West Marches Campaign Playstyle Guidebook

by Karl Otto Kristoffersen

This handbook is your guide to running and playing in a West Marches-style campaign!

Inside, you’ll find clear, practical advice on preparing sessions, running the game, and embracing character-driven storytelling.The West Marches method of play is perfect for modern lifestyle gaming with busy schedules and full calendars.Designed to be system-agnostic, this book works with any RPG and helps GMs and players alike focus on exploration, discovery, and meaningful consequence.Whether you’re just starting out or ready to level up your game, this handbook will walk you through the process step by step.
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Genres: Role Playing Games

44 pages, Paperback

Published May 19, 2025

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief and enjoyable overview of the Westmarches style of TTRPG play. The only thing I found confusing was the author's discussion--or lack of discussion--of time. Time is a perennial issue in this style of game: how do you measure time in session, in between sessions, when different groups are playing during in-game times that overlap, etc. I think (?) that each session would have to be a one-shot, and that you'd have to tell the players "when our real-time session is coming to an end, you need to leave whatever your characters are doing in the game and return back to your homebase." I'm not sure how that would play out with my players. Since we generally play in two hour chunks once a week, I'd have to design a lot of short encounters. It's doable, but I'm not sure how enjoyable that would be.
Anyhow, a nice little book. I'm glad I grabbed it.