So you want to create content for role playing? Worlds, adventures, races, classes, monsters, magic items, and spells.
This post should serve as a reference for what to start reading before you start writing.
We will update this post as we find (or create) new resources to help people get started.
General
Adventures
- Let’s Get Small: Adventure Design, Part 1
- Revisiting Encounter Design
- Adventure Writing, Part 1
- Intro to Writing: Adventure Scaling
- Adventure Builder Archive: Writing Your First Adventure
- Adventure Composition Tutorial (free pdf)
- The Art of Narration – Part 1
- The Three Clue Rule
- Don’t Prep Plots
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 1: The Plotted Approach
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 2: Choose Your Own Adventure
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 3: Inverting the Three Clue Rule
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 4: Sample Scenario
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 5: Plot vs. Node
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 6: Alternative Node Design
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 7: More Alternative Node Designs
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 8: Freeform Design in the Cloud
- Node-Based Scenario Design – Part 9: Types of Nodes
- Advanced Node-Based Design – Part 1: Moving Between Nodes
- Game Structures – Part 1: Game Structures
- Game Structures – Part 2: Game Structure Basics
- Game Structures – Part 3: Dungeoncrawl
- Game Structures – Part 4: Combat
- Game Structures – Part 5: Mysteries
- Game Structures – Part 6: Hexcrawls
- Game Structures – Part 7: Playing With Hexcrawls
- Game Structures – Part 8: The Importance of Clean Structures
- Game Structures – Part 9: Archaic Game Structures
- Game Structures – Part 10: Incomplete Game Structures
- Game Structures – Part 11: Complete Game Structures
- Game Structures – Part 12: Using Scenario Structures
- Game Structures – Part 13: Custom Structures
- Game Structures – Part 14: Scenario Structure for Between the Stars
- Game Structures – Part 15: Generic Scenario Structures
- Game Structures – Part 16: Player-Known and Unknown Scenario Structures
- Module Template (AD&D v4)
- Kobold Guide to Game Design (paperback and pdf)
Dungeon Design
- Jaquaying the Dungeon
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Part 2: The Jaquays Techniques
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Part 3: The Philosophy of Jaquaying
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Part 4: Jaquaying the Keep on the Shadowfell
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Part 5: Jaquaying for Fun and Profit
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Addendum: Dungeon Level Connections
- Jaquaying the Dungeon – Addendum, Part 2: Tips & Tricks
- Dungeon Entrances Revisited
- Megadungeon Design and Philosophy – Part 1
- Mapping That Megadungeon
- Engineering Dungeons (paperback)
Random Dungeon Generators
- Watabou’s One Page Dungeon Generator at GitHub and Watabou’s One Page Dungeon Generator at Itch
- Donjon Random Dungeon Generator
- Watabou’s Cave Generator at Itch
Creating Room Descriptions
- 5 Senses Room Descriptions
- In Defense of Boxed Text
- Is Box Text Always Bad? NO
- The “Delve Format” for Adventures
Traps
Treasure
Hexcrawls
- Hexcrawl Resources
- Hexcrawl Procedures
- Improving the Hex Key Format
- Two Ways to Design Hex Encounters
- Hexcrawl
- Hexcrawl – Part 2: Wilderness Travel
- Hexcrawl – Part 3: Navigating the Wilderness
- Hexcrawl – Part 4: Encounter Tables
- Hexcrawl – Part 5: Spot Distances
- Hexcrawl – Part 6: Watch Checklist
- Hexcrawl – Part 7: DM’s Worksheet
- Hexcrawl – Part 8: Sample Hex Key
- Hexcrawl – Part 9: Four Documents of the Hexcrawl
- Hexcrawl – Part 10: Stocking the Hexes
- Hexcrawl – Part 11: More Hex Stocking
Hex Mapping
Encounters
Classes
Monsters
- Pathfinder PRD: Monster Creation
- PFSRD: Rules for Monsters
- Monster Generator
- HeroLab Monster Creator
- D&D Monster Niches
- Monster Makeover (The Rust Monster)
- Monster Makeover (The Ogre Mage)
- Monster Makeover (The Beholder)
- Monsters With Traction, Part 1
- Monsters With Traction, Part 2
Magic Items
Spells
- The Laws of Spell Design – Dragon Magazine #242 (2nd Edition, but still quite useful)
Worldbuilding
- Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding (paperback and pdf)
Mapping Campaign Worlds
- Creating a Map Outline
- Creating a Photorealistic World Map
- Creating Forests In GIMP
- Making Map Borders in GIMP
- Creating Curved Text in Inkscape
- Creating Geographic Icons in Gimp and Inkscape
World and Regional Map Generators
- Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator
- Donjon Fantasy World Generator
- Perilous Shores at GitHub and Perilous Shores at Itch
Random Settlement Generators
- Praxxian Fantasy City Generator
- Watabou’s Medieval Fantasy City Generator at GitHub and Watabou’s Medieval Fantasy City Generator at Itch
- Watabou’s Village Generator at GitHub and Watabou’s Village Generator at Itch
- Donjon Fantasy Town Generator
Writers Guidelines
- RPG Design Test (closed)
- Dragon/Dungeon Submission Guidelines (closed)
- Wizards.com Online Writer’s Guidelines (closed)
- Writing for Living Forgotten Realms (closed)
