d100 = 1
Players hear a sound like a woman weeping. If they investigate, they find a ghost named Sally. She was murdered by a band of goblins a few days ago. She wants revenge on the goblins.
D1 Graveyard Random Encounters
D&D 5e · 99 scenarios · Roll d100 → roll D1
A complete D&D 5e random encounter table for graveyard scenes. Roll a d100 to pick a set, then roll a D1 to pick a scenario within that set — 99 unique D&D encounter scenarios in total. Every scenario is system-neutral and runs on either the 2014 Player's Handbook or the 2024 D&D revision. Pair each scenario with a stat block from our D&D monsters catalogue and you have a session-ready encounter in under a minute.
How to roll this table
- When the party enters a graveyard, roll a d100.
- The result (1–100) is your scenario. Read it out and run with it.
The D1 Graveyard encounter table
d100 = 2
A mourner's shawl is caught on a briar, fluttering in the breeze.
d100 = 3
A child's toy lies abandoned near a fresh mound of earth.
d100 = 4
The faint scent of incense lingers in the air, though there are no signs of a recent ritual.
d100 = 5
As the players wander through the graveyard, they hear a soft, haunting melody. Following the sound, they discover a mysterious harp player sitting on a tombstone. She offers to give them a song that will bring them luck, but in return, she wants one of their eyes.
d100 = 6
A single candle burns on a gravestone, recently placed.
d100 = 7
At the center of the graveyard, players find a spectral lord who died defending his castle. He offers his sword and wisdom if they agree to visit his abandoned keep and rid it of malevolent spirits.
d100 = 8
The players find a crypt with an unlocked door that creaks eerily when opened.
d100 = 9
As they pass a crumbling tombstone, players encounter a zombie gardener who still tends to the flowers. He offers potions brewed from the plants in exchange for stories of the living world.
d100 = 10
An unsettling silence claims this graveyard. At its epicenter stands a solitary gravestone, home to a spectral child endlessly reciting a dire prophecy. Linger too long, and 3d6 ethereal guardians materialize, demanding you unravel the prophecy—or they will banish you into madness.
d100 = 11
A series of candles form a circle around an old tomb, long since extinguished.
d100 = 12
A crypt is covered in deep, dark moss, suggesting it has been undisturbed for ages.
d100 = 13
The sound of chains rattling fills the air briefly.
d100 = 14
The players hear the sound of digging, but upon investigation, find only an old badger burrow.
d100 = 15
A group of sentient skeletons have formed a choral group and are rehearsing for their upcoming performance at the annual "Graveyard Serenade" concert. They invite the players to stay and listen, but it's up to the players whether they want to stay for the whole concert or sneak away before the skeletons realize they're still there.
d100 = 16
A gravestone has moss growing in the exact shape of a handprint.
d100 = 17
The players come across a funeral procession of ghostly mourners, complete with spectral pallbearers and a floating coffin. If respectfully communicated with, the spirits reveal they are in search of their lost relic which could hold unspeakable necromantic power.
d100 = 18
A group of 2d4+2 skeletons are lying around in various states of disrepair. They will attack when players approach.
d100 = 19
As players walk through the fog, they encounter 1d4 witches performing a dark ritual over a freshly dug grave. If disturbed, they summon 2d6 zombies to defend them as they complete their ominous ceremony.
d100 = 20
You hear a faint, sorrowful tune played on a flute.
d100 = 21
A thick, cold mist obscures your vision as you stumble upon a grove of petrified trees, each one marked with strange runic symbols glowing faintly. From the shadows, 2d4 giant spiders, corrupted by necromantic energy, snare the unwary. Clutched in the silk-wrapped remains of a previous victim is a letter disclosing plans for a political coup. Do you dare to take it, risking your life for the greater intrigue?
d100 = 22
A group of 1d6 zombies is seen walking around, looking for brains to eat. They will attack anyone they come across.
d100 = 23
A gang of ghouls masquerades as local patricians in the Mausoleum District, demanding a toll for grave passage and preaching the need for "death tax" to fund the war on decay. However, they're recent converts to ghouldom and cling desperately to their fading memories of life. The players can either fight for safe passage, humiliate them, or navigate their social pretensions to gain valuable information.
d100 = 24
A ghostly mount appears, offering to aid the players in travel if they help reunite it with its lost rider's spirit.
