own, we know from AD&D's Appendix B that if we zoom out to a large enough scale, we will surely find more than just a single dungeon in the area of play. My 100-hex sandbox, for example, has two:

Any given dungeon on the campaign map, however large or small, could be "the dungeon" in a campaign of its own. This is all to say, to use Gygax's phrasing, "of course" whichever municipality is closest to any given dungeon will maintain a road on the route to that dungeon!

Why is this noteworthy? Well, first of all, I find it interesting. My conception of the dungeon has always been that it is a desolate place. Sure, it isn't typically far from the player characters' "home base" because exploring the dungeon is the default mode of play in the early game, when the characters are low-level, and adventuring in the wilderness is dangerous business. Therefore, characters need to be able to travel to and from the dungeon swiftly, lest they get unlucky and run afoul of a dragon or a group of 40 bandits.

Even considering the likely proximity of the dungeon to a settlement, I certainly never considered that there would be a road leading straight to it. A trail, maybe, carved out as a desire path of sorts by the numerous adventures who have traveled there to make their fortune in the past, but a proper road? Like a good enough one that the municipality charges a toll to use it? Why would this be?

Well, it's income. Considering the likely proximity to the settlement, one can imagine that it isn't particularly expensive to maintain such a road. Given that exploring the dungeon is the entry level job of the adventuring career path, and that seemingly anyone who wants to be anyone in a D&D society must obtain and wield power through adventuring and the accumulation of levels (D&D is a levelocracy), there are probably a lot of people - a lot of eventually wealthy people - who will want to use that road. Since common peasants probably aren't going there, the municipality can even charge a much heftier toll on that road in particular. It pays for itself and then some.

Don't forget to charge the player characters not just per head but per wheel ("and possibly even materials transported"):

If the characters are bringing carts and wagons to haul their treasure, and depending on what sorts of materials are tolled, this could add up fast!

This also allows the municipality to maintain some level of control over the dungeon and those who wish to visit it. The local government of the town or city could certainly send some 0th-level men to explore the dungeon and plunder its riches to line the ruler's pockets - a big enough settlement almost certainly has more resources than a handful of 1st-level player characters - but why bother doing so, when they can simply charge adventurers a fee to exploit the dungeon for them, then exploit those same adventurers in turn?

The local ruler can thus monitor who is making forays into the dungeon, which allows them to keep track of those adventurers who might prove to be of greater usefulness - or might one day grow to be greater threats. It also might ensure that player characters are on their best behavior in the settlement itself - if they cause enough trouble or get on the ruler's bad side, they might find themselves turned away at the toll station on their next expedition.

This also allows the Dungeon Master to provide local color to the region depending on the ruler's nature. The dungeon is, after all, within the ruler's domain, and Lawful, Chaotic, Good, and Evil rulers will assert their dominion over it to varying degrees and using different means. A benevolent ruler may charge no toll at all to those known to be do-gooders, while a malicious one may impose even greater tolls, require generous bribes in exchange for documentation granting access, or heavily tax or even unjustly confiscate any goods hauled from within at their whim.

Much like with the other forms of taxation Gygax describes, the fees, surveillance, and politics are sure to annoy players. What will they do when it all becomes too much to bear? Well, they'll go offroad, into the wilderness, to carve their own path to the site of adventure - one that isn't subject to the local powers that be. When doing so, they must not only brave the aforementioned dangers of the wilderness, but the danger of being caught - confiscation of all goods, a fine, and possible imprisonment:

This is, once again, a great way for player characters to become indentured to the city watch! Or worse. The Chaotic Evil warlord who rules the nearby town isn't likely to take kindly to this trespass, after all.

Death, Taxes, and Indentured Servitude in AD&D Cities

Something amusing I found while poring over the AD&D city/town encounters:

Magic-users in AD&D cities and towns are punished by being indentured into a year of servitude with the city guard. This can be for any unpayable debt owed to the city - monetary (loans, the cost of resurrection, taxes) or otherwise (such as a "debt to society" incurred after committing a crime).

This suggests several things about AD&D towns and cities: their governments offer loans (presumably if it was instead a wealthy individual or non-municipal organization providing the loan, the punishment for failing to pay it back would be different) and resurrection (suggesting some sort of state-sponsored clerical organization rather than/in addition to individual clerics at non-affiliated temples providing such services), have their own sets of laws, and require residents to pay taxes (both of the latter two points are relatively obvious, but I'm including them for thoroughness's sake).

Gygax has surprisingly little to say about loans in the DMG, but based on the general tone of advice offered in the rest of the text, one must imagine the interest rates would be quite high, so adventurers should borrow at their own risk.

Resurrection, of course, is expensive:

A cleric must be at least 9th-level to cast raise dead, so the bare minimum cost is 5,500 gp. Player characters will need to seek out higher-level clerics to restore life to dwarves, gnomes, half-elves, halflings, and humans - not elves! - who have been dead for longer than a day, so circumstances will often necessitate even greater expense.

Gygax also has surprisingly little to say about laws and crime, but one can imagine that these will vary from place to place and that theft, assault, murder, and the like (all common activities for adventurers) are generally frowned upon.

This is all in contrast to taxes (and duties, and excises, and tariffs, and tithes, and tolls...), about which Gygax has MUCH to say. Seriously, this is almost an entire page:

You probably don't want to read all of that, and I don't blame you. Here is a summary:

• The DM should uses taxes to take excess money away from the player characters.
• Towns and cities charge a 1% duty (2% to foreigners) on all normal goods brought in for sale - food, cloth and hides, livestock, raw materials, and manufactured goods. This probably applies to the common merchant more so than to the player characters, but is worth keeping in mind for when the players decide to collect all of the orcs' weapons and armor to sell.
• Towns and cities charge the usual duty plus a 5% tariff on luxury and precious goods brought in for sale - wine, spirits, furs, copper, gold, jewelry, and the like. This will definitely apply to the player characters in the latter cases, as well as in the former cases if you're in the habit of giving out actually interesting treasure . Give your players cases of fine wine as treasure!
• Once duties are paid, documents are provided which make the legal sale of such goods possible. Upstanding merchants presumably will not trade in smuggled goods, but black markets will. Unless players have connections and want to risk dealing with unsavory types, they must pay duties!
• Towns and cities charge an entry fee of 1 copper per head or wheel to citizens and 5 copper per to foreigners unless they have passports (which incentivizes having political connections).
• Towns and cities charge residents an annual tax per head of 1 copper to peasants, 1 silver to freeman (adventurers), and 1 gold to nobles (which I guess would include any character with an officially sanctioned stronghold or similar holding).
• When taxes are paid, characters are provided with proof of payment, which they must keep on hand in case they are stopped. If they are stopped and don't have proof of payment, they must pay again. If they're foreigners, they're more likely to be stopped. Tax collectors are, of course, on the random encounter table:

• Foreigners must pay a 10% sales tax.
• Tolls are charged on roads to and from the settlement (including on the route to "the dungeon" - suggesting that roads to dungeons are maintained by the local government, which is really interesting). Gygax does not elaborate as to what a typical toll might be.
• Citizens must pay a 5% tax on their property, if any, annually.
• Characters can become citizens after residing in the settlement for one month and paying a 10 gold piece fee - "plus many bribes"!
• Merchants don't usually accept foreign coin because they will be subject to a fine if caught with it. Thus foreign coin must be changed into the local currency at a 90% exchange rate. This probably applies to most currency hauled out of dungeons, and perhaps even currency obtained in a different settlement. If a character is caught with 100 silver or more in foreign currency, they are fined 50% of its total value unless they can prove they've just entered the settlement and are on their way to the money changers - good luck with that!
• A surtax of 10% is levied against sales or exchanges of gems and similar goods.

Let's say a party of ten 2nd-level characters just got back from an expedition to the 2nd-level of the dungeon. They explored 20 rooms, including three with both a monster and treasure and one with just treasure. In total, they collected 6,600 copper, 1,050 gold, and 220 platinum. They probably paid some sort of toll on the road back from the dungeon - there's no guidance on this, and it probably wasn't a significant amount, so let's just ignore it. 

The characters don't have any goods for sale so they needn't pay duties. There are ten of them, and they have a cart to haul their stuff. They are too low-level to have connections yet, so they don't have passports. They pay a 60 copper entry fee (10 heads + 2 wheels, x 5 copper because they're non-citizens). They're given some documentation in case they're stopped, then directed to the money changers since all of their coins are of an ancient mint.

The money changer exchanges their currency and collects 10% (at this point, 654 copper, 105 gold, and 22 platinum). They might opt to retain up to 99 silver in the foreign currency, but let's say they don't. They are left with 5,886 copper, 945 gold, and 198 platinum. Since they will have to pay a 10% sales tax on anything they buy, their effective spending money is actually 5,298 copper, 851 gold, and 179 platinum (or, altogether, roughly 940 gold versus the 1,160 they entered with).

The example party paid 220 gold in taxes, duties, and fees. It's not a crazy huge amount, but it is significant, and becomes more significant the larger the party's haul.

So why am I spending so much time doing accounting for adventurers? Well, because taxes are annoying. In America, we need them to pay for stuff like roads and schools of course, but the majority goes towards one trillion dollar experimental airplanes that don't work and other ill-advised military spending, and we don't even get free healthcare. Your players will probably appreciate that their characters can travel quickly overland on well-maintained roads, but they probably won't spare a single thought for how those roads are maintained. Taxes in D&D are "realistic", but they also probably feel pretty meaningless and arbitrary. I guarantee your players will hate paying them.

Which means your players will probably try to find a way around paying them. They may seek to obtain passports or citizenship to avoid paying fees to enter the settlement and sales tax on all their goods, sure...or they might seek to smuggle themselves and their goods inside the settlement, deal on the black market, avoid the money changers, and bribe officials. All of which are great ways to be arrested and indentured into servitude.

It's not just magic-users, either:

Clerics can also be indentured into service with the city watch. What's the different between the watch and the guard? I don't know. Doesn't matter.

And frankly, I don't see why other characters wouldn't be pressed into similar service. I'm not concerned with magic-users and clerics specifically, but more so with the fact that it's general policy in AD&D cities to force criminals and debt/tax-dodgers into service like this.

A year is also a long time in most D&D campaigns. If the whole party ends up indentured in this way, you might simply fast forward a year or even decide to play it out as a very specific type of campaign (I probably wouldn't because it doesn't seem very interesting, but you may be more creative than I). If just one character is indentured, the rest of the party might decide to use the opportunity to pursue some lengthy downtime activities while their companion serves their term, or that character might just be effectively retired from the campaign (temporarily or otherwise). Or maybe they ambush the guards and bust their fellow out, and now they're all on the lamb!

Anyway, I guess the point is that AD&D city and town watches are full of indentured debtors, criminals, and tax-dodging character-types - a warning to players who think they can outwit the municipal government!

