#Hexplore Week 7: The Breaking Point

 It is hard to not feel like a failure at a time like this...

            With that less than mysterious title, its clear to see that the time has come to take a break. Anyone having followed the blog posts up to this point will know that this project's biggest flaw has always been the burden it has been on my personal time.

            I know, I know, the goal from here should have been to find ways to lessen this time-load, but unfortunately I don't think that's truly possible. To try and simplify the process would mean that I would have to cut off some major component of the process. Do I stop describing and recording the areas we enter and explore? Do I stop logging the party efforts? Do I stop doing a 1:1 time? No matter what I choose, I lose. 

What to do now?

            I plan on discontinuing this project, at least until further notice. It truly pains me to say this, considering how much I have done thus far. But, in the end, I want to dedicate time to the project that got me here in the first place: both of my podcasts, and my OSE game with my pals. Additionally, I need to focus on my personal life, taking time to just relax after work and not spend hours on this procedural project daily. 

The previous week...

            To end this post on a sweet note, I will admit that the last week has truly been a doozy for the party. They journeyed deeper into the Catacombs of Gunzur, looking for the leader of the Disciples of Silver. They not only found +3 platemail, but also found a white dragon and slew it. The party retrieved 100,000+ coins, and plenty of treasure beyond that. They were able to bring this all home with wagons of well paid bandits they'd befriended in Kanthton. They returned and found the ghoul-ified leader of the Disciples of Silver and gave to them a large sum of the coinage they'd retrieved as well as gift a large sum to the clan leader of Kanthton. 

Someday I hope to return to this project in some capacity, but its hard to say that I hadn't learned a lot about my prefered playstyle, and hard to say I didn't have some of the most memorable TTRPG experiences in this project. Thank you to everyone who kept up with this project, and good luck to everyone else who is still working on this project.  

#Hexplore24 Week 6: An Alliance is Formed

 Timing...

            Unfortunately, I had another tough week with planning and being sick, so I had to cram a lot of my hexploring into one or two days. Luckily for me, I didn't have too many large locations to crack out, so it was not too bad all in all.

An Alliance...

            The time has finally come that the parties would connect, and agree to a mutual goal of accomplishing good within the world. I had the gray party seek them out in the dwarvish castle of Lightway, as they were known to be friends of the dwarves and likely stop by their sometime soon. Upon meeting, I ruled that the portent of BEFRIEND HOPE would apply to a situation like this. 

            This is a huge update since now the party were a group of 12, along with mounts and tamed creatures. That's one big group, but not unheard of. I certainly plan on having this large group tackle some larger goals, such as some deeper dungeon crawls, evil castles, or encampments of would-be invaders.

Some Highlights...

1.   The parties aligning definitely feels like a major improvement for the play to follow. 
2.   The orange party discovered a couple demihuman settlements, Grinhold of the gnomes and Bayley of the Halflings, which certainly adds to the interesting flavor of the region overall.
3.   The gray party had a run in with lizardmen near the village of Hazelhedge, which may be the push for the lizardmen of Castle Chepstow to try and attack the village. 
4.   The orange party encountered the clan focused village of Val-Carm, which was home to a group of experienced bards known as the Singer's Circle. These bards are mysterious, though they'd recently begun to ask for help as their members were suffering from some sort of illness. This is certainly an interesting organic quest, and I hope the party check it out someday, as long as it isn't too late. 

Day 6 of The Candle (37/366)

 

Notes: The weather is very cold (20’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party manage to gather food for 3 people as they travel along the western way, heading south to Hazelhedge. The party manage through the hills and mountains without being harmed or lost.

The orange party continue to explore the road in the east, ending their travel in the village of Val-Carm, where they discover the Singer’s Circle, hearing of the strange sickness plaguing their leaders. The party stay within the mead hall of Val-Carm for 5 gp total.

Day 7 of The Candle (38/366)

Notes: The weather is cold (32’F) and windy.

The gray party plan to head to Hazelhedge, though they run into a band of lizardmen near castle Chepstow. The party manage to kill them off after Offlan entangles them in the forest and they slay the rest. The party then return to Hazelhedge and reserve a room at the Bronzebell Inn for 50sp, gathering 1850xp.

The orange party begin their trek to the east following the road from Val-Carm. The party discover food for the party along the way. The party encounter a pair of wandering dervishes along the road, who immediately notice Merand being religious. The party easily kill them and continue on their way.

Day 8 of The Candle (39/366)

 Notes: The weather is extra cold (21’F) and windy.

The gray party remain within the Bronzebell tavern, 50sp, and purchase ammunition and rations. They also hire on a new character, Teili the Elf, gifting him much of the equipment that Klodis once wore.

The orange party are not able to forage for any food as they journey east. The party run into a group of hill giants, spotting them from afar and take no chances as they flee without issue on horseback. They continue along their way north, discovering the gnomish village of Grinhold.

Day 9 of The Candle (40/366)

 Notes: The weather is cold (31’F).

The gray party head out to the east, headed to meet with another group of adventurers they’d heard of who often stay within the dwarvish walls of Castle Lightway. They stop along the way at the village of Odjoust and take a rest at the Broken Tower (50sp), and stocking up on rations (20gp).

The orange party run into no encounters along the road near Grinhold, instead finding rations for 4 people. Along the road they discover a series of abandoned burrows. They continued along their road until they encountered the Tower of Omorn, where they met with the wizard himself. They were welcomed into the tower, and the wizard Omorn granted them a place to stay for the night.

Day 10 of The Candle (41/366)

Notes: The weather is a very cold (17’F) and there is a terrible blizzard.

