A Question About Hex Crawls

[creativehum]

I'm currently running a LotFP campaign -- which is going great.

I'm looking for some advice on a simple matter of hex crawls.

I have a campaign map. It has hexes. I'll be rolling for encounters each time the PCs enter a hex. The PCs are looking for a specific item in a 16x24 hex grid map. They don't know where it is. They will probably have a prop-map showing a rough sketch of the valley and major points of interest from before an ongoing war ruined the valley.

Question: When running a hex crawl like this, do those of you who have done something like this:
a. Provide the Players with a blank hex map for them to make their own map?
b. Not provide the hex paper at all, keeping it all in their heads and checking the map based on their decisions. ("We'll keep heading north.")?
c. Provide them with paper (no hexes) for them to sketch out their travels as they go?

What are the plusses and minuses for the methods you use?

Thanks!

***

If you want more information or have more questions about the set up, here you go:

The Player Characters are traveling from 17th Century Europe to an alternate, fantasy earth, to explore the Qelong Valley and find a powerful source of magic to prevent the gods of Carcosa from invading their version of earth.

Qelong is a terrific sandbox module from Ken Hite. It's only fifty pages, but it really is a miniature campaign all on its own. (It's dense. If there's a downside to the product, it is that it is really dense. I'm spending some time unfolding some of the information right now.)

Qelong is a fantasy-horror Cambodia, where the warring magic between two arch-mages on the other side of the mountains has spilled into the water and has poisoned the land.

The Player Characters are on a quest to find one of the magical weapons that has fallen into the valley. The weapon is packed with a terribly powerful, magical substance called Aakom. This is what the player characters are seeking. It is also the source of the poison in the valley.

The map of the Qelong Valley included in the module is scaled 6 miles to a hex. Every time you enter a hex you roll for an encounter.

The players have no idea at first where the weapon is, though over time they can find clues. There are also several factions at war in the valley, as well as tons of strange encounters. They will be arriving in a port town. The item is up river, near the edge of the valley by the mountains.

The players will most likely end up with a rough prop-map while searching for rumors when they first arrive in the port town. (They are clever, and will think of having someone sketch the valley for them.) The prop-map shows the valley from before the war, so it a) is a little out of date; b) doesn't show where the magical weapon is.

[Stormcrow]

Give 'em hex paper. You don't skimp on the graph paper in dungeons, do you? The point is to let them keep track of what's where, not to test their cartography skills.

[tetramorph]

I agree with Stormcrow.

I'm not sure about LOTFP, but in 0e you only check for random encounters once daily in random exploration.

You only roll per hex when you are clearing the land to establish a barony.

Seems like once per hex in simple exploration is kind of hitting them with a ton bricks!

That many random encounters is a lot of work for you, as the ref, as well.

But this looks really cool, so have fun!

[Deleted]

Make them provide their OWN d**n HEX PAPER.

No mercy for the weak.

[foxroe]

For all my years of playing, it truly was only until recently that I had the epiphany that map-making is the players' job. They're the explorers, not you; you already have a map.

So, as has been said, give them some paper (or make them use their own as Mike says  ), and just give them directions. If they mess up the map and get lost, so be it. It's part of the craft of play. Let your players figure out what the pluses and minuses are to the different methods on their own.

If you're worried that your players are inexperienced or that they will too easily mess up the map, have them discover a partial map from a previous explorer (or use the prop map as you mentioned); it'll give them a framework on which to map their own meanderings, and give them some outdoor mapping experience.

[creativehum]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. I posted this question here and at another forum. At the other forum (theRPGsite) the consensus was that a big empty field of empty hexes as not as interesting as a map with a few landmarks with unknown areas inbetween. (The thread is rather long now. I'll quote bits and pieces, but for context, here's a link to the thread for anyone who is interested.)

Here are some of the points I found insightful from that thread:

This is my general feeling. A map with details omitted is an invitation to explore.

Filling in a blank map can work, but you should never make the whole map blank. Look back to X1, the Isle of Dread. Players start with a map of the coast and can move inwards to explore.

Along the same line, you could give the players a loose but attractive map of the setting, then sometimes have them fill in hex maps detailing smaller areas with that setting, maybe with some well-known landmarks already filled in.

And this:

The fog of war is in the details not the map. For example you can see a mountain range several miles away but you don't know who lives there or what is there. I would just present a map without any point location and start with that...

I found that exploration of hexes for the terrain itself is pretty boring for players. However exploring through unknown territory is interesting. You have them starting in the port town and so they can, among other things, start asking about what where. If this was really happening then the locals would soon draw a mental picture of where the major stuff is. Basically the map without point locations. The local in the port town wouldn't know to tell the players where all the lairs, villages, and ruins are. For that they will have to explore.

What I think I'm going to do is take the "prop-map" they will most likely find when first arriving in Qampong, and map the details found on that map to a larger sheet of 1" hex paper.

Here is the handout for the Players from the module:


So, I will mark the town, the mountains, the rivers, the canals, the coast, the royal road, and other spots of interest on the map.

