d100 Tables

Range	Description
1	Reinforcements arrive, flanking the party.
2	An alchemical procedure is interrupted by the group, in D4 a horrible reaction occurs, causing a reaction that produces a deadly gas cloud. (Change up whichever effect as needed.)
3	The floor will give out (flighting on thin ice, a rickety old wizard tower, a cliff side trail, or unstable dungeon floor).
4	Spell of summoning is completed, something from the hells will arrive.
5	A hostage will be sacrificed to an evil deity.
6	The enemies flex and shake violently,their skin splitting open with a strange green glow coming from within. It's clear they have been subjects of some kind of unholy experiment. They now do double damage.
7	The enemy flees to a well defended position. Use also if the party is chasing an enemy.
8	The first enemy to die falls back and drops their torch on a pile of kegs which are filled with blast powder, lighting them up. If the players do not stop the fire from spreading the whole place will explode.
9	The battlefield floor becomes littered with blood and guts. At the beginning of their turn everyone must make a Agility check to stay upright.
10	The first few enemies that died in combat return from the dead.
11	The portal that is your only means of escape closes.
12	The relic/important person/McGuffin is lowered into a lava flow/acid tank/danger.
13	The puzzle will reset and you will have to figure it out again from the start.
14	All light sources will go out, potentially making combat harder.
15	The enemy grows a size larger and becomes more powerful.
16	The enemy shrinks and -though vulnerable - can fit through a mouse hole and escape.
17	The invisible creatures in the room become visible; they are horrific to behold and all players must save vs insanity.
18	The crystals change colour. Now only X (Blue = water, red = fire etc) damage can harm the enemy).
19	The surface of the lake will instantly freeze, trapping anyone in the water below it.
20	The Gelatinous cube will fall down into the narrow chamber and engulf the party.
21	The bandits will regroup. (Giving them a rally bonus.)
22	The important page of the wizard's tome that you need will burn up.
23	The defiled fountain will become pure for one round. Drinking it heals wounds!
24	The scaffolding collapses.
25	The poison will kill the important NPC!
26	The potion will be ready for transport!
27	The chain holding the chandelier will break. Anyone holding on is pulled to safety above! (or those below might get crushed).
28	curse will take hold!
29	The vault door will lock!
30	The ceiling falls, damaging lots of stuff and changing the terrain.
31	A new actor appears, and their incentives are unknown.
32	A hidden sleep dust trap is activated.
33	Water pit trap, water rising. Pick the lock before you drown.
34	Piles of bones begin to rattle, get across the room before the skeletons animate.
35	A boulder falls onto a random unoccupied space nearby.
36	A bright signal fire/flare is lit in the distance.
37	Sound appears to become dampened for the entire area. (Silence spell effect)
38	A/several small rodent(s) will attempt to scurry across the battlefield. (Insert rodent swarm)
39	A tremor can be felt by any creature in contact with the ground. (Use earthquake spell effects; agility save to avoid being knocked prone, 1d6 fissures randomly open, agility save to avoid falling in).
40	The chain holding a (guardian, prisoner) monster will break. It will then go into a rampage and try to kill everything in the area.
41	The charm spell will wear off of one of your opponents allowing them to act in accordance with their own personality.
42	One of your opponents will sound the alarm by ringing a bell or gong or blowing a horn. This will alert all the enemies in the area and adjacent areas.
43	A third party shows up that is hostile to both you and your opponents. (A foolish rival adventuring party perhaps)
44	An Ally of the PCs shows up to help or with important news. (To make it a complication, the ally can be weak and in need of protection)
45	Rain begins to fall on the battlefield. (Lightly obscures area making perception difficult, terrain slippery or difficult).
46	A sudden hail storm begins to pelt the battlefield. (Obscures area making perception difficult, terrain slippery or difficult. From the 5E DMG: “A strong wind imposes disadvantage on ranged weapon attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. A strong wind also extinguishes open flames, disperses fog, and makes flying… nearly impossible. A flying creature in a strong wind must land at the end of its turn or fall.”)
47	An enemy rogue begins to escape with the item the party needs
48	A giant worm tunnels up from below. It attempts to grapple or swallow one of the party members
49	An enemy has a spiritual awakening as it becomes possessed by a wandering spirit (Deals additional necrotic damage, gains undead properties like undead resilience, banshee’s wail, etc)
50	A divine ray burns through the sky. Creatures are blinded for 1 round on a failed save.
