Realm Fables: World Generator

Shieldice Studios recently sent me some copies of their Realm Fables: World Building publications. Join me as I take a look at some of them and use some of the tables to generate some ideas for a solo gaming session...
Realm Fables: World Generator 1: shorturl.at/cdwT2
Realm Fables: World Generator 2: shorturl.at/jHKS9
Realm Fables: Diaries of Dungeon Design: shorturl.at/agovP
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Disclaimer - I make these videos for fun. Whilst I welcome constructive and engaged discussion on the rules and tactics of a game, be aware that I might make mistakes and I might not make the most logical choices all of the time. I hope you can enjoy anyway!
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[@lone_adventurer]

If you enjoyed this video, why not try out my playthrough of Loom, a game from the same designer, Shieldice Studios: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYStXoFtpJWKpas

[@xteband]

For me is Ravnica from MtG, I love the idea of city covering an entire world where you can have settings for every kind of adventure, besides I love the Izzet guild, the idea of guild so passionate for knowledge that everything, including self preservation and safety, comes second to crazy enperiments and engineering features

[@lone_adventurer]

Yup that does sound pretty cool!

[@TheRitzMr]

Congrats on 2k subscribers. My favorite setting is Warhammer for its dark grittiness

[@lone_adventurer]

Thank you! Gotta love a bit of dark grittiness!

[@jonathanfrost8767]

You have a very pleasant and metered voice for reviews. Great video.

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks very much 😁 glad you enjoyed the video!!

[@TomTrustworthy]

Backed Loom as well and am a patron of Shielddice Studios.

[@lone_adventurer]

Awesome - I'll bet Shieldice Patrons get a lot of cool stuff!

[@andrewwilson895]

My favorite setting is Magic: The Gathering because it's a fun, "colorful," "magepunk" setting-but also there are so many different planes of their Multiverse, allowing them to explore all kinds of settings while still be connected in a single continuity. I love the variety, from Dominaria to Alara, Kaladesh, Ixalan, Eldraine, etc.

[@lone_adventurer]

Good shout! I haven't played Magic the Gathering for 20 years or more, so I think my knowledge of the lore is *a little* out of date!

[@andrewwilson895]

@@lone_adventurer I'm a bit behind too, but they have other resources, like the web fiction, tons of great art, and the D&D books for Theros and Strixhaven.

[@frankreynoso1]

I've been following you for some months now, thanks to your beginner-friendly, solo ttrpg play throughs. This looks amazing! Can't go wrong with William Blake. NGL, as a Noob I'm playing 6x6 Tales (b/c of your video). I know the game is so basic. lol. But I'm eagerly looking to delve into Cairn. What I love about 6x6 Tales is the sandbox-like feature. I love the sense of surprise no matter how many times I play the game. Thanks for making these vids. Rock on!

[@lone_adventurer]

You're welcome and thanks for following along on my adventures! I love a bit of 6x6 Tales. As you say, it always has another surprise up its sleeve!

[@frankreynoso1]

@@lone_adventurer Surprises are key to a game. That’s why solo-game surprises can be refreshing and deserve a lot more praise. It’s easy to surprise another person but not oneself.

[@lone_adventurer]

@@frankreynoso1 absolutely. One of the reasons I like Me, Myself and Die here on KZbin - the guy seems to be constantly surprising himself with things that happen in his solo gaming adventures!

[@lilianempls]

Again, just really enjoy your content. Your style of presentation is unique and welcome in the KZbin space. Thanks for continuing to put stuff out there.

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks very much! Glad you enjoy the content and that you think I'm filling a gap in the market :)

[@shaihuludkido]

My favorite is definitely Mork Borg. I love the grim, the dark, the gore and the art. The simple mechanics and brutal difficulty fit the theme very well too.

[@lone_adventurer]

Definitely a game with a strong aesthetic and sense of place. It's on my 'would buy if I had way more money' list!

[@prepcooksurvive5807]

@@lone_adventurer the rules are free on the official website. However the book although all over the place, is an amazing thing the art and feel of it is worth the investment.

