Free GM Resource: DungeonPrint Studios

This week's Free GM Resource is something that is pretty cool....providing you use a 3d printer to make dungeon tiles and that you use Fat Dragon Games 3d models (which you should...if you do 3d print).

DungeonPrint Studio is an online service that lets you set up a map of a 3d model (lay out tiles of 3d .stl files you own) and then save/print the map and generate a list of which files, and how many, you need to print.

If you've ever seen a 3d diorama you've undoubtedly noticed that it is made up of a bunch of smaller tiles that are connected to each other. Well, when you have hundreds of these files in your collection.....which you will have soon after starting this hobby, trust me, knowing which tiles you need for a project can be a bit of a PITA. Sure you could just print a bunch of blank tiles and pull what you need, but to do that you'll need a LOT of tiles printed that you might never use. Sure, the tiles are relatively cheap, but they take some time and effort to create so why waste those resources if you don't need to?

Here is a sample map I made up real quick:

Click to make larger

Not perfect, and being able to rotate the build map shows me I need to clean up a few sections, but whatever....it's just a test model. This map generated a 7 page build list, but I'll just share a quick shot of the 1st page and one of the build pages:

DungeonPrint Studios is a useful tool for GM's that use 3d printed terrain!

Free GM Resource: Creation and Depiction of Fantasy Cities

This week's Free GM Resource is a neat little "guidebook" for creating Fantasy Cities for your game world. It's not long at 19 pages, but there is a lot of good content.

This guide was written by Ravi Shankar, a community leader over at the Cartographer's Guild (which I'm certain has been listed as a resource before). You can find links to the guide here at the Cartographer's Guild. It is available for online viewing, but I recommend just downloading the PDF.

Since it's only 19 pages, some of which are not really filled with content, it isn't going to be much more than a big-picture type of guide, but it does that 10K' view well and...well...the price is right. I think it is well worth the read if for no other reason than to help a GM get his/her head a bit straight before settling down for a mapping session. It doesn't really make sense that just because you are creating a fantasy world that your cities don't make much real-world sense, and this book can help with that.

Free GM Resource: Dwarf Fortress

This week's Free GM Resource is a bit of twofer again....but not really...maybe more of a singular resource with a couple of applications (pun intended).

Dwarf Fortress is a free game that has been around a while and by the accounts I've heard about, quite a detailed game. Now first off you just have the basic enjoyment you can get out of any game, but evidently Dwarf Fortress makes some rather detailed randomized game maps that you could re-purpose for your table-top RPG.

Here's a blog post specifically about using Dwarf Fortress to make RPG maps.

Sweet Paper Terrain Sale You Need to Check Out!

Special Note: I'll be posting a Free GM Resource later this week

I can only speculate that Tom Tullis, from Fat Dragon Games, went a little overboard on GenCon expenses (either that or "expenses"...like bail) because FDG is offering a too-good-to-be-true sale of all of their PDF terrain.

2018 Paper Mega Bundle for no more than $39.99!

To say this is a good deal is a bit of an understatement because the original price on all this stuff is over $300! If that isn't enough to make you stop by DTRPG, the sale already takes into account stuff you're already purchased, hence the "no more than $39.99"!

Wow.....with the money you save you could also purchase a decent color printer and just go to town!

Free GM Resource: Static Grass Applicator (V2) Plans/Build

My house is still way too packed and I'm in training at my new job, so there's a reason the Frugal GM is behind the curve with posts. My new game room/office is still a work in progress, but I hope to at least have the new desk squared away this weekend. Then I can stop trying to do everything off of my laptop and backup drive.

Of course my 12 readers probably don't care about that...(tough, I'm sure I'll post pics of game room progress because I can!)...they want the freebies.

This week's Free GM Resource is just some information, albeit some (I think) cool information: how to build a static grass applicator. I've seen some DIY static grass applicators a couple of times now and this one is the most DIYest and best finished result that I've seen yet. A lot of GMs make their own terrain, or paint their own miniatures, or more than likely try to make/do these things but.....

Flocking terrain and mini bases really makes home game table efforts look more polished and/or professional. For years my go-to was to just lay down some glue and sprinkle the grass on and call it good. Well, "good" might not be the best adjective, but it beats having to purchase little grass tufts.

B.C.R. Model Scenery Made Easy is a website devoted to model scenery (duh), but in my experience that usually means model trains. This site is well worth poking around, but I'm specifically highlighting the Static Grass Applicator Version 2. The build video is well-made and there are some additional videos highlighting using the applicator.

Free GM Resource: Beyond Skyrim Bruma OST

This week's Free GM Resource is a freebie soundtrack that I think would find some great use as background "mood music" at any Fantasy RPG table. Beyond Skyrim Bruma is a HUGE add-on/mod for Skyrim. From what I've heard it's basically a huge piece of add-on content that is practically a whole game worth of content unto itself.

The freebie is the soundtrack for the mod and it's huge as well. Sixty (60!) tracks which are mostly background scores, but there are also some bard songs, which I found intriguing because while I've been able to find a decent amount of background music....what I would consider "foreground music".....not so much. Sound effects, yes...music...no.

You should really check out Beyond Skyrim Bruma Original Game Soundtrack. The cool thing is you can preview all the tracks to see if this is a free download you want taking up space on your hard drive. I think you will want it.....

....and We're Back! Did You Miss Me?

First off, I know that I pretty much took two whole months off from this blog when I was only expecting to take one off. A short-notice job opportunity popped up and it was pretty much a one-in-a-lifetime good deal that I couldn't pass up. I had to quit one job, pack up and sell my house, move across country, and get settled in.

That was the month of May in a nutshell. The job was to start on June 1st and when I showed up for work......I didn't have a job. It was a bit of a hot mess that got sorted by mid June and now I'm busy with all the required training for the new gig. Most of my household is still in boxes because I couldn't bring most of my furniture and I've been holding off until my old house finally closes so I can buy/build the furniture I need. I will publicly state that I already have a dedicated gaming room and I think it'll rock when it is done.

Even though I don't have my normal elaborate computer setup I can get by with my laptop, so we're back on schedule for regular updates.

Frugal GM will be a bit quiet for the month of May

Just a quick admin post to let all 12 of my readers know that I'm needing to take an unscheduled hiatus pretty much for the month of May.

Got some high-level time sucks that necessitate me being away from this blog and gaming at least (but highly unlikely more than) until the end of May. Since this is personal type stuff I probably won't explain here, but if you know me in real life and HAVE to know what's going on, shoot me an email or text and I'll fill you in.

It's a mix of good & bad stuff that I just have to deal with. I promise this is a temporary thing.