Overland Travel: a return to Hexploration?

[Melba Toast]

Most DMs I've played with tend to simplify overland travel.

Going from place to place typically involves a wandering encounter or two, and the requisite night attack. YOu might have the option to go on a side trek, but generally, if you are traveling from one place to another, it's don't without any real difficulty and in a single session or less.

Descriptions are often limited to a few words about the density of foliage and the shrubbery etc. Rarely does a game impress upon the players any sense of "scope". Landscapes, typically, only take shape when there's an emminent battle.

The result, I find, is that overland movement has become a dull exercise in railroading. Where is the fear of the unknown, the mysterious, the dangerous, and physical hardship associated travel. I think our modern car culture is partly to blame for this. We're so used to getting from point A to point B very quickly in our own lives that we don't consider the challenges of fording a river, or climb jagged slopes. The cold, storms, and oppressive heat are used as flavour text without any game ramifications, while the acquisition and lack of food and water are treated as nuisances that slow down the game rather than core resources the PCs need to protect.

I want to bring a sense of excitement and danger back to travel.

I'm interested in hearing from DMs who run overland movement according to "hexploration" (that's my word for hex-based overland movement). Hexploration seems to be a lost art in gaming.

As I see it, each hex of overland movement should be like entering a new chamber in a dungeon. The difference is that where a dungeon chamber has only a few exits, each hex has 6 potential directions. If played right, overland hexploration should be damned hard for the PCs.

I remember playing the Isle of Dread way back in the early 80s, and a big part of that game, if I recall correctly, was moving the party hex by hex, to discover the locations of lost temples and such. I was young then, and probably didn't appreciate it, but I want to starting doing it again, and I need suggestions for how to incorporate hex-based movement evocatively and effectively.

Most importantly: how do you get players who have become used to overland travel being glossed over to participate in "the hunt".

 

[ProfessorPain]

It seems like lots of settings don't even use hex maps anymore, and that the idea of Hexploration isn't really included in the DM sections of most rule books. I am all for hexploration, so long as it doesn't become too boring. If the DM can't handle making stuff up on the fly, or dealing with parties that do unexpected things, the Hexploration is doomed to dullness.

 

[Glyfair]

I am all for hexploration, so long as it doesn't become too boring.

In my experience, hexploration has almost always been boring. I think it went out of fashion as storytelling become more influential in rpgs (probably about the advent of 2nd edtion D&D) it went by the wayside.

Now, storytelling was a part of my games from very early on (definitely from '81 on). Spending weeks of gaming from plot point A to plot point B only because travel was part of it was overland travel was very boring and drudgery.

Now, it doesn't always have to be. However, that requires carefully crafted encounters that build upon the campaign story and plots. That is a lot of work, and few are up to it.

Now, campaigns that have very low storytelling elements may handle this better. That or a campaign where exporation of an area is the storytelling element. I see campaigns like that very rarely now, so I don't know how popular that would be.

 

[ProfessorPain]

In my experience, hexploration has almost always been boring. I think it went out of fashion as storytelling become more influential in rpgs (probably about the advent of 2nd edtion D&D) it went by the wayside.

Now, storytelling was a part of my games from very early on (definitely from '81 on). Spending weeks of gaming from plot point A to plot point B only because travel was part of it was overland travel was very boring and drudgery.

Now, it doesn't always have to be. However, that requires carefully crafted encounters that build upon the campaign story and plots. That is a lot of work, and few are up to it.

Now, campaigns that have very low storytelling elements may handle this better. That or a campaign where exporation of an area is the storytelling element. I see campaigns like that very rarely now, so I don't know how popular that would be.

Personally I think a blend of the two is best. If the DM scripts the overland travel, it feels artificial; and more like his story, not the parties. If he allows you to deviate, and explore, but is able to bring it into the overall story thats the best.

 

[Wik]

I love hexploration. While I hate to disagree with Glyfair, I think it remained a factor in 2nd edition - DARK SUN had a hex-based map on the back of the colour map, and the 2e Forgotten Realms had a transparent plastic page filled with hexes, to turn your hexless maps into a hex-based map if necessary. Even the World Builder's Guidebook encouraged the use of hexes in creating an outdoor environment... and I know there were a few 2e adventures that were all about hexes.

Anyways...

I, too, have fond memories of using the hexes in Isle of Dread to explore. And I have occasional thoughts to create an entirely hex-based setting to explore in a Sandbox style.

