Last-Minute Hexcrawl: The Local Map

I said originally that you need three maps if you plan on running a completely randomly created world as an improv hexcrawl: a large-scale kingdom map, which gives players a handle on the local political situation at a glance; a smaller scale barony map, which shows everything within a couple days travel of home base; and a local map, which shows the home base itself and nearby points of interest. You also need an extra map at the same scale as the local map for every adventure site; call this a locale map.

The map scale should be 1 hex = 30 yards. Adventurers traveling outdoors will move 2 hexes per turn normally, 4 if running or unencumbered, or only 1 if heavily laden. You don't actually need to track movement on the map unless there's a battle or chase, though.

Because of the scale, a local map or locale map will almost certainly be surrounded by a single type of terrain. One small hex of a barony is about 293 local scale hexes across. Nevertheless, you can adapt the barony-scale terrain procedure to map small terrain features.

The primary terrain is the terrain of the barony hex the local map is contained in. Decide whether any rivers or roads from the barony map run through the hex; draw them across the local map, applying the twisty lines technique if you want the route to look more interesting. If a river runs close to but not through the area, you can draw a line heading towards the river to define a stream or brook, then apply the twisty lines technique. Next, roll all these dice together:

2d12 of different colors (light and dark)
2d8 of different colors (light and dark)
2d10 of different colors (light and dark)
1d20 (read as a d10)
2d4

Each color set (1d12, 1d8, 1d10) represents a line of secondary terrain that crosses the territory. The d12 is the direction, the d8 is the length, and the d10 is the terrain type. You can apply the twisty lines technique afterwards if you want to make the lines interesting.

The 1d20 and 2d4 represent a terrain blob. The d20 is read as a d10; only the last digit is important. The d4s define the size and shape of the blob.

After the terrain is laid down, clear space at the center (or close to it) for your home base. A hamlet needs about two or three hexes, as does a keep; a village requires at least 7 hexes (a central hex plus all adjacent hexes,) while a town is made of 19 hexes (central hex, six adjacent hexes, and 12 hexes surrounding them.) For each hex of a hamlet, village or town, you can roll a d6 with pips to find the placement of buildings. Roll just one die for a keep, but the buildings (towers and gatehouses) are bigger, and one building should be surrounded by a wall or moat.

You will probably want to place two known landmarks on the map as well, so that the players have some ideas about things to investigate. Roll 2d12, 2d8, and 2d10 of different colors. Each d12 represents a direction towards the landmark, relative to home base, and the d8 is the distance from home base. The d10 identifies the kind of landmark:

d10 Roll	Landmark Type
0	Rubble (d6 for # pillars)
1	Boulders (1 to 6)
2	Dome
3	Tunnel
4	Face carved into natural feature
5	Lone Hut (d6 -3 inhabitants)
6	Statues (1 to 6)
7	Pit
8	Keep (d6 for arrangement, described above)
9	Graveyard/Necropolis