Frontier Trail Hexcrawl

 

So ppl liked my apocalypse table last post so here is something to use for a fantasy rpg. I would use in poorly prepped borderlands with monsters, nonhumans and barbarian raider camps. Civilised settlers come despite the risk often because they are hated in old country or heretics. It's a fantasy frontier but history will help you get ideas.

You could use to wing it and generate stuff on the fly and not bother with a whole campaign world. Place a start town on a map a dungeon or several then assign a scale and set of generating detail as it happens. It can be fun and I even let players roll some of these dice and sometimes their ideas are incorporated. Over a few years, you get a micro detailed world where players are invested.  

Frontier Notes
-multicultural common here compared to settled places. Not only folk from over frontier but other peoples from far away might come as settlers to build their own life from scratch rather than the hegemonic cities. Demihumans more common here often privileged crafters while humanoids like goblins and orcs are seen performing dirtier work and are more often slaves
-slavery might be illegal and frowned on by lawful good church back home, but here slavery or dishonest contract labour is common. Slaver guilds might buy captured humanoids from players or the party could destroy the industry earning praise and hatred from various factions
-easy to get land grants with the obligation to aid king and high ranking servants of the king
-estates, villages and property sold often due to hardship
-prices can swing wildly basic food and services change as piles of coin are brought in by adventurers. Merchant companies manage trade and banking and invest in civilisation
-local law and leaders vary in how unpleasant they are
-church leaders sent here are not the best they are the scummiest. Some alignment variations abnormal in church. Some might be more intolerant others might be perverts. Some are the real local leaders
-murder hobos are more common and might be common foes. Deeds to a dungeon can be bought from local noble and allows you to strip all goods from adventurers in your claim
-loners common including prospectors, banditry, hermits, trappers might take on other work
-lumberers, miners, farmers, cattlemen, friendly tribes all common out here
-fighting types including military, sheriffs, mercenaries, criminals, barbarians, tribal warriors are common
-adventurers get lots of work here. There is lots of trouble, ruins and subversive occultists. Many take on the trade by luck while between jobs
-dungeons from ancient civilisations are common, many were connected to the underland labyrinth. Many tribes of humanoids and other races occupy them. Some are full of vermin. Some are haunted or cursed. There is a dungeon or ruin every mile or so, the tribals know them best

Ancient Wastes - 1in6 chance or feature per day
Harsh Wilderness - one feature per day
Settled Badlands - d3 features per day 
Faction Territory - d4 features per day

Ancient Wasteland
Always was barren and isolated 

d12 Terrain (roll or pick)
1-4 Red sandy desert
5-8 Yellow sandy desert
9 Grey sandy desert
10-11 Stony desert
12 Scrubby desert

d12 Features (roll or pick)
1 Caravan of traders from a distant land with guards camped at a waterhole
2 Nomads clan camp if impresses offer hospitality at a waterhole
3 Dried up waterhole and empty campsite with trails made by natives or animals
4 Waterhole with wild herd animals and predators
5 Tribal holy place 1in4 occupied by tribal folk
6 Trading post with exotic traders of many species 
7 An ancient dungeon entrance
8 Caves where monsters and bandits live 
9 Lots of bones 1in6 are ancient fabulous beasts
10 Ancient graveyard with d6 tombs, undead live here 
11 Remains of an ancient battle haunted by night
12 Ancient ruin d4 1=temple 2=fort 3=town 4=palace

d12 Encounter
1 Giant spider or scorpion
2 Chaos barbarian berserker 1in6 mutants
3 Giant lizard
4 Ankheg
5 Lions or wolves
6 Aggressive herbivore herd
7 Tribal hunters
8 Nomad war band
9 Orc raiders
10 Harpy
11 Manticore
12 Wyvern

