Hey All,
I've recently been getting really into the Sine Nomine content generation tools for SWN and Godbound. A few others I've found extremely useful are Paul Gallagher's Augmented Reality (system-agnostic cyberpunk generators) and of course Vornheim courtesy of Zak S.
Are there more tools like these out there that I'm blithely unaware of?
Hot Springs Island is damned fantastic and I fully intend to incorporate that into one of my campaigns (or run it as its own standalone scenario), but I'm more curious about agnostic or mostly-agnostic generation or list content I can pull to generate things for my own settings and adventures (the magic item generators and stuff in the back of HSI definitely count though).
The endless number of "List of 100 [Names, Taverns, Adventure seeds, blah blah] for [Genre] games" products are fine enough I guess, but I'm primarily searching for the real stand-out diamonds in the rough. Masks (list of 1k NPC's) is pretty fantastic, though.
Otherwise, please feel free to post anything at all which you find useful, for riffing off of or developing content for your own games, or anything else (unless you're one of those brilliant masterminds who has never needed such tools or you develop the entirety of your own, in which case I'm poor company!:p); I'm also looking for the sorts of gems that I don't even realize I want yet, so go wild.
The Dungeon Dozen. An unsung hero.
http://www.rpgnow.com/m/product/129931
Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1049383The Dungeon Dozen. An unsung hero.
http://www.rpgnow.com/m/product/129931
Didn't even need to finish reading the description, instant purchase. Cheers!
I really dislike random generators because they tend to generate garbage (see most Judges Guild products as an example). But Central Casting Dungeons is pretty useful for ideas
Quote from: JeremyR;1049387I really dislike random generators because they tend to generate garbage (see most Judges Guild products as an example). But Central Casting Dungeons is pretty useful for ideas
I'm not familiar with the product line you specified, but I don't think that's an unreasonable perspective. I tend to use generators less to produce game content that will directly appear ingame; more often, I just enjoy using them as a source of inspiration and ideas to build off of or twist, particularly when I find myself accidentally over-focusing on a few concepts or ideas/character types/whatever to the detriment of others.
I guess you could describe them as kind of a "creative crutch"; I don't always use them, but they're valuable to me when I come up dry on my own.
P.S. Central Casting Dungeons looks pretty interesting, and it's turned me on to some of the other Central Casting titles. Looking pretty difficult/expensive to acquire right now, unfortunately, but thanks for mentioning it.
Quote from: Antiquation!;1049457I'm not familiar with the product line you specified, but I don't think that's an unreasonable perspective. I tend to use generators less to produce game content that will directly appear ingame; more often, I just enjoy using them as a source of inspiration and ideas to build off of or twist, particularly when I find myself accidentally over-focusing on a few concepts or ideas/character types/whatever to the detriment of others.
Yeah, this. I used to hate random generators, but now I realize that I was probably re-creating the same 5 or 6 adventure scenarios over and over. We all get stale, we all need new inspiration. It's nice to have a random generator say "now try this!" because you never know what might come out of it.
The
SWN and
Godbound random generators are great. So are the adventure generators in
Thousand Suns, a sci-fi heartbreaker that has a few neat ideas in it.
Quote from: Heavy Josh;1049458Yeah, this. I used to hate random generators, but now I realize that I was probably re-creating the same 5 or 6 adventure scenarios over and over. We all get stale, we all need new inspiration. It's nice to have a random generator say "now try this!" because you never know what might come out of it.
Exactly. Thanks for the Thousand Suns pointer, I'll take a look.
I never used GURPS Space 3e for GURPS but I used it a lot for building worlds and solar systems.
Quote from: Krimson;1049492I never used GURPS Space 3e for GURPS but I used it a lot for building worlds and solar systems.
GURPS Space is a gem for sure, the 4th edition one included. Having played GURPS for going on 20 years now I do sometimes lament not squeezing more potential from some of its best supplements/genre books, but I can only run so many campaigns at once you know?
But hey, I've still got time and ambition.
For fantasy I recommend three books from Goodman Games: the Dungeon Alphabet; GM Gems; the Monster Alphabet.
Like many have noted I use them more for inspiration. There are some charts for randomly generating large content but mostly they are designed to describe a specific aspect of a room or maybe a create a whole dragon.
I carry these to games along with the core books, that useful to me. Worth the weight.
Quote from: MonsterSlayer;1049547For fantasy I recommend three books from Goodman Games: the Dungeon Alphabet; GM Gems; the Monster Alphabet.
Like many have noted I use them more for inspiration. There are some charts for randomly generating large content but mostly they are designed to describe a specific aspect of a room or maybe a create a whole dragon.
I carry these to games along with the core books, that useful to me. Worth the weight.
These look excellent, and on sale no less. Thanks!
As much as people might praise Vornheim, I only found like, a couple of tables from there actually useful.
