Random encounter - Definition and Overview

Random encounters is a feature commonly used in computer and console role-playing games to simulate the chaotic nature of a monster-infested wilderness.

RPGs have used random encounters since Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy in the mid-1980s, if not earlier. Random encounters happen when the player is traveling from one place in the game world to another (often through the use of a "world map"). Most often, the player encounters enemies (usually multiple) but sometimes also friendly or neutral characters, with whom the player might interact and possibly trade. Random encounters are, as the name implies, most often more or less random. But they can also vary in form and frequency depending on a number of factors, such as, for example, where the player is located in the game world and the statistics of the player character. As such, random encounters usually occur more frequently in caves, forests and swamps than in open plains.