51	A thief sneaks onto the battlefield and begins looting the corpses. Takes a valuable McGuffin
52	Wild pack of dogs arrive. (Or any wild pack animal depending on location)
53	A spirit appears taking offense at its sacred land being tainted
54	The encounter triggers a curse. Each step for all affected drains HP as the ground becomes desecrated.
55	Wait, that isn't your shadow, it's a shade!
56	The idol/statue joins the battle!
57	The enemy eats an acorn and gains natural armour (barkskin)
58	There are dozens of large, slimy eggs scattered through the area. Soon they will hatch a horde of Insectoid horrors (or aberrant monstrosities, reptilian terrors, undead abominations, alien beasts). Far off in the distance beyond a multitude of hazards and obstacles is a locked door which is the only way out of the area. (Runehammer)
59	The sleeping dragon nearby will awaken! (Index Card RPG)
60	A volley of arrows incoming!
61	The boss approaches its final form.
62	The floor crumbles into magma.
63	Lava fills the low lying areas in the room.
64	Barbed vines animate, grabbing and hindering the party’s movement and attacks.
65	A volcano erupts, sending a wave of fire and poisonous ash upon the area.
66	Gale force winds push the group towards hazards or the enemy.
67	Timber!!! A giant tree or group of logs, dilapidated structure, falls onto the area
68	Avalanche! Or Mudslide! Or Landslide!
69	A giant murder of crows descends upon the party, aiming for eyes and soft spots.
70	One of 4 (or however many) vats of hot oil 20 feet overhead will be tipped over into the chamber in D4 rounds. If combat is still continuing, the round count starts over until all the vats are tipped over.
71	A magnetic field is activated and all metal objects are stuck to the ceiling. All metal weapons and anyone wearing metal armor is flung to the giant magnet.
72	The ceiling starts to lower / floor starts to rise. (Impending flattening!)
73	Wild bursts of magic/energy begin popping off in the room. Can do damage or effects.
74	The temperature rapidly starts falling to dangerously cold levels. Roll constitution saves, three failures means you’re frozen to death. Must keep moving to stay warm.
75	Reality warbles and becomes thin, causing strange images and sounds to affect people's minds.
76	An odorless cloud seeps into the room, obscuring vision and effectively blinding everyone.
77	Swarms! Swarms of bugs appear, as if vacating the area in a panic, and will bite/sting anything close to them. Wisdom save not to go crazy for the turn trying to swat the bugs away.
78	Structural weaknesses become apparent, and chunks of masonry fall from the ceiling/walls. BONUS: Attacking weakened points can open new exits.
79	The people you hired to follow you around and carry your gear lose their nerve and flee!
80	The biggest and toughest enemy swaps the hand they were holding their weapon in. Turns out they were not right-handed! Increase attack bonus and/or damage from this foe.
81	Turns out the ground isn’t moving, you’re all standing in a pit of snakes! Someone gets bitten!
82	A powerful shield is summoned to protect the enemy
83	Low CR Enemies begin to spawn on certain floor tiles with ever increasing speed
84	An enchanted ranged/siege/magical weapon comes to life and attacks the party
85	The enemy mage finishes preparing a powerful ability or spell to use on the party.
86	The enemy drinks a powerful potion enhancing them immensely. (Choose a boon or roll a 1d4 for a potion of: 1. Haste, 2. Blur. 3. Greater invisibility, 4. Polymorph).
87	An innocent hostage appears of the party, an enemy holding them close with a weapon pointed at them
88	Forest fire reaches the group
89	The party fails to notice as the ice wall nearby cracks open, as a frost giant becomes unfrozen.
90	Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, causing disease, roll a con save.
91	Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, roll a wisdom save to avoid psychedelic madness. Stunned on a failure.
92	Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, players transport to another plane temporarily for 1d4 rounds.
93	There is a tear in space & time. Time will reset to the beginning of the encounter or 1d4 hours earlier if you don’t get out of the area.
94	Medusa's head is revealed by the boss, everyone must take three constitution saves or be turned to stone. You must fight blind to avoid this effect.
95	Echoing whispers from an ancient evil permeates throughout the area. In d4 rounds players will have to save against madness. Use the short-term madness table or umber hulk confusing gaze mechanics.
96	Fae charm. In d4 turns a beautiful fae appears, who charms the players into servitude. All how fail the charisma or wisdom save must fight to cleanse the area of the invading filth.
97	1d6 columns randomly rise from the floor tiles, crushing who ever is standing on them if they fail a dexterity save. They stay in place, offering cover and obstacles to navigate around.
98	Space warp: Each turn 1d4 of the enemies randomly swap positions with the same number of players.

