Let’s Make a Hexcrawl Setting

[Daztur]

Well, my first and most important note is that the CC licence Rolang uses—CC BY-NC-SA—is incompatible with our CC BY-SA licence. We might be able to convince him to license that post under CC BY-SA as well or, even better, relicense his entire blog as CC BY-SA.

The locations for his works that you suggested sound good. However, I think six six-mile hexes could easily hold everything he's described. That's roughly eighteen miles by twelve miles, which would cover a large chunk of most modern cities.

Having said that, this hexcrawl has a practice—at least at the moment—of usually detailing only one location per hex and we might want to stick with that method, at least while we still have 900 hexes to fill.

Perhaps how we could incorporate Rolang's material is to grab a part of it that interests us and massage it into the setting. Eventually, it'll all be incorporated.

Great to see the Kingswood in the compilation!

OK, I'm not too familiar with the details of the CC licenses but it seems we have to:
1. Give him credit. Shouldn't be a problem.
2. Be noncommercial. Check.
3. Use a same or similar license. Wouldn't our license fall under similar?

In any case I could just ask him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind

As for multiple locations in the same hex we've mostly avoided doing that just because doing that would drive us insane filling out the map but there's a gazillion location in 29.14 so having more locations than one in one hex next to the capital of Thring shouldn't be a problem. I was more concerned about having there be so many things that could kill random peasants so close to the capital of Thring, so I might spread out the dangerous peasant-killing locations a bit.

chutup: I did some work with the Fisher King angle and Thring in this post: http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...t-s-make-hexcrawl-setting-14.html#post5895929

Basically there used to be a whole bunch of petty Kings of Thring who were involved in the old Earth Whisperer cult but Ulthar the Loved broke that up and reduced the petty kings to lords. So there's a history of that in Thring but the current regime doesn't like it.

I like the idea of having the paladins be a remnant of that.

So basic Thring timeline:
1. Ancient tribes worshipping river goddess.
2. Petty King with an earth cult
3. Modern Dukedom.

it seems.

 

[Sanglorian]

OK, I'm not too familiar with the details of the CC licenses but it seems we have to:
1. Give him credit. Shouldn't be a problem.
2. Be noncommercial. Check.
3. Use a same or similar license. Wouldn't our license fall under similar?

In any case I could just ask him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind

Although we're noncommercial at the moment, all our content can be used commercially by any person. If we incorporated his work into our work under the CC BY-SA licence, then we'd be effectively removing the noncommercial part of his CC BY-NC-SA licence. We can't legally do that.

We could describe the project as a 'collection' that has both our works (under CC BY-SA) and his works (under CC BY-NC-SA). But that would get very messy if we tried to combine his content with our content in the same entry or if we tried to develop and expand upon his content (which parts are CC BY-SA? Which parts are CC BY-NC-SA?)

As for multiple locations in the same hex we've mostly avoided doing that just because doing that would drive us insane filling out the map but there's a gazillion location in 29.14 so having more locations than one in one hex next to the capital of Thring shouldn't be a problem. I was more concerned about having there be so many things that could kill random peasants so close to the capital of Thring, so I might spread out the dangerous peasant-killing locations a bit.

Ah, that makes sense—we don't want all the peasants killed off!

 

[Daztur]

Hmmmm, don't see any email address on his blog. What might be easiest is to just use his writing as inspiration for the area around Thring but don't copy any of his writing, sort of like what chutup did with the zoo in Shuttered that used an idea from Vornheim and what we've done with a gazillion other ideas (like how I've ripped off a bunch of stuff from the Monsters and Manual blog while changing all of the names, adding and changing details and writing all of the text myself).

If this thingie ever gets published, we could do a kickstarter to pay for some additional art and whatnot and publish it at cost so there's no profit or give any profit to charity. I have zero desire to make any money off of this. However, Sanglorian has mentioned spin-off books like a Shrouded Lands monster manual and it's important to leave the door open to stuff like that.

 

[chutup]

The Gnomes at the Hesperite Harpsichord
Additional information for hex 26.20

In Sepool there is an inn called the Hesperite Harpsichord, located conveniently close to the Hall of Five Gates. Currently staying in room fourteen of this establishment are a curious group of gnomes. Few men are able to identify them as the elusive Dust Walkers of hex 23.23. They are in fact a posse of highly trained illusionists and assassins who have been sent on a quest to retrieve a certain jewel that was stolen from the white fountain at 22.25. Just as the sacred waters of the fountain force one to see one's greatest regrets, the jewel is used to display the greatest sins of others. It was this jewel that was used by the dwarven artisan Hazad Kaldun to create the Diadem of the Third Eye (see 15.24).

