History Main / RandomEncounters

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They were invented for {{tabletop RPG}}s and are reasonably common there. The original rationale was that as characters crossed a world map with each square representing half a day's march, they could reasonably expect to meet a pack of wild animals or band of highwaymen every few days or so (the practical reason was to get players TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot without obsessively checking behind literally every rock, shrub, and [[AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair chair]] that they might encounter on the way). But in some games it seems you can't walk ten feet down a narrow dungeon hallway without getting ambushed by a somewhat illogical combat encounter with nine mummy wizards.

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' [[GenreDeconstruction deconstructs the idea]] by making the encounters in any area finite. As such, it's possible to kill every monster before moving on. Doing things puts you on the game's "No Mercy" path, wherein the remaining monsters are terrified of you. Alternatively, you can [[SheatheYourSword spare the monsters]] and befriend them. By doing so you don't get EXP [[note]][[KarmaMeter Execution Point]][[/note]], but you may get gold dropped by monsters.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has a variation of this - there are multiple pre-determined points that can spawn random random and/or special encounters, and walking close enough to them will cause an encounter to be randomly picked off a list and spawn. The random encounters are typically attacks by raiders or mercenaries (which mercenaries you get depends on your Karma; Mister Burke will hire evil Talon Company mercs to assassinate a Good character, while the freelance cops called Regulators will take it upon themselves to put an Evil character down), while Special Encounters run the gamut from two wasters fighting over a refridgerator full of clean water to a flying saucer exploding overhead. This is a mixed bag, as some impressive equipment can be withheld from the player at random (the aforementioned UFO, for example, drops a unique laser pistol that sets the target on fire), or cause tough encounters to spawn very early (as anyone who's had the "wounded [[BossInMooksClothing Deathclaw]]" spawn in front of the Super Duper Mart you visit around level 4 can tell you).

* ''SigmaStarSaga'' for the GBA justifies this trope. Your allies have unmanned ships flying around above, and when they see something they don't like, they get spooked and summon up the nearest available pilot to help.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 2}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 3}}'' had an interesting variation on this called "Migrant Points". Just before a random encounter, you would be alerted and given the chance to skip the battle by spending Migrant Points (which could be restored by fighting battles or picking up crystals). At higher levels, you could even skip low-level encounters for free. This system was also used in the remake of ''[[VideoGame/WildArms1 Wild ARMs]]'', ''Alter Code F''.
** ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 4}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Wild ARMs 5}}'' allow you to turn off random encounters in a particular area after you've "cleared" a save point (usually by fighting a battle of some kind).

* There's a reason why ''VideoGame/MOTHER1'' is considered the [[OddballInTheSeries black sheep]] in the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' trilogy, and that's due largely in part to the numerous (almost never-ending) random encounters thrust upon the player. Combine that with generally being NintendoHard, and...
** The random encounter rate in ''MOTHER 1'' is ridiculous... when you didn't want to level up. You'd fight every two or three steps.

* ''The7thSaga'' has a variant: you can see random encounters in a crystal ball located in the upper left of the screen, allowing you to dodge them in theory. In practice, they're so fast and numerous that you can't avoid them, and [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard they move through walls to catch you]].

* In ''KingdomHearts'', random encounters are justified by having TheHeartless drawn irresistibly towards keyblades and their wielders. They are then subverted entirely, because on any given world, TheHeartless always appear in exactly the same place every time. What kinds of Heartless appear, however, changes as you progress.

* ''{{Suikoden}}'' games are fairly reasonable with the Random Encounters in general, but the [[SuikodenIV fourth game]] has rather high encounter rate to the point of frustrating. The encounter rate in ''SuikodenTierkreis'' is nowhere as bad as the former, but it can be annoying as well.

* ''{{Quest64}}'' had a great many of these, to the point of a battle every few steps.

* ''CrisisCore'' has random battle hot spots - locations on the map where random battles occur. In narrow areas with defined rooms they usually trigger once per room assuming you enter and leave the area immediately. If you stay in one of these rooms, they don't stop. In locations without rooms (like outside), they can trigger as often as once every other step.
* ''PhantasyStarIV'' actually subverted the "Timmy gets missed by all the dangerous monsters" bit when you take a sidequest to find a lost child. One actually ''got'' him, but you fortunately manage to beat the monster and rescue him before he gets digested.

