History Main / RoamingEnemy

Often overlaps with InstakillMook. RandomEncounters and PreexistingEncounters which tend to always be used for less unique enemies.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'', one of the cards that can be played is called "Wandering Monster". It doesn't quite fit this trope exactly, as the monster is "wandered in" by a player.

* In ''VideoGame/Haven2020'', Hornets appear both as Type 4 scripted encounters and Type 1 wanderers. The Hyper Rust-, carrying boss Lorudo normally wanders the LethalLavaLand islet Wakiri(the only one that can't be cleared of Rust), but can also randomly show up on any Rust-covered islet at night.
* Most Field Bosses in VideoGame/{{Warframe}} have varying spawning conditions, such as killing enough enemies at specific points or actions in other missions. The spawn chance and countdown also vary. But even if they spawn, the player can usually opt to completely ignore them.

** The game also uses type 3 a lot, where specific enemies will only appear if you are on a particular quest.
** Pre-Cataclysm Duskwood had a rather fun player-caused variation. Completing a specific quest chain would cause a level 40(I think) elite to spawn (a considerable distance from the quest point) and start walking a long path down the zone's 1 road heading for the town. This was in a level 20 zone and roads were supposed to be the "safe path". Many an unsuspecting adventurer found a brutal death at the hands of a Stitches spawned by another player.

* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Trueform Mimi pops up in certain rooms of Chapter 2-4 if you dawdle too long picking an exit. She's frightening enough that it can cause you to rush through the level at breakneck speed.

* ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in Miracle World'': The GrimReaper appears if you step on a skull block, or is randomly triggered by ? blocks.
* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Escape from 100 battles in the final chapter and you will have to fight the Death Prophet boss.
* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': All of the non-region-specific bosses are triggered, typically based on random chance. The Collector has a 5% chance to be in any dungeon; the Shambler can be summoned from an Altar (which appears as a random curio in a dungeon corridor) or can randomly turn up in a pitch-dark run; the Fanatic (from the Crimson Court DLC) has a random chance to harass any party containing heroes infected with the Crimson Curse, based on the number of heroes; and the Thing From The Stars (from the Color of Madness DLC) goes to a given region every week and has a random chance to turn up if you quest there.

* ''VideoGame/Haven2020'': One {{Superboss}}, Beruberu, is triggered by spending a full game day (about 30 minutes in real time) away from the PlayerHeadquarters.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'': ''All'' random encounters are now fully modeled and visible, ''Earthbound'' style.

* ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' uses this system, and will even give players or enemies first attack if one "tags" the other from behind.

* [[ImplacableMan Mr. X]] from the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' is always somewhere in the police station, and he's ''always'' actively looking for you. It's frightening enough when you'll hear his [[BadVibrations thumping massive footsteps]] and know he's nearby, it's even worse when you fire off a gun at a zombie and then you hear the thumping massive footsteps ''[[OhCrap getting closer]]'', and there's [[ParanoiaFuel always the chance you'll go through a door and run right into him]]. There are scripted encounters in the game where he appears no matter what, but he's also always somewhere in the police station systematically searching rooms and hallways for you.
* The titular Nemesis from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' is a special case where there are set locations where he always shows up, set locations where he might show up (based on the order you've explored and decisions you've made during Live Selections), and of course he can just jump you at complete random. If you keep going back and forth between the same areas, you'll soon hear the ominous [[OhCrap "Staaaaaars..."]] come from the next room.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3'': Nemesis in the original [=PS1=] version falls between this and special case. All of his encounters are predictable, though because of the branching paths that allow you to do certain events in whatever order you like, it's impossible to learn everywhere he'll appear on a single playthrough. Whenever an encounter with Nemesis is triggered, he'll chase you from room to room, but only in rooms within his designated area for that particular encounter (unless you down him outright with weaponry, in which case he'll reappear the next time you trigger an encounter). This is prevalent in the remake, which is much more linear than the original and spawns in Nemesis much less dynamically. Other than a short section towards the end of the downtown area early in the game where he does chase you dynamically like Mr. X in the ''[=RE2=]'' remake, ''all'' of your encounters with Nemesis in the remake are either short scripted chases or boss fights. This was one of the major complaints about the remake from fans who expected Nemesis, the series' original RoamingEnemy, to be a more dynamic opponent similar to the ''[=RE2=]'' remake's Mr. X.

