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@kdolanjr
27 күн бұрын
First off: how dare you. Second: great vid, I'm looking closer at these mechanics!
@areeh.haecker9985
27 күн бұрын
I really liked the few locations that were redundant or didn't add to the plot, they made the town feel more like a real place for me
@chandlerpearce6213
26 күн бұрын
Also, depending on style of game/players, it’s important to have places they can “waist time” to progress things and make their decision to go somewhere fee more impactful
@johnfreymuth4808
27 күн бұрын
This design philosophy goes all the way back to their Mutant Year Zero rulebook, a book that in my opinion has some of the best site design of any TTRPG book. The sites are presented with so many seeds for possible directions and really feel like they are written from the perspective of a GM and not an author. I have structured all of my GM notes using Free League's adventure site design ever since reading MYZ. I cannot recommend this style enough.
@DocEonChannel
26 күн бұрын
This. MYZ is the game that finally taught me how to GM a sandbox, after years of failed tries.
@cassmi8783
23 күн бұрын
MYZ locations are just the best. I really wish the game was more popular these days, since it’s easily my favourite post-apocalyptic setting.
@ZeAshTonz
27 күн бұрын
The short descriptions might require more prep for some people, but it can be less if you have a certain style of GMing. For improv guys like myself, having too many puzzle pieces that need to connect will stifle the game. We instead like to focus on memorizing what factions want and what they can throw at the party. That way, we always have a general idea of how the world will respond the party's crazy schemes.
@PyrotechNick77
27 күн бұрын
This is the third time Free League has come up in recommendations and conversations for me in 2 days. I definitely will look at forbidden lands, this video was very informative and you definitely got a new subscriber
@natel7151
26 күн бұрын
FBL is a really good adaptation of Free League's year zero engine to the OSR-style fantasy. Many player options, magic isn't overpowering. It's a giant hex crawl, with many rules and frameworks for the hex crawl. Also, super thoughtful solo rules (optional) that are clearly made for a single player character (plus companions). Just a very thoughtful approach overall. (And I hear that the original Swedish rules are superb to read as well.)
@hungryewok1684
23 күн бұрын
I have everything for FORBIDDEN LANDS and haven't been disappointed
@Ars_Fabula_TTRPG
25 күн бұрын
I’ve been stressing all week about how to prep for my next session until last night I remembered “just set up the areas” and suddenly your video is on my feed. The gods smile upon me
@timothyyoung2962
8 күн бұрын
I've always found that when my game group was crunched for time, but still wanted to play, a location based game was always a great idea and pretty easy to prep. The good old classic dungeon, troubled town, abandoned space colony, or crime-ridden mega block.
@robertdavis7464
4 күн бұрын
I wish i had discovered your content sooner. I've unintentionally rewritten the Pathfinder campaign adventure path Serpents Skull as an adventure site, but struggled to bridge the gap as a gm from a linear story (lile Ironfanf Invasion) to this adventure style. So you've earned another subscriber
@antigrav6004
27 күн бұрын
There are also Quetzel's spire, and Crypt of the Mellified Mage if you want more adventure sites. People tend to forget about those supplements. As for what you bring up in regards to art, usually the only art my group sees is the map, if we have one. everything in terms of NPCs is conveyed through mannerisms and the occasional voice if i can commit to one. Improvisation is key to this kind of gameplay. Runehammer's RPG mainframe taught me the value of bullet points. My players *hate* when i read a few uninterrupted paragraphs. They disengage hard. Just quick little details that i can come up with my own words for on the fly are way more valuable than great prose.
@nicklarocco4178
26 күн бұрын
I don't think they're available anymore. At least they aren't on free league's shop. But they are very cool books.
@drew-g-b3180
14 күн бұрын
Thank you for talking about these! I didn’t know they exist and can see that they can quite nicely fit into other systems as they are almost system agnostic. They are exactly what I’ve been trying to do with my players and remind me of the Low Fantasy Gaming adventures.
@miked5562
8 күн бұрын
My party just got to grindbone last session. It's the third adventure site they've found so far, and I love the balance it takes as a gm, both for absorbing the various moving parts in an adventure site but needing to be ready to improv on the fly. I have more fun than my players do, I'm sure 😂
@sarcomere1454
23 күн бұрын
Really have been down on D&D lately, but this reminds me a lot of the early sandbox chapters of Rime of the Frostmaiden, the only D&D module I've enjoyed running! Great advice for this sort of GMing, keep it up!
@TheCatThatWasMan
25 күн бұрын
I’ve been thinking about putting together something like this myself and the video really confirms the ideas I’ve been having independently. If you play enough games that you don’t enjoy and can figure out why you don’t enjoy them. I think you have the upper hand and creating something that might actually work for people. A little sandbox with some fun toys to play with seems like the best solution for sparking off the kind of play and creativity that makes RPG so much fun for me and I think a lot of other people. Thank you so much for posting this. you got a new phone.
@mateofantasma
26 күн бұрын
I like the adventure site approach to sandbox games, it's really great and very powerful. I do not fancy much the way the text is organized in Forbidden lands, but I do enjoy the idea.
