It occurred to me this last session I hadn’t fully explained to the group my perspective on D&D. The encounter with the pack of raptors clued me into something that I’m not entirely sure I’ve communicated. Many times (and especially for random encounters) I don’t spoon feed encounters to the players. I don’t expect that any encounter you happen to come across is either “balanced for your level” or capable for you to defeat. It is entirely possible to get into a situation totally above your head.  Consider the “reality of the circumstances” and try to act accordingly. I see my role as “set up the world and narrate the interactions with it.” I don’t try to kill your characters though I’m not going to save you from yourselves.

I try to place 4 or 5 adventure options in front of you guys and let you decide what you want to tackle. Some stuff is hinted to you several levels above your level. I don’t care which threads you pick up and decide to pursue (though I do like to know ahead of time so I know what to bring.)  The clock is always ticking and events move off screen. If you decide to travel to the Dwarf strong hold of “Flairveyah” to look for the Hammer of Thrum that’s up to you.  If you look to travel to the land of the great lizards you may know about where that is.  If you want to investigate villager refugees there is an adventure behind that. For the most part these are not static placements that can be followed up on anytime they events they represent have lives of their own accord.