Pointcrawls

Pointcrawls are a way of displaying potential points of interest on a map, including their entrances, exits, and connecting paths. Unlike hexcrawls which provide omnidirectional paths by default, pointcrawls provide a set number of focused routes between locations. This approach abstracts some of the elements common to wilderness exploration, while maintaining the more interesting tidbits.

Although the standard setting generation procedures in this book assume a pointcrawl by default, most old school adventures do not. Some are hex maps that vary in length, while others simply indicate distances using miles. Fortunately it’s fairly simple to convert almost any map into a pointcrawl.

Converting a Map

The following method relies heavily on the Wilderness Exploration procedures in the Cairn 2e Player’s Guide.

• Number any potential points of interest on the map.
• Identify potential routes between each point, noting obvious roads, trails, and waterways. Indicate any sites that lack connecting routes to other points.
• Indicate the rough travel time (in days) between any two points, accounting for the party’s speed, terrain, weather, and other elements of play that might affect the journey.

Example

The travel times between each point were determined as follows (assuming that the party is travelling by foot):

• The journey between points 1 to 2 is 6 watches:
  • Add two watches for the medium path distance.
  • Add one watch for the trail through the mountains and forests.
  • Add two watches for the Perilous mountain terrain, and 1 watch for the forest.
• The journey between 2 and 3 takes 4 watches:
  • Add one watch for the short path distance.
  • Add one watch for the trail through the mountains.
  • Add two watches for the Perilous mountain terrain.
• The journey between 2 and 4 takes three watches:
  • Add two watches for the medium path distance.
  • No penalty for traveling on a maintained road.
  • Add one watch for the Tough forest terrain.
• The journey between 4 and 5 takes four watches:
  • Add one watch for the short path distance.
  • Add one watch for the trail through the swamp.
  • Add two watches for the Perilous swamp terrain.
• The journey between 4 and 6 takes 3 watches:
  • Add one watch for the short path distance.
  • Add one watch for the trail through the forest.
  • Add one watch for the Tough forest terrain.
• The journey to 7 from any other point should be at least 5 watches:
  • Add two watches for the medium path distance.
  • Add two watches for traveling through the wilderness.
  • Add one watch for the Tough forest terrain.