dming

dming

resources for running a game

• https://5e.tools

• Random generators

  • Names: https://www.behindthename.com/random/

  • Places, stories, items, effects: http://ancientquests.com/

  • NPC: http://www.npcgenerator.com/

  • http://whothefuckismydndcharacter.com/

  • https://theyfightcrime.org/

  • hex flower game engine: generic biased generator

    • overview and resources: https://goblinshenchman.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/2d6-hex-power-flower/

    • demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4Kl6hc1u3Y

  • tables generator / roller: https://meanderingbanter.blogspot.com/2019/12/automatic-list-to-html-translator-v3.html

  • decmillesial surge table: https://hideous.github.io/#

  • https://donjon.bin.sh/5e//

  • https://talkingheads.rosebud.ai/

  • titan: https://repl.it/@andrian/Forgotten-BeastTitan-Generator-for-DnD-5e-v-082#main.py

  • one page dungeon: https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

  • urban exploration: https://www.unlawful.games/2021/05/d100-derelict-urban-location-generator.html

• Characters

  • http://www.fastcharacter.com/

  • pregenerated character sheets: http://www.digitaldungeonmaster.com/pre-made-dd-5e-character-sheets.html

• Dice

  • stats: https://anydice.com/

• Maps

  • https://hexgridgenerator.github.io/

  • Drawing a cool cross-hatched, hand-drawn looking map: https://probabletrain.itch.io/dungeon-scrawl

  • similar: https://www.mipui.net/

  • Dungeon generators:

    • https://dungen.app/dungen/

    • https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

    • https://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/

    • https://davesmapper.com/

  • Card-tographic manual dungeon generation: https://koboldpress.com/howling-tower-cardtography/

  • Hex math: https://www.redblobgames.com/grids/hexagons/

  • Melan diagrams: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/45711/roleplaying-games/jaquaying-the-dungeon-addendum-how-to-use-a-melan-diagram

  • world generators

    • fantasy map generator: https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/

    • https://donjon.bin.sh/world/

    • https://davidson16807.github.io/tectonics.js/

    • https://inkarnate.com/

    • all kinds of other stuff: https://watabou.itch.io/

• Encounter Building

  • encounter checklist: https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/encounter-checklist

  • 7-3-1 Prep: Before a session, I come up with 7 total NPCs, locations, and encounters. I give each of these a motivation. I then come up with 3 sensory details for each that I can describe at the table (sights, smells, sounds, and so forth). Finally, I think of 1 way I can physically embody each at the table (a distinct noise, voice, verbal tic, body posture, mannerism, etc.). I write all these things down. https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/blog/the-7-3-1-technique

  • 5x5 Prep: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/c9e97l/fivebyfive_an_easy_to_use_prep_method/

  • 5 Rooms Dungeon

    • https://www.roleplayingtips.com/5-room-dungeons/

    • https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/12/5-room-dungeon/

  • CR estimating: https://imgur.com/a/qXl5v

  • Kobold Fight Club: https://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder

  • Tactics: https://www.themonstersknow.com/

  • paragon monsters:

    • https://www.giffyglyph.com/monstermaker/rules/paragon_actions.html

    • https://theangrygm.com/return-of-the-son-of-the-dd-boss-fight-now-in-5e/

  • Sean's Tools -- Overdraw 50% and Allocate

    • WTAF?! -- a tarot spread. WHAT is the situation. ACTUAL = what ir really going on. FUCK = what is fucking with things. QUESTION what assumption should I question. BANG = what should I do
    • SPEAR for adventure -- Site, Person, Entity (threat), Action (of entitiy), Repercusion -- https://sean-f-smith.medium.com/with-this-tool-youll-never-run-out-of-ideas-15d19ab72dfb
    • GRAPES for setting -- GRAPES stands for Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economics, Socialising

• Handouts

  • Homebrewery: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/

  • Badges/achievements: http://www.naturalcrit.com/badges/ note: I started just making them from scratch for more customization, but this is a good starting template

  • better icons for badges: https://game-icons.net/

• virtual table top

  • https://www.owlbear.rodeo/

  • https://www.playrole.com/

  • https://lets-role.com/

  • https://fari.app/

  • Token stamper: http://rolladvantage.com/tokenstamp/

  • battlemaps: https://www.reddit.com/r/battlemaps/

  • battlemaps: https://www.reddit.com/r/Roll20/

• Time tracking

  • aglet: http://aglet.io/tools/timekeeper/

• Player safety

  • Safety mechanisms: https://www.bigbadcon.com/safety-mechanisms/

• Orgnaization

  • Trello:
    • https://trello.com/b/7Qcxt5eT/dd-campaign-planner-for-beginners
    • https://trello.com/b/njma4lYH/dd-campaign-planning

---

Do campaigns and fantasy worlds exist independently of the players, and for reasons other than their enjoyment?

In most campaigns, the monsters and non-player characters exist solely for the benefit of the player characters, and are frozen exactly as they are until the players stumble across them, even if decades of game time go by. A story-telling game works on the assumption that monsters and NPCs have lives of their own and live and work and die even when the player characters aren't looking. Thus, the story-telling campaign is a world that exists in its own right rather than for the characters benefit.

This requires a certain amount of doublethink. The campaign world exists for the players' enjoyment and the players' enjoyment is increased if the world is realistic. Since the real world has an existence outside our immediate presence, a realistic campaign world would continue whether the players did anything or not. Thus, the campaign that exists to provide enjoyment for the players also exists for other reasons than the enjoyment of the players.

%B Through Dungeons Deep: A Fantasy Gamers' Handbook
%A Plamondon, Robert
%I Norton Creek Press
%K dungeonsdeep
%D 2016
%O asin:B01N048H4V