Following the Breadcrumbs

A common complaint about the hexcrawl format is the breadcrumbs issue. That in order to gain a high level view you need to read a locale, read the surrounding locales, then their surrounding locales in order to get a sense of how it all put together.

This is why my hexcrawls setting (Points of Light I & II, Blackmarsh, etc) are more than just a series of locales keyed to a hex map. I purposely include a overview to explain the high level details of the area. Leaving the local details to the keyed locales.

This doesn't eliminate the "breadcrumb" issue, but the hybrid format does retain the hex-crawl format brevity with the overview providing what the author thinks are the important high level details. Because what goes into the locale is the local level detail the breadcrumbs are usually very short.

The current format I use for writing my hexcrawl is

• Overview
• Named Geographical Entries (usually spanning multiple hexes)
• Special Notes (For example in one map I used this to list all the barbarian tribes which spanned over multiple hexes. In another I used this to explain the various factions engaged in a civil war. 
• A list of Locales keyed to the map.)

It may be that some settings are mostly overview with a short locale list, and others it is vice versa. The author needs to look at the material and figure out the exact balance between travelogue and hexcrawl that works for this particular setting.

Knowledge Illuminates is in Print

My friend Tim just released a print edition of his adventure Knowledge Illuminates. You can read about it in his blog post. I contributed to this adventure by drawing the map of the dungeon. When I went through it several years ago it was a nice short dungeon full of atmosphere and weirdness. The public version is no different and Tim has cleverly added hooks to allow Knowledge Illuminates to be the beginning of a larger campaign as well as just being a small standalone dungeon.

Ad for Blackmarsh

I never made a print ad for Blackmarsh, like I did for the Majestic Wilderlands and Scourge of the Demon Wolf. But since James offered to include ads supporting various OSR projects in the back of Petty Gods, I figure I should make one for Blackmarsh as it is one of the few open settings available. As with the other ads this is a homage to Trampier's illustration in ADnD's Player Handbook.

Blackmarsh is free download at RPGNow, and is $7 for a print copy, along with a open Setting Reference Document that dual licensed under the Open Game License and a non-commercial Creative Commons License.  Which means you can alter it, add to it and even publish it if that your inclination.

Price Break on Scourge of the Demon Wolf

Lulu has a 20% off sale using the code JEKYLL.  So if you looking to buy the print copy of Scourge of the Demon Wolf on Lulu you can buy it at a discount until the 26th.

Scourge of the Demon (Print, Lulu, Saddle Stitch binding, PDF NOT Included) $15 (available now)
Scourge of the Demon (PDF, Lulu) $10 (available now)

Scourge of the Demon Wolf is Released

Scourge of the Demon (Print, Lulu, Saddle Stitch binding, PDF NOT Included) $15 (available now)
Scourge of the Demon (PDF, Lulu) $10 (available now)
Scourge of the Demon (PDF, RPGNOw) $10 (available now)*
 *There will be a print option on RPGNow in about two to three weeks. 


Three died. They were mauled beyond recognition. The Baron sent his huntsmen to kill the beasts and for a fortnight they tramped across the countryside. Between their whoring and drinking they killed twelve wolves, parading their skins through the village. They were hung on poles as trophies of victory. Then the huntsmen left, the beasts slain, the village saved… so we thought.

As the fields turned golden under the summer sun the killings began again. Four more died. Then the Baron's man, the bailiff, was killed on the high meadow in sight of Mitra's Temple. His screams could be heard well into the village. He was only identified after we reassembled the pieces.

With the priest's help I wrote a report to our liege, the Baron of Westtower. My report ended with,
 
There will be no harvest until the beast is slain and the killings stopped.

A 72 page adventure compatible with the Swords and Wizardry rules and a setting supplement to the Majestic Wilderlands. detailing a small barony, a complete fantasy village, a conclave of mages, a crossroads hamlet, and a camp of wandering beggars.

Authored by Rob Conley

Gaming at Erie Days of Gaming

I will be running the following at Erie Days of Gaming on October 27th.

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Saturday 12:00pm to 4pm - The Elf Lord's Temple
Deep in the heart of the orc infested forest are the ruins of an elven temple. An original Dungeons and Dragons Adventure for 2nd to 5th level characters. Novices and experienced players welcomed. All materials will be provided including character creation.

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Saturday 5pm to 9pm - The Cargo Run
A megacorporation, Ling Standard Products has hired the ship to bring supplies to a research outpost. A Classic Traveller adventure.  All materials will be provided including character creation.

The Fight On! Outdoor Map

A reader asked about a map I contributed to Fight On! Here it is, I drew a generic map for people to fill in with their own material. I just bought my CD full of 70s/80s style zipatone landscape fill and was eager to make a map using them. The symbols should be pretty explanatory. The triangle line near 0706 is a glacier. The line with hatch marks spaced along it in the lower right are escarpments. The X with a small L are lairs. The upside down triangles are ruins/points of interest. The circles are settlements. 

 

This map is open content under the Open Game License.
So feel free to use this for your own projects.