A Hexcrawl

Summary: Far-future, societally regressed world where might makes right. Raiders harass desert caravans traveling between impenetrable towers of cruel rulers. Biologically impossible beasts issue from overgrown jungles to terrorize humble villages. Ruins of past eons stand up to the entropy of the future by the sciences of yesterday. Uncountable strata of history, myth, religion, culture, and violence fill the soil of this world.

License: CC-BY-NC 4.0

Hexes

Hexes are listed going down a column of hexes, then to the column to the right.

1. A large river runs through this hex, its turbulence enough to make sailing or rowing inadvisable. In the forests surrounding the river are abandoned villages, with words in lost languages inscribed in every nearby wooden surface. Nobody knows what happened to the villages, and anyone asked either does not know or believe it to be haunted woods. The woods have replete wildlife, hunting is good, and fishing even better.

   In a shallow, calmer spot in the river is an abandoned botanical gardens, a trapdoor in it revealing a basement. See Dungeons.

   No encounters, nor sentient life, in this hex.

   Scattered landmarks:

   1. A footprint for a humanoid who would be at least 15 feet tall.
   2. A broken sword as a grave marker; the grave contains only a second sword.
   3. A mess of quills in a tree. Damage as knife.
   4. Squealing, defenceless Graufako babies (see Bestiary) in a nest.
   5. A pack against a tree, containing a knife, rope, fire starter, 7 days' rations.
   6. A giant lizard high in a tree, waiting to drop on unsuspecting prey. It has knocked down many branches in its ascent.

2. The river in this hex digs into a small canyon, while the elevation rises, leaving exposed brushland on top. The river may be walked beside, but the risk is of bandit snipers on the high ground taking aim. This is a well-known ambush spot, and signs of scuffles can be seen beside the river.

   The scrubland surrounding the canyon is pockmarked by sandstone structures; mesas, buttes, and boulders, providing cover and shelter for attackers and defenders. Occasionally, traveling caravans can be found camping near overhangs, and might wearily allow campers to camp nearby.

   The river drops off into a waterfall towards the southern edge of the hex. A barely visible cave behind it hides a bandit hideout. They have a dozen high-powered rifles, several weeks of rations, and a few valuables. There are a half-dozen bandits there and another half-dozen roaming. They switch shifts at dusk and dawn.

   Buried in the desert in an unmarked location is a stash of weapons. It can be located by a navigational device that is held by river-ambushing bandits. Bandits in general are encountered on 1-in-6, and the device on a further 3-in-6.

   Encounters in the scrubland:

   • The remains of a shootout; 8 dead bandits scattered around a cart. 11 heavy, high-capacitance batteries are neatly stacked, with a noticeable empty spot in the stack. The last battery is held by a dead bandit, collapsed by a nearby tree. The batteries are sought after and prized by all local bandits.