The Party is just about to head into the Mwangi Jungle to explore, find and defeat the Cult of Cinders.

What are your top tips and tricks that you use for games using hex-base exploration?

Quote from: Shasarak;1119609The Party is just about to head into the Mwangi Jungle to explore, find and defeat the Cult of Cinders.

What are your top tips and tricks that you use for games using hex-base exploration?

I roll a daily d8 for the weather - 1 = bad/cold/wet, 8 =good/hot/dry. Beats consulting a weather table. Also d8 for wind direction.

I use a d6 for encounters, 6 = encounter, something like 2/day (travelling) 1/night (resting) for 5e works well.
On a 6 I may roll again & again until no 6 occurs - sometimes you get unlucky...

I use a mix of preset/fixed/status quo encounters and randomly generated encounters geared to party level; the XGTE encounter tables are excellent for the latter. So level 20 PCs can encounter both goblins & tarrasques.
That assumes the scope of travel is appropriate for party level - intercontinental dragon flight gets the level 17-20 encounters, whereas travelling from newbie town to starter dungeon gets the level 1-4 encounters, regardless of the actual party level. Level 20 PCs can always go back to newbie town if they want.

Have you considered Pathcrawl?

Even trackless jungles has paths of least resistance and game trails.

BX D&D has a fairly easy system for wilderness travel. I think AD&D's system is a little more robust though. Depends on what you really want from the travel?

How likely are the PCs to get lost?

Once I've determined that an encounter will take place, I use an encounter table that is a standard layout but detailed according to the area.  I've found that this makes one less thing I need to consider during play, as it is now second nature.  But the bigger positive effect as it also becomes easy to customize for each location.

Start with list of 8 numbered items.  Roll 1d6 during the day and 1d6+2 at night.  So obviously items 1-2 only happen in daylight, 7-8 at night, and those in the middle any time.  If there isn't much variation, I may repeat entries (say, stuck in the heart of a massive goblin tribe territory, where even small animals are rare).  More often, I've got more than 8 entries.  So individual entries then have a series of items, in likely order to appear.  If I get a hit on those, I'll use them in order or choose randomly or simply choose, based on the nature of the area and the encounters.  Using that technique, I'll mix in a lot of effectively "null encounters" that are almost events.  

For example:

1. (Daylight) - Dead orc with eyes pecked out/Goblin patrol/Shaman Goblin patrol/nothing.

Other entries in the same numbered list might only have one item or two or a random list.  Some items might be repeatable.  Most are not.  

As an elaboration on the above, when running 5E, I only give 1/10th XP for the truly "random" encounters, defined by me as any thing repeated or the third or later item on a list.  This builds in a "time bomb" for the players that's not exactly tied to time, but how active and lucky they are.  At some point, they are better off getting out of the area.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell;1119628Once I've determined that an encounter will take place, I use an encounter table that is a standard layout but detailed according to the area.  I've found that this makes one less thing I need to consider during play, as it is now second nature.  But the bigger positive effect as it also becomes easy to customize for each location.

Start with list of 8 numbered items.  Roll 1d6 during the day and 1d6+2 at night.  So obviously items 1-2 only happen in daylight, 7-8 at night, and those in the middle any time.  If there isn't much variation, I may repeat entries (say, stuck in the heart of a massive goblin tribe territory, where even small animals are rare).  More often, I've got more than 8 entries.  So individual entries then have a series of items, in likely order to appear.  If I get a hit on those, I'll use them in order or choose randomly or simply choose, based on the nature of the area and the encounters.  Using that technique, I'll mix in a lot of effectively "null encounters" that are almost events.  

For example:

1. (Daylight) - Dead orc with eyes pecked out/Goblin patrol/Shaman Goblin patrol/nothing.

Other entries in the same numbered list might only have one item or two or a random list.  Some items might be repeatable.  Most are not.  

As an elaboration on the above, when running 5E, I only give 1/10th XP for the truly "random" encounters, defined by me as any thing repeated or the third or later item on a list.  This builds in a "time bomb" for the players that's not exactly tied to time, but how active and lucky they are.  At some point, they are better off getting out of the area.

I prefer hex grids for sandbox campaigns becuase of my wargaming, roots and Judges Guild. If you have just a regular map with no grid at all, you can get transparent hex grid overlays from Gamescience as well as an outfit in Austria.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4086[/ATTACH]

I generally use the rules for adventuring in the wilderness (1e DMG pg 47-49) as a baseline. In a nutshell, my approach basically this:

• Determine the day's weather, if desired. (Often I have this pre-rolled so I'm not doing it in game.)
• Determine when encounter checks will occur during the day (there's a table on DMG pg 47 that lists frequency of encounter checks by time of day and population density).
• If there's a chance of becoming lost, check to see if that will occur during the day (pg 49)
• Play out the day's movement/encounters. (Check for encounters according to the frequency determined above. I tend to use customized tables for the area, but will use the general wilderness encounter table by terrain if I don't have anything special created.)
• At the end of the day, mark off food/water resources used up.

