Do Owl Bears Shit in the Woods? Or a conversation about what makes up an encounter in Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPG or DnD) first of all, let me clarify our Owl Bear could have easily been a Bear or a Bug Bear. That is to say, it can be a creature, character, beast or Monster.

Presented for reference and consideration

The conversation really is what makes up an encounter whether random or by design, and where and how does the perceived challenge rating (CR) fit into the idea.

If the party find tracks and leavings of one of our envisioned creatures is that an encounter in its own right? It certainly invokes a response in character and triggers action and discussion. If it is an encounter, how much XP, and what is its CR, is the CR based on the creature or something else? If a Bear does shit in the woods, and a player stands in it, passing through the area randomly one early evening looking to camp, are they threatened by the idea, do they, after a successful relevant skill check, even recognise what they have stepped in? And does the experience change with recognition? Is it more experience to actually encounter owlbear droppings than unknown tracks and droppings? Where does this lead us if they then track the creature?

What is the CR and experience of tracking and sighting a wandering Owlbear perched on a hilltop unaware of the party? They deem to not attack it, just watch it in a wildlife study-like way, leaving it to live its life, what are their rewards for this roleplay, it’s valid action, but is it an interaction worthy of experience gain?

Does encountering a BugBear on the town guard, who stops and questions the players’ reason for coming into town after evening curfew has fallen, where the players may perused or deceive the guard to gain safe entry, move the game and their experiences forward, especially when the short conversation tells them several important things about the town.

This kind of observation can be applied every time a dungeon master (DM, GM or storyteller) considers can my player group encounter this. This can be anything, any creature or environment. Not every encounter in games must be a fight, and the players can lose. They can run away, and sometimes how you deliver that encounter should remind them of that. But all of these encounters could have become fights, in all of them depending on player level and other factors, the fight can be in or against the player’s favour. To four level 2 players, the bear is not really a challenge; the Owl Bear most certainly could be; the BugBear has cover and support and could be either a simple roleplay experience or land the players in a cell defeated and beaten by the town guards.

To labour these points further, A huge ancient dragon flys over the travelling level one party it does not notice them, they can’t effect it, or barely reach it, but the dragon chooses to cast its scream or fear-causing roar ( https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pd9o?Frightful-Presence, there is a an equivalent in D&D and other systems ) it’s not even aimed at them, but they are effected, they are making saves and they are gaining experience.

It’s worth noting this works well with experience (XP) based levelling as the players can see a demonstration of being given the partial XP for the encounter, it’s a learning experience in multiple ways. When using milestone levelling it may be worth telling the players this minor milestone goes towards the next large milestone or some such expression of their gain. More experienced players may just understand it, but it’s worth checking in with your players.

This conversation is intended to make DMs, etc think a little more about how they present their encounters and how they expect their players to react to those encounters. Remember, there are three popularly perceived pillars to a Roleplaying game https://slyflourish.com/including_pillars_anywhere.html, but it is ok if those pillars interact, even intertwine, and this conversation leans into exploration, roleplay or combat anywhere. I hope it lends a little something to your players’ next encounters.