The Culture: From The Blank Map To The Bespoke Campaign

You, Referee, want your players to drive the action in the campaign.

The way to do this is to force the issue. The map is blank; neither they nor you know anything of what lies out there. Everyone finds out as play progresses.

Because the map is blank, there is no established infrastructure and no established NPCs to rely upon. Players will have to build and recruit as they go, often forcing them to delay things like leveling up in order to build out desired or necessary services such as fixing your gear (Armorer) or magic item creation/spell research. This will include, out of necessity, building fortified holdings to secure those goods or services.

What does this force players to do? Invest in the campaign milieu. They build it, they shape it, they make it theirs. They conquer, tame, and settle that map as they fill it in and clear out the monsters encountered and the dungeons discovered. They turn map hexes into Domains, Domains into kingdoms, and kingdoms into empires step by bloody step- king by their own hand.

You know, like a certain Cimmerean.

Because the dice--representing fortune--dealt out weal and woe, the Referee is blameless.

Because the players made all the vital decisions, calling all the shots, the players are forced to accept responsibility for everything that comes out of play.

Because there is no established lore, play proceeds emergently from what is implied by the rules.

Because players create for themselves what play does not generate for them, each campaign--and its environs--will be customized to the specifics of that campaign and thus be a truly bespoke collaboration.

This is what a proper hobby product has to be able to do out of the box, without any external resources. You can count on one hand how many meet that basic-bitch standard.

Nothing is more memorable, entertaining, or demonstrative of what this hobby can do than to play this way.

And you can do this tool, starting tomorrow, with ZERO PREPARATION. As Jon Mollison shows, you can even do this solo. Go forth and conquer.