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Other (feel free to post about it)

[Jimmy]

Really, half of those could be sidequest plot hooks.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you played a game where, instead of 1d4+2 goblins for a random encounter, you were introduced to a potential sidequest plot? I know that would be far more interesting for me as a player, especially if you're already on some important quest and you have to choose between finishing it or racing off to explore this new interesting thing. I can foresee a trail of half completed quests behind me as my character gets distracted by some new curiosity.

[Kadzar]

100) A local magistrate's carriage explodes as he is walking toward it from his house.
101) You see a carriage speeding down the street in your direction. Shrouded figures all wearing robes of the same color lean out the sides, brandishing wands of fire.
102) Two gangs of local toughs, numbering about three dozen on each side, seem to be about to initiate combat in the streets, though neither side appears to be quite up to charging the other. Their leaders keep yelling unconvincing taunts at one another.

103) Two rival gangs of bards face off in the streets, dancing and snapping their fingers in unison at each other.

[BlackFlyme]

There's a literal gang war between two groups of Monks in a major city in Pathfinder because they were tasked with keeping a portal closed, and a few centuries later a group decided they wanted to open it to see what's inside, because the original Monks were never actually told what they were protecting the portal for.

[Bohandas]

Howzabout desert encounters next?

1.) Sandstorm
2.) Banditos
3.) Fey operated/haunted oasis
5.) That cactus is following you
6.) Inexplicable and incongrous rainstorm limited to a single 30 foot radius
7.) Ghost riders in the sky chasing after flying fiendish cattle
8.) You come across a large and garish city starkly out of place in the waterless desert
9.) You trip over the tip of an ancient pyramid (or a temple or a sphynx or whatever) almost completely buried in the sand
10.) A skeletal animal plods thoughtlessly across the terrain; as oblivious to the fact that it is dead as it is to everything else.
11.) You encounter a genie who is highly distrustful of spellcasters.
12.) A horde of marauders in garishly decorated vehicles. Their banter indicates that they are part of some sort of deranged cult
13.) A mirage intensifies into a series of powerful illusions which entrance you. If everyone fails their saves you come to in the clutches of a group of deranged wizards who want to remove your brains
14.) A crashed derilect spelljammer is actually a trap. It sstill works and it's owner is still there with a bunch of snakes and tries to rob you.


(Yes I'm aware that I've mixed American, Middle Eastern, and Austrailian themes here. So sue me.)

[Kadzar]

15.) You come across a group of three humanoids standing in a circle with crossbows pointed at each other.
16.) A group of people are crawling along the group, silently calling out for water.
17.) A trade caravan
18.) A market stall, set up right in your path, with some interesting wares for sale
19.) A group of people, at least one has a map and navigational instruments, at least one is waving a crossbow in their general direction
20.) A war party on the march. They wear no armor because of the heat.
21.) A tribe of nomadic iguanafolk have set up camp nearby
22.) Sandworm!
23.) Sandworms!

[Rolan7]

24) !!SANDWORMS!!

[MrRoboto75]

25.)  An old man who leads a train of three wagons along with some crew.  He is obsessed with hunting a certain white landshark.
26.)  A mirage of an oasis or something else nice
27.)  As 26, but the mirage is a trap created by an illusionist.  He feels the party is encroaching on his land, or wronged him somehow.

[Bohandas]

28.) Reptilefolk of one variety or another basking on the rocks
29.) A group of women, one of them a mid level ranger, flees the cult that controls he area surrounding a nearby oasis

EDIT:

30.) A deranged man who believes you are somehow responsible for the desert being a wasteland contonually contacts and harasses you through spells and constructs
31.) Confused vultures peck at some zombies

[Harry Baldman]

32) A rainstorm hits the area you are in, the first in over a decade. The ground comes alive as long-dormant life exploits this priceless opportunity.
33) A trail of scorpions stretches across your path. It extends from your left to your right as far as the eye can see.
34) You see an oasis in the distance. It appears to have caught fire.
35) A shack constructed of bones stands before you. Inside lives a sociable demon eager for company.
36) A bleached skeleton in rags hails you as you walk through the desert, silently offering you its waterskin.
37) As night falls, you see something flash three times on the horizon. After a minute, something flashes twice some distance to the left.
38) A man dressed in black leather wanders in the distance, trailed by a naked boy.
39) You find the desiccated corpse of a man on the way, not a mark on him. Next to his body is a half-full waterskin.
40) An ancient blue dragon dives out of the sand right next to you, trying to give you a good scare before flying off laughing.
41) A man tries to sell you a suit of armor that is said to help conserve water by the indigenous folk.
42) A naturally mummified druid sits in a sacred grove of welwitschias.
43) You come across a circular salt pan. At the center of it stands a small tent.

[nullBolt]

By the way, am I the only one getting tired of Pathfinder? The feats and overdesign of the systems just rub me completely the wrong way now. D&D5E is better in some regards but I've just been playing OSR systems instead.

Desert Adventures
44) As you start to get ready to sleep for the night, the party comes across a circus in the middle of the desert. There are all various sorts of entertainment on offer and they offer very comfortable sleeping tents. Is it mundane? Is it demonic? Is it fae?

Find out next time, on the roleplaying chronicles.

[Jimmy]

45. You see a castle made of sand
46. Ahead the sand abruptly ends, replaced by a smooth field of glass
47. Along your path appears two sets of footprints in the sand; wherever the terrain gets difficult, only one set can be seen
48. A tent city of gnomes is ahead, the inhabitants erecting some massive mechanical pumping machine
49. At regular spaces ahead, dark holes appear to sink into the ground, at least ten feet across each
50. A polar bear appears from behind a sand dune, looking out of place and lost, not to mention dehydrated and malnourished

[Dutrius]

51. It starts to hail. (This is possible.)
52. You start to get the feeling that a cactus is following you. Dammit! Didn't see that it had already been done.
52. A small, glowing rock hits the ground a foot away, creating a small crater. If you are wearing iron or steel armour, it jumps out of the sand and sticks to your armour. You can not pull it off.
53. You come across sand made from crushed gemstones.
54. You come across an abandoned flying carpet. It is completely inert.
55. You are startled when an incredibly fast bird runs past.
56. The sand starts humming.
57. You find a half buried wooden beam, similar to one you'd find in the roofs of a city. It is covered in burn marks.
58. You find a 5000 year old oak tree, maintained by a dryad who has been here since before the land was a desert.
59. You spot people on wooden boards sliding down a sand dune.
60. A djinn swats you with a palm tree.

[scriver]

54. You come across an abandoned flying carpet. It is completely inert.

So... it's an ordinary carpet? More lying than flying? More lying than flying?

[Dutrius]

It was a flying carpet.

[SOLDIER First]

61) A very strange person wearing completely unfitting clothing for the environment. They have about seven different firearms all over them, plus an enormous assortment of mostly useless items in their backpack. A strange magical device is set upon their wrist that nobody has seen before. A spherical robot is with them.
 Pick one:
 61a) The person attacks as soon as they come into range.
 61b) The person attempts to rob everyone when they aren't looking.
 61c) The person attempts to rob everyone by threatening you.
 61d) The person attempts to buy everyone's gear off of them. They have an enormous sum of money on hand.
 61e) The person greets everyone politely, proceeds to have a pleasant conversation with you, and walks away, whistling merrily.
 61f) The person mutters something about a "wild wasteland" as they pass and ignores everyone.