This video argues that D&D's exploration mechanics are underdeveloped but that this isn't necessarily a problem. The speaker, Doy, proposes five distinct types of exploration—the vague space, hex crawl, point crawl, highlighted room, and dungeon crawl—arguing that utilizing these diverse approaches, rather than relying on rigid rules, enhances the game.
Five Types of Exploration: The video identifies five distinct types of exploration in D&D: the vague space (nebulous environments), hex crawl (grid-based wilderness exploration), point crawl (connecting locations with paths), highlighted room (focusing on interactive objects), and dungeon crawl (structured, often climactic dungeon exploration).
Exploration vs. Travel: The video distinguishes between exploration (active discovery) and travel (passive movement between points). Travel isn't a game mechanic but a time skip; exploration is the active engagement with the game world.
The Importance of Medium: Doy emphasizes the importance of choosing the right exploration type based on the game's setting and desired experience. The medium (tabletop vs. screen) also significantly impacts the overall experience.
Discovery as the Core of Exploration: The video highlights that exploration's core is about discovery and the joy of uncovering elements of the game world, rather than relying solely on mechanics or systems.
Flexibility and Combination: The different exploration types can be combined to create diverse and dynamic campaigns. The speaker suggests integrating multiple types to create a cohesive and engaging story.
The video describes a "point crawl" as a less discussed but highly versatile exploration type. It's structured by creating points (locations) and connecting them with paths (roads or routes). The speaker uses the analogy of a London Underground map to illustrate this, highlighting how points represent locations and paths represent the connections between them.
A key difference between a point crawl and a hex crawl lies in their application and the level of detail. A hex crawl is best suited for wilderness exploration where the focus is on traversing a large, relatively undefined area, often involving random encounters and resource management. The hex grid provides a structured framework for this exploration. Conversely, a point crawl is more adaptable to various settings, including cities, dungeons, or even large-scale geographical areas. It’s about presenting players with choices and directions at key locations (points), guiding them through a narrative while still retaining a sense of exploration and discovery.
The difference isn't just in the underlying structure but also in how the DM presents the information. In a hex crawl, the DM might describe the general characteristics of each hex and the encounters within. In contrast, a point crawl emphasizes description of the paths between locations and the choices available at each point. The exploration lies in the journey between places and the decisions players make at decision points.
The video suggests that a point crawl can be used as a foundational structure or overlaid upon other structures. For instance, traveling across a continent might be a point crawl (large-scale), but once the characters reach a city, navigating within that city would become a nested point crawl (smaller-scale). This nested structure makes point crawls extremely flexible and allows for highly detailed exploration within a broader narrative. The DM manages the internal structure of the point crawl but only presents players with relevant information at each stage of their journey, making the experience more focused and engaging. A hex crawl, by comparison, is usually a more open-ended method of exploration.
This guide outlines how to create and run a point crawl in D&D, based on Doy's explanation in the provided video transcript. Remember, Doy emphasizes that a point crawl is about discovery and player choice rather than strict adherence to rules.
I. Defining Your Points and Paths:
Identify Key Locations: Begin by determining the key locations (your "points") within the area your players will explore. These could be cities, towns, landmarks, dungeons, significant geographical features, or even specific rooms within a larger location. Think broadly; even a wilderness area can be broken down into points representing forests, rivers, mountains, etc.
Establish Connections: Draw connections (your "paths") between these points. These represent routes of travel, roads, trails, waterways, or any method by which your players can move from one point to another. Consider the time and potential challenges associated with each path. A direct route might be faster but more dangerous, while a longer route may be safer but take longer.
Create a Mental Map (Optional): You don't need to show this map to your players, but visualizing the points and paths can help you plan the flow of the adventure. This mental map helps you anticipate potential player choices and prepare accordingly.
II. Describing the Exploration:
Start at a Point: Begin the session with the party at a specific point. Describe the location vividly, highlighting any details that might be relevant or interesting.
