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robert48182 years ago

I love the system.  Thoughts and requests:

Savage worlds.  :)  A partnership with Savaged.us (https://savaged.us/) would help with monster population. (Making hex-roll work with other systems is likely making the system more modular, and savage worlds would likely need that modularity to be useful)

But, for more fleshed out world-building, here are two ideas:

1.  "Connections" or "links", these would be 'Something' in one hex that references the key thing in another hex.  This might be a journal, wall warning, treasure map, NPC, etc.  It could also be something more substantial, like a key or password for a locked door in a different dungeon.  

2.  "Influence"  Have certain hex's have a trait called "Influence."  Such as "Influence, 2" along with a text description below of what effect  (RP or Mechanical) that Influence might have, then all hexes within the distance (2) of that hex, have a note saying that they are influenced by the other hex.  

Example:


HEX 30: WATCHTOWER

Multiple plateaus separated by seemingly bottomless chasms are connected with fragile rope bridges. The strong wind swings the brides from side to side, making crossing them a terrifying experience.

There’s a recently built and watchtower staffed by kings guards across a seemingly bottomless chasm, where a rope bridge meets an overhang.

Influence, 1

As long as the tower is occupied, hexes within the radius have their encounter rate halved.  (Roll the d6 a second time, if it is odd, the encounter happens as normal, if it is even the party encounters a patrol of guards.)

HEX 32: ALTAR

The path here leads to a cliffside, more than a hundrad feet tall. Planks of wood attached against the rocky wall form the only way ahead.

The crumbling ruins of an ancient altar could be found near the base of a steep cliff.

Influenced by:

Hex 30: Watchtower

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Pen, Dice & Paper2 years ago (1 edit)

Thanks! \o/

Sketching out how a 5E support will look like is still on my todo list so I can better understand how to support more systems in Hexroll.

I like both ideas. 'Connections' is something I already partially applied and could be extended. 'Influences' sounds pretty cool and I'll take a look at how to best model something like this. I add both to the Trello board.
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robert48182 years ago

Some thoughts on modularity:
Your system and 5e use "hit dice" as a psuedo difficulty marker.   A system like SW lacks that,  or has an entirely different stat (or calculation) to do that.
Bring systems in with a standardized stat block, and allow the "difficulty market" to be set based on system, or turned off entirely.

If a system lacks a modular monster build system, you can build in some light re-skinning.  For example, there tends to be ton's of generic NPCs such as shop keepers, guards, etc.  You can flag those as "generic" and apply new names as necessary. 

For monsters, the same could be true, but there might be some back-end list work.  Build a list of creaturs/monsters that could be represented as the same stat block in man games.  (for example, Big Cats: Lions, Tigers, Lepords, cheetas, etc.) Stretching farther, you might even be able to extend that same stat block to things like bears, and other large predators.)  If the creature doesn't exist, you can use a "generic" flag, and the add whatever name you need there.

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Pen, Dice & Paper2 years ago

For Hexroll as it is right now, I tried to follow B/X rules mostly to the letter, so things like random encounters, treasure types, etc are using the system specific tables. I don't know Savage Worlds at all but intuitively I would prefer staying true to the source material as much as possible. B/X for example has a set of random encounter tables per wilderness type. Is there anything similar in SW?

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robert48182 years ago

Savage worlds is....complicated.  As unlike D&D or B/X it is not as focused a system.   There's not a "PG, DMG, Beastiary" style set up that people then write world books for.

It is, at it's heart the core of a system.  From there setting books, that can span different genres (sci-fi, modern, fantasy, pulp, etc.) are published that can add monsters, special rules, random monster tables, etc.  

Tackling Savage Worlds would mean making Hexroll a framework based system, with modularity and swapability at it's core, as unlike D&D you can't take the basic rules, and slap a new coat of paint on the geography and call it a day.  That's not intended as a swipe at D&D, just the difference between the two systems.

The same is going to be true if you try something like GURPS, Hero System, FATE, Cortex, Genesys, etc.

It's also going to be useful if you expand over to something like Pathfinder, or Starfinder, or even other old school-style RPG games, as each is going to have their own take on those, and a system designed with modularity in mind will be easier to adapt to a new system with less work for each adaptation.

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Pen, Dice & Paper2 years ago

Okay, I think I get it :) So yes, Hexroll's current model is not built to be a system-agnostic framework. I does have the basic concepts set as base entities, for example, an NPC, or a Hex, or a Settlement - all could be adapted to almost any system or genre, but it is currently focused on one system. Moving forward, I will certainly refactor things to make it easier for me (or others, wink wink) to support other games.

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robert48182 years ago

No worries.  Have you thought of releasing as a stand-alone product?  Honestly, if you are thinking of making it system agnostic, moving from server to stand-alone might make sense.

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Pen, Dice & Paper2 years ago

What other features would you say a standalone product could be better at than web-based?

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robert48182 years ago (2 edits)

A stand-alone product. ...hmm. Here are my thoughts on it's potential benefits.   Keep in mind, this assumes you are making changes to support these features.  (And, tbh, I'm not positive what can or cannot be done via the web and such.)  You MIGHT be able to do all of this through the web, or even have the stand-alone be a sort-of browser itself (like many mobile apps actually are)


  • Customization.  Once the system is modular, the number of ways to customize the program increases.  Options on the procedural generation, customized lists, customized tilesets, etc.
  • Configuration files.  All of the changes you've made and used can be saved off to generate the same TYPE of world over and over again.
  • Map Expansion.  Load up a previously generated map/area, and have the system generate another map designed to expand what is there.
  • Post generation adjustments.  You like how a map generated, but you want to replace one hex with a different one.  Say, turn a lake into a swamp.  You can do that in the editor.  
  • System Modules, (sold separately)!   Want to produce a version for "Pathfinder for Savage Worlds" work with Pinnacle and license it, maybe get a group license for that and Lahnkmar, Deadlands, and others.  Then of course, you might be able to get a license for other published works as well (if needed).
  • Hex-crawl management.  Beyond generation, managing the hex-crawl is another key part.   Most systems don't have a built-in hex-crawling system, so you could make one that is fairly universal.  (at least within the genre of games this is designed for.)  The system could track position, roll random encounters (great since you can customize the roll table for each hex).  Track a calendar, generate weather, etc.  Sure, specific rolls that the players need to make (navigation, survival, getting lost, notice/perception) are still made by the players and not handled by the system, but for the GM running a hex-crawl it would be invaluable.
  • Notes.  I love that everything in the output is cross linked.    This also means that the system makes a great tracker/note-taker for the game.  You can easily bring up the hex the players are in, and make changes to it as needed.  Players knock down the guard tower providing the influence effect to the surrounding hexes, the GM can turn it off, and the program adjusts on the fly.  Players empty a dungeon (or partially explore?)  One button re-populate pulling on the background systems.   Key feature discovered?  Trail Made?  Notes that can be made in the system on a hex by hex basis as needed, without having to scroll through the PDF to find it.
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Pen, Dice & Paper2 years ago

Thanks! a mil for detailing these.

I think were aligned on the vision :) Certainly things like being system-agnostic, expandable and having a more modular generation approach are in my scope. Adding more platform features such as Note-taking are already WIP. You can already experiment with the current Note-taking capability tested at https://pendicepaper.com/hexroll/ (the pencil icons) BTW.

For Hexroll v1, I was focusing more on adding the basic content generation entities - and I always feel I can and should do a better job at adding more variations or complications to the generation logic to make things more interesting. 

Working on Hexroll v2, I'm now extending it as a platform - with things like VTT support, continent editing, modularity and mutability align perfectly with your ideas.

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