So, what steps did folks take to make the Hex Crawls fun? I began decades ago and am no stranger to HCs, but those were mostly BS and just about killing things. How did you all capture the feeling of exploration, mystery, and wonder? I do not want this to become, "make a check, hmmm...okay 11 dingleberry elves attack you".
Thoughts, please.
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I've recently come back to hex crawls myself, and one of the things I prefer to do is to set up various mysteries that can be stumbled upon, along with the random encounters. Dwellings where people are in the midst of agendas, interesting things to interact with, etc.
There are a couple of third party products that I found had some excellent advice on creating an interesting hex crawl. Neither is designed for Pathfinder, but as this is broad brush stuff, I don't think it matters.
One is titled Red Tide: Campaign Sourcebook and Sandbox Toolkit. In addition to having a pretty cool campaign, it has a lot of great thoughts about how to generate interesting elements of a sandbox. Unfortunately, there's also great stuff about sandbox generation in the companion volume, and it's not one of those things where "oh, only the good stuff is in the first one." You kind of need them both.
It's titled An Echo: Resounding and the main description really downplays how much useful sandbox generation info is within. Both this and the preceding product are just chock full of great tables and ideas for how to bring a region to life.
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I view the hexes as an organizing principle for as much information about the landscape as the players can tolerate.
I use the Distance to the Horizon by Altitude table from this blog to determine just how far they can see from every hex. This allows players to find promontories, climb trees, or otherwise act to gather information about adjacent hexes. When they're low amongst the cabbages, like in the swamps, it is a lot harder to get their bearings.
Weather is a big one. I tell them when it's muddy, or a storm can outright ruin their travel plans. The storm of the century came, and flooded the rivers, cutting them off for over a week. They almost died of exposure.
I track rations, and remind them how long it's been since they slept in a bed.
I play stealth against exploration. If they want to move safely through the dangerous wilderness, it takes considerably more time. If they have clever ideas or a novel approach, I will always hear it out. Basically, for these campaigns I turn simulationism up as high as I can bear. Players can always do with they would do in real life.
I use random encounters. I wear them on my sleeve. I let the players know the exact probablity for camping and travel, and I tell them to plan accordingly. I tell them, in advance, that there are trolls out there. When a random encounter is rolled, I try to make it seem at home in the setting — sometimes it is just a "close call" encounter for whatever reason ... an owlbear pellet with a human boot, or the faeries playing pranks.
When in doubt, a random encounter with an animal while camping means it is after the food. A random encounter with a monster might mean they think the players are food. Either way, nothing fights to the death unless it is starving, or a freak like trolls and owlbears.
There are no mulligans on the random encounter tables, nor on the scripted encounters. If the players even for a moment suspect they're in over their heads, they should run, and engage on their own terms later. From first level on, there is nothing protecting you from things above your CR. Be smart. And stealthy. Encounters usually open with a two-way perception v stealth check.
Tell them what the hex smells like.
Hide the map on occasion. Describe to the players where they are, ask them where they are going, and step through the hexes with descriptions while the map is hidden. Not all the time, but once in a while. See if they get lost on their own map.
The hex map just makes it easier to remember where all this stuff goes. You should try to pack as much detail as humanly possible into each hex, and try to use that detail every time they pass through.
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It sounds like you do a great job in bringing the world to life for your players. I especially like the old school idea of their being no mulligans on the random encounter tables, but the use of that horizon bit is inspired. Something I've played with a little, but not to this level. Excellent link.
Great ideas, thanks a ton. I was listening to an AP, and while they are not the be-all-end-all of gaming, I feel they do tend to represent a majority of game-style. And the hex crawl was sooooo boring.
BUT! With some of these suggestions, I think I will be okay.
The solution is always GMing.