Hey all! Some people have asked what resources I'm using for the sandbox game The West Marches, so here's a list of all the blog posts, random generators, and supplements I've found most useful so far!
Blog Posts:
- Where it all came from: http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/78/grand-experiments-west-marches/
- Why you should make your hexes 6 miles: http://steamtunnel.blogspot.ca/2009/12/in-praise-of-6-mile-hex.html
- A great multi-part sandbox design/theory discussion: http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/17308/roleplaying-games/hexcrawl
- From the same, a theory discussion on the Hexcrawl as a game type:http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/15156/roleplaying-games/game-structures-part-6-hexcrawls
- A very useful hex/sandbox tutorial: http://www.welshpiper.com/hex-based-campaign-design-part-1/
- From the same, how to build interesting encounter tables: http://www.welshpiper.com/encounter-populations/
- How you should notate your encounters and adventures:http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.ca/search/label/series%20%28adventure%20design%29
- A way-too-in-depth tutorial that was nevertheless useful: http://batintheattic.blogspot.ca/2009/08/how-to-make-fantasy-sandbox.html
- Some detail about creating hex maps: http://batintheattic.blogspot.ca/2008/10/mapping-with-hexes.html
- A great brainfood blog filled with random tables: http://roll1d12.blogspot.ca/
- My brother's blog, not getting regular updates but he has some awesomely creative stuff:http://swampofmonsters.blogspot.ca/2014/01/fly-traps-eels-lotus.html
- Courtney Campbell's blog (linked above!), more creative ideas: http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.ca/
- Oglaf (NSFW webcomic)- for awesome weird fantasy (often mixed with sex): http://oglaf.com/ (NSFW)
Random Tables:
- You want names for things? We've got names for things: http://donjon.bin.sh/
- Tons of random generators all in one place: http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/generators/the-seventh-order-of-the-random-generator/
- Crazy magic fuck-up results: http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/do-not-take-me-for-some-turner-of-cheap-tricks/
- Additional results to crazy magic fuck-ups: http://gloomtrain.blogspot.ca/2013/07/black-magic-remix.html
- Populate hexes randomly (if a bit generic): http://www.wizardawn.com/rpg/tool_hexcrawl.php
- Brainfood for wandering monster activity: http://1d8.blogspot.ca/2011/04/what-are-those-wandering-monsters-up-to.html
PDFs:
- A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming:http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_63/3019000/3019374/1/print/3019374.pdf
- A larger encounter generation PDF than you'll ever need:
http://kellri.truculent.org/CDD%234%20-%20ENCOUNTERS%20Reference.pdfhttps://img.4plebs.org/boards/tg/image/1367/50/1367508742810.pdf - Courtney Campbell on Treasure: http://angband.oook.cz/steamband/Treasure.pdf
- Courtney Campbell (HackSlashMaster) on Tricks and Traps: http://angband.oook.cz/steamband/Tricks.pdf
General Tools:
- 5e Sortable Spell List: http://salty-ridge-7989.herokuapp.com/
- 5e Monster List / Encounter Builder: http://asmor.com/5e/monsters/#/encounter-builder
- Calculate probabilities on any dice: http://anydice.com/
Recommendations:
- Fill your head with the kind of fantasy you love. The kind that makes you go "YEAH THAT'S THE STUFF."
- Find sources of that from everywhere, and pick only the individual bits that you really enjoy- even single responses from a d100 table.
- Mix and match, and you're good to go.
And if you had to only read 4 things from the above to build a sandbox game of your own, here they are:
- A great multi-part sandbox design/theory discussion: http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/17308/roleplaying-games/hexcrawl
- A very useful hex/sandbox tutorial: http://www.welshpiper.com/hex-based-campaign-design-part-1/
- You want names for things? We've got names for things: http://donjon.bin.sh/
- Crazy magic fuck-up results: http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/do-not-take-me-for-some-turner-of-cheap-tricks/
Awesome stuff Steven! Thanks for making it available and thanks for all the DMing inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI made a tool for my west marches game, it's a web-based GM assistant. You make your map and you can attach notes and icons to each hexagon of the map.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you can try it here http://hextml.playest.net/
Well, I can't believe that there are no comments here (and after some of your other posts). Thank you for making these resources available. It is clear that you put a lot of thought into your articles. I appreciate the information and the thinking you have put into this.
ReplyDelete