Some doubts about hexcrawling (The Isle of Dread)

[onerom]

I will run The Isle of Dread with basic ruleset. So, the module is an hexcrawling, but I've never done it before. Do you have some tips? The hexes are not numbered, I hadn't noticed before, I imagine it will be very difficult to understand at a glance where the characters exactly are, without counting the possibility of losing the way! How can I do not slow down the game too much and keep that game model alive? My greatest fear is that players get bored.

[simrion]

It's been some time since I've run it but I believe there is a relatively blank players map provided they can fill in as they travel. The module had fairly extensive random encounter charts. Also it's your island in your campaign, add some points of interest like random debris or maybe a wrecked pirate ship far into the interior... how the heck did it get there?! Make your players wonder. If you have the Expert rules set it had great wilderness exploration rules and advice. Putting aside the unpolitically correct inferences reading some of ER Burroughs Tarzan might give you a good feel for a jungle and might provide some descriptive material to help you players feel like they're on a desert island fraught with mystery and danger.

[mao]

Apr 9, 2019 8:29:05 GMT -5 onerom said:

I will run The Isle of Dread with basic ruleset. So, the module is an hexcrawling, but I've never done it before. Do you have some tips? The hexes are not numbered, I hadn't noticed before, I imagine it will be very difficult to understand at a glance where the characters exactly are, without counting the possibility of losing the way! How can I do not slow down the game too much and keep that game model alive? My greatest fear is that players get bored.

I love that modual, its the only one I have ran a lot. I would make some mystery to the ruins, a thread that only by visiting all of them can be solved, That should be enuff to base the whole game on.

[Mr Darke]

If you can find a copy, the old Judges Guild Ready ref Sheets had a table for what can be found in a hex as you enter it. My copy is long gone but it was a great resource.

[Mighty Darci]

When are you running this onerom? I would love to hear about how it goes.

[restless]

Apr 18, 2019 9:24:11 GMT -5 Mr Darke said:

If you can find a copy, the old Judges Guild Ready ref Sheets had a table for what can be found in a hex as you enter it. My copy is long gone but it was a great resource.

Similarly, Kellri's CDD#4 is similarly useful, and it's free!

[simrion]

Apr 29, 2019 19:06:47 GMT -5 restless said:

Apr 18, 2019 9:24:11 GMT -5 Mr Darke said:

If you can find a copy, the old Judges Guild Ready ref Sheets had a table for what can be found in a hex as you enter it. My copy is long gone but it was a great resource.

Similarly, Kellri's CDD#4 is similarly useful, and it's free!

Kellri's stuff is phenomenal and I am ashamed to say I take his greative genius for granted. Off topic I hope he is better health wise.  Restless have an exalt!

[Mr Darke]

Apr 29, 2019 19:06:47 GMT -5 restless said:

Apr 18, 2019 9:24:11 GMT -5 Mr Darke said:

If you can find a copy, the old Judges Guild Ready ref Sheets had a table for what can be found in a hex as you enter it. My copy is long gone but it was a great resource.

Similarly, Kellri's CDD#4 is similarly useful, and it's free!

 I did not know about this. Thanks!

[El Borak]

onerom how are things going with this, have you played any of it out yet?

[True Black Raven]

onerom how did it go? Have you played any of this yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

[ripx187]

Hexcrawls provides a tool for travel. It allows us to quickly determine how far a party is moving per day, or per week. For our private maps, we can mark features on them which the players might be interested in finding, we can use it to determine random encounters and programmed ones. It just allows travel to be more entertaining! The Isle of Dread taught me a lot about how to use it as a tool, but the map itself isn't all that good. My players deduced exactly where the dungeon was by studying the included player map after a quick glance.


I designed one game with some Gaming Paper, I hung it on the wall and it had the entire area already marked out. The players marked where they were on the map with a magnet, and would update their map when they found something. The game took place in the mountains so I came up with a system to make travel speed random. We had a lot of fun with it! 


Basically, a hex map keeps us from leading the players by the nose. It makes travel interesting and allows petty time-managers, like myself, to know where a party will be at what time of day. 

[Deleted]

I love the Isle of Dread. I haven't run it, but having read it twice I'd say one of its weaknesses is the lack of encounters and that many of them are plain hostile encounters which you could have with wandering monster anyway. I would up at least twice as many encounters as there are originally and all those for static things, like posts delimiting a territory with symbols from the peoples/monsters that inhabit it, some boxes or dead corpses lying around from a raid by x, etc.

Adding some additional plot might be also a good idea, like different factions warrying against each other. Maybe the Phanaton have lost some of their own to a tribe of lizarmend or whatever. I'm saying all this spontaneously without referencing the book, so maybe there's already some similar ideas in the book, but not that I can think right now off the top of my head.

