Discover Blackmarsh: D&D's Best-Kept Secret Setting-And It's Free!

Looking for the perfect setting for your next D&D setting to run an open world game? Say hello to Blackmarsh, a rich setting full of adventure seeds that you can explore without spending a penny! From magic filled forests to mysterious ruins, Blackmarsh offers a dynamic backdrop that enhances any D&D campaign. Best of all? It's absolutely FREE to download!
Get your free copy of Blackmarsh here: Blackmarsh on DriveThruRPG
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In this video, we'll delve into the key features of Blackmarsh, and why I think its the perfect setting to get started with.

[@robertsconley]

Appreciate the review and the compliments. I also would like to point out that it is not only free to download it is free to use as the text and map is 100% open content. So far I had one individual use it for another RPG, and several folks overseas who translated it and used it for their own efforts in their own countries; French, Spanish, Italian, and Hungarian are the ones I know about so far.

[@fumbletable]

It's absolutely amazing. I don't know how you managed to squeeze so much into so few pages. It doesn't feel like a single line has been wasted. I'm starting to build my own setting and am planning on working through your entire set of blog posts on world building. It's without doubt one of the best resources on the internet for world building. Thank you!

[@robertsconley]

@@fumbletableAgain appreciate the compliment. As it so happens I will be launching a kickstarter next week where I take my How to make a Fantasy Sandbox posts and turn it into a book!

[@CapnSnackbeard]

So cool, good for you! Thanks for supporting the hobby!

[@josephkrausz9557]

The man, the legend. Thanks for all your work.

[@kamil261]

Hi @robertconley How i can contact your person? I have one thing to ask for you permission and do not menage to find any form of contact online.

[@RealmBuilderGuy]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention

[@fumbletable]

You're welcome. I'm a huge fan of lucky enough to do an interview with Robert Conley. He's absolutely fantastic. I recently got his Kickstarter through for how to build a fantasy sand box, so I should be covering that at some point soon.

[@death2all79zx]

I picked this up back in 2014, thank you for doing stuff about it. Really looking forward to you continuing this series.

[@fumbletable]

Thank you. I'm amazed at how little it has been covered. I think some people don't place enough value on it as it free but i'd take it over most paid settings.

[@AgranakStudios]

Picking it up! Looks awesome!

[@fumbletable]

It absolutely is. I'm currently rewriting a chunk of it for a Stonehell campaign i plan on running there. Its super easy to bend it to your needs.

[@stephenclements6158]

You make a really good point, settings are best when they evoke adventure ideas, and they go bad when they get overgrown like a weed choked garden.

[@fumbletable]

I often think less is more at the table. At least for how I like to run games. I find it harder to react players when I'm carrying the weight of to much information

[@stephenclements6158]

Exactly. The original setting box set and adventure manual for the Forgotten Realms were accessible, digestible, had lots of room to explore, and lots of room for the players to make their mark. The FR of today, however, is spelled out nearly to the square inch, has so much lore that you need a PhD to know it all, and players will be overshadowed by the canon NPCs.

[@CrusaderCool]

I really like Greyhawk, but this is a very nice alternative. And the price is right!

[@fumbletable]

The right price is always nice

[@CrusaderCool]

@@fumbletable Hey, my comments are showing up now! I have no idea why they weren't showing up before, but they seem to be working now.

[@fumbletable]

@@CrusaderCool back in the game!. Happy days.

[@gommechops]

Why on earth is this free? I've just gone and started looking at it, looked at the blog site too and it is really good stuff. I would happily have paid for that PDF, it's mind boggling it is free! (Great vid, just discovered you)

[@fumbletable]

Yeah, its amazing. I just sat down for a chat with the author if you're interested kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqvWf5aBeJmakJo

[@Chaoclypse]

Thank you so much for shining a light on this! It looks fantastic and I'm printing it out right now.

[@RodBatten]

Excellent review/overview of this awesome exemplar of a starting sandbox. Rob's stuff for osr gaming is outstanding and he genuinely seems to be a stand-up guy. His blog is packed with so much osr game theory and mapmaking advice.

[@fumbletable]

His blog is an absolute treasure trove.

[@heroeshomebrew]

Sold! Going to pick this up.

[@fumbletable]

Absolutely worth the investment!

[@magwumpus]

You did a great job on giving an overview on the setting! Thank you. I dig your enthusiasm.

[@fumbletable]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Mop-Tollsy]

Thanks for the recommendation, excited to pick through it

[@fumbletable]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@Hallinwar]

Why does this setting look like I've been searching for it for my whole life?.. Lightweight, with necessary and sufficient lore, and it doesn't impose restrictions. Amazing

[@fumbletable]

It does not get anywhere near enough love. I'm glad you’ve found it

[@Robcockulous1]

I might've picked up a previous version, but I just picked it up again! Thanks for the heads up!

