5 Free D&D Tools That Save Me Hours

Prepping for a session of D&D (or any TTRPG) can be a huge time sink, especially if you're running a more sandbox game where the players can go anywhere and venture into unknown areas at a moment's notice.

Over the years I've built up a list of go-to free resources that I use all the time when prepping my sessions to make my life easier and help me spend less time on prep so I can focus more on the story of the campaign or other elements. 

Some of these you might already know, some might be new favorites, but here are five of the best free GM tools out there, and some info on how I use them in my own games.

Tool 1 - One Page Dungeon, Watabou

My go-to for quick dungeon maps! 

I could write an entire post dedicated to the amazing tools from Watabou (and probably will in the future), but easily my most used of their tools is the one page dungeon. 

This tool gives you a random dungeon layout, along with some notes on potential encounters you might find within the dungeon. 

If you need a quick location for a one shot, a filler episode, or something to serve as the foundation to build a more robust adventure on top of, the one page dungeon is the perfect starting point! 

I will usually cycle through a few options until I find a dungeon which has a couple of notable features which get my creative juices flowing, and then reroll the notes separately until I get some room details which match the vibe I am going for.

Bonus Tip: If you run campaigns in FoundryVTT, the One Page Parser module will take these dungeons and port them directly into your world complete with walls, saving you even more time! 

 

Tool 2 - Fantasy Town Generator

Generate an entire NPC ecosystem in 1 click! 

When you're running a sandbox game, one of the most time consuming elements can be making settlements for your players to go to, especially if they are just passing through. 

You want to have enough NPCs and locations to make a settlement feel real, but don't want to waste hours creating a settlement if the players are just going to move through it without speaking to anyone during the session. 

That's where Fantasy Town Generator comes in. This tool will generate a settlement map for you, but more importantly it populates every single building on the map with NPCs. It gives them jobs, familial connections, appearance and personality information, and simple goals. 

I use this tool whenever my players are going to a settlement that I don't think they will be in for long. If they are on the road and this is just a stop on the way to their ultimate destination, or if they just come across a settlement on their travels I will use Fantasy Town Builder to give me a simple settlement that feels much more developed than it is. 

Bonus Tip: Use the search and filter tools to highlight just the shops and other points of interest the players might want to visit on the map so you don't need to go search through each building manually. 

Tool 3 - Hero Forge

My go-to for making custom character and NPC tokens. 

Finding the perfect token or artwork for your character or the key NPC for the next arc of your campaign can be really difficult, but Hero Forge allows you to make virtually any character you can image. 

While there are paid options which allow you to download STLs to 3D print at home, access the kitbashing tools for even more customization, and give you more options for making tokens, you can use Hero Forge for free (even without an account) to create a huge variety of characters. 

I use Hero Forge to make tokens for key NPCs in my campaigns, especially when I want to make characters using species that are less popular so have less artwork available for them. 

Bonus Tip: Don't sleep on the decals in the color tool, you can use it to add hair details, make up, blemishes, and all sorts of interesting texture to skin and clothing to take your characters up a notch! 

Tool 4 - Tabletop Audio

Your one-stop shop for dungeon soundscapes. 

Sound is one of the best ways to immerse your players into the game and your world. The right sound effect at the right time can elevate tension - the right music track can turn an average combat into an epic fight of the titans. 

My go-to for audio in my TTRPG campaigns is Tabletop Audio. They have a huge library of free sounds, both music and ambient sounds for you to use to add that extra dimension to your game. 

Bonus Tip: Build a few playlists before your campaign starts, organized by battle music, ambient music, and foley sound effects so that you have an array of sounds to use whenever you need. 

Tool 5 - Glumdark

A grim collection of tables and generators. 

There are so many options for random generators that I could have put on this list, but my personal favorite at the moment is Glumdark. It has a specific focus on the grimdark aesthetic that works particularly well for games like Mork Borg or Shadowdark, but the reason I love it is that it's just packed with flavor. 

Each table and generator has at least a few options which veer into the ridiculous territory, but they are always offset by something so awesome and out there that it more than makes up for it. I mean, who doesn't want to use a Flaming Deathknight that Travels Through Time in their next campaign?!

Bonus Tip: The Powers & Effects and Items & Artifacts sections are packed with odd but interesting items and spells which can spice up a typical fantasy campaign! 

Final Thoughts

Prepping your D&D sessions doesn't have to be a grind, and hopefully these tools will help you play more and prep less! 

Got a favorite tool I didn't mention here? Let us know about it down in the comments, or head over to our Discord server where you can find even more resources and fellow players and GMs to talk all things TTRPGs with! 

But until next time
Much love
Anto