... if strict attention is not paid to the weather and seasons
originally published November 28th 2022
Hex crawls are games where time is currency. You spend a single day moving a distance, consuming resources as needed. The next day you do the same, and this repeats until you decide to stop for whatever reason. As one crawls through the hexes they can find interesting locations, and stumbles upon random encounters.
What people rarely factor into hex crawling is how weather can change the situation. If you encounter 2d20 bandits in the woods in the middle of a snow storm it can radically change their goals.
My prepping procedures for hexcrawls
- 1.
Create a hex map composed of 1 mile hexes.
- 2.
Create a greater hex layer over the top that is composed of 6 mile hexes.
- 3.
For each greater 6 mile hex pregenerate a year's worth of weather
- 4.
Write down all the weather in a big fucking almanac and reference it as need be for the rest of the campaign. If you run out of weather, do it all again.
Step 3 can be as in depth as you wish, I usually create 4 weather charts per biome one for each season.
Hexcrawling and Distance
There are 4 degress of hexes, each degree costs a certain amount of points to travel through
Type
Cost
Easy (ie well maintained roads)
1 Point
Modest (ie grassy flatlands)
2 Points
Challenging (ie hills or deserts)
3 Points
Hard (ie swamps or mountains)
4 Points
Depending on the ways you are traveling you get a specific amount of points per day.
Method
Points per Day
On Foot
12
Camel
60
Horse (Draft)
36
Horse (Riding)
48
Mule
48
There are three degrees of weather, each modifies the points per day you get from your method
Degree
Multiplier
Easy Going (ie clear)
1
Tough (ie rain)
2/3
Rough Riding (ie hail storm)
1/3
For example if a party is on foot traveling through a torrent of hail they would have one third of twelve or 4 points to use to travel that day.
Hexcrawling and Time
Spending all your points takes 8 hours. Another 8 hours is needed for rest. The 8 remaining hours in the day are spent how the travelers deem fit, however it should be kept in mind that making food and the dis/asembly of camp will take time.
I urge you to keep track of the hours of sunlight in each day as the seasons pass. I use these values for hours of sunlight.
Season
Hours of sunlight per day
Early Spring
11
Mid Spring
12
Late Spring
13
Early Summer
14
Mid Summer
15
Late Summer
14
Early Fall
13
Mid Fall
12
Late Fall
11
Early Winter
10
Mid Winter
09
Late Winter
10