Random Wilderness Generator (RWG)

The Random Wilderness Generator is a tool designed for use during gameplay when the dungeon master needs an outdoor starting point for an unprepared setting or wants to introduce randomness into the game party's environment. It's intended to be an useful resource for solo play and for training oneself as a DM. When using this generator, the initial location of the player characters is always in an area where no habitation or infrastructure is present, an unknown distance from civilisation. The nature of starting hex depends upon the steepness of terrain, the local hydrography, the local vegetation and the climate type. From these details, the degree of threat to the players is determined, as well as the resources which they may put to use, permitting them opportunities to become informed about the world they're in.

Because the wilderness is a much more complicated arena than the limited passages and chambers of an underground dungeon, we should not look to simplified die rolls in order to achieve even the bare whiff of similitude, which must be the goal here. On the other hand, while a functionally real world setting might be created with a highly complex computer generated approach, we'd be at the mercy of that system once it was made, without the ability to spontaneously add results, shift the balance of results, or see directly the step-by-step process of the world being made before us. This may require the consulting of several tables to produce an answer, but as this generator isn't intended to be used during game play, we have the time to study and adapt ourselves to the system as we see the setting unfold.

Links to this page, and throughout this wiki to other dungeon generation pages, include the "RWG" designation and will be categorized under "Random World."

Terrain

Because the relative lay of the land affects so many other things: the placement of rivers and lakes, the presence of vegetation and the nature of creatures that exist there, as well the practicality of settlement and land use, we must begin with the terrain's relief — the heights and depths of the landforms present, relative both to sea level and to other forms within the same unit of area. For our purposes, this is a hex that's 6⅔ miles in diameter, with an area of approximately 38 square miles.

Terrain Relief

1st roll	variation (ft.)	type	description	next hex adjustment		cluster size
				up	down
—	0	sea	coastline passes through multiple points of the hex; see note below.	01-30	—	—
01-02	50	flat	level, lacking undulations or slopes, with slow water drainage.	01-06	91-00	—
03-08	100	rolling hills	gentle to moderate, with occasional variations in elevation.	01-09	87-00	6-18
09-32	200	undulating hills	moderate to high slopes, with notable changes and gulleys.	01-12	83-00	5-15
33-70	400	foothills	significant dips and rises, with irregular steep slopes and low stretches.	01-14	79-00	4-13
71-85	800	rugged hills	commonly steep throughout, with rock outcrops, narrow valleys and uneven level areas.	01-15	76-00	3-12
86-94	1500	round mts	abrupt slopes and bluffs, with rounded peaks, rocky ridges and ravines.	01-16	73-00	3-10
95-98	3000	mountains	dramatic rocky ledges, with rugged cliffs, canyons and sparse vegetation.	01-17	70-00	3-9
99	4500	craggy peaks	precipitous climbs, jagged peaks, rock faces, deep gorges, absence of vegetation.	01-18	67-00	3-8
00	6000	alpen	sharp ridges, sheer rock faces, glaciers and snowfields, constant winds.	—	63-00	3-7

1st roll is only applied when initially entering the generator. The chance distribution is based on the characters having emerged from a subterranean lair or dungeon, which have the highest likelihood of occurring in undulating, rugged and foothills. Once this roll is made, it can be ignored, unless the players are teleported or perhaps pass through a gate.

Variation describes the mean difference between the highest point and the lowest point of the hex; as this exact number need not be known, it's merely additional information to aid the DM in visualising the approximate precipitousness of the landscape. Note that this number in feet is not in reference to sea level.

Type adjusts the variety and nature of things discovered in the hex, while description is a loose approximation of general features found throughout the hex. The specific placement of slopes, dips, depressions, rises, bluffs, ledges, canyons, cliffs and so on is left to the interpretation of the DM in describing the hex appearance to the party.

Next hex adjustment describes a d100 roll that's employed when the players exit their present hex and move into an ungenerated hex, meaning any hex that's still blank on the map; this roll is also used when an ungenerated hex is viewed from afar, sufficiently enough to recognise the terrain relief. Only the generated hex that's left is used when making this roll. If the number rolled falls between the "up" and "down" adjustments, then the new hex has the same type as the old hex.

For example, leaving a hex with undulating hills into a blank hex, a d100 is rolled; if the die roll indicates a 12 or less, then the next hex increases "variation" upwards; in this case, indicating "foothills." If the result is 83 or more, then "variation" is reduced, indicating "rolling hills." If the number equals 13 to 82, then the adjoining hex has the same "variation," and is again "undulating hills." A rule may or may not be adopted in which a die roll of "01" increases the variation by two degrees, from undulating hills to flat, while a die roll of "00" decreases it two degrees, from undulating hills to rugged hills.

The next hex adjustments intentionally seek to reduce the variation from hex to hex, to produce large, flat areas; contrariwise, those wishing to build a land-based campaign may opt to decrease the likelihood of sea occurring, while an islands campaign would increase the likelihood of producing sea.

