When learning how to be a DM in Dungeons and Dragons for the first time, you’ll likely come across a section on tracking time in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Calendars might not seem like an interesting addition to your campaigns, but long-time TTRPG-er Eric Jordan has hand-crafted an almanack that makes timekeeping sexy again. He’s also documented his work in enough detail that you can make your own epic replica.
Almanacks are annually published documents that, along with calendars, can include information on weather, tides, religious festivals, and so on. They’re often designed for a specific group of people, and Jordan has created a 20-page almanack for residents of the famous Forgotten Realms city of Waterdeep.
Jordan told Twitter he’d spent around a month designing the almanack. He then documented the prop’s full assembly as a tutorial on Twitter (check out some of the thread below). When he’s not making intricate D&D props, Jordan is CEO of Codename Entertainment (the videogame studio behind DnD clicker Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms).
It’s clear a lot of research went into the Waterdeep almanacks. Jordan cites almanacks from the Middle Ages to the current day as inspiration, and he’s fact-checked his Forgotten Realms lore by consulting the Forgotten Realms wiki and Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood.
1/ Let’s make a #dnd prop! This is a Waterdeep almanac that I designed over a month (with @TheEdVerse providing some #realmslore via Twitter responses 🙏 Ed!). I’ll link the file in the 🧵. This almanac is a beast with 20 pages. #dungeonsanddragons pic.twitter.com/m3MP7VcmCj
— Eric Jordan (@ericremyjordan) July 9, 2022
“Obviously there isn’t a canon almanack printed in Waterdeep,” Jordan says on Twitter, “so I had to invent something”. “I did a lot of reading on the Forgotten Realms wiki, D&DBeyond, and the DM’s Guild and found Aurora’s Whole Realms Catalogue.” This AD&D 2E accessory was the game’s answer to mail-order catalogues, and its inventory of purchasable items made Jordan think the creators might expand into creating almanacks.
Next, Jordan gets into the nitty gritty of creating the almanack. If you want to follow along at home, Jordan’s also shared the files you need. “Feel free to make a copy and use it for your home DnD campaigns”, he adds. “If you make your own copy, please share it with me. I’d love to see it!”
We won’t reproduce the entire tutorial here (you can take a look at the Twitter thread for that). What we will say is there’s a lot of printing, cutting, and folding to do. You’ll need instant coffee and an oven to help age the paper, plus a good playlist of tunes to keep your spirits high (in true Stranger Things fashion, Jordan chose the albums of Kate Bush).
12/ first step is to print the cover. I have a cheap wide format printer which I used to get a cover that is larger than the rest of my 8.5×11” pages. For the paper, I used some heavy watercolor paper that I cut to 13×19” using extra paper as a guide #dnd #dungeonsanddragons pic.twitter.com/ix8L86d5jK
— Eric Jordan (@ericremyjordan) July 9, 2022
Jordan has considered every detail of the almanack, down to the string used to bind it and the custom Waterdeep wax seals on the front. 102 tweets later, Jordan is able to show off the final, finished product. “I’d like to give a big thanks to my friends, family, and coworkers who have politely listened to me as I’ve gone on and on about this project for the last few months”, Jordan says.
102/ After putting on the hot sealing wax, wait for a few seconds for it to cool (but not too long!), and then check your seal to make sure it is positioned correctly and presto! This #dnd prop is now complete. Thank you for joining me on this journey! I hope it was enlightening pic.twitter.com/FNvrN6PaBj
— Eric Jordan (@ericremyjordan) July 17, 2022
If you’d like to create an almanack of your own, we’ve a guide to DnD cities you can use as inspiration. We also have guides to DnD settings and DnD books for all your juicy lore needs.