1d8 pools of the old Faith

1. 

MERE. Surrounded by gnarled oaks where that teem with maggots like old wounds is a mere. A tall knight, Meryld of Merrow, stands to her knees in the oily water, methodically throwing an anchor-like hook to drag the dark pond. On the shores lie a diverse array of bones and bent metal already exhumed, giving off an unpleasant smell as it dries.

The knight is courteous, but very preoccupied with her task as she is convinced that a Drune witch is working curses from under the surface. In a nearby camp are three local youngsters, tending to her equipment and sifling through the debris caught in the pond each afternoon.

If the knight's trust is won, she tells that she travelled with Raillarde the Paynim to the Druids many miles west of Alverdis, but that they parted ways. She fears that the fellow knight has come under a spell, and believes the witch she seeks is its cause.

Any character scouting the area can pick up tracks of heavily burdened steel boots, leading north towards the shore.

2.

MENHIRS. Several menhirs stand by a small pool, only a few paces wide. Sleeping among them grants vision of grieving woman, fleeing across a landscape of endless darkness. If a character spends more than one night by the menhir, the woman will recognize them them from the night before and speak to them in hushed and hasted voice: begging to be freed, warning of the pursuing monster, and the cruel knight Wilkin that keeps her trapped. The woman does not know where she is, only that it is dark, and wet, and terrible, but she promises to call on the wind each night.

The woman is currently in a pool by the standing stones of Corroc, but is moved by her jealous guardian each new moon. Any character who has spoken to her can hear her voice on silent nights, and locate which direction it comes from with a successful WIS roll.

3.

EMPTIED TARN. Among the heaps of salvage decomposing on the shores of this tarn lies the reeking body of a large wyrm. The creature's head has been severed by a single strike, but the fat slugs feasting on the carcass still causes its body to oscillate in some deathless reflex. If searched, the salvage contains little of use.

4.

HERMIT. In a cliffside hut lives a naked hermit, surrounded by seabirds. She is reluctant to speak but can tell that her father was a squire to Knight Blaine the Recréant. If treated kindly, she offers an adder-stone that her father brought from Naoned Ker, after parting ways with the fallen knight.

Adder-stone. If worn as a ring, the bearer cannot be attacked by spirits and spectral beings on a successful save and suffers only half damage from poison. On a natural 1, however, the stone shatters.

5.

GLEAMING POOL. Gold gleams from under the surface of this wide pool, like the lure of a trap waiting to be sprung. The pool is surprisingly deep, and the gleam is lost underwater but if the gold is retreived it turns out to be an eyeless helm carrying the face of a newborn.
Dawn helm: AR 2 (Magic 4). The wearer can reduce SPI by one to have the helm shine like the sun for an hour.

6.

PETROGLYPH LAKE. In the middle of a large mire where leafless trees claw at the sky is a small lake, about a bow-shot across. In its midst is a large rock with a single pine, its roots firmly clutching the stone to reach the water below. Between them are hints of petroglyphs, signalling that this place was once of great significance and perhaps is still, for worn ribbons fly from the trunk of the solitary tree.

The lake is haunted by bog-men, who attack at night or during overcast days.
BOGMEN (2d6): HD 4, AR 3 (Magic 4), bronze curveblades (1d6+1d6 magic, brittle: shatters on a natural 1).
+ Loses 1 HD at the beginning of each turn spent above the surface
+ Regains 1 HD for each turn spent submerged
+ Moves through water and mire like it was not difficult terrain

If the petroglyphs are cleared, any character studying them closely can make a WIS roll to understand that they detail sacred rites that can be performed here to gain a spell. Performing the rite takes a full month, after which the character can cast a single spell while standing on the rock, or suffer one permanent wound to memorize it forever.

7.

WYVERN POOL. In this opaque pool lives a Wyvern, poisoning its water and killing those drinking from it.
WYVERN: Huge, HD 5, AR 4, MV 5 (walk/fly/swim), claws: 1d8 (piercing, target it thrown 1d10 squares in random direction) + bite: 1d8 (piercing, poisonous: suffer 1d4 damage per round until aided or successful save).
+ Mesmerizing song: Each 1d4 ronuds, save or be paralyzed until aided.