Although only tangentially related, I would be remiss not point out that at any moment the characters might also be forced into service in the local navy or militia through no fault of their own:

AD&D cities are kind of a terrible place to be!

Impressment is, of course, a massive anachronism. It's almost as if the implied D&D setting is not medieval!

The Hole in the Wall Lounge

The blogosphere is celebrating Stanley Yelnats's birthday by posting hole. It's a blog bandwagon! A holewagon. The following post is my humble contribution. Check in at Prismatic Weekly after the hole in the blogosphere closes to find a collection of related posts. You just might find the hole post that was made for you.

The Hole in the Wall Lounge (or the Djinn's Inn, as it is more colloquially known) is an extradimensional hookah lounge, tavern, and inn owned and operated by Zarif the Kindly, a lesser djinni - a noble djinni would not be caught dead in such an establishment (rumor has it that Ghaabiz the Giving, an emir of the Sky Gardens of Fussammah, is the actual owner, although it would be scandalous to suggest as much in the company of any djinn).

There are a few means to reach the Hole in the Wall Lounge, though none are particularly easy. Scattered across the planes are certain portable holes which have been specially stitched with silver thread around their edges. Rather than functioning as a typical portable hole, when applied to a flat surface (the floor or ground, a ceiling, or preferably a wall), these unique portable holes instead create an opening to the Hole in the Wall Lounge. Those individuals entering through a hole placed upon the floor or ground emerge into the lounge through a chimney, those entering through a hole placed on a ceiling emerge in the lounge's wine cellar, and those entering through a hole placed on a wall emerge from the establishment's main door, which is considered most polite.

These unique portable holes were originally gifted to djinn merchants, ambassadors, and friends (as well as a few marids, with who the djinn get along somewhat amicably), Many were in turn gifted to heroic adventurers, lost, or stolen, such that is it no longer possible to account for all of them. The djinn have given up attempting to do so. Roughly 1-in-10 portable holes found in dungeons and such are of this variety. They are not typically sold by anyone with good sense, although they are sometimes gifted, particularly by djinn to those who are not of a nefarious (Evil) or "boring" (Lawful) nature.

Another means of reaching the Lounge is by way of a passwall spell, although the spell must be cast on a flat surface bearing the Lounge's unique Dwarvish rune, which is etched into the surface and inlaid with silver. This is almost always on a wall. The djinn and their allies work tirelessly to erase the signifiers when applied to other surfaces, in order to better encourage visitors to come to the Lounge by way of the main door.

Others reach the Lounge by way of a plane shift spell, although this requires the use of a tuning fork calibrated to the Lounge's unique extraplanar signature (it is a literal fork from the Lounge's collection of cutlery, silver and likewise stamped with the Lounge's unique rune). Once theft of the Lounge's silverware became an issue, Zarif began using his magical ability to fabricate items to produce utensils for guests. These forks instead last just longer than 24 hours before disintegrating into dust, unless a permanency spell is cast upon them to preserve the enchantment.

The final way to reach the Lounge is via astral projection. In the Astral Sea there are pools the color of red wine, exceptionally hard to find, which lead to the Lounge. They are easily mistaken for pools of a similar color, which lead to certain Lower Planes. One must be cautious in discerning the difference in hue, lest they end up in a far less hospitable place entirely.

Entering through one of these pools magically traps the visitor within one of the Lounge's many casks of vintage wine until it is uncorked by the proprietor. Zarif will usually declare that the visitor has spoiled the vintage, and will require them to perform a number of menial but good natured tasks before they will be served, such as pouring wine, scrubbing floors, or changing bedclothes. These are all things which Zarif can achieve magically, of course - this is the djinn way of teaching a lesson about requiring service of one recently released from imprisonment within a vessel.

There are certainly other ways of entering the place which cannot be accounted for here. For example, there are always rats in the cellar, though no one can say how exactly they come to be there.

To leave, one simply exits by the main door, at which point they arrive back from whence they originally departed, for better or worse.

The interior of the Lounge is cozy and lushly appointed with tapestries, pillows, dim lanterns, and low tables (seating is on the floor). The air smells of rich incense, perfume, and tobacco, with plenty of hookah pipes to go around. There is always pleasing music (any visitors with instruments are quickly pressed into service in exchange for discounted or free accommodations, depending on talent). The wine never stops flowing, and unimaginable vintages are readily available. The food is impossibly delicious (all of it conjured by Zarif). The windows look out on planar vistas (all illusory - in reality, there is nothing but a black void beyond the Lounge's walls).

Any number of interesting patrons may be present at the Lounge when the player characters arrive, but I recommend at least a number equal to your amount of players. This ensures that every player has at least one creature to interact with. You might roll d3+3, which gives a random number between 4 and 6.

As for who all might be there, due to the various means of entry the possibilities are quite numerous. Anyone with a special portable hole may be there, as may any character, party of characters, or creature capable of casting passwall (a 5th-level magic-user/wizard spell in most editions), plane shift (a 5th-level spell for clerics in AD&D and a 7th-level spell for clerics, druids, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards in 5e), or astral spell/astral projection (a 7th-to-9th-level spell for clerics, illusionists, and magic-users in AD&D and a 9th-level spell for clerics, warlocks, and wizards in 5e). Who exactly might be there will thus vary by the system you're using. Here are some possibilities:

• Individual characters/parties of characters (mostly 9th-level and above - but the occasional lower-level as well - usually including at least one cleric, magic-user/wizard, druid, sorcerer, or warlock, edition depending)
• Berbalangs
• Cambions
• Older dragons that can cast spells (likely metallic, as their ability to shapechange into humanoids allows them to blend in more easily - although an old enough dragon of any type could also find its way in, some imagination will be required to determine why an ancient red dragon is there)
• Genies (djinn, efreet, and marids - dao are expressly forbidden, but that doesn't necessarily mean one won't show up!)
• Githyanki/githzerai
• Inevitables (perhaps waiting for some cosmic criminal/oathbreaker to show up - maybe a member of the party!)
• Ki-rin
• Liches
• Mind flayers
• Morkoth
• Mummy lords
• Naga
• Nagpa
• Neogi
• Night hags
• Rakshasa
• Retrievers
• Slaad
• Androsphinxes
• Steel predators
• Titans
• Vampire spellcasters
• Yugoloths
• And more!

Inciting violence inside the Lounge is guaranteed way to earn a lifetime ban and the enmity of the djinn. The Lounge is a place of extraplanar rest and relaxation, not conflict. If the player characters have the means to enter the Lounge, it's a great haven in which to recover in the midst of a dungeon delve without needing to return to town. 

That's not to say that the Lounge is lacking in excitement. It's a place for clandestine meetings and tense negotiations, scheming and subterfuge. Characters may be tricked or ensorcelled. Powerful creatures will want to know who they are, where they're from, what they've done, and what they're doing next. Dragons will want to know if they have a stronghold and what treasures are kept there. Liches will see their faces and scry on them from other realms. Mind flayers will learn of their world and bring this information back to their people to enact future plans against it.

Here's an example as to how I might "stock" the Lounge. Characters can get there by way of a portable hole at any level, which allows basically any creature to potentially be there. More likely, by my estimation, characters get there by way of passwall or plane shift, which become available at 9th-level (when they get access to 5th-level spells). Therefore I'm going to treat the Lounge as if it were the 9th-level of the dungeon.

First I roll d3+3 and get 6, so there will be 6 noteworthy patrons at the Lounge when the characters arrive. Next, I'll roll on the Dungeon Random Monster Level Determination Matrix from the AD&D DMG:

Since the Lounge is treated as being the 9th-level of the dungeon, I roll 6d20 on that row of the table. Note that this can lead me to roll on the random monster table corresponding to any of the ten dungeon levels, so we are working with the full range of creatures. On d20 I roll 4, 6, 10, 13, 16, and 19. That's dungeon levels IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, and IX. 

Rolling on each of those tables, which I won't include here, I got: blink dog, giant poisonous snake, lammasu, fire giant, rust monster, and purple worm. These probably seem like odd results, and they are! You might opt to reroll until you end up with creatures that "make sense", and I certainly considered that. But what if we just tried to make it make sense? 

The blink dog is there because of some mishap with its limited ability to teleport. It has since been adopted as Zarif's loyal pet. The giant poisonous snake in fact belongs to a renowned snake charmer, who has been invited here by Zarif to entertain the lounge's guests. The lammasu is a friend of Zarif's and visits the Lounge often, being generally kind and friendly to all good creatures. The fire giant could be a messenger sent by an efreeti of the City of Brass, waiting to meet someone.

The rust monster and purple worm are more difficult to rationalize, and might warrant a reroll. The rust monster might take the place of the rats in the cellar - a nuisance vermin for the player characters to handle in order to enter into Zarif's good graces or make amends for some faux pas. The purple worm surely isn't an adult purple worm, because that would be too big. Perhaps Zarif is keeping a juvenile purple worm and making some exotic drinks with venom milked from its stinger.

Of course, only three of these creatures could be considered "patrons". You might reroll the blink dog, rust monster, and purple worm in order to instead generate proper NPCs, but I quite like the way this particular batch of rolls turned out.

Gangs of Teenage Dragons Roam the Wilderness: The Implied Lifecycle of Dragons in AD&D

Let's pretend it's still 2024. It may now be the Year of the Snake, but in my heart it's still the Year of the Dragon!

Here's something from OD&D:

And here's a similar excerpt from AD&D:

In OD&D, groups of multiple dragons encountered in the wilderness are always a family group (a mated pair with or without very young dragon children). In AD&D, mated pairs with young are encountered only in their lairs (mated pairs without young can still be encountered outside their lairs). If three or more dragons are encountered outside their lair, all dragons in the group will be sub-adults.

What's mildly interesting about this is that a mated pair of dragons can only ever have two young at most (all dragons in AD&D appear in groups of 1 to 4 except the gold dragons, which appear in groups of 1 to 3). Thus, it's impossible for a group of 3 to 4 sub-adult dragons to all be of the same clutch. They will all be the same type of dragon, but at most only two of them can be siblings.

Furthermore, dragon children encountered with a mated pair are only ever very young dragons. For clarity, here is the breakdown of dragon age categories in AD&D:

So let's say you roll up a random encounter with a dragon/dragons. If you roll up one dragon, it can be of any age category (you roll d8 to determine which, as described above). If you roll up two dragons, they will be a mated pair, and each can be either an adult dragon, old dragon, very old dragon, or ancient dragon. If you roll up three or more dragons in their lair, they will be a mated pair with one or two eggs or very young dragons. If you roll up three or more dragons outside their lair, they will all be sub-adults.

This suggests something of a lifecycle for dragons, which I'll detail below.