This will leave LOTS of blank hexes, but still give a sense of place for them to explore. As I noted in the other thread, by providing landmarks but not filling in the whole map, "there is a lovely sense of unexplored spaces revealed between the marked areas. Without any context, it is just white. But when this whiteness is revealed between marked areas, it becomes the promise of adventure."

For context, here is a sample of the Referee map found in Qelong:

[creativehum]

Dec 12, 2016 20:00:18 GMT -6 tetramorph said:

I agree with Stormcrow.

I'm not sure about LOTFP, but in 0e you only check for random encounters once daily in random exploration.

You only roll per hex when you are clearing the land to establish a barony.

Seems like once per hex in simple exploration is kind of hitting them with a ton bricks!

That many random encounters is a lot of work for you, as the ref, as well.

But this looks really cool, so have fun!

Good points!

And I just checked the text for Qelong, and it agrees with what you said: 

The nature of the random encounter
depends primarily on the terrain being
moved through at the time.. The Referee
should check (roll 2d10) for a random encounter
every day, if she has not already used an encounter
above (under General Features) or below (under
Encounter Areas). Or even if she has; the Referee
is the best judge of her game’s pacing. She should
also pick whichever hex seems most interesting for
the encounter roll, or choose that randomly,

As for the 2d10 roll, you make the roll and check a table based on terrain type. There is a chance there will be no encounter, but usually there is.

[Finarvyn]

I agree with the common consensus here ... players can map or not, their choice. If they map they are more likely to find things again. And the more times they follow a particular path the less likely I am to let them lose their way.

Also, I may give them additional guidance based on how well-traveled the area might be with the idea that if there are roads and such they aren't likely to get lost but if they strike out cross-country they are more likely to end up not quite where they thought they would end up. Makes things more interesting.

[foxroe]

Another factor to consider is character knowledge. Characters native(ish) to the region would certainly have a general idea of the lay of the land; they know where the mountains, forest, cities, oceans, canals, etc. are, so it would make sense to give them (or have them purchase) a rough map of the area (as you presented above). They can then get their bearings off the major landmarks and map the details themselves.

Mapping can also be a mini-game of its own:

• Characters could seek out a cartographer or previous explorer in a nearby city and purchase a map (and maybe the map is wrong...), or maybe they'll find a treasure map with some wilderness details that could help.
  
• If the characters become lost, maybe they stumble upon a secondary entrance to the dungeon, and the primary entrance to the dungeon (when found from within) leads to familiar territory.
  
• Perhaps a player comes up with a mapping spell for the party's MU.
• There are other ways to "map" other than standard pen-and-pencil. Players could leave "trail markers" or use string (in dungeons), but of course intelligent creatures would recognize these and act accordingly - deliberately obfuscate the trail or follow the trail to its "food source".
  
• If the character who is mapping is killed, you can always check to see if the map is lost of destroyed, then take the map away from the players ! And maybe the map making materials are gone too, forcing the players to figure out another way to map!
  

Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea...

And anyone that thinks a blank sheet of paper is uninteresting has no imagination.

[creativehum]

Dec 13, 2016 20:54:53 GMT -6 foxroe said:

Another factor to consider is character knowledge. Characters native(ish) to the region would certainly have a general idea of the lay of the land; they know where the mountains, forest, cities, oceans, canals, etc. are, so it would make sense to give them (or have them purchase) a rough map of the area (as you presented above). They can then get their bearings off the major landmarks and map the details themselves.

Mapping can also be a mini-game of its own:

• Characters could seek out a cartographer or previous explorer in a nearby city and purchase a map (and maybe the map is wrong...), or maybe they'll find a treasure map with some wilderness details that could help.
  
• If the characters become lost, maybe they stumble upon a secondary entrance to the dungeon, and the primary entrance to the dungeon (when found from within) leads to familiar territory.
  
• Perhaps a player comes up with a mapping spell for the party's MU.
• There are other ways to "map" other than standard pen-and-pencil. Players could leave "trail markers" or use string (in dungeons), but of course intelligent creatures would recognize these and act accordingly - deliberately obfuscate the trail or follow the trail to its "food source".
  
• If the character who is mapping is killed, you can always check to see if the map is lost of destroyed, then take the map away from the players ! And maybe the map making materials are gone too, forcing the players to figure out another way to map!
  

Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea...

And anyone that thinks a blank sheet of paper is uninteresting has no imagination.

This ideas are very much in the spirit and letter of the Qelong setting book. 

The Qelong Vally has been beset by the effects of the war over the mountains for decades (by effects both magical and mundane). People have been retreating from the valley proper into the city of Qompang. 

Those who stay in the valley are beset by the effects of the war: horrible magic, monsters, and more. The canals are supposed to keep a Naga Goddess imprisoned, but the canal are now shattered. The provincial capital has been destroyed and is now like an alien land. The nagas are breeding with humans to increase their power. And army of men infected by ant-spirits march their way through the valley, chewing up everything they encounter. Mercenaries from a foreign power have set up a fort to gather magical resources before they retreat. Everyone assumes the diamond mine to the north was shuttered years ago, but in fact a dwarf with gnome slaves has tunneled up from underneath and made it active again.