8.

DEATH KNIGHT CAIRN. A wet trail of mud and molten leaves lead towards a moss-covered cairn, where a death knight sits singing a mournful song by a pool of stale water.

WILKIN OF MONBELAC: Large, HD 7/7, AR 5 (chain +1, poison 6), MV 4, Giant flail (dmg 2d8, knockback, reach 2, area, deathblow)
A knight in ancient armour, dark with rust and dripping with water, carrying a drowned woman on his back and a faint lantern in his belt.

+ Hail of blows: Whenever a character comes within 2" in front of Wilkin, they must evade or be struck by an automatic hit by his flail.
+ Life drain: any character immediately behind the knight must evade or be clasped by the woman on his back, suffering 1d4 poison damage per round and being paralysed until a successful save.
+ Unnatural life: Wilkin has two HD pools. When one pool is reduced to zero Wilkin is downed. Any surplus damage is lost, and all ongoing effects targeting him ends. If for any reason his lantern is put out, he loses 1 HD per round and the woman takes no hostile actions.
+ Return to the water (when downed): When the first HD pool is reduced to 0, Wilkin begins crawling toward the stale pool to gently place his cargo in it. After this, he gains a bonus attack and a free movement each round and the woman fights as a separate character.

DROWNED WOMAN: HD 1, AR 1 (Poison 10), MV 2, corrputing word (dmg 1d12, range, poison: target's skin bisters and rot like old fruits)

Timers

1d4 rounds: Curse. Wilkin lifts his lantern, and the drowned woman lifts her head in great pain and vomits forth a black tangle of seaweed and writhing eels with a terrible scream.
EELS (2d4 tangles): small, HD 0 (2 hp), MV 1d4" random direction, bite (1 dmg poison damage, no armour).

1d6 graves of fallen knights

1.

A large rock, overgrown with ferns. Crushed underneath are the remains of a nameless Knight. The troll that hurled the rock still lairs nearby; ancient and wicked she carries the skull of the dead knight on her club, occasionally swearing at it or ridiculing it.
HAG-TROLL: Huge (2d8), HD 6, AR 3, dmg 1d12 (gt club: knockback, area) or 1d12 (boulder: ranged, 2x2 square area)

+ Mesmerizing song: Each 1d8 turns, save or be paralysed.
+ Regenerates 1HD per round. Immune to magic.

2.

The pine-forest here is quiet, and bones litter the ground. Among the lichen-covered trees lie a heap of toppled stones - all that remain of the once-splendid grave of Byrla the Shield. Each night the dead knight returns to cursed life, intent only on killing. If vanquished, the knight begins hauting again at the next full moon unless the body is placed in hallow soil.
CURSED KNIGHT: HD 5, AR 4, Shield 1d16 (3), dmg 1d8 + 1d6 magic (cursed sword).

+ Unhallowed charge: Each 1d4 rounds, the knight charges 2d4 squares forward and attacks with an impaling strike: target must save or suffer 1d12 magical damage and lose 1d4 Spirit.
+ Fay Shield: The Fay Shield of Byrla protects against all types of damage, and reflects the damage back at the attacker if the shield roll is higher than the damage roll. If taken from Byrla, it breaks and withers on a roll of 1.
+ Cursed: Cannot cross running water, must return to corpse at daybreak.

3.

A solemn stone of pink granite marks the grave of Brathos of Werelden. The inscriptions read "As in life, so in death." A large family of wild boars have partly exhumed the bones through extensive burrowing; curse-stricken, they now hunt for food. The boars secrete a dark oil that turn their manes into porcupine-like quills, and gradually kills the forest surrounding their lair. On the week of a full moon, there is a 1-in-4 chance that Gloso is among them.
QUILLED BOAR (3d4): HD 2, AR 2, MV 9, dmg 2d6
Charge, knock down, disengage

+ Bristles: when evading an attack, the boar deals 1d6 damage to the attacker
+ Death struggle: when reaching 0 hp, the boar immediately makes a melee attack before dropping dead.

