Hexmap Mysteries

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As a “just for funsies” project and inspired by Ben L’s review of “Filling in the Blanks”, I decided recently to try my hand at making a totally-random-hexmap. I whipped up a quick and dirty map on hex kit using some Nate Treme tiles and a topographical map of Lithuania, grabbed my copy of “Filling in the Blanks” and my OSE Advanced Referee’s Tome and I was off to the races. Here is my dumb map:
map

I agree with most of the points in Ben L’s review and I’ve been having fun “connecting the pieces” about why these totally random and extremely detailed features are clustered together. As a rule, I’m taking what the dice give me, no matter how weird. However, “totally random” has gone too far and I’ve finally hit a feature too absurd for me to ignore and impossible for me to justify.

In hex 0401 I’ve determined that there’s a four-mile bridge, 12’ wide, constructed of brick, four years old, and no longer in use(!!). It is crossing a 7’ stream (with unusually good fishing). The only other notable feature in this hex is a large, 1 room cavern filled with goblins. The bridge is explicitly “not magic.”

I could provide context of some other hexes in the vicinity but it wouldn’t help. This bridge is haunting me. Why is this bridge here?? I genuinely would like to hear some creative brainstorming to explain this bridge. Please help me explain this bridge.

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• Maybe sometimes gnomes (or the goblins, or just one of the goblins?) just want to build stuff just so they can see how far they can push it? (A weird mood like in Dwarf Fortress?)
• Maybe the bridge, while not magical in itself, is connected/dedicated to a waterspirit or deity, which in turns blesses the river to be really good fishing? It might be the goblins, having a home under it. They might be ‘river goblins’ or ‘bridge goblins’ or something like that?

Also: Pretty sweet mapping style! I like it a lot!

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Bridge ideas:

  • “Four-mile” doesn’t refer to the length of the bridge. The bridge is attached to a tower (or two, one at each end?) from which one can see a distance of four miles.
  • The stream already looks winding, so maybe the 7’ represents the open water portion of marshland. The bridge is so long because it crosses not only open water but marsh, too.
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The causeway outside New Orleans is similar to this. A lot of it is lake, but a part of it is swamp (I think, iirc).

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