The West Marches campaign style has revolutionized how groups handle the eternal scheduling problem of tabletop RPGs. Originally designed for in-person play with a rotating cast of players, this open-world sandbox format translates beautifully to play-by-post - and in many ways, PBP is the ideal medium for West Marches games. This guide covers everything you need to know to run a successful West Marches campaign online.

What is a West Marches Campaign?

The West Marches style was pioneered by Ben Robbins in 2007 as a solution to the scheduling nightmare that kills most tabletop campaigns. Instead of a fixed group meeting weekly, West Marches features a large pool of players (often 15-30+) who form ad-hoc parties for individual expeditions into a shared persistent world. There's no overarching plot that requires specific characters - instead, the world itself is the story, waiting to be explored and shaped by whoever shows up.

Core West Marches Principles

Player-Driven Exploration

Players decide where to go and what to do. The GM doesn't push plot - they build a world full of dangers and treasures waiting to be discovered.

Shared Persistent World

One world, many parties. What one group discovers or changes affects everyone. A dragon slain stays slain; a dungeon cleared stays cleared.

Open Table

No fixed party. Players form groups based on availability and goals. Miss a session? No problem - your character was back in town.

Information Sharing

Players share maps, rumors, and discoveries. Knowledge becomes a valuable resource that benefits the whole community.

Safe Haven

Sessions start and end in civilization. No cliffhangers that require the same players next time.

Escalating Danger

The further from town, the more dangerous. Players naturally learn to gauge risk by distance and reputation.

Why West Marches Works Perfectly for Play-by-Post

While West Marches was designed for scheduling flexibility in live play, play-by-post takes these advantages even further. The asynchronous nature of PBP means you can run multiple expeditions simultaneously without scheduling conflicts. Players in different timezones can adventure together. And the written format creates automatic documentation of discoveries - no need for separate session notes.

PBP Advantages for West Marches

•Multiple expeditions can run simultaneously with no scheduling overlap
•Players across all timezones can participate in the same campaign
•Written posts create automatic, searchable records of discoveries
•Slower pace allows for richer world description and exploration
•Large player pools become manageable rather than chaotic
•GMs can run several threads while maintaining quality
•Maps and handouts integrate naturally into forum posts
•Players have time to research and strategize between posts

Setting Up Your West Marches World

A West Marches world needs to be designed for exploration. Start with a safe town or outpost as your home base, then create concentric rings of increasing danger as players venture further out. You don't need to detail everything upfront - in fact, you shouldn't. Create broad strokes and points of interest, then detail areas as players approach them.

World Design Essentials

•Establish a clear home base with services adventurers need (tavern, shops, healers)
•Create a regional map with named locations but unexplored areas marked with question marks
•Design 3-5 known hooks within easy reach of town for new players to investigate
•Seed rumors about distant, dangerous locations to inspire future expeditions
•Establish factions, monsters, or threats that will react to player actions over time
•Create a calendar system to track time between expeditions
•Define what resources are scarce and what players will need to venture further

Managing the Player Pool

A healthy West Marches campaign needs enough players that expeditions can form organically, but not so many that the GM is overwhelmed. For play-by-post, 15-25 active players is often the sweet spot. You'll want systems for organizing expeditions, tracking who's available, and ensuring characters return to town between adventures.

Player Management Systems

Expedition Board

A dedicated space where players propose trips and recruit party members. Include destination, objectives, and posting expectations.

Character Roster

Public list of all characters with level, class, and current status (available, on expedition, recovering).

Town Channel

An always-open thread for characters in town to interact, share information, and plan expeditions.

Player Availability

System for players to indicate their posting capacity so expedition leaders can form reliable parties.

Activity Requirements

Clear expectations for posting frequency and what happens if a player goes silent mid-expedition.

New Player Onboarding

Streamlined process for new adventurers to join the campaign without disrupting ongoing expeditions.

Running Simultaneous Expeditions

One of the biggest advantages of West Marches in PBP is running multiple expeditions at once. A single GM can reasonably manage 3-5 active threads, or you can recruit additional GMs to handle different regions of the map. The key is having clear systems so expeditions don't create continuity problems.

Multi-Thread Management Tips

•Use a shared calendar to track when each expedition takes place in game-time
•Establish that expeditions happen sequentially in world-time even if posted simultaneously
•Create a master document tracking major world changes and discoveries
•Communicate between GMs (if multiple) about world state and upcoming reveals
•Keep individual expedition threads focused - save cross-party interaction for town
•Use expedition conclusion posts to update the shared world state
•Archive completed expeditions but keep them searchable for player reference

The Information Game

Information sharing is the lifeblood of West Marches. Players who explore bring back knowledge that benefits everyone - but that knowledge must be actively shared. Create systems that encourage players to document their discoveries and reward those who contribute to the community's understanding of the world.