1

Reinforcements arrive, flanking the party.

2

An alchemical procedure is interrupted by the group, in D4 a horrible reaction occurs, causing a reaction that produces a deadly gas cloud. (Change up whichever effect as needed.)

3

The floor will give out (flighting on thin ice, a rickety old wizard tower, a cliff side trail, or unstable dungeon floor).

4

Spell of summoning is completed, something from the hells will arrive.

5

A hostage will be sacrificed to an evil deity.

6

The enemies flex and shake violently,their skin splitting open with a strange green glow coming from within. It's clear they have been subjects of some kind of unholy experiment. They now do double damage.

7

The enemy flees to a well defended position. Use also if the party is chasing an enemy.

8

The first enemy to die falls back and drops their torch on a pile of kegs which are filled with blast powder, lighting them up. If the players do not stop the fire from spreading the whole place will explode.

9

The battlefield floor becomes littered with blood and guts. At the beginning of their turn everyone must make a Agility check to stay upright.

10

The first few enemies that died in combat return from the dead.

11

The portal that is your only means of escape closes.

12

The relic/important person/McGuffin is lowered into a lava flow/acid tank/danger.

13

The puzzle will reset and you will have to figure it out again from the start.

14

All light sources will go out, potentially making combat harder.

15

The enemy grows a size larger and becomes more powerful.

16

The enemy shrinks and -though vulnerable - can fit through a mouse hole and escape.

17

The invisible creatures in the room become visible; they are horrific to behold and all players must save vs insanity.

18

The crystals change colour. Now only X (Blue = water, red = fire etc) damage can harm the enemy).

19

The surface of the lake will instantly freeze, trapping anyone in the water below it.

20

The Gelatinous cube will fall down into the narrow chamber and engulf the party.

21

The bandits will regroup. (Giving them a rally bonus.)

22

The important page of the wizard's tome that you need will burn up.

23

The defiled fountain will become pure for one round. Drinking it heals wounds!

24

The scaffolding collapses.

25

The poison will kill the important NPC!

26

The potion will be ready for transport!

27

The chain holding the chandelier will break. Anyone holding on is pulled to safety above! (or those below might get crushed).

28

curse will take hold!

29

The vault door will lock!

30

The ceiling falls, damaging lots of stuff and changing the terrain.

31

A new actor appears, and their incentives are unknown.

32

A hidden sleep dust trap is activated.

33

Water pit trap, water rising. Pick the lock before you drown.

34

Piles of bones begin to rattle, get across the room before the skeletons animate.

35

A boulder falls onto a random unoccupied space nearby.

36

A bright signal fire/flare is lit in the distance.

37

Sound appears to become dampened for the entire area. (Silence spell effect)

38

A/several small rodent(s) will attempt to scurry across the battlefield. (Insert rodent swarm)

39

A tremor can be felt by any creature in contact with the ground. (Use earthquake spell effects; agility save to avoid being knocked prone, 1d6 fissures randomly open, agility save to avoid falling in).

40

The chain holding a (guardian, prisoner) monster will break. It will then go into a rampage and try to kill everything in the area.

41

The charm spell will wear off of one of your opponents allowing them to act in accordance with their own personality.

42

One of your opponents will sound the alarm by ringing a bell or gong or blowing a horn. This will alert all the enemies in the area and adjacent areas.

43

A third party shows up that is hostile to both you and your opponents. (A foolish rival adventuring party perhaps)

44

An Ally of the PCs shows up to help or with important news. (To make it a complication, the ally can be weak and in need of protection)

45

Rain begins to fall on the battlefield. (Lightly obscures area making perception difficult, terrain slippery or difficult).

46

A sudden hail storm begins to pelt the battlefield. (Obscures area making perception difficult, terrain slippery or difficult. From the 5E DMG: “A strong wind imposes disadvantage on ranged weapon attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. A strong wind also extinguishes open flames, disperses fog, and makes flying… nearly impossible. A flying creature in a strong wind must land at the end of its turn or fall.”)

47

An enemy rogue begins to escape with the item the party needs

48

A giant worm tunnels up from below. It attempts to grapple or swallow one of the party members

49

An enemy has a spiritual awakening as it becomes possessed by a wandering spirit (Deals additional necrotic damage, gains undead properties like undead resilience, banshee’s wail, etc)

50

A divine ray burns through the sky. Creatures are blinded for 1 round on a failed save.

