Imagine how much more boring the Pirates of the Caribbean movies would be if instead of riding water wheels and swinging from chandeliers, every fight took place in a plain grassy field. Unfortunately that’s how I find a lot of RPG fights can feel. I really want that sense of swashbuckling action when I run combat in RPGs, but without an interesting environment it just doesn’t happen, and interesting environments can be hard to come up with on the fly, especially for sandbox campaigns where you have to do so often. I try to add interesting details, but my brain can never come up with anything truly unique in the spur of the moment. I’ve had far too many battles take place around locked, featureless buildings scattered with ambiguously filled crates.
So to help with creating interesting environments I’ve made three d100 tables to generate interesting features for either nature, interiors, or settlements. Roll or pick a couple of times from the most fitting table and you’ve got yourself a unique combat scene in seconds.
You could roll on multiple tables for certain environments, like using nature and settlement for an elven forest village, or interior and nature for an abandoned overgrown building. You might need to reroll occasionally for certain environments, like with the interior table if you’ve already got your building’s purpose in mind, but most entries should fit in most situations. A lot of the interior entries dictate what kind of building it is, which can cause some strange results, but these can also be the spark of an interesting idea. Maybe there’s a forge in the church because they worship a god of the forge and see smithing as a sacred ritual.
Nature (d100)
3-4 Hanging vines
5-6 Thick cluster of trees
7-8 Easily climbable tree
9-10 Thick rooted tree
11-12 Large seed pods/pinecones
13-14 Bug infested tree
15-16 Flexible tree
17-18 Mossy ground
19-20 Thick undergrowth
21-22 Thorny undergrowth
23-24 Thick reeds
25-26 Overgrown cliff
27-28 Unstable tree
29-30 Flower patch
31-32 Tall grass
33-34 Thorny bushes
35-36 Mushroom patch
37-38 Rotten dead tree
39-40 Defensive animal nest
41-42 Waterfall
43-44 River
45-46 Lake
47-48 Hollow dead tree
49-50 Bug nest
51-52 Stable bridge
53-54 Abandoned campsite
55-56 Abandoned hut
57-58 Rickety bridge
59-60 Fallen dead tree
61-62 Small defensive animal
63-64 Dangerous animal tracks
65-66 Deep mud
67-68 Animal carcass
69-70 Small stream
71-72 Pond
73-74 Muddy ground
75-76 Ancient ruins
77-78 Brittle dead tree
79-80 Steep slope
81-82 Giant boulder
83-84 Rocky overhang
85-86 Rough ground
87-88 Small boulder
89-90 Unstable ground
91-92 Wobbly rock
93-94 Cave
95-96 Crevice
97-98 Cliff
99-00 Spiky rocks
Settlement (d100)
2 Barrel
3 Crate
4 Pile of rope
5 Unstable wall
6 Lantern
7 Lamp
8 Bonfire
9 Market stalls
10 Wagon
11 Stable
12 Statue
13 Chair
14 Half eaten food
15 Pots
16 Tanning rack
17 Balcony
18 Puddle
19 Pet
20 Caged animal
21 Ladder
22 Open window
23 Fountain
24 Shrine
25 Anvil and forge
26 Amphitheatre
27 Gardening tools
28 Garden bed
29 Fishing supplies
30 Carpentry equipment
31 Ornate window
32 Holding cell
33 Half carved sculpture
34 Arcane circle
35 Ornate relief
36 Muddy tracks
37 Graveyard
38 Giant bell
39 Scaffolding
40 Partially built wall
41 Pile of logs
42 Board game
43 Drying meats
44 Hot stew pot
45 Exposed support beams
46 Lamp oil
47 Doll
48 Flour sack
49 Oily spill
50 Bones
51 Fabrics
52 Telescope
53 Large tree
54 Small tree
55 Fruit tree
56 Hedgerow
57 Sack
58 Pile of crates
59 Sports field
60 Rickety fence
61 Low wall
62 Dog
63 Cat
64 Workbench
65 Cracked pillar
66 Staircase
67 Small vase
68 Large vase
69 Clay pit
70 Loose bricks
71 Village green
72 Hammock
73 Masonry equipment
74 Pottery equipment
75 Mossy ground
76 Steep slope
77 Rough ground
78 Muddy ground
79 Bridge
80 Canal
81 Apiary
82 Vine covered wall
83 Lattice wall
84 Boat
85 Communal bath
86 Communal toilet
87 Sewer hatch
88 Elevated street
89 Stilt house
90 Dock
91 Ruined building
92 Cart
93 Aqueduct
94 Well
95 Execution area
96 Walled garden
97 Public park
98 Water wheel
99 Gate
00 Tower
Interior (d100)
2 Candles
3 Barrel
4 Crate
5 Pile of rope
6 Carpet
7 Secret door
8 Unstable wall
9 Lantern
10 Fireplace
11 Large table
12 Small table
13 Divider
14 Fruit bowl
15 Shelf
16 Rickety shelf
17 Statue
18 Ornamental weapon
19 Ornamental shield
20 Ornamental armour
21 Pews
22 Alcohol shelf
23 Alcohol keg
24 Half eaten food
25 Chest
26 Locked door
27 Small vase
28 Large vase
29 Animal skin rug
30 Mounted animal head
31 Loose floorboards
32 Loose floor tiles
33 Mirror
34 Balcony
35 Staircase
36 Cracked pillar
37 Leaky ceiling
38 Puddle
39 Workbench
40 Caged animal
41 Pet
42 Hatch
43 Ladder
44 Shrine
45 Open window
46 Closet
47 Bed/sleeping furs
48 Water feature
49 Kitchen knives
50 Hammock
51 Weapon/armour rack
52 Anvil and forge
53 Counter
54 Unidentified elixirs
55 Art
56 Writing desk
57 Spiral staircase
58 Broken floor
59 Stage
60 Gardening tools
61 Large musical instrument
62 Hand held musical instrument
63 Sack
64 Pile of crates
65 Large house plant
66 Small house plant
67 Cushioned seat
68 Curtained window
69 Loom
70 Fabrics
71 Pantry shelves
72 Telescope
73 Board game
74 Rickety rafters
75 Drying meats
76 Hot stew pot
77 Exposed support beams
78 Lamp oil
79 Doll
80 Jars of herbs
81 Flour sack
82 Oily spill
83 Bones
84 Cupboards
85 Wardrobe
86 Fishing supplies
87 Carpentry equipment
88 Ornate window
89 Holding cell
90 Half carved sculpture
91 Arcane circle
92 Ornate relief
93 Muddy tracks
94 Tomb
95 Surgical tools
96 Scrolls and books
97 Giant bell
98 Scaffolding
99 Partially built wall
00 Pile of logs
If you want to make your combats even more interesting, I’d recommend adding environmental conditions. A fight with the same characters in the same location feels completely different at night in the rain versus in broad daylight while a riot is taking place and the palace is burning down. I don’t have any generators for these conditions, as they're usually tied more closely to the players and the events in the game world. It would be a little weird for a riot to suddenly break out with no warning or relation to the PCs’ actions, and there are plenty of good weather tables out there already. But still, if you'd be interested in event or weather tables, let me know, and I might give them a go in the future.
I will leave you with this:
Ice melts when you pour water on it because the water is warmer than it, but what if you use water that's colder than the ice?
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