Hex Stocking Density

For interest sake I pulled out one of my copies of Isle of Dread. For most, it is the benchmark for hex-crawling modules. I wanted to approximate the ratio of hexes-to-encounters. Using the methodology mentioned in my last post there is a 1-in-3 chance of a hex having a monster for a hexes-to-encounter ratio of 3:1 which gives me approximately 133 monster encounters in my 400 hexes.

Just eyeballing the number of hexes on the island, I would guesstimate that there are approximately 400 hexes (has anyone actually counted them? I am far too lazy). Using the numbered island map from the module which as 24 encounters and adding 5 for the number of locations on Taboo Island, there are a total of 29 encounters on the island. Let's round up to 30. I am assuming that all numbered encounters on the map are with monsters which may not be correct. I took a quick look and didn't see any exceptions but I could be wrong. This gives a ratio of 13 hexes to 1 encounter.

My hexes are far more densely populated with monsters than those on the iconic island.  I'm okay with this. One reason I am okay with a higher number of encounters on my map is that it is for an open, exploration focused game in the West Marches style. I want the PCs to go out into the wilderness and find stuff. Also, the there is an explicit social contract that characters will try to return to town at the end of a gaming session so the quicker implied consumption of resources that will result from more encounter will not be an issue.

But I rolled it!

From page X59:

"A common mistake most DMs make is to rely too much on random die rolls. An entire evening can be spoiled if an unplanned wilderness encounter on the way to the dungeon goes badly for the party. The DM must use good judgment in addition to random tables. Encounters should be scaled to the strength of the party and should be in harmony with the theme of the adventure." (Emphasis mine.)

Okay, I am guilty as charged. I love die rolls and randomness. Not simply for randomness' sake but instead for the creative muse they provide. Trying to figure out why there are ghouls in the elven forest is part of the fun.

I also found the emphasized portion of the quote interesting. My impression is that one of the cornerstones of the OSR is that encounters should not be scaled to the strength of the party. I also rarely worry about scaling encounter difficulty relative to party strength.

However, I do try to scale difficulty relative to depth (for dungeons) or distance (for wilderness). That way players can make logical decisions and their actions have meaningful effects.

Northern Marches Table Map

Here are images of the players' Table Map and how it evolved during my old Northern Marches campaign.

Wilderness Encounter Tables

I have been emptying out my Northern Marches binder so that it may serve as my Borderlands Binder. I found the table below in that binder. It was the wilderness encounter table for a small coastal mountain range called the Goblin Teeth.

Roll d6:
1 & 2: Encounter (roll 2d6):

2 - roll twice
3 - Griffons
4 - Giant Hawks
5 - Mountain Goats (see Antelopes)
6 - Black Bears
7 - Goblins
8 - Hobgoblins
9 - Mountain Lions
10 - Brigands
11 - Neanderthals
12 - Roll on Dim Forest Encounter Table

3: Obstacle (roll d6):

1 & 2 - Coastal storm (rain, snow, low cloud, freezing temperature, etc)
3 - Rock slide / Avalanche
4 - Box canyon
5 - Goblin snare
6 - Crumbling ledge

4: Clues / Signs (roll d8):

1 & 2 - Goblin totem
3 & 4 - Hear goblin drums
5 - Griffon feather / abandoned griffon or giant hawk nest
6 - Hear griffon or giant hawk call
7 - Goblin trail
8 - small forgotten shrine to (d6) 1&2 Orcus, 3&4 Zeus, 5 Ares, 6 Demeter

5: Special (roll d6)

1 - 15ft tall statue of (d6) 1&2 Orcus, 3&4 Zeus, 5 Ares, 6 something bizarre
2 - Stone stepped pyramid (stock as dungeon, level = 1d4)
3 - Statue of Athena - will answer 1 yes-no question per day, asker will be struck by a 6d6 lightening bolt of question is not a yes-no question
4 - Pile of rusted goblin swords, spearheads, etc
5 - Small 3-level tower (stock as dungeon, level = 1d6)
6 - Abandoned climbing gear

6: Good fortune (roll d6):

1 to 3 - find enough wild food to eat, don't have to use any rations for next 1d4 days (10% poisonous)
4 & 5 - Find hidden cache of 1d6 items of normal adventuring equipment
6 - Find medicinal plant that will cure poison (1d6 doses that will keep for 1d6 days)

Castles in the Wilderness

I have been reading my OD&D books again in anticipation of receiving my Swords & Wizardry White Box in the mail - it still hasn't arrived yet = {

I have also been browsing my B/X rulebooks for the Red Box Calgary game.

Each of those versions of D&D have information and rules about encountering a castle in the wilderness. This is another one of those "gameist" things about early D&D that I love.

In the OD&D books, the text specifically mentions the Outdoor Survival playing board and that ponds indicate castles.