Very young dragons can be encountered alone in the wilderness or in the lair with their parents. They typically live with their parents. If you encounter one on its own in the wilderness, it has either snuck out of the lair (and perhaps its parents are looking for it!), or it's an orphan - its parents were killed and it was driven from its home. Sad! 

Young dragons are only encountered alone. They are kicked out of the lair at 6 years of age to make it on their own. Sad! Dragons are not particularly great parents. Since you can't encounter more than one of them at this age, siblings do not stick together (this is presumably when rivalries between sibling dragons develop - maybe this is why they're kicked out, or maybe this is simply when dragons begin to experience angst and wish to go it on their own).

Sub-adult dragons are only encountered alone or, in the wilderness, with groups of two to three peers. At this age (late teens to early 20s), lonely dragons of different parentage come together to form roving wilderness gangs. Since solo sub-adults can be encountered in their lair, presumably those encountered alone either have a lair somewhere (and thus no need to be part of a gang), or are just on the cusp of sub-adulthood and have not yet found a gang to join. Because all such dragons will be of the same type, these dragons must be drawn together by a shared identity but not necessarily a maternal bond (since siblings part ways at the young stage).

Young adult dragons are only encountered alone. Perhaps this is when dragons tire of the company of their peers or begin to form rivalries with them, as they did with their siblings. Those who don't already have a lair will now seek to claim one.

Adult, old, very old, and ancient dragons can be encountered alone or together, without young in the wilderness and with or without young in their lairs. This is the age at which dragons look to "settle down", find a mate, and start laying eggs. They only do so with dragons of the same type, so ignore that part in my last post where I suggested that the black and green dragon encountering one another might be engaged in a mating ritual. Or don't! Perhaps two dragons of different types will get busy with one another but wouldn't stoop so low as to have children together (or are incapable of doing so for biological reasons). It can be whatever flavor of weird you want.

Anyway, this seems like it could be a cool way to flavor your encounters with dragons. Is the very young dragon sneaking out to explore? Are its parents looking for it? Are they dead? Is the young dragon angsty and bitter? Is the sub-adult a weird loner, a confident bachelor, or a stooge in some other dragon's gang? Does the young adult dragon have a friend-turned-rival? Is the adult, old, very old, or ancient dragon looking for love or happily in a relationship?

I just like the idea of a gang of teenaged dragons swooping down out of the sky. Maybe you do too!

One Hundred Thousand Dragon Encounters

No, I'm not actually going to describe one hundred thousand encounters with a dragon. How would I even do that? If you want an exhaustively detailed post, see my previous post on d100 Woefully Encysted Creatures (I spent so much time on it and am not eager to do that amount of work again).

What I am going to do is describe how, when generating a random encounter with any given monster in the wilderness, a number of variables can result in a truly astounding number of meaningfully different encounters with that one monster type (and sometimes two or more monster types - more on that later). 

Here I'm using a dragon as my example, because the game is Dungeons & Dragons, and dragons are cool. These same variables used in combination with whatever menagerie of creatures you utilize in your preferred system can in turn produce millions of different encounters.

The purpose of this post is to detail the factors which the DM considers when formulating an encounter to present to the players - those determined by dicing, which the DM may determine ahead of time or discover in the moment, and over which the players have little if any control. This is the stuff which makes random encounters the stuff of tabletop magic.

The variables I'll be examining are: weather, terrain, time of day, % in lair, surprise, distance, reaction, and "combined encounters".

Weather

I'm starting with this because I typically roll for weather conditions at the start of an adventuring day, so it's the first factor to be determined. You might roll do see if the weather changes throughout the day, which is certainly realistic, but I can hardly remember to consistently check it once per day, let alone multiple times, so I prefer to keep it simple.

With regards to weather, the three factors I take into account are temperature, wind, and precipitation. There may be other ancillary factors like fog or cloud cover, but I feel that the aforementioned three are sufficient (they are also the three factors addressed in the 5e DMG - I will be jumping around from one edition to another in this post, and the actual mechanics don't matter much, but I feel 5e's weather stuff is very easy to comprehend, so that's what I'm using).

Temperature is not super important at the encounter level. The temperature is either normal or colder/warmer than usual for the season. This will affect overland travel, but it won't impose much on the encounter besides whether the player characters are exhausted when the encounter occurs (in 5e, characters must make a saving throw every hour they travel in such conditions or start accruing penalties). Maybe it's too hot to wear armor. Maybe the characters are slightly clumsier than usual because they're wearing thick winter clothing.

Wind is either a non-issue, light, or strong. Strong wind imposes disadvantage on ranged weapon attack rolls and Perception checks that rely on hearing, extinguishes open flames, disperses fog, and makes flying by nonmagical means impossible (flying creatures must land at the end of their turn or fall to the ground). In a desert environment it can whip up a sandstorm. Light wind doesn't do anything, which raises the question: Why is it even called out as its own thing?

I change this slightly in my own games. Light wind imposes disadvantage on ranged weapon attack rolls and disperses gasses, smoke, vapor, etc. after 1 minute. Strong wind does the same to ranged attacks but also causes long range attacks to automatically fail, and disperses gasses and such almost immediately, in addition to imposing disadvantage on attempts to hear and preventing nonmagical flight (unless the creature is strong enough to resist the wind, which is a house rule I use).

Precipitation can either be light or heavy, but once again light precipitation doesn't actually do anything in 5e. In my games, light precipitation imposes disadvantage on sight-based Perception checks. Heavy precipitation does the same, but also affects hearing-based checks and extinguishes open flames. I might also make the area all muddy depending on the terrain. Precipitation can be rain or snow depending on the temperature.

Here are all the ways weather can impact an encounter with a dragon: 

• Characters might be exhausted.
• Characters might not be wearing armor.
• Character might be slowed down by winter clothing.
• Characters might have a hard time seeing or hearing the dragon, meaning they are more likely to be caught unawares (or more likely to be able to hide from/avoid the dragon).
• Characters might not be able to use ranged weapons effectively.
• Characters' light sources may be extinguished (if it's night time - more on that later).
• Characters (and the dragon) might not be able to fly.
• Characters might not be able to use gas/vapor-based spells like fog cloud, stinking cloud, or cloudkill (and the dragon might not be able to use its breath weapon effectively depending on its type).
• Characters (and the dragon) might have to deal with sand or grit being blown about.
• Characters (and the dragon) might have to deal with mud or snow (difficult terrain).

There are three categories of temperature (normal, cold, and hot), three different types of wind (none, light, and strong), and three different types of precipitation (none, light, and heavy). If we account for weather alone, there are 27 different scenarios in which a dragon might be encountered.

Terrain

Next, I'll account for terrain. The characters will start the day in one type of terrain but may pass through other types as the day proceeds, so we won't know in what terrain the encounter occurs until an encounter is rolled. 

I'll be considering seven broad categories: plains, forest, hills, mountains, desert, wetlands, and water. There are other factors to consider: "plains" can be cultivated farmland, grassland, scrub, steppe, etc., forest can be light or heavy, jungle or taiga, hills and mountains can be forested or gentle or steep, desert can be rocky or sandy, wetlands can be forested or not, and water can be fresh or salt or shallow or deep. 

These factors can all matter at the encounter level, but I will keep it to those broad seven types, mostly because they are the seven identified in Welsh Piper's Hex-Based Campaign Design, which is something of a formative text for me.

Terrain will of course dictate the type of monster encountered in most games, but since I'm assuming the monster in this case is a dragon, we won't discuss that. In most versions of D&D, the type of dragon encountered is also determined by terrain type (black dragons in swamp, green dragons in forest, blue dragons in desert, etc.), but here I am imagining a dragon more generally - the type isn't important.

Terrain is mostly important for determining encounter distance (which I'll cover shortly), but it's worth considering its other implications. In wild tall grass, but probably not in cultivated farmland, the player characters or dragon may be able to hide. In a forest, there will be roots to stumble over and trees to climb or take cover behind. In hills and mountains, one side or the other may have a height advantage. In the desert, a dragon might burrow in the sand or kick up gusts of grit with its wings. A swamp may impose difficult terrain on the player characters and allow the dragon to swim or hide in the muck. An encounter on the water will have the players characters doing battle on a dinky rowboat or a massive warship. 

We add our seven types of terrain to the existing 27 possible combinations due to weather conditions and end up with 189 scenarios in which a dragon might be encountered.

Time of Day

You can measure time in the wilderness in many ways, but I usually break it down into six four-hour watches. These are described in the AD&D DMG:

Note that the first three watches are during daylight hours, and the second three are during nighttime hours.

Usually (in my experience), the first two watches are when the party is traveling overland, the second two are when the party is making camp but still awake and alert to danger, and the final two are when the party is sleeping (with someone on watch). The main limitation is that the party can only move overland for a limited time (usually eight hours) and must rest for some period of time (usually eight hours). They might travel during the first two watches and then explore a dungeon during the second two, for example, or break up the time in any number of other ways.

The important factors here are whether the party is traveling, camping, or resting, and whether it is light or dark. For simplicity - and because in my experience the players don't switch up their routine very often - let's call it three variables: traveling, camping, or resting.

During the traveling turn, it is probably light and the characters likely have most of their resources (spells and whatever else) available, so this would likely be the easiest encounter. 

During the camping turn, resources may be depleted from a day of travel, so it will be slightly harder. The party is also sedentary during this time, so they cannot flee from an encounter unless they are okay with losing their camp and any equipment or treasure there. It may be light or dark, in which case the dragon will likely get much closer before being spotted (if it is spotted at all). 

During the resting turn it is dark, and some characters will be sleeping while others are keeping watch. The dragon only needs to get the drop on those keeping watch in order to surprise everyone, who will then need to be awakened (and who won't be wearing armor). The party is sedentary, and resources are depleted and haven't yet been recovered. This is likely the most difficult encounter.

We will add these three possibilities to our existing combinations. We now have 567 possible scenarios.

% in Lair

Since the % in lair statistic was eliminated after AD&D 1e, you might not be using this in your game...but you should! The only thing cooler than stumbling into a dragon is stumbling into its lair. You're probably stocking your play area with monster lairs ahead of time, and in that light it might not make a lot of sense for the dragon's lair to not be on the map, but who cares? Now you and your players get the thrill of discovering this secret dragon lair together!

Now, technically I think this is only supposed to be used when the characters are actively traveling. It doesn't really make a ton of sense for the party to spend two watches camping in one spot and then suddenly a dragon shows up and it turns out that the party is somehow camping in its lair. The AD&D Monster Manual has this to say:

That last sentence suggests that it might not be uncommon for the party to be in a monster's lair without realizing it. However, I'm going to suggest a different interpretation, one which makes sense when you consider the hex as a unit of measure in the wilderness.

In my games, a hex of any size only ever contains one location. That's simply because Hexographer only allows you to place one icon per hex, and I always use Hexographer for my regional maps. It's also just easier to parse that way. Whether the party is traveling, camping, or resting, they're only ever inside of one hex. I might keep track roughly of where exactly they are inside of that hex, but they're always either in that hex or in another one.

