Friday, June 6, 2014

Forging Advenutre Paths for Hex Crawls

A brief and simple method to adding "Adventue Paths" to a hex crawl campaign.


Step One: Pick a hex.
Step Two: Roll 1d6. On Adventure Path Table

Adventure Path Table
1.      Rumor/Clue
2.      Foil/Obstacle
3.      Ally
4.      Foe
5.      Goal
6.      End Goal

The first hex can have any of the results above, even the End Goal.

Step Three: Roll a d6, this is what direction the next part of the adventure path is in.
1- goes north, 2- north east, 3- south east, 4-south, 5- south west,  and 6 north west .

Does that direction lead to somewhere you can’t or don’t want to go?  Well this step takes place in the same hex you are currently in if that is the case, multiple things can be in a hex,

Roll 1d6 and consult Table #1 in each new hex, repeat until you do roll End Goal. record hexes, path step and exit directions as you go along.

Here’s two examples of using this skeletal methodology based on the map from my post  Hexcrawling so travel and exploration earns exp.
Micro campaign map from older post

Path #1

We’re starting in hex 5-3  (I picked it randomly).
Rolled a 4 on the table above we have a foe.  In this hex we also have a monster lair, so the foe is either the big baddie in this hex, a minion or a parasite. I’m going to roll more to see how this works out.
Roll a 4 for direction, that’s south as I’m going with one beign north and going arroudn the hex sides in a clockwise direction. That brings us to hex 5-4. The roll on table 1  above is 3:Ally. So now the path directs us to an ally in the ruins in hex 5-4. S that ally lost, trapped, or in need of help?  Let’s figure that out after the path stretched further.
Rolled a 4 for direction again the path leads us to the town of Penwythe. The roll on table I is a 6- that’s the end goal.

So we’ve got 3 hexes let’s tie the results together:

 Starting in the cave of the dragon that dwells there the adventurers learn the goblins that serve the dragon are planning a raid on the village of Penwythe. Now the players can’t attack the goblins here without attracting the attention of the dragon (If they want they can fight the dragon and the goblins , nothing wrong with this, let the players win or lose as they choose).

The players aren’t the only ones to discover this it has also been found out by Bracklemot he’s a citizen in good standing in Penwythe, he’s racign back to Penwythe to warn everyone, unfortunately he’s managed to get himself stuck in the ruins. Free in him will earn his gratitude and likely serve to help warn the town about the goblin attack.

A Penwythe we have a town in swamp. It’s a fortified hummock with a slum of houses built on stilts. Getting to folks able to plan a response to the goblin attack is going to be the trick. The players can attempt to organize a defense in the slums or get inside the fortified section and get the town authorities in motion, a very simple task Brackemot in tow.

Path #2.

Starting in hex 1-5 at the Monolith of Triurre the party have a goal.
South East to a goal  in the tower of Veryanne in hex 2-5
North into the wilderness of hex 2-4 to face a foe.
Southeast of there to hex 3-5 where a goal is discovered.
We head south into the hills into hex 3-6 and discover a rumor leading south west to the Temple of Wrath in hex 4-6 where we find a foe.
From the temple of wrath we get a roll of 4 for direction, so we’re staying in this hex (as we can’t go south without making more map, which would be cool but require a lot more prep) where we discover the end goal of the path.

The goal of many at the monolith of Triurre is meditation to learn it’s secrets. Here the party will bump into one of the apprentices of the master of Veyanne tower a helpful in to meet the master of the tower ( a campaign goal as per notes in previous post on thie micro-setting).

Traveling to Veryanne tower the master of the tower will deal favorably with the PCs if they can dispatch a troublesome grue in the mountains to the north.

Defeating or robbing the grue will provide the party with a treasure map, If they choose to follow that treasure map or are encourage to follow it by the master of Veryanne they will find a treasure but also evidence other were seeking it but didn’t discover it.

Following this evidence will lead the party to an encampment of goat herders, a couple of them had been hired by a priest from the Temple of Wrath to escort him through the hills.

Following up on this information the player will have to deal with a priest from the Temple of Wrath and discover why that priest was seeking the same treasure (if they are the curious sort). The players will eventually discover the treasure they found earlier is the last component the priest needs to complete a ritual; do the players provide the priest with that piece or do they foil the whole plan? What the players decide to do will determine the conclusion.


There we go, two adventure paths just waiting to be discovered based on a few random rolls and what is known about the hexes with a tad of elaboration that provide the framework for a fair bit of adventure that players can choose to follow or not that will not make or break the campaign in and of themselves but could have some consequences. There are plenty of details to fill in but the DM would now have some focus with the adventure paths in mind.


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