Hexplorations: Logging Camp
We just did a Hexploration for mines, so it seems a logging camp should be the next subject 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 (except the last two–for these roll a d6 to determine which column to use, then roll for that column), look at the options for inspiration, or use a combination of the two approaches.
Here is an example based on 3-3-5-4-6: We’ve got a camp that has seen a few years. It is 6 small cabins with a mess hall and new this year is a blacksmith. (It is growing a bit.) A typical threat is a pack of goblins that try to raid the forest, but the lumberjacks can handle that. But early this season a shambling mound moved through and spooked the camp. [The “4” tells us this area only has a “normal” secret, and that is #6:] A unicorn protects the forest, but came to an agreement with the lumberjacks that as long as they only take older trees and plant two for every one they take, the unicorn allows it.
Based on those rolls, we have a few things to explain or connect:
- The shambling mound might be a good way to involve the PCs. While the lumberjacks can handle a few goblins, for a shambling mound the camp’s owners or foremen might put a call out for rougher-types.
- To satisfy the unicorn, while the lumberjacks come in the winter to fell trees, a few stay late until early spring to plant.
Again, hopefully the above shows you how the drop of a few dice on a chart can lead to a compelling location in your world!
| d6 | Age & Size | Typical Threat | Unusual Threat | Secret (1-4) | Darker Secret (5-6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just built; one large bunkhouse (sleeps 40+) and a mess hall. | Fire | Barbarians | A lumberjack died in an “accident” but it was actually something much worse. The foremen are hiding the true cause. | The lumberjacks have gotten just close enough to catch a treant’s notice… |
| 2 | Just built; 4-5 small cabins (each sleeps 8-10) and a mess hall. | Giant Insects & Spiders | Barghest | A group of centaur hunt in the more remote parts of the forest. They won’t appreciate the lumberjacks expanding. | The next section the lumberjacks plan to clear is over an ancient battleground that is now haunted. |
| 3 | 1d6 years old; 6-8 small cabins (each sleeps 8-10), a mess hall, and blacksmith. | Goblins, Orcs, etc. | Ettercap | A particular great tree is a gateway to a forest fey realm. | A sinkhole in the forest drops careless wanderers into a lost world complete with dinosaurs, primitive humanoids, and perhaps a village of fellow lost travelers. |
| 4 | 1d6 years old; 6-8 small cabins (each sleeps 8-10), a mess hall, blacksmith, and office. | Large predatory animals: bear, boar, wolves, crocodile, etc. | Owlbear | The lumberjacks have spotted a cryptid (sasquatch, loch ness monster, etc.) but haven’t approached it. | A little further into the forest are the ruins of a lost city. What destroyed it? |
| 5 | 10d6 years old; 10-15 small cabins (each sleeps 8-10), a mess hall, blacksmith, and office. (Reused every 10-20 years as the trees re-grow.) | Strange Plants & Fungi (Assasssin Vine, Violet Fungus, etc.) | Shambling Mound | A pack of trickster fey harass visitors to the camp. The lumberjacks know about them and “give as good as they get” in good fun. | A clearing with several standing stones was the location of dark rituals generations ago. The cult died out, but something has been calling the lumberjacks. Late at night a few slip out there. |
| 6 | 10d6 years old; one large bunkhouse (sleeps 40+), 6-8 small cabins (each sleeps 8-10), a mess hall, blacksmith, and office. (Reused every 10-20 years as the trees re-grow.) | Vermin (bats, rats, snakes, etc.) | Young Dragon | A Unicorn protects the forest. It accepts the lumberjacks as long as they plant two trees for each they take. | A forest cave leads to a forgotten underground realm. |