Information Systems

•Create a player-maintained wiki or document for shared knowledge
•Establish an in-character rumor board where discoveries get posted
•Award XP or other rewards for quality expedition reports
•Maintain an evolving map that players can add to after expeditions
•Create a bestiary that grows as players encounter and survive creatures
•Track faction relationships and NPC attitudes in a shared document
•Encourage in-character storytelling in the tavern about expedition experiences

Expedition Structure for PBP

Play-by-post expeditions need clear structure to maintain momentum. Unlike live sessions that end when time runs out, PBP expeditions can drag indefinitely if not managed well. Set expectations upfront about expedition length, pacing, and what happens if players become inactive.

Expedition Best Practices

Define Scope

Each expedition should have a clear objective and estimated duration. 'Explore the old mine' is better than 'wander around'.

Set Posting Expectations

Expedition leaders set posting frequency requirements. Common: 1/day minimum for active expeditions.

Establish Turn Order

For combat and complex situations, use clear turn tracking to prevent confusion and delays.

Plan for Dropouts

Have protocols for what happens if a player ghosts. NPC the character? Handwave their absence?

Clean Endings

Expeditions should conclude with the party returning to town. No cliffhangers requiring specific players.

Expedition Reports

The party leader writes a summary of discoveries, loot, and events for the community record.

Handling Character Advancement

Level disparity is a common concern in West Marches. Over time, active players will out-level casual participants. This is intentional - it creates natural stratification where experienced characters tackle distant dangers while newer adventurers explore closer to town. However, you need systems to keep this from becoming exclusionary.

Advancement Strategies

•Use milestone or expedition-based XP rather than monster-kill counting
•Create level-appropriate content at various distances from town
•Allow higher-level characters to mentor lower-level ones on easier expeditions
•Consider diminishing XP returns when high-level characters tackle easy content
•Create special events or dungeons scaled to specific level ranges
•Encourage players with multiple characters at different levels
•Reward expedition leadership and community contribution, not just combat

Tools and Technology

Running a West Marches campaign online requires good tools. You need spaces for expedition threads, player coordination, information sharing, and world tracking. The right platform makes everything easier - the wrong one creates friction that kills campaigns.

Essential Platform Features

•Organized forums with separate areas for expeditions, town RP, and OOC coordination
•Character profiles with fields for level, class, expedition history, and status
•Integrated dice rolling with logs that prevent cheating
•Map hosting and annotation tools for the shared world map
•Wiki or documentation system for shared knowledge
•Real-time chat for quick coordination and tavern scenes
•Activity tracking to identify inactive players
•Archive system for completed expeditions

Common Pitfalls and Solutions

West Marches campaigns fail for predictable reasons. Understanding these pitfalls helps you avoid them or recognize when intervention is needed.

Pitfalls to Avoid

•Clique formation - Encourage mixed parties and create events that shuffle groups
•GM burnout - Don't run too many simultaneous threads; recruit co-GMs if needed
•Stagnation - Regularly add new locations, threats, and rumors to keep exploration fresh
•Information hoarding - Reward sharing and create in-character reasons to spread knowledge
•Level gap isolation - Ensure content exists for all level ranges; encourage mentorship
•Expedition paralysis - If players aren't proposing trips, seed compelling rumors
•Continuity errors - Maintain clear records and communicate between GMs

Building Community

The best West Marches campaigns become communities, not just games. Players should care about each other's adventures, celebrate discoveries together, and feel invested in the shared world. This happens through intentional community building, not by accident.

Community Building Tips

•Create shared rituals - maybe the tavern has a tradition of buying drinks for returning adventurers
•Celebrate firsts - first expedition to a new region, first dragon slain, first character death
•Encourage expedition storytelling - players should want to share their adventures
•Create faction or group identities within the player pool
•Recognize contributions - highlight great expedition reports, helpful players, creative solutions
•Run periodic full-community events - festivals, invasions, or major discoveries
•Foster mentorship relationships between veteran and new players

Getting Started

Ready to launch your own West Marches campaign? Start small - you don't need a fully detailed world or dozens of players. Begin with a core group of 5-8 reliable players, a small region to explore, and a few compelling mysteries to investigate. Let the world grow organically based on player interest and your creative energy. The West Marches format is designed to scale, so focus on building something sustainable rather than something massive.

Remember: the goal is creating a shared world where many different stories can happen simultaneously. You're not writing a novel - you're building a sandbox where players write their own adventures. Give them interesting toys to play with, establish clear boundaries, and watch the community create something larger than any single GM could plan.