07/22/2025

In the latest video on my YouTube channel, I dive back into our Shadowdark sandbox project and continue building out the world we started in Part 1. This time, we’re focusing on fleshing out the starting village—a rugged little border town we’ve now named Honeywood. (As a fun nod to Viva La Dirt League—the brilliant comedy group behind Epic NPC Man—I named the village Honeywood after their iconic RPG town in Skycraft.)

Using a great free tool called Procgen Arcana, I walk through how to generate a village map and customize it to suit our campaign setting. Then, using the Shadowdark rulebook’s tables, I roll up the village’s districts and points of interest. Honeywood turns out to be a scrappy, working-class settlement with two poor districts, a small market area, and a few quirky places that adventurers are sure to remember.

🧱 Highlights from the Video:

• Village Layout created with Procgen Arcana (coastal map with crossroads)
• Rolled districts and points of interest using Shadowdark’s tools
• Named key locations, including:
  • The Crimson Dagger – a poor tavern with cult rituals in the basement (yes, really!)
  • The Silver Blade – a wizard-frequented tavern
  • The Crown and Castle – a rare goods shop that charges outsiders extra (and doubles as a gambling house)
• Discussed how this kind of town can act as a home base in a sandbox campaign—quiet enough to rest in, but full of flavor

I also discuss my approach to campaign preparation: how I blend randomness with light planning to keep the world feeling dynamic and alive. As the campaign unfolds, so does the world—and that makes it fun for me as a GM too.

🎥 Watch the Full Video Below:
Building Honeywood: Designing a Shadowdark Starting Village (Hex Map Part 2)

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If you’re running a sandbox campaign or just want ideas for populating your own starting village, this video walks through the tools and logic I use to keep things fun, flexible, and consistent. Stay tuned—next time, we’ll roll up some NPCs to run these locations so you’re ready when players come knocking.

Keep on gaming!