Hexcrawling Procedures (Optional)
These procedures provide a baseline for creating and refereeing hexcrawl-style adventures with White Box FMAG, with little to no advance preparation. They do not prevent the Referee from pre-planning storylines, but they do let the world unfold alongside the players. This style also supports an “open table” campaign where players can come and go from week to week.
Motivation and Rewards
The party can begin in any setting. A secluded town in the center of a blank hex map is a good choice: the surrounding wilderness is unexplored, full of forgotten ruins, hidden treasures, and monster-haunted places. The following rewards support wilderness exploration, clearing land, reclaiming sites, and building strongholds.
| Activity | XP to Each PC | Stronghold Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Explore and map the wilderness | 25 XP per hex | — |
| Explore and map caves/dungeons | 25 XP per room | — |
| Clear a wilderness hex of monsters | 100 XP | — |
| Donate money to the poor, church, Crown, or guild | 1 XP per 1 gp | — |
| Clear 6 hexes surrounding the town to stop frequent monster attacks or sightings | Additional 600 XP | +5% cost match |
| Clear 12 hexes surrounding the town | Additional 1200 XP | +5% cost match |
| Find and clear a hex path to exploitable natural resources | — | +1% per hex cleared |
| Find and clear or reclaim historical ruins/dungeons | 500 XP per dungeon level | +1% per dungeon level |
| Clear a hex path to historical ruins/dungeons | — | +1% per hex cleared |
| Find and clear a hex path to other towns for trade partnership | — | +1% per hex cleared |
| Build a stronghold in the wilderness to maintain “Cleared Hex” status in a 2-hex radius | — | — |
| Mitigate a negative domain event | 10 XP × number of families | — |
| Death of a player character | 100 XP × level | — |
Stronghold Grants
A stronghold grant is a price-matching percentage that the Crown, town council, guild, or other patron gives to each player character involved in the successful completion of particular objectives. Grants are cumulative. If a Fighter has acquired a 50% stronghold grant and spends 600 gp to build a stronghold, the patron contributes an additional 300 gp.
Death and Fear
When a player character dies, the surviving party members learn from the tragedy once they return safely to town. Each survivor gains the listed XP bonus, but must make a saving throw or acquire a fear of the monster, trap, or situation that caused the death.
When the subject of that fear is encountered again, the character must make another saving throw or freeze up for 1 round, as if surprised. A situational fear may instead impose a -2 penalty, or -10% where appropriate, to activity rolls while facing the situation. Multiple fears of the same subject can stack. A character may work through a fear by spending gold frivolously in town—drinking, partying, gambling, praying, tithing, or similar activity—equal to the XP gained from the death. Hireling deaths do not grant XP this way.
Where to Explore Next
As the party ventures into blank hexes, the Referee, or optionally a player, can roll to determine the nature of each new location. One hex is a six-mile area and may contain terrain, vegetation, water, a point of interest, and/or a wandering monster. Players should fill in their map as they go, while the Referee keeps a separate copy for predetermined or secret locations.
When beginning a campaign, choose or roll terrain, vegetation, and water for the town’s starting hex. Towns are usually built on rivers or lakes. From there, determine adjacent hexes as they are explored.
Terrain
When entering a new hex, find the current hex’s terrain and roll 1d12 to determine the terrain of the newly entered hex.
| Current Hex | New Hex on 1d12 |
|---|---|
| Mountains | 1–6 Mountains; 7–10 Hills; 11 Plains; 12 Swamp |
| Hills | 1–4 Mountains; 5–8 Hills; 9–11 Plains; 12 Swamp |
| Plains | 1 Mountains; 2–3 Hills; 4–9 Plains; 10–12 Swamp |
| Swamp | 1 Mountains; 2 Hills; 3–8 Plains; 9–12 Swamp |
Vegetation
Find the current hex’s vegetation and roll 1d12 to determine the vegetation of the newly entered hex.
| Current Hex | New Hex on 1d12 |
|---|---|
| Dense Forest/Jungle | 1–6 Dense Forest; 7–10 Light Forest; 11 Grassland; 12 Barren |
| Light Forest | 1–4 Dense Forest; 5–8 Light Forest; 9–11 Grassland; 12 Barren |
| Grassland | 1 Dense Forest/Jungle; 2–3 Light Forest; 4–9 Grassland; 10–12 Barren |
| Barren | 1 Dense Forest/Jungle; 2 Light Forest; 3–6 Grassland; 7–12 Barren |
Water (Optional)
Find the current hex’s water feature and roll 1d12 to determine the water feature of the newly entered hex. If a river is present, roll 1d6 to determine which side of the hex it flows out of.
| Current Hex | New Hex on 1d12 |
|---|---|
| Lake | 1 Lake; 2–4 River; 5–12 None |
| River | 1 Lake; 2–10 River; 11–12 None |
| None | 1 Lake; 2–3 River; 4–12 None |
Points of Interest
With the general terrain established, roll 1d8. On a 1, the hex contains a point of interest. Roll 1d20 to determine the specific type. If the roll indicates a settlement, the Referee may roll for settlement size.