GLOSO: Large (1d8), HD 6, AR 4, MV 9, dmg 2d8
Charge, knock down, disengage

+ Poisonous exhale: Each 1d4 rounds, Gloso exhales a cloud of black smoke covering 1d8x1d8 squares. The cloud obscures line-of-sight and dissipates at a rate of 1 square in each direction per round. Everyone in the cloud must save or suffer 1d6 poison damage (no armour).
+ Bristles: when evading an attack, Gloso deals 1d6 damage to the attacker
+ Death struggle: Each 2 HD lost, Gloso immediately makes a melee attack.

4.

A great heap of branches and fallen trees adorned with feathers mark the nest of a huge bear-like creature. Beaked and feathered like an owl, it hunts mainly at night and is at disadvantage in direct sunlight. Tangled in the roots in one of the storm-felled trees are broken human bones, barely held together by fragments of green fabric with gold-tread inlay. This is the remains of a nameless knight. If investigated, a sword can be retrieved from the light-brown soil (as longsword; crit on a 19-20).
OWLBEAST: Large (1d8) HD 4, AR 4, MV 6, dmg 1d8 + knockback (area) or 2d6 + grapple

+ Pounce: Each 1d8 turns, the Owlbeast leaps forward 2d4 squares. All PCs in its path must evade or be pushed forward and suffer 1d6 damage (half protection from armour) as they are crushed under the terrible weight of the landing beast. In addition, the Owlbeast may make a single melee attack with its beak upon landing, dealing 2d6 damage (rending: armour reduced by 1).

5.

In the flooded ruins of a small stone temple lives a tribe of leech-skinned goblins. Inside the temple is the remains of Sir Folming; mummified in the marsh, the goblins have exhumed the body and distorted it into an grim idol.
LEECH-GOBLINS (3d6): Small (-1d8), HD 1, AR 4, mv 6, dmg 1d6 (spear).

+ Pack tactics: Ignores size penalty if outnumbering target
+ Impossible to shake: The goblins gain a +3 bonus to grappling; when the grappling goblin is removed, the grappled character suffers 1d3 damage for each failed attempt to break free from it.

GOBLIN LEADER: Small (-1d8), HD 4, AR 4, Shield 1d4(2), mv 6
dmg 1d8 +1d4 magical (sword)

+ Command: Each 1d8 turns, the leader issues an order and the other goblins must immediately charge towards a target or hurl their spears at a specific target. All goblins must follow the same order, towards the same target.
+ Spear of Folming: the leader uses the head of the mummified knight's spear as a sword. If repaired into a spear, its damage increases to 1d10 + 1d6 magical but any failed attempt will dent the weapon.

6.

The wind carries the sweet fragrance from a glade where butterflies swarm over ever-flowering thorns. In the middle of the glade lies the remains of sir Heaved, peacefully as if resting. If the body is removed, the glade will slowly die but similar flowering thorn-bushes will sprout forth over the course of 1d6 days from all dead matter the body touches until it is placed in hallowed soil.

1d8 horrible wilderness encounters

Things to encounter in the horrible wilderness. Inspired by Goblin Punch, who is always a source of inspiration.

1d8 wilderness encounters

1. A great wolf (4HD, L, claws: 1d6 dmg) with its lower jaw missing, slowly starving to death.

2. A great elk (6HD, H, antlers: 1d6+knockback, trample: +1d6 dmg on charge attacks, mv 8), deformed by bulbous tumours spreading across its body.

3. A sounder of great boars (3HD, L, 2 armour, tusks: 1d6 + knockback, trample: deals +1d6 dmg on charge attacks, mv 9), driven to madness by foot-long leeches gnawing through their pelts (0HD, T, maw: 1 dmg, increasing by +1 per turn).

4. The severed head of a great wolf continues to hunt, moving by force of will (3HD, claws: 1d10 + bad luck: save or all rolls HARD until curse dispelled).

5. A giant bear-like creature (6HD, H, claws: 1d8 dmg + save or 1d6 poison) with a gaping wound in its side. Powerless to stop the gathered crows from eating its exposed flesh, it still lashes out at anyone approaching. Crows (0HD/3hp, S, beaks: 1d4, flurry of feathers: actions are HARD when attacked by the crows). Stuck in the wound is a bronze bog-folk spear: 1d10, long, impaling: prevents the target from using a single ability, for as long as the spear is stuck in their flesh.

