Summary
Traveling the elemental planes of fire, water, earth, and air is one of the most fun ways to adventure inDungeons & Dragons.From high-flying chases to exploring unfathomable watery depths, there’s plenty of opportunity for creativity. One of the best ways to keep players engaged during planar travel adventures is to pepper their journey with random encounters.
But, just what kind of random encounters should players expect inthe elemental planes? Each of these realms has unique creatures, features, and areas of interest, after all. If you’re running a campaign in one of these settings, here are some random encounters you can use to keep your table on their toes.
Fire
Combat or Social Interaction
While traveling through the Cinder Wastes, your party encounters a band of Salamander mercenaries fighting over who should get to keep a special sword of immense power. The party has heard tell that Salamanders are greedy creatures but often make for great smiths. The sword must be valuable.
Have players decide how they’d like to approach this encounter for themselves. Should they challenge the Salamanders for the sword? Or, perhaps, they can use the creatures' own bickering as a distraction and try to steal the sword without them noticing.
Water
Exploration
While sailing the high seas, the party stumbles across the mysterious Isle of Dread, a liminal place between the material plane and the Elemental Plane of Water. While there, they discover that many other sailors are trapped on one side of the planar rift. One nobleman promises vast riches if the party helps him return home.
It’s said that those who uncover the secrets of the tides of the Isle of Dread can traverse between both realms safely. Have players explore the Isle to discover its secrets, and perhaps find a way home for their wealthy benefactor.
Air
Chase
The Labyrinth Winds, which connect much of the Elemental Plane of Air, are heavily trafficked. One day, as the party moves through these wind currents,they notice an aarakocrathief being pursued by city guards. The thief claims that the treasure they have is rightfully theirs, and beseeches the party for help.
In a split-second decision, players must decide whether to believe the thief or the city guards, and help aid one side of the chase. Running chase mechanics in the Elemental Plane of Air can prove for some high-paced, high-octane action.
Earth
Environmental Trap
The Mud Hills are a bog-like land of ooze and slime, often prone to sudden seismic activity. As the party travels through these hills, there’s suddenly a great, loud rumbling sound. It’s a mudslide!
Have players react to the mudslide in any way they see fit, but warn them that if they get caught up in the carnage, they’re likely to plummet several dozen feet to the ground! Encourage players to work as a team to verify no one falls to their doom.
Combat
While exploring a noble watery estate, the party comes across a fountain filled with coins. Wait, those aren’t just coins – they’re gemstones! This wishing fountain contains gems worth thousands of gold pieces back home. Should the party take some? After all, no one’s looking.
If the party takes from the fountain, the water inside the fountain springs to life, revealing it as no ordinary water feature. In fact, the water is actually comprised of multiple Water Weirds, aquatic, violent creatures.
Roleplay
A grand metropolis in the Elemental Plane of Air is hosting a skywriting competition the day the party strolls into town. Realizing they’re low on gold pieces, the party learns that there’s a covetous cash prize at stake should they create the most artistic piece of skywriting.
Gift the party with Fly spell scrolls (unless they already have a flyer in the party) as well as a pouch containing colored steam. Encourage the party to take in the grandeur of the city and describe their skywriting design. Through a series of Performance checks, let the party create their masterpiece in the air.
Stealth
The City of Brass is known to play host to some of the rarest magical artifacts in existence. This includes antitoxins and other valuable magical curesto strange diseases. While the party is exploring the market, they are approached by a sickly woman, who needs medicine desperately.
She came to the plane looking for a cure to her ailment, but needs the party’s sticky fingers to lift some from a local vendor. Should the party trust this woman and her aims? Or, is it possible that she actually wants something more valuable?
Puzzle
The City of Jewels is renowned for its fine gemstones and magical veins of diamonds and ore. However, one day, as the party is traversing the city, a large earthquake occurs, stranding several dao in a precarious position with oxygen soon running out.
Players must find another way into the mineshaft to rescue the miners. Give the party a lead in the form of a rumored second entrance down a shady alleyway. From there, it’s up to the players to figure out how to break through solid rock before time runs out.
Exploration and Combat
The Darkened Depths is a region where no visible light can be found. While traveling on the borders of this region, akindly Water Genasirequests aid from the party. Their child went wandering off and is now likely alone in the Darkened Depths.
Should the party accept their mission, they must find a way to reunite with the missing child without reliance on sight. Explain to any characters with darkvision that their field of view is still extremely limited down in the Darkened Depths, and any number of foul elemental creatures could be lurking just out of sight.
To run the race, set up a series of navigational challenges, like steering the balloon in between jagged cliffs or over the mouth of a volcano. Introduce a series of competitors as well, who will all race against them for the grand prize!