Cluster size indicates the number of hexes that must exist contiguously with that type, at the point where it is encountered for the first time, regardless of rolls. For example, on a flat plain, rolling hills are indicated. At this point, 4d4+2 is rolled, indicating the number of adjoined, contiguous hexes have "rolling hills." Rolls for each new, ungenerated hex can be made, allowing the table to create new hexes normally — but if it should happen that the cluster is cut off by die rolls before reaching the rolled number that there must be, then the die roll is overruled and that hex is designated as what it must be.

Each cluster therefore must be carefully accounted for as it occurs; inevitably, the presence of multiple clusters should produce die rolls for new hexes to see which cluster it belongs to, rather than according to the exit hex. While complicated, however, by making good notes and giving careful thought to the next hex, managing this concept is possible. If it should happen that a cluster should be forsaken, perhaps because the sea cuts it off, or another cluster, then always grant dominance to the cluster or feature with the lowest "variation."

Initial sea hexes have coastlines, which may either cross the hex in the most convenient way possible, or be designated randomly. Usually, once the first hex is determined, this reduces the number of possibilities that the next coastline may produce. Small, salty seas are entirely possible. Obviously, sea hexes beyond the coastline may be treated as open sea, and need not have coastlines.

Vegetation

The natural biome of a setting atop the terrain has several significant effects that influence the environment and challenges faced by adventurers, including effects on movement and line-of-sight visibility, the sort of wildlife and monsters inhabiting there, opportunities for supply or shelter, as well as the climate. For my part, I've chosen to set the campaign in a somewhat European setting, choosing only vegetation types supported by that continent; this considerably limits the type of climates that may occur as well. I've also chosen to set the first day of the campaign as May 1st of the earth calendar, leaving plenty of time to supply for the following winter.

Vegetation

1st roll	type	description	Köppen climates
01	alpine	low-growing plants adapted to gravelly soils, including sedge, moss and lichens, found above the treeline.	H
02-03	arctic	little or no vegetation due to extreme conditions, snow cover and the lack of nutrients for plant growth.	Et
04-06	dry forest	mixed seasonal and non-seasonal deciduous trees with varying undergrowth, adapted to dry or hot climates	BSh, Csb
07-41	forest	north temperate mixed conifers and deciduous trees, with dense undergrowth	Cbf, Daf, Dbf
42	heath or moor	treeless landscape with low-growing shrubs, grass and mosses, peat or heather, with occasional bogs.	Cbf
43-58	macchia	drought-resistant Mediterranean, tough shrubs and widely spaced trees, adapted to hot climates.	Csa, Csb
59-63	steppe	vast expanses of grassland with sparse tree cover, transitioning between forests and desert landscapes.	Bsk, Csb
64-75	taiga	sub-arctic dense needleleaf conifers, with minimal undergrowth	Dbf, Dcf
76-77	tundra	low-growing plants with a short growing season, associated with permafrost; trees cannot grow.	Cbf, Dcf, Ec
78-80	wooded steppe	short grasses with drought-resistant trees, without undergrowth; transition between steppe and forest.	Bsk
81-00	woodland	broadleaf hardwood trees, shrubs and meadows, with much undergrowth.	Cbf, Dbf

Climate zones cover hundreds of thousands or millions of square miles, greatly affecting which types of vegetation are possible, so variations of either are rare. Micro-climates do occur, but are extremely rare. Where a moderation in vegetation does occur, this must align with changes in terrain reliefs generated, where indicated by additional die rolls indicating a change. Terrains above foothills adjust climates to be colder (Cbf to Dbf, for example), and may therefore also affect vegetation. In most cases, however, the original vegetation and climate must be considered the default, unless the characters should undertake a journey of at least 30 hexes in a straight line, at least.

1st roll provides the initial and therefore dominant vegetation of the entry hex. This determination need not be rolled again except under unusual circumstances.

Köppen climates can then be determined with a simple die roll. These designate different types of climate around the world based on temperature and precipitation patterns: "A" (tropical); "B" (dry); "C" (temperate); "D" (continental); "E" (polar). Further refinements include "a" (hot summer); "b" (warm summer); "c" (cool summer); "f" (humid year-round); "h" (dry winter); "k" (dry throughout year), "s" (warm dry summer), "t" (cold year round). "H" describes areas where high elevations defy classification due to weather patterns, altitude and latitude. More detailed information can be found on this wikipedia page.

In generating climate, I intend to use this historical data base, identifying a part of the world that corresponds to the generated vegetation, terrain relief and climate type, when determined. Thus, I would choose a year, say 2018, and a date, May 1, and see what the weather was like that day.

Taiga-based adventures are known for cold temperatures throughout the year, hazardous winters, their large fauna and predators, the presence of gnolls, bugbear, trolls, giants and winter elves as common inhabitants (who have denied most human occupation of these lands), few settlements of any kind, a diet consisting largely of meat (fish, game) and wild oats, difficulty of travel and wide, shallow rivers. Sea trade is rare, as the ocean tends to be arctic in character, and primarily for the purpose of shipping timber, furs and fish.