6. A decaying unicorn, its white fur falling off in tufts and blood running from its muzzle (6HD, horn: 1d10 + piercing, cursed: a character suffering damage from the unicorn horn has a randomly determined ability deteriorate by -1 each round until successful save or dead, abomination: if killed, all characters gain +1 SPI).

7. A tall woman with raven wings like a trailing cloak of black feathers where her arms should be and skin crawling with parasites. She is capable of short bursts of flight, after which she crashes to the ground in a cascade of black blood and vermin, out of breath. Lady of Decay. 4HD, L, talons: 1d8 + piercing, black vomit: targets 6 squares in straight line, save or 1d6 poison damage, demonic: 2 attacks per round, mv 9. Limited flight: can fly for a single round, then crashes to the ground dealing 1d4 damage + no armour to anyone below and an equal amount to herself, roll 1d8 for scatter to determine her point of impact. Parasites: when the Lady of Decay suffers damage, any adjacent character must evade or be attacked by 1d4 parasites (0HD, T, maw: 1 dmg, increasing by +1 per turn).

8. Lord of Hunger. An albino elk with the face of an old man (8HD, H, antlers: 1d8 + knockdown, trample: +1d6 dmg on charge attacks, breath of flies: 1d6 + save or all actions HARD, range 12/cone, mv 9). It speaks with a tortured voice, offering power in exchange for humanity. If a PC accepts, the Lord drinks a pint of their blood draining their soul of 1d10 SPI. This grants the creature the ability to cast spells and makes it immune to all attacks from the person whose blood it drank until next new moon. If the PC survives, the creature bellows with sudden rage “Now you know!” and sets off to hunt. Until the PCs reach a sanctuary, encounters chances are doubled for wandering monsters.

12 remnants of the Witch King's rule

1 Crucifixion Field. A hundred of old wooden crosses, some standing Ts, others like spokes of a wheel attached to trees, yet others leaning against another or lying crashed to the ground. Yellow bones and torn cloth covers the soil, or sit stuck like grisly trophies on the ash-gray frames.
2 The vanished host. The helmets and harnesses of a great host lie scattered here, as if the soldiers wearing them disappeared into thin air. Thin vines run across the rusty metal like capillaries, the scent of their dark flowers mingling with soot and iron. During storms, lightning strikes here with alarming frequency.
3 Feasting crows. Wicker baskets containing human remains hang from leafless trees.  Crows leap from the branches or sit on the ground, too fat to fly. A small band of goblins are here, ransacking the baskets for anything of value (2d6, 1HD, spears 1d6+poison: save or 1d6 for 1d6 rounds). A tiny silver ring lies in one of the baskets.
4 The Bone construct. A mile-long trail of debris and broken vegetation leads west, ending in a mass of charred bones and corroded copper vaguely resembling a toppled giant. The spirits that once held the construct together have nearly disspated, but their sighs echo like a low drone. Each night the abomination briefly animates again, crawling towards Ys under great agony.
5 Witch-King's Highway. A black road runs like a cruel scar through the land. Built with the relentless trample of iron boots and dread sorcery as its architects, the road cuts unflinching through razed villages and excavated hillsides for miles without a bend. Locals and wildlife both react to those traveling the road with instinctive fear, and prefer not to cross it.
6 Watch tower. A dark watch-tower, its door sealed with lead. If opened, a wind of decay rushes out with a scream (save vs magic or all equipment is dented). Inside is a golden trumpet, which can produce a similar gust if blown.
7 Village of condemned. Circling a crude cross of gray timber are eight wooden houses, built in haste and - it seems from their placement - animosity. The houses live pale ogrish men (4HD, hide, wrought iron spears 1d10, size +1d4) and their hounds (1HD, bite 1d6, close). All of them have faces covered in runes of the Witch-King, and their eyes are gorged out and their tongues cut. An itinerant monk, brother Amfred, is held hostage in hope that his prayers will absolve them of their curse, but their recurrent fits of rage suggest that it is far from done.
8 Sinking village. A small village, abandoned for years, sinking into the swamp. Five ragged women (2HD, bows 1d6, spears 1d8) are resting among the houses, while tracking down a knight golem than killed their husbands to visit their revenge.
9 Abandoned fishing village. Rotting shacks, slowly falling into the gray ocean. Torn nets like spider web between the houses, over a ground yellow with fish bones. In the decrepit houses 4d6 silver-haired children live, soldiers from the Witch King's army (as 1/2HD wolves). Monstrous from war they move like a pack of dogs, raiding and killing whatever they find for food.
10 A sentry. A thin figure, wearing a badly damaged suit of armor (3HD, maille+helm, rusted scimitar: 1d8, fast, demon: 2 actions). Its head is covered by maille and an iron helm, but the silhouette seems too featureless for a human. When it spots the PCs, it lifts a bronze horn in signal, but no sound emerges. All PCs must make a magic save; on a miss their head rings with haunting trumpet blasts as soon as no other sound is heard, making perception checks HARD and making good sleep impossible.
11 Howling soldiers. A pack of howling soldiers (2d6, 4HD, wrought iron over pale flesh, black maces 1d8 + concussion, size +1d4).
12 Knight golem. A rusting knight golem (8HD, plate+helm, giant scimitar: 1d12+bleeding: 1 fatigue/round, demonic: double actions). It moves on all four with animal grace, and reacts to human presence with predatory instincts. Killing it produces a strong blast (1d8, reach 5) but anyone who survives it gains +1d4 SPI. Within it is a thick golden ring (+2 to climbing and jumping checks), that fuels it through some sorcery.

