Appendix A: Oracle Tables

Unified random tables drawn from all source systems, organized for quick reference during prep and play.

🎲
Oracle Tables
Terrain, weather, NPCs, motivations, complications, discoveries, dangers, treasures, names, rumors.
Sources: Perilous Wilds, Ex Novo, Ex Umbra, Mythic GM Emulator

Appendix B: Solo Procedures

For when a DM wants to prep alone, or when the table experiments with DM-less play.

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Solo Procedures
Oracle mechanics. Yes/No/And/But. Scene framing. When to generate vs. leave blank. DELVE/RISE solo modes.
Sources: DELVE, RISE, Mythic GM Emulator, Ironsworn

Appendix C: Quick Reference

One-page summaries for use at the table.

Session Zero Checklist
Pending
Settlement Quick-Gen
Pending
Wilderness Quick-Gen
Pending
Dungeon Quick-Gen
Pending
Quest Prep Checklist
Pending
Post-Session Checklist
Pending

Appendix D: Source Systems

Credits and references to the games and books that make The Western Horizon possible.

Worldbuilding Systems

System Author Used For
Microscope Ben Robbins History, Palette, Big Picture
Microscope Explorer Ben Robbins Chronicle (single-location history)
Kingdom Ben Robbins Community drama, Crossroads
Ex Novo Shawn Tomkin (Exalted Funeral) Settlement creation, factions
Ex Umbra Shawn Tomkin (Exalted Funeral) Dungeon creation from rumors
Beak, Feather, & Bone Tyler Crumrine Building-scale locations, factions
The Perilous Wilds Jason Lutes Wilderness, dangers, discoveries
DELVE / RISE Anna Blackwell Solo dungeon/stronghold mapping
Hexmancer Traverse Fantasy Procedural hex terrain
Street Magic Caro Asercion Neighborhood/NPC relationships

Play Structure & Philosophy

Source Author Used For
The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying Jonah & Tristan Fishel Goal-driven play, faction clocks, encounter design
Blades in the Dark John Harper Clock mechanics for faction tracking
West Marches Ben Robbins (originator) Open table structure, player-driven exploration
Support These Creators

The Western Horizon is a framework for combining these excellent systems—it doesn't replace them. Please purchase the original games to get the full procedures, tables, and insights their creators have crafted.

Appendix E: Resources & Further Reading

The Western Horizon builds on the West Marches tradition, proactive play philosophy, and collaborative worldbuilding practices. These resources provide essential context and additional guidance.

Essential Reading

Start Here

These three resources form the conceptual foundation of The Western Horizon. Read them before diving into the framework.

1. West Marches: The Campaign Structure

These articles explain the core principles: player-driven exploration, open table, shared world, the Guild model, and session reports.

2. Proactive Roleplaying: The Play Philosophy

The Game Master's Handbook of Proactive Roleplaying by Jonah and Tristan Fishel (Media Lab Books, 2023)

This book fundamentally shaped The Western Horizon's approach to player agency. Key concepts:

  • Goals over hooks: Players arrive with goals; GM creates obstacles
  • Factions as opposition: Factions pursue their own goals, creating emergent conflict
  • Clocks: Track faction progress between sessions
  • Encounter design: Seven-step process built around goal collision

The book addresses the fundamental question of proactive play: if the GM doesn't create storylines, where does direction come from? Answer: from player goals colliding with faction goals.

Why This Book Matters

Traditional West Marches uses a GM-authored bulletin board of hooks. Proactive Roleplaying inverts this: players bring goals, factions provide opposition, and the GM creates obstacles rather than storylines. This makes responsive generation actually work—players know what they want before the GM creates content.

3. Microscope: The Collaboration Model

Microscope by Ben Robbins (lamemage.com/microscope)

The guiding principles for all collaborative creation in The Western Horizon come from Microscope:

  • Everyone is equal
  • Don't contradict established content
  • Be specific and evocative
  • Let others surprise you

Collaborative Worldbuilding Games

Ben Robbins' Games

Shawn Tomkin's Worldbuilding Games

Other Worldbuilding Games

Solo & Hexcrawl Tools

Solo Procedures

Hexcrawl Resources

Video Essays & Educational Content

Faction Design & Political Play

  • "Do You Want Political Games?" (Mystic Arts): youtube.com/watch?v=Hnr6Mr1436M
    Essential video on the three-faction (good/bad/ugly) framework for creating politically complex campaigns. Covers the six-step process: Conflict → Factions → Characters → Ideology → Methods → Twist. Perfect companion to WH's faction-driven approach. See notes: mystic-arts-political-factions.md

Campaign Management Tools

Wiki & Knowledge Management

  • Obsidian: obsidian.md — Local markdown wiki, excellent for campaign notes
  • Notion: notion.so — Collaborative wiki with databases
  • World Anvil: worldanvil.com — Purpose-built worldbuilding platform

Scheduling & Communication

  • Discord: Essential for West Marches — bulletin board, session organization, voice chat
  • Doodle/When2Meet: Group scheduling for open table sessions
  • Notion/Airtable: Session tracking and player availability

Maps & Visual Aids

Start Simple

You don't need all these tools to run The Western Horizon. Start with: (1) Discord for communication, (2) Obsidian or Notion for wiki, (3) The source games you're actually using, (4) The Proactive Roleplaying book for play philosophy. Add tools as you discover what your table needs.