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Thread: Looking for online hex maps for fantasy buildings

  1. #1
    AGLAR Guest

    Looking for online hex maps for fantasy buildings

    Anyone know a good site for hex maps (preferably done on Hero scale) for typical fantasy buildings?

    Not looking for castles, more interested in typical village buildings like inns, bars, small houses, barns, shops, etc.

    I am trying to help a newbie to the hero system learn the rules by running an orc attack on a village via Yahoo groups. The PCs see the smoke, charge into town, save the villagers type of thing. My goal is to give this newbie some pre-generated PCs and let him see how Hero shines before he puts in the significant time needed to learn the system.

    Right now, he has the car buying equivalent of "Sticker Shock" from trying to learn everything at once. It is my hope that I can ease him into the Hero system by doing the character creation for him and just letting him play a simple quick combat scenario. A combat scenario that will hopefully show how nicely Hero handles the various types of combat.

    But I have become mired in detailing a fantasy village to the "nth" degree. Argh. The buildings in FH companion 1 are useful as rough templates, but require significant work to adapt to a hex map.
    Any help is appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Do you have the HERO System Resource Kit? The fantasy village square in that should work, but you'd need to scan it in for an online game.
    Dave Mattingly, Editor of Digital Hero, President of BlackWyrm Games, VP of Christian Gamers Guild, Executive Director of the Games Publishers Association, President of Expressers Toastmasters, Founder of ZirMed Toastmasters, Area 63 Governor for Toastmasters

  3. #3
    AGLAR Guest

    Billy Bob's in Fantasy land

    Originally posted by mattingly
    Do you have the HERO System Resource Kit? The fantasy village square in that should work, but you'd need to scan it in for an online game.
    I initially wanted to use that map in the HS Resource Kit. One problem was the size of the tavern. (From memory) Some benches are nearly 30 feet long! One side of the tavern was 17 hexes long! Maybe it is just me, but I find that to be a huge tavern. I may just shrink that tavern down or convert the Roadside Inn from the 1st F. Hero Companion...

  4. #4
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    You bring up an interesting point there. Is it just me or when you try to make 'realistic' buildings for Fantasy Hero - they tend to be awful small? Not to be comparing here, but I remember when a 50x50 room in D&D was HUGE. In Hero, it is only 8 hexes in length. An average person can half move and attack almost anything in the room with no range mods.
    "Vote for MarkusDark, because you're nobunny until some bunny wuvs you."

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    It's really true for D&D too -- it's just that most D&D campaigns don't aim for architectural realism. After all, D&D uses 5' squares and Hero uses 6' hexes, not that different. Try measuring your house/apartment in Hero or D&D terms sometime and see for yourself.
    "Similarly, don't get hung up trying to figure out the 'exact right way' to build something using the Hero System rules..." (6E2 277).

    Yeah, that'll happen.

    ...and check out Hero In Two Pages

  6. #6
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    I have, and most AOE would take out everyone in my apartment. Guess you're right about the hex/grid thingy.

    Just remembering old 2nd Ed D&D where you couldn't throw a dagger beyond 30 feet and in hero, it is only a -2 penalty.
    "Vote for MarkusDark, because you're nobunny until some bunny wuvs you."

  7. #7
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    I usually use 3 foot hexes for interior fights for that very reason. Otherwise, there's no sense of tactics. You might as well just play it out in your head.

    Keith "What do you mean my kitchen only holds one person?" Curtis

  8. #8
    AGLAR Guest

    I think I see the waitress on the horizon

    Originally posted by keithcurtis
    I usually use 3 foot hexes for interior fights for that very reason. Otherwise, there's no sense of tactics. You might as well just play it out in your head.

    Keith "What do you mean my kitchen only holds one person?" Curtis
    This is a cool idea. Very fair since all are affected. The only time it may seem unusual (IMO) is upon entering/exiting the building. Those entering magically slow down upon breaching the door, those exiting magically speed up...

    Munchkin Mages may want to buy flight, usable only indoors...

    "Swat that mage, Thok!"

    "I cannot! He is buzzing along the ceiling out of my reach!"
    ----------------
    I just looked at that tavern in the resource kit. It is 17x20 hexes! Benches are 5 hexes long! I would hate to be the poor slob charged with mopping the floor.

  9. #9
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    You could fix that by making indoor phases half as long...

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    Or simply recognizing that with 1m hexes you can move your Running inches as a half-phase action. Other than that, using 1m hexes isn't a big deal.

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    Were you looking for free maps, or would you be willing to spend a buck or two on some?

    I'm a freelance writer and cartographer - if you've read Digital Hero you've seen my work, as I've done many of the maps for the mag - and I've got about all kinds of fantasy maps available for sale. If you head on over to http://www.hartfeltproductions.com/fanmaps3.php you can see a listing of the fantasy floorplans I have available.
    Lisa Hartjes
    www.hartfeltproductions.com

  12. #12
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    Originally posted by mudpyr8
    Or simply recognizing that with 1m hexes you can move your Running inches as a half-phase action. Other than that, using 1m hexes isn't a big deal.
    I wouldn't even worry about that. People don't move as freely indoors with furniture and walls and doors all over the place. I'd just treat everyting normally and ignore the fact that your hexes are now 1m instead of 2m. Does it really matter?
    I suppose it might for ardent realists or some genres (Champions, perhaps). Honestly though, We've done this for years in our games, sometimes even using totally arbitrary scales ("This room is 4 hexes by 5 hexes", without ever defining what a "hex" is.)

    Keith "Playing fast and loose with Time and Space" Curtis

  13. #13
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    Agreed. Making the room the "right size" for the encounter is more important than the real world dimensions.

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