[@lone_adventurer]

@@prepcooksurvive5807 Fair point, though I'd want the book :) And the Solitary Defilement supplement, which is pretty hard to get hold of a physical copy of.

[@academyofgeekartsandsciences]

My favorite setting is actually sci-fi, not fantasy. It is Jorune. While the three editions of the Skyrealms of Jorune RPG were all quite a bit lacking in terms of how they played, the setting is incredible. It is very imaginative, with even tiny details fully realized. The artwork of Miles Teves is a bonus. For decades, I've been trying to find a game system that would work with the setting. I'm still looking.

[@lone_adventurer]

Interesting, you try anything that came close?

[@academyofgeekartsandsciences]

@@lone_adventurer I have made minor attempts to adapt other games for the setting, but I could only imagine big, crunchy systems to achieve it (GURPS, Hero System, BRP, etc.). I even entertained, for a while, the notion of adapting it to Ironsworn. It just seems like a lot of work that I am unwilling to do. Lately I've been considering using something rules-lite and letting the narrative do the heavy lifting. Perhaps I will try sometime in the near future. Tiny D6 and Tricube Tales are the current most likely candidates.

[@Globuswroc]

Oh, what a hard question! I'll go with Warhammer Fantasy world, because it was my first tabletop RPG, so it feels nostalgic, but it is also very versatile, from grimm dark brutal stories to heroic, monthy python-esque shenanigans. It is loosely based on europe, and classic Tolkien dwarf/elf fantasy, so it is intuitive even for beginners. It is default answer when my brain thinks 'fantasy'.

[@lone_adventurer]

I've heard this is the go-to fantasy setting for a lot of people who experienced it - it does look awesome! I've got a copy of the Warhammer LCG kicking around. I know it never really took off, but I've been meaning to give it a go (I suspect it will give a small window into the world of Warhammer Fantasy).

[@MichaelBacaArtist]

Loving me some Loom currently, amazing game. My favorite setting... Conan and anything along those lines. Growing up seeing the movies and books took me on adventures I still rememebr to this day. Conan and anything along those lines, so I guess that's pretty broad. But I'm easy to please. Apprecaite you, and I'm really enjoying the channel.

[@lone_adventurer]

Glad you enjoy the channel and good to hear you're enjoying Loom (I'm looking forward to the forthcoming Lore book that Shieldice Studios are producing!).

[@xhnnsx]

Hey, i don't have a favorite setting yet - because i'm right at the beginning of my journey. Thanks for showing me the right direction with Harpers Quest 2 and 6x6 Tales. Cheers and congrats!!!

[@lone_adventurer]

Your very welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@pacole8972]

Another great video!!! Thanks!!! My favorite settings would be The World of Krynn, Thimhallan (Weis and Hickman creations), and the Pact Worlds from Starfinder.

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks! Interesting choices!

[@artistpoet5253]

Well, you are amazing! I like the setting of Conan. Really dark in some parts but still room for some wondrous and even wacky adventures. Magic is dangerous, demons and monsters are truly terrifying and heroes are a matter of perspective. It's a lot more flexible and challenging than the MCU style hero play that is D&D 5e.

[@lone_adventurer]

Haha, well thanks! I'm not familiar with a lot of Conan stuff - need to give it some time at some point...

[@RedwoodRhiadra]

I know it's way too late for the raffle, and I have Realm Fables, anyway, but I figured I'd take the opportunity to talk about my favorite fantasy world anyway. It's The Atlantean World originally by Bard Games. The reason I love it so much is that it's broad - including well over a hundred countries covering the entire planet - but not deep - most countries are only covered in a few paragraphs, and even the more extensively covered ones don't include a lot of history or NPCs or the like. This gives me a varied world with a lot of different societies and cultures, but lets me fill in the details myself when they become important instead of locking me in to a lot of deep lore that just gets overwhelming. This makes it great for solo play...

[@lone_adventurer]

Sounds great! Thanks for sharing.

[@worab1]

As usual another great video, thanks for sharing. Right now I am enjoying The Broken Cask and D100 World Builder. Be well..