I would spice up those random encounters too, so they're not only hostile creatures. Maybe there's a random encounter in which some tribesmen are lost and the PCs have to scort them back to the village. There's two groups of warriors from different groups fighting against each other and the PCs have to decide what they do (support one or the other, wait for them to kill off each other and take the spoils, just leave the area unnoticed?). The come across a Phanaton scout that's looking for a lost relic; you don't even have to place the relic anywhere, just make it pop up when you think is right (even in another random encounter!).

If you want another piece of advice, I rarely use any gaming products for inspiration, be it for encounters, characters, areas, plots, etc. but use other types of books. I usually open a book at random (usually an adventure novels, sword & sorcery stories, fairy tales, historical essays, but even sometimes philosophical essays!), read just one paragraph and try to come up with an idea from there, no matter how crazy/ilogical it may seem at first: that's the seed of the idea, you just develop it to fit your taste and logic within the world.

One of the problems with hexcrawls I think is that there's too much territory with nothing and that the players have to look for the fun themselves, sometimes walking across huge expanses of terrain without encountering anything. That can be a chore and really boring (and don't tell me when they pass next to a hex where there's something and you have to bite your tongue!).

Hope that helps!

[onerom]

May 4, 2019 12:26:52 GMT -5 El Borak said:

onerom how are things going with this, have you played any of it out yet?

May 18, 2019 19:22:38 GMT -5 True Black Raven said:

onerom how did it go? Have you played any of this yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Sorry guys, I'm here, now. I'm having a very busy days, since I'm graduating for the second time. I only managed to play twice, but it was very satisfying and successful. 

I rolled almost all the random encounters and I let myself be guided by the manual, it was exciting. This exploration-based style of play without a fixed story is really liberating for the mind. The rules for traveling between hexes are very simple to follow and fun. The players were very cautious and risked their lives, but they didn't die. Instead, two of their lower level followers died. The first follower died against a Cyclops on an island farther north where they stopped to take drinking water after a storm that sent them off course.They met halfling settlers who wanted their help against crab-men, but preferred not to stop. They went to the tribes near the wall but they offended them with cultural misunderstandings. Then they went to explore the island and they met some ghouls that the cleric helped clear out. They carefully avoided the mountain dens of cavemen. Then they went to the central plateau, during the climb they were attacked by pterodactyls that were defeated with the help of the wizard. Above, they explored the temple abandoned on the taboo island and for now they are wounded in the central hall, where they entered facing the whole tribe without too many precautions. For now they have defeated almost everyone and the survivors have withdrawn. With a fireball they destroyed half the hall! The head of the tribe killed the second follower of the group here.

[onerom]

May 25, 2019 2:57:20 GMT -5 @baldorar said:

I love the Isle of Dread. I haven't run it, but having read it twice I'd say one of its weaknesses is the lack of encounters and that many of them are plain hostile encounters which you could have with wandering monster anyway. I would up at least twice as many encounters as there are originally and all those for static things, like posts delimiting a territory with symbols from the peoples/monsters that inhabit it, some boxes or dead corpses lying around from a raid by x, etc.

Adding some additional plot might be also a good idea, like different factions warrying against each other. Maybe the Phanaton have lost some of their own to a tribe of lizarmend or whatever. I'm saying all this spontaneously without referencing the book, so maybe there's already some similar ideas in the book, but not that I can think right now off the top of my head.

I would spice up those random encounters too, so they're not only hostile creatures. Maybe there's a random encounter in which some tribesmen are lost and the PCs have to scort them back to the village. There's two groups of warriors from different groups fighting against each other and the PCs have to decide what they do (support one or the other, wait for them to kill off each other and take the spoils, just leave the area unnoticed?). The come across a Phanaton scout that's looking for a lost relic; you don't even have to place the relic anywhere, just make it pop up when you think is right (even in another random encounter!).

If you want another piece of advice, I rarely use any gaming products for inspiration, be it for encounters, characters, areas, plots, etc. but use other types of books. I usually open a book at random (usually an adventure novels, sword & sorcery stories, fairy tales, historical essays, but even sometimes philosophical essays!), read just one paragraph and try to come up with an idea from there, no matter how crazy/ilogical it may seem at first: that's the seed of the idea, you just develop it to fit your taste and logic within the world.