* ''DigimonWorld3'''s encounter rate doesn't have any balance at all, to the point where you may be able to run across an entire sector without encountering a single enemy, only to encounter an enemy every two steps in the next sector.
* The original [[{{BreathOfFire}} Breath of Fire]] has a pretty ridiculous encounter rate, even when held against other similar games. The developers must have realized this, since they included a merchant in the ''very first town'' that sells [[{{EncounterRepellant}} Monster-repelling marbles]]. Smart players should stock up immediately for the sake of their sanity.
* ''VideoGame/GargoylesQuest'' had a small but interesting twist - it was a typical role-playing game, but walking around in the world during overhead view had a chance to throw you into an action/platforming battle sequence with some mooks. Significant because it was more engaging than the typical turn-based battles, and not many [[{{RPG}} RPGs]] at the time had a system like this. Being a spin-off of Ghosts and Goblins, the platformer levels played in the same way as those games.

* ''Byteria Saga: Heroine Iysayana'' has random battles on the world map and in a few special dungeons. Version 1.0 of Chapter One (the game had originally been [[EpisodicGame episodic]]) had them in all dungeons, but a new version with enemy sprites appeared some months later.

* ''SlaveMaker'' has random encounters whenever your slave went for a walk. There are some determining factors, such as stats and time of day, but for the most part, who you encounter and what happens is pretty random.

* ''SwordOfTheStars'' has the Unknown Menaces. Some, such as Von Neumans, Silicoids, and System Killers are persistent once randomly generated and will attack multiple systems until destroyed.

* ''SilentStorm'' has these on the map in real-time. The frequency and types of encounters are dependent on the current region. Some appear for up to a minute, while others show up for only a few seconds. Two of the rarer kind of encounters are of note. One pits you against an enemy squad, commanded by a Japanese officer (in Western Europe!). Killing him nets you his shurikens and [[KatanasAreBetter katana]]. Another encounter involves a [=UFO=], surrounded by [=THO=] troops in [[PoweredArmor Panzerkleins]]. Additionally, an [[GameBreaker energy rifle]] can be found near the craft that is the über version of the single-shot energy weapon carried by some [=THO=] troops, as it has [[MoreDakka full auto]] and a 50-shot power cell. That cell can then be taken back to the base and replicated for use by the said rifle, as well as energy cannon Panzerkleins. The energy rifle is an obvious ShoutOut to ''{{X-Com}}''.

** ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' Magazine had a legendary AprilFools Edition with an innovative alternative to RandomEncounters: the "Wandering Damage" table. Since the wandering monsters are the indirect means for a Dungeon Master to deal damage to the player party, [[YouFailLogicForever why not cut out the middleman]] and [[KillerGameMaster deal damage to them directly?]] ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' reproduces the rules [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0524.html here]].

** It should be noted the ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' not only had an item to reduce random encounters (called the White Map), but also a "Black Map" that ''increased'' them as well. One wonders why...
*** The Black Map had a special ability that prevented any enemies in battle from running away. Needless to say, this was essential if you wanted to fight Loopers. Other then that though....
** However, it's somewhat averted later, once you get a special upgrade for your CoolShip you can fly above or below the clouds, thus ''completely'' eliminating random encounters.

* The ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series played with this now and then, particularly in ''Wing Commander Privateer'', and in the {{F|ullMotionVideo}}MV-based games.

-->--'''''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'''''

Subtrope of RandomEvent. Contrast PreExistingEncounters, a specific aversion where enemies can be seen (and avoided) on the field, and FairyBattle, a variation where the random encounter isn't hostile but actually helps the player along. See also EncounterBait and EncounterRepellant for the mechanics of adjusting the rate of encounters, as well as EscapeBattleTechnique, for the mechanics of avoiding them once they've started. Compare BigLippedAlligatorMoment, where as that trope is about a single random occurrence that goes unmentioned, this trope covers repeating events that are rarely, if ever, mentioned by the story. Has a pinch of ButThouMust, because players trying to EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame can find this infuriating.

* In the ''BaldursGate'' series, random encounters only occurred when transitioning between wilderness areas; all other battles were predictable. The voice dramatically intoning "you have been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself" as a sort of FightWoosh in the eight hour journeys between areas quickly became frustrating to the enterprising player.