If the party is camping or resting and I roll a random encounter with a dragon and determine that the dragon is "in" its lair, that doesn't necessarily mean the party is literally camping in its lair - rather, the lair is located somewhere within the hex. They could be in it without realizing, or they might be camped on top of it, or it might be just over the hill or a mile away. The lair is somewhere in the area.

In AD&D, dragons in their lair have a percentage chance of being asleep, which drastically changes the encounter, but that doesn't apply to the broader point I'm trying to make about monsters generally (remember, the dragon is just an example). The dragon (and monsters generally) may behave differently in or near its lair. A dragon in its lair may not be able to fly about freely. It may be less likely to retreat or to pursue the party if they flee (it may simply want to drive them out of its territory).

In most games, this isn't likely to affect the encounter that much, although in 5e the dragon would have lair actions which would have a direct and significant impact. It also has post-encounter implications in that the player characters may be able to then locate the lair (if they're not already in it) and loot its hoard.

I do think that this is a variable worth considering, so we'll say that this adds two possibilities (is the dragon encountered "in" its lair or not). We're up to 1,134 possible scenarios.

Surprise

There are four ways this can go: nobody is surprised, the party is surprised, the dragon is surprised, or both are surprised. This can be more complicated if you use something like AD&D:

Here it is not just a matter of who is surprised but how surprised they are. I don't want to get into all that. For simplicity, let's stick to just the four aforementioned categories.

This is pretty self-explanatory: either the party has an advantage, a disadvantage, or neither. In the latter case, it's still important to distinguish between whether neither or both sides are surprised, because this will affect encounter distance (I've alluded to it several times - rest assured it is coming right up).

It's also worth noting that this can differ slightly depending on how you interpret surprise. In "old school" D&D this is a roll that happens at the start of an encounter, suggesting that the encounter is happening no matter what, and surprise represents only a fleeting advantage. In modern editions surprise is gained when one side goes unnoticed by the other and launches an attack (usually this is a Perception check/Passive Perception vs a Stealth check). 

Thus you could take a step back and also interpret this more broadly as indicating which side (if any) notices the other. Does the party surprise the dragon and get a free round to act, with the dragon acting in turn once the round is over (assuming it survives), or does the party notice the dragon before it notices them, giving them a chance to slip away unseen and avoid the encounter altogether, or perhaps get themselves into a more advantageous position from which to launch an attack? One interpretation affords the players more agency than the other.

I prefer the latter interpretation, but your mileage may vary. In any case, we can say that there are four possible outcomes here. We add these to the existing combinations and end up with 4,536 possible scenarios.

Encounter Distance

Distance is determined by a variety of factors, including surprise, terrain, light levels, or even sound (since one side might hear the other before spotting them). Good thing we've addressed all of those factors already! 

I use a table of my own creation which is a combination of AD&D 2e's tables and the tables from 5e's Wilderness Kit. Here is my table:

Usually I will roll for both sight and sound and use the larger of the two to determine when the encounter "starts". As you can see, encounter distance can be as little as 3 feet or as many as 600 feet, depending on the circumstances, with many, many possibilities in between.

To once again keep things simple, I'll take a lesson from ShadowDark and say there are three range categories: close (melee range/short range for missiles and spells), near (melee range if you charge/medium range for missiles and spells), and far (move for two or more rounds to get into melee/long range for missiles and spells). In 5e terms this would be roughly 30 feet, 60 feet, or more than 60 feet, for example. 

The important thing is that at close range, both sides are more or less engaged/threatened immediately, at near range, either side can choose to engage or try to keep distance, and at far range most creatures will probably not be able to meaningfully engage without closing considerable ground, while those who wish to avoid the encounter can do so fairly easily.

The difference between a dragon flying over 30 feet above the characters' heads versus 400 feet away while they're in the mountains should be obvious. A close dragon is much more dangerous than a far dragon, and the latter affords the players considerably more agency when determining if the dragon is something they want to mess with or run and hide from.

Adding our three possible encounter distance categories to the existing combinations, we now have 13,608 possible scenarios.

Reaction

The encounter is happening. We know what the weather and terrain is like, the time of day, whether the dragon is in its lair, who is or isn't surprised, and how far the two sides are from one another. But perhaps more important than any of these factors is how the dragon will react to the party.

How exactly you use the reaction roll will vary wildly depending on which edition you favor. Generally speaking, the dragon will have either a neutral, negative, or positive reaction. There may be additional degrees of each type of reaction. Here is AD&D's reaction table as an example:

I use a reaction roll which generates five possible outcomes: hostile (the monster usually attacks), unfriendly (the monster threatens, extorts, or otherwise seeks to inconvenience or impede the party), indifferent (the monster either ignores the party, is unsure how to react to them, or interacts with them in a neutral way with no particular ulterior motive), friendly (the monster wants something from the party or is willing to negotiate/trade), and helpful (the monster assumes the best of the party and is amenable to aiding them).

The reaction roll is modified by the monster's alignment, so a Chaotic Evil dragon would never be helpful, and a Lawful Good dragon would never be hostile. Let's assume for this example that the dragon in question can react in any of the five ways (i.e., it is not Chaotic Evil or Lawful Good - this could be a brass, copper, green, or blue dragon, for example). 

How exactly you interpret the reaction roll will depend on the dragon type. Good dragons won't attack on sight simply because they love to kill, and Evil dragons won't aid strangers out of pure altruism.

This may be the most important element of the encounter because it tells us what threat or opportunity the encounter poses for the party. A hostile encounter is likely to be a fight which will cost the party resources and maybe their lives. An unfriendly encounter is a tense negotiation which can be navigated by social tact or else cost the party in treasure or inconvenience. An indifferent encounter might be as simple as set dressing (the party watches a dragon fly overhead in the distance - a reminder that a dragon can swoop down on them at any moment in the wilderness) or an opportunity to exchange information with an intelligent monster. A friendly encounter could lead to an unexpected quest or be an opportunity to convince the dragon to do a favor. A helpful encounter could be a massive boon to the party's current endeavor.

Adding our five reaction roll outcomes to our existing combinations, we now have 68,040 possible scenarios.

"Combined Encounters"

I'm not sure what to call this one, and it's the element of this procedure which is least likely to be standard practice for the majority of DMs, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Basically, when I roll a positive result on an encounter check, I immediately roll again to check for another encounter. If I keep getting positive results, I keep rolling. However many encounters I roll, I combine into a single encounter in which all of the monsters are interacting somehow. This is pretty rare in terrain like plains, where the encounter chance is only 10%, but is more common in terrain like wetlands, where the encounter chance is as high as 40% (here I use the AD&D 2e table):

Since we are already using a dragon as our example, let's go with an exceedingly unlikely scenario and say that the party encounters two dragons at once. These are not two separate dragons that happen to stumble upon the party at the same time, nor are they two dragons that are affiliated with one another. They are two distinct dragons who have already encountered one another, and the party is encountering them both at one moment. 

Let's say the party is in an area of forested wetlands and encounters a black dragon and a green dragon which are in turn encountering one another. I would probably make "opposed" reaction rolls to see how these two dragons feel about one another, then use that information to color the encounter. Are they engaged in combat? Posturing for territory? Exchanging information or treasure? Conspiring against some nearby settlement or mutual foe? Is one paying tribute to the other? Is there some bizarre mating ritual happening? 

Then, how does each react to the party? Does one try to recruit the party to help it slay the other? Does it threaten to kill them once the other is dead? Are the dragons offended by the party's intrusion? Do they all have tea together? I have been led to believe that adventurers sometimes have tea with dragons.

Although you could theoretically combine an infinite number of encounters into one, let's instead say there are two possibilities: either the encounter is with just the dragon, or the dragon is encountered interacting with some other creature.

Adding these two possibilities, we end up with 136,080 possible encounter scenarios.

Conclusion

If you are thinking that this is all a bit much to prepare at the table in the moment, that's because it is. But much can be prepared ahead of time. My strategy is to prepare however many encounters I will need for a given biome away from the table. Each encounter will include what monster is encountered, whether its encountered in its lair, what its reaction will be, and then details like its name, what it wants, any treasure it has, stats, etc. 

I have no way of knowing ahead of time what the weather will be, what time of day it will be, whether the monster and/or party will be surprised, how far away they'll be, or if other monsters will be present. However, if the monster's identity and motivations are known to me, it is much easier to determine how it will behave in an unusual situation. Strange results may pose problems (why is the dragon out and about in this terrible storm?), but these are "good" problems of which more memorable encounters can be made.

There are yet more factors that I haven't considered in this post. What about the number of dragons that appear? An encounter with one is much different than an encounter with four. The assumption at the heart of this post was that the theoretical encounter was with a single dragon, so I did not take that into account. It's somewhat besides the point and I didn't want to get into it at that level. While yes, an encounter with one dragon versus four is very different, how different is it when extended to monsters generally (i.e., How different is an encounter with 7 giant eagles versus 8 giant eagles? Is it worth distinguishing between them?)

What about whether or not the dragon is flying? In AD&D, flying creatures have a 75% chance of being airborne when encountered. That certainly makes the encounter different, but it also doesn't apply more broadly to monsters in general. You could say the same about the age category of the dragon.

What about party composition? Spells prepared? Magic items? Do they have an army of hirelings and henchmen? Are they mounted? Aboard a ship? Are they Good or Evil? What is the temperament of the players? All of these are additional factors which are not easily categorized and accounted for. 

Hopefully, I've demonstrated that a robust system for generating random encounters and their situational circumstances can result in a wide array of potential scenarios. An encounter with a dragon is never just an encounter with a dragon - it is an encounter with natural elements like weather, terrain, and daylight. It is an encounter with luck in the form of surprise and distance. It is an encounter with the motivations of a creature that has every bit of agency as the characters. It is an encounter with the world the characters inhabit and the dynamics between the creatures they share it with. 

And let's not forget - every encounter with the player characters is an encounter with the sum total of the adventures they've been on and the choices they've made.

d100 Woefully Encysted Creatures

When I first read Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth (and other Appendix N literature) and became familiar with Mazirian the Magician, Cugel the Clever, Rhialto the Marvelous, and other ne'er-do-wells, I finally "got" D&D. Rogues and wizards are not scrappy heroes who go into dungeons and battle dragons to save goodly villages out of nothing but the kindness of their hearts - they are self-interested bastards who lie, cheat, and steal their way across the land, absconding to the next domain of strange peoples just in time to escape the consequences of their actions.

Wizards are powerful, yes, but they don't wield their power benevolently, banishing aberrations of the multiverse back from whence they came. They grow women in cloning vats to be their girlfriends. They plant parasitic aliens inside of would-be burglars' abdomens. They summon huge demon birds to fly their enemies across the world and drop them in some unknown land to achieve an impossible task of sheer whimsy and spitefulness. They shrink their rivals down into miniature form, trap them in a maze, and force them to flee from dragons the size of rats. They are petty, vindictive, megalomaniacal nerds with obscene power and little regard for human life.

