BRP Hexcrawl

[Gwyndolin]

So I have been preaparing a hexcrawl and putting together some rules for running it with BRP.

Here is what the map looks like so far:

 

As well as this map which is a work in progress, I also have:

- Regions in the map (certin forests, the ominous mountain range, etc.)

- Random encounter tables (events, creatures, sites, etc..) that correspond to those regions.

- A growing list of creatures for my setting.

- Some rules for hex travel.

 

The idea is to have the map set with some key locations prepared but then to fill the wilderness with things from the random taables as the players encounter them.

The travel information in the BRP has been pretty useful for determining hex sizes although I am thinking of making travel a bit more abstract for simplicity. For example, the players have so many points a day. They can spend a point to travel or to search or to do something else. I have set up the tables so searching a hex massively increases the chances of them finding something where as if they just travel through a hex there is about a 50% chance they will encounter nothing. Something like this:

The outcome will lead to me rolling on another table except for no encounter.

 

Here are my main questions:

1. Do you think the BRP can work with this kind of play.

2. Do you have any suggestions for things I might be missing.

3. Should I make more use of the D100 in the tables.

4. Just general thoughts and feedback would be super appreciated. ❤️

 

Thanks everyone.

 

p.s. I am super interested in writing up everything once I am done and making all of the material available on here if that something you would be interested in. 😄 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Gwyndolin

[g33k]

Depending on how you "fine tune" your BRP (which is a quite-diverse system) you may find the "hexcrawl" concept too deadly.

[Gwyndolin]

Just now, g33k said:

Depending on how you "fine tune" your BRP (which is a quite-diverse system) you may find the "hexcrawl" concept too deadly.

True.

I was thinking of running it with herioc setting rules and using Con + Siz for the Hit points without dividing by 2 to make the players a bit more resilliant.

That combined with the fate points ruling so they can reroll by spending power points and hopefully that will be a lot less deadly.

[g33k]

4 minutes ago, Gwyndolin said:

True.

I was thinking of running it with herioc setting rules and using Con + Siz for the Hit points without dividing by 2 to make the players a bit more resilliant.

That combined with the fate points ruling so they can reroll by spending power points and hopefully that will be a lot less deadly.

Also pay attention to the availability of magical healing!
And the toughness and dangerousness of the monsters/etc...  Their peak damages (& %-likelihood of doing it) vs. PCs' "Major wounds" or "Hit Locations" or whatever options you implement.

It may take some fine-tuning to dial-in the experience you want... but yes it's do-able.

Edited August 27, 2023 by g33k

[Gwyndolin]

Of course, just as in old hexcrawls where a group of level 1 adventurers can stumble upon a dragons lair, there are things in my setting that can kill them if they choose to push ahead unprepared. But I will always make sure they have enough information to make a choice in situations like that.

Also depending on the region of the map they are in, they can encounter different things so the initial region will not be too dangerous but they will have full knowledge of how dangerous the mountains can be well before they choose to go there. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Gwyndolin

[Gwyndolin]

6 minutes ago, g33k said:

Also pay attention to the availability of magical healing!

Thanks for this advice, I am still deciding on the powers I want to be available in the setting so I will bear this in mind.

[smiorgan]

3 hours ago, Gwyndolin said:

So I have been preaparing a hexcrawl and putting together some rules for running it with BRP.

1. Do you think the BRP can work with this kind of play.

> Yes, definitely. It's pretty deadly but is going to be a lot of fun. I ran a great RQ2/3 mini-campaign with Griffin Mountain, which was 90% hexcrawl. It was a lot of fun until the allosaurs of the Elder Wilds ate the whole party. 

2. Do you have any suggestions for things I might be missing.

>Add to the encounter tables rival adventuring parties, NPCs with an intersting story that can function as quest givers or rescue the party when it is in dire straits. A crashed spaceship in the middle of the plains. 

> You might want to check the Griffin Mountain reprint for RuneQuest Classic. Even if you don't run it as is (it's in Glorantha and everything...), it's one of the greatest hexcrawl campaigns ever made. 

3. Should I make more use of the D100 in the tables.

>I'm always for more d100!

4. Just general thoughts and feedback would be super appreciated. ❤️

>Have fun with that. The map is gorgeous.

 

Answers within the quote. Yes, I'm old and lazy.

Edited August 27, 2023 by smiorgan

[Gwyndolin]

31 minutes ago, smiorgan said:

Answers within the quote. Yes, I'm old and lazy.

Thanks very much for your advice. I hadn't even considered about rival npc adventurers but its totally doable. As prep for running this I have made a 1 year calender and used this hex flower to generate weather for each day so that I dont need to worry about rolling for it during play. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/367072/Weather-Hex-Flower--Random-weather-generation--by-Goblins-Henchman#:~:text=This Hex Flower enables you,but with a 'memory'.

I can totally add other adventurers into the random encounter table and maybe throw some notes into the calender like "by this day group X have done a thing in a particular location" or "group X have completed this bounty / adventure". Would add tothe feeling that the world is allive and the passage of time matters. 

Thank you so much for the advice ❤️

 

 

P.S. Here is the calender for anyone that wants to use and change it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19_pkqlou7iM_vcG7kxjOUlK4Uul-wwcxGWdIyinYtzs/edit?usp=sharing

Edited August 27, 2023 by Gwyndolin

[Gwyndolin]

For anyone that is interested, here is an updated format for my encounter tables.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SXQU5ActTlNCO7rNze3RieTjlGQ9wyVNl7R_UtNsJNY/edit?usp=sharing

I can use this set of tables for each region, changing the text and encounter chance of each.

Any feedback is welcome 😄