New Frugal GM Product: Before the Adventure (Fill-in-the-Blank Character Backstory Generator)

OK, I'm kind of proud of this newest project I just finished and uploaded to DriveThruRPG, and not for the obvious reason.

I have had this idea kicking around in the back of my head for, no kidding, a good 10-15 years and it feels so good to.... just....get....it...out! If it completely bombs I am 110% AOK with that. There were three big RPG(ish) projects I've had eating away "back there" and this was one of them. One of the other ones was to make a big "KoDT" letter sign covered in Knights of the Dinner Table comics. Basically those big paper mache letters with decoupage comics all over. I wanted to gift them to Jolly Blackburn and finally did so a few years ago.

My last project is kind of huge and likely to never get done, so I won't share...why disappoint anyone else?

Any, the project I just finished is basically a fill-in-the-blank character backstory generator.  A lifetime or two ago when I was playing HackMaster 4th Edition and coincidentally using an earlier version of Adobe Acrobat to make forms I screwed things up by cut & pasting the same form fields a bunch of times. No, not a big deal in the scheme of things, but if you forget to edit the names of those fields (or possibly screw it up) you end up with multiple linked form fields. Frustrating when it's not intended....but what if you used this as a feature?

This PDF is basically a collection of 30 Character Backstories preceded with three pages of input fields (names, adjectives, nouns, locations, etc.). You blindly enter data into the form fields and then either roll a d30 or just choose a now-filled in character backstory. Thing is if you don't like a particular generation you can click on the form field that doesn't work for you and BAM!....all of the other backstories with that form field get updated as well. I also made sure there were plenty of bookmarks to make navigation easy. I thought about trying to add a "clear all" button, but I haven't had good luck getting those things to work like I want.*

I think the biggest reason it has taken me so long to scratch this itch is because the task was too daunting undertake. I can come up with the general backstories, and even most of the specific fill-in-the-blanks to insert, but any decent testing and validation? Too much work. 

Enter AI. Using Chat GPT I could easily edit the backstories, tweak literary crutches, make sure some fields weren't overused, etc. Just the testing alone....wow. Even with all the help this PDF took a couple work-days to get finished. There were some problems that I couldn't even see without computer-aided assistance. A perfect example was I found that I was really overusing a lead-in to a form field and I though "No need to re-print my word document, I'll just quickly edit the PDF" Easy-peasy and looks fine, BUT the edited text is somehow rendered gibberish in the PDF. Sure, what I see looks great, but depending on how the end-user opens the PDF.....well there might be some gibberish on the screen. Had that come back to me I'd be at a complete & utter loss as to why. 

Since I was already using AI I figured "in for a penny....." and went ahead and added a few related graphics, to include a full-color cover. I figure nobody realistically is going to print anything other than maybe a specific backstory, so why not?

FGM048: Before the Adventure is a Pay-What-You-Want PDF. If you do not pay anything for this product, know that I'm 110% ok with that! I hope you get some enjoyment out of it.

*Just a tip....when you download this PDF I highly recommend going into the file's properties in your computer's file browser (right-click or Alt+Enter in Windows 10/11) and clicking "Read Only" in the Attributes section. Trust me, it'll save you a lot of headache if/when you ever want to re-use the PDF without having to manually clear all the form fields.

Free Gm Resource: Paper Minis Courtesy of HeroQuest at Board Game Geek

Now I'll admit I don't hit up Board Game Geek very often, but I had a reason to do so today when a buddy of mine mentioned he was having trouble finding a particular version of a board game. The problems he was reporting didn't add up and I knew that my FLGS had a copy that fit what he said he was looking for, but before I head over there (It's 100* outside) I thought I'd do some research first.

He's been looking for a copy of Hero Quest and doesn't want to spend $300+ to get a copy with plastic minis instead of paper. I'm pretty sure he's been looking at both the 1st edition of the game and the entry-level First Light edition, so he's seeing this huge price tag or this cheaper set and not realizing there is a larger 2nd Edition that is setup the way he wants it.

I'm reasonably sure I got the issue figured out and I can't blame him when it comes to those minis, even though there is nothing wrong with the First Light set...it just doesn't hit that nostalgia spot he's looking for when he goes to introduce the game to his son.

Not having looked at the Hero Quest Files section on BGG before, I was pleasantly surprised with all of the goodies other players have shared. The very first thread had a number of paper minis that were black & white (although there were some colored-in versions as well) with both front and back. A number of them could easily be made for use in a "regular" TTRPG, so I think they made a great "Free GM Resource".

Here's a link to the overall files section, instead of just those minis. I'm willing to bet there's  ton of more good stuff for the enterprising GM over at that site.....so call this a twofer.

New Frugal GM "Product" over at DTRPG

Ok, I'll admit it's been a hot minute since I've made anything new....well anything I can post about anyway. I've been making terrain and some other bits & bobs, but nothing I could put up onto DriveThruRPG....

....until now.

Earlier this summer I had some PC Sheet notepads made up for a convention and I had a couple of people request large format PC sheets. Earlier this week I made myself a new half-page PC sheet and made it form-fillable. Today I tried to just scale it up....and there were issues.

The problem, as I saw it, was just scaling up isn't really making it a large-format. I ended up just going back to square zero and started over with some different designs in mind. High contrast, larger font that is easier to read (I actually did some research!) for people with some visual impairments. 