The gray party remain within the village of Odjoust, paying 50sp.

The orange party also remain within the Tower of Omorn, befriending the wizard. 

Day 11 of The Candle (42/366)

Notes: The weather is cold (33’F) and rainy.

The gray party take their leave of Odjoust and continue onward to Castle Lightway. The party get lost when departing the road and heading east, luckily avoiding conflict with the gargoyles of Bluemoss Manor. The party manage to find their way to Castle Lightway, and request information on the Orange Party. Luckily for the gray party, Castellan Keensong is impressed by their presence and trusts them immediately, offering them place to stay in the tavern while they all eagerly await the return of the Orange party to the castle (50sp).

The orange party take their leave from the Tower of Omorn. The party get lost when trying to travel south to Castle Lightway, discovering the halfling hamlet of Bayley. The halflings were welcoming to the party though they did not stay long. They travel further south along the rivers to Castle Lightway, finally reaching their destination.

Day 12 of The Candle (43/366)

Notes: The weather is cold (27’F) with overcast skies.

The orange and gray party finally meet within the walls of Castle Lightway. The gray party introduce themselves as allies of the empire, which does not impress the orange party, being unaligned themselves. The gray party explain that they too have explored much of the region, and have done their best to defeat the various evils of the land, having encountered many camps of monsters and castles filled with invaders and wannabe conquerors. Recognizing that they share mutual goals and have discovered much treasure in the land, the two agree that traveling as one host would make for the most effective efforts within the wilderness. The party stay within the castle for (10gp)

#Hexplore Week 5 - Resting, Snow Storms, and a Pair of Pissed Wyverns

 A Birthday...

            My birthday was over this past weekend, and I naturally had a bit of a full plate during the week leading up to that point. The main reason I bring this up is that this jumble of plans and obligations is a great example of the sorts of things that might hinder progress on this project. That's not to say that the project is more important than celebrating a birthday or more important than going to work or anything silly like that, but I mean more so that these are the sorts of things that would slow down the progress on this project. Due to this shift in speed, I had to get resourceful and creative with how I completed the daily entries.

Rest...

            The parties did quite a lot of traveling in the last week, all things considered, but in the end both parties had great opportunities to kick back and spend time in the tavern. Sure, one may say I took advantage of this loophole to play, but this feels truly West Marches to rest in a safe spot and spend that hard earned loot. Not to mention, the parties were both wounded or without spells on a few days of this week and enjoyed the healing that came along with it. To put it simply, this may be my default mode of phoning in a session or daily entry. 

Snowstorms...

            Interestingly enough, the snow storms I encountered during this week of play did quite a number on the parties with their ability to travel and get around. As per my rest section, the orange party was able to take advantage of being within the Cherry Blossom Inn and Tavern in Kanthton and get some rest by the fireside, and dodge all the trials of snowy travel. The gray party was not so lucky: during one day of travel the party did not successfully navigate their intended path one single time, instead cruising in circles and running into some trouble along the way. 

Wyverns...

            In a sense, I was happy to see a bigger threat come across the gray party's path. They were decently levelled, well enough equipped, and I assumed they would be able to handle a bit of a challenge. Wyverns are not to be trifled with, especially in old school games. This isn't some "you take poison damage and its a big owie", this is save or die mfer. Well, needless to say, Klodis the cleric did not save, and sure did die. The party otherwise remained unscathed and thanks to some choice bow shots and two handed sword slashes, the party killed one wyvern and sent the other fleeing away, blinded by a light spell. I was definitely not happy to have had my highest level cleric die this way, but he will not be forgotten. 

Highlight Reel...

• The wyvern fight felt like my first big battle of the campaign and it was a nailbiter to say the least.
• The gray party stumbled upon an ancient temple to an enigmatic god of war, one with an unknown appearance. Its temple bears scrolls of his space god heroism, with stories of battle and conquest within. Those who worship are traveling barbarians and wildmen who seek blessings of bravery and wisdom from this odd god. Felt very pulp to me
• The orange party tamed a dire wolf with a 12 on a reaction check and a casting of animal friendship.
• The orange party managed to yet again discover a hidden trail in the east which allowed them to uncover the village of Kanthton (16,47), which is run by a network of thieves and fences and their leader who operates mysteriously within a catacomb nearby. The orange party discover this catacomb purely by chance and somehow persuade the thieves within to not only allow them to enter and explore, but also be tasked with finding out what had happened to their leader deep down in the dungeon. 
• The orange party found a suit of +3 platemail as a random draw in a treasure pile, and this feels like some loot I will be carrying around until the end of #Hexplore24
• The gray party druid managed to save the party from an unknown and certain doom when they ran into a band of jackalwere and their jackals. If the druid's entangle failed to grasp the jackalwere they would have certainly been torn to shreds, unable to harm them without magic weapons. 
• The orange party's bard managed to solve a sphinx's riddle as they wished to cross a bridge outside of Kanthton using her lore abilities. 

DAY: 30/366 of The Raven (I)

The weather is cold (29’F) and foggy.

The gray party forage for food and find a days worth of food and water. The party are ambushed in the forest by a gang of 7 trolls. They barely escape alive, taking heavy wounds. Klodis heals Bert and Offlan with a cure spell. The party are able to pay a toll to enter Castle Tickhill, 30gp, and pay for food and shelter among the barracks, 10gp.

The orange party leave Odjoust and head east to Castle Vere, discovering a small cottage within a crater to the east of Castle Vere, inhabited by Dire Wolves. The party have good interactions with the wolves, and Butten manages to befriend one of the wolves using bardic magic.