* ''VideoGame/Haven2020'': One of the {{Bonus Boss}}es, Beruberu, is triggered by spending a full game day (about 30 minutes in real time) away from the PlayerHeadquarters.

An enemy in a video game which appears randomly, with no specific point (save one or two to introduce them). Can vary from MetalSlime to HopelessBossFight depending on how much the player is expected to defeat them. Typically takes the form of TheDreaded and if optional may be [[RunOrDie too dangerous to fight]] when they first begin appearing, but much less so if they are encountered later in the game. The player may return to them when they get stronger and challenge them as BonusBoss, if they're still around. A StealthBasedGame may have an ImplacableMan that looks for the player throughout the entire game and gives you [[OneHitKill an immediate Game Over]] if they catch you.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'': [[BonusBoss Omega]] and [[UpdatedRerelease Omega Mk. II]] always roam the same room randomly. Not a problem when there's only one of them to run past -- a definite problem in the BonusDungeon where an entire ''floor'' is filled with roaming Omegas.

** ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'': Swarming sheargrubs, unlike their subterranean, {{ambushing|Enemy}} relatives, spend their time actively patrolling the game world, wandering around randomly until they come across nectar to drink or pellets, fruit, or corpses to pile on. This can prove a serious issue for the player, as sheargrub patrols can easily stumble into working Pikmin and either grind their work to a halt by piling onto the times that they're carrying or incite a fight and lead any number of Pikmin into getting hopelessly lost as they case after fleeing sheargrubs.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'': Most enemies are firmly sedentary, staying put in their spawning areas, but a few actively roam around the game map. These enemies particular issues for the player -- a big part of gameplay consists of clearing areas to ensure a safe path back to the Onions and ship for Pikmin carrying treasure and resources to follow safely without supervision, as well as knowing that enemies will turn up in the same spots and building strategies around that. Roaming enemies, however, can turn up anywhere, however, including while you're fighting another enemy or in the path of a group of Pikmin carrying your finds back to camp.

** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'': Spotty bulbears are active wanderers able to access almost any part of the areas they are in. This is a particular issue in light of their being some of the toughest non-boss enemies in the games; a bulbear that stumbles into a group of Pikmin can easily devour most of them before you've even caught on to its arrival, and the arrival of one such beast can make a routine fight into a disastrous rout. This is removed in ''Pikmin 3'' -- the game's single bulbear stays put in its spawning area.

#''Triggered Encounter:'' This often takes the form of a boss or BossInMookClothing. It appears only if the player acts in a very specific manner. A specific version of this is StalkedByTheBell, where the enemy appears if the player lingers too long in one area.

* In ''[[VideoGame/DotHackGUGames .hack//G.U.]]'', the Doppelganger, which is a shadowy copy of the party leader (in the player's case, Haseo) that is always 8 levels higher than the player (unless you are at the volume's max level), wanders the area you are in by warping around, but only in fields. One turns up in the field if you don't fight for a certain amount of time, or if you use the keyword "Moonlight", which ensures that there is a Doppelganger in that field. You can run around the field and never find him, or he may be right next to your starting point. The Doppelganger can be quite a [[NightmareFuel terrifying]] opponent, whether or not you actually encounter him. If he sees you, the screen begins to flash red and scary music plays as he runs towards you; even if he doesn't, one can get the feeling of being watched. To make it even more unnerving, he's also moving around even while you're in a battle and can actually join in on a battle you're currently fighting if he gets too close.
* Several areas in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' have overpowered enemies patrolling them as type 1. The most infamous example is the Sons Of Arugal, level 20 elites that patrol an area used by players of levels 10-19.
** The most well-known, however, are the Devilsaurs in Un'goro Crater. Because they become visible at the same effective range as other monsters despite being fifty feet tall, they have gained a [[MemeticBadass reputation]] for having taken Ninja levels. See also the ThatOneBoss and BossInMookClothing entries.

