Random Encounters: Transylvania!

It's called "Transylvania" ("beyond the forest") because to get there from Hungary you pass through a hilly, forested area to reach the central Transylvanian plateau. On all other sides the region is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, making it hard to get to even in the Edwardian era. During that time the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which meant it was run by foreigners who spent as little time there as they could manage. The result: a semi-medieval backwater well into the 20th Century. This table is for Transylvania any time from the 1840s to the 1930s.

RANDOM ENCOUNTERS IN TRANSYLVANIA

Roll 1d10 if you're staying in one location, 1d20 if you're moving about exploring or tracking something.

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot advancing encounter: Something or someone connected with your purpose in Transylvania.
3. Swarm of Bats: They don't behave like normal bats. They swarm about you, nipping and scratching, trying to drive you in a particular direction.
4. Foreign Visitor: Roll 1d6 to see who you encounter. 1: British lawyer here on business; 2: British lawyer fleeing a horrifying encounter; 3: British lawyer bent on destroying a monster; 4: Dutch occultist doing research; 5: Young American with unsavory connections; 6: Russian military man sightseeing.
5. Grave-Robbers: A trio of surly, suspicious fellows with shovels. Roll 1d6 to see what they're looking for. 1-2: Digging up bodies with jewelry to sell; 3-4: Looking for fresh material recently buried; 5-6: Seeking a particular old grave.
6. Monster: A lumbering, freakish, inarticulate brute, suspicious and probably hostile toward everyone. Roll 1d6 for specifics. 1: Alchemy-spawned being flawed in creation (naive and amoral); 2: Hybrid sired by inhuman being (cunning and vicious); 3: Meddler transformed by curse (reclusive and enraged); 4: Patchwork of reanimated dead flesh (confused and angry); 5: Soulless Machine (implacable); 6: Victim of insane experiment (maddened by pain).
7. Mysterious Warning: Either directed specifically at the heroes, or a general "to whom it may concern." Creepy phrasing and vague wording convey a sense of dread but no useful information.
8. Vampire: A walking corpse that feeds on the blood or life-force of the living. Roll 1d6 to see what kind. 1-2: Madman suffering delusions; 3-5: New-risen dead, mindless and thirsty; 6: Powerful ancient vampire.
9. Weather: A sudden and unseasonable storm, with high winds and lightning. You certainly can't travel, and must seek the nearest shelter at once.
10. Werewolf: A human who can take wolf form, or perhaps the other way around. Roll 1d6 for details. 1: Cursed wanderer seeking cure; 2: Gleeful predator; 3: Honor-bound shirtless hunk; 4: Vampire in wolf form; 5: Vengeful outcast; 6: Weird man-wolf hybrid.
11. Abandoned Waif: Frail, pale girl in white, unable to speak. As soon as you're alone the fangs come out.
12. Black Stone: An incomprehensibly ancient stone marked with runes in no known language. Sleeping nearby brings visions of prehistoric rituals — which may continue in secret to this very day.
13. Bridge Out! The road stops at a deep gorge with a rushing stream at the bottom. You'll have to go back, or risk climbing the steep walls. Hope you're not being chased by anything . . .
14. Ghost Lights: Blue lights, visible only at night, which hover over the burial sites of lost treasures and the graves of suicides. During they day they manifest as a chilly spot.
15. Half-Ruined Castle: It shouldn't be inhabited, but there's a light in one window. Roll 1d6 to see who's home. 1: Aged crone who may be a witch; 2: Gang of 1d10 bandits; 3: Ghost; 4: Mad scientist with a brutish assistant and a monster; 5: Monster living alone who tries to remain hidden; 6: Vampire with 1d6 underlings.
16. The Master of the Scholomance: An imposing bearded chap with piercing eyes, recruiting students for the famous occult school in the mountains above Sibiu. Each year ten aspiring wizards enter the underground complex, and a year later nine leave.
17. Pack of Wolves! 2d6 unusually large and aggressive wolves. If they catch you outside they try to chase you down; if you're indoors they're howling about the doors making escape impossible.
18. Remote Chapel: Abandoned and run-down, but still sacred ground. Evil things cannot enter (but their human and animal minions can).
19. Trap! Roll 1d6 to see what kind. 1: Ambush by 1d6 armed goons, 2: Bomb! 3: Concealed pit to catch the unwary; 4: Falling stones; 5: Sabotaged bridge; 6: Suspended wire to decapitate unwary riders.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what just passed.

SITUATIONS IN TRANSYLVANIA

(Roll 1d6, then consult the table above to determine who A and B are.)

1. A desires B
2. A wants to capture B
3. A wants B dead
4. A wants to go somewhere
5. A wants to solve a mystery
6. A wants X

REACTION TABLE

2-3: Immediate attack!

4-5: Unfriendly

6-8: Neutral

9-10: Friendly

11-12: Very Friendly