Spooky, yet Mundane Dungeon Encounters

This post is available as a high-quality PDF – CLICK HERE

Sometimes you want your players to feel like something dangerous is going on, but in reality its just a mundane occurrence. I’ve put together a table of 100 spooky and unnerving, yet harmless encounters for you to frighten and confuse your players! Roll a d100 on the table below to get started.

1. A birds nest sits in a crack in the wall. It has three warm eggs inside
2. A body hangs by its neck from a chandelier
3. A broken weapon lies discarded here. It has been sundered by something of great strength.
4. A cage containing the bones of a child hangs from the ceiling
5. A ceiling tile falls, narrowly missing the party
6. A chess board is set up in an alcove with a half finished game laid out
7. A chicken pecks at the floor
8. A circle of carefully stacked stones have been arranged in the middle of the hallway
9. A corpse lies on the floor. The word “SEVEN” has been carved into its skull
10. A crudely drawn image of a vulture on a wall deeply unsettles the PCs
11. A curious rat trails the party
12. A dead cow lies on the floor. It is clearly rotten but has no smell
13. A deep thumping approaches the party until it sounds like it is in the room with them, then stops
14. A delicious dessert sits on a wooden stool
15. A faded sign advertising “Hot Meat Pies” leans against the wall
16. A frog with a ribbon tied around its neck hops across the floor
17. A fungus growing along the floor rapidly fades and dies as the PCs approach it.
18. A gold chamber pot with still warm feces
19. A group of rats gnaw at the head of an Orc. The body is nowhere to be found
20. A head with its lips sewn shut lies on the floor
21. A large cobweb sits in the corner. A first glance a PC sees the name of a loved one written in it, but when he looks back at the web the name is gone.
22. A large spider crawls out of a PC’s ear
23. A large, flaming spider screeches as it races about, and is killed by the flames
24. A lone moth flits around a torch. It seems to pass through solid materials and will slowly fade from sight.
25. A loose stone reveals the bones of a child
26. A mask rests on a table. After a moment, it sighs, whispering “You’re not perfect”, before crumbling into dust.
27. A pack and its contents lie strewn across the ground
28. A pair of glowing lights is visible in the distance, but fade as the PCs approach.
29. A PC feels a hand in his pouch, but nothing is missing
30. A PC finds a slip of paper with his name on it
31. A PC finds himself unconsciously flipping a coin and nervously checking the outcome
32. A PC has a flash of a vision in which the other PCs are stone statues
33. A PC hears a horrid, cacophonous roar which fills his ears and reverberates off the walls. No one else hears this
34. A PC hears whispering right behind him, but there is no one there
35. A PC splashes into a puddle that was not there an instant before. He is soaked in stale water
36. A pigeon lands on a PC’s shoulder. It has a message tied to its foot which reads “Trust no one,” written in the PC’s handwriting
37. A rat gnaws at a bone nearby and suddenly a hawk swoops down, grabs it, and vanishes around a corner
38. A severed hand covered in stitches lies on the floor
39. A sheet of music is pinned to the wall with a dagger
40. A shield lies on the ground here, ripped into two pieces by something of immense strength.
41. A single strawberry grows in a pot of earth
42. A skeletal foot seems to be partially embedded into the wall.
43. A small flower grows in a crack in the floor.
44. A small ray of light reaches through a crack in the ceiling.
45. A spider covered in spines scurries away
46. A suit of armor crumples to the ground with a human sounding sigh
47. A tarnished silver key hangs from a ring on the wall
48. A throbbing spider nest the size of a cat is attached to the ceiling. Several spiders run across it.
49. A timid voice whispers a PC’s name before laughing and fading away.
50. A vile liquid bubbles and seeps up from one of the tile-stones.
51. A wall stone has been shifted, revealing a natural cave entrance
52. A zombie with no arms or lower jaw follows the party
53. All of the PCs speak in unison “It is done,” and find themselves feeling elated
54. An arrow sticks from a chink in the wall
55. An old ring sits in a crack in the floor
56. An old trail of blood leads away, as if a body were dragged. It stops suddenly
57. Bloody footprints left by a large creature lead down the hall, and slowly fade
58. Dried petals of an unidentifiable flower litter the floor.
59. Hundreds of insects swarm a corpse
60. One by one, the lights in the room go out
61. One PC has a vision of the other PCs being murdered one by one. The killer wears the PC’s face and a smile.
62. Several headless corpses lie around a chopping block. Their heads are nowhere to be found
63. Statues of guards flank a bricked up doorway
64. The distinct skittering of tiny paws can be heard for a moment.
65. The dust is thick in the air here, and the PCs feel the need to cough.
66. The eyes of a moth-eaten painting lazily follow the PCs.
67. The floor here is crawling with maggots.
68. The full name of someone dear to one of the PCs is scratched into a wall
69. The ground beneath the PCs’ feet suddenly becomes extremely sticky.
70. The lights dim and it appears as if the PCs are moving through a field of stars for a moment
71. The party leader gets a whiff of the perfume a loved one used to wear
72. The party leader suddenly knows the identity of a killer who committed a crime here long ago
73. The PCs can hear heavy breathing.
74. The PCs feel a sudden chill here.
75. The PCs find that they have all drawn their weapons unconsciously
76. The PCs have been idly talking about an old friend before remembering that they know no one by that name
77. The PCs hear the lonely howl of a single wolf.
78. The PCs hear the sounds of a massive metal blade being dragged across the ground. It slowly fades into the distance regardless of the PCs’ actions.
79. The PCs hear the sounds of drums. Drums, in the deep. They fade as the PCs move.
80. The PCs suddenly realize that their footfalls have been completely silent for several minutes. As soon as they do so, their footsteps can be heard again
81. The remains of an adventurer are pinned to the wall with daggers
82. The smell of the sea is overwhelmingly strong in a corner of the room
83. The sound of a conversation the PCs had earlier can be clearly heard from behind a door
84. The sound of hurried footsteps echo, and suddenly stop
85. The sound of shattering pottery echoes from around a corner. If the PCs investigate they find a broken vase and no one in sight
86. The sound of singing floats from a doorway and fades
87. The torch here seems to be burning a strange color. It returns to normal as soon as the PCs interact with it.
88. The wall has been carved away, and a large standing stone has been placed in the newly formed alcove. It is covered in strange writing
89. There is a box here faintly emitting a sweet aroma. It is filled with decaying fruit.
90. There is a desk and a pair of chairs here. One of the chairs is covered in dried blood.
91. There is a locked box here, filled with tiny slips of paper with names on them. Approximately half the names are crossed out.
92. There is a pile of teeth here.
93. There is a scroll here describing the trial and messy execution of one of the PCs.
94. There is an empty net here on the ground, ripped and torn to shreds.
95. Thin metallic shavings form an intricate pattern in the floor.
96. Two ancient corpses embrace one another
97. Two cats chase each other and run past the PCs
98. Water drips slowly from the ceiling, but it distinctly smells like blood.
99. What appears to be the carcass of a rat lies on the floor. As the PCs approach, it suddenly springs into action and darts away.
100. When a PC steps on a certain stone he hears a click, but nothing happens.