Random Encounter

Random Encounters are events that randomly triggered while the protagonists are traveling on the world map.

Details[]

There are two main types of random encounter: forced and optional encounter. Forced encounters usually involve being ambushed by a group of hostile, ranging from outlaws to creatures. Having a horse allows the protagonist to avoid most of the forced encounters, except those where the ambushers also have horses. There are also story-specific forced encounters that don't involve combat. Optional encounters, on the other hand, can be ignored, and consist of a wide variety of scenarios.

Traveling through swamps and mountains will slow the protagonist down, increasing the chance for encounters.^[1] Encounters on the East side of the map tend to have more powerful enemies, and they have higher numbers as well.

List of Encounters[]

Bounty Hunter Journey[]

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
A Witch at a Crossroads	Optional		This encounter has different variations and evolves as the story progresses. It centers around a wilderness witch called Heathen and her interactions with the protagonists. In Bounty Hunter Journey, Heathen gives Jane a box with a label "21" on the lid, and asks her to not open until she's back for it.
Coyote Attack!	Forced	Always triggered after Jane Bell left Bell Stead for the first time	A pack of coyotes killed someone near their campfire and now attack Jane.

Pigman Journey[]

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
A Familiar Face	Forced	Essex Mast survived Quickbend	Essex Mast calls out, he's been looking for Cl'erns Qui'g in order to examine the brand on him. He claims Jane Bell and Cl'erns have a connection via the brands. He then heads out to find an immortal being called Aleph and says that he and the "branded folks" will cross paths again. If Jane met Essex during the Bounty Hunter Journey and is now part of the posse, he'd recognize her and say "Jane--? Y'all already possed up?". Otherwise, he will give Cl'erns a side quest, A Friendly Face, to go find Jane and recruit her.
A Witch at a Crossroads	Optional		Heathen offers Cl'erns Qui'g a book but it always costs $1 more than what he has. Then she allows him to open an ornamented chest and keep whatever inside.

Protector Journey[]

Encounter

Type

Condition

Description

A Witch at a Crossroads

Optional

Heathen put two people (random NPCs) in cages and asks Across Rivers to help her judge their crimes. He can refuse in which case, nothing happens and he can simply leave. Or if he agrees to help, he needs to talk to both person and hear their stories. One stole medicine for their sick daughter, the other killed someone who abused them when they were a kid. Whomever Across Rivers chooses as the more guilty will be turned into a snake by Heathen. Talking to Heathen reveals that she intends to keep the snake as pet and will release the other person "eventually". Afterward, Across Rivers can open an ornamented chest and claim a random item inside.

There is currently a bug where the prisoners can be outlaws, in which case, they will immediately become hostile which breaks the encounter. A workaround is to throw a dynamite to make the prisoners face way from Heathen, then sneak in and talk to her.

Cold Wind Blowing

Forced

Across Rivers is attacked by a group of Ravenous.

End of the Line

Optional

Across Rivers encounters two random people, trying to kill each other, and he can choose to help either or none. If the person he chose to help survives, they will offer to join his posse. There are multiple scenarios:

Two pigmen: one accuses the other of selling them out to Ruth Bough, while the second pigman claims the first burned a whole pigmen village to the ground.
A deputy confronting an outlaw.
An Oneirist and a Ritualist from Ruth's Coven accuse each other of killing their covens.

Cecilia Oscuro might end up as one of the two people this encounter. Choosing her side and she would offer to join the posse.

Werewolf Journey[]

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
A Witch at a Crossroads	Optional		Heathen asks Dezi to play a slapping game with her, however it doesn't matter what choice he makes, Dezi always loses. In order to win the game, he needs to equip the Amulet of the Open Palm which is found in the Authority's chamber in Somnolence. Once equipped, a new option appears and choosing that option lets Dezi win the game. Winning the slapping game also trigger the Knuckle Sandwich achievement.
Followers of Gavan	Forced	Dezi has read Sybil's Journal	After reading Sybil's journal and discovering Sybil's and Franciscus' secret, both of them and a group of devotees confront Dezi. Dezi can kill them or use non-lethal means to knock them out. In the later case, they will appear again at the end of the Werewolf Journey.
Lone Witch	Forced	Dezi has not read Sybil's Journal before going to Wolfsbane Hole	An non-hostile Oneirist wants to talk to Dezi. She claims that she saw in a vision where Dezi entered a hidden chamber underneath Franciscus' office, found a journal belongs to Sybil, and then turned his back on the Absolutionists.
Oneirist Ambush	Forced		A group of Oneirists trying to eliminate Dezi, the Marked Wolf, in order to stop the Blood Moon prohecy.
Protected Ground	Optional	If Across Rivers is part of the posse	Across Rivers points out a sacred burial ground of a native tribe, allied to the Lost Fire Nation, who has been driven out from the West. The site, however, is being raided by grave robbers. Dezi can choose to kill the robbers (Across Rivers won't let the posse leave the encounter without killing them) or rob the graves himself. In the latter case, Across Rivers will turn hostile.

Oneirist Journey[]

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
A Witch at a Crossroads	Optional		Heathen asks for her box back. It doesn't matter whether the protagonist kept it closed, opened it and tells the truth, or opened it and lied, Heathen always let Constance open a chest which contains random loots. However, the Achievement What's in the Box? requires the box to be never opened. Another variation of this encounter in Oneirist Journey is the slapping game if Dezi didn't manage to beat Heathen.

