Random Encounters

Darkspawn, mercenaries, blood mages, and even dragons swarm the countryside. Once you leave the safety of a secured Vigil's Keep, you always have a chance to run across wild creatures or important story moments through random encounters. There are two types of random encounters: static and repeatable. Static encounters are set story moments that trigger during certain points in your travels. In the absence of a static encounter there's a 30 percent chance of a repeatable encounter. See the next page for repeatable encounter tables, which outline the likelihood of creatures in each terrain type.

Most encounters involve enemy numbers much greater than your party's size. Don't forget your standard battle tactics: warrior tanking the toughest foes, rogues dishing out damage wisely, mage blasting out AoE damage or timely healing. Use the terrain to your advantage. Cover can shield you from ranged fire, and obstacles such as fences and rocks can minimize flanking attempts. In the encounters where it's not a pure hack-and-slash battle royale, think about consequences of your actions and what appeals most to your style of play and character's personality.

Always prepare for a fight on the road. The worst feeling is finishing off a major quest, then trying to limp back across the world, only to be smashed by a random encounter. Save before traversing the land in case of disaster, heal back to full before traveling, and don't let up even a bit when you see the small squad of darkspawn over the hill.

For each random encounter, the enemy numbers and makeup are random. For example, you may encounter four melee bandits and two archers one time, and in the next bandit random encounter, you may run into six melee bandits and one archer. Treasure is also randomly assigned.

Static Encounters

Forest Encounters

Canyon Encounters

Beach Encounters

Farm Encounters