tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post2855842542790682973..comments2024-03-28T08:50:57.015+01:00Comments on Beyond Fomalhaut: [BLOG] Hex-crawls: A Simple GuideMelanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-86607339189222163202023-02-17T09:52:16.869+01:002023-02-17T09:52:16.869+01:00Got it, thanks. I was wondering specifically about...Got it, thanks. I was wondering specifically about assigning monsters and treasure to ruins. I ended up reverse-engineering a 1d6 roll from the Thasan distribution. https://vaguecountries.nl/2023/02/08/methods-workbench-determining-the-presence-of-monsters-and-treasure-in-wilderness-hex-crawl-ruins/kaeruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422660661902905607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-80023447754301537452023-02-16T18:05:19.943+01:002023-02-16T18:05:19.943+01:00A lot of Thasan was done about a decade ago, so it...A lot of Thasan was done about a decade ago, so it may not align perfectly with how I do it now, but close enough. For the 12-mile hexes I usually use (unlike Judges Guild's 5-mile standard), I check for both ruins and lairs on a 1:6 probability for each hex. Hexes with mixed terrain or clearly divided sections are rechecked, and duplicate results are also checked for. The ruin/lair distinction is a JG carryover, and more of a general yardstick than a precise distinction.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-13681374476901778902023-02-06T10:31:40.100+01:002023-02-06T10:31:40.100+01:00Fantastic, thanks for responding, Melan!
I have a...Fantastic, thanks for responding, Melan!<br /><br />I have acquired the items from your catalogue you mention and am reading Thasan currently. Really cool, and interesting and has some overlap with my current sword and planet campaign.<br /><br />A casual analysis of Thasan so far also reveals a clear overlap between the advice you share in this post and the published end-result.<br /><br />I was wondering, in part by my analysis of Thasan, if you use any method to determine the presence of monsters and/or treasure at ruins and lairs?kaeruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422660661902905607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-67487051352082445012023-01-31T20:01:36.661+01:002023-01-31T20:01:36.661+01:00The Wilderlands is the best classic example (the N...The Wilderlands is the best classic example (the Necromancer Games boxed set is a good update, but I think it costs absurd amounts of money these days), and Isle of Dread is a good example of using the structure for a single adventure.<br /><br />The Sea of Vipers is quite cool, a sort of dreamlike update to the Wilderlands idea: https://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-sea-of-vipers.html<br /><br />I released two hex-crawls that represent how I tend to like these things: the Isle of Erillion, in Echoes From Fomalhaut #03 and #04 (classic adventure fantasy) and Thasan, in Echoes #08 (sword & sorcery wastelands with ruined cities and general weirdness).Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-2239647737455554092023-01-24T15:26:21.114+01:002023-01-24T15:26:21.114+01:00This is so very useful Melan. I am curious, what w...This is so very useful Melan. I am curious, what would you hold up as particularly good examples of the classic style wilderness hex crawl from your own product catalogue or D&D history in general? Wilderlands and Isle of Dread are obvious examples, any others that you'd point to as good models to study and emulate?kaeruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422660661902905607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-45440456807817916722022-02-10T10:29:06.479+01:002022-02-10T10:29:06.479+01:00Ooopps. Forgot to answer this question - sorry!
T...Ooopps. Forgot to answer this question - sorry!<br /><br />Three encounters per night is the amount rolled if the players take no precautions at all and camp out in the open. You may want to subtract one check for each of these factors:<br />- characters look for a safe campsite<br />- there is a Ranger (or other outdoorsman type) in the group<br />- there is an existing place or structure that could serve as a shelter, e.g. a ruin or a recently cleared monster lair.<br /><br />I would still ask the players to set up three watches, but only roll once or twice (or perhaps not at all), and allocate the encounter randomly.<br /><br />This typically gives you 1-2 encounter possibilities per night.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-14663360487285520622022-02-10T10:20:57.925+01:002022-02-10T10:20:57.925+01:00You are correct, it is 12 mile hexes.You are correct, it is 12 mile hexes.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-37442704118671322522022-02-10T04:36:48.633+01:002022-02-10T04:36:48.633+01:00Just curious: is the map you used as an example fi...Just curious: is the map you used as an example filled with 6 or 12 mile hexes? By the number of random ruins and lairs I'd assume 12 mile? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14064539762208301937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-7622996088364159762022-01-22T20:31:35.730+01:002022-01-22T20:31:35.730+01:00So I was wondering...
