After determining which hex the PCs are starting in, the GM will use these mechanics (and the decisions the players make) to track their movement.

Travel mechanics determine how far the PCs can move and where they move while traveling overland.

Using the numbered references, some or all of the hexes are keyed with locations and/or encounters. Additional features like settlements, dungeons, rivers, roads, and polities are also often shown on the map. In general, the terrain of the hex is given as a visual reference and the hex is numbered (either directly or by a gridded cross-reference). РІР‚СљTrueРІР‚Сњ hexcrawls, however, share four common features. Hexcrawls are only one way of running wilderness travel (see Thinking About Wilderness Travel for some other options) and there are actually many different varieties of hexcrawls and schools of thought on how they should be designed or run. The format has returned to prominence in recent years through releases like the Kingmaker campaign for Pathfinder and Tomb of Annihilation for D&D 5 th Edition. It wasnРІР‚в„ўt until Necromancer Games brought the Wilderlands back into print and Ben RobbinsРІР‚в„ў West Marches campaign went viral that people started to rediscover the lost art of the hexcrawl. ThatРІР‚в„ўs when the 2 nd Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons removed hexcrawling procedures from the rulebooks entirely.

By 1989 there were only a few vestigial hex maps cropping up in products and none of them were actually designed for hexcrawl play. Although it was initially a core component of the D&D experience, the hexcrawl slowly faded away.

The hexcrawl is a game structure for running wilderness exploration scenarios.

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