General Encounters[]

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
A Glow Among the Trees	Forced	Higher chance to trigger in forests	A Wraith attacks the posse.
A Hive Disturbed	Forced		The protagonist encounters a hive of Ridgebacks.
A Witch at a Crossroads	Optional		Unlike journey-specific encounters with Heathen, there is also a variation where she just ask a few question and let the protagonist open her ornamented chest. In Pigman Journey, if Jane is with Cl'erns, Heathen will say "You two make quite the pair. Who is who? Are you her? Is she you? Ha!"
Bear Sighting	Forced	Higher chance to trigger on mountains	Three bears attack the posse.
Carrion Birds	Optional		A caravan was ambushed and brutally slaughtered with the culprit nowhere in sight. The toppled wagon has an ornamental chest inside, and one of the corpses have one of the following documents: A journal which claims they were being follow by someone. An Order from a Client. A Bounty Notice. There is a chance the cursed statuette appears in this encounter. And after the cursed statuette is freed, dreamer's vervain flowers start to appear in this encounter, suggesting the caravan is slaughtered by the Bloodstained Soul.
Coyote's Yip	Forced		The protagonist is attacked by a pack of coyotes.
Enemies in the Brush	Forced		The protagonist is ambushed by a gang of outlaws or someone who has a Vendetta against the protagonist.
Feeling Watched	Forced		The protagonist is attacked by one to three Sirens.
Highway Robbery	Forced		A group of outlaws demand a fee if the protagonist wishes to pass through alive. If, however, the protagonist is carrying an item for a side quest, they will demand that item instead. Refusing to give up the money or item results in a fight. There is a third option where the protagonists can give them the money but kill them right after to get it back. If the outlaws got away with the money or item, the leader might ends up on a Bounty board with a remark "Face seems awful familiar". The protagonist can take the bounty and kill or knockout the leader to regain the money or item. The outlaws can be any group ranging from Stillwaters, Oneirists, to generic bandits. As such, their dialogues, behavior, weapons, abilities, loots are different. Oneirists might also drop sigil stones.
Howling Hatch	Optional		The protagonist stumbles upon a ruined mansion with werewolf statues. There is a hatch in the middle, which can only be opened with a lever, hidden in a nearby bush. Underneath in a large basement, and a network of tunnels. One branch of the tunnels lead to a large werewolf statue, some silver veins and a wolfsbane garden. The other path leads to a dungeon where a few Oneirists were imprisoned. Further down the tunnels is a large chamber with a throne in front of a Blood Boon banner. There are many dead Absolutionist clerics here, and a dead child sitting upon the throne. There is also a small room next to the throne with some toys inside. This appears to be the child's room when he was alive. The child has a four-star amulet but looting him will turn him into a wraith, and all the dead clerics are resurrected as zombies. In order to escape, stack the barrels and hide bundles to get out of the chamber. High level High Jumper Perk also works. On the way out, the dead Oneirists also come alive as zombies.
Howls in the Brush	Forced		A pack wolves attack the protagonist.
Out of the Mines	Forced	Higher chance to trigger on mountains	A group of Mine Crawlers attacks the posse.
Profane Ritual	Optional		A group of Oneirists are performing a ritual with a corpse of another oneirist within an occult circle. If the ritual is interrupted by looting the corpse, which has an Amulet, a wraith will appear and the oneirists will also be hostile toward the protagonist, resulting in a three-way fight. If the ritual is left alone, the wraith will still be summoned, the loots from the corpse will be lost, and the protagonist can choose to help the oneirists or not.
Sacred Protector	Optional		A Lost Fire Nation Protector is surrounded by three outlaws, the protagonist can either choose to help him, or join the bandits. There is also a cave that might contain valuables and ores. The cursed statuette might also appear inside the cave.
Sign of the Stillwaters	Forced	Only if Shelby Cross is alive	An encounter with a group of Stillwaters who hold a civilian captive. Defeating the outlaws, get the key to the cage, free the captive and they will become a Friend for Life. There is a variation where the captive is injured and needs to be healed using one bandage.
Stalk by Pigmen	Forced	Higher chance to trigger in swamps	A group pigmen attacks the posse.
Terror on the Slopes	Optional	Higher chance to trigger on mountains	Two Cave Terrors guard a silver or ornamented chest that usually contain valuable items. They are not immediately alerted and thus it's possible to back out from the encounter. It's also possible sneak past them and get to the chest.
The Serpent's Mouth	Optional		A cave shaped like a snake head, which is also filled with snakes. There are many pressure plates inside which will release snakes if stepped on. There is also a silver chest whose key can be found on one of the bodies in the cave.
Traveling Merchant	Optional		One to two merchants sell their goods. If Cl'erns Qui'g visits them, they might give him a discount out of fear or mention his visit to Quigley's Lantern Room. Pigman Joe can appear in this encounter.
Wanderer Caravan	Optional		A group of wanderers sell amulets, elixirs, and Nimp Relics. They also buy Nimp heads and amulets. There is an amulet inside the wagon but getting in involves stealing/looting the key from the Wanderers, or lockpicking. Both actions will turn the Wanderers hostiles and they are quite powerful. There are also three books in the map (one inside the wagon). The guard mentions the elder being inside the wagon but there is actually no one. Next to the shop counter, there is a wanderer music box that can be interacted with.

Community Events[]

The following encounters only take place during specific Community Events.

Encounter	Type	Condition	Description
Traveler Under Attack	Optional	During The Plague	A lone traveler is surrounded by plague zombies. After helping them, they will ask to meet at a random location in order to save their family. After arriving at the location, the protagonist needs to help defend the it from multiple waves of plague zombies. Afterward, the traveler will reveal the location of a mound cache which contains an amulet. There will also be a news article that reports the event.
Walking Dead	Optional	During The Plague	The protagonist encounters a horde of zombies.

Trivia[]

Murals in The Serpent's Mouth encounter suggest the cave was used as a sacrificial or execution chamber. They also show an indigenous people who harvest poison from the snakes.