[@lone_adventurer]

You're welcome! Ooh I just picked up The Broken Cask as well!

[@1drwall]

My favorite fantasy world is dark souls. The lore is fantastic and the style of lore being in item descriptions so the players learn based on them investigating instead of it being told narratively in the game by cutscenes and dialogue.

[@lone_adventurer]

I'm unfamiliar with Dark Souls (crazy, I know) but that does sound like an interesting way to expose the players to the lore of the world!

[@SpaceCowSmith]

Hurrah! Its great to see another Lone Adventurer video appearing on my feed! My favourite setting is actually from an old wargame called Leviathan and is a world called Aeroth and its a post apocalyptic fantasy where the Elves tampered with a series of great seals which when broken, unleashed the princes of the Fallen and resulted in a wave of wild magic wracking the planet and warping reality itself. Aeroth is now a blasted twisted landscape of jagged stone, polychromatic deserts, forests of fungal growth and ruined megacities with bands of humans, elves, dwarves and orcs fighting survive in the strange new world they inhabit, not to mention the followers of the Fallen. I originally picked the book up back in the mid 90s and it still stands as a brilliant setting but barely touched upon as the company that made it went bust not long after (as is the case for many of my favourite games!) and it never got fully fleshed out but it does lay a framework for the fantasy setting I've developed for my own games in the ensuing years.

[@lone_adventurer]

Welcome back and thanks for watching :D Hope your own (well-illustrated) adventures are going well! Ooh a fantasy / post-apocalyptic mash-up, nice!

[@Mrollllf]

Really enjoyed your harpers quest 2 series, enough to buy it too. But plenty of your videos have been quite fun and inspiring, my dnd group has been busy so we havent had a sesh in 5 weeks and these games and videos have been filling in my fantasy rpg need.

[@lone_adventurer]

Glad to hear you've got yourself a copy of Harper's Quest 2 and that my videos are filling the downtime between dnd sessions (hope you're able to get back to it soon!).

[@thomasyaglowski3638]

Currently enjoying Mork Borg. Keep up the good work!

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks! Morki Borg does look great - I need to get familiar with it!

[@mykediemart]

Mystara, the basic D&D setting from the 80's, it smashes up a lot of cultures to make a unique setting for adventures.

[@lone_adventurer]

Haven't heard of that one! Thanks for commenting 👍👍

[@lone_adventurer]

Hi Myke - congrats, you won the book :) Let me know the best way to contact you, either on here, or I'm on Twitter, or my email in in the about section of my KZbin channel!

[@pimpbisquick7036]

Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld is my favorite fantasy setting.

[@lone_adventurer]

Good shout! That's a really good one!

[@Magusjake]

I had a great game in the 2nd edition of Earthdawn that lasted for years. It was a crazy system but, the basic premises of the world and the way the world provided so many hooks to interact with. That said, I'm looking forward to trying to get a new Airdhe game running for Castles and Crusades. It has a similar theme of recovery after a magical apocalypse, new factions and kingdoms attempting to recover wild areas and lost knowledge, and a burgeoning sense of exploration.

[@lone_adventurer]

Sounds awesome - I keep hearing people talk about Castles and Crusades. Seems to have quite a following!

[@markstevenson7321]

Awesome! You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means! My favorite fantasy setting is The Princess Bride. It has to be the best and most hilarious fantasy story! So many quotes that apply to real life, too!

[@lone_adventurer]

My secret shame is that I haven't seen Princess Bride! I might over-use the word, but I'm pretty confident of my understanding of its meaning.

[@markstevenson7321]

Said in jest, of course. I over use the word all the time! However, you must see Princess Bride!

[@2plus2isfive]

Really great to see you flex your drawing chops on the channel, even if it is just briefly. Setting wise, I am really enjoying the setting for the Black Sword Hack. Largely because it gives you a bunch of regions to pick and choose from to add to you world, some loose hooks to add to each, and then you are off to the races. Each GMs version of the setting will look different from the next. And it is heavily based on Sword & Sorcery worlds like Elric and Conan, so I am more than happy!

