Encounter Locations

Choose compelling settings for your encounters. When encounters take place in a building or space station, the most significant environmental features originate from the occupants, both past and present. Think about their tastes, biology, or wealth. These features could be natural, such as the sickening decay of partially frozen prey in the snow cave of a predator. They could also be chemical, such as a cloud of poisonous gas, or magical, such as a strange electric current that arcs between a computer console and the walls and occasionally leaps out at passersby. In some cases, you'll have a location in which an enemy always appears, and you can design your location to suit that specific creature. Other times, an encounter might appear in a variety of places, such as a security guard or wandering driftdead. In these cases, you'll need several terrain and structure options so there's something interesting about the environment no matter where the battle takes place.