Hi folks! I've been working on a new DM tool for my latest campaign and I'm looking for some testers. I've been using HexBox to run my new campaign and we have put about 30 hours of game time into it and the results have been great so far. But I need a bigger feedback group. So here are the details. Let me know what you think!
What is HexBox?
It's an Excel-based program that can take any map you want to use and create a hex system on top of it. Then it populates every hex on your map with life! Settlements, dungeons, encounters, awesome features, hazards, and more!
So what can it do for me as a DM?
I can tell you it makes over 200,000 decisions that the DM doesn’t have to. I lost count after that.
- - Detailed Hex Descriptions for any map you want!
- - Settlements (everything you could need)
- - Detailed NPC parties ready for combat and fully equipped
- - Dungeons (Boss Type, Name, CR, Dungeon Type)
- - Unique NPC Quest System – Every NPC has a purpose
- - Aquatic Adventure – Underwater is just as interesting
- - Unique Features System – Adds flavor and skill checks to hexes
- - Weather-based on hex climate, terrain, elevation, & season
- - Encounter Details (Creature Type, CR, Name)
- - Over 200 opportunities for material, stat, and story rewards
- - Hazards that add dangers to any combat or hex
- - XP Rewards for exploration, encounters, and hazards
- - And much more!
What else can HexBox do?
- - Works for any size group and adjusts rewards
- - Wild Magic rarely makes magic go crazy in hexes
- - Tracks Seasons of the year
- - Printable Stat Boxes for every Hex, Settlement, and NPC
- - Generates Rumors for each Hex based on content
- - Printable Sandbox Statistics (# of NPCs, Dungeons, Etc.)
- - Monster Naming System to give each encounter flavor
- - Printable Hex Lists for Dungeons, Encounters, NPCs, and Features
- - Unique Alpha (+1 CR) and Mana Beast (+2 CR) monsters
- - Printable Quick Reference Hex List
Ok, so I've given you the pitch. There's so much more I can show you already, so I'm going to share the HexBox Guide I'm building since it covers almost everything.
Click here for the full HexBox Guide
HexBox in Action
Disclaimer: I've put a lot of work into this project and there's still so much more I can do. The following is a working copy of HexBox in its ALPHA form. I've done my best to put some basic protections on the file and it has been copyrighted, but I'm trusting anyone who downloads this file to use it for its intended purpose only, to help make this product better for everyone.
Working Copy of HexBox - Excel Required
Unless you crack the protections I've added, this copy will only allow you to make new versions of the map below. It's locked to this particular map, but you can use the Dashboard to roll new variations and see how it all works.
Now let me show you what I've been able to do with it in my latest campaign. I built this map in Photoshop and then laid a 700 hex grid on top of it. With a few clicks in HexBox, this entire chain of islands was fully populated. It has enough content to take a group of players from level 1-5 for sure. With a couple of changes, the same map could be used for levels 15-20.
Let me know what you think about HexBox!