Present Choices: As your players decide where to go next, present them with clear options for travel. Don't simply state, "You can go north, south, east, or west." Instead, describe the paths and what lies at the end of each, emphasizing the differences. For example:
"You stand at the edge of Whisperwind Woods. To the north, a barely discernible trail winds deeper into the shadowy forest, rumored to be haunted by ancient spirits. To the south, a well-worn road leads to the bustling town of Oakhaven. Eastward, a rocky river cuts through the landscape, potentially offering a faster but more perilous route. Which path do you choose?"
Describe the Journey (Paths): As the players traverse a path, describe the journey. This isn't simply narrating travel time; it's an opportunity to integrate encounters, clues, environmental challenges, or interesting NPCs into the narrative.
Arrive at a New Point: Upon reaching a new point, describe it in detail. Again, focus on relevant details and potentially new choices. The description of the point should offer new paths forward.
III. Incorporating Other Exploration Types:
Doy emphasizes that point crawls can be nested within or combined with other exploration types.
Nested Point Crawls: A large-scale point crawl (a continent) might contain smaller-scale point crawls (cities, dungeons within that continent).
Hex Crawl Integration: In a wilderness setting, you can use a hex crawl to define the general area and then transition to a point crawl once the players approach key locations within the hex grid.
Highlighted Rooms/Dungeon Crawls: When the party reaches a location suitable for a highlighted room or a dungeon crawl, seamlessly transition to that exploration type.
IV. Fractal Nature of Point Crawls:
The video suggests point crawls can have a fractal nature. This means points can contain other points. For example, a town (point) could contain districts (points), each with its own smaller-scale point crawl. This allows for deep and varied exploration within a single adventure.
V. Tips for Success:
Player Agency: Emphasize player choice. Their decisions determine the path of the adventure.
Vivid Descriptions: Use detailed and engaging descriptions to create a sense of immersion and presence.
Pacing: Balance exploration with combat and social encounters to prevent the game from becoming monotonous.
Organic Storytelling: Let the players' choices influence the story organically. Be prepared to improvise but have a general direction in mind.
Don't Overwhelm: Limit the number of choices presented at each point. Too many options can lead to "analysis paralysis."
By following these guidelines, you can create and run engaging and immersive point crawls in your D&D campaigns, fostering a sense of discovery and player agency that Doy advocates for. Remember, the goal is to create a dynamic and responsive game world, where the players' exploration shapes the narrative.
Here's the section of the transcript where the speaker discusses point crawls:
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Square a point in","start_time_text":"6:33"},{"start_ms":"396479","end_ms":"398800","text":"City Plaza which is just an area here","start_time_text":"6:36"},{"start_ms":"398800","end_ms":"401039","text":"you could cross the Shard Lake a path","start_time_text":"6:38"},{"start_ms":"401039","end_ms":"403600","text":"into the Obsidian Palace another point","start_time_text":"6:41"},{"start_ms":"403600","end_ms":"406160","text":"point path point but that's not","start_time_text":"6:43"},{"start_ms":"406160","end_ms":"408479","text":"exploration that's just A to B so the","start_time_text":"6:46"},{"start_ms":"408479","end_ms":"410880","text":"exploration comes in by the directions","start_time_text":"6:48"},{"start_ms":"410880","end_ms":"413600","text":"presented