| Zair_Zetross |
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Ok I've got this Kingdom for my campaign; it’s new and struggling to survive because of goblins, hobgoblins, and even an expansive amount of untamed forest land that strange things happen in. The players will come to the kingdom and save it from economic, political, and physical destruction. What I need help with is what’s in the kingdom. I’ve got a Tavern that I’ve already fleshed out with food and lodging prices and two notable NPC’s the NG Tavern Keeper and CN Barmaid. I’ve got a Magic shop with a list of always in stock potions, and a 75% chance for unlisted arcane potions to be in stock and a 50% chance for Divine potions, it also has a rotating stock of wondrous items meaning he gets in a few at a time and those that don’t sell after a period of time are sent to another magic shop in a different Kingdom. The church has no specific denomination and has two NPC’s of note the priest and his assistant both of them will perform healings, cure disease, etc for a small donation to the church. I’ve got way too much to say about the castle and barracks. One of the most important buildings and plot point is the abandoned Guild Hall that was built but failed to be established because of the lack of adventurers, the players will eventually clear the building of what’s nesting inside after being empty for so long and they will begin to build their own guild with NPC’s they recruit along the way to train as adventurers. Now my question is what else should be in this kingdom that should be prepared ahead of time so I’m not surprised when they ask where it is, I know there’s a blacksmith but that’s pretty much as simple as opening to the equipment page and saying he has these but not these. Also there are no magical weapons or armors in the kingdom because of its size and lack of demand for those items, however there are dwarves to the north known for their blacksmithing and enchanting of weapons and armors, and also elves in the forest for none metal magic armors and weapons.
Grr I tried to make this short but oh well, please comment on what you think should be in a small city in a new kingdom, or on what I’ve already listed or missed, or even comment on what you’ve done in your campaigns, any advice is welcome advice.
| Mark Hoover |
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Wow double Z, that's a pretty impressive list already. You've got the PCs base of operations (the tavern), a potential plot hook/new base (the Guild Hall), town defenses, magic shop and church. The only thing I can think of is weapons and armor, possibly a gear shop for rope, tents & bedrolls, etc.
Then there's flavor. What kind of city is it? What's their economy based on? Is the city built around logging the weird forest, or are they far away from the weirdness as a merchant hub? This will help add some character to your settlement.
For example: imagine that the city was once much larger. They began cutting into the nearby forest and were successful at driving back the fey for a time. Then came a global catastrophe called the Wilding; energy from the First World flooded the Prime Material and the forest not only re-grew but exploded back to primal, feral life.
During this time miles of forest re-grew in mere years. Unable to stop it the city merely hunkered down. The forest consumed outlying settlements and people/towns were destroyed either by the forest itself or the resurging fey creatures. Finally the woods descended on the city itself swallowing up a fourth of the buildings, wards and walls before the Wilding finally ended.
Now the city is a shadow of what it once was. Although the fey are not as strong as they were during the Wilding they are plentiful and parked in lairs on the city's very doorstep. There's also the forest itself; a towering boreal wood filled with massive trees, ferns, thickets and meadows covering ancient towers and walls.
The city has begun, slowly, to reclaim what it lost. A lot of people were killed or displaced by the Wilding. Those who survived are loathe to return to the area until defenses can be repaired. The city then has opened invitations to adventurers to come and explore the woods, help secure sites which might still be saved and generally protect the citizens.
Now, in this scenario you'd need all the utilitarian buildings you have already described, but there are some flavor elements you could add to play up the uniqueness of the settlement. You might have a forester's guildhall and a couple remaining saw mills - as portions of the old city are secured brave lumber workers have to go in an cut down trees to clear the area and if some of these trees are strong hardwoods they must be milled for use. Another spot for the party might be Faeriebane Market - a black market of sorts where they can gather info on fey creatures, buy cold iron items and other devices for use against the more common threats in the woods.
What kind of background detail can you offer on the city?
| Ecaterina Ducaird |
I more go for flavour than form when it comes to building a city.
What's the history of the kingdom / city? Is it fledgeling, never took a hold and is about to collapse in because of that, or did it used to be much larger and is now in final stages of collapse. This is probably your starting point because it can change the feel of the town completely and what to expect in the surrounding lands.
