About West of Babel

West of Babel is an in-person, open-table Dungeons & Dragons campaign for players who want a flexible game focused on exploration, discovery, and collaboration, and who want to learn and practise real-life languages while playing.

Campaign structure

West of Babel follows a West Marches-style campaign structure. There is no fixed party or assigned story. It is a player-led, exploration-focused campaign that is easy to drop in and out of at any point.

1. Plan the session. Propose the next expedition. Include what you want to do or explore, then suggest it to the game master so the group can choose a session time.
2. Start and end at home base. Every session begins and ends at the home base. If the evening ends before the party can make it back, we assume they return somehow and pick up at the home base next time.
3. Share what you learn. After each session, one player writes a session log for the other players. Share what the group found and did so everyone can follow how the world develops together. We publish these reports as campaign events, which helps plan the next session.

Language at the table

The main goal of West of Babel is for players and the game master to practise and learn languages they are not familiar with. The shared and main language of the game is English, but every participant is encouraged to bring real-world languages they want to learn to the table.

We treat in-game languages as real-life languages. The world contains many cultures and languages, so the people the party encounters and the players themselves speak multiple languages, sometimes badly.

Speaking a real-life language you are unfamiliar with, need to practise, or speak badly is explicitly encouraged because that is the point. Do not be shy about bringing a language you are not very good at yet.

Open to all experience levels

The table is open to players of all experience levels. This is not a power-gaming table: you do not need to know the rules well or have played Dungeons & Dragons before. Come along and have fun.

How to join

We are currently setting up the campaign and looking for players. If you are in Paris, speak some English, and are interested in learning or practising English, German, French, or another language you bring to the table, email Philip to express your interest. We will follow up with more information.