I just make d100 lists for whenever people are exploring :) Several plotlines have come from a simple 1 sentence prompt which I then improvise from. One of my favorites is "A single goblin attacks the party" I played this guy as an adventurer-slayer called "The Goblin Slayer" (Obvious flip on the goblinslayer anime). He survived the session, and is currently the mascot of the party x)
Thanks Ben, this was really helpful. Most of my DM plotting and scheming still tends to take place on paper but it's nice to see the options available with digital tools. This video has made me realise how much of my world mapping is in my head, I should really make a new map and draw it out properly!
Thanks, Ed! I'm really glad this was helpful to you. :-) Maps really can make a massive difference piquing player curiosity in certain landmarks they might have overlooked or forgotten about just having them verbally mentioned. But it also helps players visualize the campaign world as you do. Let us know how you go if you do end up making a map, and how your players respond!
This seems like solid advice! I'm working on an open world / sandbox sort of campaign right now (while running it) and this all sounds like it'll come in handy Around 3:46 there seem to be some visual/audio syncing issues I wanted to point out
Thank you for this! This was helpful in planning my Grim Hollow campaign because there is just SO much ground to cover. Sometimes it's hard to plan the first session because I feel the need to flush out all the history and lore that people would know. I find myself getting stuck in details that most likely will not come. I have used World Anvil but found it to be quite... robust. Not a bad tool by any means, it was just a lot for me to tack onto my planning. Though the map feature was great! I've been using a more simplistic tool called the Goblin's Notebook which helps me keep my campaign notes in tact. For cities / towns, I will create a card and sub-cards for each location in the town with a corresponding map. I use Inkarnate to make all my maps and found that once I make the city map, I can just label the areas of importance for me, the DM then create another version for my players without any sort of marker so the players know what the city looks like and what features they might want to explore next. I need to do a better job on honing in on the main focus instead of trying to plan key events happening across the world! I'm loving this video series :)
Thanks, Andy! Yeah, not "over planning" and keeping on track for the next session can be a real challenge. It's also okay to flip open the Campaign Guide and double check the lore (like the name of an Arch Seraph) if it means you're saving time on the note taking for more session relevant prep. Glad you're enjoying the videos!
I think I’m currently running a Sandbox in Sharn. They have a lot of ties to the city, so I don’t know that they’d want to leave, but perhaps Sharn can be handled as a sort of open world itself.
I think a great bit of advice for open world games on a larger scale is to steal from Legend of Zelda : breath of the wield or elden ring or any of your most favourite open world video games. Specifically the map system. When you look at the world map, there's all these places they can explore but it's clear that there are level suggestions for each. And i like to do the same. The story was designed to reccomend certain places. But the map also denoted how dangerous these places were. I did this by adding small notes from "the map maker" about the regions. That way the players know that it can be dangerous, builds anticipation for future events, but still have the choice to go there right now.
I'm noticing a weird trend in my UA-cam viewing. I go to Europe for 4x games, Britain for Warhammer content, and Australia for DnD/Fantasy worldbuilding content. Watching this is what made it click.
@@GhostfireGaming I'd believe you, but the Brits have to put up with the Irish and the Scots. That is like having Duergar and Orcs on your borders. All you have is Emus and Drop bears.
Thank goodness what makes dungeon and open world building and running quite abit easier is called D100 Dungeon by MK Games from Martin Knight. I love D100 Dungeon!
Is there anyway to access your world Etharis on world anvil ? Just wondering because I recently picked up your core rulebook set and was going to use your setting and I feel like it would be a helpful tool?
WTF!!! What campaign are you running (or playing in) that doesn't have a world map? The most setting a DM can choose to run for Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder all come with world maps, sure the size of said world maps can vary a lot, from continent-sized to a very large island. But it's there so that players can plan out their traveling routes between fight scenes. And yes, world maps have their limits, but technically every world map is infinite as long as the DM is willing to add to it. I'm guessing you haven't had a lot of experience in playing tabletop games since it's clear that you think there is no way for the DM to show their players how big of a world they're playing in is. But trust me, when it takes your party three gaming sessions to travel an inch on whatever world map you are using, you get the scale of the world you're in damn quick!
Homebrew worlds generally do not start with a world map, and many don't even bother with a map for quite a while...and most of the setting books only have fairly large region maps which I guess you could call a world map. "I'm guessing you haven't had a lot of experience in playing tabletop games since it's clear that you think there is no way for the DM to show their players how big of a world they're playing in is." I'm not sure what you're responding to here, or who specifically it's directed at, since I'm still watching...but pretty much no matter what context it is, this statement is indicative of a mindset that is detrimental to the hobby. I hope you grow out of it.