Eg. A once thriving kingdom that has shrunk is much more likely to have abandoned well to do buildings and stores in there that might have either been 're-purposed' into slums or just abandoned. There's more likely to be ruins that the forest has reclaimed or alike. Maybe old abandoned watch towers that the party can find that used to be the outer border of the city, but are now well and truely overgrown and collapsed. Potentially this gives the PCs a chance to reclaim and rebuild those buildings at a reduced cost.
The two towns will also have a vastly different feel to them as you go in. A collapsing old town might feel more like a ghost town when you wander around because even though there are a lot of buildings, there aren't enough people to fill them. Whole sections might have been abandoned. A struggling frontier town though won't have that feel and might even feel crowded in if people don't WANT to expand for whatever reason (Similar to the above maybe the fey just butcher anyone who ventures into the forest).
From there, work out the town mindset and mentality... Are they the few remaining people who are too proud or stupid to leave? Given the Fey are they paranoid about strangers (or maybe trade / blessings by the fey are the only reason the town is still here). Are they upbeat, but grizzled frontiersmen making a living on a 'harsh, but fair' landscape to be respected, or do they now hate it and see it as a long standing foe to be conquered.... How do they feel about the Fey? The Elves? The Dwarves? Are all of those common knowledge, and to what degree. Does everyone knows the story about the bogey men in the forest... but thinks they're just stories, or does once a month a dwarven tinker come down from the mountain to trade for... something or other.
More on a personal note? I'd be giving the cleric and his offsider a god. It's OK for them to respect all gods and allow them to be worshipped equally. Maybe there are small shrines to all the major gods (or just the 'good' ones) in the temple. But I'd give them a deity to worship based on what you want the town to feel like. A priest of Irori who spends hours a day in self contemplation and encourages others to do so will have a hugely different feel to (say) a priest of Erastil who preaches that labouring in the field for the benefit of the community is worship enough. What they preach may (or noticeably may not) affect the community does, and at the very least their relationship with the priests (and in turn how he treats them). The contemplative, but not 'active' priest of Irori the populace may dismiss as a useless navel gazer, and because of that rejection he might be slowly turning evil. Conversely, if everyone is attending the priest of Erastil's sermons given in the fields around lunch time because he's been working hard out there too, they may agree with him and have a great relationship with him.
| Corvino |
Both Mark and Ecaterina have good points about city construction. While you're constructing it for the players, it needs to seem like it's not just there for them. It needs other things to make it live and breathe.
Why is the city there in the first place? Is it a port, or built at the only crossing point of a major river, or by an oasis in the desert, or at a major mountain pass? As came up in another thread recently, nearly every major city is on a body of water for drinking, sanitation and trade. Having locations within your city is useful too. A tavern next door to the town hall will be very different to one in a dockside alley.
If it's a trade hub for the surrounding area what do they trade? You mention the forest - logging could be a major industry. Next consider how any trade takes place with neighboring cities. There could be roads or river barges to transport lumber, or by sea. Other industries could include hunting and farming in the surrounding land, so the wool, fur, corn or other commodities can help define the region.
Important local history and individuals can help define a region too. Former battles, rulers, generals, philanthropists and even enemies can shape how a region views itself, placenames and outlook.
Having something outside the city is useful too. How does the city relate to the forest Elves and mountain Dwarves that are nearby? Are they trading on friendly terms or have they been at war recently? There could also be smaller settlements around the city that the adventurers may visit - Lumber camps, farming villages and the like.
Having all the shops that your party want is important. Filling in all the other details of the world is important too. Players do have a habit of asking awkward questions about their environments and having an answer ready is good. Let's say your party Rogue wants to corner the local market - being able to say that the wool market is relatively new and poorly regulated compared to the established lumber trade is quite impressive.
| Mark Hoover |
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I second the worship of specific gods in the church.
Looking at the CRB for PF, I could imagine a church dedicated to Iomedae shaped like a giant sword (or a cross) with the outer wings of the "hilt" containing shrines for Pharasma (battle often means death and the fallen must be respected), Saranrae (Glory, Good, and Sun are all domains in common between these deities) as well as others. The chief pontiff could be a retired soldier who helps martial the city's defenses and runs a fighting school through the church. He no longer trains however as he's grown too old; instead his second handles the day-to-day of the classes.
