Say what you want, I've been playing Kingmaker, and one of the first things I noticed is that BG3 is severely lacking in this area. Staged Encounters are fine, but when ever encounter is staged it takes away from one of the most fundamental elements of D&D; Random Encounters.
Why are Random Encounters vital to D&D?
Element of surprise and just plain random fun. One of the things that has always set D&D apart from other RPGs is Dungeon Exploration. As you open a door, Random Encounter! Some Random Monsters just spring up and attack you. Each room you enter, you never know what you're going to get. Shoot! The entire Munchkin Game simulates D&D more than BG3 right now. It is built on the premise of kicking a door down in a dungeon and encountering some randomly generated creature. Some rooms my be weak monsters and some may utterly destroy you unless you throw that door shut and run.
When I play Solasta or Kingmaker, and I'm traveling along and suddenly a popup jumps at me stating Random Encounter, it creates variety and the unexpected. Not everything is staged and set in stone. As you're moving through a dark wood, suddenly, out of nowhere, some random monster just pops out at you. Is that monster a part of the overall story. No. You might encounter some random mishap that causes you no end of trouble. Trying to sleep a full night? Nope! Interrupted by monsters in the wild. Why is that fun? Because you might be hurting and need a full night's rest, and if some random monster interrupts it, suddenly you are on edge thinking you might not survive the night. AND, it makes inns and rest zones where you have to pay to sleep so much more important.
But that's not all, Random Encounters make the game more fun when you play it a second or third time. It is much more fun when you have no idea even on the 10th playthrough when you might encounter a monster or two.
So, let's say you're roaming around the area where you meet Scratch. Suddenly, three giant spiders jump out at you. You didn't expect it because it was a Random Encounter. The next time you play the game, you don't get a Random Encounter at that part. Third time, you get jumped by goblins down by the river where there is a sparkling pod. Fourth time, you get jumped by a band of bandits near the edge of Blighted Village. All Random Encounters where enemies just pop up on you out of nowhere.
That would be so much more fun than every single time I replay the game I face the same exact encounters every time.
