You don’t need hundreds of pages of lore to build a great Dungeons & Dragons campaign. You need a strong idea, a world worth exploring and enough structure to give your players somewhere to start.

Roll With It is a hands-on workshop for aspiring and newer Dungeon Masters who want to turn worldbuilding ideas into something they can actually play. Throughout the workshop, you’ll actively build your own campaign setting, developing its locations, characters, conflicts and first playable session as you go.

You can arrive with a campaign idea already in mind or build one from scratch during the workshop. By the end, you’ll have a campaign framework you can continue developing and bring to the table.

Workshop Schedule (4 Hours)

Part 1: Start With The Big Idea

• Define the central premise and tone of your campaign.
• Explore what makes a setting interesting without getting buried in unnecessary lore.
• Build a starting region, town or location that gives your players somewhere meaningful to begin.
• Learn how to develop ideas collaboratively instead of trying to plan every detail in advance.

Part 2: Build A World That Creates Stories

• Create factions, characters and conflicts that naturally generate adventure hooks.
• Explore how locations, relationships and competing goals can make your world feel alive.
• Sketch a basic map that helps organize your setting without locking you into every detail.
• Learn how to leave enough space for player choices to shape the campaign.

Part 3: Turn Your World Into A Game

• Move from worldbuilding into playable encounters, challenges and story opportunities.
• Explore practical ways to scale encounters and think about challenge without over-planning.
• Develop flexible situations that can adapt when players inevitably do something unexpected.
• Connect your campaign premise, locations and conflicts into a playable framework.

Part 4: Build Your First Session

• Create a strong opening hook that gives your players an immediate reason to act.
• Plan the essential locations, characters and encounters needed for your first session.
• Understand how a Session 0 can establish expectations, tone and character fit before play begins.
• Build enough material to start playing without trying to predict every possible decision your group might make.

By The End Of This Workshop, You Will

• Turn a worldbuilding idea into the foundation of a playable D&D campaign.
• Develop a clear campaign premise and starting location.
• Create factions, characters and conflicts that can drive future sessions.
• Sketch a practical map for your starting area.
• Build a first-session hook and framework you can continue developing.
• Understand how to prepare enough to run a game without writing an entire world in advance.

What We Provide

• Grid Paper: Materials for sketching maps, locations and encounter spaces.
• Workshop Resources: Reference materials and tools to support campaign and worldbuilding development.
• Workshop Guidance: Hands-on instruction, feedback and practical support as you develop your setting and first session.

What To Bring & Requirements

• Notebook or Device: Bring something you are comfortable using to write, organize ideas and develop your campaign.
• Campaign Idea: Bring one if you already have something in mind, or start completely from scratch during the workshop.
• D&D Books: Feel free to bring any rulebooks or campaign resources you already use, but they are not required.
• D&D Experience: Basic familiarity with Dungeons & Dragons is recommended, but previous Dungeon Master experience is not required.

Event Details

• Format: 1 single session (4 hours)
• Location: Urban Art Collective Art Hub, 50 Bayswater Avenue, Ottawa
• Instructor: Andrew Pomfret
• Level & Audience: Beginner-friendly. Designed for aspiring and newer Dungeon Masters, as well as worldbuilders interested in turning ideas into playable campaigns.
• Maximum Capacity: 12 students
• Minimum Enrolment: 6 students required