standing in Destroyer Square","start_time_text":"6:50"},{"start_ms":"413600","end_ms":"415600","text":"do you cross the Shardlick go to the","start_time_text":"6:53"},{"start_ms":"415600","end_ms":"418240","text":"Obsidian Palace or do you march up Black","start_time_text":"6:55"},{"start_ms":"418240","end_ms":"420319","text":"Street to the Black Guard Journal or","start_time_text":"6:58"},{"start_ms":"420319","end_ms":"422639","text":"take the same road south heading into a","start_time_text":"7:00"},{"start_ms":"422639","end_ms":"424639","text":"square in the Citadel precinct you don't","start_time_text":"7:02"},{"start_ms":"424639","end_ms":"426080","text":"have to be that explicit with your","start_time_text":"7:04"},{"start_ms":"426080","end_ms":"427520","text":"players you don't even need to create","start_time_text":"7:06"},{"start_ms":"427520","end_ms":"429680","text":"the whole tube map just keep the","start_time_text":"7:07"},{"start_ms":"429680","end_ms":"431520","text":"structure in mind while describing the","start_time_text":"7:09"},{"start_ms":"431520","end_ms":"433520","text":"scenario say for example the players","start_time_text":"7:11"},{"start_ms":"433520","end_ms":"434960","text":"want to 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a","start_time_text":"7:27"},{"start_ms":"449599","end_ms":"451440","text":"train is just pulling in that whole","start_time_text":"7:29"},{"start_ms":"451440","end_ms":"453440","text":"journey might be a soup of proper nouns","start_time_text":"7:31"},{"start_ms":"453440","end_ms":"455120","text":"but it creates this feeling of","start_time_text":"7:33"},{"start_ms":"455120","end_ms":"457759","text":"verilitude as you trace them across the","start_time_text":"7:35"},{"start_ms":"457759","end_ms":"459440","text":"map the more you play with these","start_time_text":"7:37"},{"start_ms":"459440","end_ms":"461599","text":"descriptions add details as you render","start_time_text":"7:39"},{"start_ms":"461599","end_ms":"463680","text":"the scene the further you embed your","start_time_text":"7:41"},{"start_ms":"463680","end_ms":"466319","text":"players into their surroundings make","start_time_text":"7:43"},{"start_ms":"466319","end_ms":"468960","text":"them feel like they're in the city and","start_time_text":"7:46"},{"start_ms":"468960","end_ms":"470960","text":"here's where this is especially powerful","start_time_text":"7:48"},{"start_ms":"470960","end_ms":"472720","text":"you can reduce anything to points and","start_time_text":"7:50"},{"start_ms":"472720","end_ms":"475120","text":"paths you can do this with cities outer","start_time_text":"7:52"},{"start_ms":"475120","end_ms":"477840","text":"plains big caverns wilderness travel","start_time_text":"7:55"},{"start_ms":"477840","end_ms":"480080","text":"mega dungeons and it gets even better","start_time_text":"7:57"},{"start_ms":"480080","end_ms":"483199","text":"you can use them as fractals basically","start_time_text":"8:00"},{"start_ms":"483199","end_ms":"486000","text":"nest points within points traveling","start_time_text":"8:03"},{"start_ms":"486000","end_ms":"487759","text":"across the continent from Fullwood to","start_time_text":"8:06"},{"start_ms":"487759","end_ms":"489680","text":"Blackard along the 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the","start_time_text":"8:23"},{"start_ms":"506000","end_ms":"508000","text":"game in your mind i use this all the","start_time_text":"8:26"},{"start_ms":"508000","end_ms":"510080","text":"time almost as much as I use the next","start_time_text":"8:28"}
Note that the discussion of point crawls continues beyond this excerpt, interwoven with other exploration types. This provided text focuses specifically on the core definition and mechanics.
