Ezora Chronicles

In this series of articles, I will guide you through the process of designing a sandbox hexcrawl, illustrating each step with Chardauka, one of the continents of my world. Throughout these articles, I will cover both adventure content creation to populate the hexes and the worldbuilding elements that bring the setting to life. Let's design Garampur, the central city of the hexcrawl and base of operations for the PCs in our Chardaukan hexcrawl ! «I will now speak of the city of Zenobia and its remarkable features: though located in dry terrain, it rises on tall pilings, and its houses are made of bamboo and zinc, with many galleries and balconies set at different heights, supported by stilts layered one above the other, connected by rope ladders and suspended walkways. These culminate in lookouts crowned by conical roofs, water cisterns, weathervanes, and outfitted with pulleys, fishing lines, and cranes. [...] What is certain, however, is that when someone who lives in Zenobia...

In this series of articles, I will guide you through the process of designing a sandbox hexcrawl, illustrating each step with Chardauka, one of the continents of my world. Throughout these articles, I will cover both adventure content creation to populate the hexes and the worldbuilding elements that bring the setting to lif e. This is the second installment of my adaptation of The Challenge of the Frog Idol module by Dyson Logos, reworked to fit into my hexcrawl, Chardauka. In the first part , I discussed how this module can enrich the worldbuilding of my setting. Now, let’s dive into how it can be integrated into key hexcrawl elements: locations to populate hexes, encounters for random encounter tables, and rumors for the rumor table. The Troglodyte Village and the Frog God Idol In my setting, the troglodytes, unlike other lizardfolk, continue to worship the Scaled Gods. However, they are typically an underground people, and I already have plans for them to feature prominently i...

In this article, you’ll find a random encounter idea and an adventure location designed for easy integration into your game. This entry is system-agnostic, so you’ll need to adapt the stats and loot according to the system you’re using at your table. At the base of the mountain, along a forgotten goat trail, stands the ruin of an abandoned manor. Its weathered wooden facade is barely holding together, while one of the walls is entirely covered by a dense, thorny network of brambles. These plants, adorned with delicate white blossoms that were once the pride of their creator, are part of a lurking tendriculos : a semi-sentient plant creature that feeds on flesh and zealously guards the interior of the building. The tendriculos was cultivated by the solitary alchemist who once lived there, dedicating his life to the study of magical botany. In his relentless pursuit to perfect his experiments, he created the tendriculos. However, the plant grew beyond his control, becoming predat...

This entry delves into a corner of Ezora, a fragment of my world’s lore that you can adapt to your game if you find it inspiring. Use this adaptable lore to enrich the story, characters, or themes of your own game world. As the goddess of geysers and underground springs, Sulayra reigns over hot springs, steam, and sulfurous rivers. Her domain also encompasses the steam-powered machines and constructs that bridge the natural world with the technological progress of her followers. Her influence is vital to the Blazing Pact, which relies on sulfurous and geothermal waters for trade and daily life. Her power manifests through the volcanic underground waters that flow beneath the mountains and the warm air that escapes through the earth's fissures. She is seen as a protective and pragmatic figure, watching over merchants who brave the perilous sulfur rivers. Though rarely seen, Sulayra is described as a slender, vaporous figure with flowing hair resembling streams of hot water and eyes ...

In this series of articles, I will guide you through the process of designing a sandbox hexcrawl, illustrating each step with Chardauka, one of the continents of my world. Throughout these articles, I will cover both adventure content creation to populate the hexes and the worldbuilding elements that bring the setting to life. The Challenge of the Frog Idol is an adventure for Labyrinth Lord , written and illustrated by the talented Dyson Logos . It was published in 2011, is completely free, and you can download it here .This is a well-designed module, full of intriguing ideas, and described in a concise yet evocative style. Its modular design offers great flexibility, allowing DMs to incorporate all or parts of the material into their campaigns with ease. Furthermore, the action takes place in a swamp, which fits perfectly with this initial phase of developing the Chardaukan Hexcrawl, where I am creating content for a swamp. In this series, I will use this adventure as a practical ex...

  I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve finally decided to seriously dive into Baldur’s Gate III. This game has been gathering digital dust in my Steam library for quite some time. I played through the prologue when it was gifted to me but abandoned it shortly after—not due to any lack of interest but simply because I got busy and defaulted back to my comfort game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However, the recent and disappointing reception of the latest entry in another of my favorite franchises, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, made me reconsider. The critiques from many players in the gaming community I follow and respect, including CohhCarnage , have been overwhelmingly positive toward Baldur’s Gate III compared to the new DA title, and their praise finally convinced me. Now, I’ve started dedicating the time I used to spend DMing to exploring this title, alongside Assassin's Creed Odyssey and a modded version of the abandonware game Magic: The Gathering - Shandalar . I’m about ten h...

In this series of articles, I will guide you through the process of designing a sandbox hexcrawl, using Chardauka, one of the continents in my world, as a case study. Throughout these articles, we’ll tackle both adventure content creation to fill the hexes and the worldbuilding elements that bring the setting to life.   As I mentioned in another article, the first step in designing your hexcrawl is to have a hex map. If you’re looking for tips on how to create one, you can check out my advice in the article Drawing a Hexmap . Once we have the initial draft of our hex map, the next step is to decide on your players’ base of operations. For my Chardaukan hexcrawl, I’ve chosen the city of Garampur for this purpose. This decision aligns with my interest in deepening the lore of its culture and its strategic location near the center of the hex map, granting players greater freedom to decide which region to explore. I chose a scale of 1 hex = 12 miles, imagining that traveling on foot ...

Maps are an interesting tool in any campaign, but in a sandbox, they take on a special significance. While they are a traditional resource in pure exploration hexcrawls, creating a map gives players the chance to venture into the unknown and discover what lies in each hexagon, inviting them to take risks and explore the world thoroughly. Additionally, the map-making process not only defines the region geographically but also helps shape and unify key elements of the setting, becoming a valuable part of worldbuilding. Drawing the map should be one of the first tasks when preparing a sandbox, as it provides both a framework for the game and a visual reference for players that will guide their sense of discovery. If you're using a published campaign setting, you already have a map ready to go and just need to overlay a hex grid, allowing you to focus on filling the hexes with unique content. However, since Chronicles of Ezora also delves into worldbuilding, we’ll start from scratch, a...

This entry delves into a corner of Ezora, a fragment of my world’s lore that you can adapt to your game if you find it inspiring. Use this adaptable lore to enrich the story, characters, or themes of your own game world.   Known by many names across Ezora—Baloniuz among the Utumi or Beron no Kenja to the Drache—Belonius is the god of practical wisdom, the knowledge gained through experience and travel. He embodies personal discovery and the pursuit of understanding through life and adventure. He is revered by travelers, adventurers, and those seeking answers beyond conventional means, often preferred by those who value oral traditions and lived lessons over written knowledge. A masterful storyteller, his tales captivate and inspire listeners to embark on their own journeys. However, beneath his friendly and enlightened demeanor, Belonius harbors a darker side. His thirst for knowledge drives him to seek forbidden and dangerous secrets. Despite understanding the risks, he is unafrai...