DAY: 31/366 of The Raven (I)

The weather is cold (26’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party leave Castle Tickhill, heading to Idarsby without issue. The party stay at Harrigg’s Tavern, recovering from their run in with the trolls (50sp). The party recovered 630xp total.

The orange party travel a road they found in the mountains, traveling far among the plains, until finding the village of Kanthton, which they take refuge in at the Cherry Blossom Tavern (50sp).

DAY: 32/366, 1 of The Candle (II)

The weather is cold (25’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party decided to stay at Harrigg’s Tavern in Idarsby for another night, spending 50sp to do so.

The orange party discover the Catacombs of Gunzur and venture in. The party encounter a group of brigands guarding the entrance, and fight them. They flee and run into a net, the party then interrogate them as to what else is here, but the brigand who has survived refuses to answer. The party execute them and carry on. They survive an acid trap, unlock a few doors, and pluck some valuable rubies from a statue. The party run into a larger group of brigands and NPCs who luckily befriend the party, asking them to investigate their leader, Tanlel, who has been unresponsive deeper within the dungeon. The party go downstairs and find a great pile of treasure locked away behind a portcullis, with a spray to attract more random encounters. They recover lots of coins, gems, and even a suit of +3 plate mail. They are attacked by a pair of lone Necrophidius, which both surprise them and hypnotize party members. The party return to Kanthton with 5160 total xp.

Merand reaches level 2, +1 HP, +1 str, gains 1 level spell.

Grayfern reaches level 4, +8 HP, +1 int.

DAY: 33/366, 2 of The Candle (II)

The weather is cold (26’F) and windy.

The gray party decided to stay at Harrigg’s Tavern in Idarsby for another night, spending 50sp to do so.

The orange party remain within Kanthton at the Cherry Blossom for 50sp, buying a chest for 10 gp and keeping it stowed away within their chambers.

DAY: 34/366, 3 of The Candle (II)

The weather is cold (20’F) and windy.

The gray journey out, northwest, finding food for 4 people. They encounter the lakeside temple of Eusha, but luckily find no trouble while they round the lake. 

The orange party travel along the roadway, running into a sphinx at the catacombs. Butten is able to befriend the beast, then using her lore ability, she is able to solve its riddle with ease, thus earning its respect. The party continue along their path until they reach a mountainous dungeon, the Dungeon of Firewatch. The party then return home to Kanthton and rent their rooms for 50sp.

DAY: 35/366, 4 of The Candle (II)

The weather is cold (25’F) and snowy.

The gray party continue their journey. They get terribly lost within the snowstorm and find little of value among the snow and plains.

The orange party remain within the Cherry Blossom, paying 50sp to stay where they are.

DAY: 36/366, 5 of The Candle (II)

The weather is warmer than normal (36’F) and windy.

The gray party encounter a pair of roving wyverns. The party managed to kill one of the two, blinding the other, and it fled after poisoning and killing Klodis. They continue their journey south, traveling the hills to Odjoust.

The orange party decide to stay within the Cherry Blossom one additional day, 50sp.

#Hexplore24 Week 4, Month 1: The Raven

 The Raven - January

The Process...

        Through a full month of this process, I have encountered quite a lot of fun along the way. There have been well over 200 dice rolls, over 20 PCs generated, and quite the large cemetery forming. With 142 total hexes generated and 22 locations, our adventure has taken us quite the distance, with over 1000 miles of land traveled among the parties. I like to think that I have found quite the balance with my time put into this project and the fun I get out of this. I have discovered the beauty of only playing with one party at a time since I can breeze through most days without needing to double up on my exploration and procedural generations. 

The Party...

        The PCs I have made were simply numbers when I began this on New Year's Day, but by this stage, a few character have stood out as heroes in their own right. I will highlight a few now.

Grayfern, level 3 ranger: Grayfern is from the first wave of PCs made, and he has grown to be quite the leader for the orange party. With a 17 Charisma, and a hefty Strength and Constitution, he's survived many a fight with his blade and bow. Oddly, he's never once tracked anything.

Butten, level 4 bard: Butten is a character of my partner's creation, and she's been a great counterpart to Grayfern, having a 17 Charisma as well, she has not managed to do too much during combat, though a few critical shots with her shortbow have turned the tide of combat. Butten has also done much to make an ally of the dwarves of Castle Lightway, the orange party's current homebase. 

Hukdar, level 3 barbarian: Hukdar is not statistically too impressive, and maybe its my soft spot for Conan style heroes, but Hukdar has managed to survive from day 1, having helped turn the first combat from a TPK to a well earned pile of treasure. Though many think of barbarians as rage-melee characters, he instead has earned his spot as a ranged character with some important support survival abilities.

Dender, level 3 knight: Dender has been a real plot driving member of the group, having hit the first character milestone by being knighted and earning the right to claim land in the name of the Empire of Ayiel. Dender has also been around since day 1, and has fought solely as a melee fighter, following the strict code of a knight, on many occasions having to forego fighting blind or disabled enemies.

While there are plenty of other important characters, I think these 4 stick out as my favorites as of right now. It is also funny to note that there is only one cleric I have had capable of casting spells, and I have yet to have a magic user or illusionist with more than 1 spell. I keep trying to get some sort of caster among one of the two parties, but they have a bad habit of getting killed.

The Plot...

        It seems clear that there's no overarching plot to this whole process, and that's okay. That's the whole thing, you know? But, I like thinking that within the lands I have already tread and explored there ought to be some sort of living, moving, conditions. How could I possibly control the movements of these camps, settlements, potential allies and villains without having a bias? I plan to use the Mythic solo-play oracle system to generate some terms/portents to create some small plots within the land. I had some friends roll up the first 4 of them, and I will interpret these as I go, applying them where relevant and sensible. 

