I’m starting to run a pbp game over on rpg.net with the intent of doing a hexcrawl/domain building game. I’ve got six – potentially seven players – and everyone’s using the Adventurer method of character creation with 20,000 XP. Surprisingly, people are investing in henchmen and mercenaries instead of taking chances on magical item. I think only one player wagered the 10K, and a couple of others wagered 1K and/or 3K.
The premise is simple: for a century, the forces of Chaos have besieged the Realms of Man but have finally begun to subside, and the Six Principalities have begun to expand once again. The Princes have put out a call for explorers and adventurers to venture beyond the current borders of their land, to tame and clear and eventually build domains (preferably as vassals to the Princes) of their own to serve as a buffer against the savage tribesmen and chaotic humanoids that still roam the lands, although in much smaller numbers.
I’m instituting the following into the game:
*They’ve got a factor, Mr. Hand, who works for the party as a whole, and start play with a magical basin they can use once per week to contact him. Mr. Hand also comes with a warehouse capable of storing 10K stones worth of goods, of which 1K can be stored in a safe. The warehouse and offices are guarded by watchmen and serve as a base of operations for the adventurers.
*We’re using cost of living, prepaid at the start of the campaign but due at the beginning of each month. In addition to food and lodging, we assume this amount pays for taxes, dues, minor bribes, money-changing fees, tolls, etc. Essentially, I don’t want my players to have to track coppers and silvers.
I’ve been working on a features table for hexcrawling. I assume that every 6-mile hex has a number of “features” similar to the number of lairs chart posted by Alex in another thread. By exploring a hex (which takes time based on terrain, not movement) they can discover the features (and lairs) within a hex. I’ve also assumed that exploring a hex (as opposed to simply moving through) automatically uncovers all the lairs and features found within.
*well, maybe not all
*I’ve handed out a number of hooks, that I’ll post later, and let the players know that their ultimate goal will be to clear land and start their own domains. This can be done either in vassalage to the Scarlet Prince or on their own, further into the wilderness. If they accept vassalage I’ll pass them some bennies in the form of additional settlers and military/labor aid.
*I’m giving out max hp at first level and rerolling the remaining hit dice at each level. A 5th level explored would look like this: 6 + 4d6, and upon reaching 6th would be 6+5d6. If the new total is less than or equal to the old total the character use their old total +1. This tends to have characters end up with higher than average hp totals.