Pulp Egypt (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89643/Pulp-Egypt)
Heroes of Rura-Tonga (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/90019/Heroes-of-RuraTonga)
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/230437/Krevborna-A-Gothic-Blood-Opera)
Quote from: 3rik;1049962Pulp Egypt (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89643/Pulp-Egypt)
Heroes of Rura-Tonga (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/90019/Heroes-of-RuraTonga)
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/230437/Krevborna-A-Gothic-Blood-Opera)
Very nice! I haven't had a chance to check out Krevborna, but I've found that author's Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque (//talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/p/links.html) trilogy to be a great resource for Gothic and gaslamp-fantasy adventure. It's ostensibly for OSR D&D, but most of the tables can be used with any system.
Haven't read more than a little part, but Castle Oldskull stuff is impressive by its size.
Krevborna is awesome (I played in the campaign).
I haven't picked up Krevborna yet, but I plan to. It being an early modern setting would imply that you at least need rules/stats for appropriate weapons and armor.
Quote from: 3rik;1049962Pulp Egypt (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89643/Pulp-Egypt)
Heroes of Rura-Tonga (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/90019/Heroes-of-RuraTonga)
Krevborna: A Gothic Blood Opera (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/230437/Krevborna-A-Gothic-Blood-Opera)
Wow. These look fantastic and I've definitely never even heard of them, thanks!
Quote from: nightlamp;1049963Very nice! I haven't had a chance to check out Krevborna, but I've found that author's Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque (//talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/p/links.html) trilogy to be a great resource for Gothic and gaslamp-fantasy adventure. It's ostensibly for OSR D&D, but most of the tables can be used with any system.
Hm, site looks like it has some interesting stuff laying around but the links included on the page unfortunately appear to be broken...
Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque I-III and Tales of Gothic Earth are available in Pay-What-You-Want pdf from Dolorous Exhumation Press through DTRPG.
Link: DriveThruRPG.com - Dolorous Exhumation Press (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12472/Dolorous-Exhumation-Press)
Quote from: 3rik;1050157Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque I-III and Tales of Gothic Earth are available in Pay-What-You-Want pdf from Dolorous Exhumation Press through DTRPG.
Link: DriveThruRPG.com - Dolorous Exhumation Press (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/12472/Dolorous-Exhumation-Press)
I should have figured these would be available through DTRPG, thanks for guiding this horse to water.:)
Quote from: Antiquation!;1050147Hm, site looks like it has some interesting stuff laying around but the links included on the page unfortunately appear to be broken...
Sorry about that, I didn't think to check the links themselves. I'm glad someone else rode to the rescue with the DTRPG links!
Quote from: nightlamp;1050167Sorry about that, I didn't think to check the links themselves. I'm glad someone else rode to the rescue with the DTRPG links!
No worries, we got there in the end. :p I appreciate the tip-off!
The encounter rules for groups and items in Twilight:2000 are about 99% system-agnostic. I hadn't used them in ages, but in the last while, I've found myself generating small groups and encounters using the generators. They're definitely geared towards Twilight:2000 style encounters: travelling through hostile terrain meeting similarly traumatized and suspicious people who all want your food. But they are designed to develop a sandbox setting of Poland--every settlement smaller than a large town is considered a village that is randomly generated via the charts.
The NPC motivation chart in T2K, using a deck of cards, is also system-agnostic and quite evocative for basic NPC motivations.
Transylvanian Adventures (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/121110/Transylvanian-Adventures) (DCC) is another good resource if you're running gothic or Hammer-style horror games, it's loaded with random tables that are mostly system-neutral. I don't play DCC, but it's something I reference regularly when prepping Carpathia adventures. Too bad the author didn't continue the line, I would have loved to see the magic and monster books.
Quote from: Heavy Josh;1050221The encounter rules for groups and items in Twilight:2000 are about 99% system-agnostic. I hadn't used them in ages, but in the last while, I've found myself generating small groups and encounters using the generators. They're definitely geared towards Twilight:2000 style encounters: travelling through hostile terrain meeting similarly traumatized and suspicious people who all want your food. But they are designed to develop a sandbox setting of Poland--every settlement smaller than a large town is considered a village that is randomly generated via the charts.
The NPC motivation chart in T2K, using a deck of cards, is also system-agnostic and quite evocative for basic NPC motivations.
This would actually be perfect for one of the two campaigns I'm running right now. I'll check it out!
Quote from: nightlamp;1050260Transylvanian Adventures (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/121110/Transylvanian-Adventures) (DCC) is another good resource if you're running gothic or Hammer-style horror games, it's loaded with random tables that are mostly system-neutral. I don't play DCC, but it's something I reference regularly when prepping Carpathia adventures. Too bad the author didn't continue the line, I would have loved to see the magic and monster books.
Wow, and THIS would be perfect for the other campaign! I feel like a kid in a candy store. Time to at least glance at the bank account...
Tome of Adventure Design by Frog God is really good for avoiding ruts. It is specifically designed to generate stuff that you have to think about and synthesize to make sense of, so not for use during the game.
It's not quite exactly system agnostic, but very close. It's certainly OSR-agnostic: Cults of Chaos is my sourcebook to allow you to create medieval-authentic cults, sects, witch covens, heresies and other nefarious groups. With tons of random tables and details.