[@lone_adventurer]

Ha, thanks! I do keep meaning to do some kind of video where I actually take my time with the drawing and make something nice! I was sorely tempted by Black Sword Hack when it was on kickstarter - looks really pretty (Merry Mushmen stuff always is).

[@user-xz7lu7mo6t]

Great video. My favorite fantasy setting is Castle Falkenstein. The intricacies of perfectly mixing folklore and Victorian Europe amaze me everything I reread the setting.

[@lone_adventurer]

Ooh that does sound like a good combo!

[@wbbartlett]

So many interesting fantasy worlds, picking just one is a tough challenge but today, I think I'll chose Howard's Hyborian Age from the Conan tales.

[@lone_adventurer]

Sounds cool! Crazy that there are so many well-realised fantasy worlds out there!

[@McCannoid]

For me it has to be the world of the Dark Crystal, the flora and fauna all came across as living and belonging to an actual eco system and food chain. Beautiful fantasy locations that felt real, like an alien world but somehow familiar like a dream, then add in the races, the lore and the epic sense of magic...all done without one human in it (I do like people lol). Thanks for the vids.

[@lone_adventurer]

Ooh good shout - Dark Crystal is great! As you say, it felt like such a complete world and not a human in sight!

[@DavidWiley7]

When it comes to fantasy settings, there's no comparison to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his Middle-earth. The man did sooooo much crafting of his world and its lore, there's a ton to delve into and, eventually, I'll be picking up The One Ring 2nd Ed. to try out that relatively new Strider mode.

[@lone_adventurer]

Very good point - there is nothing quite like Middle Earth.

[@Makku-san]

Just found your channel thanks to a link from Shielddice. Have all three of these resources and they’re amazing. Dragonbane is probably my new favorite fantasy setting and Daedalus’ diary would be very useful for that either solo or in a group.

[@lone_adventurer]

Glad you found me! Dragonbane has sorely tempted me, especially with the solid solo rules included!

[@ricardo.mazeto]

I think my favorite fantasy world currently is The Lands Between from The Elden Ring. I know it's a videogame world, not a TTRPG one but it's a fantasy world nonetheless. I've been obsessed with it since the launching of the game. Absolutely nothing is just a backdrop, everything has a history, and it's so well crafted, so dark and grim, and I love the idea of not explaining the history to the player and letting it to be discovered. Someone else mentioned the Middle Earth, but it's the Lands Between the one I'm obsessing about lately. 😅

[@lone_adventurer]

Fantasy Worlds from video games totally count! Elden Ring does look awesome. One day...probably when I'm retired....I'll give it some time!

[@Random_Musings]

Good start to your channel. Congrats on hitting 2000 subscribers. My favorite fantasy setting is from the Master Li and Number 10 Ox adventures (e.g. Bridge of Birds).

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks! I hadn't heard of Master Li - looks cool!

[@Daniel-Strain]

My favorite fantasy setting is a custom Pathfinder setting/world created by my DM. The reason is that it includes all kinds of interesting politics, mixed well with the fantasy elements, and it feels like a dynamic world where things go on regardless of our actions or awareness. Also - your channel is great! :)

[@lone_adventurer]

Thank you! And your DM's Pathfinder world sounds fantastic!

[@rpg_design]

Wow it is so hard to pick just one setting, when grew up reading Tolkien this was clearly formative in my life. I also loved the worldbuilding in Raymond E Fiest, Magician. More recently the show Brittania I found to be very unique, set in Roman Briton but with a fantasy, supernatural twist.

[@lone_adventurer]

Hadn't heard of Brittania - looks cool!

[@prepcooksurvive5807]

Currently my favourite setting is mork Borg. I love the darkness and morbidity of it. Makes a change from the hero defeats the bad guy settling. Id really love to see you try it out with the solitary defilement solo supplement. Well done on the subs keep doing what you do 🤜

[@lone_adventurer]

Thanks - I'm gonna try! Re Mork Borg / Solitary Defilement - I really wanna give it a go. I think if Solitary Defilement were readily available as a physical release, I would have gotten it and stumped up for the Mork Borg core rules by now!