[@fumbletable]

Sharing is caring

[@freddaniel5099]

Solid advice and another nice fun to watch video. Cheers!

[@fumbletable]

Thank you

[@finger3181]

You can't go wrong with Conley. Get Points of Light 1 & 2 to go with Blackmarsh and you've got a massive setting

[@fumbletable]

Couldn't agree more, his series on world building is amazing

[@josephkrausz9557]

Yep. I love how he creates setting after setting with actually interesting factions that immediately spark the imagination.

[@PeculiarNotions]

Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. It looks like it has a lot of rock-solid elements that are easy to pick up and implement in a campaign even if you don't use this whole book.

[@fumbletable]

I'm my opinion It's gold. There are hooks galore

[@bizzy5439]

Excellent overview and really enjoyed your excitement. I'll check it out!

[@fumbletable]

You'll enjoy it, it takes a couple of reads because there's just so much in there

[@brautigan-d9x]

Your content is awesome and you deserve way more subscribers. I love Blackmarsh's hat tip to the Blackmoor setting.

[@fumbletable]

Thank you. I'm still figuring this thing out so hopefully the content will get better when I stop winging it!

[@phaedruslive]

I use a heavily modified version of Mystara. Where Gygax was the giant god and had countless eyes. In the aftermath of the first war (Between Giants and Dragons) Gygax was shattered and 'cast out beyond the spheres' (and gave 'great magic' to the first mortal races as a parting gift before the war was lost. In the aeons since that event, all that is left is 'small magic' and is spoken with a bastardized pig-latin of the true giant language. To know the true giant words is basically like using the 'voice' in Dune, and represents very high level spells) So all of the giants in my current world are Cyclopian given that they each contain one of his thousands of eyes. There is a lot of weird gonzo elements. Strange glittering mists and storms will allow the players to see massive treelike towers that reach up beyond the clouds from the time before this first war. These mists join all the other worlds together in a fae-like mystical way. Being separate dimensions joined at ley-lines known only by the most powerful and intrepid magic users. I really want to keep to the classic folksy fantasy literary traditions in my particular game. The meta-narrative of each campaign is that acts of chaos and evil in the world will slowly wake the sleeping instinct in dragons to bring about another world ending war event. Whose only recourse to stop the spread of total chaos is a scorched earth approach. (The secret cause of this chaos is in fact Gygax's shadow, who was separated from him when he was cast out, and is a pure lovecraftian force of chaotic evil) The players are basically unaware of a doomsday clock that is ticking away, or even that it isn't the first time the world is on the verge of ending. This is a huge abbreviation of what I've been building, but I think it paints a picture.

[@fumbletable]

That sounds awesome!

[@colbyboucher6391]

I love me some metanarriative in RPGs. They're more deserving of it than other media IMO, thr fact that you're actively creating the world makes it seem more appropriate.

[@phaedruslive]

I have a plan for the iron Falcon '75 campaign book. In the book a party plays kids that gather at the game shop once a week and play with the npc shop owner, who's the DM. He's a wizard basically. My twist on this premise is that they're returning to this town as adults and all want to meet at the game shop again and visit their weird uncle. Adventure and dungeon crawling will ensue and they will realize, little by little, that the GM wasn't just playing D&D with them as kids, he was giving them floorplans to caves and keeps and showing them the weak-points of all these monsters that he knew they would one day have to face. Sort of like a fantasy version of It. So I'm going to actively encourage them to use there collective game knowledge openly, as their characters would have also played countless sessions of the game.@@colbyboucher6391

[@rossm7346]

I really enjoyed this video subscribed

[@fumbletable]

Thank you.

[@MarkHyde]

Blackmarsh is an amazing setting - it provides an amazing start to add stuff too and fill out with my own stuff. New sub to your channel and member of the Olde Swords Resin forum. I use BM setting with Chris Gonnerman's Iron Falcon TTRPG. Now I've found yours and it's amazing too.

[@fumbletable]

Blackmarsh does not get anywhere near the love it deserves.

[@indraua]

Hi, have a question: Do I understand correctly that there are no random encounters chart in pdf? Do it supposed to he used with some another random encounters or entirely without them?

[@fumbletable]

Yes, there are no random encounter charts in the PDF. It was wrapped up to be part of delving deeper which does have random encounter charts. Personally, I'd probably take a few standard ones and replace a few entries with things that pertain to the local encounters.

[@nathangerber1547]

Does it work with 5E? I'd assume settings are system agnostic, but the page where you download it said it was compatible with older systems like "Classic D&D/AD&D, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Dungeons & Dragons, Swords & Wizardry" Or do they mean 5E with "Dungeons & Dragons"?

[@fumbletable]

The setting would work with any system. There are no stats given so it's completely system agnostic.

[@nathangerber1547]

@@fumbletable Awesome. Thanks.

[@wbbartlett]

If the Viz Club isn't run by Roger Mellie I will be very disappointed.

[@fumbletable]

That reference is not lost on me!