The first part of a two-part interview with Russ Morrissey (Morrus) of EN World. I ask the same questions as we did of Emily of Fantasy Name Generators.
Part 2 can be found here.
Generators Q&A with Morrus of EN World
How did you get into creating random generators?
The first time I ever wrote a random generator was using a program called TableSmith which I think was probably around 15 years ago but I couldn't place it exactly. You can find it online to this day I'm fairly sure and it was a Windows app that you download and you make text files which had all the different parameters of your random generator. And I would create random generators for whatever game I was playing, which probably at the time was 2nd Edition D&D.
What Generators are you most proud of?
Probably my tavern generator...maybe because that brings together a whole bunch of smaller generators and I think the way I put them together in quite an easy format to absorb and read. You know a lot of generators sometimes come across as random lists...I think I'm quite proud of the way I formatted it to feel like a natural description of a tavern. It's quite complex, quite detailed, involved an awful lot of different tables but it was fun to write.
![](https://digitalpress.fra1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/g06yzna/2022/12/example_tavern_3dreduce.gif)
What other Random Generators have you seen that you wish you had made?
None really...but sometimes I see some out there that I think are quite cool.
How do you use Random Generators in your RPGs?
I have an iPad when I'm running a game and I have OGRE (EN World's Online Generic Randomizer Engine). I basically know exactly where all my random generators are...so if I need it for some Technobabble because I enjoy my technobabble generators as well...If I need any of those then I can use them in-game on an iPad on the table in front of me while running a game.
What are your next projects, generators or otherwise, that you can talk about.
Well I know one I'd like to make but I'm not 100% sure that I can. I know that OGRE could do it...but it would involve so much work and such massive tables and such long scripts. But I do want to make a WOIN (What's O.L.D. is N.E.W.) character generator using OGRE. But I think that may be pushing the boundaries. I know it could do it. The tools are there, the logic functions are there, it's just a question of the sheer amount of stuff you would have to script for it.
Where can people find you on social media?
They can find me on Twitter as @Morrus, on facebook as Russ Morrissey and EN World.
Anything else you would like to say about your generators or your RPGs?
I hope people enjoy them, I don't know how many people really use them but they're there for people to use. If people don't then I certainly enjoy using them and I'll probably keep making them as and when I find I have a need for them in my game.
Further Reading
Part 2 of the interview covers more about OGRE and the What's O.L.D. is N.E.W. (WOIN), the RPG Morrus produced via kickstarter.
What did you think of the interview? Leave your thoughts in a comment or at Twitter @DuncanThom