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Current Hexcrawl Procedure
Current Hexcrawl Procedure
go. If they are following a road, a clear trail, a river or are using clear
landmarks then no check is needed. Otherwise I’ll ask the party which direction they want to go
and will then make a hidden navigation check (using the highest relevant ability in the group) to
see whether or not the party moves in the correct direction or veers slightly to the left or right. If
the party fails this roll they become lost. If a party was lost during the previous watch then
during this step I will make a secret navigation roll to determine if they recognize that they are
lost.
4. Determine Movement – If the party is traveling they must select a mode of movement.
They may move normally, they may forage or they may explore. If the party is foraging they
move at half speed but are allowed to make a single survival check to attempt to find food and
water. If the party is exploring they move at half speed and they get a +5 to the d20 roll to
determine if they locate any hidden or hard to find keyed locations. I then apply any conditional
modifiers to determine how many miles the party travels during the watch.
5. Determine if Keyed Encounter is Triggered – This step only occurs if the party is
traveling. First I determine if the encounter is triggered. If the encounter involves a clearly
visible terrain feature then the encounter is automatic. Otherwise I roll a d20 against a DC of 15
(or 20 for difficult to locate encounters) to determine if the encounter occurs. If the encounter
does occur, I roll a 1d4 to determine which hour of the watch it occurs in. It is possible that a
keyed encounter occurs simultaneously with a random encounter.
And that’s basically it. I tried to keep this procedure fairly simple and straight forward.
We’ll see how well it actually works when it’s play-tested in my campaign. I’m open to
constructive criticism if anyone has any advice to offer.
1
This is a slightly expanded version of Justin Alexander’s proposed structure.
Here is the procedure I use for hexcrawl exploration. This procedure can word equally
well with solo play as well as with actual games with other people. This system is
collaged from several peoples’ procedures, including:
http://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/2012-06-
20_Hexcrawl_Procedurehttp://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/17320/roleplaying-
games/hexcrawl-part-2-wilderness-travel http://arsphantasia.wordpress.com/2014/02/22
/hexcrawl-procedures/
http://louisvillednd.com/archives/359
http://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/140154/wilderness-hexplore-revised
I use encounter charts collaged from the ACKS corebook and Kellri’s Old School
Encounters Reference which contains encounter charts that include events like finding a
town, natural disasters, etc. in addition to standard monster encounters.
d% Weather
01-70 Normal
71-80 Heat wave/cold snap
81-90 Precipitation
91-99 Thunderstorm/snowstorm/sandstorm
100 Blizzard/hurricane/tornado
2) Determine activity: There are 3 basic moves the characters can make during a
watch: travel normally, forage/hunt, or explore.
Forage/Hunt – Stay in the same hex, make a proficiency throw 14+ to gather enough
food to feed 1d6 people. The proficiency throw increases to 18+ in a desert or similarly
barren location.
Explore – Stay in the same hex, make 14+ proficiency throw to find a feature; roll d6 if
succesful – 1=ruins, 2=lair, 3=dungeon, 4=settlement, 5=river/road/island,
6=temple/monastery
3) Determine navigation by rolling d20 if in a new hex and not following a road, river,
or landmark. If the navigation throw fails, the party veers.
Terrain / Navigation
Plains / 4+
Mountains or Hills / 7+
Forest or Coast / 7+
Open Sea / 11+
Desert / 11+
Jungle or Swamp / 11+
4) Determine encounters/events by rolling d6. Do this for both watches in the daytime,
but only once at night. If a night encounter is rolled, roll 1d4 to determine which watch it
occurs during.
Terrain / Encounter Roll
City, Plains, or Settled / 6+
Aerial, Forest, Hills, Water / 5+
Desert, Jungle, Mountains, Swamp / 4+
If a monster encounter happens, use this Welshpiper chart to determine where its lair is,
after rolling 1d6 for direction:
5) Making camp: After the 2nd daytime watch, but before the nighttime encounter roll,
use the Louisville D&D procedure to make camp.
Basically: Make a proficiency throw of 7+. If you have Survival as a proficiency, you get
+4. If you succeed, everyone consumes a ration. If you fail, everyone suffers a penalty
of some kind. If you succeed with 18+, everyone receives a benefit of some kind.
The Make Camp throw integrates normal rules for foraging and using up rations and incorporates other
aspects of adventuring, such as gear maintenance and setting up camp.
o You successfully foraged for fruits/nuts/vegetables throughout the day. You feed 1d6 people.
Those people do not need to mark off a ration.
o You helped to build camp in a safer location. The odds of a random encounter decrease by 1-
step.
o You found a comfy area to sleep. You recover 1 hit point despite not having a full day of rest in
reasonably sanitary conditions. This option may only be selected if there is a campfire.
o You found a good perch to keep an eye out for anything moving near your camp. Gain a +1 to
any surprise rolls during your watch.
If you score 6-, mark off a ration. You make a functioning fire and relative security. In addition, the DM
may choose one thing from the following list:
o You are famished. You must mark off two rations. If you’ve been fed by foraging, you require
enough food for two people. If you do not have enough rations, take -1 to attack and damage rolls until
you eat enough.
o You’ve made camp unsecure. The odds of a random encounter increase by 1-step.
o You are distracted or falling asleep on your watch. You get a -1 to any surprise rolls during your
watch.
o While maintaining your gear (sharpening blades, patching armor, organizing things, etc.), you
notice something damaged or destroyed. The DM will tell you what. If it’s a weapon or armor, it’ll be
something from the scavenged equipment list on page 210.