Hexplore24 — Day 2
Cold again. Dappled gold in the sky. Thin clouds promise a gentler day.
Satis and Belus, refreshed and stiff, pack up their camp and prepare for the day.
I had them vote by rolling dice; both want to hike south.
Today I’m using the DM’s D30 Sandbox Companion to check for features in hexes.1
They spend 2 travel points to enter hex I07.
Rolled a feature: heavy shrubs and a ridge.
As the day progresses, gold turning to steel violet in the sky, they traverse sparser grasslands, encountering thick, dusty, and stubborn shrubs.
They reach a low ridge and peer out, seeing a forest to the south and a mountain to the north. To the east, more grasslands.
“Which way?” Belus asks. “The woods,” Satis replies. “Why? We could get lost,” Belus questions. “Because the woods may contain secrets,” Satis explains. So, they head south to the forest.
The forest is towering, the ground interwoven with twisting roots.
Traveling into hex I06 will cost 3 points because it is a dense forest.
They now have just 1 point left. According to the Dolmenwood rules, they can use this to move within the hex so that tomorrow’s travel costs less.
I roll to see if they get lost or have an encounter — they pass both.
They find an especially beautiful area of woods, with silver trees and a clear floor under a heavy canopy.
They gather 8 hours of firewood.
As Belus prepares the campsite, Satis leaves with her sling and spear to go hunting.
Satis must pass a Wil check to find game. She succeeds.
Using the Dolmenwood encounter table, I roll a Yegril, a fluffy moose with purple fur.
Satis comes across a herd of 17 giant fluffy beasts, eating moss from tree trunks and leaves of lower branches.
Reaction roll: 7, uncertain.
Satis attempts a Cha test but fails2.
Satis needs to get closer so she can cast her sleeping vapor spell3.
As she approaches, the animals grow wary, and Satis coos to try and calm them — but it seems to make things worse.
Reaction with -1 mod: 8 - uncertain.
Satis gets closer, trying to appear as friendly as possible. Many large beasts watch her nervously.
Reaction is: 3 - attack/flee4.
Satis steps on a twig, and suddenly the herd bolts away. Cursing, Satis casts her spell, a glistening vapor filling the air.
Only 2 will be at risk of the magic — and both get to save against its effects. One fails.5
All but one beast escape, and as the sound of the heavy hoofs fades, Satis stands over the sleeping unlucky Yegril, its breath causing the lush warm fur to rise and fall.
Satis says a prayer and slits its throat.
Dolmenwood says either or rations can be harvested. I’ll say it’s , but she can only carry .
Satis returns to camp with enough food for 8 meals. They both enjoy the freshly cooked meat and warm fire that night.
Belus passes a cooking check for the food, which will give them both a boost to sleeping. He fails his campfire story roll.
Belus tries to share a story from his holy lessons, but Satis is not following.
Roll for sleep — both pass! And no random encounters in the night.
They both sleep deeply with full stomachs and the warmth of the fire.
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I’ll have a post soon talking about my thoughts regarding populating hexes. I’m not happy with how sparse my map is right now...↩
This test was to see if Satis could get a +1 modifier to her next reaction roll, but because she fails, I roleplay the animals getting more worried, then apply a -1 modifier to the next reaction roll.↩
This spell, which I’m running through Whitehack’s more interpretive magic system, is Dolmenwood’s version of classic D&D sleep. At this time, I mistakenly believe it can only be cast around Satis, but the Dolmenwood rules actually allow it to be cast up to 240’ away.↩
Yegril are listed as not being very aggressive. Because Satis hasn’t actually tried to hurt or attack any of them yet, I rule that they flee rather than trample her here.↩
Because Satis wasn’t able to get close enough, I didn’t want her spell to have access to the full herd. I decided 2 seemed like a fair number for her to have drawn close enough to (though I now know she could have just cast the spell from a distance).↩