** Dragon Magazine had a legendary April Fools Edition with an innovative alternative to RandomEncounters: the "Wandering Damage" table. Since the wandering monsters are the indirect means for a Dungeon Master to deal damage to the player party, [[YouFailLogicForever why not cut out the middleman]] and [[KillerGameMaster deal damage to them directly?]] ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' reproduces the rules [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0524.html here]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' deconstructs the idea by making the encounters in any area finite. As such, it's possible to kill every monster before moving on. Doing things puts you on the game's "No Mercy" path, wherein the remaining monsters are terrified of you.

Subtrope of RandomEvent. Contrast PreExistingEncounters, a specific aversion where enemies can be seen (and avoided) on the field, and FairyBattle, a variation where the random encounter isn't hostile but actually helps the player along. See also EncounterBait and EncounterRepellant for the mechanics of adjusting the rate of encounters, as well as EscapeBattleTechnique, for the mechanics of avoiding them once they've started. Compare BigLippedAlligatorMoment, where as that trope is about a single random occurrence that goes unmentioned, this trope covers repeating events that are rarely, if ever, mentioned by the story.

They were invented for {{tabletop RPG}}s and are reasonably common there. The original rationale was that as characters crossed a world map with each square representing half a day's march, they could reasonably expect to meet a pack of wild animals or band of highwaymen every few days or so (the practical reason was to get players TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot without obsessively checking behind literally every rock, shrub, and [[AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair chair]] that they might encounter on the way). But nowadays it seems you can't walk ten feet down a narrow dungeon hallway without getting ambushed by a somewhat illogical combat encounter with nine mummy wizards.

* ''VideoGame/{{Drakkhen}}'' was notorious for this. Moving around ''anywhere'' in the overworld, every few seconds you would get random encounters with exceedingly deadly monsters, which made navigating it and traveling between dungeons a royal pain in the ass. Hell, even if you were just standing still and minding your own beeswax, something might decide to jump out of nowhere and annihilate you.

* ''ShiningInTheDarkness''

* The D&D random encounter table is parodied in ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic'', in which a die roll in the GodGame leads to a rather angry troll ''spontaneously teleporting'' to directly in front of Rincewind and Twoflower.

** Which is parodied in ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic''.

The video game version is becoming something of a DiscreditedTrope nowadays, with fewer series playing it straight, and many of the big series dropping it in recent installments. It's still used, but it's not as universal as it used to be.

* ''ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' is likewise considered the dark horse of its series, being the only ''Zelda'' game to have RandomEncounters (of a sort). Even more bizarre was that these encounters played out as side-scrolling mini-levels.

* ''MakaiKingdom'' has a unique way of pulling these off: Each stage has a number of expansions that are triggered when you destroy an item or character with a stage "key", or when something is thrown or invited onto the new area's space. In random dungeons and some stages, this is a random selection of enemies and items. In addition, there's the chance that the new expansion will trigger an event that changes the enemies featured (such as a group of vampires or a DrillTank), imposes a status effect on every character on the stage, or both, such as the "I've got NO Motivation" event, which fills the new area with a bunch of female enemies carrying cakes instead of weapons, but also hits everybody with a status effect that keeps them from gaining experience.

* ''InfiniteSpace'' allows the player to set the encounter rate higher than usual, which really helps to farm money and Fame.

* In ''GodHand'' after you beat a Mook there's a chance a demon will spawn.

* IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon: The series title is based on this trope in the Japanese (and alternate translation of the English) version: "Is it wrong to wish for a Random/Fateful Encounter in a Dungeon". The anime and LN both also take many que's from the type of games and battles the type of games that have this mechanic has.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games that have Random Encounters are pretty infamous for this - it's undeniable that, good or not, the rate is INSANELY high, to the point of physical pain. While this is "good" in terms that "adds to the games' {{Nintendo Hard}}ness", playing ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' for 5 hours straight can test a man's sanity.

** Looks as if ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' will be the first in the main series to not feature RandomEncounters at all, instead using a similar feature as seen in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' to attack the enemies on the field to gain an advantage in battle.

** Dragon Magazine had a legendary April Fools Edition with an innovative alternative to RandomEncounters: the "Wandering Damage" table. Since the wandering monsters are the indirect means for a Dungeon Master to deal damage to the player party, [[YouFailLogicForever why not cut out the middleman]] and [[KillerGameMaster deal damage to them directly?]] ''DarthsAndDroids'' reproduces the rules [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0524.html here]].