Mazirian the Magician traps his rival in miniature form with a fearsome lizard.

Enter the Charm of Forlorn Encystment, a spell "which constricts the subject in a pore some forty-five miles below the surface of the earth". Why? It's not because you're a supernatural evil which needs to be contained at all costs - it's because you annoyed or inconvenienced an antisocial godlike being, the wizard. Alongside the Excellent Prismatic Spray and the Spell of the Macroid Toe, it is a quintessential Vancian spell, utterly powerful and wielded in a horrifically capricious way. It should be apparent that the Charm of Forlorn Encystment is a great inspiration to me. 

You won't find the Charm of Forlorn Encystment in D&D - at least, not if you go looking for that - but you will find imprisonment. From the AD&D DMG:

The spell has even survived throughout the editions and appears in the 2024 rules for 5th edition, greatly expanded:

The spell now allows not only constriction in a pore beneath the earth, but other evocative means of "imprisonment", including chaining the target to a location, trapping them in a maze (sound familiar?) or a gem, or causing them to fall into a Sleeping Beauty-esque magical slumber.

Unfortunately, the modern version of the spell omits its best quality, which is that in AD&D, you're always stepping on 1d100 woefully encysted creatures - an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the spell has a 10% chance of unleashing 1 to 100 previously imprisoned creatures. At any time in a D&D world, you're standing atop strata upon strata of creatures who have earned the ire of Vancian tyrants - a magical maximum security prison of fickle fancy.

(Another drawback of the modern version is that it's expensive to cast this spell. It necessitates forethought, as the spell requires an intricately crafted likeness of the target. Spellcasters in modern D&D are putting a lot more effort into imprisoning their foes, which suggests deliberate purpose rather than casual use. This is surely meant to achieve some form of game balance, as many DMs probably don't want their players going around imprisoning their important monsters and NPCs willy nilly. Like most refinements made in the name of "balance", it comes at the unfortunate cost of perverting the intended feel of the game artifact's fictional inspiration.)

But just because modern iterations of the game disregard certain idiosyncracies that made past editions so charming, that doesn’t mean we have to. Regardless of what edition I play, wizards employ the imprisonment spell liberally, and the earth is full of encysted beings, like a Reese’s Big Cup with the confetti sprinkles in it.

But who exactly are these encysted creatures? Luckily, AD&D 2nd edition's version of the spell helps determine not just how many creatures there are in any given location, and not just how many of them may appear when the reverse of the imprisonment spell is unsuccessfully cast, but also what manner of creatures they are:

The average value of a percentile die roll is 50.5, so the average number of creatures released is, depending on how you round, 25 (.505 x .505 = .255025), which means 2 or 3 will be in the vicinity of the caster. Thus, you could simply prepare three or so creatures to be released at any given time. Even if you roll 100 on both percentile dice, the greatest number of creatures that can be released in the player characters' vicinity is 10, so at most you need a list of 10 creatures. Whenever the reverse of imprisonment is miscast, you can pull from the list of 10, then fill it back in later using the procedure above for determining released creatures.

That's what you would do if you were smart. After all, this situation is admittedly very rare. How often will the player characters need to free a creature from imprisonment? How often will they be capable of casting the spell in that situation? How often will they actually know whereabouts the creature is imprisoned? How often will they know all of this information and somehow still mess up the name and background of the creature to be freed? Even if all those factors align, there is still only a 10% chance that other creatures are released.

I, however, am not smart. I thought it would be helpful to have a big table of 100 imprisoned creatures, for some reason. I got more than 50% through it before I realized it made a lot more sense to just have a d10 table. But I put too much work into this at that point to not post it. And I think I came up with some pretty amusing and occasionally actually interesting encounters. My drudgery is a gift to you! Presenting…