1. Usurp Suffering
2. Befriend Hope
3. Truce Good
4. Assist the Intellectual

As you can tell, these can be interpreted a few different ways and I think that events in the world can be described through these.

The Future...

        As for the future, I anticipate much of the same. I haven't got any major plans for the future of this project, though I do hope I can connect my two groups and make one super group soon enough. Delving into more dungeons and recovering more loot would certainly be nice, but laying waste to one of the camps (the orcs, or the 290(!!!) kobolds outside of Odjoust) or one of the castles would be great. Honestly, I am quite surprised I have made it this far and frankly, I am impressed with the world I have made thus far; my only hope is that someday a group of my friends might be able to drop into this world.

Day 22 of The Raven

The weather is cold (26’F) and moderately windy. 

The gray party travel to the reeve Keadon Tristle’s home to meet with the Baron Eldare. Dender had explained her bravery in battle and her heroic actions, as well as her diplomatic moves with the locals. The Baron was impressed with these stories and agreed wholeheartedly to knight Dender, as well as offer her permission to establish her own foothold within the wilderness of this land in the name of the Empire of Ayiel. The Baron requested that Dender seek vengeance against the kobolds who have taken Castle Borthwick from the empire. 

The orange party travel south east, encountering a group of 3 traders. The party purchase some rations, torches, and waterskins (10gp). The party continue traveling through the marshes in the area, getting lost, but eventually discovering the Abbey of Fremarsil. The party are welcomed into the Abbey, but are kept within isolated chambers after being told there is something of a scandal currently happening within the abbey of a member selling information of the newly separated abbey to the Empire of Ayiel.

Day 23 of The Raven

The weather is cold (36’F) and with light wind. 

The gray party begin their return to adventuring by traveling to Castle Borthwick, though traveling around the territory to get a better understanding of the terrain. They discover the hills and mountains north of Hazelhedge with no issue, and finding enough food for the entire party along the way. 

The orange party decided to head out and explore further out east. The group have gotten lost numerous times while navigating the marshes, ending up within the mountains east of the abbey of Fremarsil. The party encounter a pair of sasquatch in the mountains and manage to slay them.

Day 24 of The Raven

The weather is especially cold (15’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party travel north of Hazelhedge and discover a large frozen lake. The party discovered the remnants of a road running from the frozen lake to the mountains.

The orange party meandered to the east of Castle Lightway, traveling through the plains, finding no food along the way.

Day 25 of The Raven

The weather is cold (22’F) and cloudy.

The gray party encounter a roving band of wildmen who attack on sight. The party survive without major harm, recovering thousands of coins. The party end their day within Riverhelm. The party pay to stay within the Orc’s Cavern tavern for the evening, spending 50sp. The party gain 5500 xp.

Klodis reaches level 4, gaining 2 HP, +1 Dex, +1 Int, +1 level 2 spell per day

Betrigorn reaches level 3, gaining 6 HP, +1 Wis, +1 Cha, +1 level 1 spell per day, learned Charm Person

The orange party find no food along their mountainous trek headed west back to Castle Lightway. The party encounter a large mound where a trio of giant scorpions aggressively chased them away on horseback.

 
Day 26 of The Raven

The weather is cold (29’F) and snowy.

The gray party leave Riverhelm and head out to explore the region south east of Riverhelm. The party discover a large ledge where a group of giant crows eagerly wait for victims to attack. Luckily they were not interested in the party. Unfortunately, the party get lost in the snow and wind up in the mountains south of Idarsby.

The orange party continue their trek back to Castle Lightway. They discover a road headed in the direction of Castle Lightway, though they find an orcish encampment at the end of this road. They manage to get away without trouble, but they plan on returning with dwarves.

Day 27 of The Raven

The weather is cold (33’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party go off the beaten path from Idarsby to Bridgeroot, treading slowly among the mountains. The party pay to stay at the Crazy Grape tavern in Bridgeroot and stock up on rations, torches, and water, all for 23gp and 50sp.

The orange party head west to Castle Lightway, running into a pair of giant poisonous toads. The party decide not to engage the unsuspecting toads for fear of their poison and reach Castle Lightway, calling for a meeting with castellan Keensong to explain the orc camp on the border. Castellan Keensong does not wish to send his troops out to kill them. The party then stop at the Twelve Pony Pub for the night, purchasing plenty more rations and arrows (50sp 50gp)

Day 28 of The Raven

The weather is cold (24’F) with overcast skies.

The gray party set out east and run into a duo of ogres, which they disposed of with ease. They then trek north, getting lost among the roving fields, finding nothing of value.

The orange party set out south, discovering a giant oil beetle mound, encountering none along the way. The party continue south, traveling through the fields until they encounter a forest.

Day 29 of The Raven

Notes: The weather is cold (24’F) and snowing.

The gray party run into a pack of jackals led by a pair of jackalwere. They kill a few of them and Offlan entangles the others, and they escape without pursuit. They end up lost along their trek to the west.

The orange party explore around Odjoust, discovering a small lake, and an encampment of Kobolds. The party then stop at the Broken Tower tavern, and restock on rations and arrows (50sp and 25gp).

#Hexplore24 Week 3: A Knight, Some Dwarves, A Thief, and a lot of XP

            The Party on Break...