One of the most free form, player-driven campaigns I've ever played was a Mage: the Awakening game. A map never became necessary for us players. Even in combat, it was mostly Theater of the Mind.
Oh man that grognard attitude is why a lot of people are intimidated to even try TTRPGs at all. This is why people compare us to "virgin neckbeards". Not all systems need a fat fucking map. Hexcrawls specifically? Of course because they whole point is about crawling across the wilderness & surviving. But what about something like Vampire? Or Werewolf? Or Mage? Or Burning Wheel? or Gurps? Or Fate? Or Call of Cthulhu? Or Cortex Prime? Or 13th Age? Or Genesys? Or Index Card RPG? Or Numenera? Or the ENTIRE PbtA family of systems? But if we're sticking strictly to D&D or D&D-adjacent, maps still aren't necessary. Ask anyone who's been playing since the 80s (I grew up playing with lots of old school guys) & they'll most likely tell you they didn't really use maps or minis unless they felt it was necessary. Theatre of the mind has always been the norm in the hobby. Change your attitude or just don't say anything at all.
Most tables I played at were either entirely homebrew or had many homebrew elements. I think it is fair to assume that not everyone has access to regional maps at all times and it can be useful to point them into a direction to either: - make it themselves and not feel self-conscious about it, even if it's a doodle. Maps can help so much. - use software like he mentioned, it can cut prep time significantly - scour the web for maps - which can actually give you plenty of inspiration and depict locations that get your gears going The video is - to my understanding - about open-world campaigns. It could be that you are "converting" a rail-roady campaign into an open world one, and you might need to add a bunch of extra elements to a map produced by the publisher. In this case it might take a lot less time to use a software he mentioned to add new locations to an existing map so all and all it is useful info. I think experience does not only come from running out-of-the-box campaigns, it can be a lot of work and prime experience gained if you flesh out parts or entire campaigns yourself.
It is dead stupid and easy to make a world map BUT if you do so then it will tend to lock down options. And there really is little reason for feeling you HAVE to do it. It is not laziness and if you want there are generators for making maps for you but you just sound like you are gate keeping (likely unintentionally).
I just make d100 lists for whenever people are exploring :) Several plotlines have come from a simple 1 sentence prompt which I then improvise from. One of my favorites is "A single goblin attacks the party" I played this guy as an adventurer-slayer called "The Goblin Slayer" (Obvious flip on the goblinslayer anime). He survived the session, and is currently the mascot of the party x)
Thanks Ben, this was really helpful.
Most of my DM plotting and scheming still tends to take place on paper but it's nice to see the options available with digital tools. This video has made me realise how much of my world mapping is in my head, I should really make a new map and draw it out properly!
Thanks, Ed! I'm really glad this was helpful to you. :-)
Maps really can make a massive difference piquing player curiosity in certain landmarks they might have overlooked or forgotten about just having them verbally mentioned. But it also helps players visualize the campaign world as you do. Let us know how you go if you do end up making a map, and how your players respond!
This seems like solid advice! I'm working on an open world / sandbox sort of campaign right now (while running it) and this all sounds like it'll come in handy
Around 3:46 there seem to be some visual/audio syncing issues I wanted to point out
Thank you for this! This was helpful in planning my Grim Hollow campaign because there is just SO much ground to cover. Sometimes it's hard to plan the first session because I feel the need to flush out all the history and lore that people would know. I find myself getting stuck in details that most likely will not come.
I have used World Anvil but found it to be quite... robust. Not a bad tool by any means, it was just a lot for me to tack onto my planning. Though the map feature was great! I've been using a more simplistic tool called the Goblin's Notebook which helps me keep my campaign notes in tact. For cities / towns, I will create a card and sub-cards for each location in the town with a corresponding map. I use Inkarnate to make all my maps and found that once I make the city map, I can just label the areas of importance for me, the DM then create another version for my players without any sort of marker so the players know what the city looks like and what features they might want to explore next.
I need to do a better job on honing in on the main focus instead of trying to plan key events happening across the world! I'm loving this video series :)
Thanks, Andy! Yeah, not "over planning" and keeping on track for the next session can be a real challenge. It's also okay to flip open the Campaign Guide and double check the lore (like the name of an Arch Seraph) if it means you're saving time on the note taking for more session relevant prep.
Glad you're enjoying the videos!
I think I’m currently running a Sandbox in Sharn. They have a lot of ties to the city, so I don’t know that they’d want to leave, but perhaps Sharn can be handled as a sort of open world itself.
This was helpful, thank you.
Thanks Peter, glad you found it helpful!
