What is a West Marches Campaign?
The Core Elements
A West Marches campaign is usually defined by a few key elements, as discussed in an RPG Stack Exchange thread:
- Variable player groups
There isn't a fixed group of players. Instead, each session draws from a larger pool.
- Self-contained sessions
Every session stands on its own, with a complete story or adventure each time.
- Community-driven
Players and GMs participate in creating the world
Beyond the Basics
These basics lead to some practical features that help organize and run West Marches campaigns:
- Multiple GMs
One or more Game Masters can run different adventures, all set in the same ongoing world.
- Shared home base
Every adventure begins and ends at a shared hub, similar to an adventurers' league.
- Persistent world
What happens in one session can change the world for future adventures.
- Flexible character participation
Players are free to use different characters in different adventures.
- Focus on exploration
Exploration is usually a main focus.
How West Marches Campaigns Work Online
Ben Robbins came up with the West Marches style, and it's really taken off in online gaming. At first, it described a specific kind of sandbox game, but now it covers any group where players choose which adventures to join and which characters to bring along. It's also known as "open table" gaming. This setup works especially well for Discord servers and online groups, since it lets people play around their own schedules and time zones, all in the same world.
Most are run online, using Discord for chat and scheduling with virtual tabletops like Roll20 or Foundry VTT. The "marches" are the dangerous frontier beyond a safe starting town. Players organize into groups at this home base before heading out, kind of like an adventurers' guild.
The Organizational Challenge
Running a West Marches campaign with several GMs and many players can be tough to organize. Most groups use a mix of tools, which can quickly get overwhelming:
- Discord chaos
When sessions are announced in chat, they often get lost, and players might miss out.
- Google Sheets overload
There are often several spreadsheets to track characters, adventures, experience, and loot.
- Character management
It can be hard to keep track of many characters across different GMs and adventures.
- Session coordination
Managing signups, player limits, and level requirements
- World consistency
Ensuring all GMs stay up to date on changes in the world is important.
- Reward distribution
Experience points and loot often have to be tracked and handed out by hand.
So we built a tool for it
WestMarches.games is a free tool for West Marches communities that run on Discord. It replaces the usual pile of spreadsheets and bots with one place to manage everything:
- Adventure scheduling with signups
Post sessions, set player limits and level requirements, and let players sign up. Everything gets posted to Discord automatically.
- Character tracking
Manage characters, XP, gold, and rewards without a single spreadsheet.
- World wiki
A shared wiki for your world so every GM stays on the same page.
- Discord integration
Log in with Discord, sync roles, and get automatic posts for new adventures and recaps.
Works with D&D, Pathfinder, Daggerheart, and any other TTRPG system. Free, no ads, no strings attached.