20 forest locations

Untamed wilderness is a staple in many campaigns, yet it is seldom present in encounters or hex keys. This became a problem in my home campaign, where the PCs kept running into people or things constructed by people an awful lot for being alone in the wilderness. So here are 20 locations that are just wilderness: no dead adventurers, no overgrown ruins, no elfin hunting parties - just things that could presumably be there regardless of civilization.

1. A suffocating blanket of spider web covers the land, with only the tallest firs piercing through it. Sounds become muffled and light dim, as countless broken threads fill the air.
2. Elk cemetery. The remains of a hundred elks that have come to die here, remarkably intact as if unmolested by scavengers
3. Hunting ground. Mangled remains of deer and beavers hang from the forking branches of old trees, their stench attracting flies and wasps in the millions.
4. A small pond, only a few feet across, where a large toad is being eaten alive by tadpoles.
5. The forest is silent here, and dead birds litter the ground.
6. For as far as the eye can see all trees stand dead, with lichens like cerements covering their gaunt frames.
7. A wild-fire must have raged here, for the pale birches are charred and broken and the damp ground black with soot. When the wind blows, burnt branches fall in clouds of ash silent save for the muffled thud at impact.
8. A large boulder lies fallen from the skies in the bog. Migrating birds flock around it; incapable of leaving its magnetism, they cackle in fear and confusion or turn to cannibalism as they starve.
9. Under the roots of this old alder lies countless broken skulls, as if the tree grew out of them.
10. Tumorous mushrooms cover the aspens here, draining their life. The air is thick with spores.
11. A dead Auroch. Birds are eating it clear to the bone, but the head remains intact and strangely life-like.
12. A giant wolf lies dead by a pond, apparently drowned. Banded leeches crawl over its body in a futile search for blood.
13. A dying elk lies by a wind-fell. Attacked and abandoned by a predator that took its hind-leg, it brays to its kin in panicked confusion.
14. The alder-trees are crawling with pale larvae that eat their leaves and spin silky cocoons from the naked branches.
15. Black vortices of swarming insects rise and fall over the bog. Anything yellow will attract thousands of them, laying eggs and stinging indiscriminately.
16. The trees stand skeletal under black cormorant nests on a ground made sterile by their droppings.
17. A sinewy vine is piercing the old trees here, slowly toppling them with its strangling grasp.
18. The corpse of a great wyrm, more than twenty paces long. Dead for long, its inherent toxicity have prevented it from being eaten and left it in a half-mummified state.
19. Animal mass-grave. In a crevice lies the bones of countless hares, squirrels and other small animals. All bones are split and the marrow removed, but there is no sign of tools.
20. The hundred-man oak. A gnarled tree, tall as a hundred men. A wyvern (HD7, L, bite 1d10+poison) lives among its branches, poisoning the proud tree with its saliva. Anyone touching the tree must save or be beset by hopelessness causing them to always act last.

