I’m excited to say this post marks the official Roll Arcana Generators launch!
In the first release, you can generate random names, governments, and worlds. These generators are free to use, and each generator released in the future will be as well.
There are many more plans for not only expansions on these three, but also the inclusion of dozens of other generators. In this post, I’ve detailed out a little bit of background on this project, who is this project intended for, as well as some plans forward.
The Generator's Story
A few years ago, I was looking for a project to occupy my free time. I’m no stranger to starting a new project only to let it waste away on my bookshelf, so I really wanted a project I could sink my teeth into. Eventually, I ambitiously ended up trying to make an AI-driven narrative generator. I had never worked with AI development before and it seemed like a fun challenge. I not-so-quickly got a prototype up and running to see the idea in action. It worked — maybe not so well as to show anyone, but it worked — but it was something else… it was boring. It was like reading a poorly written book, and sure, I could make the book better written over time, iterations, and tweaks, but I was still not at the helm of the story.
I dropped the AI part of the project — mostly because, if I’m honest, I didn’t enjoy working with it — and shifted the focus to a long-held passion of mine, procedurally generated content. So, I pivoted to creating a collection of fantasy generators that I would want to turn to when I need creative inspiration or during my TTRPG sessions and I’m at a loss for that NPC name.
I did learn something from that initial experimentation with AI tools; I wanted to be in more control of what gets created. For me, as a DM or during creative writing, the fun and fulfillment are in the engagement with creativity. With the AI approach, I didn’t have much of that.
So, I decided to break up the nouns and events that make up a narrative into parts — each turned into its own generator, so you can pick the ones you’re stuck on, or maybe have less interest in working on.
Who can use these Generators?
As you might imagine, I love to world build. Often, if I’m stuck trying to make something work or find the best course of events for some obscure part of the world, I find it hard to just put that piece down and move on. I’ll look up random things or read articles just to see if something sparks my imagination. I’ve found that changing my mindset is the most effective way to push back the block and come to a conclusion.
I hope these generators can help in much the same way — offering ideas that are concrete and consistent in order to act as a steppingstone. In this way, I intend the generators to be used by anyone looking for creative inspiration. Fantasy is near and dear to me, and I know it is to many others — each of us have our own interests and ideas we want to share, but sometimes that can be overwhelming, so if nothing else, if the generators help anyone over a speed bump, I’d consider it the project well worth it.
In addition to inspiration, I’d like to design the functionality of the generators to be used during your TTRPG sessions. The generator’s website is designed so you can have multiple generated content open at once. You can (eventually) take notes and maneuver the generators with ease to make sure the content you didn’t anticipate you needed is available when you find you need it. I can’t tell you the number of times some NPC is named after a friend just because I didn’t think the name was needed! Over time, I would want the tool to be used at digital and in-person tables, offering the inspiration when you need it!
The Journey Forward
I’ve drawn up a lot of plans over the past year or so for where I’d like to take the generators. Everything from generating histories and cultures to dungeons and magical items.
I’d like the generators to be a tool to help lift up fellow fantasy lovers to tell their stories. To that end, I want to give more freedom of control over what is generated. To expose more constraints used to generate content. For example, in the future when generating a world, you’ll be able to define everything from average rainfall to temperature at the equator or poles. I’d also like certain steps of the generation process to be optional — if you don’t want to generate a city map but want to know the number of vendors in each district, you’ll have more control over exactly what gets generated.
On the other hand, once content is generated, I’d like to make maps and content fully editable to ensure the content you generate is exactly as you want it. Additionally adding tools and modes to make using the generators during sessions and campaigns easier — allowing notes to be entered next to that name you just pulled from the list.
All that being said, I definitely work on this project with an end goal in mind. However, I know people will find endless ways to use something in a way it wasn’t designed — and that’s a good thing. I’m a big fan of an iterative approach; to get something working and then get feedback from those who use it, building a product over time that can truly cater to the users. There are many uses and ideas that I may not be aware of but building a community where more ideas and stories can circulate is what I love about TTRPGs, the Roll Arcana Fantasy Generators are no different!
If you have any feedback, the best place to make sure it is seen is via our Contact page or directly at dungeonmaster@rollarcana.com
