Yora
2013-08-05, 11:25 AM
I have to admit I never worked with hex maps, but it seems a rather useful approach to get a map where you can estimate overland travel times simply by counting hexes. I also like to try out slight corrections with shorelines and mountain placement, and using a hex map editor is much more convenient to work with than doing freehand drawings.
Now I know a bit about geography and that the reading and especially making of maps is both a science and an art. And there are also some old-school gamers out there who have been making very elaborate hex-maps for decades.
So now that I want to make a hex based map for the world map of my setting, I want to learn more about the important considerations when picking the scale of the map and things like that, before I start working for some hours and only then notice I have to start all over again because I'd like to use another scale.
In case it matters, I want the "world" map to be about 4000x4000 km in size (actually just part of a continent), though I think for flavor reasons, I will actually go with miles. Also, it's primarily for Pathfinder and that game handles overland travel in miles as well.
In Pathfinder, a human carrying a medium load, a halfling carrying a light load, and a horse-pulled cart all can make 16 miles in 8 hours on roads and open plains, so I would say a hex on the world map should probably be some multiple of 16 miles.
But I will also probably make some "local" maps for just a single domain or valey in which each hex represents a smaller distance, and I think it would be convenient if each global hex could be devided into local hexes. 2 miles would be a practical distance to measure travel in one hour, but does that even work? To make a large hex out of smaller hexes, don't the smaller hexes have to be an uneven number like 5 or 7?
Well, you see what things I am dealing with, and if you have experiences with hey maps, you probably even understand what I am talking about. :smallbiggrin:
Are there any pieces of advice you could give me on chosing the scale for a hex map?
Now I know a bit about geography and that the reading and especially making of maps is both a science and an art. And there are also some old-school gamers out there who have been making very elaborate hex-maps for decades.
So now that I want to make a hex based map for the world map of my setting, I want to learn more about the important considerations when picking the scale of the map and things like that, before I start working for some hours and only then notice I have to start all over again because I'd like to use another scale.
In case it matters, I want the "world" map to be about 4000x4000 km in size (actually just part of a continent), though I think for flavor reasons, I will actually go with miles. Also, it's primarily for Pathfinder and that game handles overland travel in miles as well.
In Pathfinder, a human carrying a medium load, a halfling carrying a light load, and a horse-pulled cart all can make 16 miles in 8 hours on roads and open plains, so I would say a hex on the world map should probably be some multiple of 16 miles.
But I will also probably make some "local" maps for just a single domain or valey in which each hex represents a smaller distance, and I think it would be convenient if each global hex could be devided into local hexes. 2 miles would be a practical distance to measure travel in one hour, but does that even work? To make a large hex out of smaller hexes, don't the smaller hexes have to be an uneven number like 5 or 7?
Well, you see what things I am dealing with, and if you have experiences with hey maps, you probably even understand what I am talking about. :smallbiggrin:
Are there any pieces of advice you could give me on chosing the scale for a hex map?