My adventurers are travelli...So I was wondering...<br /><br />My adventurers are travelling through woods and hills = 20 km a day = 1 hex. They trigger one random encounter roll a day.<br /><br />Then they camp for the night. Unless they find a good resting spot, they trigger three random encounter rolls.<br /><br />That's 1 roll per day, 3 per night, a ratio of 1:3. Seems a bit too night-heavy to me. Why is it this way? To stress the danger of camping outdoors? Or because evil things roam the night?<br /><br />I'm not sure I like it. First of all, I would assume that travelling from place to place would actually trigger more rolls than staying put. But mainly I don't like the fact hat 3/4 of random encounters will be variations of "your campsite gets invaded at night". Not much variability here, and why I can think of many various daylight travelling encounters, the night ones seem more boring.<br /><br />What am I missing here?Jiří "Markus" Petrůhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17888038430387964093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-11894651582369183122021-12-13T22:43:28.547+01:002021-12-13T22:43:28.547+01:00Thanks - much appreciated! Will check the blog in ...Thanks - much appreciated! Will check the blog in a tad.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-85616273502365678402021-12-12T20:40:24.958+01:002021-12-12T20:40:24.958+01:00This is one of my favorite blog posts of all time....This is one of my favorite blog posts of all time.<br /><br />I made my own Campaign Map using this guide and added another die to the stocking roll with "Wonders & Vignettes". Here's the post if you want to see how my map turned out.<br /><br />https://brinehouse.blogspot.com/2021/12/campaign-map-building-01.htmlKingBrackishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08752261395902857107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-65757595895812077642021-12-06T18:09:23.178+01:002021-12-06T18:09:23.178+01:00If I recall correctly, JG's original plan was ...If I recall correctly, JG's original plan was for 5 *leagues* per hex, and the 5-mile hexes are a production mistake they accepted and ran with.<br /><br />My campaigns typically use 20 km per hex, or 6 leagues, based on this understanding.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-52519503039114475032021-12-06T17:55:57.842+01:002021-12-06T17:55:57.842+01:00My understamding is that The Wilderlands was 5 mil...My understamding is that The Wilderlands was 5 miles per hex and this was due to a cockup with the printers as it was supposed to be 15 miles per hexShandyAndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16248276658644015659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-41471443294602206042021-12-05T01:03:54.379+01:002021-12-05T01:03:54.379+01:00:(
:(<br />Venger Satanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04447932700800930510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-48621245416674779532021-12-04T12:09:44.907+01:002021-12-04T12:09:44.907+01:00This is a very good point about scale. The other t...This is a very good point about scale. The other thing I think is that 6mi hexes represents a good human scale too. You're only 3mi from the boundary and most of us can easily visualise what can be seen by the naked eye from 3mi away.Jacob72https://www.blogger.com/profile/17268402292420473229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-91023384215980761132021-11-21T07:16:38.129+01:002021-11-21T07:16:38.129+01:00Thanks for this - one comment:
"It may be us...Thanks for this - one comment:<br /><br />"It may be useful to have a very general framework for the sake of style and internal consistency, but what really MATTERS is local detail and variety. The scale of the maps itself should reflect this. We are not making continents, we are making provinces or baronies."<br /><br />The matter of scale cannot be underemphasized. The difference between X1 "The Isle of Dread" (6 miles/hex) and the fittingly-named X6 "Quagmire!" (24 miles/hex) is that PCs can travel through many hexes in a day's adventuring in the former, and a fraction of that in the latter.<br /><br />This is relevant in matters of pacing. Folks love "The Isle of Dread" because you can fill in a good number of hexes in a day, with a concordant number of encounters. Folks dislike "Quagmire!" because it becomes a slog, much more about resource management and less about encounters per day.<br /><br />I agree with you that 6 miles/hex is the ideal scale for the hex-crawl (I think that Judges Guild "Wilderlands" was 5 miles/hex, but I digress)paleologoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02640356065053822793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-1149162062751085312021-11-15T16:56:53.472+01:002021-11-15T16:56:53.472+01:00I think hexcrawls are best self built...other prod...I think hexcrawls are best self built...other products might provide inspiration but the GM laying out the hexes seems to corollate directly to an enjoyable hexcrawl (more so than adventures).Shivahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01221965860071283428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-61028945948994329652021-11-11T09:58:03.669+01:002021-11-11T09:58:03.669+01:00Right; travelling through the more "harder&qu...Right; travelling through the more "harder" terrain types is not only slower (passage of time and nighttime encounters), but this is also where the encounter tables can get downright nasty. Mountains are giant/dragon territory, while swamps have beholders, hydrae and catoblepas.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-91789263146651164022021-11-11T09:55:11.169+01:002021-11-11T09:55:11.169+01:00That's correct! (Probably should not be transl...That's correct! (Probably should not be translated)Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-10096956754495364102021-11-09T21:13:13.985+01:002021-11-09T21:13:13.985+01:00Jabes, you are a best-a-gon!Jabes, you are a best-a-gon!Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06984331488913431858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-48170186075133458972021-11-09T17:09:48.551+01:002021-11-09T17:09:48.551+01:00Really useful stuff. Hex crawls are the best crawl...Really useful stuff. Hex crawls are the best crawls.Jabeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04894650463045073635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-78159483420615747642021-11-09T07:42:31.614+01:002021-11-09T07:42:31.614+01:00Brilliant, as alwaysBrilliant, as alwaysAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-37373803703725756952021-11-08T09:18:52.108+01:002021-11-08T09:18:52.108+01:00Irony has a double meaning, 'contains iron'...Irony has a double meaning, 'contains iron' being the one used here.Lance of Countersonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17572628311538950632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-42970011844880268832021-11-08T09:15:30.417+01:002021-11-08T09:15:30.417+01:00Some terrain types and infrastructures (roads) all...Some terrain types and infrastructures (roads) allow for faster or slower movement. If you also make the slower types more dangerous, your players will stay on the roads. You sometimes have to sacrifices realism for fun.Lance of Countersonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17572628311538950632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-30808553815503512292021-11-06T20:26:05.500+01:002021-11-06T20:26:05.500+01:00Dear Melan, sorry for disturbing
I'm translati...Dear Melan, sorry for disturbing<br />I'm translating this post and i'm a bit stuck. Almost finished everything but a first sentence =))<br />I don't get it. Please be so kind to explain.Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06331104617462945144noreply@blogger.com