Developing a game in D&D
- Matthew David
- Oct 24, 2022
- 2 min read
Over the last couple of years, I have developed a process that helps create authentic TTRPG campaigns. I thought I'd start a short series where I share how I go from an idea to a fully developed game that can be sold on KS. I will be delighted if this inspires you to write your games and sell them on KS.
I play and write D&D 5e, but the process below can be used for OSR and other TTRPG.
When I sit down to write a game, I have a single goal: I want to immerse the DM and players in the game world. For this to happen, you have to pay attention to a lot of little details. Over time, I have developed a list of things I need for a balanced game that includes:
· Story Hook - what is unique about the game
· Define the adventure and what motivates the players - what are the core themes for the game
· NPCs - why are these NPCs in the game?
· Maps - where does the action take place?
· Encounters - details, details, details
· Side Quests - sometimes, the players need a break from the primary campaigns, so give them the option
· Random Encounter - how to spice things up when the play is getting a little too easy
· Resolutions - how do you know you are done?
· Monsters - unique monsters for your game world
· Magic Items - unique magic items
· Game within a Game - make pubs and meeting places fun with dice, card, and other mini-games
· Food and Fuel - an army needs to be fed, and so do your PCs :)
I will share more details on each of these segments, but first, let's dive into the story hook.
Story Hook
The first stage in any game development is identifying a good story hook. Me, I love thrillers, classic horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. When I am thinking of a story hook, I will either take a twist on a classic story or mix two stories up. For instance, these are all story ideas I have jotted down:
- The Phantoms of the Opera
- No Man’s Land, a WW1 trench horror story
- X Mark’s the Spot, a pirate story where the island is made up of pirate ships
You get the idea. Your story hook needs to be compelling, and you need to explain it in one sentence. I am always looking for a reaction when I pitch a new idea, such as "oh, hell yes, I want to play that game.”
Get the story hook right, and the rest is easy.
--Matt
the memorable villain speech: these are the moments that players talk about immediately after the session. But the reason those moments land so powerfully is because of all the small, careful details that preceded them — the consistent world-building, the believable NPCs, the food and fuel that made the journey feel real, the side quests that deepened the characters' relationships with the world. Matt's checklist is essentially a map of all the places where immersion can be built or broken. For designers who want to track how much their creative career has grown since they started writing TTRPG content, a free growth chart calculator provides a satisfying visual representation of progress over time. Those who want to calculate expected income from…
The "Magic Items — unique magic items" element of Matt's checklist is where game design becomes truly personal and where a campaign can develop a genuine signature identity. The problem with relying on standard magic items from the official sourcebooks is the same problem as relying on standard monsters: experienced players already know exactly what a +2 longsword does, and there is no sense of discovery or wonder in finding one. A truly unique magic item — one that has a history, a personality, perhaps even a curse or a cost — transforms a mechanical bonus into a narrative event. The best magic items in any campaign are the ones that players remember and name and argue about long after…
I'm particularly intrigued by Matt's mention of "Monsters — unique monsters for your game world" as a distinct element. This is an area where many campaign designers take the path of least resistance, populating their worlds with the standard bestiary creatures that every player already knows intimately. There is nothing wrong with goblins and dragons, but when players already know exactly what a creature can do, what its weaknesses are, and how to kill it efficiently, you lose a crucial element of tension and discovery. A truly unique monster — one that players have never encountered before, with abilities and behaviors that don't fit neatly into existing categories — creates genuine fear and excitement. Players have to figure it out…
The "Side Quests" element of Matt's framework touches on something fundamental about what makes an open-world campaign feel genuinely open rather than just linearly structured with decorative branches. A side quest is not just a break from the main campaign — it is a statement about the nature of the world. It says: this world has depth, it has history, it has problems that exist independently of the main plot, and your characters are free to engage with those problems or ignore them. The best side quests are ones that feel organically connected to the main story without being required for its completion. They might reveal backstory about a villain, develop a relationship with an NPC, introduce a mechanic that…
Matt's inclusion of "Food and Fuel" as a distinct category in his campaign checklist is one of those details that immediately tells you you're reading advice from someone who has actually run these games at a table, not just theorized about them. In the real world of tabletop gaming, food is a surprisingly powerful narrative tool. The act of eating — what characters eat, where they eat it, who prepares it, what it costs, what happens if they can't get it — grounds the fantasy world in a kind of biological reality that makes everything else feel more believable. A party that has been marching for three days through a swamp and is running low on rations makes different decisions…