Hexploration in Daggerheart for detailed Exploration

Foreword

The following is a comprehensive guide for how to run Hexploration using a Hex Map. I have taken inspiration from Exploration in Pathfinder, and various elements from the Sallowlands Campaign as well as the Daggerheart Core Book to create a set of Guidelines I use to run Hexploration games for my Table. This is specifically a more granular and rule-bound version to better simulate the struggle of hexploration in for example Kingmaker.

Step 1: Before travel begins

Supplies

Before your party heads off to distant lands, exploring the wild, you need Supplies. Supplies are the first Mechanic to be introduced. They will be represented by a variable Die. The party can buy supplies at any store you see fit or find them out in the wild. The supply die is added to all your rolls to determine travel. The supply die may be anywhere from a d4 to a d12. Whenever you roll a 1 on your supply die, it drops down one tier to represent your supplies running out.

Example Prices for Supplies

D4 | 2 handfuls of gold
D6 | 1 bag of gold
D8 | 1 chest of gold
D10 | 10 chests of gold
D12 | 25 chests of gold

Higher dice are exponentially more expensive as they not only roll a higher number but represent security. At your discretion you may allow your party to buy several dice worth of supplies of the same tier. Just make sure to stop them from securing a limitless supply, either through a lack of carrying capacity or availability at the store. Otherwise travel will be trivial.

Exhaustion

Opposite of Supplies is Exhaustion. Just like supplies Exhaustion is represented by a variable die, but unlike Supplies it is a negative modifier. Exhaustion is gained from bad travel rolls and GM fear actions. It is your primary way to encourage the Party to stop, make a camp, rest and recover.

Exhaustion always starts at a D4, if Exhaustion rises, increase the die by one tier up to a d12 after which you start again at a second D4.

The primary way to get rid of exhaustion is to rest. During a short or long rest you may use two Downtime Actions to reduce Exhaustion by one. If the exhaustion die is a D4 it disappears.
Those may be taken by anyone. The primary way to rest during travel is Camping, it is detailed in the Step 2: During Travel - Make a Camp

The Cost of Travel

Travel is a tiresome process. Many dangers await and at any point the unforseen can occur. To represent the difficulty of travel we use a two tier system. A simply difficulty the party has to meet or exceed to determine how far they can travel and a cost of how expensive travel through a hex is. Here are the values I personally use to run Hexploration:

• Easy Terrain (Costs 1 Travel Action)

  • Roads DC 10

  • Plains DC 11

  • Desert DC 12

• Medium Terrain (Costs 2 Travel Actions)

  • Hills DC 14

  • Forests DC 15

• Difficult Terrain (Costs 3 Travel Actions)

  • Swamps DC 18

  • Mountain DC 20

You may change values at your discretion. Like this travel in plains and on roads should be quite fast, Medium terrain slowing down to only a few hexes at best per turn while Mountain Ranges or bodies of Deep Water will block Travel, encouraging the use of roads through mountaineous terrain where possible instead of making any hex easy to pass through.

Travel Actions

To travel we use Travel Actions. Once you start travelling your party makes a Group Action Roll. The Natural Choice is Instinct but you can be creative, don't just use Instinct every time to "navigate", let a PC use Presence to motivate the Party and lighten the travel, or let a player use Knowledge to organize the Supplies and make travel more efficient. The DC against the which the party rolls is always the Hex they currently occupy. They pay Travel Actions as according to the Cost associated with the Hex they travel to.

• Critical Success: The party gains 5 Travel Actions

• Success with Hope: The party gains 4 Travel Actions

• Success with Fear: The party gains 3 Travel Actions

• Failure with Hope: The party gains 2 Travel Actions and 1 Level of Exhaustion

• Failure with Fear: The party is lost, they make no progress and gain 1 Level of Exhaustion

Once the party runs out of Travel Actions they will have to make another Roll to continue. Any unused Travel Actions carry over into the next Action but are discarded when the PC's stop their travel to explore a location or make camp as described in Step 2: During Travel - Make a Camp

Alternatively you may use Countdowns to travel. Use Countdowns whenever your party doesn't intend to explore their immediate surroundings and wants to travel a greater distance of hexes in one go. Make your party draw the route they want to travel on the hexmap, then count the hexes. The number of Hexes is your Coundown. They still roll on the same Difficulty tables when starting their travel depending on the hex they currently occupy. Instead of using Travel Actions to "buy" their way into tiles the countdown ticks down by the number of travel actions associated with their result. They gain Exhaustion as normal and use Supplies as normal. On a Failure with Fear they still get lost, however unlike buying their way across the map. The countdown ticks up one and they return to the previous tile.

Step 2: During Travel

Making a Camp

While your party travels, normal rests are unavailable. Instead they may at any time choose to make a camp. Like travelling itself making a camp is represented by a group roll. The default trait for this roll is Knowledge but you may let them use any trait you like if they can explain how it helps them make a camp. Depending on their roll they may or may not take a rest.

• Critical Success: The party has a restful and secure night, they may make a long rest.

• Success with Hope: The party has short but good night, they may make a short rest.

• Success with Fear: The party has an uncomfortable night, they may make a short rest with only one downtime action.

• Failure with Hope: The party has failed to make a secure camp, a night spent on high alert allows them to recover 1 Hope/HP/Armor or Stress. Gain 1d4 Fear

• Failure with Fear: The party is unable to get any rest, a horrible night increases their Exhaustion by 1. Gain 1d4 Fear

As an additional downtime action players may reduce exhaustion. It takes two uses of this downtime action to reduce exhaustion by 1 Tier. They may be taken by separate PC's

Encounters

As your party travels through your world they will encounter whatever you have set up for them. These Encounters may be bound to a specific tile or random. For the purpose of travel we only care about three categories of Encounters:

1. Obvious Encounters. As the players enter a hex they immediately find whatever Encounter you have placed there waiting for them.

2. Hidden Encounters. The players may either have gotten a hint on this Encounters existence, if so, treat it as an Obvious Encounter, otherwise a Hidden Encounter has the players make a roll notice whatever is hidden here as they travel through it. You may alternatively opt to let players use a single Travel Action to explore the hex and uncover any hidden Encounter hiding here.

3. Random Encounter. A Random Encounter may only happens when the players roll with fear or fail on their travel or camping rolls. Spend two fear to introduce a Random Encounter.

GM Actions

Lastly I will detail the three major GM actions to spend fear on. They may be taken anytime the party fails or rolls with fear on a travel or camping roll.

• Exhausted: Travel has brought the party down. Spend 2 fear to increase the Exhaustion Die by 1 Tier.

• Hungry: The hunger gnaws at the party. Spend 2 fear to reduce their Supply Die by 1 Tier.

• Random Encounter: This can be anything you have prepared for your party that is not bound to a specific hex. Spend 2 fear to introduce it.