Harsh Wilderness
Areas where civilisation struggle to expand into

d12 Terrain (roll or pick)
1-4 Grasslands with gentle hills
5-7 Thick dark forest 
8-10 Rocky hill woodlands
10 Broken rocky barren ground
11 Sunken marshy forest
12 Swamps and wetlands

d12 Features (roll or pick)
1 Isolated settlers with cabins who shun wicked civilisation
2 Tribal village of huts with a cave complex
3 Fortified barbarian clan village 
4 Lake or river 1in4 with a settlement near
5 Tribal holy place 1in4 occupied by tribal folk
6 Old mine 1in4 still worked by prospectors or nonhumans 
7 An ancient dungeon entrance d4 1=murder hobo claim 2=vermin 3=humanoids 4=haunted
8 Caves where monsters and bandits live 
9 Abandoned settler homes or village now animals or monsters live here
10 Ancient graveyard with d6 tombs, undead live here 
11 Ancient shack d4 1=witch 2=fugitive 3=hunter 4=hermit 
12 Ancient ruin d4 1=temple 2=fort 3=town 4=palace

d12 Encounter
1 Murder hobo adventurers
2 Traveling labourers
3 Farmer settlers with wagons
4 Tribal hunters
5 Barbarians warriors
6 Aggressive herbivore herd
7 Goblinoids or other humanoids
8 Nomad or orc raiders
9 Explorers heading to map area better
10 Hill giant or band of ogres
11 Griffon
12 Dragon or drake

Settled Badlands
Always was barren and isolated 

d12 Terrain (roll or pick)
1-4 Rocky hills and misty moors
5-8 Grassy plains with streams
9-10 River or coastal or lakes
11 Wetlands
12 Canyons, cliffs, mesas and buttes

d12 Features (roll or pick)
1 Log stockade fort d4 1=army 2=humanoids 3=bandits 4=barbarians
2 Walled village related to major region faction
3 Mining or lumber camp with dozens off shacks
4 Goblin market where humanoids trade strange goods
5 Secret cultist temple complex possibly connected to caves or a dungeon
6 Demihuman hidden enclave 
7 An ancient dungeon entrance d4 1=murder hobo claim 2=vermin 3=humanoids 4=haunted
8 Caves where monsters and bandits live 
9 Famous monster lair 
10 Ancient graveyard with d6 tombs, undead live here 
11 Ancient shack d4 1=witch 2=fugitive 3=hunter 4=hermit 
12 Ancient ruin d4 1=temple 2=fort 3=town 4=palace

d12 Encounter
1 Sherrif and militia hunting fugitive or enemies
2 Slavers travelling to market with livestock
3 Nomad or orc raiders
4 Tribal hunters
5 Barbarian mercenaries
6 Knight and entourage 
7 Merchant caravan
8 Settlers or farmers
9 Werewolf
10 Peryton
11 Dungeon raiding band led by d4 1=orc hero 2=wizard 3=cult leader 4=priest of darkness
12 Dragon

Faction Territory
Proper lawful domain 

d12 Terrain (roll or pick)
1-4 Grassy plains of pastures and meadows with sheep and cattle
5-8 Farmlands of grain and farm houses
9-10 Wetlands with coast, streams, river or lake
11 Luscious gardens and cottages
12 Developed around a sprawling urban centre

d12 Features (roll or pick)
1 Cluster of homesteads scattered everywhere
2 Several villages linked by roads each with a d4 pubs
3 Cathedral and local holy wonder of the most popular faith
4 Watchtower with rulers soldiers inside
5 Secret cultist temple complex possibly connected to caves or a dungeon
6 Secret tunnel complex used by evil and criminal factions 
7 Secret dungeon d4 1=cultists 2=bad wizard 3=non humans 4=monsters 
8 Caves where monsters and bandits live 
9 Famous monster lair 
10 Ancient graveyard with d6 tombs, undead live here 
11 Ancient shack d4 1=witch 2=fugitive 3=hunter 4=hermit 
12 Ancient ruin d4 1=temple 2=fort 3=town 4=palace

d12 Encounter
1 Knight and entourage wants joust or chance to fight
2 Merchants travelling happily to trade
3 Marching squads of soldiers
4 Bandits 1in4 are robber knights with bloodlines
5 Cultists seeking victims or sacrificing a victim
6 Bailiff taking caged prisoners to court 
7 Farmers travelling to the market
8 Settlers on way to the frontier
9 Giant rat swarm
10 Wolves 1in6 led by a werewolf
11 Evil wizard sorcerer and priest with warband 
12 Elemental or demon summoned by a wizard