* All of the mini-bosses in ''VideoGame/LaTale'', much to the dismay of lower-leveled players killing mooks on the same map.
* The ghosts in ''VideoGame/PacMan'' also count as type 1 (at least in some versions), as they move randomly but chase the player if they see them.
** Pac-man Ghost AI -- the cool thing about the Pac-Man ghosts, and what it's rare for the clones to pull off (even if they go for deterministic rather than random ghost movement), is that each had a separate AI which, while all of them were simple, the result was that they made for a very effective team. [[http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=68707 This site]] has some details, as it turns out.
* Roaming {{Franchise/Pokemon}}, a tradition started with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]''. They are encountered like any other random Pokémon but the area they appear in changes. Unusually for this trope, the player is generally the one who tracks them down (and they have a habit of fleeing before you can catch them when they're encountered). Almost every game since then has had their own:
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald]]'': Latios in Ruby, Latias in Sapphire, and [[SchroedingersQuestion your choice]] in Emerald.
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Diamond and Pearl]]'': Mesprit and Cresselia. ''Platinum'' adds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
** ''Fire Red & Leaf Green'': Raikou, Entei '''or''' Suicune.
** ''Heart Gold & Soul Silver'': Raikou and Entei (but Suicune isn't, due to being a plot encounter as in ''Crystal'') and Latios '''or''' Latias.
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Black and White]]'': Tornadus in Black, and Thundurus in White. They're less annoying than their predecessors, since they cause freak rainstorms on whatever map they happen to be inhabiting, and that tends to call attention to them, even from [=NPCs=].
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X and Y]]'': Articuno, Zapdos, '''or''' Moltres plays with the idea -- one of them wanders Kalos like all the rest on the list, but when you run across them, you don't actually get a chance to battle. After encountering them 10 times, they'll finally settle down at the Sea Spirit's Den, where you can battle them like any stationary encounter.
** And, in the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee Let's Go!]]'' games, ''all'' random encounters are now fully modeled and visible, ''Earthbound'' style.

** The first ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Final Fantasy]]'' has the powerful [[BossInMooksClothing Warmech]], which roams the bridge leading to Tiamat in the Flying Fortress.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', Brachioraidos is a powerful SuperBoss lurking in the depths of the GBA remake's [[BonusDungeon Lunar Ruins]].
** [[BonusBoss Omega]] and [[UpdatedRerelease Omega Mk. II]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' always roam the same room randomly. Not a problem when there's only one of them to run past --a definite problem in the BonusDungeon where an entire ''floor'' is filled with roaming Omegas.

*** Deathguise/Death Gaze will spawn in a random area - can only be triggered by airship - once you hit the World of Ruin. The annoying parts about this being that it's invisible on the map and prone to running.

** Ultima Weapon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. You can at least see him on the world map, but you'll be chasing him down for a while. You have to bump into him with the airship a few times, before he'll go to a certain point, and then you can fight him. He also goes to the same spot for the final showdown every time.
* In the ''VideoGame/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' video game (spiritual successor to ''Sea Dogs'') the Black Pearl would roam around the world map, and you could rarely find it as a kind of Easter Egg. Oddly, it doesn't become hostile unless you attack it.

* The Ultimate Chimera from ''VideoGame/Mother3'' is an example of a Type 4. Appears in only two places (the second appearance is practically a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere example), and touching it is an [[OneHitKO instant]] GameOver. And if it sees you, it will chase you down.
* The Spider Droid in the original ''VideoGame/{{Space Quest|I The Sarien Encounter}}'', and the security droids on board the Deltaur.
* The Droid of Death in the starting area of ''VideoGame/{{Space Quest IV|Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers}}'' can either be a random or triggered encounter. If the wandering cyborg summons it, or if triggered by picking up the Unstable Ordnance after coming out of the sewers, there's no escape. Near the end of the game, there's the Imperial Probe Droid-style sentry bots.
* The robots in ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'', particularly in the first game, start doing this a certain amount of time after the level starts. Especially dangerous if those enemies are DemonicSpiders, and the level has a lot of intersecting passageways, such as the first game's [[ThatOneLevel 11th and 19th levels]]. Later levels come equipped with {{Mook Maker}}s specifically for this purpose.