d100 Woefully Encysted Creatures

1. Cerebral Parasite: Imprisoned by the wizard Mornchal for intellectual insult. It is invisible unless magical or psionic means of detection are employed. If any creatures in the party have psionic abilities or potential, it infects their brain. Otherwise, left undisturbed, it floats away to find a suitable host.
2. Xilphine Dewbeam: A Chaotic Evil elf fighter 1/magic-user 1/thief 1 imprisoned by the wizard Rintham Phel for being a lackadaisical apprentice. She is unfriendly towards the party, threatening to battle them, cast a spell upon them, or rob them (being equally "good" at all three, she cannot quite decide which). If relations are improved, she can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Lawful non-Good character of 3rd-leve or higher.
3. Filchgut: A giant rat imprisoned by the wizard Calibrifax the Odor-Averse for rummaging in the latter's garbage bins. Filchgut is hostile towards the party, leaping and snarling at their throats.
4. Whiskerjack: A giant rat imprisoned by the wizard Tharbus Dillweather for repeatedly finding his way into the latter's pantry and eating all of the candied ginger. Whiskerjack is friendly towards the party, climbing harmlessly onto the nearest person and attempting to find his way into their bag in search of candy.
5. Thissk: A tween imprisoned by the wizard Aelvyn Meridrome for attempted mimicry. Thissk is hostile towards whoever freed it, choosing them as its host. Unlike most tweens, who benefit their host and impede those around them, Thissk does the opposite, decreasing its host luck and slowing their movements, while doing the opposite to all within 50' of the host. Thissk communicates telepathically with the host, sarcastically bemoaning their misfortune and chastising their lumbering movements.
6. Gabriel: A 2nd-level Chaotic Good human cleric of a goddess of wandering kindness, imprisoned by the wizard Quintanax for acts of frivolous goodwill. Gabriel is helpful towards the party and eager to aid them in any way. He happily joins as a henchman any non-Lawful and non-Evil character of 5th-level or higher.
7. Naeva: A 2nd-level Neutral human fighter imprisoned by the wizard Mordrul for besting his sword homunculus in single combat before the Guild of Judges. She is friendly towards the party, and can be recruited as a henchman by any character of 5th-level or higher. She possesses potions of super-heroism and animal control and a scroll of protection from magic.
8. Coffer Corpse: The necromancer Velthur sent this "certified non-animate" cadaver to his colleague Gorandel the Beige for anatomical study. Little did Gorandel know that his black-humored contemporary had conspired to play a sinister prank upon him. When the corpse suddenly sat up on the table as Gorandel prepared his instruments, the fearful wizard's instincts kicked in, and he imprisoned it for all eternity. The corpse is indifferent to the party, but can't help that it is in its nature to play pranks. It still bears the "certified non-animate" stamp of Velthur, but when approached it suddenly sits up, forcing all nearby to save versus fear or flee in panic. It then shambles off. Is it...laughing? No, surely not.
9. Coffer Corpse: The necromancer Velthur intended to send this cadaver to his colleague Gorandel the Beige, unfortunately once animate it immediately began throttling Velthur's assistant. After waiting long enough such that the assistant pledged their mortal soul to Velthur in exchange for aid, Velthur imprisoned the corpse and moved on to the next. It is hostile to the party, immediately attempting to strangle the caster who freed it.
10. Dreth: A skulk imprisoned by the wizard Vorbino for the crime of loitering. It is hostile towards the party, but won't attack if it is outnumbered and out-armed. Since there is only a 10% chance of spotting Dreth, the party may not even know that they've freed it. It will wait for them to go on their way, follow at a distance, and attempt to murder any unsuspecting stragglers or ambush the party in their sleep.
11. Perrin Vale: A 3rd-level Neutral Good human illusionist imprisoned by the wizard Thaumagrave for incessant mirth. Perrin Vale is a cheerful and quick-witted traveling performer and ambassador of good will. He is friendly towards the party, with a good-natured attitude towards his imprisonment, and can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Evil character of 8th-level or higher.
12. Globthrax: A lemure devil imprisoned by the wizard Yndross for farting softly. Globthrax is friendly towards the party, believing that it is in Hell and that the individual who freed it is its master. It follows them like a puppy, gurgling sadly.
13. Velxiryn Auvryndar: A Neutral drow imprisoned by the high elf wizard Xeruun the Pale for, you know...it was basically a hate crime. Velxiryn is indifferent towards the party, treating them as though they are beneath his notice before wandering off. If when freed he is exposed to the light of day, he instead hisses curses and seeks the nearest shelter.
14. Ringing Bell: A 3 HD kenku imprisoned by the wizard Myrosk Thale for incessant mimicry and distribution of fool's gold. Ringing Bell is indifferent towards the party. It makes the sound of a ringing bell, hands the individual who freed it a palm full of gold coins as "thanks", and wanders off. The gold coins crumble into dust at dawn the next day.
15. Blurt Grubstomp: An ogre imprisoned by the wizard Theophrax for stomping around the valley chasing a goat while Theophrax tried desperately to focus on his latest composition for the theremin. Blurt is hostile to the party, immediately attempting to stomp and eat them.
16. Snarlith: A caterwaul (AC 6, 1 attack/round) imprisoned by the wizard Eddovarn for howling at all hours of the day. If there is anywhere to hide at the location in which the caterwaul is freed, it will attempt to do so (75% chance of success). It is hostile towards the party, and will ambush them from hiding once the opportunity presents itself.
17. Jessa: A 4th-level Chaotic Neutral human thief imprisoned by the wizard Tablivast Norr for stealing a single quill pen from his desk on a drunken dare. As she has been in suspended animation all this time, she is still quite drunk. She is indifferent to the party, stumbling about asking what year it is. She can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Lawful character of at least 9th-level.
18. Mosscreech: An owlbear imprisoned by the wizard Varnix the Showman. Mosscreech was the grand reveal at Varnix's Parade of Nature and Nightmare, but broke loose of her restraints and devoured a prince's favorite nephew before Varnix could imprison her. When freed, she is hostile, exploding with the confused fury of multiple eons at all in the vicinity.
19. Gnarlchatter: A su-monster imprisoned by the wizard Darnavos for unbalancing the black phlegm of Darnavos's soul. After his dreams were repeatedly disturbed by thoughts of primal filth, Darnavos found the mildly psionic creature nesting in the rafters of his library and promptly banished it. Gnarlchatter is indifferent to the party and simply sits staring at them, its psychic presence lurking just behind its eyes like a storm about to break. Harmless mental noise creeps into their minds - the sway of the branches of half-remembered trees, the sound of bones cracking, and water dripping in places deep.
20. Festerplop: A giant poisonous toad imprisoned by the wizard Aelric for eating several of his prized warblers. Festerplop is indifferent to the party. Its skin is very dry, and it seeks out the nearest body of water in which to moisten itself.
21. Sister Morwenna: A 7th-level Lawful Good human cleric of the goddess of compassion, imprisoned by the wizard Relvidoss Charn for interrupting one of Relvidoss's spell duels to heal a wounded bystander (which he objected to as a breach of the nonintervention clause). She possesses potions of extra-healing, polymorph (self), healing, and giant strength, and a ring of protection +1. She is helpful to the party, offering to heal their wounds or, if none are injured, give them magic items as thanks. She will eagerly serve as a henchman to any non-Chaotic non-Evil character of at least 11th-level.
22. Za'uth Tal-mhar: A 6th-level Lawful Neutral githzerai monk imprisoned by the wizard-countess Yrissile Varn for refusing to aid the countess in opening her "fourth" eye. Za'uth is unfriendly, curt, suspicious, and contemptuous of the party. He possesses potions of extra-healing and polymorph (self), a ring of mammal control, and a dagger +2. If his disposition is improved, he can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Chaotic character of at least 9th-level.
23. Gristlechew: A leucrotta imprisoned by the wizard-horticulturist Vellatrix for lurking insidiously within her hedge maze. Gristlechew is hostile towards the party, attacking with its badger jaws and cloven hooves while using its knack for mimicry to imitate the voice of Vellatrix, angrily scolding the party for intruding upon her topiary menagerie.
24. K'rzach: A giant spider imprisoned by the wizard Moramunt because, um, it's a giant spider...yuck! K'rzach is unfriendly towards the party. It raises its forelegs up in the air, displaying its black fangs, hisses, and slaps the ground in front of it until the party leaves it be. If attacked it flees, kicking urticating hairs behind it, which blind and choke all caught in the cloud.
25. Skroggat: A tentamort imprisoned by the wizard Quintessivar. Skroggat escaped from containment within its master's menagerie, and Quintessivar didn't much care for the way it drank his cat's internal organs. Skroggat is indifferent towards the party. It roots itself in place and then tentatively uses its dual tentacles to examine its surroundings in search of danger or food. 
26. Sluthrix: A carrion crawler imprisoned by the wizard Kraedilin Skont for feasting upon the compost in Skont's fungal garden. It did not get a chance to eat its full. It is hostile and hungry.
27. Vandessa: An 8th-level Chaotic Neutral human magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Zorvandel for trampling the shingles atop Zorvandel's tower. Vandessa possesses a wand of illusion, a wand of negation, and boots of striding and springing. She is unfriendly, and uses her wand to summon phantasmal warriors to engage in psychic battle with the party. She then strides and springs away with her magical boots while the party is preoccupied.
28. Ragthul: A manticore imprisoned by the wizard Telvarin for refusal to serve as a loyal mount. Ragthul is eager to reassert his dominance once freed. He is hostile, firing volleys of iron tail spikes before closing into melee with his jaws and claws.
29. Ashes After Midnight: A nightmare imprisoned by the wizard Lorulvan for refusing to breed with his prized mare. Ashes After Midnight is confused and startled when freed. It is unfriendly, neighs hellishly, bucks, and kicks flaming clods of earth in the party's direction.
30. The Violent Gale: A wind walker imprisoned by the wizard Iolken for keening at a frequency which shattered all of the flasks in Iolken's urinarium, spoiling decades of work and causing a terrible stench to seep into the flagstones on the floor. The Violent Gale is as violent as ever when freed, howling towards the party and blasting them with forceful currents.
31. Old Saltscales: An old bronze dragon imprisoned by the wizard Vaelmont Skerrik in order to lay claim to the dragon's life-sized ship in a bottle. Old Saltscales was asleep when imprisoned, and he sleeps still! His tail sweeps restlessly back and forth as he slumbers, and there is a 1-in-6 chance each round that he will experience a fit of snoring then bellow forth either lightning or repulsion gas (50% chance of either). Old Saltscales is friendly, but does not speak the language of men. If awakened, he will peer about, confused, then fish a 500 gp pearl out of his scales and gift it to the party before wandering away.
32. Gitarhun the Vainglorious: An efreeti imprisoned by the wizard Omur al-Din for attempting to organize a planar servitor uprising. Gitarhun is unfriendly. He carries himself with haughty arrogance and expects his liberators to kowtow to him. Efreet custom dictates however that Gitarhun grant the party three wishes or 1,001 days of service and, the latter being too long a term for Gitarhun's taste, he begrudgingly informs the party of the former. He is nonetheless unwilling, and will seek to pervert the intent of the party's words lest they are chosen carefully.
33. Barbegora: A seven-headed pyrohydra imprisoned by the wizard Nehzpal once it grew too large to live comfortable inside his bathtub. It is unfriendly, stomping its feet, bellowing, and threatening to breathe flames so long as the party remains in the area.
34. Shade of Sir Halven Marr: The spectre of a human knight imprisoned by the wizard Senrevan. Sir Halven is unfriendly, accusing the party of breaking oaths and committing dishonorable crimes. The spectre follows the party to judge their conduct, shouting everywhere they go that a band of turncloaks and scoundrels approaches, alerting all creatures to the party's presence and worsening monster and NPC reaction rolls. 
35. Garahargava: A hieracosphinx imprisoned by the wizard Narzherem Klee. Garahargava was intended to be a mere fearsome decoration in Narzherem's stronghold, and was imprisoned after devouring one too many diplomats. It is indifferent towards the party, and flies off once it has asked some routine questions.
36. Cerebral Parasite: Imprisoned by the wizard Jollerec for infesting the brain of his most promising apprentice (the implication being, of course, that the apprentice's brain was more desirable than Jollerec's own). It is invisible unless magical or psionic means of detection are employed. If any creatures in the party have psionic abilities or potential, it infects their brain. Otherwise, it infects the brain of the most intelligent creature present. It drains 1 point of Intelligence per day until it is removed.
37. Thalraxus Verdigris: A very old copper dragon imprisoned by the wizard Calyphor for basking atop a promontory on which Calyphor wished to build his tower. Thalraxus is asleep when freed from imprisonment. His tail sweeps restlessly back and forth as he slumbers, and there is a 1-in-6 chance each round that he will experience a fit of snoring then bellow forth either acid or slowing gas (50% chance of either). If awakened he is unfriendly, attempting to frighten the party with his fear aura. He breathes on those that remain with slowing gas, collects any treasure dropped by those that fled, then leaves the area.
38. Xhal’thorrin: A mind flayer imprisoned by the wizard Paroxil for telepathically transmitting a most confounding haiku as the two passed each other on the Astral Plane. Xhal’thorrin is friendly, and offers to use its powers of probability travel to transport one or more members of the party to the Outer Planes as thanks. 
39. Trapper: Imprisoned by the wizard Therin-Moss for the unauthorized devouring of a visiting dignitary's dog. If freed in a subterranean area with a stone floor, there is a 95% chance that the trapper will be impossible to detect by normal means. Either way, it will lay flat on the ground with a chest-shaped protuberance at its center and wait for unsuspecting prey to walk into its trap, at which time it will strike.
40. Morruph the Vein-Seeker: A xorn imprisoned by the wizard Izekian Qhlarn for devouring his prized tesseract. It is indifferent to the party, but becomes interested if it smells rare metals or gemstones, pleading that it is hungry from its long imprisonment and requires sustenance. If the party refuses to feed it, it is 90% likely to attempt to acquire such sustenance by force.
41. Eldric: An 11th-level Lawful Good human cleric of a sun god, imprisoned by the wizard Halzren Voss for inspiring hope in the destitute. Eldric possesses potions of extra-healing and polymorph (self), an augury scroll, a mace +1, a cloak of elvenkind, and a figurine of wondrous power (serpentine owl). He is friendly towards the party, and is willing to trade spells and magic items in exchange for information or other assistance. He can be recruited as a henchman by a non-Chaotic non-Evil character of at least 17th-level.
42. Shaar-Khul: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Cintaril for collapsing his prized diamond mine. Shaar-Khul is indifferent to the party, burrowing into the ground and leaving the area. This may cause a cave or tunnel collapse if the party is underground at the time.
43. Gruhk: An umber hulk imprisoned by the wizard Zarvash. Gruhk's befuddling gaze caused Zarvash to become lost in his own basement complex (into which Gruhk had entered uninvited) for several minutes. When Zarvash came to his senses and tracked Gruhk down, he found the umber hulk feasting in his purple worm nursery. Rude! When freed, Gruhk is indifferent towards the party. It is still digesting the several purple worm hatchlings it ate, and their mild venom is not agreeing with Gruhk's stomach. It wanders off to lay down, although the party may still be subjected to its confusing gaze if they happen to lock eyes with it.
44. Flickerhex: A will-o-wisp imprisoned by the wizard Edril for repeatedly waking him in the night to attempt to lure him into the Forbidden Swamp (Edril visited the Swamp regularly and did not worry for his safety there - it was the attempt at manipulating his free will with which he took offense). Flickerhex is hostile, incensed by the fact that Edril was not a good sport, and takes its frustrations out on the party, attacking them with electrical shocks.
45. Thryxaval of the Mid-deep: A xorn imprisoned by the wizard Maerod for peeling away and eating the gold leaf lining his scrying chamber. Thryxaval is unfriendly towards the party, claiming that they are trespassing in its domain and owe it a tithe of precious metals and gems. If the party possess such materials and refuse to hand them over, Thryxaval is 90% likely to attempt to acquire them by force.
46. Ebravask the Uncertain: A beholder imprisoned by the wizard Haron for nagging questions. Its eyes are half closed and unfocused, and it mutters "Why?" over and over again. Its central eye projects a cone of confusion, and its death ray eyestalk instead causes a feeblemind effect. Ebravask lost its faith in reality, and its probing questions caused philosophical divides which resulted in the mass suicide of at least one holy order. It is unfriendly, assailing the party with thought-provoking questions about truth and reality. It abhors absolutes and certainty, which may cause it to become hostile.
47. Gluthar, Harbinger of Harmony: A beholder imprisoned by the wizard Frasht for incessant song. Its body is covered in toothy mouths which sing in perfect harmony. Its central eye projects a cone of silence, and its wounding ray eyestalk instead shoots a supersonic blast which deafens its target. After eons of hearing only its own voices, Gluthar cannot tolerate the sound of others. It is hostile, and it attacks the wizard who freed it unless the party is able to harmonize with it perfectly.
48. Nymburion the Benevolent: A beholder imprisoned by the lich Dejall Gancho for unwanted medical attention. It has a serene, wise demeanor. Its cause serious wounds eyestalk instead cures serious wounds, but the healing magic causes cancerous tumors and mutations to manifest in the target. It is friendly, and eagerly tries to "heal" whoever freed it.
49. Urzok the Somnambulant: A beholder imprisoned by the wizard Chana Dothon for loud snoring. It is seemingly asleep, snoring loudly and drooling, with all eyes closed and crusted over with dried goo. It is indifferent, drifting lazily in a random direction without regard to whoever freed it. If followed closely without waking, it mutters prophetic information in its sleep as with a contact other plane spell. It believes that waking reality is a nightmare and, if awakened, attempts to destroy all in its vicinity.
50. Xarthan the Self-Obsessed: A beholder imprisoned by itself by accident. Its body is perfectly smooth and round, and each of its eyestalks are identical in appearance. Its flesh to stone eyestalk instead turns flesh into reflective glass. Its death ray eyestalk is instead capable of imprisonment, and it accidentally imprisoned itself while admiring its own image in the reflection of the "petrified" wizard Renoras of Omur. It is hostile, and attempts to "petrify" the wizard who freed it in order to gaze upon its own reflection once again.
51. Zhagulax, the Archivist-Sphere: A beholder imprisoned by the archmage Mouyan for intellectual property theft. It appears as a glyph-covered metallic sphere and constantly dictates its observations. It central eye projects a cone which releases the magical energies stored in its targets' heads, forcing its targets to cast random spells so that Zhagulax may document the results. Its metal shell shields it from the effects of all magic. It does not intend to harm the party, but cannot help but carry out this function.
52. Bellagra, the Strange Companion: A catoblepas imprisoned by the wizard Thasala for pissing on the carpets of Thasala's foyer. It is a pygmy catoblepas (size M) with blinders on its eyes. It follows the individual who freed it like a confused puppy.
53. Gralloch, the Breath of Death: A catoblepas imprisoned by the wizard Nurotz for bad breath. Its body is bloated and oozing. Its breath blackens plants and rusts metal. It is hostile, and will attempt to batter those in its vicinity with its tail. If it can raise its head to focus its gaze, it targets the individual who freed it.
