Overland Travel: a return to Hexploration?

[Oni]

If you could keep it interesting I would be alright with it. But if you're constantly going through the motions (and thusly using up valuable gaming time) to get the outdoor version of just another empty room repeatly, not so much. I think it would probably be more entertaining to just set up a couple decision point scenarios during an overland trek rather than wasting time with drudgery. I could be convinced otherwise, but I think it would definately take the right DM.

 

[Wik]

If you could keep it interesting I would be alright with it. But if you're constantly going through the motions (and thusly using up valuable gaming time) to get the outdoor version of just another empty room repeatly, not so much. I think it would probably be more entertaining to just set up a couple decision point scenarios during an overland trek rather than wasting time with drudgery. I could be convinced otherwise, but I think it would definately take the right DM.

And the right setting.

Seriously. DARK SUN was made for exploration scenarios. I've run entire sessions where the PCs were searching for the ruins... and it was a helluva lot of fun.

 

[Dausuul]

I'm definitely trying to avoid the feeling of "fast-forward" overland travel. In my current Ice Age campaign, I make a point of putting lots of stuff into overland journeys - plenty of interesting encounters with oddball denizens of the lands the PCs travel through, some hostile and some not.

IMO, the key is to avoid the sense of a "random" encounter, i.e., some monsters that you just fight and move on. Instead, I try for encounters that have a sense of belonging where they are, and that give the PCs a feeling of progress when they overcome them. In many cases, the encounter adds a bit of lore to the campaign, a place or person the PCs can revisit later.

For instance, the PCs had to undertake a trek of a couple weeks across the tundra to a place called Skullcrown. On the way, they had the following encounters:

#1: Halfling Caravan. Coming down out of the mountains onto the tundra, they found an orc raiding party attacking a halfling trade caravan. They killed the orc leader and helped kill or drive off the rest. The halflings gave them some information about the tundra and what to expect, and let them buy some magic items (I don't have standard "magic item shops" in my campaigns, but sometimes merchants come through with stuff for trade).

#2: Fallen Bridge. The PCs came to a bridge across a deep gorge. The halflings had warned them about evil spirits in the gorge. Unfortunately, the bridge was broken and they had to find a way across. In the process, they fought some wraiths and got hold of a magic dagger.

#3: Old Uncle. After the gorge, they came to Lake Winternight, where a peculiar fellow known as Old Uncle lived. The halflings had told them about him too, and his odd rules; no one was allowed to bring water into his tower, visitors weren't allowed to ask his name, and everyone had to shed three drops of blood on the threshold before coming in.

Getting Old Uncle to tell them about the road north and the lands around Skullcrown was a skill challenge. In the process, the PCs learned that Old Uncle was deathly afraid of "Them," beings from the lake. His rules were because of Them. They need the lake water to survive, so he doesn't allow water to be brought into the tower (he keeps a cistern to catch rain water). They have black blood, so visitors have to drip blood on the threshold to prove it's red. And if They ever learn Old Uncle's name, They can turn him into one of Them.

(When the PCs asked why he stayed there, if he was so scared, his reply was, "Someone's got to keep an eye on Them, or who knows what They might do?")

#4: Them. One of the things the PCs could do to get Old Uncle to help them was agree to get fish from the lake. He loved fish, but he was terrified of meeting Them by the shore. So the PCs went down to the lake. There they fought a couple of Them, and discovered They were aboleth servitors. They even spotted the aboleth itself for a moment, though they didn't fight it (they were only level 2 or 3 at the time).

#5: Wolves in the Snow. A blizzard hit the PCs, and then they were attacked by a pack of wolves. The wolves attacked in waves, getting beaten back and then returning in greater numbers. The third wave was led by a demonic wolf with glowing red eyes. After its death, a black shape like smoke billowed up out of it and fled. This would later prove to be a demonic agent of the main villain.

#6: Throog. The PCs came upon an ogre herdsman tending a herd of reindeer. He was friendly, if not very bright, and tried to recruit the PCs into his "herd." They managed to talk and trick their way past him (a skill challenge), but everybody loved the guy, and they later got him to help when they were being chased by an army on the way back.

#7: Ruined Shrine. This was an old shrine with the statue of a knight, Lord Imrahar, with his foot on the neck of a vulture-demon. Beneath the shrine was a crypt with a prophecy about the Lord of Vultures. The PCs were attacked in the shrine by an orc war-leader (plot-related); the statue of the knight helped them in the battle by stunning the orcs as they charged in. The PCs were unable to figure out the prophecy - not surprising, since I put it there as a possible hook for a future plot arc - and moved on.

So, by the end of this, the PCs were on friendly terms with two tundra-dwellers (Old Uncle and Throog), not to mention a halfling trade caravan. They had discovered a shrine with an interesting prophecy in it and some holy power associated with it. They had discovered an aboleth's lair and met a plot-related demon.

All this, I felt, made the trip a lot more interesting than just, "Let's see... okay, says on the wilderness encounters table you fight a bear." Of course, it did require having a fairly well-scripted route. Trying to put that same level of detail into a "hexploration" scenario could be pretty challenging.

 

[Wik]

All this, I felt, made the trip a lot more interesting than just, "Let's see... okay, says on the wilderness encounters table you fight a bear." Of course, it did require having a fairly well-scripted route. Trying to put that same level of detail into a "hexploration" scenario could be pretty challenging.