@hoos-karl7807
26 күн бұрын
This is exactly why I love HârnWorld material. Most think it is all a huge amount of detail. While that is true, each article has snippets to flesh out an area and so many adventure hooks that it is easy to prep for a session.
@mrnixon2287
26 күн бұрын
I love this approach. Events and rumours will typically steer ur players towards certain locations. Its the same as a sandbox adventure. Iv run many adventures in a city setting :Thieves' World over 3 decades. This style of adventure gives the skeleton to the GM and allows interesting options for the players. What really brings a setting to life are its unique locations, interesting NPC's with motivations and goals which the players can discover, conflicting factions which provide opportunities for conflict, spying, double-dealing and betrayal and interesting lore which hooks in your players. In my adventure setting one PC is a member of a secretive assassins guild working to overthrow a rival assassins guild, one PC is a thief who has been recruited and trained as a magician by an ancient order of Blue Star Adepts, one is a PC barbarian who wants to rebuild a smugglers guild that he once was a member of but was destroyed by a rival crime-lord and a PC paladin who is the member of a secret faction of knights who is seeking to destroy a cult of vampire worshipping priests. Thieves World gives you generic maps and tables to populate large sections of the city with businesses and also encounter tables and NPC descriptions for both major and minor NPCs. These help bring your world to life and add depth and flavour few other settings offer.
@brady9592
27 күн бұрын
Nice vid, enjoy the deeper mechanic dives.
@swordsnstones
23 күн бұрын
Pretty much the approach i took to creating my game. I give a general locale and encourage game hosts to insert encounter locations as they travel the main world. Nothing set in stone as i want game hosts to be free to create locations of their own. The reason is that the main "world" is an alternate universe (world) where pretty much anything can happen. So for world building its just a matter of inserting your own locale, and let the story build around it as you play. Try not to spend too much time creating the how or why this location is found here, but focus on how to survive it, and what it has to offer to the story being created by the players.
@deusvault5732
26 күн бұрын
I always have enjoyed the black and white maps. And I enjoy the almost dark souls storytelling that just giving the place, events and some people can bring.
@diegotartaglia
26 күн бұрын
Great. I've been playing Forbidden lands for a while now, and the adventure site approach is really interesting..I was a Homebrew GM for most of my life, but I'll loving the freedom of this format.
@chrism6315
24 күн бұрын
The way free league books are written/laidout is IMO perfect for me as a semi experienced DM, comfortable in how i run games. However if my first adventure was one of their books i think it woild have been difficult. I needed the very clear dungeons and magufin quests and think most new dms should run those, but free league books are the perfect 'ok, now you know what youre doing, take a look at this' style books/settings/adventures.
@YukonJack88
25 күн бұрын
Dave Our Amazing 3 year Symbaroum campaign has just naturally fallen into this style of navigation and thus has leveraged this to such visceral intensity Mind you every location in The whole setting is a land mine of potentials I’m so used to this style of organic play
@natel7151
26 күн бұрын
Per's guidelines are super helpful, even when you're conceptualizing a solo context (say, for example, you're playing The Walking Dead... or even Forbidden Lands' rules in Book of Beasts). Good framework to be more creative & adding various pressures to the environments. EDIT: The two-page site idea is also a good one, like the "One Page Dungeon" concept. It's a good, disciplined approach to help keep the writing punchy.
@nicklarocco4178
26 күн бұрын
Adventure sites are basically all I do anymore. They're a good middle ground between a completely free sandbox, and a narrative focused story. The sandbox here does have walls, and players can butt up against them and realize theres nothing of interest outside the box. It also means that if the GM is pretty well prepped with a site means they can easily improvise things by moving npcs around, or just having events happen to spur the players.
@randomtvninja
12 күн бұрын
What makes this game so good is its basically all the things it seems DnD5e DMs are scared about a player doing. So many jokes about players telling their story and it going wrong.. if you can't trust your players boot em, and if you DM for money make your style extremely clear and what is and isnt allowed, and if they fail to meet the standard at the table boot em.. now before someone says something silly like well that mean it could be used for hate by booting people due to xyz.. chances of that are lower than you'd actually think. Anyway its an enjoyable game and alchemy VTT has some cool built in to it.
@kalleendo7577
27 күн бұрын
This is the way
@paulll47
27 күн бұрын
Maybe it's me but I've seen an ugly trend where published adventures turn into railroads, it's not limited to a single game either, come writers, step up your game will ya?
@DaveThaumavore
27 күн бұрын
@@paulll47 I think that’s more the norm, and has been for decades. It sucks for the players and GM.
@KyleMaxwell
27 күн бұрын
Maybe I'm misunderstanding (entirely possible!) - this sounds like old "adventure modules" and popular OSR works like Trilemma Adventures?
@DocEonChannel
26 күн бұрын
The big difference is that it isn't intended (or even possible) to murder hobo your way through an adventure site of this type.
