The Encounter deck is for building confrontations with challenging creatures or situations. By dealing two random Encounter cards and an Emotion card, you create a unique challenge.
Cards in this deck tend to be flavored for a fantasy adventure game. However, you can make cards tailored for any other setting.
"My daggers bounced off that plate mail! What now?" -- Basler
This encounter includes something important that is heavily defended. This could mean body armor of leather or metal, hardened barriers of stone, or wood, a protective aura of magic, a divine blessing, and more.
"You know what metal does? Heats up. Fireball!" -- Tana
Every armor has a weakness or comes at a cost, like making someone slower or something heavier. Not every armor's weakness is obvious, and finding it may be difficult.
"That's a big castle..." -- Basler
A Base can be a temporary encampment, an outpost, a secret headquarters, a wild animal's den, or some other protected space. You might need to find something specific, get in or out, or confront the occupants.
"The tyrant king doesn't know about these secret tunnels" -- Emory
While Bases can be big and imposing, their nature can work against their occupants. The bigger the Base, the more likely it is to hold something helpful.
"Back, foul fiend! Light will overcome you!" -- Emory
A Diabolical encounter has the touch of evil. An actual summoned demon, a possessed victim, or a dark and malevolent force are all Diabolic.
"Basler, stop cringing. He's not talking about you." -- Woody
Evil hasn't won, though it keeps trying. Powers from beyond are bound by their own rules too, and can be defeated accordingly.
Characters who arm themselves with occult lore or divine blessings may circumvent or neutralize a Diabolical power.
"Earth sprites. They have the ore we seek." -- Tana
Powerful forces of nature such as volcanoes, storms, as well as elemental entities.
"They had some nice gemstones too!" -- Basler
Each element has rules. Water flows. Fire burns, but not without fuel. Some elements can counteract others. These rules can be exploited.
"Did something just swoop overhead?" -- Emory
This encounter includes something flying or airborne. Winged creatures, skilled magicians, and floating platforms can ignore earthbound attackers and require effort to reach.
"Meet my best girl, Annette! A net, get it?" -- Basler
Wings require energy to sustain flight and can be fragile. Magical flight can be counter-spelled. Turbulent air or nets can force flyers down.
"They outnumber us 5 to 1, folks!" -- Basler
A group of beings bound together in common purpose. Gangs can be organized, like criminal gangs or military units, or informal groups like angry mobs or animal packs.
"Sounds like fair odds to me. Have at you!" -- Emory
The strength of a gang is in its numbers. Without a strong leader, the gang obeys its collective impulses. Individual members can be isolated and confronted.
"A Gryphon. The heraldic symbol of my kingdom. Majestic!" -- Emory
A Hybrid being is made up of two or more things, not always living. Such beings can be part-human (mermaids, harpies), mixed animal (cockatrices, pegasi), shapeshifters (werewolves), or weirder (tree-ogres).
"That thing was terrifying! Your kingdom is messed up!" -- Basler
Not every hybrid has a perfect command of its own nature. Hybrids must also obey the rules of all their component parts.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" -- Tana
This encounter includes something of enormous size. It might be naturally large, like a dragon or a giant, or have been enlarged by magic or other forces.
"Just as long as it doesn't fall on us." -- Basler
You may have trouble engaging with a Large encounter due to the size difference, but that trouble goes both ways. It can be hard for Large things to perceive or target smaller foes.
"That ain't no ordinary wolf, folks.." -- Basler
Monstrous threats are altered forms of the familiar. They are fiercer, more feral, or disturbingly unnatural, the nightmarishly distorted vision of the original.
"Whoever corrupted this creature will pay. Let's find them." -- Woody
A Monstrous threat is powered by its rage or aggression, but often lack a sense of self-preservation, fighting relentlessly when others would retreat.
"That's Gretamaw, the Beaked Butcher!" -- Basler
A monster whispered of by fearful villagers. A lonely place of power. An artifact of legend, replete with arcane power. A person sung of by the bards. The weight of its reputation or its followers may be as much of a danger as its own power.
"Save the beak. We need it to claim the reward!" -- Basler
The stories about this encounter might give you clues on how to deal with it. But stories are just that, stories. You might correctly leverage its lore, or look at it with fresh eyes and discover a truth the bards omitted.
"Where are all those crows going?" -- Tana
This encounter foreshadows something important. It can be a mystical experience, laden with dreams and prophecy, or just a mundane glimpse into a momentous reality beyond.
"They're going the same way we are. Come on." -- Woody
The Portentous is the first step on a larger road. It both surprises characters, and prepares them for what is next. If the future cannot be changed, it can be met with eyes open. And you will only know if fate can be defied by trying.
"My arrows go right through it." -- Woody
This encounter includes something ghostly or purely spiritual. Spectral entities might have obligations or passions binding them to the mortal world. They may be frightened, angry, or confused. They might wish to go - or to stay.
"I'll have a magic circle up in a moment!" -- Tana
Spectral beings are only visitors in the waking world. Their anchors are tenuous, and they may leave if given what they want or be forced out by those who know how.
"Deep breaths. Stay calm. Show them we're friends." -- Tana
The encounter includes a highly charged situation. One or more parties might be on edge, ready for confrontation with another. Can you navigate it without making everything worse?
"You mean the real villain all this time was...?!" -- Emory
If you discover the reason for a Tense situation, you can find a ways to defuse it. You can talk others down if you aren't caught up in the situation yourself.
"Don't let it touch you! Your skin will rot away!" -- Woody
Venomous creatures, assassins with poisoned blades, swamp gasses, and many other things can afflict you with sickness. Poisons can be fast acting and deadly, or gradually debilitating.
"My arrows can fly farther than its spit." -- Woody
Some toxins have antidotes, or may not penetrate some kinds of defense. For example, a snake's fangs might be deflected by armor.
"This unholy abomination will fall!" -- Emory
Necromancy, curses, or strange phenomena can bring a deceased creature back to a false life. The being is sustained by magic, not biology. Some undead are mindless; others are disturbingly cunning.
"Not so much fell as fell apart..." -- Basler
Being sustained by dark magic, the undead are equally vulnerable to it. Many cannot abide holy objects, places, or effects. Others are bound by orders to only guard a certain place, or do a certain thing.