When I first stumbled upon the concept of hexcrawls, I had no idea how much it would reshape the way I thought about tabletop role-playing games. It was a simple idea—explore the world one hex at a time—but within that simplicity, I found something truly profound. Unlike traditional, linear RPGs that guide you from one pre-defined plot point to the next, a hexcrawl allows you to carve your own path. It hands you the map (sometimes quite literally) and says: Go. Discover. Shape the world as you explore it.

That sense of freedom is what drew me in. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching your characters venture into the unknown, knowing that every choice you make has the potential to lead to adventure, danger, or discovery.

Solo RPG Hexcrawls is born from a desire to explore that potential, to unlock what makes hexcrawling such a powerful and flexible tool for role-playing games.

We’ll start with the basics—what exactly a hexcrawl is, how it works, and why it’s such a perfect match for solo and co-op play. From there, we’ll dive deeper into the mechanics of building hexcrawls, populating them with points of interest, and running them effectively across a variety of settings and genres. We’ll examine how wilderness exploration differs from dungeon crawling and explore ways to adapt hexcrawling to popular systems that weren’t originally designed for it, like Ironsworn or Blades in the Dark.

But Solo RPG Hexcrawls isn’t just about systems and mechanics. It’s about stories. The story of your character and your world—and how those stories evolve as you explore the unknown. Hexcrawls create a unique sense of narrative freedom, where the world around you feels alive and reactive, shaped by your choices as much as by any game rule. That’s what makes them special.

Throughout this book, you’ll find examples, tools, and strategies to help you create meaningful and memorable experiences in your own hexcrawls. You’ll also find advice on how to keep the game fun, engaging, and full of surprises, no matter how many hexes you’ve explored or how many dungeons you’ve delved into.