51

A thief sneaks onto the battlefield and begins looting the corpses. Takes a valuable McGuffin

52

Wild pack of dogs arrive. (Or any wild pack animal depending on location)

53

A spirit appears taking offense at its sacred land being tainted

54

The encounter triggers a curse. Each step for all affected drains HP as the ground becomes desecrated.

55

Wait, that isn't your shadow, it's a shade!

56

The idol/statue joins the battle!

57

The enemy eats an acorn and gains natural armour (barkskin)

58

There are dozens of large, slimy eggs scattered through the area. Soon they will hatch a horde of Insectoid horrors (or aberrant monstrosities, reptilian terrors, undead abominations, alien beasts). Far off in the distance beyond a multitude of hazards and obstacles is a locked door which is the only way out of the area. (Runehammer)

59

The sleeping dragon nearby will awaken! (Index Card RPG)

60

A volley of arrows incoming!

61

The boss approaches its final form.

62

The floor crumbles into magma.

63

Lava fills the low lying areas in the room.

64

Barbed vines animate, grabbing and hindering the party’s movement and attacks.

65

A volcano erupts, sending a wave of fire and poisonous ash upon the area.

66

Gale force winds push the group towards hazards or the enemy.

67

Timber!!! A giant tree or group of logs, dilapidated structure, falls onto the area

68

Avalanche! Or Mudslide! Or Landslide!

69

A giant murder of crows descends upon the party, aiming for eyes and soft spots.

70

One of 4 (or however many) vats of hot oil 20 feet overhead will be tipped over into the chamber in D4 rounds. If combat is still continuing, the round count starts over until all the vats are tipped over.

71

A magnetic field is activated and all metal objects are stuck to the ceiling. All metal weapons and anyone wearing metal armor is flung to the giant magnet.

72

The ceiling starts to lower / floor starts to rise. (Impending flattening!)

73

Wild bursts of magic/energy begin popping off in the room. Can do damage or effects.

74

The temperature rapidly starts falling to dangerously cold levels. Roll constitution saves, three failures means you’re frozen to death. Must keep moving to stay warm.

75

Reality warbles and becomes thin, causing strange images and sounds to affect people's minds.

76

An odorless cloud seeps into the room, obscuring vision and effectively blinding everyone.

77

Swarms! Swarms of bugs appear, as if vacating the area in a panic, and will bite/sting anything close to them. Wisdom save not to go crazy for the turn trying to swat the bugs away.

78

Structural weaknesses become apparent, and chunks of masonry fall from the ceiling/walls. BONUS: Attacking weakened points can open new exits.

79

The people you hired to follow you around and carry your gear lose their nerve and flee!

80

The biggest and toughest enemy swaps the hand they were holding their weapon in. Turns out they were not right-handed! Increase attack bonus and/or damage from this foe.

81

Turns out the ground isn’t moving, you’re all standing in a pit of snakes! Someone gets bitten!

82

A powerful shield is summoned to protect the enemy

83

Low CR Enemies begin to spawn on certain floor tiles with ever increasing speed

84

An enchanted ranged/siege/magical weapon comes to life and attacks the party

85

The enemy mage finishes preparing a powerful ability or spell to use on the party.

86

The enemy drinks a powerful potion enhancing them immensely. (Choose a boon or roll a 1d4 for a potion of: 1. Haste, 2. Blur. 3. Greater invisibility, 4. Polymorph).

87

An innocent hostage appears of the party, an enemy holding them close with a weapon pointed at them

88

Forest fire reaches the group

89

The party fails to notice as the ice wall nearby cracks open, as a frost giant becomes unfrozen.

90

Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, causing disease, roll a con save.

91

Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, roll a wisdom save to avoid psychedelic madness. Stunned on a failure.

92

Giant mushrooms about the area burst and release spores, players transport to another plane temporarily for 1d4 rounds.

93

There is a tear in space & time. Time will reset to the beginning of the encounter or 1d4 hours earlier if you don’t get out of the area.

94

Medusa's head is revealed by the boss, everyone must take three constitution saves or be turned to stone. You must fight blind to avoid this effect.

95

Echoing whispers from an ancient evil permeates throughout the area. In d4 rounds players will have to save against madness. Use the short-term madness table or umber hulk confusing gaze mechanics.

96

Fae charm. In d4 turns a beautiful fae appears, who charms the players into servitude. All how fail the charisma or wisdom save must fight to cleanse the area of the invading filth.

97

1d6 columns randomly rise from the floor tiles, crushing who ever is standing on them if they fail a dexterity save. They stay in place, offering cover and obstacles to navigate around.

98

Space warp: Each turn 1d4 of the enemies randomly swap positions with the same number of players.

Combat Complications