AVERNIAN ENCOUNTER DISTANCE
As described in Part 7B: Avernian Hex Map, the Avernian Hexcrawl features unique terrain types. You can use the following table to determine encounter distance in Avernus.
| Terrain | Encounter Distance |
|---|---|
| Ashlands | 6d6 x 20 feet |
| Bone Brambles | 2d6 x 10 feet |
| Caustic Bogs | 6d6 x 10 feet |
| Hills, Avernian | 2d6 x 10 feet |
| Mountains, Avernian | 4d10 x 10 feet |
| Plains of Fire | 4d6 x 10 feet |
| Pit of Shummrath | 4d6 x 10 feet |
| Wastelands | 6d6 x 40 feet |
| Wastelands, Cracked | 6d6 x 20 feet |
| Volcanic Plains | 4d6 x 10 feet |
AVERNIAN REACTION TABLE
Reaction checks in Avernus are made by rolling 2d6 on the following table.
| 2d6 | Reaction |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | Immediate Attack |
| 4-5 | Hostile |
| 6-8 | Cautious/Threatening |
| 9-10 | Neutral |
| 11-12 | Amiable |
If you roll doubles, however, the encounter’s reaction will be deceptive, in which case the encounter’s reaction will appear to be the opposite result on the table:
- Immediate Attack/Hostile encounters will appear incredibly friendly and welcoming… right up until they slip the knife in.
- Threatening encounters will appear cautious, most likely using that posture to put the PCs at a disadvantage. (“Your weapons scare me! Put them down and we can talk!”)
- Cautious encounters will attempt to scare the PCs away with a display of dominance.
- Neutral encounters are unchanged.
- Amiable encounters will present behavior that seems overtly hostile, but most likely due to cultural differences. (The demon is brandishing its venom-glistened fangs at you so that you’ll see that it’s having its venom sacs discharge a clear fluid instead of poison!)
Deception is possible in any setting, of course. By having it systemically occur one-sixth of the time in Avernus, our goal is to leave the players feeling unsettled and uncertain. Hell is an alien environment filled with lies and liars.
FACTION ALLEGIANCE TABLE
Devils encountered in Avernus will usually belong to or be allied with a faction. (Hell is all about its hierarchies.) You can randomly determine an encounter’s faction using this table.
| Faction | |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | Warlords |
| 6-10 | Zariel |
| 11-13 | Bel |
| 14-15 | Tiamat |
| 16-17 | Purple City |
| 18-19 | Other/Independent/Rebellious |
| 20 | Demonic (Quisling) |
Doubles on 2d6 isn’t “half the time”, it’s 1 in 6. Specifically, it’s 1 in 3 fo Immediate Attack, 1 in 9 for Hostile, 1 in 8 for Cautious/Threatening, doesn’t matter for Neutral and 1 in 3 for Amiable.
Notwithstanding, it’s still a good mechanic. Better, in fact than half the time because a party that takes the encounter at face value will be right more than they are wrong while an overly paranoid party will be wrong more than they are right.