The priest, known still as Marshall Bannock is a square-jawed man in his sixties with broad shoulders and a firm smile. His second, Lady Nareth Von Minnonev is the half-elven daughter of a distant noble house. She is illegitimate and has no claim to her family; a point of resentment for her, but she became a brawler and then reformed under the tutelage of the church and the Marshall. Lady Nareth is a very pretty young half-elf female with blond hair and prominent ears but the wide, hazel eyes typical of her human ancestry.
Between them these two venerate the patron of the church, Iomedae, but in different ways. Marshall Bannock has access to the Good and Law domains and follows the tenets of defense and justice - he is more like a father figure. He works behind the scenes as an administrator, coming out on important holidays, for noble or notable supplicants, etc.
Lady Nareth however still has that chip on her shoulder and has chosen the domains Glory and War. She can be impulsive and passionate in her decisions. Her style appeals to the warriors in her charge and the needy that the church provides for. There is a well established hierarchy however and Lady Nareth will not undermine or disobey the church or the Marshall. She conducts services and blessings for the Ward Towers and the soldiers of the city, teaches martial techniques in the school and leads troops directly on the walls in case of threat.
As such Lady Nareth is who the PCs will commonly see when they go to the church. The building itself is known officially as the Cathedral of the Holy Blade of Light though most commoners in the city simply call it Lightblade Cathedral.
Finally there are some minor clergy in the city dedicated to the supplemental deities respected in the cathedral. These clerics maintain private residences and maintain the shrines; they also deliver services in the church or in public.
The outer offices and cells along the "blade" of the cathedral serve as a hospital, administration and storage. In cellars and vaults below are crafting chambers, more storage and crypts for the honored dead killed in service to the faith. The crypt areas are maintained by the Pharasmin allied with the cathedral. The crafting areas also contain a library and scriptorium; down in the undercroft potions, scrolls, and minor magic items are crafted for the faithful by clergy of all the allied faiths represented at Lightblade. Some of these are then offered for modest donation.
| Mark Hoover |
I have a city in my current home game called Ravenhurst. It is a merchant hub and stands at the crossroads of 2 major trade routes dating back centuries. Yet looking at it on the map you'll note that there's not a lot of natural resources nearby.
The map came first and was randomly generated. I decided to stick with it and the placement of this city, naming it Ravenhurst. Then I thought to myself: if a city was old and had a lot of money but no great resources, how would it feed/clothe/supply the residents? Obviously there's a lot of merchant commerce.
But then I took it a step further. The randomly generated alignment of the city was true neutral. This means certain areas could be a step off that alignment; say, NE? Enter: the Slivers.
The Slivers is the slums of the city. While still technically part of Ravenhurst the Slivers exists just outside the main wall between the city and nearby cliff walls. The guilds and merchants have set up workhouses in the Slivers, ostensibly to train young children in crafts and professions. In practice however these are slave labor camps where the merchants send raw material to be made into finished goods for fractional costs and then sold back in the main city for huge profits. The rich stay rich or get richer; the poor suffer.
There are few ways out of the Slivers for citizens. Debtors, criminals, failed adventurers and others end up there and children are often sold into these workhouses so that down-on-their-luck citizens in the main city don't have to go themselves. Most residents of the Slivers will live and die there.
One way out is the Sickle and Chain. This is an actual slaver's guild of bounty hunters. They are a LN organization and do as much good as evil but their main hook is that they sometimes troll the Slivers seeking out willing slaves. Folks agree to be taken by the Sickle and Chain agents and brought to paying clients: evil merchants, humanoids like kobolds in the local megadungeon, etc. Those who willingly submit to the Sickle and Chain negotiate some kind of bounty or service paid to whoever they name as their next-of-kin. As such some citizens in the Slivers might buy the freedom of their child from the smithy's workhouse in exchange for becoming a willing sacrifice to a tribe of goblins.
I had a paladin who started digging into all of this just before he got killed last session. He was appalled that his church has an order of paladins a mere stone's throw from the Slivers and yet this is allowed to continue. He made a deal with a "courtesan" he'd gotten to know to keep an eye on some kids hiding out in a ruined forge hall. His church helped him purchase the derelict building and he was going to start a weaponsmith shop there and help the kids out, starting to work on reforming the Slivers from within.
Now that the character has died (fully dead; the player doesn't want to bring him back) I have to decide what happens to this church-sponsored smithy, the kids and the working girl across the street. His new character is a low-life type working out of the Slivers on a bid for revenge. Maybe I can tie it all together somehow...