Quote from: atomic;1050438Tome of Adventure Design by Frog God is really good for avoiding ruts. It is specifically designed to generate stuff that you have to think about and synthesize to make sense of, so not for use during the game.
This sounds right up my alley, I'll check it out. Thanks!
Quote from: RPGPundit;1050739It's not quite exactly system agnostic, but very close. It's certainly OSR-agnostic: Cults of Chaos is my sourcebook to allow you to create medieval-authentic cults, sects, witch covens, heresies and other nefarious groups. With tons of random tables and details.
I don't mind some OSR trimmings at all, they're generally very straightforward to convert. The main thing for me is the strength of the ideas behind the tables and details. I'll take a look at this, sounds like it would be useful for an upcoming campaign I'm prepping based around witch covens/bloodlines and the conflicts between them. Thanks for the recommendation.
Chronicles of Talislanta (1987) is system free, and it is all a ref needs for a Talislanta campaign. Most of the other first edition books are pretty light on system content, though (Naturist Guide and Sorcerer's Guide).
Pirate's Guide to Freeport (2007) is completely system free.
If you like Kevin Crawford's games, Red Tide (2011) has very little system based content, with most of the book setting content.
Richard LeBlanc's d30 books are good table books (lulu). They are D&D type of game focused, though very broadly. D30 Sandbox Companion and d30 DM companion are pretty neat.
Going back to days of yore, Thieves World (1981) for Chaosium was designed for most of the systems around back in the day. It's an all time favorite of mine.
By far my favourite systemless resource is the random tables at https://donjon.bin.sh/ - you have to poke around a bit to find the best ones eg https://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/random/#type=encounter;enc_type=Road for fantasy road encounters or https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/random/#type=Space%20Encounter for space opera space encounters.
Quote from: Antiquation!;1050779I don't mind some OSR trimmings at all, they're generally very straightforward to convert. The main thing for me is the strength of the ideas behind the tables and details. I'll take a look at this, sounds like it would be useful for an upcoming campaign I'm prepping based around witch covens/bloodlines and the conflicts between them. Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm confident you'll find it useful.
Quote from: Kuroth;1050796Chronicles of Talislanta (1987) is system free, and it is all a ref needs for a Talislanta campaign. Most of the other first edition books are pretty light on system content, though (Naturist Guide and Sorcerer's Guide).
Pirate's Guide to Freeport (2007) is completely system free.
If you like Kevin Crawford's games, Red Tide (2011) has very little system based content, with most of the book setting content.
Richard LeBlanc's d30 books are good table books (lulu). They are D&D type of game focused, though very broadly. D30 Sandbox Companion and d30 DM companion are pretty neat.
Going back to days of yore, Thieves World (1981) for Chaosium was designed for most of the systems around back in the day. It's an all time favorite of mine.
Thieves World, Red Tide and the D30 stuff look awesome. Thanks a lot, I'd never even heard of Thieves World previously!
Quote from: S'mon;1050814By far my favourite systemless resource is the random tables at https://donjon.bin.sh/ - you have to poke around a bit to find the best ones eg https://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/random/#type=encounter;enc_type=Road for fantasy road encounters or https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/random/#type=Space%20Encounter for space opera space encounters.
I can second this, there are some very good generators in here. I'll have to wade through my bookmarks and pull a few additional generator sites to post here in case anyone else finds that kind of stuff useful.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1051121I'm confident you'll find it useful.
This has turned out to be exceedingly handy; in addition to the variety of tables (sections of which are laid out in a logical fashion) I like the agnostic alchemical effects, and the clues/revelations. Well-structured and I can see a lot of thought and care was put into this; will have to read it more in-depth this weekend. This is definitely going to get used a lot in my upcoming game, thanks!
I've used some of the traps from Grimtooth's Traps, and I'm currently in a D&D 5th Ed game where the GM is using Vornheim to liven up the cities we're visiting. It's been pretty cool so far.
Dry-erase character/monster tokens (circular)
So simple, and yet I use these all the time
Quote from: Kuroth;1050796Going back to days of yore, Thieves World (1981) for Chaosium was designed for most of the systems around back in the day. It's an all time favorite of mine.
I got tons of use out of the Chaosium Thieves World box back in the day. I'm also still amused that they included NPC states for Traveller.
I wonder if anyone ever actually used it in their Traveller game.
Quote from: Dimitrios;1051357I got tons of use out of the Chaosium Thieves World box back in the day. I'm also still amused that they included NPC states for Traveller.
I wonder if anyone ever actually used it in their Traveller game.
Not yet (imagine my face with an evil grin on it)...
Quote from: Antiquation!;1051337This has turned out to be exceedingly handy; in addition to the variety of tables (sections of which are laid out in a logical fashion) I like the agnostic alchemical effects, and the clues/revelations. Well-structured and I can see a lot of thought and care was put into this; will have to read it more in-depth this weekend. This is definitely going to get used a lot in my upcoming game, thanks!
Very glad to hear that!