Use the following rules when the PCs come across a random encounter.
In confined environments with limited visibility like dungeons, encounters appear 2d6 × 3m from the PCs when their initial distance is 8 unclear. In the wilderness, large caverns, or other wide-open spaces, they appear 4d6 × 9m away.
In limited visibility environment: 18 m.
In the wilderness or wide-open spaces 72 m.
If an encounter occurs within 25m of the party, the closest PC should make a WIS check against the closest encountered creature. If one side wins by 5 or more, they have surprised the other side. The surprising side will act first in combat and gains a +5 bonus on all combat checks during the first round.
The current activity of the encountered creatures depends on the creature type, environment, etc., but the most important thing is to have them doing more than just waiting for the PCs to arrive. It should feel like they have a life outside of the adventure. Use the table to the right as inspiration or roll on it, ignoring results that don’t make sense.
Rolled Reaction is highlighted in the table