HE Compass Graphic

The GMing/Running HEX FAQ

Last updated September 19th, 2006

The Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX) roleplaying game has been in existence for about five months now officially, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GMs, think a little bit. This Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page is designed to answer some of the commonly asked questions about one of the toughest HEX game elements - actually running the HEX RPG.

GMing/Running Hollow Earth Expedition Frequently Asked Questions

I was wondering if someone could tell me how many sets of Ubiquity dice should a medium sized group of players have so that every one can roll when they need to without waiting for someone else to be done with the dice?
Well, sets of Ubiquity dice are not really required to run and play the HEX rpg, as players and the GM can use any dice that they wish to.

That said, the general guideline should be that each player has a tube of Ubiquity dice, which includes three of each colour. Nine dice should be more than enough for most players. For the purposes of my own game, I place a bowl in the centre of the gaming area with all the Ubiquity dice I have in it, and this way, the players can grab whatever they need when it's their turn to roll the bones, and they return the dice to the bowl when they're done. Some prefer to use a tube of Ubiquity dice for themselves, and that's okay too.

What do Ubiquity Dice offer me and my game that my dice already don't?
Well, this is not an easy question to answer, per sé, but I will give it a shot. By its very nature, since HEX uses a pool of dice, players could end up rolling an awful lot of dice. For example, if the character's weapon has an Attack Rating of 14L, the player will need to roll 14 dice. One has the choice of rolling 14 dice, and count only the ones that are even; on the other hand, one can roll a smaller number of Ubiquity dice, and sum them for the total number of successes. Some people may like the "buckets-of- dice" idea and feel, but most folks don't.

Some players are going to *want* to roll that many dice, and that's fine, but it's not necessary. The Ubiquity dice are great, but you can use any dice, chips with a 0 and a 1 on them, coins, short straws and long straws, etc. for this purpose. Exile Game Studio produces the Ubiquity dice for the game as a neat little product and new collector's dice for those of us who collect these things, but they're not necessary.

Special thanks to Jeff Combos, Melissa McNally, M. Sechin Tower, and the folks on the Hollow Earth Expedition (HEX) forums for their help in the compiling of this FAQ information.


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This page first went on-line December 13th, 2006

Hollow Earth Expedition is a trademark and copyright of Exile Game Studio, LLC. The Hollow Earth Expedition Logo and other graphics are copyright of Exile Game Studio, LLC, and are used with their permission. The Ubiquity game mechanics are copyright of Exile Game Studio, LLC, and are mentioned and used with their permission. All distinctive Hollow Earth Expedition logos and terms are trademarks of Exile Game Studio, LLC. No attempt is being made here to supercede any of the copyrights and trademarks mentioned above. The HEX Compass graphic was created by Daniel Potter, and the permission of John M. Kahane and Daniel Potter is required for use of this Logo by any other persons.