My earliest experience of a wilderness adventure was probably X1: The Isle of Dread.
The Wilderness in Isle of Dread can be best described as being in the Exploration style.
Key features of X1:
* A blank map that must be filled in
* Hexgrid
* Random encounters
* Getting Lost.
* Keyed encounters to hex locations.
Later on, I became aware of other styles of wilderness adventuring. In these cases, it was based on a "Known" map. One of the most influential for me was DL1: Dragons of Despair.
Key features of DL1:
* A known map handed to the players
* Hexgrid
* Random encounters
* Keyed encounters to hex areas (not just individual hexes).
Another style of wilderness adventure (and I'm going to pick on Mark Clover's "Whispering Woodwind" here) could possibly be called the "journey" - the task is to get from point A to point B, where the map is known.
Key features of "The Whispering Woodwind"
* A Known map (road) - not a hexgrid
* Keyed encounters along the length of the road
(Random encounters aren't a feature of TWW, but are of other journey-style wilderness adventures).
A fourth style of wilderness adventure (see in many 2e FR adventures) eschews the hexgrid, you travel in "known" terrain, but there is more choice about the journey.
Are there other types of wilderness adventure that I've missed?
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Personally, I prefer the hexgrid/exploration style of wilderness adventure, but I will make use of journey styles of adventures from time to time. Whenever the PCs have a chance of getting lost, it becomes important to me to know where they are... and I find that easiest to keep track of on a hexgrid.
Cheers!
The Wilderness in Isle of Dread can be best described as being in the Exploration style.
Key features of X1:
* A blank map that must be filled in
* Hexgrid
* Random encounters
* Getting Lost.
* Keyed encounters to hex locations.
Later on, I became aware of other styles of wilderness adventuring. In these cases, it was based on a "Known" map. One of the most influential for me was DL1: Dragons of Despair.
Key features of DL1:
* A known map handed to the players
* Hexgrid
* Random encounters
* Keyed encounters to hex areas (not just individual hexes).
Another style of wilderness adventure (and I'm going to pick on Mark Clover's "Whispering Woodwind" here) could possibly be called the "journey" - the task is to get from point A to point B, where the map is known.
Key features of "The Whispering Woodwind"
* A Known map (road) - not a hexgrid
* Keyed encounters along the length of the road
(Random encounters aren't a feature of TWW, but are of other journey-style wilderness adventures).
A fourth style of wilderness adventure (see in many 2e FR adventures) eschews the hexgrid, you travel in "known" terrain, but there is more choice about the journey.
Are there other types of wilderness adventure that I've missed?
####
Personally, I prefer the hexgrid/exploration style of wilderness adventure, but I will make use of journey styles of adventures from time to time. Whenever the PCs have a chance of getting lost, it becomes important to me to know where they are... and I find that easiest to keep track of on a hexgrid.
Cheers!