Solo Hexcrawl Meta Thread!

Let’s use this thread to discuss mechanics, tools, worldbuilding, etc. for our solo hexcrawl campaign.

Here’s the initial versions of what we’ve come up with so far (beta, work-in-progress, not final, yadda, yadda, yadda):

Terms

An Adventure is one foray from a safe location (encampment, town, etc.) to a dangerous location and back again.

Procedures

General Game Loop

Determine available adventure locations (if necessary)

  • rumor table entry generator
  • purchasing of map fragments

Gather the team

  • look over the roster and select the characters who are available and able to adventure.
  • buy supplies, engage hirelings, etc.

Transit to adventure site

  • using some combination of OE, Outdoor Survival, some other house-rules

Delve adventure site

  • classic dungeon crawling
  • random dungeon layout, populations, and loot

Transit back to safety

  • using some combination of OE, Outdoor Survival, some other house-rules

Settle up loot, etc.

  • assuming there are survivors

Tools

Map Fragment Generator

  1. the starting location is where is sold (found might be a different matter)
  2. ending location is a Secret in a hex 1d8 hexes away
  3. for each hex that the map travels through, establish a landmark for that hex.

Hex Feature Generators

Landmarks

  1. geological formation
  2. a (un)natural phenomenon (a particular grove of trees, etc.)
  3. a settlement
  4. cultural monuments

Geological formations

  1. Hills/cliffs
  2. valleys, crevasses
  3. badlands
  4. water body
  5. moving water
  6. unusual

Settlements

  1. outpost
  2. hamlet/village
  3. town
  4. city
  5. stronghold
  6. unusual

Water Bodies

  1. wetlands (swamp, bog, etc.)
  2. pond
  3. lake
  4. waterfall
  5. unusual

Outposts

  1. watchtower
  2. hermit
  3. hunter/gatherer
  4. isolated farmstead
  5. outcast
  6. unusual

Cultural monuments

  1. border markers
  2. burial grounds
  3. settlement ruins
  4. stronghold ruins
  5. religious ruins
  6. unusual

Natural phenomena

  1. breeding grounds
  2. feeding grounds
  3. migratory game-trails
  4. unusual
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Here’s the initial map for our adventuring area:

We’ll be tweaking, changing, and updating this but I think it’s a good start! We used this hexmap generator to create the map.

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