1d8 more wilderness encounter locations

For the first set, see here

Roll 1d8
1. Scarp: A steep but low cliff runs across the board. HARD to climb.

2. Abri: A steep but low cliff runs across the board - half of the distance contains a shallow rock shelter. Character under the abri are hidden to all characters above them but easily cornered by other enemies. The cliff is HARD to climb.

3. Giant's kettles: The bedrock surface is here perforated by 2d4 deep, circular holes.

4. Stormthrows: Dead trees lie scattered here, uprooted and broken by storms or the rage of some unknown Giant.

5. Krum-woods: Battered by relentless winds or beset by some curse, the trees here cower behind each other in uneven lines, bent and swollen like rheumatic pilgrims.

6. Stunted forest: The trees here appear old yet curiously small, as if they sprouted directly to senescence. The vegetation blocks line of sight but only to small or crawling characters.

7. Mound: A large circular mound in the middle of the board. Blocks line of sight, and movement is reduced when going uphill.

8. Forking stream: An icy stream or deep ditch runs across the board, forking at the middle. Jumping across is easy, but on a failed roll the character lands off balance and must forfeit the rest of their movement.

1d8 Random encounter locations

Most of these setups are based on locations in Judarskogen, outside Stockholm

I really like Runehammer's videos on room design. The idea of that series is to present a "room", basically a game board or grid's worth of level design, and highlight why it was set up like it was. This makes a lot of sense if you want to play with minis. Setting up a "room" or board takes more time than not doing it and includes carrying and buying extra stuff. So for it to be worthwhile, it must logically add more gameplay than overhead. Therefore, the craft of setting up a board becomes a key GM tool.

That said, there doesn't seem to be much discussion on this topic outside the aforementioned Youtube channel. Maybe this is because most people don't care about grids, or are happy just crafting cool terrain and don't mind just placing it as scatter. But probably, it is also that people who are good at it make set up their boards so instinctively that they no longer think of it as a skill. But for people who - like me - don't fall into any of the above categories, this is an attempt to continue the discussion.

Where does the encounter play out?

Playing on a grid lets you design encounters with a lot of interesting tactical options, with placement, movement, cover, half-hidden details, &c. But since players are free to go where they want and do what they please, most encounters cannot be planned in any great detail. This can create a weird discrepancy between the elaborate set pieces and improvised or random encounters that have very little detail.

As a remedy, I offer 8 dirt-simple setups that adds a twist to your random wilderness encounters.

The PCs start at one edge of the board, the monsters at another. The winner of the first initiative or surprise check decides who starts where, but each side places its own models.

1d8 random encounter locations
Slippery slope: With every move, a character must also move one sq downhill (two if dashing). Moving uphill requires a DEX roll, on a miss the character must use both hands to hold on: attacks against her are EASY.

Thickets: the path runs like an S between thickets. The thickets block line of sight and are so dense that riding or dashing is impossible, and using long weapons &c is HARD.

Criss-crossing paths: several patches of dense forest vegetation. These copses block line of sight from the outside but not for characters looking out from them.

Dark pond: a small but deep pond in the center of the board, just wide enough to be impossible to jump over.

Erratic Rocks: a field of large moss-covered boulders. The boulders are tall enough that it takes a STR roll to climb and DEX roll to avoid damage if falling, and stand close enough to allow jumping between them.

Moraine wall: uneven rocks form a natural wall across the board . DEX to cross.

Ford: A rapid river downstream a ford, running diagonally across the board. Crossing the river outside the ford requires a STR test, on a failure the character is swept downstream to the pond at the far end of the board.

Leading lines: three pairs of statues stand by the edges of a bog. Each pair indicate a leading line where passage is safe and unhindered; a character stepping more than one square out of the line is stuck and must roll STR to get out (EASY with aid, HARD otherwise).