| 1d20 | Point of Interest |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Ruins (above ground) |
| 4–7 | Caves |
| 8–9 | Tomb |
| 10–11 | Lair |
| 12–14 | Natural Resource (iron bog, lake, metals, gemstone, lush grapevines, high mana, quarry stone, etc.) |
| 15–16 | Settlement (50% chance of human, otherwise roll random monster type; optionally roll for size) |
| 17–18 | Mine (abandoned) |
| 19–20 | Ruins (dungeon) |
Settlement Size (Optional)
| 3d6 | Chance | Type | Population | Base Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0.5% | Large city | 10,001–25,000 | 40,000 gp |
| 4 | 1% | Large town | 2,001–5,000 | 3,000 gp |
| 5–9 | 35% | Thorp | Fewer than 21 | 50 gp |
| 10–13 | 46% | Hamlet | 21–60 | 200 gp |
| 14–15 | 11% | Village | 61–200 | 500 gp |
| 16 | 3% | Small town | 201–2,000 | 1,000 gp |
| 17 | 1% | Small city | 5,001–10,000 | 15,000 gp |
| 18 | 0.5% | Metropolis | More than 25,000 | 100,000 gp |
Wilderness Monsters
After terrain and any point of interest are established, roll 1d6. On a 1, the party encounters a wandering monster. Roll for monster type using the White Box FMAG wilderness encounter tables and determine number appearing according to the monster description. Then roll for reaction and surprise using the normal White Box FMAG procedures.
As an optional safety valve near town, when rolling number appearing for a wandering monster, use the distance in hexes from the nearest town as the maximum result. Apply this rule only up to 4 hexes from town. Beyond that, roll normally. This rule should never affect the number of monsters in a discovered lair.
Wilderness Encounter Terrain
To quickly create an encounter scene, drop two complete sets of dice, ignoring percentile dice, onto the tabletop. The dice represent terrain features such as boulders, trees, and brush. Their positions indicate the approximate layout, and their numbers suggest the size of each feature.
| Dice Dropped | Feature |
|---|---|
| 2d4 | Trees (trunks) |
| 2d6 | Brush |
| 2d8 | Rock |
| 2d10 | Boulder |
| 2d12 | Rock outcrop/ridge |
| 2d20 | Terrain Change: 1–5 Trees & Brush; 6–10 Water (or land if in swamp); 11–15 Elevation change down; 16–20 Elevation change up |
Continuing to Explore
As the PCs enter new hexes, note their movement speed modified by the terrain they traverse. They may explore any number of hexes in a day up to their White Box FMAG movement rate. Once the party has moved its maximum daily distance, they must make camp. When camped, roll for encounters once per night. The Referee may instead use the normal White Box FMAG wandering monster frequency.
Clearing Hexes
To clear a wilderness hex, the PCs must track and kill all monster lairs in the hex. Make a simple 1d6 tracking roll to detect monster tracks and follow them back to the lair.
- Humans are successful on a roll of 1.
- Elves and Halflings are successful on a roll of 1–2.
- Dwarves cannot normally track in the wilderness.
- If the campaign uses classes, backgrounds, or house rules with a tracking ability, use that ability instead.
If tracking is successful, roll for monster type. When rolling number appearing, use the lair value. Once all monsters in a lair are destroyed, the hex is “cleared” and can be marked with a green border. A cleared hex is safer to traverse: wandering monsters appear on a roll of 1 on 1d12 instead of 1 on 1d6. A hex surrounded by cleared hexes contains no wandering monsters. Any hex containing an existing town is considered cleared.
Optional Movement System
To find out how far the party can move through the wilderness in a single day, use the miles-per-day value for the slowest member of the party from White Box FMAG. This is how many Movement Points the party has each day. Use the highest value of a hex’s terrain and vegetation to calculate the cost to enter it.
| Terrain or Vegetation | Movement Point Cost |
|---|---|
| Jungle, Dense Forest, Mountain, Swamp | 18 |
| Desert, Forest, Hills | 9 |
| Clear, Plains, Trail (any terrain) | 6 |
| Road (paved) | 1 step lower, minimum 6 MP |
If a character with a tracking ability exists in the party, a successful tracking roll can add 3 Movement Points to the day’s travel by finding useful animal trails, goat paths, deer trails, and similar routes. If the tracking roll fails, the party loses 3 Movement Points for the day.