One of the problems with hexcrawls I think is that there's too much territory with nothing and that the players have to look for the fun themselves, sometimes walking across huge expanses of terrain without encountering anything. That can be a chore and really boring (and don't tell me when they pass next to a hex where there's something and you have to bite your tongue!).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your advice, they are very good. I also usually open history or adventure books to get inspired. I find the tropical and exotic environment of "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" by Malinowski very interesting. In these two volumes are gathered many beliefs, legends, customs and traditions of the peoples of the Trobriand Islands.

[Deleted]

May 25, 2019 7:40:52 GMT -5 onerom said:

May 4, 2019 12:26:52 GMT -5 El Borak said:

onerom how are things going with this, have you played any of it out yet?

May 18, 2019 19:22:38 GMT -5 True Black Raven said:

onerom how did it go? Have you played any of this yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Sorry guys, I'm here, now. I'm having a very busy days, since I'm graduating for the second time. I only managed to play twice, but it was very satisfying and successful. 

I rolled almost all the random encounters and I let myself be guided by the manual, it was exciting. This exploration-based style of play without a fixed story is really liberating for the mind. The rules for traveling between hexes are very simple to follow and fun. The players were very cautious and risked their lives, but they didn't die. Instead, two of their lower level followers died. The first follower died against a Cyclops on an island farther north where they stopped to take drinking water after a storm that sent them off course.They met halfling settlers who wanted their help against crab-men, but preferred not to stop. They went to the tribes near the wall but they offended them with cultural misunderstandings. Then they went to explore the island and they met some ghouls that the cleric helped clear out. They carefully avoided the mountain dens of cavemen. Then they went to the central plateau, during the climb they were attacked by pterodactyls that were defeated with the help of the wizard. Above, they explored the temple abandoned on the taboo island and for now they are wounded in the central hall, where they entered facing the whole tribe without too many precautions. For now they have defeated almost everyone and the survivors have withdrawn. With a fireball they destroyed half the hall! The head of the tribe killed the second follower of the group here.

That seems like a fun cool game you had there! :-) I love hexcrawls. It's my standard to go type of campaign. Of course not all of them have to have exploration as the core premise, but that certainly adds a lot to the game.

Since I'm used to them, I find it really hard going back to single adventures or one-aim campaigns. Either seem to be very railroaded, no matter how open you try to make it appear.

[Deleted]

May 25, 2019 16:55:30 GMT -5 onerom said:

May 25, 2019 2:57:20 GMT -5 @baldorar said:

I love the Isle of Dread. I haven't run it, but having read it twice I'd say one of its weaknesses is the lack of encounters and that many of them are plain hostile encounters which you could have with wandering monster anyway. I would up at least twice as many encounters as there are originally and all those for static things, like posts delimiting a territory with symbols from the peoples/monsters that inhabit it, some boxes or dead corpses lying around from a raid by x, etc.

Adding some additional plot might be also a good idea, like different factions warrying against each other. Maybe the Phanaton have lost some of their own to a tribe of lizarmend or whatever. I'm saying all this spontaneously without referencing the book, so maybe there's already some similar ideas in the book, but not that I can think right now off the top of my head.

I would spice up those random encounters too, so they're not only hostile creatures. Maybe there's a random encounter in which some tribesmen are lost and the PCs have to scort them back to the village. There's two groups of warriors from different groups fighting against each other and the PCs have to decide what they do (support one or the other, wait for them to kill off each other and take the spoils, just leave the area unnoticed?). The come across a Phanaton scout that's looking for a lost relic; you don't even have to place the relic anywhere, just make it pop up when you think is right (even in another random encounter!).

If you want another piece of advice, I rarely use any gaming products for inspiration, be it for encounters, characters, areas, plots, etc. but use other types of books. I usually open a book at random (usually an adventure novels, sword & sorcery stories, fairy tales, historical essays, but even sometimes philosophical essays!), read just one paragraph and try to come up with an idea from there, no matter how crazy/ilogical it may seem at first: that's the seed of the idea, you just develop it to fit your taste and logic within the world.

One of the problems with hexcrawls I think is that there's too much territory with nothing and that the players have to look for the fun themselves, sometimes walking across huge expanses of terrain without encountering anything. That can be a chore and really boring (and don't tell me when they pass next to a hex where there's something and you have to bite your tongue!).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your advice, they are very good. I also usually open history or adventure books to get inspired. I find the tropical and exotic environment of "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" by Malinowski very interesting. In these two volumes are gathered many beliefs, legends, customs and traditions of the peoples of the Trobriand Islands.

I didn't know that one. Thanks for the recommendation. Will definitely add it to my unending wishlist!

[mao]

I put my fantasy version of "Kong"(have to add that to my "Mysantia" section)

[El Borak]

May 25, 2019 7:40:52 GMT -5 onerom said:

Sorry guys, I'm here, now. I'm having a very busy days, since I'm graduating for the second time. I only managed to play twice, but it was very satisfying and successful. 

