West Marches

Resources to learn how to make a West Marches campaign more enjoyable

West Marches is a sandbox style of D&D campaign, created by Ben Robbins and popularized by Matt Colville, designed to facilitate player agency and reduce ‘mindless plot following’ by putting a large group of players (10+) in charge of where they go, what they do, and when they play. I've spent two years playing and/or moderating three different online West Marches campaigns, which matches the amount of time Robbins himself played his original campaign.

Resources

The following links offer a bunch of research to learn more about a West Marches style campaign. All these resources are great for players to read, listen to and study to help make the experience of our West Marches campaign that much more enjoyable. Articles

http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/78/grand-experiments-west-marches/: From Ben Robbins the person who created a West Marches Style campaign
https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/adn178/lessons_from_west_marches_a_guide_to_improving/: Reddit thread from u/LyonArtime on his experience with three different West Marches campaigns
https://muleabides.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/why-a-west-marches-campaign-needs-a-town-moving-into-the-dungeon-pt-1/: Why West Marches needs a town
https://articles.gglehi.com/starting-a-west-marches-campaign/: Starting a West Marches Campaign

Videos/Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGAC-gBoX9k: West Marches Running the Game #33 by Matthew Colville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQUbF3RXaK4: Game Master's Journey 167: Preparing & Running a West Marches Campaign by Starwalker Studios
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMVo4nKlOnI: Game Master's Journey 170: West Marches Campaign Variants by Starwalker Studios
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O198m4e_DUw: How to Run a Sandbox "West Marches" Campaign by DawnforgedCast