Legends and Rumors
Use these procedures when PCs look for a quest, when an NPC offers them a quest, when a “map to a treasure” is found, or when PCs seek specific answers to a mystery. Once per week, each PC may attempt to learn a legend or rumor from one location.
| Location | PC Class | Success Check |
|---|---|---|
| Tavern | Any PC | Roll against Charisma |
| Temple or Chapel | Cleric only | Roll against Wisdom |
| Thieves Guild | Thief only | Roll against Charisma |
| Militia Barracks | Fighter only | Roll against Charisma |
| Library or Archives | Magic-User only | Roll against Intelligence |
The PC makes an ability check appropriate to the location. The base target number for a 1st-level character is 17; adjust as needed for your chosen White Box FMAG ability check method. Open-ended inquiries use the normal check. Inquiries about specific information or rumors suffer a -4 penalty.
For every 2 points by which the check exceeds the success target, reveal one additional piece of information in the order shown below.
| Location | Order of Information |
|---|---|
| Tavern | Treasure, Point of Interest type, Monster, Clue, Location |
| Temple or Chapel | Point of Interest type, Location, Monster, Clue, Treasure |
| Thieves Guild | Location, Treasure, Monster, Point of Interest type, Clue |
| Militia Barracks | Monster, Treasure, Location, Point of Interest Type, Clue |
| Library or Archives | Location, Point of Interest Type, Clue, Treasure, Monster |
- Point of Interest
- Roll on the Point of Interest table above.
- Location
- Randomly determine a direction and distance from town on the wilderness hex map.
- Monster
- Roll using the White Box FMAG encounter tables or another monster index used by the campaign.
- Treasure
- There is a 50% chance the rumor reveals coinage treasure and a 50% chance it concerns a magic item. Roll on the appropriate treasure tables.
- Clue
- A clue is a metagame device granting a +4 situational bonus on one non-combat roll connected to the rumored location, such as finding the site, avoiding surprise, or dealing with a trap.
Once the party reaches the rumored hex, the leading PC makes an appropriate ability check to locate the site. Add half the location’s distance in hexes from town, rounded down, to the target number. The PC may add a Wisdom bonus, and a character with a relevant wilderness tracking ability may also add half their level, rounded down. If the check fails, the party fails to locate the site that day, but gains a cumulative +1 bonus on each later day of searching. Roll for wandering monsters each day and each night spent searching.
Stronghold and Dominion Events
Sooner or later, a character may acquire enough wealth and power to build a stronghold. This can be done in any cleared hex. A stronghold attracts peasants and generates tax money depending on the population’s sentiment toward its ruler.
When a stronghold is built, roll 1d10 × 10 to determine the number of families that take up residence nearby. The population starts at Indifferent. At the end of each month, the population grows or shrinks according to the Population Sentiment table and generates 1 gp per family, paid to the ruler. At the start of each month, roll for a Domain Event. The ruler has one month to address any negative event before its listed effect applies.
| Sentiment | Monthly Change |
|---|---|
| Patriotic | Population grows by 4d6% |
| Happy | Population grows by 1d10% |
| Indifferent | Population grows by 1d4% |
| Unhappy | Population loses 1d10% |
| Rebellious | Population loses 4d6% |
| 2d6 | Event Type | Effect on Population Sentiment |
|---|---|---|
| 2–3 | Very Bad | Population Sentiment worsens by 1 step and tax income is halved this month |
| 4–5 | Bad | Population Sentiment worsens by 1 step |
| 6–8 | Neutral | No change to Population Sentiment |
| 9–10 | Good | Population Sentiment improves by 1 step |
| 11–12 | Very Good | Population Sentiment improves by 1 step and tax income is doubled this month |
Roll 1d12 for the nature of the event and interpret it according to the event type rolled above.
| 1d12 | Description of Change |
|---|---|
| 1 | Change in monster activity in surrounding wilderness |
| 2 | Change in crime rates and criminal activity (bandits?) |
| 3 | Change in sickness/plague rates (a curse?) |
| 4 | Change in crop yields (feast or famine; a curse?) |
| 5 | Change in weather (if Very Bad, a natural disaster such as flood, fire, earthquake, etc.) |
| 6 | Death of important figure |
| 7 | New social movement |
| 8 | War declared |
| 9 | Change in natural resources (resource exhausted, new resource found, etc.) |
| 10 | Change in foreign trade or trade routes |
| 11 | Change in festival or holiday event |
| 12 | Historical/holy relic (lost or found) |
Hexcrawl Exploration Loop
- Enter a new hex and record its coordinates.
- Roll for terrain, vegetation, optional water, and possible point of interest.
- Roll for the possible presence of a wandering monster. If one appears, roll for reaction and surprise, then drop dice to create the encounter terrain.
- If the party has movement left for the day, enter a new hex and repeat the process.
- If the party has moved its maximum distance for the day, make camp and roll once for a night encounter. If one appears, roll for reaction and surprise, then drop dice to create the encounter scene.
Hexcrawl Log Fields
For each hex or travel segment, note the following: day, heading, hex number, movement points used in the hex, whether the hex is newly explored, terrain, vegetation, water, and any notes.