d100 = 25
An intricately
d100 = 26
A group of 2d4 skeletons are standing in the road, arguing about what kind of bones they are. They don't attack.
d100 = 27
A spectral figure offers a wish in exchange for eliminating a rival ghost in the graveyard. Upon completion, the spectral figure reneges, revealing the wish was a deception before vanishing.
d100 = 28
A pair of lovers is meeting secretly in this graveyard to make love and exchange gifts. If they see players, they will run away really fast!
d100 = 29
A vampire is hiding in a coffin, posing as a dead body. He will pretend to be a recently-deceased person, but he will attack the players when they open the coffin lid.
d100 = 30
A banshee wails mournfully, causing fear and sadness in anyone who hears it. The players must find a way to calm her restless spirit.
d100 = 31
The name on a gravestone eerily matches one of the party members, albeit very weathered.
d100 = 32
A distant lightning storm briefly illuminates the graveyard in a series of flashes.
d100 = 33
A mysterious figure in a black cloak is lurking among the gravestones. They seem to be searching for something.
d100 = 34
Faint music can be heard from an unseen source, carried on the wind.
d100 = 35
A shadowy figure resembling an ancient necromancer watches the party. If approached appropriately, he offers dark rituals and knowledge in exchange for retrieving his lost artifacts.
d100 = 36
The players stumble upon a group of druids performing a ritual among the graves to preserve the natural balance in the area. They might ask the players to help fend off any intruders.
d100 = 37
Players come across a group of 2d6 skeletons. The skeletons are practicing archery by shooting at targets. If players approach, the skeletons will attack.
d100 = 38
A group of three men wearing black robes are talking to each other in front of a grave. If the players approach, the men will ask them to help them dig up the grave. The three men are actually bad NPCs who are trying to dig up a grave to steal from it.
d100 = 39
You feel as if the shadows themselves are watching you.
d100 = 40
Loose ashes from a long-burnt fire scatter near a small, unmarked grave.
d100 = 41
The wind carries the faint sound of church bells ringing.
d100 = 42
The party sees a group of people digging up graves and taking valuables from the corpses. When confronted, they reveal that they are actually treasure hunters looking for a rumored treasure buried with a wealthy noble.
d100 = 43
An eerie message appears written in frost on a gravestone.
d100 = 44
An eerie mist conceals a beautifully maintained grave belonging to a powerful sorceress. Her spirit offers to cast spells for the players if they help her lift a centuries-old curse.
d100 = 45
A sudden mist envelopes the area, reducing visibility and creating an eerie atmosphere.
d100 = 46
They find a journal page detailing an experiment conducted near the graveyard.
d100 = 47
Two thieves are digging up a grave to steal treasure from it. If they are caught, they will fight to the death.
d100 = 48
The shadows seem to move on their own around you.
d100 = 49
A group of people are praying at the tombstone of a local hero. They want to bring him back to life, but they're not sure how to do it.
d100 = 50
Players hear an old man singing a sad song about death, love and loss. As they approach him, he looks up at them and asks if they have seen his pet dog named Sparky who ran away in the night. He says that Sparky has been with him for many years, but he worries about him being lost because he cannot find him anywhere. If players offer to help him find his dog, he will give each player a golden coin and tell them about a nearby dungeon where there are many monsters and valuable treasure that awaits those who are willing to fight for it.
d100 = 51
The air feels colder as the adventurers pass by a particularly old crypt.
d100 = 52
You notice a small, intricately carved box left atop a gravestone.
d100 = 53
A cloying aroma fills the air, leading the players to an overgrown section of the graveyard where a spectral cook attempts to recreate his lost recipes bound in a ghostly cookbook. Participation might yield unique provisions or new abilities.
d100 = 54
A group of 1d4+4 skeletons are lurking in the shadows, waiting for a victim to stumble into their trap! The skeletons are the remains of a group of tomb robbers who were killed in an ancient tomb under the graveyard. The skeletons were revived when a thief entered the tomb and disturbed a powerful lich. The skeletons will attack if anyone tries to disturb their digging.
d100 = 55
A couple is sitting on top of a tomb, making out while they try to get romantic with each other. If the players approach, they will break apart and apologize before running away in embarrassment.
d100 = 56
A single, unopened letter lies atop a freshly dug grave.
d100 = 57
You notice a gravestone engraved with a chilling epitaph.
