Types of Terrain

The following are examples of the types of terrain you can use when creating your hexploration map. Each section provides the difficulty of traversing that terrain (either open, difficult, or greater difficult terrain) and the potential resources and secrets found there.

Aquatic

Terrain typically requires a boat or a swim speed; depends on the strengths of currents and the weather
Resources seafood, coral, pearls, shipwrecks
Secrets remote islands filled with monsters, isolated communities, pirates, flooded or underwater cities of aquatic creatures

Arctic

Terrain typically difficult or greater difficult terrain
Resources scarce food (broken ice floes that allow for fishing, breeding grounds for seals or whales)
Secrets thawed passes that allow ship travel, hidden caverns, isolated communities of arctic dwellers

Desert

Terrain typically difficult or greater difficult terrain
Resources water sources (underground springs, oases, and streams), mineral wealth
Secrets forgotten civilizations beneath the dunes

Forest

Terrain typically difficult terrain, or greater difficult terrain for a dense jungle
Resources diverse flora and fauna, natural remedies, plentiful game
Secrets bandit encampment, druid's henge, fey-touched glade or mushroom circle

Mountain

Terrain typically greater difficult terrain, or difficult terrain for hills
Resources minerals (including gold, silver, and gemstones)
Secrets hidden pass, watchtower or waypoint constructed by a nearby empire, dragon's lair, bandit hideout

Plains

Terrain open terrain
Resources useful plants (flax or cotton)
Secrets artifacts abandoned after a historic battle, valuables buried by outlaws for later retrieval

Swamp

Terrain typically greater difficult terrain
Resources materials useful for medicine or poison
Secrets river raider camps, remains and gear of unlucky travelers, sites of mystic significance