Random Encounters: Unexplored Sci-Fi World

Three tables! That's right, just three tables are all you need to generate a random sci-fi encounter on an unexplored world. Don't believe me? Roll on the tables yourself! Combine the results and you'll be ready for your PCs to beam down and start exploring.

Creature

1. Massive furry herbivore and her babies
2. A pack of agile predators hunting by stealth
3. Peaceful natives with superior intellect
4. Wild-eyed survivor of a previous expedition
5. Clusters of sentient plants that track movement
6. Friendly doglike creatures, apparently tame

Environment feature

1. Thick, heavy, indigo underbrush with barbed thorns
2. A constant geyser of boiling water
3. A pool of water that echoes with laughter
4. A river of molten rock churns through the area
5. Clouds of poisonous gas hang in the air, drifting at random
6. Gravity here is much heavier than standard

Surprise

1. A giant predator arrives, looking for its next meal
2. An enormous boulder plummets to the ground from somewhere high above
3. Winged humanoids arrive, armed to the teeth
4. The area is actually the back of a titanic creature that is awakening
5. An unknown starship passes close overhead
6. The creature dissolves into a puddle of purplish goo


In doing these tables, it occurred to me that you could incorporate pretty much any creature, any natural environment feature, and any surprise into an unexplored sci-fi world.