Welcome to the West Marches You might be wondering what makes a West Marches D&D game different to your standard D&D game. In many ways, the West Marches is both a harkening back to the old-school roots of D&D and a relatively recent development. Popularized in the 00s, West Marches describes a campaign in which multiple players explore a large, sandbox world free from the strict storytelling structures that are more common in the modern game. West Marches campaigns can support anywhere from 10 - 50 players, with each player having a character that they send out on adventures or missions. These 'missions' are conducted in groups of 3-6 and arranged entirely by the players. They decide on the time (within the DM's schedule), the group composition, and what it is they're setting out to do. Perhaps you've an interest in the goblin camp in the hills east of town or you've heard tell of a great treasure buried in a crypt to the north. Whatever the choice, you'll decide on a group, name the time, and I (the DM) will then arrange the rest. Perhaps you'll find what you are looking for or perhaps you'll get lost along the way and blunder onto something else - whatever happens, it's an adventure, and it expands your knowledge of the world - opening up new possibilities. The Group The group is comprised of the player pool , the character roster , and individual mission parties. The player pool is the collection of players participating in the campaign. These players may play three times a week or once a month, but they're all a part of the campaign. The character roster are the various characters created by the players. Characters advance independent of one another, meaning you could have some level 3 or 4 characters as well as level 1. Mission parties are comprised of players and their characters, usually in groups of 3-6. These are the groups that head out into the wilderness to try their hand at finding fame and fortune. Mission parties may exist for a single session or for several sessions of extended exploration, but these characters remain out in the wilderness until they opt to return to town. The Town & the Wilderness The world of the Savage Frontier can be divided into two parts: the town and the wilderness. The town (to be detailed later) is the last bastion of civilization in savage lands. The town is a safe space, free from the perils that exist beyond its walls. It is also a boring space. There is no adventure to be had here, nor will you find fame or fortune within its walls. To the east lies civilization, safety, and boredom. To the west, south, and north lie the unknown, and it is here that adventures are had. The wilderness is a vast and ever-changing thing. It is comprised of swamps, forests, mountains, deserts, oceans, dungeons, tundra, and so much more. The wilderness can be roughly divided into individual regions , each of which has its own environment, inhabitants, mysteries, and dungeons,. Regions are generally set to a certain level range, with danger increasing the farther you get from civilization. In addition, there are dungeons in the wilderness. These tend to be more dangerous than the wildernesses they exist within, but also boast the lion's share of treasure. Mapping the Wilderness There is no map in a West Marches campaign save the one that players themselves draw. While the DM has a large map of the entire world, this is never shared with players, nor will corrections be made to the player map. The map is created collaboratively, with individual players adding to or correcting the map over time. Mistakes are a natural part in this process, as cartography is a difficult skill to master and subject to the observations and remembrances of those traveling. Exploration Exploration is a key part of a West Marches game, as you are adventurers wandering a vast and unmapped wilderness. As such, a West Marches game has a focus on the rigors of travel. Characters will be expected to eat sufficient food, drink enough water, have warm shelter each night, and handle the various environmental effects that exist - including temperature, weather, hygiene, disease, and - of course - the monsters that call the wilderness home. Players can forage for food and water, survey the land to figure out what manner of creatures might call it home, track, harvest valuable components from slain foes, scour the horizon for landmarks etc. What you do while traveling is limited only by your imagination and the boundaries of the world. Much like Tomb of Annihilation , the exploration pillar is a core part of the experience and cannot be hand-waved with class traits or 'fast travel'. Full information on the specifics of travel can be found in the Enchiridion of the West Marches on Google Drive . But What About Story? Without a central storyline such as a Curse of Death or slaying Strahd, what drives a West Marches game? In short: the players and the world. Just because there is not a pre-ordained narrative does not mean that the world is barren and devoid of plot. There is a rich history to be unearthed from the ruins and dungeons of the Savage Frontier, just as there are villains aplenty to be found and put down. What drives your player to venture to the Savage Frontier will help decide what kind of adventures they choose to pursue. A noble paladin devoted to scouring the undead might push to investigate the crypt another group has marked on the map, while the treasure hungry rogue might share the same destination but have an entirely different reason. As you explore the map and uncover new regions and new landmarks, you also uncover new sites that might be of interest. Perhaps you find a volcano lair that is guarded by fire giants. This is too difficult for your level 3 party, but the level 7 characters back in town might be interested in it. Put simply, you and your characters develop their own stories as they discover and engage with the inhabitants and history of the Savage Frontier. A Note on Scaling A West Marches game is fundamentally different to a modern, campaign-based D&D game. In most published campaigns, combats and encounters assume a certain level based on the narrative. This is not true of a sandbox like the Savage Frontier. If a location is home to an ancient black dragon, it is home to an ancient black dragon. It does not morph into a young black dragon if a level 3 party stumbles upon it, nor does it suddenly become two black dragons because a high level party has found it. The world exists independent of the characters, and while it can be influenced and changed by their actions, it does not adjust to suit the particular talents of a given party. With this in mind, figuring out how to accurately judge a quest or encounter's difficulty becomes important, as the world will not pull punches for your wide-eyed level 1 adventurer. A few tips on this: The reward for a given quest is generally a good indication of how difficult it is. If there is a quest for 50gp and a quest for 1,000gp, it is a good bet that the latter quest is intended for higher level characters; The farther you get from Hope, the more dangerous quests will be. Harrowmere (the starting region) is a level 1-5 area, with higher level encounters happening farther from Hope. The Ettinheights are level 2-6, the Hagwood is level 3-7 etc. In combat, take note of the damage being dealt by a creature or the resistances you notice. If it seems too hard for your party, it probably is. There is no shame in fleeing! As DM, I will occasionally try to foreshadow the threat ahead of you. This might be describing a corpse as "it looks like he was killed by 37 lightning damage) or it might be having an enemy smash a tree or NPC to give you an idea of their power. If all else fails, I will occasionally just flat out say "that quests is too hard for you". This isn't me saying you can't go, but warning you that the likely outcome is death. A Note on Party Build As we get more characters into the field and more parties headed out on adventures, it is becoming increasingly easy for you as players to 'build' a party for a given encounter. With this in mind, there is nothing wrong with a party requesting only specific classes/levels etc. for a given quest. Better to be selective and successful than to let every Tom, Dick, and Harry join a quest and spend your time babysitting or running around casting healing spells. Preparing for a quest through careful class selection, consulting on spells, and buying equipment is key to a successful West Marches expedition. New Mechanics There is no world map save the one drawn and maintained by players. The session summaries are written by the characters who participated in adventures, with no corrections from the DM. Take notes! The game is played in 'tiers' (1-4, 5-10, 11-15, and 16-20). Characters that die start at the bottom of their current tier. Experience is awarded for combat, roleplay, making discoveries (such as exploring a new ruin or learning the name of a major villain), and writing session summaries. The campaign will be using a number of additional rules including gritty realism rests, a healer's kit dependency for short rests, and modified rules for death. These will be fleshed out in a subsequent post. In Summary A West Marches campaign offers you a vast world to explore at a pace that works for your schedule. It offers immense room for character development and fulfilling your own character's narrative, but it is not a tailored experience. The world exists and cares not for your dead parents or your desire to become a great wizard. A dungeon you visited last month may have been occupied by other creatures since you last visited, or the treasure you left behind might have been stolen and taken elsewhere. In the town lies safety, but the wilderness beyond is rich with mystery, danger, and treasure.