B/X doesn't have the same relationship with a board game so I have always used the random wilderness encounter tables to indicate when a castle is encountered. The B/X wilderness encounter tables give chances to encounter "Fighter", "Cleric", and "Magic-user" in addition to "NPC Party" and "Adventurers". When the result was one of the singular I would often use that as a castle encounter.

The part that I like best is that each of these editions has a very simple table to determine what happens. I actually somewhat prefer the OD&D tables as they are crazier that the B/X versions.

The OD&D tables give a chance that the Lord or Necromancer or Evil High Priest (EHP) that owns the castle to have retainers such as Giants or Manticores or Vampires.

The B/X tables are much more boring in that they just list the horsemen patrols. It does give a suggestion that the "rest of the force" may include trolls or superheroes mounted on Griffons but I like that these types of things are the default in OD&D.

I also love that the OD&D rules say that Fighting Men will demand a jousting match and will demand the loser's armour if he wins. Magic-users are complete dicks and send passersby on errands by using Geas. And Clerics demand tithes and use a Quest spell or just try to kill the passersby if they are unable to pay.

The B/X rules are more staid with the castle owner either chasing the party off the lord's land, ignoring the party, or being friendly (either feigned or genuine).

Of course, as with all things in D&D (especially older editions), the imagination of the DM and the reactions of the players are the only limiting factors to these types of encounters but I love the fact that the default setting of these early editions includes this kind of stuff.

Hexcrawls

Lots of talk today about hexcrawls, for instance: Here and Here.

I was going to post a reply on Chgowiz's blog but I decided to make a quick post about it.
There are three basic points of Chgowiz's post:
1. Hex scale;
2. Stocking; and
3. Finding stuff in the hex.

I typically use 6 mile hexes. I do this because in B/X all of the base overland daily movement rates are divisible by 6. Also, all of the terrain modifiers are 2/3's, 1/2 and/or 3/2's. So typically we are still dealing with multiples of 6 or easy fractions of 6.

To stock the hex map I use for the Northern Marches I use the same method to stock a dungeon as given in the Basic Rulebook.

Roll a d6:
1-2 Monster - these can either be lairs or dungeons
3 Trap - I use this for actual traps, difficult terrain such as a river crossing, cliff face, etc., or clues such as trails, totems, footprints, etc.
4 Special - I often use the Judges Guild Ravaged Ruins table
5-6 Empty

The Northern Marches wilderness is designed so that the further the party gets from the town of New Hareth the more dangerous the encounter, I can then pick monsters of the appropriate difficulty and terrain.

Now a 6 mile hex is a lot of space. Finding a specific feature, such as a cave mouth or a lone cabin, in an area that large could actually be quite difficult. With regards to the party finding something in a 6 mile hex I take two approaches:
1. If they are searching for something specific I will either let them find it automatically if it is large or make a Find Secret Doors check to find a smaller object.
2. If they are just passing through a hex, I usually give them a 1 in 6 chance of spotting what is there unless it is really large, tall or otherwise easy to spot. I like the fact that the party can find something new on a subsequent trip through a hex.

Wilderness Maps

With my Northern Marches campaign on my mind, I have been thinking about wilderness maps and their design.

A while ago there was a great thread over at Dragonsfoot about wilderness map design. It posited that a good wilderness map:

1. is for adventure - it had things to find, easter eggs if you will, such as lost valleys, hidden passes, etc.
2. has variety - different types of terrain.
3. has game utility - it is easy to use, has numbered hexes or some type of map key.
4. gives interesting choices - to get from city A to city B do you go through the swamp or around it?
5. provide obstacles to navigation - such as impassible mountain ranges blocking your way.

Most of the discussion there focused on hex maps or free hand maps.

While thinking about my B/X S&S hack I was looking for maps from the Hyborian Age. Some maps that I looked at were from RSI's Hyborian War. I found these interesting in that they took free hand maps and broke the area down into zones.

I found these maps interesting as you could combine the map with the province reports from the game for each zone, develop encounter tables and have a discrete area with its own feel. For example, from the province reports, the section titled Fort Wakla is made up mostly of desert and has a large fort. There is also a small chance of encountering hills or an oasis. It is inhabited by Zuagir Tribesmen. Making an encounter table with Turanian patrols, Zuagir tribesmen and some other desert encounters would be pretty easy.

The Hyborian War maps are similar to the wilderness map from DL1: Dragons of Despair where the map was split into encounter zones.

Another type of wilderness map I have seen is like a flowchart with multiple connections. These are similar to maps for old video games and MUDs. From SSI's Dark Sun: Shattered Lands...
Now, I have often mentioned that I don't mind abstraction and "gameism" in my B/X D&D so I don't have a big problem with this type of map so long as the players feel that they are exploring a wilderness.

I know that the West Marches campaign used a vector map but, as a computer dunce, I wouldn't even know where to start with that.

Are there other types of wilderness maps that would meet the five criteria outlined above?