Marks on the Map
Every workshop needs a shelf of references, and every expedition leaves behind a few marks on the map.
The Trail Guide is a collection of places, tools, shops, software, references, and other useful things I've encountered along the way. They aren't here simply because I found them. They're here because I used them, learned something from them, or thought they were worth remembering.
This isn't intended to be a complete directory, and I don't continually patrol every trail to make sure it is still open.
Things change.
Shops close. Websites disappear. Software is abandoned. Communities move on. Trails become overgrown, and sometimes when you return to a place years later, you find that time has erased part of what you remember.
When that happens, I may remove the marker. Or I may leave it standing and note what used to be there.
That's part of the trail too.
Tabletop & RPG
A browser-based platform for playing a large library of board games online, either in real time or turn-based, without needing to install the individual games.
I wanted a practical way to play board games remotely with family rather than limiting game night to whoever could physically make it to the table. Board Game Arena also introduced me to asynchronous play, which makes longer games much easier to fit around real life.
Visit resourceCartography & Reference
A cartography and fantasy-map resource centered around hand-created maps, worldbuilding and related artwork and products.
This is one of those places that sits at the intersection of several things I'm interested in: maps, tabletop gaming, worldbuilding and making physical things. I may not need it every week, but it is exactly the sort of specialized resource I know I will eventually wonder, "Where was that map site I found?"
Visit resourceTools & Software
An online army-building system. Its modular builder can use community-created game data and supports Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game among its available systems.
I started using the modular builder while putting together MESBG armies. It turned something that would otherwise involve repeatedly flipping through books and recalculating points into a much quicker way to experiment with lists, equipment and different army sizes. It has become one of those tools I actually use rather than merely bookmark.
Visit resourceTools & Software
A free, open-source engine for playing board games and wargames online. Games are supported through modules, and play can be live or asynchronous.
I found VASSAL while exploring Advanced Squad Leader and looking into ways people still play older board and wargames. It turned out VASSAL itself grew from Virtual Advanced Squad Leader. What interested me was discovering an entire ecosystem that keeps games playable even when finding someone locally to put them on the table with isn't easy.
Visit resourceMiniatures & Modeling
A miniature manufacturer with extensive historical ranges covering periods such as the ancient world, Dark Ages, medieval warfare, Napoleonics and WWII, along with terrain, transfers and other supporting products.
Victrix is the kind of manufacturer I want to be able to find again when a project wanders into historical miniatures or I need figures and accessories outside the usual fantasy ranges. Their catalog is also useful simply for seeing what exists when an idea for a diorama or tabletop project starts forming.
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