Random Encounters: Weird West Trails

Another installment of my random encounters series. Here are three tables that you can mix and match to create a random encounter for a specific genre in a specific environment, in this case an encounter along the trails in a weird west game.

Creature

1. A talking coyote
2. A group of three skull-faced gunslingers
3. An old preacher carrying a cross made of a strange black metal that hurts your eyes to look at
4. A snake-oil salesman with a cartful of tonics, elixirs, and cure-alls
5. A Native American trader beset by bandits
6. A crying child sitting beside the trail, covering its face

Environment feature

1. A wagon is tipped over in the middle of the trail
2. In the midst of a dust storm
3. The trail passes through a high, narrow, curving canyon
4. A stone pillar casts an ominous shadow across the trail
5. The trail curves along a cliff, hundreds of feet from the hard ground below
6. The trail passes through a small ghost town

Surprise

1. A stampede of longhorns appears from around the bend
2. A mob of spectral soldiers rises from the earth to drive off those who disturb their rest
3. U.S. Marshals ride up on horseback, tracking a band of outlaws
4. A cacophony of howling voices arrives on a cold, biting wind
5. The area temporarily melts into a horrifying dreamscape
6. Hidden outlaws spring an ambush