* ''VideoGame/TwilightHeroes'' has both Types 1 and 2 - Type 1 in the Static Villains, who appear every so often but only in a specific area, and Type 2 in Wandering Villains, who may appear in any area (but at the same rate as the Static Villains). Both types are optional, and their appearance can be turned on or off by a choice adventure.
* The use of RespawningEnemies for this is crucial to keep the player from feeling entirely “safe” in horror games, respawning ammo and health [[UnWinnable optional]]. Obvious examples include ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'' and ''VideoGame/SystemShock''.
* Many of the guards in ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' will patrol a pre-set path until they see the player or hear a noise. Sometimes their paths will wind through multiple sections of a level, making things even more unpredictable.

* All of the enemies you face in ''Videogame/{{Remothered}}'' are this, crossed with ImplacableMan. The best you can do to throw them off your path is by running and hiding or by using distractions.
* ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' had a variant, where roaming, generic-looking enemy sprites would start to appear in the overworld if you left the safety of the path, but would become [[ActuallyFourMooks an entire miniature side-scrolling level full of mooks]] if touched.

* The optional boss Mokura from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' may appear randomly throughout Land's End and Belome Temple as a green cloud that seems to dodge the character. Unlike the other random encounters in the area, it is treated as a miniboss, with boss music and two forms.
* The Alien in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' is given a general idea of where you are in the level[[note]]More specifically, she's controlled by two AI[=s=]; one that actually controls the Alien and looks for the player, and one that knows where the player is at all times and feeds the other hints based on their actions[[/note]], but otherwise doesn't "cheat" and dynamically roams the level looking for you instead of being teleported around by scripting.
* The monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Monstrum}}'' likewise will genuinely roam the ship dynamically looking for you, although one of them (the Hunter) can spawn from spawn points (i.e. vents or egg sacs) as a special ability.

* All the enemies in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' and ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' fit type 2 as the game's "director" AI will spawn them randomly throughout the levels. The Tank and the Witch are rarer, since you won't encounter them in every map, but you will encounter them at least once over the course of a campaign.
** One campaign level in 2 specifically states that you will encounter numerous witches in that area. They're all wandering around as a Type 1 encounter, so you can avoid them if you see them first and know where they are.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' there is a female pirate named Jolene who randomly appears on various maps as type 2 and patrols them as type 3. If she sees you have to escape or fight her off if she boards your boat.
* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series has had the Hunters from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters''.
* The Grells (sand worms) in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'''s desert. Also a DropInNemesis.
* The ghost in ''Spelunker''.
* Most tangos in the early ''VideoGame/RainbowSix'' series are placed at pseudo-random starting positions, and also wander as Type 1. Later games use Type 4; ie they more or less always appear in the same pattern.
* Jason in the NES LicensedGame of ''[[VideoGame/FridayThe13th Friday the 13th]]''.
* The creature in ''VideoGame/{{Miasmata}}'' is implemented this way, but there are ''so many'' random spawn points dotted across the island that he can seem like a genuine wandering A.I.