As far as tips, I guess determining weather in advance is one (if you use weather). Custom encounter tables for different areas are often nice. On a custom table, I also usually include one entry that says "roll on the standard tables for the terrain." Also, keep in mind that an encounter doesn't necessarily mean a face-to-face meeting. You can use the rules for determining encounter distance in the wilderness, or you can do your own thing. An "encounter with a dragon" could be seeing one flying in the distance, for example. And there's always the option of leaving it entirely up to the dice (e.g., encounter distance, surprise/awareness/reaction rolls) to determine the nature of the encounter.

Also, I played in a game where the DM used rules adapted from Outdoor Survival (this was an original D&D game, and the original D&D rules suggest this). It was a lot of fun and worked well. You might look at that to see if there's anything you want to use/adapt for your game. Those rules are available in his house rules PDF starting on pg 47, and there might be some more info on his blog site.

EDIT to add: The Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheets include a collection of useful/interesting tables and information that can assist a DM in running wilderness hex-crawling: cave & lair tables/info, "ravaged ruins" tables, the "keen sighting" rules/guides (e.g., the distance from which a person could see a building/tower/terrain feature based on its size/height/terrain), the "hydrographic terrain" tables, rules for prospecting (can't say I've used those, but they're interesting), lists of terrain features and obstacles, lists of flora types (trees, flowers, herbs, etc), lists of fauna types, et cetera.

@GameDaddy, not sure why that post is a reply to mine?

Quote from: S'mon;1119614I roll a daily d8 for the weather - 1 = bad/cold/wet, 8 =good/hot/dry. Beats consulting a weather table. Also d8 for wind direction.

I use a d6 for encounters, 6 = encounter, something like 2/day (travelling) 1/night (resting) for 5e works well.
On a 6 I may roll again & again until no 6 occurs - sometimes you get unlucky...

I use a mix of preset/fixed/status quo encounters and randomly generated encounters geared to party level; the XGTE encounter tables are excellent for the latter. So level 20 PCs can encounter both goblins & tarrasques.
That assumes the scope of travel is appropriate for party level - intercontinental dragon flight gets the level 17-20 encounters, whereas travelling from newbie town to starter dungeon gets the level 1-4 encounters, regardless of the actual party level. Level 20 PCs can always go back to newbie town if they want.

I think you are right, weather will be important to pay attention to.  One of the PCs is a Storm Druid and he has mentioned one of his special abilities of being able to see through heavy rain so I will have to make sure there is at least one "1" to give him a chance to shine.

Quote from: Greentongue;1119615Have you considered Pathcrawl?

Even trackless jungles has paths of least resistance and game trails.

Thanks, Greentongue.  I had not considered Pathcrawl but I will now!

Quote from: Shasarak;1119609The Party is just about to head into the Mwangi Jungle to explore, find and defeat the Cult of Cinders.

What are your top tips and tricks that you use for games using hex-base exploration?

Greetings!

I like to think, and conceptualize first. Think of visions, sights, images, and sounds. Think of ancient, moss-covered ruins and weird temples. Firelight flickering in the darkness. Drums beating rhythmically. Beautiful tribal women dancing and swaying in the firelight, whirling, smiling, laughing.

Burn some incense. Think of coloured beads. Mosquitos biting the fuck out of you. Sweat rolling down your neck and back. Think of cool waters. Roasting meats. Piles of gold spilled about, emeralds the size of your fist. Imagine a baboon opening its mouth, and roaring to the heavens. See there, through the dense, green foliage? The deep gaze of hate from a Tyrannosaurus. Imagine the great chomping, the shrieks of terror. The splashes of blood everywhere.

Arrows flying. Strong men, grappling on some cliff overlooking the shimmering waters below. Climbing a sheer cliff, into a greenway, spread out before some ancient tower. Carved skulls, strange symbols, small flocks of coloured birds flying about, eeraw, eeraw, eeraw. Whoop, whoop, whoop! Great stairs going downwards. Moss hanging down. The sound of rushing water nearby. The smell of fresh water.

Who lives in the tower? Quickly, write down the visions that come to your mind. Who leads? Who is strong, who is powerful, and cunning? Who might be opponents to the party? Out through the dense, hot jungle, who might be a friend or lover to the party, or someone in the party? Think of their values, their desires, what they admire, and respect.

