CreatureEncounters

When player charactersenter areas keyed on the referee’s map that contain beings or plants that arelikely to respond to their presence, there will be an encounter. The results ofthis encounter will depend upon what is encountered and the referee’sdiscretion.[1]

When players aretraveling through large areas of unexplored wilderness terrain – on a worldthat has flora and fauna, the referee should check for random animal encountersonce each day and night by rolling a single ten-sided die. A roll of 1 or 0indicates an encounter.

If the adventurers areon the move and covering a certain distance during the time period when theencounter occurs, an appropriate die roll should be cast to determine what timethis happens at. The exact location and terrain can be decided on by thereferee.

As noted in Section I,there is a chance that the creature(s) may surprise the characters, requiringan Intuition check. This check would be modified by the terrain and thecreature’s natural camouflage abilities (if any). For example, a predatorstalking a character will know how to move stealthily, but a giant,dinosaur-like herbivore with the bulk to defend itself, may serenely munch onits food, ignoring the characters unless they approach too close or cause adisturbance.

It is important for areferee to play the roles of creatures encountered in such a way to challengethe ingenuity of the players.

CreatureReactions

A creature's reaction to a character dependson the animal's temperament and what thecharacter does. The creature may be naturally timid, curious or aggressive; it maybe hungry, or it might have just eaten. A character can affect the creature's reactionby ignoring it, coaxing it with food, or frightening it with fire, loud noisesor flashes of light

Since not all encountersresult in combat, the Creature Encounter Reaction Table provides a generic basefor whether or not a creature will try to attack. Roll a d100 and match theresult to the type of creature being encountered – carnivores, omnivores or herbivores.The result can be modified by various factors found in the  Animal Reaction Modifier Table.

The referee should also consider the following:

Intelligence. Intelligent creatures will not befrightened by a burning torch, clanging frying pans, etc. Creatures with lowintelligence, however, might be easily startled or frightened away by theseactions.

Experience. A creature is less likely to be afraid of somethingit has seen before, unless the previous experience was very painful orfrightening.

Size. Large creatures often are harder to frighten then small ones.(Also see Target Size).

Type. Carnivores tend to be more aggressive and harder to frightenthan herbivores, which tend to be timid. Omnivores tend to be curious.

Temperament. If a creature is naturally aggressive, it mayattack creatures much larger than itself with very little fear. Timid creaturestry to avoid fighting whenever they can.

Is the creature a loner ora pack/herd/flocking animal? Is the animal hungry, thirsty or sleepy?

Motivation. Any creature that fights has a reason for fighting.Even naturally shy and weak creatures may fight savagely to defend their lair,their territory or their young. Those that are cornered or wounded, sensing thatthey must fight or die, often fight ferociously and without fear.

Some creatures are notterritorial. Others have a large territory, or it changes with the seasons, orits territorial area is only its den or nest. Does it mark or patrol itsterritory?

How does a creature defendits territory? These factors could include:

·        Onlydefends against its own kind?

·        Defenseagainst one sex only?

·        Excludesone type of species or all intruders?

·        Onlyone sex defends the territory?

·        Whenattacking intruders, the creature is content to drive them away?

·        Orwhen it attacks intruders, it will try to kill them?

·        Willit will defend its territory until dead?[2]

Other Factors. A referee has to keepin mind a few other factors when determining how a creature will reactincluding:

·        Acharacter is alone. This will make carnivores and omnivores even more curiousand willing to attack. Herbivores may be more bold too.

·        Acharacter is in a group. There can be safety in numbers.

·        Acharacter is injured. Carnivores and omnivores will be more willing to go afteran injured character – even if the character is in a group. Herbivores mayignore or even trample an injured creature.

·        Day/Nightfactors: creatures more prevalent in the daytime may be sleeping at night andvice versa. The presence of a campfire may keep creatures away, but the presenceof food in open or easy to reach containers will attract some animals such asrodents or even bear-like omnivores.

·        Wildernessversus cultivated areas: Creatures in a wilderness will be more bold in theirenvironments but more skittish in regions that have been “civilized.”

·        Creatures’previous experiences with hunting/weapons/robots and vehicles.

Characters are riding in a vehicle; the vehicle is muchlarger or smaller than the creature. While an animal like a Volturnus rollermight stampede an explorer that gets too close to the herd, a sand shark wouldprobably ignore a character riding on a hover cycle.