Wandering monster checks frequency

[Benoist]

I can see in the DMG in the example of play that the DM rolls for the possibility of a wandering monster after about 3 turns of play. Now I've been searching through the rules book and I could swear I had read it somewhere, but I can't find the actual rule or guideline advising the DM on when and how to roll for wandering monsters.

Help? A Page reference would be most helpful. Thank you.

[Falconer]

DMG p. 9 gives some advice on this.

[Benoist]

DMG p. 9 gives some advice on this.

You mean the part talking about the pacing of the game and how sometimes you just might want to not roll for monsters and let the PCs arrive to their destination? Sure thing. I was wondering if there was a broad guideline, however, or rather, I could swear there was one somewhere. Somebody elsewhere mentioned "a d6 roll every 3-6 turns with a 6 indicating a wandering monster), which prompted me to look into it in the DMG and to my great surprise, I'm not finding the relevant passage there. Did I miss something, or am I misremembering?

[rredmond]

Nah Ben, you've certainly stirred a memory. I think it is in the DMG but I fear I have much less familiarity with the book than you.
I'll check too though.

[Benoist]

Let me know if you find anything. Somebody at the RPG Site pointed out that this might be specific to each particular module, but it seems odd there wouldn't be at least a guideline pertaining to this in the DMG. The only instance of this I'm finding in the text is when the DM in the example of play rolls a d6 for a wandering monster because three turns have passed, but that's an example, that's not an explicit guideline.

[Benoist]

"Land Adventures" section in the DMG, p.47. It gives a frequency and range of randomizers to use during overland travel to determine whether an encounter is made. This section doesn't provide an explicit answer as far as the dungeon's concerned, but it does a context, no doubt. Interesting variation of randomizers on the base chance of encounters here. Also notice the part in the Procedure paragraph that says "where only 1 or 2 chances for encounter exist, you may vary the time as you see fit in order to avoid player reliance on information which they should not be privy to." Which seems to implicitly state that, if you are using a d6 randomizer in the dungeon instead of a d10, d12 or d20, you'd also follow the same basic idea that there shouldn't be a strictly regular-as-clockwork roll to avoid the PCs playing on information their characters are not privy to. Seems logical, right? Still, it's interesting to see all this information implied indirectly rather than being clearly spelled out in the case of the dungeon.

[Benoist]

Went to Holmes and found this:

At the end of each three turns the Dungeon Master can roll a die to see if a wandering monster has come down the corridor. A roll of 6 means that something has come "strolling" along. If the party has someone watching they will see or hear the monster up to 120 feet away unless it is coming around a corner, very quiet, etc. If it is uncertain how far away the monster is, roll two six-sided die and multiply by 10. The result is the distance in feet (i.e. a roll of 5 + 2 = 7 or 70 feet). The referee could then place a figure representing the monster or monsters on the table at the appropriate distance from the adventurers, if figures are being used.

The wandering monsters may be pre-selected by the Dungeon Master, such as a guard of skeletons or goblins that walks up and down the main corridor every five turns, or the wandering creatures may be selected from a table by random number generation.

Since Holmes is a lead-in product to AD&D, maybe this is it?

[rredmond]

My Holmes is weaker than my DMG speak. Maybe it was a module, I can't find it either. But I remember something closer to, of not exactly your OP.

[ScottyG]

My memory says 1/turn, d6.
A quick look through a few nearby modules shows 1/turn being the most common, but the d6 is not so standard. I see a few d6s, a d12, a d%.

[Falconer]

I would go by OD&D Vol. III (not Holmes) if AD&D doesn’t cover it.

[Benoist]

OD&D is 1-in-6 per turn of exploration (Wandering monsters, p. 10 of U&WA).

[Matthew]

There is no frequency suggested in the AD&D books, but 1-in-6 per turn is the obvious choice, working out to an average of one per hour.

[Chainsaw]

I think OSRIC says 1-in-6 per three turns, which apparently follows the DMG example of play. Interesting.

[Stormcrow]

And it's 1 in 6 every two turns in the Moldvay and Mentzer Basic Sets.

Conclusion: roll for them however often you damn well like.

[grodog]

By default, I assume a check every 3 turns, but I make additional checks based on when PCs engage in noisy activities (including combat, bashing doors opening, triggering portcullises, etc.).

I also change the basic check's frequency regularly based on what level the PCs are on, or what portion of the level they're in, too: some levels are very out of the way, and WM are rare (1 in 12 checked every 6 turns, for example) or even non-existent; some portions of levels are similarly well-hidden, off the beaten paths, etc. On the flip side of that, some levels or portions of levels are very heavily trafficked---in particular multi-level stairwells, sections of levels with several stairs/entry points nearby, and what I've called my "landings levels" which are levels where many paths through the dungeons converge. In such areas, WM checks may occur every turn, or even every 5 rounds (2/turn), with a much-higher likelihood of encounters occurring (2 in 6, 3 in 8, 4 in 10, etc.).