d100 = 58
Encounters with headless harbingers in the twilight fog become commonplace, each carrying a rote message of impending doom from a royal court struggling with a succession crisis. These spectral envoys hint at courtly machinations affecting the land of the living and dead and offer sinister deals for carrying specific missives or provoking rival factions. Navigating these haunting alliances requires cunning and risk.
d100 = 59
Two grave robbers are digging up graves in search of treasure. One of the graves they have opened has turned out to be the tomb of a powerful vampire.
d100 = 60
A group of drunkards are staggering around, singing songs about their lost loves and past adventures. They'll run away if any trouble starts and won't stick around to help with any problems unless convinced otherwise with a bribe or through some other means.
d100 = 61
A pair of stone gargoyles seem to guard a crypt.
d100 = 62
A couple of drunk men are sitting by one of the graves, talking about how they wish they were buried here, instead of being buried in that wretch of a city they live in. They want to be buried here because they think it'll be safer than being buried in their current city.
d100 = 63
A group of 1d4+2 skeletons are looking for a place to rest. They look tired and they smell terrible.
d100 = 64
An unusual fog rolls over the graveyard, shifting to form faces that whisper the names of the dead and their forgotten deeds. One foggy face asks for the players' help to mend a broken promise from their past life.
d100 = 65
The moonlight reveals fleeting, ghostly figures dancing around a cenotaph. Enter their dance and 2d4 phantoms challenge you in waltz or duel. Winning reveals forgotten histories crucial for understanding recent political turmoil, while losing surrenders fragments of your soul to their unending dance.
d100 = 66
Strange claw marks mar the surface of an otherwise pristine gravestone.
d100 = 67
The scent of fresh bread fills the air, strangely out of place.
d100 = 68
Luna moths made of pure light circle a particular gravestone. They reveal a hidden grove where the spirit of a nature deity blesses the party with druidic powers.
d100 = 69
The players come across a preacher's ghost delivering a fervent sermon to the long-dead. His message seems to contain hidden clues that could lead to treasure or reveal a forbidden secret.
d100 = 70
A spectral masquerade blares grotesque reinterpretations where the laughing dead mime the living's conquests. Infiltrating the ghostly court by performing past faults slashes ribbons to acquire disadvantaging secrets or pacifying cynical monarchs strengthens appearing influential at shadowed courts lacking afterlife's resolve.
d100 = 71
A shrine in the graveyard dedicated to a forgotten hero animates and speaks, revealing a sacrificial rite to achieve power. Following its instructions benefits an unknown enemy who betrays the party once they are weakened.
d100 = 72
A well-tended plot stands out amid the graveyard’s general disrepair.
d100 = 73
The players find an old ring, weathered by time, half-buried in the dirt.
d100 = 74
The scent of damp earth and ancient rot pervades the air as twisted vines coil around cracked tombstones. In the distance, a spire of bone juts out, defying the sky. As you draw nearer, you find a lichened altar where 2d4 necromancers chant forbidden rites. They stop at your approach, eyes glinting with cold malice. The leader, draped in robes of midnight hue, offers a grim choice: partake in their ritual by surrendering a portion of your soul for power or face their wrath. The area is riddled with pitfalls and ensorcelled traps. Choose wisely, for the necromancers’ patron, a skeletal dragon, lurks beneath the earth, waiting to claim the foolish. Accept their dark gift, and waltz on the edge of damnation. Refuse, and you might just spark a war with the dead.
d100 = 75
The far-off sight of distant lights gives a momentary sense of hope.
d100 = 76
You find a half-burned candle in the crevice of a gravestone.
d100 = 77
Uneven mists float lazily over the fields of the dead, shrouding mausoleums and crypts in sorrowful silence. Echoes of battles long past seem to rise with every step. Out of this fog, a procession of 3d4 spectral knights on ghostly horses emerges. They bear the sigils of an ancient order, now forgotten, sworn to protect a kingdom that no longer exists. They challenge you for passage, invoking rites of old—a riddle of their lost king's fall, a trap of collapsing graves if answered wrong. The choices given are treacherous: honor the old ways and earn their respect, or vanquish them and bear the wrath of tormented souls. This ethereal encounter offers glimpses into ancient wars, secret histories, and promises of rewards entangled in the cobwebs of destiny.