I think a great bit of advice for open world games on a larger scale is to steal from Legend of Zelda : breath of the wield or elden ring or any of your most favourite open world video games.
Specifically the map system. When you look at the world map, there's all these places they can explore but it's clear that there are level suggestions for each.
And i like to do the same.
The story was designed to reccomend certain places. But the map also denoted how dangerous these places were. I did this by adding small notes from "the map maker" about the regions.
That way the players know that it can be dangerous, builds anticipation for future events, but still have the choice to go there right now.
I'm noticing a weird trend in my UA-cam viewing. I go to Europe for 4x games, Britain for Warhammer content, and Australia for DnD/Fantasy worldbuilding content. Watching this is what made it click.
It's because we're so used to surviving deadly creatures in our daily lives that we get REALLY good at planning D&D campaigns. :P
@@GhostfireGaming I'd believe you, but the Brits have to put up with the Irish and the Scots. That is like having Duergar and Orcs on your borders. All you have is Emus and Drop bears.
Thank goodness what makes dungeon and open world building and running quite abit easier is called D100 Dungeon by MK Games from Martin Knight. I love D100 Dungeon!
What does Dael say?
"...not a sandbox..." describes a sandbox
Is there anyway to access your world Etharis on world anvil ? Just wondering because I recently picked up your core rulebook set and was going to use your setting and I feel like it would be a helpful tool?
where do you get your maps?
An open world is the same as a sand box campaign. Lol
WTF!!! What campaign are you running (or playing in) that doesn't have a world map? The most setting a DM can choose to run for Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder all come with world maps, sure the size of said world maps can vary a lot, from continent-sized to a very large island. But it's there so that players can plan out their traveling routes between fight scenes. And yes, world maps have their limits, but technically every world map is infinite as long as the DM is willing to add to it. I'm guessing you haven't had a lot of experience in playing tabletop games since it's clear that you think there is no way for the DM to show their players how big of a world they're playing in is. But trust me, when it takes your party three gaming sessions to travel an inch on whatever world map you are using, you get the scale of the world you're in damn quick!
Homebrew worlds generally do not start with a world map, and many don't even bother with a map for quite a while...and most of the setting books only have fairly large region maps which I guess you could call a world map.
"I'm guessing you haven't had a lot of experience in playing tabletop games since it's clear that you think there is no way for the DM to show their players how big of a world they're playing in is."
I'm not sure what you're responding to here, or who specifically it's directed at, since I'm still watching...but pretty much no matter what context it is, this statement is indicative of a mindset that is detrimental to the hobby. I hope you grow out of it.
One of the most free form, player-driven campaigns I've ever played was a Mage: the Awakening game. A map never became necessary for us players. Even in combat, it was mostly Theater of the Mind.
Oh man that grognard attitude is why a lot of people are intimidated to even try TTRPGs at all. This is why people compare us to "virgin neckbeards". Not all systems need a fat fucking map. Hexcrawls specifically? Of course because they whole point is about crawling across the wilderness & surviving. But what about something like Vampire? Or Werewolf? Or Mage? Or Burning Wheel? or Gurps? Or Fate? Or Call of Cthulhu? Or Cortex Prime? Or 13th Age? Or Genesys? Or Index Card RPG? Or Numenera? Or the ENTIRE PbtA family of systems?
But if we're sticking strictly to D&D or D&D-adjacent, maps still aren't necessary. Ask anyone who's been playing since the 80s (I grew up playing with lots of old school guys) & they'll most likely tell you they didn't really use maps or minis unless they felt it was necessary. Theatre of the mind has always been the norm in the hobby. Change your attitude or just don't say anything at all.
Most tables I played at were either entirely homebrew or had many homebrew elements. I think it is fair to assume that not everyone has access to regional maps at all times and it can be useful to point them into a direction to either:
- make it themselves and not feel self-conscious about it, even if it's a doodle. Maps can help so much.
- use software like he mentioned, it can cut prep time significantly
- scour the web for maps - which can actually give you plenty of inspiration and depict locations that get your gears going
The video is - to my understanding - about open-world campaigns. It could be that you are "converting" a rail-roady campaign into an open world one, and you might need to add a bunch of extra elements to a map produced by the publisher. In this case it might take a lot less time to use a software he mentioned to add new locations to an existing map so all and all it is useful info.
I think experience does not only come from running out-of-the-box campaigns, it can be a lot of work and prime experience gained if you flesh out parts or entire campaigns yourself.
It is dead stupid and easy to make a world map BUT if you do so then it will tend to lock down options. And there really is little reason for feeling you HAVE to do it. It is not laziness and if you want there are generators for making maps for you but you just sound like you are gate keeping (likely unintentionally).