In Dungeons & Dragons, besides taverns and caverns, a forest is one of the most common places for an adventuring party to end up in. However, Dungeon Masters might find it difficult as to what exactly to put in a forest. It's one of those select places in a fantasy world where practically anything could fit in it, but with such an overabundance of choice, anything doesn't really help when you need something.
It can really be challenging to figure out the specifics of what you should throw at your party in a place as vast and wild as a forest without it being whatever quest has led them there. Could it be just your average run-of-the-mill monsters? Or do you want to have something more interesting up your sleeve? Well, in that case, we've got you covered with some random encounters curated specifically for any forest for you to put in your games.
10 Enter Three Witches
A lot of being a Dungeon Master is just taking ideas from your favourite media and using them in your games. This isn't a bad thing, after all, art inspires. However, it doesn't even have to be video games that can inspire your D&D game. Take Macbeth for example.
What better way to sow some discord among your party than when they encounter three witches lurking in the shadows who decide to give hints about the possible future? This kind of encounter would need to know about the player's backstories, so read up about them and let the witches stir the pot by giving vague prophecies of possible futures.
9 We Didn't Start The Fire
Nothing is simple for an adventuring party, so when you have them roll a Perception check for the scent of smoke deep in the forest, they know something is coming. For this encounter, the party will come across the start of a forest fire — what started it is up to you.
Could it be some sign of an impending attack from some bandits that started the fire to draw some attention and spring an attack? Is it the fault of some wizard who summoned a Fire Elemental but has lost control over them as they indirectly burn the forest through touch alone? Or perhaps it's something more dangerous like a dragon that wishes to smoke the party out?
8 A Traveller Out Of Time
As a Dungeon Master, you're bound to create all sorts of wild and wonderful characters that dot the world. Many of these NPCs will be met by your players through encounters, whether it's a wounded knight who needs some healing, a bickering couple along the road, or perhaps a strange traveller in need of directions. This encounter is one to stretch the role-playing muscles of both Dungeon Master and players.
Create an NPC, likely of magical means who has been sent forward in time fifty or so years and is trying to figure out a way to go back. How the party reacts to this peculiar meeting and what happens when the NPC disappears after a while will surely be entertaining to watch.
7 Some Fey Fun
For every great forest, there also tends to be a great amount of Fey who could be lingering around. Forests tend to be a place where the barriers between the Material Plane and the Feywild are at their weakest, so of course, there's nothing wrong with having characters stumble across a party of fairies, elves, satyrs, and other fair folks.
A party can also be a chance for players to short rest and have some merriment without needing a town, especially as a way to relax after a grand adventure.
6 Guardians Of The Greenery
Like Fey, forests can have all sorts of spirits. What better way to test your party than to have a spirit of the forest show up? Now since it's your game, a "forest spirit" could really be anything from an Earth Elemental to a satyr to just a plain old druid.
Having a spirit appear just as players enter the forest and demanding a trial by them, whether by combat or riddles or something else entirely, is also a nice way to flesh out your world and give the environment some interesting backstory.
5 The Aimless Amateurs
Most of us have all been lost at some point in our lives, but thankfully in the modern world, we have GPS. The same can't be said for a low-level adventuring party that was going on their first big quest, became lost, and bound to stumble upon your party. Here, you can have some fun with your own players by meeting a young adventuring party who is trying and failing to get somewhere in the forest.
This is a great and wholesome encounter that can have your players remember when they were starting out back in the day. These characters could even return later down the line when they get stronger, being a nice call back for the group.
4 This Was Once A Home
The things you come across when playing D&D can be whatever tone you want, though this definitely errs more towards the creepy side. Your players will find an abandoned shack far off in the middle of the woods, to the point where it's odd why anyone would live so far away from a town or road. As the players investigate, you can leave clues about a family that lived here, with writings of odd hauntings that occurred shortly before they "disappeared."
You should try to make sure that not every question is answered, perhaps leaving out how these people suddenly disappeared or some other mystery that will never be solved. Either way, if you want to create a spooky atmosphere, this is a great way to do it.
3 Who Let The Experiments Out?
From glowing eyes to acid drooling from the maw, what happens when your party runs into a pack of altered wolves? These wolves have clearly been the subject of some experiments and are rabid enough to attack the first thing they see — in this case, your adventuring party.
Don't be afraid to switch things up, maybe rolling on an encounter table to see what other animals could be that attackers This is a fun way to add a unique flair to combat, instead of simply saying "an animal finds the party and attacks," leaving questions that the party can try and answer.
2 Bonding Bandits
When you say bandit, players will usually think of some cut-throat thief about to rob the party. However, that's where this encounter comes in to dismiss everything players assume about bandits. They might come across a camp of them, sitting around a fire and having what looks to be some sort of therapy. A corpse lies on the ground with an axe in its head.
Seemingly, the bandits had enough and confronted their leader over this life of crime before it escalated, and they decided to dispatch them. Now, the bandits are together, talking about their emotions and wondering how they're going to move forward from a life of crime to normalcy. Will the party be able to help them out? Or will they assume this is a trap and attack them anyway?
1 A Cursed Campfire
Your party has been bored stiff as they travel for days, struggling through the dirt and filth of the wilderness when you spot a campfire. However, it's not just any campfire, but one that has been recently lit, strewn with supplies, with nobody else around. This is a specific sort of encounter for players who are travelling for a long time and are struggling. Here, as a DM, you can give them some reprieve by offering this odd campfire with supplies such as water skins, rations, and other items to help the travels.
However, there's a cost: each item they take is cursed in some unique way. You can maybe roll on the Wild Magic surge table to see what effects could happen or make up your own effect if they take or consume any of the items. It could be cruel, but it's also a great way to show the harshness of the wild, even in a fantasy setting.