This desecration would not go unpunished by the Dust Walkers, who consider the waters and the jewel to be most sacred. This group have already followed the jewel's trail to the Shuttered City, where they gained a clue from Kaldun. For his sacrilege they have already dealt to him a fate far worse that death, though perhaps he does not yet realise what it is. Now they are in Blind Midshotgatepool, still following the diadem's trail. Some of them wish to seek out Uriza the Solemn to see what she knows, while others argue that they should continue to investigate Mousey, the last known posessor of the Diadem.

Hooks:
- Where does the name 'Hesperite Harpsichord' come from?
- What punishment did the Dust Walkers visit upon Hazad Kaldun?
- Where is the Diadem now?
- What will happen if the jewel is returned to its proper place? (Or perhaps: what will happen if it isn't?)

 

[Electric Wizard]

23.11 Winds

Freehold, Thringish and Shuttered traders, and caravans from the Welt Road, pour into this cramped, filthy town. It lies just beyond the claims of any Duchy noble. Shuttered allows it independence due to its position as a neutral trade center. The town is called Winds because its roads branch out towards each "wind" - north, south, east and west - and because of the mysterious gusts that whistle and howl through the caves beneath the city. The cave winds blow unpredictably. Some gusts are so violent that sentries on the wall hear them. A tribe of deaf kobolds dwells beneath the streets. In exchange for keeping the caverns and tunnels free of monsters or elf invaders, the citizens not only tolerate them, but grant them the privilege of digging through the town's refuse.

Before Winds became a trade hub, a line of windseers held great influence, claiming that the caves winds were omens that they alone could interpret. The title of windseer still exists, although the last ten or so have been homeless and have held sway only among the most destitute or superstitious. Naturally, the militia keeps a sharp eye on them.

In this enlightened age, the Council of the Calm rules. The Council convenes monthly in a chamber where every member is submerged up to his or her waist in a cistern. An electric eel is then placed into each cistern. The eels are trained by the city eelmistress to only discharge electricity when they detect hostility or lies. They are also put to use in the city's popular public criminal trials. While the Council meetings present a facade of peace, it forces especially desperate or ambitious council members to turn to the town's criminal underbelly when they cannot resolve certain issues with the required civility.

Winds fears elves above all. A burning stake in Council Square awaits any elf discovered within the city walls. As far as anyone can remember, it has not been used for this purpose. But last year Alceron, the current windseer, led a mob that burned Ulmo Targus, an alleged disciple of Yaegha Six-Kidneys. Even if Ulmo was innocent, he did have some magic in him. The charcoal from his lynching emits a potent aura. Alceron himself gathered most of the charcoal after the flames died.

No one in Winds knows, but Alceron was once a pupil of Severard. They do know that few have seen him since the lynching.

Hooks
-What is the source of the wind? What significance does it have?
-Where do the eels come from? Who is the current eelmistress, and who can become one?
-What is Alceron doing with Ulmo's charcoal? And who knows of his ties to Severard?

 

[Daztur]

Sorry for not adding any new hexes in a bit, but my Shrouded Lands time has been getting eaten up with compiling all of the setting information. Here's the newest compilation which includes LOTS of new hexes (everything except the three newest entries) and the Kingswood. I've also included all of the stuff that hasn't been edited in yet in the last chapter so that everything is all in one document.

The next version will include the Freeholds, new hexes and an expanded version of chutup's glossary. Will try to post one new hex and an updated map today.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6z-iUIH4P8aWEFJRjc5Nmlna2c/edit?pli=1

 

[chutup]

The new version of the compilation seems to be restricted access.

 

[Daztur]

The new version of the compilation seems to be restricted access.

Ooops. Fixed now.

 

[chutup]

Spotted a minor typo: on p. 94, 'The Lady and her works' should be 40.06.02, not 40.06.03.

 

[Daztur]

Hmmm, looking carefully at the map now, I might have to redraw the river to put the Waker Worms in the right place, but for now I've played them at 24.19 so that the other fork of the river passes through where they are. This will be noted in the next version of the compilation.

And new map: http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/1176/shroudedlandsmay25.png