Free GM Resource: Web Content from the Farland Setting for D&D

This week's Free GM Resource is a bunch of files/aids/"stuff" supporting the World of Farland, which is basically a 5th edition D&D game world/setting.

I know some people will be put off by even the mere mention of 5th Edition, but please bear with me here......there is some 3.5 and 4th edition support as well....

.....and a lot of these files are more neutral anyway, so the edition isn't so important anyway.

Since I'm highlighting Farland files I should try to explain the Farland setting, and the best way to do that is to lift a couple of sentences from the homepage: "Farland is a world that has been conquered by evil. It has been sundered into seven kingdoms, each ruled by an evil lord who personifies one of the seven deadly sins."

That is enough of a hook for me!

While there are links for the Player's Guide and the GM Guide on DriveThruRPG, there are a lot of goodies on the DM and Player Tools page:

• Adventures
• Articles
• Miscellaneous Tools
• NPCs
• Riddles and Traps

Personally I think the tools page is worth checking out for the 30+ NPCs alone, but there is a ton more to be had. If you like what you see you might want to shell out the $9.94 for both the Player's Guide and the GM Guide (the total for the two separate purchases).

Free GM Resource: Uncharted Territory YouTube Channel

This week's Free GM Resource is yet another YouTube channel, but this time we're trying to get you in on the ground floor.

Uncharted Territory is a brand-new channel with a whopping two videos covering map-making tutorials. The videos are a bit rough, but as these things go, if the channel manages to put out more videos, they will inevitably get better.

Me.....I just like seeing how other people do things....even if I don't use anything watched for my own maps.

Uncharted Territory is only a week old at this point, so please.....watch the videos and feel free to comment, like, share, or do whatever it is you do with these kinds of things.....

Free GM Resource: Mipui Mapping App

Frugal GM Note: Postings have been a bit sparse as of late due to some commitments/projects that should mostly be wrapped up by the end of the month. Word on these endeavors will be shared here.

This week's Free GM Resource is another mapping resource, but I cannot take the credit for finding it. The creator of Mipui sent me an email through the contact widget.

Mipui is still a bit of a work-in-progress, but for some simple maps this online app is good-to-go. There are a couple of features I like quite a bit, like expanding the size of the map while you are working on it. The options for saving are pretty nice as well.

This is one of those things that you should really just check out on your own to see if it'll work out for your needs.

Free GM Resource: Inkscape

This week's Free GM Resource is an open-sourced vector graphics editor available for several computer operating systems, most notably Windows, Mac, and Linux. Best part is that Inkscape is free and open-source.

While this is a more generic graphics tool, Inkscape can really service a GM's needs with maps....especially maps that you might want to scale because most of the editing tools "out there" are specifically for raster graphics.

Vector vs. Raster Images

All, or at least the overwhelming majority, of the maps I release are raster images because they are set up for printing at specific sizes. Pretty much the same with the graphics for every Frugal GM product. Usually though, I create everything as a vector image so I can easily resize the image as needed.

I'm certain that Inkscape is one of those tools that once you start using it, you'll start to wonder why it took you so long. If you do any map work or RPG writing you'll want a vector graphics editor in your toolbox.

Seriously......pick up Inkscape today unless you already have the likes of Adobe Illustrator.

Free GM Resource: Guide to Mapping

The week's Free GM Resource is an interesting Guide to Mapping (or more specifically "A Magical Society: Guide to Mapping") from Expeditious Retreat Press.

This free guide is 37 pages, with 29 pages of pertinent content. What I liked about this resource is that it covers the "high level stuff" that I think most GMs would overlook when designing their game world. This guide ISN'T about how to map, but more about these "big picture" factors that should/would influence the world as a whole.

You can download the guide by clicking on the lead-in graphic or by using this link at DTRPG.

Good Deal on Six PWYW Paper Terrain Sets from Fat Dragon Games *LIMITED TIME OFFER*

Recently (I think starting last week), Fat Dragon Games put six of their paper terrain sets on sale as Pay What You Want. Now I already owned most of these sets, but I know a great deal when I see one.

I'm a HUGE fan of Fat Dragon Games, largely because their product offerings are just straight-up good deals. Their models come together nicely and you only need a few tools to get started.

If you were looking to try paper modeling, you need to head over to DriveThruRPG and purchase these sets while you can:
     *E-Z DUNGEONS: Deluxe Edition
     *E-Z DUNGEONS: Mechanical Traps
     *E-Z DUNGEONS: Caverns of Chaos
     *E-Z DUNGEONS: Expansion Set 2
     *E-Z DUNGEONS: Expansion Set 8
     *Halls of the Mountain King

The sale is listed as "this week only", but I'm not sure when this week started.







P.S. Fat Dragon Games has some "big announcement" set for tomorrow, July 5th. More than likely an announcement for their next Kickstarter project, which is also a good deal (if you have access to a 3d printer).

Free GM Resource: Lukes Aps YouTube Channel

This week's Free GM Resource (yes, I am aware I skipped last week) is another cool YouTube channel for building/painting tabletop terrain and minis.

Lukes Aps has been around for a little over a year now. The "Aps", of Lukes Aps, stands for "Affordable Painting Service", so I'm going to assume that Luke is better at painting minis than I am....

....honestly I haven't viewed any of his miniature painting videos. I'm into this channel for the terrain tips. Last night I actually watched a 14 minute video about Army Painter Review And How To Fix The Problems People Are Having. I don't have any Army Painter paints, but the "fix" pretty much applies to any paint.....and now I need to pick up something for my paints.

Seriously though......there are some good terrain videos that I think are well worth the time expenditure.

Free GM Resource: Goblinist RPG Tools

This week's Free GM Resource is almost a twofer. Goblinist RPG Tools has one "finished" tool that is the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Random Encounter Generator (I dare you to try to say that 5 times really fast) and another work-in-progress Procedural Fantasy Map Generator. Both are web-based tools.

The encounter generator has a lot of options for the type of encounter area and, more importantly, how deadly you want to make things for your party.

If you use this tool, you might want to refrain from heavy use of the "Deadly" option, or you might need to find new players......