I’m currently practising drawing overland maps, and I really enjoy hex maps.
Hex maps provide structure when writing adventures. I can concentrate on one hex each at a time, making the effort feel less overwhelming (this goes for when I’m drawing them as well, I can draw one or two hexes, and then give myself a break before coming back to it).
I also enjoy running hexcrawls as DM. It’s just a nice feeling to let the players and their characters loose in a giant sandbox, and see what they come up with. Such campaigns are never boring, and the play style challenges the game master to improvise! One of my favorite campaigns is arguably one giant hexcrawl, Paizo’s Kingmaker for Pathfinder RPG. I ran that bad boy from beginning to end, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had as a Dungeon Master.
Finally, hex maps really has a special gaming aesthetics to them. It’s not just a fantasy (or sci-fi) map – it’s most definitely a gaming accessory, and I love gaming accessories.
Hope you enjoy this one. I tried to catch the feel of a windy, harsh Brittish coastline – perfect for wreckers, pirates and adventurers. Glynn Seal and his Midderlands setting currently bringin me a lot of inspiration. It’s set in a corny, creepy and funny fantasy England, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Anyway, let me know what you think of the map!