The big problem with hexploration is keeping it interesting. Too often, the random encounter tables are just monster lists (and often, small monster lists, which just compounds the problem), and there are no significant challenges. Moving through a mountain range is simply a "reduce movement by 90%" penalty, or somesuch... and that's just a way to slow a game down with no real gain.

To really get a good hexploration environ, I think you need to create encounter lists that provide both combat and non-combat encounters, and write in things like weather effects into the tables (to minimize the consultation of tables during play). I also throw in flavour elements onto the tables, so that the group can witness some of the grandeur of exploring... things like the Aurora Borealis, butterfly migrations, and suicideal lemmings can all be great RP moments, even though there's very little interaction involved.

 

[Glyfair]

While I hate to disagree with Glyfair, I think it remained a factor in 2nd edition - DARK SUN had a hex-based map on the back of the colour map, and the 2e Forgotten Realms had a transparent plastic page filled with hexes, to turn your hexless maps into a hex-based map if necessary. Even the World Builder's Guidebook encouraged the use of hexes in creating an outdoor environment... and I know there were a few 2e adventures that were all about hexes.

Well, it wasn't a hard line (2nd edition is out, no more hex exploration). However, it was common in the early days (Judges Guild focused heavily on detailed hexes in their books) and worked its way out over time.

Personally I think a blend of the two is best. If the DM scripts the overland travel, it feels artificial; and more like his story, not the parties. If he allows you to deviate, and explore, but is able to bring it into the overall story thats the best.

Personally, I'd like to have a handful of random encounters predesigned and randomly have them occur. Each would have a point, but they wouldn't necessarily be part of the main story.

For example, if you are in a campaign dealing with an evil invasion, one encounter might be with refugees from the invasion. Maybe the bandits one encounters became bandits because their homes were destroyed. Perhaps an elemental creature was let loose when the evil horde started summoning their extraplanar allies.

That's what I prefer. Not a bunch of endless encounters just to make the players feel like the travel across country is taking forever. (Besides, with many campaigns random encounter tables you wonder how people ever manage to make it between cities without high level characters escorting them).

 

[Melba Toast]

I, too, have fond memories of using the hexes in Isle of Dread to explore. And I have occasional thoughts to create an entirely hex-based setting to explore in a Sandbox style.

The big problem with hexploration is keeping it interesting. Too often, the random encounter tables are just monster lists (and often, small monster lists, which just compounds the problem), and there are no significant challenges. Moving through a mountain range is simply a "reduce movement by 90%" penalty, or somesuch... and that's just a way to slow a game down with no real gain.

Yes. I think the best way to manage hexploration would be to assume your PCs can't travel too far during a single session. While you're prepping for the session, you can surround their current position with lots of interesting features, some of which they will discover if they explore a "featured hex". If you scatter 12 featured hexes in circular positions around their current spot, surely they'll hit at least one. Even if they miraculously manage to by-pass all the "featured hexes", there may still be clues in adjacent hexes which lead them to the "featured hex".

The important thing about terrain and movement is not the mechanic of it, but rather, the imposition. Rocky terrains may force the PCs to abandon their pack animals, for instance. And travel time eats into resources. If you have an accurate account of food and water, this can become a serious threat and a challenge.

YOu mentioned Dark Sun, and I could hardly imagine that setting without accounting for hexploration. Half the challenge is the oppressive environment. How are PCs ever going to experience the threat of dehydration if overland movement is toothless.

 

[Wik]

YOu mentioned Dark Sun, and I could hardly imagine that setting without accounting for hexploration. Half the challenge is the oppressive environment. How are PCs ever going to experience the threat of dehydration if overland movement is toothless.

As a sidenote, I've run DS both with and without hexes to facilitate movement. Both work, just in different ways. Without, it's sort of freeform, and PCs often miss stuff. With hexes, they often find important areas a bit easier - in my experience.

Both methods, by the way, can result in Dehydration.

 

[SlyFlourish]

If you want to make overland travel more interesting, is a skill challenge not the way to go?

 

[Wik]

If you want to make overland travel more interesting, is a skill challenge not the way to go?

I'd personally say "No", but that's my opinion. Yeah, crossing a mountain could be a series of Athletics checks, but I enjoy a bit more than that. Having PCs figure out a way to cross a chasm can be a lot of fun - more fun than a series of frantic dice rolls.

My two cents, though.