[@neilthompson9194]

Great channel and i also love your Podcast , which you are taking a break from. The Ironlands from Ironswon. I am intrigued with Viking culture and it fits to a grim setting in which i like to play my Fantasy rpg. The Ironsworn system is also my favorite rule set and i have the flavor PDFs from Ironsmith to transport myself to different world cultures . Keep up the great work and i look forward to your next video.

[@lone_adventurer]

Ah the podcast isn't me - I only spotted that recently! :) Good shout on the Ironlands - very evocative (I enjoyed the first season of Me, Myself and Die)!

[@Dr.CalebRobinson]

My favorite is D&D 5e at this point. I stopped playing 5e, and I am not going to speak to their business practices, but there's a solid base of mythos, lore, spells, and bestiary that have been steadily built over many decades. No matter what other setting I go to, I have certain things in mind when people say "kobold" or "mimic" that are thanks to modern iterations of classic D&D tropes.

[@lone_adventurer]

The influence of 5e in undeniable - so much material!

[@LordMallus]

Very good review and exercise using this book. Currently I'm loving Symbaroum by Free League. So much great lore, darkness and mystery.

[@lone_adventurer]

Glad you enjoyed it! Symbaroum looks cool!

[@LordMallus]

@@lone_adventurer I've been running my group for 2 years. We are loving it! Partially through the Throne of Thorns campaign.

[@ericdollarhyde3296]

Let's work it out lol.i think my favorite setting is norindaal right now, I spend a lot of time there.and I like it because it allows for the comical, the absurd, the comforting and familiar, and the straight up terrifying.theres a whole economy for blood and souls !!! So brutal

[@lone_adventurer]

Ah good shout! Norindaal - I had to look it up, even though I have a bunch of 4AD books! You're right - its a great setting.

[@yourtwoscents6974]

My favorite setting isn't really done. I love the British crime procedure world. Less Happy Valley and more Vera (I like the plain clothes coppers better). Maybe there is a game where the guv ner is looking for results one crime at a time. Congrats

[@lone_adventurer]

I love a good crime procedural! I really liked Happy Valley, though I'm with you - prefering plain clothes / detective stuff. Recently enjoyed Van Der Valk and Annika. An RPG that replicates that sort of stuff would be cool.

[@brianmorgan1416]

Hey Lone Adventurer Dude. I'm still waiting for Loom LORE. Great game. Shield DICE makes good stuff. Realm Fables books look very fun. Cheers

[@lone_adventurer]

Hey hey! Me too - those lore book is gonna be pretty awesome, I think!

[@menacerisamir198]

i mostly play dungeons and dragons games on pc but i like a lot this kind of books , they help me a lot for making mods in neverwinter nights aurora toolset , i suscribe to your channel

[@michaelhill6453]

Hello LA, do you know if I can get in touch with designer Jay (Shieldice Studio) I'm a late backer to Loom and Lore but think my order has vanished into the aether. Thanks. I have a few of the Realm Fables books, excellent stuff. How good are you? I'd say better than Michael Sheen but not quite David Tenant.

[@lone_adventurer]

I'm not sure how you would contact Jay - possibly through kickstarter? Well that sounds like a trick question - after all, who is as good as David Tenant? :)

[@michaelhill6453]

@@lone_adventurer Who indeed. I was a late supporter so I don't technically qualify to add comments. I'll keep searching. Thanks.

[@ironartur]

Not exactly "fantasy" my favourite worlds are Shadowrun and the one from the videogame Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (steampunk)

[@lone_adventurer]

I live with a Steampunk fanatic, so I've plenty of Steampunk fiction lying around! Arcanum looks good - nice to seem some love for an old-school game!

[@kosterix123]

Playing card generator needs more work. But there are cool ideas. But as with all those systems I wonder who needs a hero and what conflict. Also lore generation would be problematic.

[@lone_adventurer]

Of course :) There are other tables in the books that might help establish conflict, though I don't think the intention was for them to work as a self-contained system - the idea is to use bits and bobs from the books to supplement whatever game you are playing / system you are using. Thanks for watching!