Levoid's Map generator is a print-and-play mapmaking tool for fantasy settings. In it, a single person generates landmasses, biomes, resources, and civilizations by consulting a number of tables and filling in the gaps with their imaginations. It is currently published on Itch.io here and has over 250 downloads currently.
The Inspiration
Perhaps a year ago, I was looking for fun tabletop map making games and was rather disappointed by I found. Aside from a few fantastic titles that were smaller scale than what I was looking for, such as the Quiet Year, there were scant few options that actually resulted in an interesting looking and evocative map. The closest thing to a compelling world map generator was Mappa Imperium, which I liked but felt that it made a similar map every time and was calculation heavy on the user.
So my map maker looked to do a few things:
Create many unique regions that feel fantastical, rather than rolling 2d6 and usually getting a forest.
Reduce calculation intensity.
Have a simplified but still effective way of simulating civilizations.
The Result
I feel that I absolutely succeeded at the first task. Every time I make a new map with this generator, I get fantastic settings and ideas to explore, such as merfolk trapped in an inland sea, living among mangrove trees, or a kingdom of angels isolated deep within a jungle, trying to combat the expansion of a strange, terrifying Eldritch creature.
The current iteration of the project is not perfect, however. I still feel immense fatigue after even 45 minutes of using this tool. There are simply too many times that the document asks the user to roll dice. This could be eased by releasing a digital generator to use alongside it, but that doesn't solve the core tradeoff between world depth and not melting the player's brain.
As far as civilization simulation goes, my method ended up being extremely convoluted, and I need to find a replacement for it. Essentially, there are 6 categories of actions a civilization could focus on (science, military, religion, etc.). Then, there are also six different temperaments civilizations have. So when a civilization takes a move, the player has to roll 2d4, consult a confusing color coded table to decide which category the civilization acts from, and then rolls a d6 to determine which specific action. If the player is patient, this results in each civilization behaving in a unique and interesting way, but at the cost of pulverizing the player's brain. I am still seeking a better solution, and haven't released the civilization section in the online version.
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