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Online resources

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
The Story Games Names Project is more of a resource than a tool, but I guess it is useful nonetheless:
In May 2006, Jason Morningstar put out a call to the members of the story-games.com community for lists of names to be used by GMs at their tables. Some years later, community member DevP made an attempt to solicit more lists of names. Bellow you’ll find formatted versions of those efforts.
http://eakett.ca/sgnp/

As far as I can tell, the names feel authentic. The sample sizes are quite small (d20) and the names are not always the most typical ones for the culture, but that may not be a bad thing in itself. Some historical and fantasy cultures are also included. Some cultures have extra tables and there are also some humorous lists.
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
I'm currently watching the weekend's Circle of Worldbuilders Masterclass event, and it's turning out better than I expected:
This Masterclass is an intensive course for both seasoned and new Game Masters who want to hone their worldbuilding skills and create a better experience for their players.

During the weekend you will be able to attend a variety of classes on methodologies and tools that will help you:
  • Create an intriguing campaign plan
  • Build an exciting campaign setting
  • Design the most engaging encounters!
https://www.twitch.tv/greatgm

The event's still on it's first hour and continues on Sunday.

It's organized by World Anvil, Dungeon Fog/Project Deios, and the Great GM, but seems to contain more than just advertorial material.
 
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JohnnFour

Game Master
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Gamer Lifestyle
Demonplague Author
Borderland Explorer
Cool. Let us know of any learnings, @ELF! I always like improving my GMing.

Are there recordings?
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Are there recordings?
Sure:
But since these are 6 hour marathons, check out the program guide to find the good bits.

I don't think you will find any actual revelations, although World Anvil's "agile worldbuilding" is a nice concept. People who actually did their homework and submitted their creations to be reviewed on the second day probably got the most of out it. For me the most useful content were the Dungeon Fog tutorials - the tool does have some advanced functionality that makes it relatively easy to quickly put together impressive maps with proper lighting effects, etc.

Sadly the second day was not as useful as the first one. But the format of a 2-day event with prep materials available beforehand, homework assignments, feedback sessions, Discord rooms and after parties certainly was impressive.

IMG_0994.jpg
 
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JohnnFour

Game Master
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Gamer Lifestyle
Demonplague Author
Borderland Explorer
Looks like our PXE framework, which is based on LEAN.

What's the difference between Design and Build?

Also, do you know if Dungeon Fog makes black and white maps?
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
What's the difference between Design and Build?
From what I understood, it's nothing fancy: just like planning and implementing, or sketching and painting.

This is where the relevant sections start:

These are the documents they show on screen:

Also, do you know if Dungeon Fog makes black and white maps?
The built-in assets are full-color, but you can install your own assets (b&w or otherwise) and use just them.
 
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ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
World Building Magazine is a community-run online periodical that can be read for free:
Our writers and editors spend countless hours pouring their expertise into their articles, to study and use as you see fit. The artists on our team want to make your reading experience as in-depth and enhanced as possible; recognizing that many worldbuilders in their own right communicate concepts better through illustration. Finally, our behind the scenes teams of editors and “meta” volunteers make sure that your experience with this magazine is as professional as possible.
https://www.worldbuildingmagazine.com/

Each issue has a specific theme. The June issue is focusing on architecture.
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
This is a neat idea: an RPG rules template that you can use as a basis when writing a Black Hack style rule set of your own:
Have you ever wanted to create your own RPG but wasn't sure where to start? Have ideas but not sure how to come up with the mechanics and the rules from scratch? Great news, you don't have to do it on your own. Hack The RPG includes all the rules and mechanics you need to create your very own rules lite game, with 100% free to use text that you simply need to "Hack" or alter as you deem necessary to make it your own game! And best of all, Hack is free!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/319752/Hack-The-RPG--Create-your-own-Roleplaying-Game
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
If you like browsing gaming blogs, this aggregator site can be useful:
A Planet is a website which collects posts from member blogs and displays them on a single page. We are trying to keep the blogosphere alive!

These are the Planets currently hosted on this website:
  • The Old School RPG Planet is for Old School Renaissance (OSR) or Do It Yourself (DIY) bloggers.
  • The Indie RPG Planet is for Indie Games and Story Games bloggers.
  • The RPG Planet is for everybody else and includes the other Planets above.
Alternatives
  • German RPG blogs: rsp-blogs.de, das Netzwerk der deutschsprachigen Rollenspielblogs
https://campaignwiki.org/wiki/Planet/Home
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
The Ultimate D&D 5e DM Screen as a Google Doc spreadsheet:
I've been collaborating with u/NefariousNautilus, creating, collecting and editing a DMing one-stop-shop containing anything and everything you could need to smoothly run your game.

The project has had huge changes since v2 thanks to help from u/NefariousNautilus, now including a load of scripts and systems designed to make your life easier at the table, as well as integrated 5e rules, SRD monsters and spells, and an updated weather system.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindT...ltimate_dm_screentracker_massive_update_with/

See for example the Players Graphs tab for a tool for analyzing party strengths and weaknesses.
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
The Time Tower is a method for making time feel like a concrete resource in in-person games. It's available as a 3-page, Pay What You Want document at Itch.io:
In this document, I propose a mechanic called The Time Tower as a way to make time a more
tangibly meaningful resource in TTRPGs, and encourage players to make riskier, more
interesting decisions rather than optimal but boring decisions.
https://imsobadatnicknames.itch.io/the-time

It's like Jenga with a pile of d6.
 

ELF

Generator Sage
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
If you are into old-fashioned OSR gaming, the freely downloadable Footprints magazine by Dragonsfoot.org may be of interest. Issue #25 came out recently and is a 198 page collection of AD&D goodies.
Footprints, our very own e-zine, is a wealth of material for any Original AD&D campaign, with variant rules, monsters, articles, cartoons and a mini-module in every issue. All original, never before published material, submitted by Dragonsfoot forum members, many of whom have been old-school AD&D fans since well before it was old-school!
https://www.dragonsfoot.org/ft/
 

ExileInParadise

RPG Therapist
Staff member
Adamantium WoA
Wizard of Story
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