@McLainOppy
24 күн бұрын
19:06 Tips for creating an adventure site 🥇⛏ 1. Establish major plot 2. Come up with an intriguing hook 3. Make items interesting 4. Use deadly monsters 5. Create dynamic, logical areas 6. Do memorable NPCs 7. Honor your player's ideas 8. Practice on two-page spreads
@opscontaylor8195
27 күн бұрын
Fun fact - cause I hate linear prepped dungeon ride adventures, I have been running ALL my games like this since about 1989... which makes sense why the Free League design methods naturally called to me when I discovered them. Honestly, FL might owe you some money Dave... your videos got me to buy like 90% of their current production... shame on you. ;)
@DaveThaumavore
27 күн бұрын
@@opscontaylor8195 They really should be cutting me a check at this point. Good on you for running games with sophistication!
@Skanah_
25 күн бұрын
I havent run any of the Forbidden Lands scenario sites but I have run a few of the scenario sites from Twilight 2000, which uses the sake format. Those have all gone really well and were reasonably easy to prep and run.
@Rakkitt
26 күн бұрын
Great video with loads of good advice
@KiMo7PDC
27 күн бұрын
Awesome stuff… I am curious about this type of prep and might take this as a sign to make something along those lines… usually I’ll have a single location ready, since I normally run oneshots or more episodic type campaigns. But maybe it’s time I prep something a bit bigger without necessarily going full blown hexcrawl
@CountryBwoy
26 күн бұрын
6:00 I'm just this far in and I don't see that as redundant. I feel like this location is where new slave fighters prove themselves and then move up to the other location where they can possibly win their freedom.
@airsheeps
25 күн бұрын
The AI art renderings of the town's locales looked way too warm and inviting for a city built on slavery and blighted with bloodshed and death cults 😨
@EpicoLirico
25 күн бұрын
This is a great video, and the advice of "Two Pages" is the best. Yes, this takes a lot of improv, but the payoff is huge.
@jshud3
26 күн бұрын
I'm thinking this adventure site style, would help to make the PCs more proactive instead of reactive... it's the PCs decisions and actions that lay the groundwork for how the NPCs react and then that drives a more collaborative, emerging adventure.
@paavohirn3728
25 күн бұрын
Free downloads of the adventure site maps for Forbidden Lands are available on the FL site including color versions.
@DaveThaumavore
25 күн бұрын
@@paavohirn3728 what? That’s awesome!
@paavohirn3728
25 күн бұрын
@@DaveThaumavore Yeah! The new website makes them a bit unintuitive to find but they're all there for all campaign sites. It's pretty cool!
@BunnyNiyori
26 күн бұрын
I agree fully.
@Streetsam
27 күн бұрын
Great!
@SimpleRoad
25 күн бұрын
Do players actually like the sandbox-like format or mostly game masters? I know people complain about adventures that railroad the story but, in reality, the sandbox often generates adventures which never seem to progress and often are never finished.
@orkcol
26 күн бұрын
"Where we're going we dont need roads.."
@anselmoffrisia2930
26 күн бұрын
And then when he comes back, it's literally on a train. Cars are intrinsically less railroaded than trains. 😌
@jasonsunday2932
24 күн бұрын
I love the location cards. Where can I get them?
@DaveThaumavore
24 күн бұрын
@@jasonsunday2932 I posted them on my Patreon
@SamuraiMujuru
27 күн бұрын
I'm not seeing the links to Per Holmstrom's work apart from the official FBL books. Am I missing something?
@DaveThaumavore
27 күн бұрын
@@SamuraiMujuru sorry, must have forgotten: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/browse?author=%22Per%20Holmstr%C3%B6m%22
@tsaracini22
23 күн бұрын
Dave: All those pictures you showed look to have the same art style. Where do you get those? Thanks.
@darkjack164
26 күн бұрын
BG3 is laid out exactly like this, if you think about it. My go to adventure site is "Lastlook" a refugee camp ruled over by a madman named "Tanner" who, along with his gang rules the settlement with fear and torment, being known to skin his enemies and problem people
@luffysh
27 күн бұрын
Did you use AI for the portraits and pictures? Love the style! What software did you use? What prompts did you use?
@DaveThaumavore
27 күн бұрын
@@luffysh Leonardo, Anime XL. I can’t remember the prompts though.
@luffysh
26 күн бұрын
@@DaveThaumavore thank you! 😊
@babonilla
26 күн бұрын
@@DaveThaumavore Those location images were absolutely perfect and I'd love to be able to replicate it for my table. Any tips?
@samchafin4623
23 күн бұрын
So, this slaver town developed during the age when no one could travel due to magical mists? But then, who did they sell slaves to, or buy them from? I know it's fiction, and can be handwaved, but the economics of this town in this world are a bit of a stumbling block for me, and seem largely designed around making it feel darker and edgier.
@DaveThaumavore
23 күн бұрын
@@samchafin4623 Rust Brothers could move freely because they had no fear and felt content with themselves even in the mist. Bloodlings only fed upon those harboring fear and discontent. Also, everyone could move during the day, they just had to be in a place of safety by nightfall when the mist came out. This place of safety was almost always their own homes, but could have been safe houses.
@claudiaborges8406
26 күн бұрын
“They grab you knock you to the ground and steal from you when they attack” Excuse me… what? I get your point but that’s not what it should look like
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