Its a possibility. But right now there havent been any problems. We are now several sessions in, and my players have only entered 7-8 hexes. They have been focused on the quests they get rather than exploration. It does make them progress significantly faster through the early levels. But that isnt the weakness you might be thinking it is.
There are 200 hexes in Dolmenwood. 500 XP per hex entered is about 100,000 XP. A Thief must have 870,000 XP to reach max level. "Clearing" a hex only grants an additional 500 XP bringing them less than a quarter of the way there, if the clear every hex on the map.
So how long would it take for them to clear every hex on the map? Assuming no faction play, no outside meddelling, fairy shennanigance etc. It will probably average one hex per night of play. Assuming a weekly game, that is 4 years of play for a thief to be level 10... They won't even have a quarter of what they need for max level.
My game isnt likely to go that long. Either my players will get bored, or I will, or life will come up. I'm willing to speed my players through the most fragile levels so they can get to fight some bad guys and really invest in "changing the wood forever." In fact, once the group reaches level 5, I'm probably going to make it the new floor for their characters. If someone dies, their next character starts at level 5 rather than one.
Now, all of that said, a party clearing hexes is likely to wind up with a certain amount of treasure. Treasure XP is split. So is Monster XP. So between everything exploring each hex likely will get that thief to max level, but I'm still not worried about it, because my players just won't stick around that long more than likely.
What is the longest running campaign your group has run? As a player, mine is 32, and as a GM it's 17. Most games aren't 3D6 Down the Line or Critical Role. Long multi year campaigns arent the norm. Most games are lucky if they get 5-6 sessions before falling apart. I'll take what I can get.
It makes perfectly sense, thank you. I guess I had forgotten how many XP the higher levels need and how huge Dolmenwood is. It's a long time since I ran OSE or any other retroclone.
the idea of creating a level 5 floor also makes sense to me. Characters get way more interesting and powerful at that level.
It's true what you say about long-term campaigns although I am in the lucky position that my average campains run for 3 years looking back from today back to 23 years ago, where it all started for me.
In your specific circumstance, I might adjust things down to 250 for entering a hex and then following the guide for Mighty deeds in the campaign book on page 107 for clearing a hex.
Generally speaking, Gavin's systems will be better than mine. I've just got a group that isnt used to Old School gameplay, and this isn't their hobby like it is mine. If I were playing with gamers that devoured the rulebooks and knew what all their stuff did, I'd be pushing more for rules as written rather than adjusting things.
Yeah, Dolmenwood is massive, about the size of New Jersey in square miles.
I only prepare what I know or suspect I will need. Initially I prepped for Castle Brackenwold and the journey to Droomen Knoll. I rolled up a single encounter that I didnt need to use. If a random encounter came up mid game, I either use something from the hex, or pretend they didnt roll an encounter. It depends.
I was familiar with the rules from OSE and they largely translate 1:1, so it wasn't that big of a deal learning them on my end. I reread areas that I know I will need before the game. Ie, if I know I'll need crookhorns in hex 1605, I'll reread that hex and the Crookhorns page.
I didnt tell my players almost anything. They knew the general vibe, and that was about it.
Game scope is going to boil down to what I see my players gravitating too. There are a lot of problems in the wood, and Aithan can guide them towards several of them. Whichever they party looks towards most often will wind up being what the campaign is about. How long that takes? I have no idea. Right now my players haven't even fully explored a hex and we are 7 sessions in. I'll go until either I am no longer having fun, my players find a good point at which to send off, or we can't play any more due to real life getting in the way.
Okay, cool, thank you! Two more questions, though, if I may:
I can totally see why you would want to give XP for exploration. I think it's a great idea, actually. 500XP for exploring a hex seems like a good amount. But why 500 XP for everyone instead of dividing it per character? Don't you think you'll see a too fast progression? Of course, it's up to personal taste and how long you want the campaign to last. Still, I'm curious what you're thinking about this.
Second question: I'm personally not sure if the idea of "clearing a hex" works well. Not only offer some hexes way more plotlines and secrets than others, but it could lead to a style of play where the players try to do as much as they can in a hex just because they want the XP. Wouldn't it foster exploration and advance the story better if you awarded XP for solved challanges, plots, and quests, instead of cleared hexes?
- How much did you prepare? Thetr are so many creatures, NPCs, hexes, quests, tables, etc. in Dolmenwood, but also rules.. Did you read everything before the campaign?
- How much of that did you memorize? If you roll a random encounter wirh a person X from faction Y and location Z, will you know how to use them or do you have to re-read much?
- How much did you tell your players about Dolmenwood?
- What's the scope of your campaign? As long as you're having fun or will you follow one of the plotlines in the book?
Its a possibility. But right now there havent been any problems. We are now several sessions in, and my players have only entered 7-8 hexes. They have been focused on the quests they get rather than exploration. It does make them progress significantly faster through the early levels. But that isnt the weakness you might be thinking it is.