Well, yeah, it'd be pretty challenging.

First off, let me say that I'm really interested in the campaign you just mentioned. Were I playing in it, I'd be really pleased as a player. Kudos, and all that.

That being said, I think we're looking at two different approaches to play. What you have is a story-driven campaign style, whereas "Hexploration" is more aimed towards player-driven games.

The ultimate hex-based module, the original Isle of Dread, is pretty much plotless - PCs explore the island at their own pace, and decide how to deal with individual threats. Whereas what you have is something more like the Dark Sun "wilderness" adventures - a set path where each encounter informs the other. While PC actions do have meaningful results in your method (for example, the Ogre you describe could have been a friend or enemy - the PCs chose "friend" and benefitted from that later on), they do not suit the "hexploration" method.

In that style, while encounters could be relevant to the setting (Halfling Merchants, displaced people now acting as bandits, or an undead menace), they are random. And often, do not serve the main plot in any significant way.

 

[Charger28Alpha]

When dealing with overland travel I tend to what was done in the 2nd Edition Runequest adventures. That is I come up with a group of pre-made encounters, which I spring on the PCs as random encounters. This group includes opponents, and neutrals(many of which are drawn from groups or organizations that exist in this neck of the campaign world), weather (dependent on season) and terrain features (natural and man made which can preent an obstacle or information to PCs)

For example, you have an area in which bandits are a problem, in this case one of the encounters would be with a group of those bandits. After defeating them, if the players ask about tracking them to their lair you have let them place an adventure hook in their own mouths. If not, then they just move on.

As another example, the area they are traveling in sees a twice annual migration of herd animals. One encounter can be with the herd. The PCs have to decide whether they move through it or let it go by. This also can open up the door to introducing people or monsters that are tracking the herd for hunting purposes.

 

[The Shaman]

(Besides, with many campaigns random encounter tables you wonder how people ever manage to make it between cities without high level characters escorting them).

In many games, that's exactly the point.

Wilderness travel is supposed to be very dangerous. That's what keeps the adventurers in business.

If you could keep it interesting I would be alright with it. But if you're constantly going through the motions (and thusly using up valuable gaming time) to get the outdoor version of just another empty room repeatly, not so much.

I've never considered exploration to be "using up valuable gaming time" as long as we're learning something new as we go.

I do think some referees are much better at this than others.

Personally I love a good hexcrawl as much as I love a good dungeoncrawl.

 

[S'mon]

I'm not sure relying on hexes is the best way to make wilderness adventures exciting.

I think IME the best approach is to map out a wilderness as you would a dungeon, with trails/roads instead of dungeon corridors; and create something that looks more like a flowchart than a hex map. IRL people travel almost always along established trails, even if those are deer tracks. And then encounters should mostly be in established fixed locales, not free-floating.

There are surprisingly few examples of this in written scenarios, though some old White Dwarf ones do it, and B5 Horror on the Hill has the exterior of the Hill. The best examples I know are the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks like Forest of Doom and The Shamutanti Hills.

 

[genshou]

But if you're constantly going through the motions (and thusly using up valuable gaming time) to get the outdoor version of just another empty room repeatly, not so much.

I solved this problem in my dungeons by drawing them out as flowcharts showing the paths between important rooms, and filling in the details while the PCs travel with random room encounters that occur every certain amount of feet (or time, if they are travelling at a steady pace). Each increment the PCs roll a skill check to determine if they make any progress between landmarks or end up "wasting time" in dead ends and the like. The PCs will always encounter *something* at each interval, be it a monster, treasure, a hazard or obstacle, or just dungeon dressing. This allows me to describe passing through "empty rooms" with various decorations before they get to the locked door, pit trap in the hallway, wandering undead, or what have you.

I think IME the best approach is to map out a wilderness as you would a dungeon, with trails/roads instead of dungeon corridors; and create something that looks more like a flowchart than a hex map.

Given the way I do dungeons as described above, I think this would work well for wilderness travel as well. Instead of having to map out what's in each hex (dungeon room), you mark the important locales and figure out what paths go between them (and how much distance it takes to get between them), then randomly roll so the PCs will always encounter something interesting, even if it isn't a direct threat or obstacle (sometimes a little scenery is nice).

Alternatively, you could make each hex be the landmark, and roll regular Survival checks to make progress, with an encounter at each. The chances of monster encounters would have to be kept low if you were rolling every hour or what have you, but this gives more opportunity to think about obstacles like a river to ford, a cliff wall to somehow get up, etc. when the dice are generating hazards and obstacles from time to time.

If anyone's more interested in my dungeon generation methods, I could probably dig some files out of my old campaign notes.

 

[Melba Toast]

*BUMP*

After a long hiatus, I'm taking another stab at my hex-ploration game concept. We had an interesting conversation going on here that was eventually drowned out by all the 4E excitement back in 2009.

I'd love to hear suggestions for a more interesting and effective random encounters system.

My preference going forward is for this thread to focus on how to 'make hex-ploration work', rather than doubting it or disparaging it. I understand that some of you hate the concept of hex mapping; but that's not what this thread is for.

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".

 

[RedTonic]

a mechanical question: what's the standard dimension of an overland hex? I'd like to partially implement this in a game, but I don't know how 'granular' to make a hex map.