Who might be neutral, or suspicious of the party? How might they be won over to befriend the party? What animals live in the jungle? What birds, apes, snakes, and insects? Think about diseases. Swarms of insects devouring the party, or a hireling. Think of the lightning strike of a poisonous serpent, a person screaming in agony as the poison courses through them. Eeeraw, Eeraw, Eeraw. More bird cries overhead. Always bird cries, and weird ape noises, hoots and callings. Occasional deeper roars and growls of lions, elephants, or dinosaurs. Distant screams of men fighting, women being plundered, or others being sacrificed in brutal, mind boggling ways.

Think of the jungle covered in damp mist. Always concealing, shifting, billowing over ravines, forest, and thick grasses. Rock outcroppings or hilltops peaking through occasionally. The silver shimmer of streams or rivers plunging in waterfalls. Spray rising into the air, serving as its own kind of musical backdrop.

Think of the whole jungle, in every direction, being mystical, ancient, and alive. Full of mysteries. Roaring. Teeth chomping down. The screams of the dying.

Draw up several power groups that live there. Some enemies, and some other people, individuals, or creatures that may befriend the party. Think of relationships, goals, dreams, and other priorities, beyond or alongside the main *adventure* The jungle is ancient, and alive, with its own creatures, history, and ways of life. Make the mystical jungle come alive for the players, as well as the party. The jungle should be something enormous and vast, beautiful, and terrifying.

An experience that the party will never forget.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Shasarak;1119663I think you are right, weather will be important to pay attention to.  One of the PCs is a Storm Druid and he has mentioned one of his special abilities of being able to see through heavy rain so I will have to make sure there is at least one "1" to give him a chance to shine.

I'd have to look it up to be sure. But pretty sure 5e has some basic rules for the effects of weather on travel or at least visibility. Pretty sure AD&D or Wilderness Survival Guide does as well.

Outside of D&D Dragon Storm had various effects based on the terrain you were in. The terrain could and would effect your chance to get lost. Ability to rest. Ability to forage. And in some areas you had to worry about Od and Taint as well. Od was areas that were so naturally pure that they actually harmed normal people and really screwed with tainted ones. While Taint was essentially like magical radiation and harmed normal people and really screwed with pure ones.

But the changes to getting lost, resting and foraging are the main things to consider with travel and terrain. And weather will play into that sometimes. Fog and Rain are the biggest ones. But heavy Snow can too. Just not many settings really deal with extensive snowscapes.

From experience. Heavily forested areas, even with game trails, can be surprisingly easy to get lost in if they are large, or dense.

Quote from: Omega;1119694I'd have to look it up to be sure. But pretty sure 5e has some basic rules for the effects of weather on travel or at least visibility. Pretty sure AD&D or Wilderness Survival Guide does as well.

Outside of D&D Dragon Storm had various effects based on the terrain you were in. The terrain could and would effect your chance to get lost. Ability to rest. Ability to forage. And in some areas you had to worry about Od and Taint as well. Od was areas that were so naturally pure that they actually harmed normal people and really screwed with tainted ones. While Taint was essentially like magical radiation and harmed normal people and really screwed with pure ones.

But the changes to getting lost, resting and foraging are the main things to consider with travel and terrain. And weather will play into that sometimes. Fog and Rain are the biggest ones. But heavy Snow can too. Just not many settings really deal with extensive snowscapes.

From experience. Heavily forested areas, even with game trails, can be surprisingly easy to get lost in if they are large, or dense.

Greetings!

Totally. Weather and terrain are very important for the scenario, and also serve as distinctive challenges for the players. It's like the weather and terrain themselves open up doors to other side aspects of adventure, whether from disease, to fighting against insects, other creatures, and potentially discovering resources, or valuable resources. In the process of navigating through such formidable terrain, of course, other discoveries can also be made, whether strange ruins, potentially friendly tribes or creatures, as well as groves of fantastic fruit, weird roots and plants, and so on. All entirely separate from the "Main Adventure."

Good stuff!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Shasarak;1119609The Party is just about to head into the Mwangi Jungle to explore, find and defeat the Cult of Cinders.

What are your top tips and tricks that you use for games using hex-base exploration?

Greetings!

What is the Mwangi Jungle like, my friend? Do you have any notes on its major geographical features?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: SHARK;1119847Greetings!

What is the Mwangi Jungle like, my friend? Do you have any notes on its major geographical features?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Probably this or inspired by. Its a Pathfinder module.
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Cult_of_Cinders

and some info on the locale.
https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Mwangi_Expanse