The Afterward Age: a FLAIL Hex Crawl

27 Jan, 2026

Alt text: Illustrated cover art for The Afterward Age, showing a surreal post-apocalyptic landscape. A glowing green rift or sun hangs in a dark blue sky, spilling luminous green energy down into a winding river. Purple rock formations and ruined stone towers rise from red and orange terrain in the foreground. Title text reads “The Afterward Age – A FLAIL Hexcrawl Setting.”

Art bt Perplexing Ruins

I’m kicking off a play report.

This campaign is a hex-crawl sandbox using FLAIL and its hex-crawl tools. There’s no set plot or hidden storyline, just a map, some factions, and a group of players making choices until things get interesting.

The setting is called The Afterward Age. In short, the world says it already ended and was “resolved.” Magic is still around, but it’s tightly controlled and enforced. The Authority is strong and quick to use force. That’s all the players know at the beginning.

The rest will be discovered as we play.

Staying true to the sandbox idea, each hex answers a few simple questions: what’s here, who cares about it, and what happens if someone interferes. As play unfolds, time moves forward whether the players act or not. Factions respond, tension rises. Nothing stands still.

FLAIL is the main system I use here, and I also draw on Cairn 2e and Knave 2e to add more detail to factions and monsters. Magic comes with risks, and violence can be fast and deadly. I don’t plan for things to escalate in advance; they happen naturally as players keep pushing against obstacles.

This isn’t just a story recap; rather, it’s a record of choices, consequences, and how the players' choices shape the world.

The first hex is mapped out.

I can’t wait to see where this leads.

Richard Jan 2026