Here’s a sample of what I am working with to populate a hex map for my West Marches style game. I’m using the Cairn 2e playtest and running it on Owlbear Rodeo. This sample map is just to show you what the Hex Kit program can do.
If you will note, some of the hexes have a yellow marking on the upper left side. This is a utility marker in Hex Kit which I placed on another level of the map. This is how I’ll record which hexes the PCs have gone through during the session. The surrounding hexes will be blanked out with gray tiles until the PCs get closer in their explorations. Adjacent hexes will be visible as well as more prominent features in the distance (hills and forest).
I’m also labelling the hexes and creating info that will reveal when I hover over a hex. This will be combined with more detailed notes on paper. I have about three miles of hexes keyed already for the players to explore. If they get the urge to just march off the map, I have simple random generators at hand to quicky fill out the map. It is my hope that there is plenty to discover within the nearby area around their base camp.
It is a learning process for me. I’m certainly no expert but hope learn from my mistakes. As the players begin exploring on the actual campaign map, I will post images of their map. It won’t be the beautiful Hex Kit map for now–just some symbols on a blank hex.
[Edit–I forgot to mention that I will have hex number labels on my GM map. It is just a click of the button to turn these on and off in Hex Kit.]
More to come!
Damn Elf Press 