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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Daztur" data-source="post: 6100561" data-attributes="member: 55680">OK, I think that Sanglorian’s Gore write-up is basically on the right track when it comes to changing the format of the main compilation and we can get to work on that next month once some format stuff gets ironed out. However, I really really want to also create some bite-sized bits of this setting that’ll be easier for people to digest than the whale of the compilation, no matter how well-organized it is, and I think I’ve hit on a good format. Sample here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6z-iUIH4P8aeWNsZGUzM2ZJY0U/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6z-iUIH4P8aeWNsZGUzM2ZJY0U/edit?usp=sharing</a> (19[SUP]th[/SUP] century art included may not be entirely work safe) The basic idea is that each gazetteer would be a 36-page mini sandbox that has more utilitarian information but without sacrificing the depth and flavor that makes this setting special. How this would work is that each gazetteer would cover 19 hexes (one central hex and then two hexes in every direction, huge hexes like Shuttered could get their own gazetteer). Whenever there’s a bit of the map that has a chunk of 19 hexes like that, we could get to work on writing up a gazetteer that covers that corner of the world, with a bit of overlap being OK. Of course right now there aren’t any solid blocks of 19 described hexes, but there will be soon. In these 36-page gazetteers each of the 19 hexes would get their own page. The remaining 17 pages would be used for the introduction, general overview information about the region covered by the 19 hexes, specific locations (think one page dungeons) within those 19 hexes and some short appendixes (including critter listings). If one hex needs a lot of detail it could run over to a second page but in general I’d prune some of the description out of wordy hexes and stick the extra stuff in the appendixes or introduction. For each hex’s page I’d use the following format (as you can see in the PDF sample):-Hex number and name on top.-Quick overview for a DM in a hurry. It contains the same kind of stuff that you’d get in a traditional hexcrawl like Wilderlands of High Fantasy.-Two encounters which’d be critters or other stuff PCs could run into within that hex. So basically a DM who doesn’t want to read a lot ONLY has to look at the overview and the encounters and can run things just fine. The encounters use Land of Nod-style stats that are as close to generic D&D as possible. The exact stat line could be changed around and should also include treasure; I just threw it together quickly.-Then on the left there is some art and some connections noted with page numbers and hyperlinks. Often there’ll be white space here for the DM to make notes.-On the right there is the hex write-up from the compilation. It can be pruned to make it fit or have bits shunted off into the intro/appendix of the gazetteer.-On the bottom there is a more involved random encounter chart. It includes more than just the critter the PCs run into but also some other ideas to spark the DM’s imagination (but the DM can just roll the first column if in a hurry). Some results will be nonsensical in which case the DM can think up some bizarre justification (which is very much in the spirit of the setting), reroll or throw out the bits that don’t make sense. How it works is the DM rolls 2d6 for each column and gives the PCs a -1 (or more) penalty if they’re noisy and in a big hurry and a +1 (or more) bonus if they’re being slow and sneaky. So the nasty stuff gets low numbers, the nice stuff gets high numbers and common stuff falls in the middle (which isn’t quite the case in the sample since I threw it together quickly). In nice hexes the encounters would be padded out with non-combat encounters while other hexes would have a nastier selection.Edit: maybe also have some encounters just be seeing signs that the given creature is around somewhere like Heget footprints. So for example (rolls: 11, 9, 7, 7): a sailor falling in love with a lungfish just off the coast. OK, let’s say that the Heget’s magic misfired and now a shipwrecked sailor has been driven mad with love for a random lungfish and is swimming out to meet his love while shouting bad poetry. If the PCs don’t save him he’ll drown but will resist any attempt to save him and his shouts will attract nasty things. Sounds fun, very much a Shrouded Lands random encounter. The specific random entries could stand to be improved and there’d be a lot of copy and pasting between nearby hexes (so you’d often encounter stuff that lives in an adjacent hex while wandering around). The basic idea is to include everything a DM needs to run an adventure in that hex, our current write-up has a lot of great ideas but it doesn’t have a lot of the nuts and bolts that I like to prep out before running an adventure. These gazetteers would have more of that. Thoughts? Damn that’s long, sorry for blathering on so long about all of this, but I think I’ve hit on something cool.</blockquote>

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