The Players will have rumors of the above, but no details. The map that is sketched for them will illustrate what the valley used to be like. (As you point out, people in the Qompang will have some idea of the valley beyond the city walls, even if travel out into it is rare. And soldiers of fortune and mercenaries will also bring back rumors.)

The key is that the first map they are given is no longer accurate. The geography has change, and what is marked as a town or temple will now be a mystery to explore. The effects of the war will be revealed in starker terms, this way: what they thought was true no longer is, and they will know the beauty that once stood in the valley is now gone, leaving corruption and monstrous factions. Even if they have a map, the map is inaccurate, and there is plenty to explore and discover as they learn the current state of the valley.

[Stormcrow]

Dec 13, 2016 20:54:53 GMT -6 foxroe said:

Another factor to consider is character knowledge. Characters native(ish) to the region would certainly have a general idea of the lay of the land; they know where the mountains, forest, cities, oceans, canals, etc. are, so it would make sense to give them (or have them purchase) a rough map of the area (as you presented above).

D&D generally goes by the idea that player characters don't get this kind of break. You start in town knowing nothing about the wide world, not even where the forests or mountains are, unless you can get someone to tell you.

Offhand adventures on the Outdoor Survival board were, obviously, an exception to this.

[creativehum]

Dec 13, 2016 20:54:53 GMT -6 foxroe said:

And anyone that thinks a blank sheet of paper is uninteresting has no imagination.

As for a blank hex-sheet, I still might go down this route. I might draw the coast line of the valley, and the city of Qompang (they will be sailing in on their boat). But other than that, leave them with a blank sheet to fill in if they so desire. Again, I'm looking for advice (pros and cons) on the fun or not fun of different approaches and how they worked out for people in a practical way. Polls are still open! Looking to hearing more!

[creativehum]

Dec 14, 2016 8:35:57 GMT -6 Stormcrow said:

Dec 13, 2016 20:54:53 GMT -6 foxroe said:

Another factor to consider is character knowledge. Characters native(ish) to the region would certainly have a general idea of the lay of the land; they know where the mountains, forest, cities, oceans, canals, etc. are, so it would make sense to give them (or have them purchase) a rough map of the area (as you presented above).

D&D generally goes by the idea that player characters don't get this kind of break. You start in town knowing nothing about the wide world, not even where the forests or mountains are, unless you can get someone to tell you.

Offhand adventures on the Outdoor Survival board were, obviously, an exception to this.

Without doubt. 

But my Lamentation of the Flame Princess_ campaign is a little different. The background setting is 17th Century Europe during the 30 Year War. The player characters are from all over the war torn region, and began falling rumors of strange things happening. They have pursued clues and delved into ancient shrines to cult no one else knows about. They have uncovered a secrete war between gods and alternate realities is being fought on their world.

They have recently acquired a sailing ship that can travel between worlds, and are about to journey to an alternate world where a magical item of great power can be found (in the valley discussed in the posts above). They are seeking this item. So, this trip to this other world, and their journey through the valley, is the first time they'll be exploring a place that is a truly unknown land.

However, they won't know where it is. And they will still want to take care of adventuring and finding any treasure they can in order to gain levels (or they'll just grab the item and bug out as soon as possible. I don't know!)

So, it is all a little different from the established (and brilliant) startup situation of OD&D where "We know little and will go forth to find more." The players have been exploring (they love to explore, they love to find more) but they find the things that are underneath and hidden from a world that is "well known" but in fact is mysterious and strange.

For anyone not familiar with it, Lamentations of the Flame Princess is based off of Basic D&D. While the setup and background I have just described is different than the standard OD&D setup, I am hoping that there are similarities enough to learn from the experience of folks here. For example, in how to effectively and with the most entertainment use hex maps in a cross-country crawl.

Thanks for all the answers so far!

[barrataria]

Can't cut and paste at the moment, but..

1. Isle of Dread. See players' map. Adding a couple of important/obvious landmarks to the map helps orient things in relation to your map, which will help you run the game.

2. You should also include some errors on their map. Maybe those landmarks are a couple hexes out of place, maybe a lake dried up, maybe a town was sacked and burned since that map was drawn. Especially in the chaotic period in which you have set your game.

3. Also throw on a red herring or two. I use Campaign Cartographer, so I find some weird symbol or graphic and stick it in an empty spot. The more typical sort is like Dragotha's lair marked on the White Plume Mountain map. Finally, a simple unexplained "X" stuck in a random spot makes for loads of entertainment

[sepulchre]

Were you to provide a map fitting the time period or one just prior, I think the map in White Plume Mountain is exemplary (though I like your handout as well). Much like that of White plume, maps in the medieval period are meant to locate oneself cosmologically rather than geographically; the account for distance in leagues would come later. One might consider such a map within the limits of Europe as if to say, "If we go south from Manz we will eventually come to where the men speak Italian, continuing on and we will come to Rome, the seat of Holy Mother Church". Cartography by the 1600's has probably become more observational and geographic, nautical maps of the period might offer a sense of how discrete mapping had become...