The Percentile Table

This is another simple form of encounter table. Here, the creature frequency percentages can be used directly. To create a percentile table, the DM repeats the steps given above for selecting and grouping his encounters, again opting not to use the efreeti or the brass dragon. Then the number of creatures at each frequency is divided into the percentage for that frequency (70%, 20%, 7%, and 3%, respectively, for common, uncommon, rare, and very rare). In the earlier example, the list includes six common monsters. (70%), resulting in an 11% spread per monster (66% total). This is repeated for the monsters in each category. The resulting number is the dice range for each creature. Using these values as a guide, he arranges the creatures into a table.

D100
Roll	Creature
Common
01-11	Camel
12-22	Giant centipede
23-33	Herd animal
34-44	Ogre
45-55	Orc
56-66	Huge spider
Uncommon
67-70	Basilisk
71-74	Caravan
75-78	Hobgoblins
79-82	Nomads
83-86	Giant scorpion
Rare
87-88	Chimera
89-90	Pilgrims
91-92	Harpy
93-95	Dervishes
96-97	Salamander
Very Rare
98-99	Lamia
100	Djinni

Using this method the DM was able to remain reasonably faithful to the frequency percentages for different creatures: 66% as opposed to 70% for common; 20% exactly for uncommon; 11% as opposed to 7% for rare; and 3% for very rare. In creating this table, the DM had to make adjustments here and there to account for all percentage numbers, but doing so allowed him to increase the emphasis on certain monsters.

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