54. Mulb, Lurker Beneath the Roots: A catoblepas imprisoned by the wizard Samar for spitting on Samar's satin slippers. Its body is covered in moss and carnivorous plants which have taken root in its flesh, and it chews a cud of plant matter. It is unfriendly, slapping its tail and bellowing to drive threats away.
55. Suth, the Unmoving: A catoblepas imprisoned by the wizard Thosi for being in the way of Thosi's palanquin. It has patchy fur and is asleep. It is indifferent to its surroundings, being asleep, and simply wanders away if awakened. It swipes its tail back and forth in the throes of a nightmare. It weeps a noxious slime from its eyes which, if gathered, can be used in the creation of magic items related to death magic. Every turn there is a chance that it suddenly and briefly opens its eyes, killing any who are gazing upon it (25% chance on the first round plus 15% chance each round thereafter if the party remains in the vicinity).
56. Kaetra Bloodwroth: An 8th-level Chaotic Evil human fighter imprisoned by the wizard Xor Merjara for being "just a bit too much". She possesses potions of climbing, flying, humanoid control, and levitation, a sword +1, a rod of cancellation, and a cloak of displacement. She is a reaver of an ancient blood cult. She is hostile, attacking viciously and without mercy upon being freed ("Blood for the blood god!" and all that). She can be convinced not to attack if the party are themselves covered in blood and convince her of their devotion to the blood god. She can be recruited as a henchman by non-Lawful and non-Good characters of 12th-level or higher.
57. Ared Holt: An 11th-level Neutral human fighter jointly imprisoned by the wizards Khinoshan and Agazin for refusing to choose a side in their most recent squabble at the time. She possesses potions of climbing, flying, super-heroism, and animal control (all), a mace +1, and a defender +4. She is at times frustratingly neutral, but is helpful towards the party, seeking to pay off her debt of obligation to her liberators by way of service. If the characters are at least 17th-level she will offer to join them as a henchman. Otherwise, she gifts them her defender, considers the debt repaid, and wanders off.
58. Varkem the Turncloak: An 11th-level Neutral Evil human fighter imprisoned by the wizard Vali for suspicion of traitorous intent. He possesses potions of halfling control and levitation, a dagger +2, a mace +1, a staff of striking, a sword +3, and a ring of spell storing (animate dead, exorcise). He is a mercenary general of considerable skill who betrayed every client he ever had. He is indifferent, questioning the party about his current location, the nearest active war, and which side in the war is richer. He can be recruited as a henchman by non-Good characters of 17th-level or higher.
59. Demogorgon, Prince of Demons: A demon prince imprisoned by the Seven of Siral: Drosita of Rinaras, Echali, Gunti, Iltheen Garius, Ojanth of Ladasa, Orelu, and Zoluma - not for benevolent reasons, of course (they were the ones who summoned him to begin with, each individually attempted to wield Demogorgon against the others, and when it became clear that all were failing, they combined their powers to seal him away for defying them collectively). Demogorgon is hostile once freed, attacking with all of its power anyone nearby. Demogorgon is especially wrothful if the party consists of seven members, believing them to be some cosmic descendants of those wizards who sealed it away.
60. Quoralyth the Sagacious: An ancient gold dragon imprisoned by the wizard Phandelmor Quinx for mild criticism of the keynote address at Phandelmor's Symposium of the Planes. When freed, Quoralyth is in the form of a golden-haired, golden-eyed androgynous human in simple robes and bare, unwashed feet. Quoralyth can cast the following spells: bless, cure light wounds, hold person, know alignment, slow, suggestion, commune, quest, globe of invulnerability, word of recall. Quoralyth is friendly and thanks the party for freeing them. They use know alignment to discern the party's nature. If the party is not Chaotic or Evil, Quoralyth will offer their spellcasting services as thanks. Otherwise, they offer measured chastisement and recommend that the party change their ways, then cast word of recall to return to return to their lair.
61. Scathryx the Verbose: An ancient green dragon imprisoned by the wizard Nualvar for ad hominen attacks. It is indifferent towards the party, questioning them to gain its bearings before leaving the area to find Nualvar and finish their heated debate.
62. Ashranzhul: An ancient red dragon imprisoned by the wizard Pnatum in order to bathe in the sulfur hot springs of her lair. She is sleek, with a blackened underbelly and broken horn. She is unfriendly towards the party, demanding information about Pnatum's current whereabouts as well as tribute. She becomes hostile if lied to, disrespected, or denied, but leaves the area to exact her revenge once she has been satisfied.
63. Vemberthraxis: An ancient red dragon imprisoned by the wizard Zerin for regarding Zerin as one would an ant. He is iron-scaled, with blackened wings and eyes of flame. He is indifferent towards the party, being aloof and disinterested in mortals and considering them unworthy of his vengeful power. He will ask cryptic questions in order to ascertain his bearings, then leave the area to reclaim his domain elsewhere.
64. Yan-C-Bin, Prince of Evil Aerial Creatures: An Elemental Prince of Evil imprisoned by the wizard Thasselant Yr for blowing Thasselant Yr's carefully organized papers all over his study. Yan-C-Bin is indifferent to the party and invisible. He flies away to establish a court of storms on the Material Plane. The party may be entirely unaware of the evil they've unleashed.
65. Grimblecud's Golem: An iron golem created by the wizard Grimblecud to thwart the ascension of would-be gods. It was imprisoned by the wizard Nadrax when it wouldn't attempt to thwart his schemes, the implication being that Nadrax was not destined to become a god (he was not). The golem is unfriendly towards the party. It senses that their current quest is related to some deific destiny, following and attempting to inconvenience them at every turn.
66. Kidor's Golem: An iron golem created by the wizard Kidor of Skoun in the Golem Wars and imprisoned by Kidor's rival, the wizard Melena. It ignores the party and attempts to carry out its master's last orders: crush Melena into goo.
67. Ozmourin's Golem: An iron golem created by the wizard Ozmourin to guard multiple demiplanes simultaneously. It was imprisoned by the wizard Quintessa Rime for crimes against geometry. It is able to distort time and space, gaze into multiple planes simultaneously, and attack creatures on any plane. It is unfriendly towards the party for past extraplanar trespass (real or imagined) and follows them, distorting time and space at the most inconvenient moments for them.
68. Solun-Veth's Golem: An iron golem created by the wizard Solun-Veth to guard her chapel of forbidden oracular devices. The wizard Cladrix seized control of the chapel and imprisoned the golem for its habit of smashing his scrying devices. The golem is indifferent to the party unless divination magic is used in its presence, in which case it attempts to subdue the perpetrator.
69. Vexillor's Golem: An iron golem created by the wizard Vexillor Mannayne to memorialize lost cities of the past. It was imprisoned by the wizard Saphelyne of the Mirror Eyes for being a buzzkill. The golem is indifferent towards the party, reciting in a hollow voice the names of ancient streets and rivers. Perhaps it has information about a city with which the party is familiar.
70. Calarithe: A female lamia noble imprisoned by the wizard Yrvelo Quen, not for infiltrating and subverting the Kingdom of Dral with her enchantments and illusions (which she did), but for inundating the kingdom's laws and policies with Lamian grammar, which Yrvelo found to be of the most offensive sort. She appears as a noblewoman in silk and silver. She is hostile towards the party, attempting to ensorcel them with charm person. If a party member passes their saving throw to resist the charm, or once at least half of the party is charmed, she attacks. She is a 3rd-level magic-user and can cast magic missile, shocking grasp, and invisibility.
71. Azenwyll the Thrice-Laved: A lich imprisoned by the wizard Glarnax for issuing a minor correction to Glarnax's star charts. She speaks as if mid-lecture and is indifferent towards the party, treating them as she would inattentive students. Attentive listeners are rewarded with eldritch lore about the cosmos. Those who disrespect her or ask incessant questions are punished with the knowledge of forbidden coordinates, which shatter the minds of those who comprehend their portent (as per a feeblemind spell).
72. Eirenqhotl the Eternal: A lich imprisoned by the necromancer Tundrolax for refusing a joint grimoire collab, The Ten Thousand Pacts of Smoke and Flesh, calling it "theory-mongering drivel". Eirenqhotl is hostile, mistaking the party for agents of Tundrolax, attempting to destroy them.
73. Old Luthwin the Bronze: A lich imprisoned by the wizard Herovant for creating the Spell of the Flatulent Soul, which humiliated Herovant before an audience of his peers. He is friendly towards the party, being of a cheerful and talkative disposition, and may offer helpful guidance pertaining to ruins and magic, although his knowledge is outdated by roughly 20 eons. Those who dare to point this out to him share the same fate as Herovant of old.
74. The Purple Hermit: A lich imprisoned by the wizard Merzatho for critiquing Merzatho's latest treatise on color theory and illusory magic. The Purple Hermit is indifferent towards the party, eager to return to his lair to catch up on all the research articles that have been published during his lengthy imprisonment.
75. Grondash: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Fendrel for swallowing whole multiple caravans of precious reagents. It is unfriendly to the party, sickened by its consumption of magic. It thrashes about, threatening to skewer those nearby with its venomous stinger. There is a 1-in-6 chance each turn that it belches forth a torrent of mutagenic acidic slime, after which its disposition markedly improves.
76. Ikhazar: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Vorlen for devouring a herd of prized horses. It is hostile, attacking the party on sight (especially those with delicious horses).
77. Khalazuur the Underwarden: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Darnis Villeth for thwarting mining operations (thereafter Darnis Villeth's mining servitors dug too deep, unleashing a creature of shadow and flame which spelled the wizard's doom). It is an awakened worm enchanted to guard the overworld from the perils of the veins of the earth. Rather than venom, its stinger discharges a sweet blue milk, a thimble of which can sustain a creature's need for food and water for an entire day.
78. Molkrith the Metroworm: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Vaelatrix. Molkrith is a Metroworm - a specially engineered biomechanical purple worm designed to carry passengers inside its body and transport them through the underworld. It ran one minute late and caused Vaelatrix to miss an important ritual, earning her ire. It is helpful to the party when freed, opening its door flaps to welcome them aboard. After waiting for a short period, it continues on its way along its usual route.
79. Shaak-Taruun: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Zorban. Its subterranean rumblings caused Zorban's palantir to roll from its pedestal to the floor, upon which it suffered a minor crack. It is indifferent to the party, burrowing away immediately. Its rumblings are sufficient to make walls and ceilings in the area collapse.
80. Thurundel: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Xargalum. Thurundel's burrowing beneath Xargalum's tower caused the structure to sink into the earth an entire inch! Thurundel is indifferent to the party, burrowing away immediately. Its rumblings are sufficient to make walls and ceilings in the area collapse.
81. Vorrugaleth: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Mallaera for digging up her garden of arcane vegetables. It is unfriendly to the party, shrieking and threatening to skewer them with its venomous stinger. Due to its diet of arcane roots and vegetables, its venom imparts chaotic enchantments and curses on those who aren't outright slain.
82. Yrrith-Halud: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Grellin for waking him in the night with its mating song. It is friendly towards the party and becomes docile if sung to in the language of the deep earth.
83. Zhaal-Khud: A purple worm imprisoned by the wizard Eshara for toppling her cosmic dominoes, causing unseen tragedy on some unknown world. It is indifferent to the party, burrowing away immediately. Its rumblings are sufficient to make walls and ceilings in the area collapse.
84. Chaos Knight Thazrogg: A death slaad imprisoned by the wizard Ozarion. Thazrogg traveled the mortal world in the guise of Ozarion himself, challenging Ozarion's colleagues to all manner of inane and deadly magical duels. Thazrogg (and thus Ozarion) developed a reputation for simply hacking his opponents to death with his icy sword (a frost brand +3). Very unwizardlike behavior! When freed, Thazrogg is still disguised as Ozarion, and is curious about the party. If they prove to be boring or stodgy, he quickly becomes unfriendly, using his magic to inconvenience (but not necessarily kill) the party as he wishes (for example, fear, symbol, or power word, stun, but probably not cloudkill or fireball). He will steal any treasure or magic items dropped as a result, then become invisible and flee.
85. Brontakles, Father of Laughter: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. His laughter shook the mountains and collapsed a cliff, destroying the god of wine's favorite monastery. When freed, he demands to be entertained with jokes. Should the party succeed in amusing him, his fits of laughter shake the earth and collapse structures and caverns in the area.
86. Dioneion, the Clay Prince: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. He attempted to mold a perfect race of mortals to rival the gods themselves. When freed, he views the party as imperfect creations, and seeks to mold them into their best selves. He restores lost limbs and other injuries, but also changes the party's shapes to reflect his own image. He may change characters' ability scores, race, and class as suits his tastes.
87. Eirenessa, the Dreamweaver: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. To end a war, she created a dream so magnificent that mortals refused to wake, and the gods anguished in the absence of their worship. During her imprisonment, her fascination with dreams turned towards the macabre. When freed, she makes the party's greatest fears into reality, forcing them to do battle with monsters from their worst nightmares. If they survive, she may eventually take an interest in more uplifting fare, manifesting the party's greatest desires (as a wish spell).
88. Heliandros, Son of the Sun: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. His passion for the goddess of love caused the mountains to ignite, sowing destruction across the gods' carefully sculpted peaks. In his heartbroken state, he is hostile towards the party, bellowing, attempting to smash them, and unleashing all the power of his spells and psionics upon them. His anger causes his surroundings to burst into flames.
89. Lysiphane, Mother of Feasts: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. During a feast of the gods, she was a bit too friendly with the goddess of the hearth's husband. When freed, she is gregarious and interested in tales of the party's heroic deeds. If pleased, she seeks to lift the party's spirit with a feast fit for heroes.
90. Nymirion, the River Father: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. He urinated into a fertile valley, creating a river which washed away an entire civilization. His bladder is full after eons of imprisonment, and once freed he begins to relieve himself. The party risks being washed away or drowned in the resulting torrent.
91. Tarthalion, Bard of the Mountain Wind: An elder titan imprisoned in the Dawn Age by the gods themselves. He gifted a mortal bard with a fragment of the song of creation, and the boastful bard's resulting ballad was heard all the way on Olympus itself. The gods were not pleased with such power handed out so freely. Tarthalion either learned little from his long imprisonment or seeks to get even with the gods by defying them again - if a bard or other musician is in the party, he will bestow upon them the various power word spells in the form of song.
92. Lord Caradoc: A vampire and 9th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Ellindra for feeding on several guests during Ellindra's masked ball. Lord Caradoc's mouth is still covered in blood, and his hunger has not been sated. He attacks the party, eager to feast upon their essences.
93. Lady Senara: A vampire and 9th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Thalrion for shattering several expensive floor-to-ceiling mirrors in his house of tricks. She is indifferent to the party, treating them with cold detachment. She abhors reflective surfaces, and becomes incensed if the party's arms and armor are exceedingly well-polished.
94. Magister Dren: A vampire and 10th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Lireya for summoning a swarm of plague rats to invade a lecture of hers, causing all in attendance to flee in a panic. He is hostile, but bides his time until his rats arrive before attacking.
95. Countess Mirelle: A vampire and 10th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Veltarn Dusque for drinking the blood of his familiar, a raven named Quill, during a dinner party at Veltarn's manse. Mirelle is an avid drinker of beast blood (which is considered by most vampires to be noxious behavior). She is indifferent towards the party unless they possess familiars, pets, or other accompanying beasts. She pretends to admire such creatures and calls them to her (her gaze is able to charm beasts as well as people), stroking them lovingly before engaging in a hideous feast.
96. Baroness Drazhena: A vampire and 11th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Horvath. The two entered into a dispute when Horvath's shipment of magically enriched soil became confused with Drazhena's own shipment of blasphemous grave earth. Horvath visited the Baroness's new estate to correct the issue but, unaware that the Baroness was a vampire, ate a large meal of garlic butter quail before arriving. The Baroness recoiled, which Horvath took as a slight against the smell of his breath (about which he was very sensitive) - imprisonment, of course, was the only way to correct the insult to his personage (and this way, he got to keep both shipments of earth, so it was a no brainer). The cyst which imprisoned Drazhena managed to include a whiff of Horvath's garlic breath, and she has only become more incensed with the eons. When freed, she attacks immediately. She has built up a tolerance for garlic and no longer recoils from it.
97. Duchess Serethin: A vampire and 11th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Iskavar. Iskavar slew Serethin in combat, at which time she assumed gaseous form and attempted to return to her resting place. Rather than find her resting place and destroy it, Ikavar felt it would be more prudent to simply imprison her in her gaseous state. Serethin is still in gaseous form when freed. She ignores the party and slowly floats away to seek out her resting place (whether it is still available to her is left to the DM's discretion).
98. Baron Velemir: A vampire and 11th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Thesselaine. Velemir preferred the form of a large bat to his true countenance, and delighted in terrorizing women in this form, swooping down upon them and becoming tangled in their hair. Thesselaine was one such victim, and the last that Velemir would harass in such a manner...until now. Velemir remains in bat form when freed, and immediately endeavors to engage with the member of the party with the most elaborate and voluminous hair. If none such are present, he merely flies off, relieving himself as he leaves without regard for who may be under him when he does so.
99. Count Dragomir: A vampire and 12th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Thelyron for describing Thelyron's blood as "too vinegary". The taste has lingered on Dragomir's tongue throughout his imprisonment, and he is eager to cleanse his palate with something richer.
100. Ser Talavar: A vampire and 12th-level magic-user imprisoned by the wizard Meldrith for seducing the latter's simulacra. Talavar is a hopeless romantic and will fixate on a party member determined at random, attempting to charm them with his gaze or otherwise employ his magical abilities. Failing that, he will attempt to court them by more mundane means, becoming irritable if they rebuke his advances. If successful, he will want to whisk the party member away to his castle (whether his castle still exists is left to the DM's determination).

