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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8405725" data-attributes="member: 2629">I disagree that flight trivializes the exploration in a hexcrawl.  First, it is not the only way that PCs see far.  Find Familiar gives you access to sight at great ranges at first level (in potentially many different ways), as do a variety of other abilities that do not require flight, or take advantage of another creature's flight.  Solutions off the top of my head I've used in 5E at 1st and 2nd level: Gaze of Two Minds on a Winged Kobold, Find Familiar for a flying scout, hiring a Giant Owl, taming a Hippogriff ...  Second, you can't really see that far, and when you can see far, you don't see terribly clearly.  If you fly up 500 feet you can see the horizon at 30 miles on 'flat' ground.  However, what are you seeing?  A three story building would be an indistinguishable speck!  You could fly up 500 feet and get an idea where there are lakes, villages, and hills - but the first time you converse with an intelligent creature in the region you could likely get that for the 30 miles around you, plus perhaps much further. Honestly, high charisma will get you more information than flight.  You can concoct some excuse why they can't gain this information from speaking to other creatures, but in a sandbox game created for the PCs to explore, it would be odd to have nothing capable of conveying information to the PCs.</blockquote>