I rolled almost all the random encounters and I let myself be guided by the manual, it was exciting. This exploration-based style of play without a fixed story is really liberating for the mind. The rules for traveling between hexes are very simple to follow and fun. The players were very cautious and risked their lives, but they didn't die. Instead, two of their lower level followers died. The first follower died against a Cyclops on an island farther north where they stopped to take drinking water after a storm that sent them off course.They met halfling settlers who wanted their help against crab-men, but preferred not to stop. They went to the tribes near the wall but they offended them with cultural misunderstandings. Then they went to explore the island and they met some ghouls that the cleric helped clear out. They carefully avoided the mountain dens of cavemen. Then they went to the central plateau, during the climb they were attacked by pterodactyls that were defeated with the help of the wizard. Above, they explored the temple abandoned on the taboo island and for now they are wounded in the central hall, where they entered facing the whole tribe without too many precautions. For now they have defeated almost everyone and the survivors have withdrawn. With a fireball they destroyed half the hall! The head of the tribe killed the second follower of the group here.

Great game, sounds like a fun place to be.

[El Borak]

May 25, 2019 16:55:30 GMT -5 onerom said:

[Thanks for your advice, they are very good. I also usually open history or adventure books to get inspired. I find the tropical and exotic environment of "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" by Malinowski very interesting. In these two volumes are gathered many beliefs, legends, customs and traditions of the peoples of the Trobriand Islands.

This book is available here www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55822 for free download in various formats. ("Argonauts of the Western Pacific") I only found one volume.

There is another book too www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48865 for free download in various formtas. ("The Family among the Australian Aborigines, a Sociological Study")

[onerom]

Jun 1, 2019 19:22:10 GMT -5 El Borak said:

May 25, 2019 16:55:30 GMT -5 onerom said:

[Thanks for your advice, they are very good. I also usually open history or adventure books to get inspired. I find the tropical and exotic environment of "Argonauts of the Western Pacific" by Malinowski very interesting. In these two volumes are gathered many beliefs, legends, customs and traditions of the peoples of the Trobriand Islands.

This book is available here www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55822 for free download in various formats. ("Argonauts of the Western Pacific") I only found one volume.

There is another book too www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48865 for free download in various formtas. ("The Family among the Australian Aborigines, a Sociological Study")

In Italian it was published in two volumes, but originally it is a single volume. My mistake!

[El Borak]

Jun 2, 2019 17:55:02 GMT -5 onerom said:

Jun 1, 2019 19:22:10 GMT -5 El Borak said:

This book is available here www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55822 for free download in various formats. ("Argonauts of the Western Pacific") I only found one volume.

There is another book too www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48865 for free download in various formtas. ("The Family among the Australian Aborigines, a Sociological Study")

In Italian it was published in two volumes, but originally it is a single volume. My mistake!

No mistake and not a problem. Now we all know there is a difference between the translations.

[Deleted]

Not related to the subject at hand, but onerom, did anyone tell you you have the coolest avatar pic on these boards? 

[onerom]

Jun 6, 2019 2:19:34 GMT -5 @baldorar said:

Not related to the subject at hand, but onerom , did anyone tell you you have the coolest avatar pic on these boards? 

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 15px; top: -6px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_26989286" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 803px; top: -6px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_13816762" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 15px; top: 105px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_27657748" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 803px; top: 105px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_37791753" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Oh thanks! You are very kind. It's a classic, I like the essential style of these old sketches, today there is not so much charm.

[Deleted]

Jun 6, 2019 8:38:17 GMT -5 onerom said:

Jun 6, 2019 2:19:34 GMT -5 @baldorar said:

Not related to the subject at hand, but onerom , did anyone tell you you have the coolest avatar pic on these boards? 

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 15px; top: -6px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_26989286" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 803px; top: -6px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_13816762" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 15px; top: 105px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_27657748" scrolling="no"></iframe>

<iframe width="17.120000000000005" height="3.280000000000001" style="position: absolute; width: 17.12px; height: 3.28px; z-index: -9999; border-style: none; left: 803px; top: 105px;" id="MoatPxIOPT0_37791753" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Oh thanks! You are very kind. It's a classic, I like the essential style of these old sketches, today there is not so much charm.

Yes. Pretty much what I think too. Also, the less detailed a picture is, the more it leaves to the imagination. I think that's what makes inspiration work.

That made me just think that, somewhere, I read that the less you have to help you, the more creative you're gonna get, since you have to invent everything yourself. I believe it was a psychologist who said it.