                    

                After the gray party ride home after delving into the Catacombs of Zax-Tyliuth, making it home to Odjoust safely with thousands of coins and plenty of gems. The gray party then head back to Hazelhedge to meet with the Baron Eldare since Dender had reached level 3 as a Knight and could finally be knighted. The gray party safely returned home a day or so later, and let me tell you it was certainly a nice break for them and myself while they waited a week for the Baron to arrive. Having the freedom to run only the orange party has been a bit of a treat to say the least.

            The Party that Can't Catch a Break...

        

                The orange party by comparison got much less of a break with all of the death they have run into. They continued to explore further to the east, coming across a dwarvish castle, Castle Lightway, which was luckily friendly. Thanks to the charisma of both Grayfern the Ranger and Butten the Bard, the party made good impressions on these dwarves. They found another castle north of here, Castle Albini, run by an evil halfling named Aldrich the Rat and a pair of mages Mastria and Itzam. They had heard of them keeping a few dwarves from Castle Lightway prisoner and ransoming them off to the dwarves. The party sent in a very underprepared and eager Oris the Thief, and even though he succeeded with breaking in and killing one of the mages, though the other made Itzam nearly killed him. The party ended up victorious, though they lost Fezgrim the fighter, Neuvas the magic user, and Terin the cleric. In the end, they gained a lot of money and nearly lost it all to these foes, though they made money as reward for returning the kidnapped dwarves. 

                The orange party explore the western passage from Castle Lightway to Odjoust discovering an abandoned manor (inhabited by a flight of gargoyles) and a mausoleum. The orange party hire on one of the dwarves they'd saved, Cledrik, Cervys the illusionist, and Merand the cleric. The party delved within the Mausoleum of Canera they'd discovered and due to an unforeseen gas trap, they again lost more characters, namely Cledrik and Cervys. They return safely now to Castle Lightway when Butten suggests they deliver Cledrik's portion of the loot to the dwarves of Castle Lightway, and the Castellan Brandor Keensong is moved by her dwarvish speech and her gift. They end the week exploring south of Castle Lightway, discovering an abbey dedicated to the god Fremarsil, though the abbey had its own drama to deal with. 

            Moving Forward...      

        

                I have a few dreams for these parties, and potentially becoming one party to be honest, and I can't wait to finally make my mark on this randomly generated wilderness of mine. Dender being knighted and getting permission to claim her own real estate, the parties having gained a few levels and some modicum of power, and a few magical items, all of this leads me to believe this group will likely end up in their own retirement (or grave) sooner than later thanks to hubris or continued luck. I think that one issue I am having and want to incorporate into future games in this solo experience is the Mythic Game Master Emulator; Specifically, I would love to incorporate the 2d100 oracle for interpreting events within the world. I think that this method for adding larger events in the world will allow me to create larger storylines without adding too much of my own direction and influence into the game. For those unaware, the system calls for 2d100 rolls, each corresponding to an action and a subject. For example, the Baron Eldare had one of these rolls for some sort of job for Dender to do, and I rolled up "Vengeance" and "Investment". It made sense to me to have the brand new castle Borthwick run by kobolds to have been originally built by the Empire as an outpost; sending Dender to make good of an investment for the empire will certainly appease the Baron and the Emperor. I think each month I will begin by rolling up 3 or so of these prophetic pairings and as they begin to make sense, put them together. Perhaps I am silly to crave this sort of structure but so be it. 

              Highlights... 

• Dender finally becoming a knight and earning the right to land
• The unlikely rogue Oris the thief surviving his break in at castle Albini with only 2 HP
• The gray party taking a well earned break was a nice change of pace
• The orange party earning the respect and love of the dwarves of Castle Lightway

Day 15 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is cold (22’F) and there are overcast skies. 
The gray party attempt to head back to Odjoust with their loot, though they reach a frozen lake and run into a gang of barbarians. The barbarians get aggressive and chase them, though the party escape on horseback. The party discover the road from Odjoust to Bridgeroot. The party arrive in Odjoust with their loot and try to stay at the Broken Tower inn and tavern. The owner of the Iron Heads thieves guild greets them within the tavern and after a night of drinking, the leader offers them immunity and hirelings. The party spend 150sp on rooms for the next two nights, as well as food and drinks for the tavern goers. The party spend another 3 gold to replenish their torches, and 15 gold to buy additional rations. The party return with 16578 xp in total

Klodis levels up, gaining 3 HP, 1 more level 1 spell per day, +1 Con
Dender levels up, gaining 1 HP, attains the title of Knight, +1 Str, +1 Dex
Kelha levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 Dex
Bert levels up, gaining 6 HP, 1 level 1 spell per day (light)
Hukdar levels up, gaining 6 HP
Offlan levels up, gaining 2 HP, and a 2nd level spell (Heat metal)

The orange party explore the east, following the rivers between Bridgeroot and Odjoust, discovering the Dwarven Castle of Lightway. The party stay at the Twelve Pony Pub, spending 50sp to stay in comfortable lodgings and eating good food.

Day 16 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is cold (36’F) and windy.

The orange party travel the forest around Castle Lightway, following the rivers and being stalked by a lynx for a short while. The orange party discover Castle Albini, and decide to raid the place in the night to free the dwarves known to be held captive there by Aldrich the Rat. Oris snuck into the second story doorway and tried to sneak attack the mages within, killing Mastrius and being seen by Itzam. The party then raid the castle keep only to lose Terin, Neuvas and Fezgrim in the melee. The party recover from the fight, retrieving treasure of the castle and freeing the dwarves held captive. The party give the captives spare rations and clothing. 

The gray party follow the old road they’d discovered outside of Odjoust and follow it all the way home to Hazelhedge where Dender hires a courier to speak with the nearby Baron Eldare about being knighted. The party pay to stay within Hazelhedge at the Bronzebell for a few days while they wait for word from the courier (7 days until the courier returns) 35 gp to stay within town, 5 gp for the courier. 

