Adventure Writing Session Turns Into a Hex Crawl

Last Thursday I got on to do another Adventure Writing Session and Paul Turner joined me. We decided to use his zine, Critical Hit to roll up a hex flower. We had a lot of fun. A lot of participation from viewers. This is part one of a short series.

Creating a Hex Crawl Series

I've seen several people doing the 30 days/30 dungeons or variations. I love the idea, but I know my ability to focus on one series for that long is absent. I've been watching this guy Flint Fireforge doing his series keeping it simple. He draws a map...as an aside his maps make me hurt inside. They're all wonky and skewed and jacked. Now I think he does it because he knows. He is a spiteful dwarf. But he's trucking along doing one everyday. Map. 2d6 rooms. He rolls from various tables to get the idea for the dungeon. Check out Paul's (aka Flint) videos. He's oozes enthusiasm. Maybe I should stat Paul as an ooze. I heard he was kinda sticky.

And then there is this knucklehead. Matt Jackson. Need I say more? He looks to be doing the Dungeon 25. I believe that's where you map a dungeon room per day. Matt has his unique style of maps and adds a write up for each of the rooms. Below is a sample of his entries. Now don't tell Matt this, but he has a great way expressing his idea through his maps and layout. Always approachable and fun. Click the picture for the link. 

I'm sure there are others, but these are the two I am following right now. 

And then there is me. After watching Paul's videos and knowing my attention span limitations I decided to take the idea and make it more suited for me. I am generating a hex flower (a term I believe ChicagoWiz coined) hex crawl. I am generating geographical locations, settlements and some of the its and bobs. So this series of videos shows how I generate content for a hex crawl and then constructing adventures, sometimes dungeons, within the context of the surroundings. If creating hew crawls interests you please click the picture and the internet will whisk you away to my playlist. I'll add one or two a week. 

If you are creating 30 days/30 Dungeons or the Dungeon 25 please let me know. 

Found Locations

I recently completed a micro-adventures, Old Warren Castle.  I called it a found location.  A concept that is not unfamiliar in the gaming world, especially in the vast MMO video games.  The party is exploring an area or headed to somewhere when they find a ruin, cave, mine or natural landmark that they just find along the way.  These are locations that have no known history.  No known history yet.  Or there is no real history, but there is folklore about the location. 

I like to include several of these when I draw a hex crawl map.  I'll place a symbol of some sort to signify that there is special/unique there something there.  I've got a thing for large, stone swords sticking into the ground.  Something that might get the party's attention.  I may write a couple of lines of what they find.  "The remains of some sort of temple.  Seven pillars remain standing within a stone field."  If the party decides to explore then I'll rift off my description.  What I may have thought of as just an oddity to break up the landscape, the players might find some sort of significance to it.  And as a GM oyu have to figure out when a rock is just or rock or is it a tablet with sacred script.  

I use these sites for various reason, here is a short list of some of what I can think of.  But the best way I can describe a found location is, it tells a small part of the story about the land. 

• Historical information.  Maybe some sort if hint of the culture that existed.
• Help with current quest.  I'll plant helpful information or a minor item or two that could help the party with their current quest.
• Just something interesting.  The location or thing has no real significance.  It is an oddity whose reason for being there is lost.

And I give a little experience award for finding these locations.  A little bump for exploration and investigation.  

Dungeon Room & Hex Crawl Encounter Card

For a while now I've been using a pair of simple d12 tables to help me randomly create content.  I always had them in a notebook I could only find half the time.  Or had them in a file on my home computer, but when I went to the bookstore never had access to them.

My solution, as it is for many things these days, create a card and laminate the bastard.  Now I can keep one of these in my computer bag and whip it out when needed.  And if I spill my coffee drink all over it will be the one safe thing on the table. 

I did a batch of these cards today.  I have no plans for them yet.  Maybe someone can come up with a good idea. 

The picture shows the front and back of the card.  Very simple format.  I fiddled with textured background and sepia and other crap I didn't like.  I kept it simple and straight forward.   +William McAusland's art is the only ornamentation the card needed.