continue the point crawl is probably a less discussed format but incredibly versatile when I said you can't slap a hex crawl on top of your adventure you totally could slap a point crawl on top you could even do a point crawl tonight justin Alexander in his phenomenal book So You Want to Be a Game Master basically describes it as the London Underground Tube Map designed by obviously autistic man Harry Beck dude love trains it's basically like that you create points your locations and connect them with paths your roads the perfect use case here is a city if you're running a big city and you don't know where to start use points and paths standing in Destroyer Square a point in City Plaza which is just an area here you could cross the Shard Lake a path into the Obsidian Palace another point point path point but that's not exploration that's just A to B so the exploration comes in by the directions presented standing in Destroyer Square do you cross the Shardlick go to the Obsidian Palace or do you march up Black Street to the Black Guard Journal or take the same road south heading into a square in the Citadel precinct you don't have to be that explicit with your players you don't even need to create the whole tube map just keep the structure in mind while describing the scenario say for example the players want to go to the train station in the Argent sector you could describe the points and paths that lead them there you cross the bridge over the Red Line River pass the first bank of Blackard on Bank Street and then continue further north into the Argent Sector passing by the Mallerie building and walking towards Grand Union Terminal where a train is just pulling in that whole journey might be a soup of proper nouns but it creates this feeling of verilitude as you trace them across the map the more you play with these descriptions add details as you render the scene the further you embed your players into their surroundings make them feel like they're in the city and here's where this is especially powerful you can reduce anything to points and paths you can do this with cities outer plains big caverns wilderness travel mega dungeons and it gets even better you can use them as fractals basically nest points within points traveling across the continent from Fullwood to Blackard along the Ashen Road is a point crawl but when you get to Blackard going between districts is a point crawl and when they enter a district they get to a new point crawl when they enter the shard lake there's a point crawl in the lake too and this isn't something you show to your players this is just a running tally for how you organize the game in your mind i use this all the time almost as much as I use the next type
the highlighted room is how I run a majority of my encounter scenes basically when the party enters a room I highlight objects like a video game highlights interactables i describe an object in detail to make it clear that a player can click on it or rather that they can interact with it we already made a video on this topic and a lot of folks seem to like it and the fish master apparently made a video like that before we did and now he calls me names in my defense I hadn't seen his video i mean who can listen to that guy i'm too distracted by his hairy hands what's good about the highlighted room is that you can sort of make that structure fit anything it's best when used on a small scale rooms looting bodies but the principles apply no matter how grand but as long as you're highlighting objects and creating informed choices you're good if your presented options are more than three I think you should be careful it'll just create analysis paralysis once you go beyond three highlighted objects it might be good to nest your options within each other or if it's much more than three you might need another exploration type if you're stumped on how to describe an object as highlighted you can make sure to render it in a lot more detail than anything else really go into it not just say it's a bookshelf but something like a dusty silence fills the space between the shelves each brimming with stacks of scroll tubes slender volumes and voluminous leatherbound books if there's a method in the mad jumble of knowledge you don't see it a ladder leans against the end of the nearest bookcase its first three rungs snapped whoa surrendered i feel like I'm there that description along with thousands more are available on describe.com which is the sponsor of today's video they also do maps and soundsscapes if you want a 30-day free trial you can use the promo code mystic arts on any plan they offer there is also a referral link in the description go check it out the dungeon crawl is our fifth and final exploration type and it's iconic it's the name of the game dungeon crawls are a game structure that's somewhat fallen by the wayside in modern editions though resurrected by the old school renaissance movement but even still typical 5e modules all eventually arrive at the point of the adventure the dungeon crawl they may not use dungeon turns anymore but they're still essential to the whole experience of any pre-written module you don't know about dungeon turns sidebar two I'll be quick a dungeon turn is a player unknown game structure a DM can use to track the passage of time in a dungeon basically every 10 minutes the DM marks up a box like this one and then asks the players for their actions they describe themselves opening doors picking locks identifying magic items they spend time in the dungeon that the DM marks down every hour the DM rolls for random encounters or ticks progress for the bad guys ritual or reduces the loot or something the idea is that time becomes another resource in the dungeon something the players will want to conserve when possible and if you don't track it you might lose track of it which is fine in most dungeons I don't use dungeon terms but if I were to run a really big dungeon crawl I would as I was saying just about every 5e module eventually becomes a dungeon crawl wild Beyond the Witch Light ends with a Palace of Hearts Desire Curse of Strand with Castle