Wilderness Maps - gridded or not?

[talinthas]

i never learned how to use hexes or do that kind of wilderness travel. I played in 2nd ed, but never really learned the rules till 3e. So when i went and tried to run DL1 last year for some friends, i was totally confused about how they were supposed to go anywhere, and what was supposed to happen when they were in various hexes =)

 

[Ourph]

I want outdoor hexmaps like the ones in X1 - Isle of Dread. Each hex has its own terrain, rather than the hex grid being superimposed on a pre-existing map (giving some hexes multiple terrain within a single hex). The X1 maps were wonderfully utilitarian and allowed mapping/exploration on the players part to be much more easily facilitated by the DM.

Not that I expect to ever see something like that again. It's not "pretty" enough.

 

[MerricB]

It's one area that is lacking. Frostburn is great for running encounters in the snow, but it doesn't have good (or any) map advice.

Cheers!

 

[Alcamtar]

Interesting to see some square votes.

One of the annoying things about hexes is this feature:
"We go north".
"You can't. North-east or north-west?"

The same problem exists with squares or any other polygonal tiling. I use hexes myself, having cut my teeth on keyed wilderness exploration in Expert D&D and X1.

My solution is to allow travel along the edges as well as through the centers, just as I'd allow diagonal movement on a grid. (You often have to count 1/2 or 1/3 hexes anyway when movement rates don't match the map.) This method means you have 12 directions of movement on a hex map: N, NNE, NEE, E, SEE, SSE, S, SSW, SWW, W, NWW, NNW.

I also always arrange my hexmaps so the directions are N,NE,SE,S,SW,NW. The reason is that climate does not change east-west, but it does change north-south, and this makes it easier for me to keep track of lattitude. Also I rarely use the full equatorial circumference of a planet, but I often map an entire region from pole to equator, so the distance from equator to pole is my standard wilderness yardstick. And winds seem more often to blow diagonally--northeasterlies or southwesterlies--so that also aligns nicely with the hex grid.

Mike

 

[jester47]

Interesting to see some square votes.
One of the annoying things about hexes is this feature:
"We go north".
"You can't. North-east or north-west?"
"Huh? The Pole star is there. We go north!"
"Uh... guys, the map has hexes!"
"So, we'll fall into the gap between hexes? Cool! We go north!"
"You fall through to china..."
Cheers!

This is only a trap if you fall for it. Think about it. The party is in a hex and wants to travel north. They have to choose which hex to travel in for purposes of encounter. Now if its the same terrain between the two hexes it really does not matter for time and random encounters. It also depends where they are in the initial hex. If they are more west, going north will put them in the more western hex. If they are more east then they will wind up in the eastern hex. Now if the terrains are differnt then it gets a lot easier. Ussually one terrain type is preferable over another. Forest is preferable over Mountains, and plains are more preferable than swamp. Let them know that to the north is the edge of worse terrain and better terrain. If they say "We stay in the forest and skirt the mountains while keeping our bering north." Then count them as going through the forest hex. If its "Evil Overlord controls the forest, its best if we evade his patrols by going the slower route through the mountains" then count them as going through the mountain hex.

Aaron.

 

[MerricB]

Indeed.

All in all, I much prefer Hex wilderness maps, and I'd love for them to be used more.

Cheers!

 

[jester47]

Right now I am working on converting the Everlund area into 5 mile hexes. As I plan to Wilderland-ise it for my campaign.

Aaron.

 

[MerricB]

Well, only a quarter of respondents wanting no grid? That's interesting.

What's the best scale for an outdoor grid, anyway?

Isle of Dread was 1 mile per hex.
Greyhawk has 30 miles per hex (IIRC)

6 miles per hex is also rather common.

Cheers!