Day 17 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is very cold (25’F) with overcast skies. 

The gray party remain within the Bronzebell tavern in Hazelhedge.

The orange party attempt to travel back to Castle Lightway with the saved dwarves. Grayfern is able to forage for food and water for Oris and Butten and himself. The orange party travel slowly back to the castle with their saved dwarves and treasure, earning 400 gp for saving them by the Castellan Brandor Keensong. The orange party are now regarded as good friends of the dwarves of Castle Lightway. The party celebrate the saving the dwarves at the Twelve Pony Pub. The party return home with 13,892 XP total. Grayfern and Butten agree to donate much of the money they’d retrieved (800pp). The party hire on a pair of new party members, and a dwarf they’d saved: Merand the Cleric, Cledrik the Dwarf, and Cervys the Illusionist

Oris levels up, gaining 1 HP
Butten levels up, gaining 2 HP, +1 CON, +1 1st level spell per day, 
Grayfern levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 CHA

Day 18 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is especially cold (20’F) with clear skies. 

The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.

The orange party arrive in and rest within the village of Odjoust, paying to remain within the Broken Tower Inn (50sp) and running into no issues. The party take a moment to pay for healing services within the church of Pol (3 x 100 gp gems).

Day 19 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is cold (30’F) with overcast skies. 

The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.

The orange party prepare to set out, leaving their treasure behind within the Broken Tower Inn. The orange party journey for the Mausoleum of Canera. The party come close to an encounter with a terribly powerful group of chaotic adventurers, but Butten is able to dissuade any conflict by acting inconspicuously. The party gather food along the road, and arrive at the mausoleum without issue. The party enter the mausoleum and battle many wandering skeletons and zombies, Cledrik discovering many hidden messages from goblins. The party are able to survive many fights along the way, even surviving an acid trap that burned Cledrik terribly. The party find plenty of coinage and a handful of valuable gems, as well as a passage to the second level. The party trigger a poisonous gas trap and both Cledrik the dwarf and Cervys the illusionist die of the gas. The party escape and journey back to Odjoust into the cold of the evening without harm. The party return with 3315 XP, 829 each. 

Oris levels up (level 3 Thief), +2 HP, +1 Wis
Butten levels up (level 4 Bard), +2 HP, +1 Str, +1 level 1 spell per day, and Butten learns the dwarvish tongue

Day 20 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is cold (26’F) and snowy. 

The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.

The orange party venture out to bring Cledrik’s share of the loot to the dwarves of Castle Lightway. Along the road the party encounter a pack of 4 werewolves, who are in human form and not interested in the party thanks to a solid reaction roll. The party discover a spring of water south west of Castle Lightway. The party meet with Castellan Keensong and Butten impresses him with her dwarvish speech and their gift of a 1000gp gem. The party spend the night within the Twelve Pony Pub for 50sp.

Day 21 of The Raven (I)

Notes: The weather is cold (26’F) and moderately windy. 

The gray party travel to the reeve Keadon Tristle’s home to meet with the Baron Eldare. Dender had explained her bravery in battle and her heroic actions, as well as her diplomatic moves with the locals. The Baron was impressed with these stories and agreed wholeheartedly to knight Dender, as well as offer her permission to establish her own foothold within the wilderness of this land in the name of the Empire of Ayiel. The Baron requested that Dender seek vengeance against the kobolds who have taken Castle Borthwick from the empire. 

The orange party travel south east, encountering a group of 3 traders. The party purchase some rations, torches, and waterskins (10gp). The party continue traveling through the marshes in the area, getting lost, but eventually discovering the Abbey of Fremarsil. The party are welcomed into the Abbey, but are kept within isolated chambers after being told there is something of a scandal currently happening within the abbey of a member selling information of the newly separated abbey to the Empire of Ayiel. 

#Hexplore24 Week 2: A World to Explore

Welcome Back...

            Here we are again, ready to discuss the latest week's worth of hexploration! I did quite a lot this week and its certainly reflected in what I have uncovered and accomplished. I want to dive into all of the neat bits and bobbles but I want to start off real quick with some reflections.

Reflections...

            The first thing I want to say is that I have gotten a bit better about cracking out a days' worth of exploring. This has helped quite a bit with keeping the process relatively manageable with my current schedule. I had fallen asleep on the couch the other day before I could do my day of hexploration, so I needed to do two days' worth of work in one sitting and it was a bit jarring that it took hours to complete. 

            The only other thing to mention is that this was a lot of fun as per before. My partner has joined in on each civilization or tavern generation, with such hits as The Crazy Grape or The Hanging Wineskin, and its been a lot of fun having her involved in the process. Watching the land really fill out has been rewarding, but more than that, watching these little rascal adventurers gather loot and kick butts has been awesome. The parties have done really well with surviving most of these run ins, and on many occasions scooting by on solid reaction rolls. As far as XP and treasure go, both groups have managed more than I would have anticipated, yet seem fair for 2 entire weeks of play. 

    

Hexes...

              The parties have uncovered quite a lot compared to last week thanks to the abundance of wealth and horses, hiring retainers and characters to take along for the high-speed ride. The map so far has 25 Plains (38%), 19 Forests (29%), 12 Marshes (18%), 4 Water (6%), 4 Hills (6%), and 2 Mountains (3%). This overall has been a seemingly even distribution and I can't complain about the current look of the landscape. 

Places of Interest...

