Hexcrawl: Worldbuilding Design Guidebook
Hexcrawl: Worldbuilding Design Guidebook by Matthijs Holter (KR1 Publishing) is a system-agnostic GM handbook for generating interconnected wilderness regions in about ninety minutes.
- Game system
- Any system / system-agnostic
- Product type
- Setting Guides
- Language
- English
Product overview
Built around a structured six-step build process, the book ensures every hex connects causally to neighboring areas. It provides tools for terrain barriers, chokepoints, terrain-derived settlement cultures, physical faction traces, ruin ecology, printable generator cards, and includes the complete worked region 'The Greymire'.
Six-Step Build Procedure and Interconnected Design
The guidebook outlines a six-step methodology enabling GMs to assemble a fully keyed 30+ hex region in roughly ninety minutes. Every hex is designed to feature direct causal links to surrounding territory, ensuring players uncover clues, physical faction traces, and environmental history through natural exploration.
Terrain Cultures, Ruin Ecology, and The Greymire
The text details how geography shapes local settlements, establishes four distinct outsider stances, and structures dungeon ruins using fact/clue/mystery frameworks. It includes printable design cards and 'The Greymire', a fully worked example region ready for session one.
Ideas for your table
- Game Masters can use the six-step build process during prep to generate a complete wilderness province between campaign story arcs.
- The fact/clue/mystery ruin framework can be applied to existing published dungeon modules to enrich their investigative depth.
Questions & answers
Can this worldbuilding guide be used with any tabletop RPG system?
Yes, it is entirely system-agnostic and functions smoothly with Shadowdark, OSR games, D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, and other fantasy rulesets.
Where can the digital and print versions be found?
GMCraft provides the product overview; official PDF downloads and physical softcover books are available directly on DriveThruRPG.