History Main / RandomEncounters

* Parodied in 9-Volt's stage from ''VideoGame/WarioWare''. You don't actually get to move around the {{Retraux}} RPG world, but each random minigame is introduced with the message "A game appears!"

* ''LightNovel/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 ques from the type of games and battles the type of games that have this mechanic has.

** The fact that Repel items only ward off Mons weaker than yours also makes them useful for locating certain legendary Pokémon who randomly roam across the map, because they are noticeably higher-level than the Mons that inhabit the area.
*** Similar items exist in many other games, such as ''VideoGame/StarOcean'', including items that increase the chance of an encounter. The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series of games all have an ability or item (sometimes multiple ones) that instantly summoned a random encounter; handy when looking for RandomlyDrops.

-->'''Haley''': One time, I scrubbed the mold out of the [Thieves'] Guild showers and [[ImpossibleItemDrop it dropped 2d4 copper pieces and a potion of fire resistance.]]

** The piece of equipment in question, however, is incredibly useful near the end of the second game, because you ''will'' need to {{level|Grinding}}-grind to beat the {{Bonus Boss}}es, and the best place for doing so has a below-average encounter rate. Annoyingly enough, it's only available in the first game, so people who threw it away going "the encounter rate is high enough, thank you very much" (or didn't transfer data at all) end up having to spend even more time doing so than everyone else.

* The ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series has these in the form of the various pirate crews that show up in the Item World, their strength fluctuating between being the same as the other enemies on the floor, to that of BonusBoss levels. They generally appear within the first few turns taken on a floor, and initially are rather rare, though after defeating a group, you get access to something that can be used to make them more common. Defeating them is a requirement for getting access to the toughest post-story content, which can be a pain, as you need to not only hope they show up in the first place, but hope that it's the right pirate crew.

* In the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' games, a quest may have an "Unstable" hunting ground. This means that randomly (or not, in some cases), a large monster will show up to complicate matters. ''Tri'' took the trope all the way with hunting in Moga Woods, as after dealing with the initial boss monsters mentioned in the forecast, other monsters of any available type may show up randomly.

''(For the proper experience, run the music from [[https://youtu.be/syeudRZuuMo this video]] while reading this page.)''

** In ''Star Control 2'' there are generally only two kinds of ships you can encounter in most areas of Hyperspace ([[spoiler: the native race and Slylandro Probes]]), sometimes more when two territories overlap. You generally know who you're about to meet.

Often, there will be an item, ability, or mode of transportation that affects the encounter rate. [[EncounterBait Upping this rate]] can be good for LevelGrinding, while abilities that shut off random encounters entirely may save the player some annoyance in the short term, but can also deprive the player of much-needed experience points to strengthen their party for the next plot-motivated battle.

[[quoteright:256:[[VideoGame/DragonQuestI https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon-warrioralt3.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:256:One down, [[LevelGrinding 1,345,203 to go.]]]]

''(For the proper experience, run the music from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCIfTzsHnkc this video]] while reading this page.)''

[[quoteright:250:[[VideoGame/DragonQuestI https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragon-warrioralt3.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:One down, [[LevelGrinding 1,345,203 to go.]]]]

Dungeon encounters are scripted, but encounters on the world map are randon, and the game truly shines there.

*** In spite of ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 4'' having no random encounters, ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' are full of them.
** Pointed out and lampshaded in ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' where a party member points out how the demons can attack people at any time and yet their group is always the ones to be attacked.

[[folder:Others]]
* ''VideoGame/OneHundredPercentOrangeJuice'' has battle panels in its boards, where if you step in one, you engage either a seagull, a chicken, or a robo-ball, decided randomly. After one of the players reaches Level 4, these panels are replaced for Boss panels, indicating it's time to confront the boss of that particular board.
[[/folder]]

* In all mainline ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games until ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'', outdoor areas generally limit encounters to areas of tall grass, giving the player some ability to limit how often they have to fight a wild Pokémon; on the other hand, wild Pokémon can show up at any time when exploring underground caverns or surfing across bodies of water. It is also standard practice for shops to sell "Repel" items that will temporarily prevent encounters with lower-level Pokémon.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'' abolished these in favor of PreexistingEncounters. This also carried over into ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield''.

* In all mainline ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games through ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'', outdoor areas generally limit encounters to areas of tall grass, giving the player some ability to limit how often they have to fight a wild Pokémon; on the other hand, wild Pokémon can show up at any time when exploring underground caverns or surfing across bodies of water. It is also standard practice for shops to sell "Repel" items that will temporarily prevent encounters with lower-level Pokémon.

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

* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, outdoor areas generally limit encounters to areas of tall grass, giving the player some ability to limit how often they have to fight a wild Pokémon; on the other hand, wild Pokémon can show up at any time when exploring underground caverns or surfing across bodies of water. It is also standard practice for shops to sell "Repel" items that will temporarily prevent encounters with lower-level Pokémon.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' has completely went the ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' series route and included monsters roaming on the field to make it close to real-life. The danger meter (top of screen) notes the players when enemies are in the area, are about to strike. When it fills up, battle has commenced.

* There's a reason why ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' 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, often in immediate succession.