               As everyone knows, these little nuggets have been the most exciting part of the generation of this land. Interestingly enough, there haven't been too many new places to check out, but the ones that I have explored have been really intriguing. I ended up landing a dungeon known as The Catacombs of Zax'Tyliuth (7,45), which I tacked onto a couple of Dyson Logos maps, and have been rolling up some encounters and rooms according to the Hexcrawl Generator. Beyond the pretty easy fights within, a few troglodytes, a few thieves, some striges, and cowardly orcs, the party lost their retainers to a trapped treasure chest and some sneaky trog who got a sneak on them. The party were able to scrounge up a great bit of coin and treasure on the first level, return to town and come back for another round. The party came across a wild stroke of luck, uncovering a 'wheel of fortune room' and managing to win a large treasure within.  

               More importantly it would seem, I was able to generate a few truly interesting settlements to hang around. Riverhelm (5,43) is the largest settlement on the map so far, and with it is a temple dedicated to an insane god known as Efu, who is a stone god of wealth who actually resides within the temple in the heart of the town. Oh yeah, who is in attendance of the religious ceremonies? Oh no one, just a few glabrezu. Additionally, the town has an esoteric guild of alchemists within it that I may need to reach out to for identifying magical things in the future. A few smaller settlements of note, Bridgeroot (10,41) is a pleasant village ruled by a bronze dragon in disguise, Idarsby (7,42) is a more reclusive spot with a dwarven tavern and brewer though they openly disapprove of Riverhelm. Lastly, I rolled up a dwarvish castle known as Lightway (14,45) which is chock full of dwarven construction workers and warriors, and luckily a benevolent leader (and an infamously mediocre gardener's guild currently on strike). I placed some rings of influence around these settlements just incase there were any reason for conflict or warfare among them. 

The Parties...

              The orange and gray party needed to hire on new members as they lost some along the way, including the orange party after losing Gord the Dwarf to a 5-headed Hydra they'd encountered just north of Riverhelm on the frozen lake. 

               Not all is bad though, the Gray party just about entirely reached level 3, which means that Dender the knight is now officially to be knighted, no longer a squire. Somehow I will need to manage an encounter with the reeve of Hazelhedge and an official of the Empire of Athiel knighting her, which will allow her the right to claim territory as her own. The party already has so much treasure, I hated having to hire couriers to carry thousands of coins out to Hazelhedge, so I had considered claiming the zombie infested Castle Cloudfall (3,48). If the gray party establish themselves there, they can hire mercenaries to guard it while they quest, as well as potentially grow something of a small settlement out of the place. This right here is what I think the Old School experience is all about in my opinion, so you better believe I will be contemplating this move. 

                The orange party hasn't had as much luck, though they'd been hiring on new members and gathering XP fighting off the hydra and ending up safely in the castle of Lightway (14,45) by the end of the week. 

                I realize how in some sense I am violating the truest version of the West Marches style campaign, since neither party are communicating very regularly, though both stop by the Bronzebell Tavern in Hazelhedge often enough that I will let it slide. 

Highlights...

                Writing some of this with my partner has been a lot of fun, even if sometimes it feels like it breaks the style of the world, I am just happy to have her involved. 

                The gray party finding the wheel of fortune and somehow getting the best possible outcome, rather than spawning a dragon or a demon, and instead raking in somewhere around 10,000gp total is bonkers. 

                The gray party encountering 30 barbarians ice fishing on a frozen lake, enrage them and skitter off on horseback, though for a moment I forgot they were on horseback for a moment and got so worried they'd be served on ice. 

                The dwarvish castle of Lightway is going to be hosting an important wedding on the 17th of The Wolf (October), so let's see if we get that far; it isn't that this is some big exciting event, but rather it means some maybe super important event is now in motion. 

                Dender becoming a knight is certainly exciting as we get some true character and campaign development, and the possibility of making a permanent mark in this setting in only a matter of 2-3 weeks. 

The Future...

                Unfortunately, I may need to start running one group at a time, rather than running two, because the energy and time it takes to do so is a bit much still. I think owning a castle may make that a bit easier. I am truly excited to have some more level ups coming our way, and to see how deep we can dive into some other caves and dungeons. Additionally, I am hoping to see some new factions sprout up and run into a real enemy out there in the wilderness. 

#Hexplore24 Week 1 - A Wild Time

     

    Initial Thoughts...

        To begin, I just wanted to say that this whole experience has been a wild one. One would imagine this whole exercise to be boring or lonely, but in the end this procedural experience has been like an interactive novel where I simply operate as arbiter of rolls and rules. 

        I realized quickly that this whole process can be very time consuming, and that is very unfortunate. Compared to the #dungeon23/#dungeon24, #hexplore24 has been a matter of either a 5 minute exercise or a 2 hour one. I am certainly picking up the pace as I go, slowly but surely getting pretty reflexive with my efforts; roll a d6 here, a d8, got a 1 so I roll a d12 - and presto I've got a castle to get creating. But in the end, I think I have made some choices that have made it a little harder to manage. To put a bookend on this intro, I have seen this little campaign of mine take on a life of its own and it has been rewarding and exciting. 

    Time...

        I can't stress this enough: for this whole project to work out I will need to find a way to strike a healthy balance with this whole exercise. Since some of these days are bound to be simple, traveling only two hexes or so, finding nothing of note, it would seem that some will be quick and easy. Unfortunately, the more efficient I get with traveling (using horses, etc.) the more hexes I will end up in and the more places I will need to generate procedurally. Perhaps in the future when the characters are traveling only throughout previously explored hexes this won't be as much of a chore, but we shall see I suppose. 

    The Lands...