Ravenloft and Tomb of Annihilation with a tomb that annihilates your player's desire to touch anything ever again a dungeon is the quintessential adventure location it's a structure around which you craft your finale it's got all the essential game elements baked in like resource economy loot random encounters a final room the boss lives in secrets that could be discovered to make your life easier dungeons don't have to be underground mazes either they could be churches tombs taverns palaces crowded street busy intersection a really dank pit it was pretty good in Oceans 11 a dungeon is just a series of encounters scenarios puzzles and characters it's an adventure location the shape doesn't matter and a room isn't a room it's a little scenario it's last on this list of five because it's where the other exploration types send you to it's the end point of the adventure you explore around you find out there's a cult you find out that the cult is up to no good to work the cult's plan to skin the president and sacrifice him to the screaming mass but then at the end of all that you have to go put an end to the cult so you go to where the cult is held up and introduce them to super democracy whether they like it or not if dungeons sound awesome on this channel during the month of May we'll be uploading loads of videos about dungeons this phenomenon was named by one of our subscribers Bearcat 18 as dungeon mayhem my goal by the end of May I'll make you love dungeons so subscribe and stick around i'm a big believer in trusting the medium of the media or uh in other words I believe that any piece of art has its place in a medium and not much beyond it so for example Lethal Weapon and Limitless were fun movies i have watched them many times but the TV shows were almost destined to fail because the premise of a movie and the premise of a TV show do not translate well to each other tv shows need to have a story engine the USS Enterprise goes to new worlds and explores them as a film it usually becomes the USS Enterprise is the most important ship in the history of this galactic war that might start and Treky's shrug i think Hamilton would make for a fairly bland movie but I think it's an amazing theater production video games make for bad movies and movies make for bad video games the medium matters this is also why I preferred the Indian person i believe the intended medium is the table not the screen i spend enough of my time in front of screens the intended medium is looking people in the eyes and creating an electric atmosphere in a room together but that's neither here nor there picking the best medium for something is important when you're making your adventure and you're thinking about adding in exploration make sure you pick the one that's most suited to your needs pick the right medium if you're exploring a wilderness use a hex crawl if you're exploring a ruin use a dungeon if you're exploring an alien plane use the vague space and I guess any of them could be a point crawl or highlighted room those are very inoffensive mediums that will get the job done kind of no matter what of course there are exceptions to mediums hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy started as a radio play before it was a book maybe you've got that Douglas Adams genius and you know just the way to run a city like a hex crawl like Coruscant or run a mega dungeon like a highlighted room i've done both of those things and it can work i did say at the start that you don't need systems and they'd make it worse and then I mentioned some structures which are a kind of system so yeah obviously there's good systems for exploration not even complicated ones my system for hex scrolls is only three pages unless we include the charts for rolling for weather a small unintrusive DM facing system like that can be useful but that's not what making exploration fun is about and a system wouldn't make it better the point of this video and probably every video I make about exploration is going to be exploration is about discovery discovery isn't a game mechanic you don't roll to explore you might roll to see a particular thing or spot a clue but the gameplay of exploration should be in whether or not you discover something which is also why exploration support is so poor because if the books told me how to run that feeling of figuring it out I'd like it less the more they'd systematize it the more they'd rob the discovery discovery is the fun of finding stuff out solving problems without your character sheet and using your big wet head muscle you can go crazy with these exploration types that we talked about too you can glue them together to create an epic campaign it may be a point crawl in the city and another point crawl on the road to the frontier town but leaving the frontier town is a hex crawl and in a hex there's a dungeon in the dungeon there's a highlighted room which if clicked has an entry into the underdark which is another huge point crawl that leads into the abyss which is a vague space in between all of that you construct your combat scenarios by using the eight types of combat and the 12 combat objectives before ejecting your PCs back into the exploration you nest layer connect and all the while you weave together the epic tale that your players will create together exploration is the shape of the adventure everything else is the content within said shape the more you use these tools the easier it will be for you to play around find the right tool for the right scenario and you'll realize that exploration isn't the worst pillar it's your pillar it's exactly as good as you make it and that's where we'll pick it up next time thanks so much for watching this video this channel is run by me and my girlfriend ah and if you want to support us directly consider joining our Patreon this month we'll be putting up some dungeons to start us off you can find a free dungeon called All Hail Geck if you're feeling especially generous you might like the video comment share or subscribe and hit the bell to be notified when we release new videos until next time keep studying the mystic arts