Is there anything out there for procedurally generating the history of a game world?
Go through the passage of history and roll up great powers as they arise, gain power, fight each other and collapse, to map out how a world came to be the way it is today?
I want something with dice and paper I should add, not a computer program :)
To clarify: Not so much creating a world, I know a few products for that but creating world history.
ReplyDeleteYou could, in theory, use How to Host a Dungeon or Dawn of Worlds. (when did you join this group? Man, our social circles keep overlapping... I'm just a Venn Diagram of awesome!)
ReplyDeleteDaniel Luce Awesome people congregate and then I follow :-)
ReplyDeleteI just joined the other day, when someone name-dropped me.
I own How to Host a Dungeon and that does most of what Im after, but the feeling I got was that its a bit too tied to hte dungeon-environment. I may have to revisit it.
How is Dawn of Worlds?
Empire Builder Country History Generator by Ennead Games works really nice.
ReplyDeleteHOw about Microscope? It's a bit abstract, but I know it has been used for this kind of world building exercise before, albeit possibly harder to do solo.
ReplyDeletelamemage.com - Microscope RPG » Lame Mage Productions
Appreciate the suggestions, I'll have a glance.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly what you're looking for, but you made me think of Microscope
ReplyDeletedrivethrurpg.com - Microscope
Nominally a 2+ player "rpg" (though it breaks that mold), its all about creating histories. Maybe you could use some ideas from it, or mix in some kind of oracle to take the place of another "player"?
Either way, your post made me think about it!
Well, that's two recommendations for it, so I'll have to check it ou in any event.
ReplyDeleteEven if its a bad fit for this specifically, it sounds very intriguing.
Damn, ninja'd by Zachary Kline!
ReplyDeleteDawn of Worlds would be another good one, especially if you want player input on world creation.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf
Also check out Kingdoms and Questlandia.
clanwebsite.org - www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf
I usually modify some obscure country/age timeline mixing with other timelines, it's funny, easy, no pdf, no cost
ReplyDeleteEdit: sorry, I just saw that you already own this. But keeping post in case it strikes a chord with other readers:
ReplyDeleteI really loved playing How To Host A Dungeon by Tony Dowler. It takes you from the Primordial Age through many Ages. You use tracing paper to onion skin your changing realm through the ages. New civilizations are built on the ruins of fallen empires, etc. The whole game is played by drawing a cross sectional side view of a realm. There are surface kingdoms above and tunneling kingdoms and dungeons and caves below. This play through someone recorded will give you a taste:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzhprAUoJXs
The only criticism I have is that the bookkeeping got a little overwhelming for me around the Age of Monsters. But I think that's the nature of these types of games though.
youtube.com - How To Host A Dungeon, Dungeon Mapping Game Animated, Part 1
Yeah, no worries a tall, it's a fantastic product that deserves a shout-out.
ReplyDeleteOne year ago, I had a fun solo session with World Builder Dice Killer by Jakob Lindsay. It's an extremely simple story-telling game, not very "procedural". But it's about half a page, so having a look is not a huge investment. Re-reading it now, I still think it's quite clever :)
ReplyDeletehttps://solounmondodicarta.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/solo-world-builder-dice-killer/
solounmondodicarta.wordpress.com - Solo World Builder Dice Killer
I'd also recommend Microscope, specifically with it's supplement 'Microscope Explorer' that provides guidelines for World Building. Love your books BTW :)
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