* This tactic was very popular in the arcade era of video games where some arcade games would plop a NighInvulnerable enemy if a player takes too long to complete a level instead of the standard time limit, such as Evil Otto of ''VideoGame/{{Berzerk}}''.
* There's this guy in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' that, if you look at the right (or wrong...) gravestone three times, summons a load of exploding dudes with swords to kill you. They don't seem to ever turn up anywhere else.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' Trueform Mimi pops up in certain rooms of Chapter 2-4 if you dawdle too long picking an exit. She's frightening enough that it can cause you to rush through the level at breakneck speed.
* From ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the [[BlowYouAway Storm]] Dragon --it will fly out of its treasure chest the instant you open it, and fly circles within the cave until its speed and/or erratic pattern forces you into its path. ''Final Fantasy VI [[UpdatedRerelease Advance]]'' also adds the Esper Leviathan, who lurks in the ocean between Figaro and Nikeah, and can only be encountered by taking a ferry between the two ports.
* The [[GrimReaper Reaper]] from ''VideoGame/Persona3'', a StalkedByTheBell-type who will materialize in one of three spots (the staircase, your entry point, or the teleport back to the foyer) and then make a beeline for your party if you linger too long in a single floor of Tartarus. Particularly vicious in floors populated by nothing but the [[MoneySpider rare]], [[MetalSlime elusive]] Gold Hand enemies.

** The Reaper makes its return in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', and will show up on a floor of Mementos if you hang around too long.
* The GrimReaper in ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in Miracle World'' appears if you step on a skull block, or is randomly triggered by ? blocks.
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', escape from 100 battles in the final chapter and you will have to fight the Death Prophet boss.
* All of the non-region-specific bosses in ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' are triggered, typically based on random chance. The Collector has a 5% chance to be in any dungeon; the Shambler can be summoned from an Altar (which appears as a random curio in a dungeon corridor) or can randomly turn up in a pitch-dark run; the Fanatic (from the Crimson Court DLC) has a random chance to harass any party containing heroes infected with the Crimson Curse, based on the number of heroes; and the Thing From The Stars (from the Color of Madness DLC) goes to a given region every week and has a random chance to turn up if you quest there.

* One of ''VideoGame/Haven2020'''s {{bonus boss}}es, Beruberu, is triggered by spending a full game day (about 30 minutes in real time) away from the PlayerHeadquarters.

* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series also has had the SA-X from ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''.
** The same can be said for the Rhedogian from ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', which ambushes Samus about 4 times in fixed locations before finally giving up the ghost.
* The Wandering Monster tables from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' are probably the best known example TabletopGames wise.
* [=PuPu=] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''.

* The "Mr. X" Tyrant in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', who has very specific areas where he shows up. The remake, however, is a genuine case of a roaming enemy.
* Nemesis in the original [=PS1=] version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3'' falls between this and special case. All of his encounters are predictable, though because of the branching paths that allow you to do certain events in whatever order you like, it's impossible to learn everywhere he'll appear on a single playthrough. Whenever an encounter with Nemesis is triggered, he'll chase you from room to room, but only in rooms within his designated area for that particular encounter (unless you down him outright with weaponry, in which case he'll reappear the next time you trigger an encounter).
* This is much more the case in the remake of ''Resident Evil 3'', which is much more linear than the original and spawns in Nemesis much less dynamically. Other than a short section towards the end of the downtown area early in the game where he does chase you dynamically like Mr. X in the ''[=RE2=]'' remake, ''all'' of your encounters with Nemesis in the remake are either short scripted chases or boss fights. This was one of the major complaints about the remake from fans who expected Nemesis, the series' original RoamingEnemy, to be a more dynamic opponent similar to the ''[=RE2=]'' remake's Mr. X.

** The Ultimate Chimera from ''VideoGame/Mother3'' is an example of a Type 4. Appears in only two places (the second appearance is practically a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere example), and touching it is an [[OneHitKO instant]] GameOver. And if it sees you, it will chase you down.

* The Alien in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' is given a general idea of where you are in the level, but otherwise doesn't "cheat" and dynamically roams the level looking for you instead of being teleported around by scripting.

* Nemesis in the original [=PS1=] version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3''. All of his encounters are predictable, though because of the branching paths that allow you to do certain events in whatever order you like, it's impossible to learn everywhere he'll appear on a single playthrough. Whenever an encounter with Nemesis is triggered, he'll chase you from room to room, but only in rooms within his designated area for that particular encounter (unless you down him outright with weaponry, in which case he'll reappear the next time you trigger an encounter).