Maybe you’ve been inspired by Dune, or maybe you love Egyptian mythology- for whatever reason, you’ve decided to set your players into the treacherous realm of endless sands. These tables are here to provide you with inspiration or random encounters to drop on your players and add some more life to the Desert environments in your worlds!
Sources
Each encounter focuses on a monster from throughout the D&D 5e library; to see what book or source they come from, you can consult the Book column. The sources unabbreviated sources are Basic Rules (BR), Monster Manual (MM), Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (MPMM), Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (RoF), Out of the Abyss (OoA), Volo’s Guide to Monsters (VGM), and Storm King’s Thunder (SKT).
Desert Random Encounters
The following table provides random encounters for parties playing in various “tiers” of gameplay; they generally reflect encounters you can sculpt to work for tables within a level range. The Low-tier can work for levels 1-4, Mid-tier for levels 5-11, and the Upper-tier for levels 12+.
Low-Tier Adventuring Random Encounter Table
| d20 | Book | Encounter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BR | 2d4+1 camels and their two commoner handlers traveling between cities |
| 2 | BR | 1d6+2 hyenas picking the remains of a pair of camels |
| 3 | BR | A flying snake familiar traveling with a message to its illusionist master |
| 4 | BR | 1d6+3 blue kobolds who’ve built an elaborate warren into a rock structure |
| 5 | MPMM | A pack of 1d4+3 young kruthik hunting game beneath the sands |
| 6 | BR | A giant poisonous snake fighting a sandy giant lizard for survival |
| 7 | BR | A band of 1d4+4 dust mephits causing dust storms over a popular trade route |
| 8 | BR | 1d4+3 gnolls and their trained giant hyena laying in ambush behind dunes |
| 9 | MM | Three jackalweres cursed to roam the sands beyond their home’s walls |
| 10 | BR | 1d6+1 giant spiders lying in wait within an ancient structure’s stairwell |
| 11 | BR | A bandit riding a giant vulture scouting for easy marks for their company |
| 12 | MPMM | Four stone cursed guarding a temple on the shores of a now-dried river |
| 13 | MM | 1d4+1 thri-kreen scouts, one who has psionics, leading their nomadic people |
| 14 | MM | A yuan-ti pureblood escorted by its d4+1 gnoll slaves back to their secret oasis |
| 15 | MPMM | 1d4+2 yuan-ti broodguards protecting an entrance to their underground temple |
| 16 | BR | A giant scorpion ravaging a caravan |
| 17 | BR | A lone wandering mummy, aimlessly shambling across the desert for eternity |
| 18 | MM | A yuan-ti malison and its snake returning from a successful assassination |
| 19 | MPMM | A blue guard drake and 1d4+1 blue winged kobolds moving a glowing crystal |
| 20 | MPMM | 1d6+3 gnoll witherlings, bones tattered and scarred from sand erosion |
Mid-Tier Adventuring Random Encounter Table
| d12 | Book | Encounter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BR | A lamia and its 2d4+1 dust mephit servants conjured to defend it |
| 2 | MM | Three yuan-ti mailsons, one of each type, dragging a bound sacrifice |
| 3 | BR | Two dust devils summoned to destroy a market |
| 4 | MPMM | 1d4+1 yuan-ti mind whisperers and a yuan-ti nightmare speaker |
| 5 | MM | Three psionic thri-kreen and 1d4+5 thri-keen warriors hunting the party |
| 6 | MPMM | A kruthik hive lord and 2d4+3 young kruthiks defending their territory |
| 7 | MPMM | Two spawn of kyuss dragging themselves through the desert seeking food |
| 8 | MPMM | 1d4+1 tincalli sentinels defending their pass from trespassers |
| 9 | BR | An injured young brass dragon hiding from a young blue dragon it lost to |
| 10 | MM | A yuan-ti abomination leading 1d4+2 yuan-ti purebloods to infiltrate a caravan |
| 11 | MPMM | Two scarred rot trolls tasked with guarding an ancient ritual site |
| 12 | MPMM | Three summer eladrin seek a nexus of elemental magic |
Upper-Tier Adventuring Random Encounter Table
| d12 | Book | Encounter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BR | A guardian naga and its two earth elemental guards defending a sacred oasis |
| 2 | BR | 1d4+2 efreeti looking for a breach between planes to enable an invasion |
| 3 | BR | A gynosphinx protecting a pyramid to keep the mummy lord trapped within |
| 4 | MMPM | A yuan-ti anathema and its 1d4+2 yuan-ti abomination warrior servants |
| 5 | BR | A mummy lord and 2d6+2 mummies protecting a trove of gold and jewels |
| 6 | BR | A purple worm devastating a city from below |
| 7 | MPMM | A phoenix and a cult of 3d6+3 thri-keen worshippers using it to ravage a town |
| 8 | MM | An adult blue dracolich commanding a army of 3d20+6 skeletons |
| 9 | BR | An androsphinx tasked with protecting a mythic artifact from evildoers |
| 10 | BR | An ancient blue dragon who rules the desert with crackling power |