d100 = 78
A man named Edmond is sitting on a tombstone. He is lost and looking for his way home. He can give the party directions if they want to help him get home safely. He will follow them around for a few days until he finds his way home if they do so.
d100 = 79
Tarnished statues animate to mock the nobility's preening around gargantuan gravemarkers. Players determine if these spirits manipulated by unseen wizards or merely prophetic reflections ridiculing hoisted vanity. Their actions lead to recompensing forgotten spirits aiding rest or incensing spiritual guardians of inherited monuments.
d100 = 80
A sudden, chilling breeze reveals an otherworldly war being reenacted by ghostly soldiers. The battlefield was once the graveyard now stands, and the spirits seek to recruit the players to help them find eternal rest by resolving the ancient conflict.
d100 = 81
A spectral painter appears to be working on an unfinished masterpiece using gravestones as canvases. The painter seeks rare colors (strangely found within enchanted items) and offers to create enchanting portraits as a reward.
d100 = 82
A giant spider has made its web among the gravestones, trapping anyone who comes too close. The players must defeat the spider and find its lair, where they will discover rare magical ingredients.
d100 = 83
The players come across a lonely, weeping ghost dressed in opulent attire. This spirit reveals they are a royal who died mysteriously, and promises reward for recovering the items that tell their true story spread throughout the graveyard.
d100 = 84
A group of 2d4 skeletons are standing in the road, arguing about what kind of bones they are. They don't attack.
d100 = 85
In the distance, the players see a group of 2d6 ghosts performing a play about their tragic deaths. If the players watch, they might learn something about the history of the graveyard.
d100 = 86
Players find a group of people who are mourning over a casket. If the players ask, they will be told that this is the casket of their Mayor who was murdered by a band of goblins. The players will then be invited to dinner the next night where they can meet the new Mayor. The new Mayor is in truth a bandit who has been impersonating the king for several months. He plans to kill the players and take their loot.
d100 = 87
A pack of 1d4+1 Hellhounds are guarding a tomb with the symbol of a powerful demon inscribed on it. They will only let the players pass if they can correctly answer a riddle about the underworld.
d100 = 88
The lettering on an old tombstone seems to glow faintly in the moonlight.
d100 = 89
The party hears a loud crashing noise. It's a group of 2d4+4 soldiers from a nearby city who are out on patrol. They want to know why the party is in their graveyard.
d100 = 90
A lone zombie is wandering aimlessly, carrying a tattered letter in its hand. If the party takes the letter, they may find that it is a tragic love letter written by the zombie's former self.
d100 = 91
The scent of burning wood lingers in the air, though no fire is visible.
d100 = 92
An old woman is sitting on a tombstone. She is holding a box full of kittens. The woman is looking for a home for the kittens.
d100 = 93
A group of 1d4+1 Bone Men are standing around a large fire. They are cooking the body of one of their tribesmen that died recently
d100 = 94
The faint smell of freshly baked bread wafts in the air with no apparent source to be found.
d100 = 95
An abandoned crypt suddenly opens, and a horde of undead creatures pours out. The players must fend them off and close the crypt before the undead can spread throughout the graveyard.
d100 = 96
A group of druids are performing a ritual to purify the graveyard and put restless spirits to rest. However, an evil entity is disrupting their ritual and the players must help the druids defeat it before it unleashes its wrath on the living.
d100 = 97
A crumbling chapel is inhabited by a skeletal priest who provides a quest for absolution. Completing it double-crosses a living order dedicated to exterminating undead, who then seek retribution.
d100 = 98
A lone tiefling can be seen kneeling at a gravestone, crying. When the players approach, she reveals that this is the resting place of her lover who died years ago.
d100 = 99
A gargoyle statue near a family crypt suddenly animates and demands the players to solve its riddles or face its wrath. Successful players may gain entry to a hidden vault filled with precious relics.
Use this table with the rest of Doungim's D&D 5e toolkit
A random encounter scenario is just the start of a scene. Pair it with a creature from our D&D 5e monsters catalogue (3,000+ monsters with full stat blocks), an NPC from our pre-built D&D NPC roster, a spell from the D&D 5e spell list, and a reward from the D&D magic items catalogue — and you have a full one-page session ready to drop on your D&D 5e or 2024 party.
Other dice tiers for the graveyard: D4, D6, D8, D10.
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