A Beginner's Guide to Hexflowers

Using Positional Charts to Simulate Weather Patterns and more

A hexflower is a positional chart laid out on a hexagonal spatial grid. The concept was originally developed by Goblin’s Henchman. I’ve been using hexflowers in my campaigns for a few years now, and it’s become one of my favorite aspects of running TTRPGs. They look great on the table and attract players like bees.

I’ve just completed my Four Seasons Hexflowers, and I’m excited to share them with you for use at your table. These Hexflowers are perfect for simulating day-to-day weather in your fantasy world.

Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter

How to Use:

1. Pick a token and place it in the center hex. The token can be any miniature or game piece. Online you can use a picture editor to draw a dot over the hex.

2. Roll two 6-sided dice (2d6). Add them together to determine the outcome, and move the token from the center hex in the direction indicated by the key. The token is now in a new hex, indicating a new type of weather.

3. At this point, your usage of the hexflower will change depending on your goal. Some options are detailed below.

   1. The type of weather indicated by the token is the weather for the day. Roll again later to determine tomorrow’s weather. Repeat as necessary.

   2. To simulate months of weather patterns, roll once for each day, and record the result before rolling again. The token will generally shift down and to the left due to the bell-curve shaped distribution of outcomes.

   3. To pick one type of weather in a somewhat random fashion, start in the middle hex, and roll 2d6 at least thrice, moving the token each time.

   4. It’s also possible to roll multiples times within one day, to reflect shifting or unstable weather patterns.

4. If the die roll indicates that the token should move off the hexflower, the token then ‘wraps around’ to the hex on the opposite side that is in line with the token's movement. For example, when starting in Hex O, a 2 goes to S, a 4 goes to A, and a 6 goes to E. Some hexflowers include line segments indicating places where the token does not wrap around. If that’s the case, either roll again or choose a new direction for the token.

Key:

And that’s all! I hope they find good use at your table. Though weather is an ideal use for a hexflower, there are many circumstances that can use postitional charts, like hexploration, random encounters, and unpredictable fighting styles. Possibilities abound, but I’ll save them for next time, on Blogstones.

Turtle Ocarina for Scale

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