The end result is something I'd be comfortable using and I think could easily be used printed or on a tablet. It's form fillable with large fonts and all form fields were annotated and even in a logical order.

Anyway,  it's up on DriveThruRPG. Please feel free to use and abuse. I did not logo/watermark it and technically it is under copywrite, but one of those super permissible non-commercial versions....oh and it's free/PWYW. If you're going there from here, choose the free option!

Free GM Resources: Free Paper Files from Lord Zsezse Works (part 2?)

Ok this one is a bit of an update and a recycle, and some new stuff....all rolled into one.

I was going through some saved links and I came across this cool (OK, I thought it was cool) paper wagon from Lord Zsezse Works. Now I know I'd featured him/them/it before and I took a look....yep, back in May of 2019.

Of course then I was featuring a pair of free downloads, but I discovered the files weren't being hosted on the Lord Zsezse Works website so most of my old post's links were now 404'd.

I went ahead and updated the links to where they are now located on DriveThruRPG, and I even went ahead and did a sort by price so the four freebies are at top, followed by the Pay What You Want offerings.

I just noticed that there were four old freebies and they are not the same as the current crop of freebies, so maybe this isn't that much of a recycle.....

Free GM Resource: Pocket Bard

It seems lately there has been a bit of an anti-AI sentiment in the greater gaming community and while I'm not on the bandwagon, I get it. I use AI regularly, but probably not to it's potential and definitely not as a creative tool. Now if I was smart maybe I'd type up my posts here and have ChatGPT give it a once-over for editing so I wouldn't have to correct so many spelling mistakes and my grammar would be better, but I prefer using it as a database and/or file conversion tool. I'm not going to spend days typing in my recipes into my new cookbook software....

...but I digress....as I do, and as AI would remove completely.

....Anyway, this week's Free GM Resource is Pocket Bard, a TTRPG audio app where "Every note, sound, and piece of art in Pocket Bard is thoughtfully crafted by real humans. We work with talented composers, musicians, and visual artists because we believe in supporting our creative community!"

I don't know what the TTRPG audio equivalent of AI generated seven finger hands is, but I'm sure it wouldn't be pretty. The app is a paid app ($6.99/mo $49.99/yr) but it has a free trial/option and it works on Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac, so it does have a bit more functionality than just an app (I don't know about you, but when I hear "app" I only think of mobile devices)

The Pocket Bard website has some sample audio to check out so you don't have to download & register the app to see if you might like it. Big bonus IMNSHO.....

In the free collection you can sample:

• Fantasy Essentials
• Sci-Fi
• Seafaring
• Desert
• Cozy (Lo-Fi)

There are five other collections listed for the paid (Open Worlds) section and there are a lot of sub-categories for each collection (Fantasy Essentials had 17!).

Is Pocket Bard for everyone.....certainly not. Could it be right for you? How the hell would I know? Go check it out and see for yourself.

Free GM Resource: Mythical Maps Infinity

I came across this interesting "Free" Map Generator over at Arcane Collector. I used quotes because some of the map generation is free, and the rest is locked behind a Patreon paywall. There are four main categories: Dungeon, Tavern, Wilderness, and Road. Of course there are sub-categories and tweaks you can choose from, but those options are mostly for Patrons. Still, the freebie options aren't bad. The maps look hand-drawn and you can choose different grid options.

The maps are not AI generated, but I guess they are procedurally generated using various Dungeondraft assets.

I could see using some of these in a pinch. The scale is just a tad off, but damn close. I opened up a square grid map that was 72 dpi and it was 22 squares across, but the graphic was 21.389 inches across.

Here's some examples of each category:

Dungeon Map

Tavern Map

Road Map

Wilderness Map

Free GM Resource: Fantasy Name Generator

I'm comfortable enough to admit I like my random tables, but it's been a while since I've made a big (non d30) table, mostly because my beloved Tablesmith is ....

...I was going to type "MIA", because the website was not loading, but I did some web searching and found it! I have updated the links to my post from 12 years ago.....while I do really like the program I'm low-key hoping to transition to something that I can run on my computer, phone, tablet....well, anything I want to, but that's not the focus of this post, just me getting side-tracked.

As part of this side-track I was looking at my assorted Free GM Resource posts that had random tables and I discovered that the "Fantasy Name Generator" post I had made previously is NOT the Fantasy Name Generator I have been using (until a few minutes ago I didn't have Tablesmith working!) lately.

This makes this week's Free GM Resource a new collection of name generators, the "fix" of the old post is more of a bonus....well short of a twofer.

Free GM Resource: Alkemion Studio

On the surface this might not be an obvious Free GM Resource, but Alkemion Studio is a totally free online web app for world/adventure building & GM tracking. The biggest reason for this is that "they" are entering into a bit of a heavy advertising for their upcoming Kickstarter for an upcoming Desktop stand-alone version of Alkemion Studio.

The original web app though....not only completely free (and intending to remain so), but realistically where you want to be starting anyway. Setup an account, play with the program, and if that's as far as you go, no problem....BUT if you're thinking you might want an offline version, then you can back the Kickstarter a bot better informed.

Personally this is the kind of electronic aid I really want, but doubtful that I'll personally use it because I recently (within the last week!) bought another program that does a lot of the same things as Alkemion Studio, although I'm not sure it can do the random table generators this studio is supposed to be able to do. Had I not spent the $35 on the other program I'd have started here first!

I didn't know any better, but now hopefully you do.