I like the mechanics of Usage Dice but they seem to be used primarily for consumables which I tend to just sell by days worth (4 days food, 4 days worth of torches) and otherwise forget about.
For those that don't know the Usage Dice works it goes like this. An item, usually a consumable has a die number U12 would be a 1d12, U10 would be 1d10. If you roll 1-2 your Usage Die drops one die, so down to U10, then U8, U6, U4. Naturally the odds of rolling a 1-2 increase as the size of the die drops. You roll 1-2 on 1d4 and your item is depleted. Usage Die are typically used for torches, food, and arrows but I think the idea can be expanded far more than that.
In my previous post on Usage Dice I mentioned a few alternate uses but it just occurred to me that the Usage Dice would make a nice mechanic for Random Encounters.
Random Encounters
Create a random encounters table with 8 entries, another one with 6 slightly tougher entries, a third one with 4 tough entries, and the last is the boss encounter in the area. So when you enter the area you roll 1d8 anytime you would normally roll for random encounters. If you roll 1-2 you get an encounter but also switch to the 1d6 table next time. By having multiple tables you also limit the number of repeat encounters. For a big area you could have the tables escalate only on a 1, or you could have a table with 10 or 12 entries.
I haven't played this out, it should work but might lead to to much bookkeeping.
