Somehow now that I do have a blog, I forgot all about them until last night. Turns out I have three of them saved on my laptop, so I'll release those over the next couple weeks and if there's interest maybe I'll start writing up some more.
The basic idea here is that every hex has two features, and every feature has connections to other hex features– usually one or two, sometimes three or four. So these are written to provide not only stuff to explore, but hooks to get parties to explore them and also some dynamism with different things interacting with each other.
7-Hex Sandbox Setting: The Mountains of Terror
Hex 1- Central, Woods
Feature 1- Wood Golem
Can blend into the forrest, and regenerates in direct sunlight. Under orders to prevent anyone from finding the scrying pool- the golem usually patrols 1-3 miles out from the pool, but once every day or two it stops by the pool to make sure nobody got past it.
Was created by the (deceased) wizard from the tower in hex 2 to guard the pool. If killed, magical runes on the body can be deciphered- will include the wizard’s name.
The golem will know if anyone other than the wizard uses the gate in hex 7 to travel to the tower. When this happens, it will run to the tower to defend its master, arriving in 2d6+6 hours.
Feature 2- Scrying Pool
A naturally occurring spring on the junction of two ley lines. Decades ago, the wizard from the tower in hex 2 enchanted the spring into a scrying pool.
Was created by the (now deceased) wizard from the tower in hex 2.
The golem occasionally passes by here. It could potentially be found by tracking the golem to it.
Hex 2- North, Mountains
Feature 1- Wizard’s Tower
Formerly inhabited by a level 12 wizard. The wizard recently died in a lab accident; the tower is now full of traps, treasure, and monsters created by the wizard.
The wizard created the golem in hex 1. Drawings of the golem can be found in the tower.
The wizard created the scrying pool in hex 1. Instructions for using it can be found in the tower’s laboratory.
Contains a magical gate that leads to the magical gate in hex 7.
Feature 2- Magophobic Human Village, Population 420
The inhabitants of this village hate magic due to bad experiences with the wizard in the nearby tower, and his creations. They haven’t actively opposed the wizard- just avoid him and anything else magical.
The people here trade with and are sympathetic towards the inhabitants of the haunted village in hex 3. They will try to aid the people of the haunted village as much as they can as long as it doesn’t put themselves at risk.
Hex 3- Northeast, Wooded Hills
Feature 1- Haunted Seaside Fishing Village
Located on the coast bordering hex 4. Suffers occasional raids from skeleton warriors riding skeleton horses.
Friendly trading relationship with the magophobic village in hex 2. Both villages will aid each other against supernatural threats, though not at great cost/risk to themselves.
Main food source is the fish in hex 4. Famine may ensue if the fish population gets too depleted.
The skeletal raiders come from the dungeon in hex 5. A typical raiding party consists of d6+2 skeleton warriors armed with shields and longswords, all riding skeleton horses.
Feature 2- A Large Nest of Harpies
Located on top of the tallest hill in the hex. Contains 3d6+3 adult harpies and 2d6+2 young. The top of the nest is 250 feet above ground level; you can see the far edge of all neighboring hexes from there.
Have trained the seagulls in hex 4 (who can communicate with them telepathically) to spot targets for them to raid.
They don’t attack the haunted village due to fear of the monsters there. They will likely start raiding it once the haunting ends.
Hex 4- Southeast, Water
Feature 1- Fish
This hex is rich in fish of all kinds.
A staple food source of the haunted village in hex 3.
Being over-fished by the flock of seagulls. May become dangerously depleted if the seagull flock keeps growing, potentially causing starvation in the haunted village in hex 3.
Feature 2- Flock of semi-intelligent seagulls.
These seagulls have an INT of 2 and can communicate telepathically with other flying creatures. They continually migrate between the coastline of hexes 1, 3, and 5, overflying hex 4 on their travels. With the aid of the harpies, this flock keeps growing bigger and bigger.
They are allied with the harpies in hex 3- the seagulls spot targets for the harpies to raid, and the harpies protect the seagulls from predators, hunters, and people who would kill them as pests.
Main food source is the fish in this hex. If the flock keeps going, the fish population may plummet.
Hex 5- South, Mountains
Feature 1: Village of 150 people who fear the dark
This village has a strong taboo against darkness. Nobody goes outside at night, and everybody keeps a fire lit all night, believing this keeps the skeletons from attacking. In reality, the skeletons are under orders only to attack wanderers in the wilderness and not attack the village directly; the cleric who commands the skeletons actually hopes to someday convert the village to his faith.
People who leave the village at night are sometimes attacked by skeleton raiders from the nearby dungeon.
The hunter whose accidental death created the nightmare dungeon in hex 7 was from this village. He died 14 years ago- most people will still remember him, and will wrongly assume he was killed by the skeletons.
Feature 2: The Necromancer’s Lair
This is the lair of a level 7 cleric necromancer, a follower of an evil god of death. He was cast out from the village in hex 5 after trying to proselytize on behalf of his deity, and now seeks revenge. The lair is located in a pocket dimension tied to the negative energy plane; the entrance is in an ancient graveyard on the side of a mountain.
Sometimes attacks the villagers from the nearby village if they venture out at night.
The cleric sends raiding parties of skeleton warriors riding skeleton horses to terrorize the village in hex 3. He has little desire to destroy the village- he’d rather make the villagers suffer.
The cleric has his minions hunt horses in hex 6 and bring him their corpses, which he raises as skeletons. He also has them hunt anyone who would hunt the horses, however, to keep the herd large.
Hex 6- Southwest, Prairie
Feature 1: Corpse with Rod of Darkness
A man, dead of multiple knife, club and arrow wounds. Carries a rod can extinguish lights in the area. The man was a traveler who had recently visited the village in hex 5; he died 2 years ago.
The villagers in hex 5, being afraid of the dark, freaked out and attacked this man after he used the rod in their village. He managed to make it to this hex before dying of his wounds. The villagers will try to cover up their crime- they know they overreacted, and feel guilty about murdering this man.
The seagulls in hex 4 know about this artifact- they witnessed it all while scouting the village on behalf of the harpies.
Feature 2: Herd of wild horses
There are hundreds of wild horses in this herd. Physically, they’re suitable as riding or warhorses, but psychologically, very difficult to break. Undead horses, however, are a different matter.
Protected, hunted, and raised as skeletons by the evil cleric in hex 5, and his minions.
Hex 7- Northwest, Prairie
Feature 1- Magical Gate
This portal is built into the side of a small bluff. It can be activated by tracing the runes on it with your fingers.
Leads into the wizard’s tower in hex 2.
The wood golem in hex 1 will know if anyone other than the wizard from the tower in hex 2 passes through the gate, and will respond by going to the tower to defend it.
Feature 2- Portal to the Nightmare Realm
This dungeon was created by the death of a hunter who was terrified of spiders, and died of fright after waking up to a spider crawling on his face. Most of the monsters in it are spider-like in some way.
It can be destroyed by removing the man’s longbow from it. If removed, the longbow is magical and can inflict fear on enemies with a critical hit, but also inflicts fear on the user with a critical failure. Spider-monsters will sometimes roam the area around the dungeon, but won’t leave this hex.
The hunter was from the village in hex 5. People there will still remember him.
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