Forgotten Realms Hex Grid Overlay

Dear Friends,

I have recently decided to include map exploration system to my Forgotten Realms campaign. To my great surprise it turned out that the Grey Box I possess (I can't honestly say own as it is borrowed for an unlimited term) lacks the fantastic hex grid overlay sheets that would be so handy for that purpose. As it is not a popular product and as such is not commonly available I thought - let's make one. There surely must be a good template on the web. Surprise again! I could not find a single remark on the web about the actual template of the original hex grid overlay.
Fortunately, the authors of the box were kind enough to give some general indications of the scale. And as it is said in the "Running the Realms" manual that on "1 inch = 30 miles" map 5 hexes equal 1 inch, thus 1 hex equals 6 miles. Splendid. Now we should calculate a proper hex grid scale so that a flat-to-flat hex distance (or height) is equal 1/5 of an inch.
I will spare you the details of my laborious calculations, but thanks to an online hex generator Incompetech ,which I gladly present here, I was able to get the desired result.

But what now? You can print it on paper, but it will hardly do as a transparent plastic overlay now, will it?
"That's where some studio engineering comes in handy my hard-rocking amigos!"
You will need:

• A4 plastic sheet from your local graphic arts store
• A black alcohol marker, one that writes on CD's & DVD's
• some scotch tape

stick your hex grid printout with the scotch tape to the plastic sheet, so that you can see the hexes through the plastic. Now trace all hexes' sides with your marker. The hex printout serves as a pattern so that you can draw your hex grid flawlessly. Voila!

The milage controversy

Now, since I reviewed the map exploration system for Forgotten Realms 2E I noticed that the 1 hex = 6 miles scale is slightly flawed. In a nutshell, it implicates, that during a day of walking over a clear land, a man can cross a distance of 12 miles, while the PHB2E clearly states it should be 24 miles. 

In Forgotten Realms 24 miles can be done only while using roads. I dare to disagree. I am used to cross country walking and there isn't much difference between walking on a dirt road and meadows or fields. Not twice the difference at least. So as an experiment I suggest you could use a different scale hex grid.

1 inch = 10 miles or in other words 3 hexes per 1 inch

This brings some improvement to the scaling and distance crossing. See for yourself.

For your convenience I provide both hex grids templates: original hex (5 hexes per 1 inch) and bigger hex (3 hexes per 1 inch).

Available at the Bibliotheca. Enjoy and good travelling!

Chase / Pursuit System

Dear Visitors,

Your host is back from the depths of role-playing abyss. After the successful expedition to the motherland of all role-playing goodness I have been involved in extensive testing of the AD&D2.1E and some side-projects that did not leave much time for writing.
However I have learned and discovered a lot. And I am ready to share my observations with you, Dear Guests.

And so, quite recently while running a classic AD&D2E Forgotten Realms module "Doom of Daggerdale" I have come across an interesting problem. How to adjudicate pursuit course and success in game environment. The DMG2E and PHB2E state merely, that an individual (or party) who possesses faster Movement Rate outruns the  slower individual (or party). If the Movement rate is equal - roll d10 and the higher roll wins. Simple? No! Simplistic? By all means.

Well, it will not work for me though. So I turned to the WWW brethren for a hint or any convenient solution.
Bear in mind, that the requirement was that any "new" rules need to integrate with the core mechanics seamlessly. So, following some very good ideas provided for D&D3.0 by mxyzplk of Geek Related I started off with this idea and translated it to the 2E language and mindset.

Chase / Pursuit Track

The chase is divided into stages or steps that together form a Chase Track. First the DM determines at which stage does the chase start. The stages reflect the distance (in game terms) between the pursuing and pursued Party. Then every round a roll determines whether the stage (distance) advances or regresses.

Chase Track	Range
Close contact	Melee or Overbear
Point Blank	Short/Blank
Short	Short
Medium	Medium
Long	Long
Outrun!	End of chase

Chase and Escape roll

The Pursuing Party's roll is called a Chase Roll.

The Pursued Party's roll is called an Escape Roll.

Both Parties roll a d10 and add the modifiers from the below table to see the final result.

Factor	Modifier
MOV rate difference	+1/each 3 pts
Familiar terrain	+2
Adaptation to terrain	+2
Encumbrance	as per PHB2E
Exceptional Agility	+1
Add. Skills (e.g. acrobatics)	+1

If Escape Roll is 2+ points higher than Chase Roll = Chase Track progresses by 1 step for each 2 points of difference between rolls (distance increases)

If Chase Roll is 2+ points higher than Escape Roll = Chase Track regresses by 1 step for each 2 points of difference between rolls(distance decreases)

If roll results are equal or differ by 1 point only the Chase Track stage does not change.

Obstacles & Stamina

The DM might add obstacles during the chase and influence the pursuit results by adding Dexterity checks. Because there might be various obstacles depending on the environment I believe it is best to leave it to the DM's discretion. Failed Dex check might either end the chase or bring extra penalties to the rolls.

Also, in case of long distance pursuits Constitution check should be made for all Parties involved to see whether thehy can keep up with the chase. Use sprint modifiers from PHB2E. If the Party fails its Consitution check the chase is over.

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I hope you enjoy some dynamic and exciting pursuits using this system.

Should anyone have any comments I am eager to consider and adjust the system if need be.