Aside from the obvious caveat that I do not recommend doing this and in some ways regret committing to the bit without thinking it through, I have some thoughts about this process. 

I used the AD&D 1e Dungeon Random Monster Tables from the Fiend Folio (for variety's sake, as there are more monsters therein), which have ten levels of monster, rather than nine (as described in the 2e version of the spell). Thus, a roll of 1-10 on d20 indicated a monster from the corresponding dungeon level's encounter table, and rolls above 10 all indicated a monster from Monster Level X. That means that 55 of the entries are from Monster Level X, which is why there are so many beholders, catoblepases, dragons, iron golems, liches, purple worms, elder titans, and vampire spellcasters in the latter half of the list (I kept the reaction rolls of each varied to make multiple encounters with the same type of creature interesting):

55 is a lot of encounters for a table without that many monster types!

At first I thought it a bit odd that so many imprisoned creatures would be so powerful. Normally I'm of the opinion that low-level monsters should be more common than high-level ones, and usually this is the case (in the wilderness, for example). Thinking about it, I considered the fact that only high-level magic-users can cast imprisonment. Would it not then follow that these individuals would in turn be imprisoning high-level creatures? Sure. I had to do some intellectual stretching to determine why so many catoblepases, iron golems, and purple worms might be imprisoned, but such practice is good for the Dungeon Master's brain.

Why does almost everything have a name, including unintelligent creatures? Because it's fun! And in D&D, you can talk to almost anything, so I think everything deserves a name. Name your giant spiders, people! Shout out to Fantasy Name Generators and Dying Earth Name Generator, without which none of this would be possible.

I wouldn't do this again, and I'm not particularly glad that I did do it, but there is some feeling of accomplishment at having completed such a monumental undertaking. Shout out to the real ones consistently churning out behemoth d100 tables. It is not easy! 

Maybe someday I'll actually get to use this thing. The mere possibility, and the comfort I can take in knowing that I have this table should I ever need it, is enough to make it all feel kind of worth it. If you actually read all the entries in the list, comment down below! Let me know which ones stood out. I certainly have my own favorites - but I'll never tell! Unless you ask, then maybe I will.