There are 200 hexes in Dolmenwood. 500 XP per hex entered is about 100,000 XP. A Thief must have 870,000 XP to reach max level. "Clearing" a hex only grants an additional 500 XP bringing them less than a quarter of the way there, if the clear every hex on the map.
So how long would it take for them to clear every hex on the map? Assuming no faction play, no outside meddelling, fairy shennanigance etc. It will probably average one hex per night of play. Assuming a weekly game, that is 4 years of play for a thief to be level 10... They won't even have a quarter of what they need for max level.
My game isnt likely to go that long. Either my players will get bored, or I will, or life will come up. I'm willing to speed my players through the most fragile levels so they can get to fight some bad guys and really invest in "changing the wood forever." In fact, once the group reaches level 5, I'm probably going to make it the new floor for their characters. If someone dies, their next character starts at level 5 rather than one.
Now, all of that said, a party clearing hexes is likely to wind up with a certain amount of treasure. Treasure XP is split. So is Monster XP. So between everything exploring each hex likely will get that thief to max level, but I'm still not worried about it, because my players just won't stick around that long more than likely.
What is the longest running campaign your group has run? As a player, mine is 32, and as a GM it's 17. Most games aren't 3D6 Down the Line or Critical Role. Long multi year campaigns arent the norm. Most games are lucky if they get 5-6 sessions before falling apart. I'll take what I can get.
Does that make sense?
It makes perfectly sense, thank you. I guess I had forgotten how many XP the higher levels need and how huge Dolmenwood is. It's a long time since I ran OSE or any other retroclone.
the idea of creating a level 5 floor also makes sense to me. Characters get way more interesting and powerful at that level.
It's true what you say about long-term campaigns although I am in the lucky position that my average campains run for 3 years looking back from today back to 23 years ago, where it all started for me.
That is awesome! You should be proud of that!
In your specific circumstance, I might adjust things down to 250 for entering a hex and then following the guide for Mighty deeds in the campaign book on page 107 for clearing a hex.
Generally speaking, Gavin's systems will be better than mine. I've just got a group that isnt used to Old School gameplay, and this isn't their hobby like it is mine. If I were playing with gamers that devoured the rulebooks and knew what all their stuff did, I'd be pushing more for rules as written rather than adjusting things.
Yeah, Dolmenwood is massive, about the size of New Jersey in square miles.
I only prepare what I know or suspect I will need. Initially I prepped for Castle Brackenwold and the journey to Droomen Knoll. I rolled up a single encounter that I didnt need to use. If a random encounter came up mid game, I either use something from the hex, or pretend they didnt roll an encounter. It depends.
I was familiar with the rules from OSE and they largely translate 1:1, so it wasn't that big of a deal learning them on my end. I reread areas that I know I will need before the game. Ie, if I know I'll need crookhorns in hex 1605, I'll reread that hex and the Crookhorns page.
I didnt tell my players almost anything. They knew the general vibe, and that was about it.
Game scope is going to boil down to what I see my players gravitating too. There are a lot of problems in the wood, and Aithan can guide them towards several of them. Whichever they party looks towards most often will wind up being what the campaign is about. How long that takes? I have no idea. Right now my players haven't even fully explored a hex and we are 7 sessions in. I'll go until either I am no longer having fun, my players find a good point at which to send off, or we can't play any more due to real life getting in the way.
Okay, cool, thank you! Two more questions, though, if I may:
I can totally see why you would want to give XP for exploration. I think it's a great idea, actually. 500XP for exploring a hex seems like a good amount. But why 500 XP for everyone instead of dividing it per character? Don't you think you'll see a too fast progression? Of course, it's up to personal taste and how long you want the campaign to last. Still, I'm curious what you're thinking about this.
Second question: I'm personally not sure if the idea of "clearing a hex" works well. Not only offer some hexes way more plotlines and secrets than others, but it could lead to a style of play where the players try to do as much as they can in a hex just because they want the XP. Wouldn't it foster exploration and advance the story better if you awarded XP for solved challanges, plots, and quests, instead of cleared hexes?
I dont know why but my comments keep getting dropped in the general comment section. Rather than replying to you. Here's a link to the comment.
https://eldritchexarchpress.substack.com/p/beneath-the-boughs-chapter-one/comment/114949444?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=49zgid
Great summary! I have questions:
- How much did you prepare? Thetr are so many creatures, NPCs, hexes, quests, tables, etc. in Dolmenwood, but also rules.. Did you read everything before the campaign?
- How much of that did you memorize? If you roll a random encounter wirh a person X from faction Y and location Z, will you know how to use them or do you have to re-read much?
- How much did you tell your players about Dolmenwood?
- What's the scope of your campaign? As long as you're having fun or will you follow one of the plotlines in the book?
Great write up and explaining the changes you made to the rules.
Thank you! I worked very hard on it.
You're welcome.