The Western Horizon — Project Overview
Repository: https://github.com/cdhagmann/western_horizon
Live Site: https://cdhagmann.com/the_western_horizon/
Design Chat: [Link to original brainstorming conversation]
What Is This?
The Western Horizon is a design philosophy for running West Marches campaigns where players drive the story through their goals, the GM generates content responsively, and the world is built collaboratively.
Unlike traditional West Marches (where the GM pre-builds an entire world), WH generates content when players declare where they’re going and why. Unlike traditional campaigns (where the GM plans storylines), WH lets stories emerge from player goals colliding with faction goals.
Core Philosophy
The Five Pillars
- Goal-Driven Play: Players bring goals, not reactions to GM hooks; the GM creates obstacles to those goals
- Responsive Generation: Content is created when needed (between sessions), not pre-generated
- Collaborative Authorship: The GM is co-author and referee, not primary storyteller
- Canon Integration: All generated content becomes shared knowledge (“it always existed”)
- Scale & Scope: Generation procedures for each scale (history → settlement → location → wilderness → dungeon)
The Philosophy-First Architecture
WH is the philosophy. Systems are solutions that align with it.
The framework defines:
- Problems that need solving at each scale
- What makes a good solution (collaborative, responsive, creates factions with goals, etc.)
- Proven examples of systems that work (Ex Novo, Microscope, etc.)
Systems are modular and replaceable. Use what works for your table. The design language works whether you roll randomly or choose deliberately—what matters is content is generated when players pursue goals.
Goals Over Hooks
| Traditional (Reactive) | The Western Horizon (Proactive) |
|---|---|
| GM creates hooks | Players declare goals |
| Players choose from options | GM creates obstacles to goals |
| ”Here’s what’s available" | "What do you want?” |
| Story comes to players | Players pursue story |
| GM plans adventures | Adventures emerge from goal collision |
The Self-Contained Expedition Structure
| Phase | What Happens | GM Role |
|---|---|---|
| Planning (Between Sessions) | Players declare: “We’re going to [location] to [goal]“ | Content reaction: Prep that location |
| Expedition (During Session) | Players execute their declared plan | Adjudication reaction: Rule on actions |
| Resolution (After Session) | Return, log discoveries, advance faction clocks | World simulation: Update state |
Framework Structure
Document Sections
| Section | Status | Core Problems Addressed |
|---|---|---|
| 00 - Overview & Philosophy | ✅ Complete | Why WH? How is it different? |
| 01 - Session Zero | Skeleton | Initial world establishment |
| 01a - Player Guide | ✅ Complete | Player expectations and character creation |
| 02 - Settlements | ✅ Complete | Living towns with goals |
| 03 - Wilderness | ✅ Complete | Meaningful travel and exploration |
| 04 - Dungeons | Skeleton | Dangerous sites with ecology |
| 05 - Quest Prep | Skeleton | Between-session content generation |
| 06 - Sessions | Partial | Adjudication and simulation |
| 07 - Wiki | Skeleton | Canon maintenance and accessibility |
| 08 - Appendices | ✅ Complete | Reference materials |
Problem Domains → Proven Solutions
| Problem Domain | What You Need | Proven Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Play Structure | Goal frameworks, faction clocks, obstacle design | Proactive Roleplaying |
| History & Culture | Shared backstory, cultural touchstones | Microscope, Chronicle |
| Living Settlements | Towns with factions pursuing goals | Ex Novo, Kingdom |
| Detailed Locations | Specific places with NPCs and atmosphere | Beak, Feather & Bone, Street Magic |
| Wilderness Travel | Terrain that matters, emergent complications | Perilous Wilds, Hexmancer |
| Dangerous Sites | Dungeons with internal logic and ecology | Ex Umbra, Delve & Rise |
Source Systems
| System | Author | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proactive Roleplaying | Jonah & Tristan Fishel | ✅ Complete | Proactive Roleplaying |
| Microscope | Ben Robbins | ⬜ Pending | Microscope |
| Microscope Explorer | Ben Robbins | ⬜ Pending | Microscope Explorer |
| Kingdom | Ben Robbins | ⬜ Pending | Kingdom |
| Ex Novo | Shawn Tomkin | ✅ Complete | Ex Novo |
| Ex Umbra | Shawn Tomkin | ⬜ Pending | Ex Umbra |
| Beak, Feather, & Bone | Tyler Crumrine | ✅ Complete | Beak, Feather & Bone |
| The Perilous Wilds | Jason Lutes | ⬜ Pending | Perilous Wilds |
| DELVE / RISE | Anna Blackwell | ⬜ Pending | Delve & Rise |
| Hexmancer | Traverse Fantasy | ✅ Complete | Hexmancer |
| Street Magic | Caro Asercion | ✅ Complete | Street Magic |
| Claw Atlas | Tyler Crumrine | ✅ Complete | Claw Atlas |
Key Design Decisions
- Goals First: Each PC has 3 goals (short/medium/long-term), player-authored, with clear endpoints and consequences
- Factions as Opposition: Factions get concrete goals and clocks; they pursue their goals between sessions
- Two Content Modes: Hook Seeding (shallow pointers) vs Content Realization (deep generation)
- Tier System: Settlements scale with character level (1-4: Village, 5-10: Town, 11-16: City, 17+: Capital)
- Generation Timing: Responsive to player goals but done in prep between sessions
- Two Types of “Reactive”: Content Reaction (async, between sessions) vs Adjudication Reaction (sync, during session)
- The Guild & Bulletin Board: Window into faction activity, not GM-authored hooks
- Wiki Integration: Obsidian + Claude for processing session recordings and maintaining canon
Tech Stack
- Site: Jekyll on GitHub Pages
- Wiki: Obsidian
- Recording: Craig bot (Discord) or local recording
- Transcription: Whisper or Otter AI
- Processing: Claude Projects
This document provides context for future work sessions. Upload alongside the relevant PDF when processing a new source system.