        The lands of this region have slowly but surely taken shape, and compared to my first experimental run on this procedural generation it is more or less of the same sort of variety and design. Interestingly enough, there isn't much for marshes, bodies of water, mountains and hills, but the plains and forests have been plenty. This has been pretty nice when needing to cross vast distances as the plains offer no penalties to movement, whereas marshes and mountains would bring travel speed to a grinding halt. Overall, I love seeing the map come to life, and the locations of note have been really interesting as well. 

    The Locations...

        This really seems like the most exciting element of this whole project. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I have had the greatest variety with locations. So far, I have gotten 4 castles, 1 temple with a village, 1 ruin site, and 1 lurid lair. Having to make sense of these castles has been a bit tricky, especially considering their ownership being zombies (abandoned), lizardfolk (hostile and numerous), kobolds (hostile and numerous as well), and dwarves (only 4 and the castle is toppled). Creating the castles' territory markers has been interesting, considering the potential for a territory war among villages or castles, but it would seem neither the lizardfolk nor the kobolds are anything but indifferent about their neighbors. 

        The temple I got was randomly one of the most interesting spots I've gotten so far, and it came with a village named Odjoust which was a certainly nice opportunity for rest out in the wilderness. 

        The ruins were not really important in the end, though the hill giant currently residing there certainly was a scary first encounter for the party. 

        The roads and rivers have made a world of difference and will make traveling out into the wild that much easier, plus they lead to other villages on occasion which will be a lot of help to make the wild a little more hospitable with some pitstops and taverns. 

        Lastly, the lair the party encountered was a doozy: a huge limestone cavern inhabited by 2 flame lizards and a heck of a lot of treasure. 

    The Party (Parties, actually)...

        The two groups that ended up heading out into the wilderness were the gray party (a knight, a cleric, a fighter, a barbarian, a magic user, and a druid) and the orange party (a ranger, a fighter, another fighter,  a dwarf, a bard, and a halfling). Both groups have seen battle, seeing mainly victory, but both have encountered death. I brought the orange party into this crawl as a way to keep the game moving while the other party was resting for a few days, and its made uncovering the map a much faster process in some respects. 

        The gray party got jumped by goblins in the zombie castle on their way out, having their magic user jumped and murdered in a surprise round. They returned home with a load of gems they'd gotten from some Thouls they nearly died fighting previously and gained barely any XP in the grand scheme of things. That money however did afford them some horses, which allowed them a great bit of mobility when planning their next ventures out. They arrived in Odjoust and the knight was almost killed by a thief who didn't like the party's frivolous spending in the local tavern, but subdued the thief and had them locked up. They traveled out to the lair of the flame lizards without knowing they were there, and they managed to kill the one inhabiting the lair while it slept, retrieved the treasure, and managed to get out of their even after coming across the other flame lizard (a random encounter with such eerie probability and coincidence) without fighting and instead skirting by the uninterested lizard thanks to a great reaction roll. They ended up getting lost trying to hurry back to Odjoust and instead encountered a ruined castle inhabited by a small group of neutral dwarves. 

        The orange party discovered the kobold castle and wiped a whole group of them without issue. They traveled up into the mountains before deciding to return home, though they ran into a large group of troglodytes with exceptional health. These troglodytes got the jump on the party with a surprise round and with their stench and 3 attacks a round, those level 1's didn't stand a chance. They lost the halfling and one of the fighters nearly immediately, and most of the rest of the party got terribly wounded. After the remaining fighter and the dwarf held their ground and killed a pair of the smelly lizards, the troglodytes rolled for morale and bolted out of there. I rolled for the treasure of these troglodytes and got an incredible amount of wealth, which was what the book said to do, so I wasn't about to turn down the magic sword and mound of coin and gems. The party were in a big hurry to get home with their low health and lack of reinforcements, so they engaged in a forced march to get back home to Hazelhedge. Luckily, having found a road by the lizardfolk castle, the party were able to really hustle and make it home.

        The orange party were able to level up, getting a lot of increased health, hiring some new characters to the group including a magic user and a cleric, as well as horses and some very valuable plate armor. Needless to say, the party were lucky to make it back at all, and they certainly reaped the benefits of their successes. 

    The Highlights...

        1. The gray party tossing some meat behind them to escape the hill giant, which gave me great hope for this being much more than just a slough of parties being destroyed by OP monsters in the wild, over and over. 

        2. The gray party catching the flame lizard by surprise and killing it before it could easily kill the party, scoring hit after hit on an enemy way out of their level of power. Then, slipping by the randomly generated other flame lizard (which was so very eerie to roll the exact combo necessary to get that specifically) on one excellent reaction roll. 

        3. The orange party barely surviving the troglodytes, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for their demise and overjoyed with the morale check, but I was really surprised by just how much wealth they'd had available. 

        4. The funniest was clearly the temple of Odjoust, which was a massive Epcot-style sphere made of tin, buried beneath a huge motte of dirt, dedicated to a goblin god of earthquakes and disasters named Pol, who has a holy relic buried within the sphere. The relic? a massive stone which slings random magic spells at people within the temple. 

    The Next Steps... 

        I am eager to keep moving on with this project and seeing where my characters all end up. It is safe to say that as I keep going things will get more complicated and refined, so I am sure my methods for recording this will follow suit. I will share the current map, and as time goes on I will share my mass cataloguing of every hex and its contents, once I find a good way to do so (50x50 hexes makes for one huge document.) I will do another write up of the party progress likely next week, so stay tuned for more!

The orange star is the current location of the orange party, and the same goes for the gray star. Hazelhedge is 0,49, Odjoust is 7,48.