Am finally home from work and I get to read my book. #DnD #GamesMaster #DungeonMaster #TTRPG

Update 26/02/2025 – Campaign and Lore. https://www.alittleofnothing.co.uk/blog/2025/02/26/update-26-02-2025-campaign-and-lore/

Aaargh! I've made a huge rod for my back. This world building folder redo is so convoluted. All my existing maps are hand drawn ( and crudely at that) same with the town and city scale maps.

I need to work macro to micro scale. I need a world map that roughly matches the regional maps I have, my regional maps need to dictate logically where the towns and cities go. I realise in collating these old hand drawn maps I was a little free and loose with scale. Towns and cities are too far apart. So I'm creating more hamlets and market towns in between.

The creation myth relies on geography and the pantheon of gods. I keep finding myself needing to call upon something I haven't updated yet... while all along shoe horning in a weekly games session with colleagues after work! So the maps etc I generated for those also have to "make sense" in the grand scheme of things!! #DnD #RolePlaying #GamesMaster #DungeonMaster #TTRPG

On The Creation of Eytheria

Being a mostly accurate account and condensation of the various religious texts and describing the creation of our world, Eytheria.

https://www.alittleofnothing.co.uk/blog/2025/02/21/on-the-creation-of-eytheria/

I sat down last night and began looking through the two folders that contain the world I created for my #DnD campaigns—something I started over 30 years ago (the world, not the campaigns, that is!).

When I first started playing as a non-GM, we’d often get the usual, "You're in an inn, and you hear the barkeep talk of troubles at <story link>." That was fine, but it soon dawned on me that these inns we kept visiting were rather generic—nothing ever seemed to happen until we, the adventurers, arrived.

I used to sketch maps and layouts of locations based on the DM’s descriptions as we roved from village to village, town to town, and city to city. But I quickly noticed huge inconsistencies and illogical choices.

When I became a #DungeonMaster / #GamesMaster, I wanted the world to feel real to my players.

The small town they found themselves in had a reason for existing. The people who lived and worked there weren’t just there to push the story forward. The bars were full of gossip, of course, but not just about the bands of kobolds lurking in the nearby woods. The people were three-dimensional, not just cardboard cutouts.

My first map was a crudely drawn sketch in a lined A4 notebook, but it was a start. I put it in a folder for safekeeping.

Fast forward nearly two decades, and I now have two folders filled with typed-up notes, maps, handouts (feelies), props, and more.

Most of my notes are rough—some typed, some handwritten. I even have a couple of 5¼ and 3½-inch floppies with who-knows-what on them, simply labelled "D&D Stuff."

So, to that end, I’ve decided to start organising and modernising everything.

I’m also thinking of documenting my progress on my woefully underused blog. As you can probably tell from my toots, my writing tends to veer towards verbosity, and I enjoy long-form content.

So, watch this space! I have a lot to sift through and rethink—histories and maps, religions and pantheons, socio-economic factors, and more.

It’s a lot of work, but I think other DMs might find it interesting—whether to follow my thought process or even to borrow elements for their own #TabletopRolePlaying #games.

Far from finished, but this is the extended shape the improved land of Nicea. The new sections are to the far west and east. Seeing the ocean on both sides really frames the continent and aesthetically improves the map more than I would have guessed. Next I need to add forest details to the west, then colour and the border needs work. #shadows #mapping #dndmap #dndcartography #cartography #cartographer #rpg #dnd #roleplaying #fantasy #map #ttrpgart #largemap #gamesmaster #rpggame #dndcreatives

You may have heard of the Welsh water leaper, and you may even have seen a version for #dnd or another tabletop rpg. But did you know that almost everything can be traced back to a single interview with a fisherman named Ifan Owen?

Find out more in the monsterofthemonthclub Discord server, and watch this space for the formal announcement of the Club's Patreon launch. If you're a #GamesMaster who loves monsters from myth and folklore, you won't want to miss it!

https://discord.gg/JAWHTrrS

@spectrumtinted has made a video retrospective on GamesMaster that's worth a look: https://youtu.be/SvoDH0ya7bg

A friend of mine just published this excellent resource for GM's and writers. Check it out! #TTRPG #Gamesmaster
365 Worldbuilding Prompts for Writers and Roleplaying Games - Volume 1 (365 World Building Prompts for Writers and Roleplaying Games) https://amzn.eu/d/cu8I227

The central Duchies from this detailed map for a novel. The central lower kingdom is more built up and dominated by farmland which contrasts nicely with the hills and woods that surround it. Commission for alloraleanne on Twitter.. #linedrawing #mapping #dndmap #dndcartography #cartography #cartographer #rpg #dnd #roleplaying #fantasy #map #ttrpgart #largemap #gamesmaster #rpggame #dndcreatives #dndassets #roleplaying #ttrpg

Very early work in progress for a map I’m working on for alloraleanne on Twitter. I’ve started drawing the ornate border which right now features trees, flowers and dragons…#linedrawing #mapping #dndmap #dndcartography #cartography #cartographer #rpg #dnd #roleplaying #fantasy #map #ttrpgart #largemap #gamesmaster #rpggame #dndcreatives #dndassets #roleplaying #ttrpg

Very early work in progress for a map I’m working on for alloraleanne on Twitter. This modest start is the most important city from a narrative perspective around which the map of a nation is being drawn to illustrate the world the novel is set in. I’m having fun with this one.…. #linedrawing #mapping #dndmap #dndcartography #cartography #cartographer #rpg #dnd #roleplaying #fantasy #map #ttrpgart #largemap #gamesmaster #rpggame #dndcreatives #dndassets #roleplaying #ttrpg

I spent quite a large amount of time reading the #SpireRPG book over the last day or two. The world is fantastic and I really like the Pratchett/Mieville/Cultist Simulator/Locke Lamora vibes.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't find running a game of it daunting though - I've never GM-ed before and don't think my players are going to be as keen on reading this as I was. Any tips for a new GM?