Hexplorations: Frontier Fort

A frontier fort is the subject of the latest in our series of Hexplorations! These charts help detail many locations you may encounter in a hex crawl or while developing your world. To use this chart simply roll for each column, look at the options for inspiration, or use a combination of the two approaches.

Fort by The Forge Studios/Maciej Zagorski
Fort by The Forge Studios/Maciej Zagorski

Here is an example based on 3-3-5-3-4-6: We have a fort that is in good condition despite being a few decades old which was built as a place to train soldiers.  The walls and most buildings are wooden. It has 40 soldiers and 10 officers. There is a medium sized barracks for every 20 soldiers (so there will be 2 or maybe three because the officers staying with their troops), a commander’s office, and a smith. The commander there has taken some improper liberties that the captains are using to gain advantage.

From all of that, some questions arise such as:

  • Why are there so few troops?  Is it a small outpost?  Has there been a recent battle so the numbers are low?  Perhaps many troops are on their way to a battle?  If either of the last two ideas is true, the fort may have many more buildings.
  • What has the captain been doing?  Is it something that puts the fort at risk?

Those answers depend on your campaign setting and what inspires you!

d6 Age Materials Purpose Forces Buildings Secret
1 Under construction No wall, built on a small butte or similarly defensible spot, most buildings are wooden Defend against rival nation Abandoned or soldiers were recently slain… what is here instead? Soldiers in Tents for 5-6 men, 1 Smith/100 soldiers, Mess Tent Enemies are digging a tunnel to the fort’s main well in attempt to poison it.
2 Newly built Earthen mounds surround the camp with a handful of wooden towers, all buildings are wooden Defend against bandits d6x10 soldiers & d6 officers Soldiers in large Tents for 25 men each, buildings for Mess Hall, Officers Quarters, Commander’s Office, 1 Smith /100 soldiers An officer is being blackmailed. He is set to let a group of mercenaries into the camp at night soon.
3 A few decades old, but well maintained Wooden walls, towers, and most buildings Defend a pass or critical road 6d6x10 soldiers & d6x5 officers Half of soldiers in Barracks (1/20 soldiers), half in Tents, 1 Smith/100 soldiers, Mess Hall A new building has gone up quickly–they are building something unique or found something they are excavating.
4 Several decades old, neglected Wooden outer walls, except stone towers, most buildings are wooden Exploratory Base d6x100 soldiers & d6x10 officers 1 Small Barracks/20 soldiers, Commander’s Office, 1 Smith/50 soldiers A fringe religion has taken root among one unit of soldiers.
5 Many years old but well maintained Mortared stone outer walls, most buildings are wooden Soldier training 6d6x100 soldiers & d6x10 officers 1 Medium Barracks/25 soldiers, Commander’s Office, Mess Hall, 1 Smith/50 soldiers A group transporting a priceless & powerful artifact just stayed at the fort overnight a few days ago.
6 Many years old and in poor condition Mortared stone outer walls, towers and most buildings Original purpose no longer applies, roll again to determine what it was d6x1000 soldiers & d6x100 officers 1 Large Barracks/50 soldiers, Commander’s Office, Mess Hall, 1 Smith/100 soldiers, Training Hall The commander has taken several improper liberties. Some captains are taking advantage of him.