What BG3 could and should perhaps have instead are premade fights that happen if you long-rest in specific areas, like the Underdark. Carefully designed ambushes that make the player consider their camp as a combat map.
IMO it would be super interesting to have various options or outcomes indeed. So let's say that around the crypts when you rest you get the random encounter animation showing your party or someone on watch noticing bandits before they notice you. The game could then give you various skill checked option on how to proceed:
- try to hide (on success nothing happens this time, but bandits will show up next time)
- spy on them (they will be surprised if you attack, or you will have advantage on rolls if you speak to them)
- introduce yourself (possibility to influence outcome by dialogue)
- attack them (combat).
Would be fairly easy to even implement a kind of 'mini-bos' thing, let's say after 3 encounters in the same area with npc's from the same group (bandits, goblins, brain eaters, wildlife) you succeeded at passing, a mini-boss has to be dealt with after which the map goes 'quite' and you only have an extremely small probability to trigger a new random encounter. That way, at least the map's empty feeling and staticness makes sense in terms of narrative and it would be less immersion breaking.
I think if Larian were to approach these as a kind of mini-game on top of what is already there, it should be doable and add an extra 'unknown' layer of events that the current open (no fog of war) and static world desperately needs. Simply dividing the overground map in lets say four area's (excluding undark) and add one of these crafted random encounters to each area with NPC's/enemies that fit that area (e.g. goblins for North West corner, Brain eaters around nautiloid SW area , bandits for SE corner, and those orc like creatures i forgot the name of in the South west area) would mean 4 only need to be designed.
Variability can be introduced by randomizing the enemies that appear (e.g. 1 goblin mage, or two archers) but fixing it to a certain power level and making it progressive in terms of spawns, e.g. :
first time: 3 melee bandits
second time: 1 heavy armoured bandit with a bandit cleric
third time: bandit leader with 1 archer, 1 mage, one cleric
While also making it a 'progressing event' in terms of narrative, e.g. :after meeting the bandit leader in the final random encounter, this particular random encounter 'story line' ends, either because you defeat them, successfully avoided them trice, or did something else to resolve the issue (e.g. won them over to trade/fence with you after succeeding charisma checks).
Also given the apparent unwillingness of Larian to make a proper day/night mechanic (SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THIS NEXT TIME/PFH PLEASE), this could also offer an opportunity to give us nightcrawlers and shadow-lovers easy access to night time encounters and their currently much missed atmosphere...
