Discover Blackmarsh: The Best Free D&D Setting
This is my favourite setting ever. It’s free. And it’s all you need to run a game for years.
Why Blackmarsh?
Setting is what gets in people’s way most when starting a game. They think they need this completely fleshed-out world with all the histories detailed. You don’t. Honestly, I don’t think you get a return on investment from over-preparing settings when it comes to actual fun at the table.
Blackmarsh by Robert Conley is 24 pages. That’s everything. You get the book, a GM’s map, a player’s map, and the entire setting in rich text format so you can edit it and make it your own.
What’s In It
A massive meteorite (the Mountain that Fell) spread magical essence called viz throughout the region. Centuries of empires rising and falling. And here we are.
The map uses 5-mile hexes (I’d change it to 6 for old-school play, but it doesn’t matter). Every hex is numbered for easy reference.
Every named location on the map gets a paragraph. Just enough to spark your imagination, not enough to overwhelm you. Every entry has hooks for adventures and campaigns baked in.
The Crimson Hills: Two orc tribes - the Bateers and the Blood Crushers - warring for years.
Castle Blackmarsh: The central hub. Once ruled by a big bad called Atacyl who’s been vanquished. His dungeon underneath hasn’t been cleared - and there’s no map for it. You fill that in.
The Greywoods: Elves guarding the viz that grows there. Acorns from the trees have magical properties. Perfect for a faerie forest campaign.
Smoking Bay: Vikings to the north.
The South: Halflings, the Blackmarsh Rangers who cleared the whole area, political tension between those who supported Atacyl and those who didn’t.
Every X on the map is an encounter or location. Find them by matching hex numbers to the key. Ruins of a dwarven ironmaster’s hall. A black dragon. Dungeons seeded throughout.
Why It Works
The story emerges from what’s happening, not from pages of lore. The town of Drawvich supported the old big bad - they don’t like the elves who’ve taken over Castle Blackmarsh. There’s a keep that resents elven control. Politics already seeded, ready for players to stumble into.
I ran Forbidden Lands once. Great setting, but my players knew more about it than I did. Hard to run games on the fly when someone can tell you what’s around the corner.
Blackmarsh doesn’t do that. In a few pages you know an area well enough to build on it. That’s the sweet spot.
What You Get
- Complete hex map (GM and player versions)
- Every location keyed with just enough detail
- Politics and factions ready to use
- Random encounter tables
- Town details for Castle Blackmarsh
- The whole thing as editable text
The Viz Club
One detail I love: Castle Blackmarsh has the Viz Club - an exclusive society where you get the proper secrets of the area. Perfect carrot to dangle in front of players.
Bottom Line
Get it. Even if you’re not going to run it, Blackmarsh is a masterclass in how to write a setting. How to give more with less. That’s a rare talent.
People think bigger page counts mean better books. This proves they’re wrong.
Robert Conley is brilliant. He did the Wilderlands, he’s active on forums answering questions. And he gave this away for free.