Anyway, the point is all of this gives an added dimension of character to Ravenhurst. That little oomph helped this player get into the game and the settlement. Now even though the character died his efforts will have a lasting impact on the game world.
Martin Kauffman 530
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Zair: What you are describing in your opening question does not appear to be a kingdom, but rather an isolated town/population center of undetermined size. If it is part of a larger kingdom/entity, who are the rulers? What is their alignment? What form of government or rule is practiced and what is the relationship of the starting area to the kingdom as a whole? If it is an isolated or partially explored area, some questions I would ask are: why are the town's inhabitants here in the first place? Are they explorers? traders? gatherers? farmers? missionaries? refugees? criminals? etc. You mention that there is a tavern (you do not specify if it is part of an inn or a simple bar), blacksmith, magic shop, church, castle, and abandoned/unused guild hall. Dependent upon the town's population/size, items in a magic shop would probably range from hardly existant to common. Unless the town is rather large, I think you have overestimated the availability of magic items. With regard to the church, town size/wealth would also have great implications, as a small isolated town might have little more than a small shrine staffed by a small number or even only one low level cleric. You would probably want to ask what religion is practiced by this church and what is the chuch's relationship to the town? How strictly do the town's residents follow the church's religious beliefs? What is the toleration level of this religion towards other religions? What are the townspeople's tolerances or biases against or towards other races or non-humans? towards outsiders and non-residents? How is the town governed and by whom? What are some of the town's key laws and/or customs? An actual castle would imply large population, wealth (at least on the part of the ruler or rulers) and a higher degree of military organization. Most medieval villages did not have castles- small ones might have a palisade or even no walls at all. Finally, I would ask what surrounds the town? what do most of its people do? and what resources are available to the town? Other town sites I might suggest are stables, general store, one specialized craft shop, one nearby geogaphic site such as a forest, river/stream or cave; and possibly one unusual site such as a nearby site sacred to a neighboring humanoid tribe. The answers to these questions will help you flesh out your area.
| Zair_Zetross |
Ok I’ll post more of the history, basically a large kingdom wanted the resources of this land but was already too big to expand into it, so they chose a plan to build a sort of colony kingdom that would grow and start to sustain itself and then trade whatever valuable resources there was to be found in this new unexplored land. So they jumped the gun and made their most liked Noble and his wife king and queen of this new land and they built this city to be the capital and starting point of this new kingdom. But by jumped the gun I mean they did not do much in the way of exploring this land and seeing what troubles would lay ahead and ended up next to this seemingly untamable feywild. So yeah the city would a great landmark bustling with trade and much more locations than what I listed inside this kingdom such as more than one main tavern which by the way is bar on bottom inn on top, but it definitely needs a general store thanks for mentioning that, if the players asked where to by rope I would have had to come up with something on the fly. I should also mention that the feywild is split three ways the two largest are the tame wilds filled with good or neutral aligned creatures, nymphs, fairies, dryads and so on, and the untamed filled with giant spiders, evil aligned centaurs and dryads, witches and hags, anything else wicked you could come up with. And the third much smaller part of the forest is filled with a clan/tribe of elves dedicated to protecting the nymphs, fairies, and so forth but also stopping the evils from the other side of the wilds. These elves do not impede the building of the kingdom but aren’t currently trading with it either or in much contact at all really, the dwarves however are happy to do trade with the new kingdom. I really like the idea of ruins in the wilds and will definitely use that, they’ll be from a long forgotyen kingdom older than the history they have of that land. There is a water source but it’s through goblin infested lands so the kingdom currently gets its water the long way around another strain the players will solve. The church I said was denomination neutral because I didn’t want to restrict the players from whatever gods they choose but if there’s a god welcoming of all other good aligned plus neutral and lawful neutral gods than yeah that could work; no one chose cleric or paladin anyway though so anything would work if you have an idea, it’s more of a the assistant is always available but the priest for one reason or another isn’t around as much as her, this is in no reason a plot point or anything the assistant is simply the more social one. Oh and the size is clearly explained wrong it’s the proper physical size for a city but the population hasn’t grown enough yet, a castle was built though, nothing fancy or even large, I simply wanted a castle in the city.
Please continue to comment and ask questions I learned and got a lot from what everyone said.
| Grishnackh |
the most important shop of all is missing: the shop that sells "stuff". need a rope? go to the stuff shop. need trail rations? go to the stuff shop. need lampoil? stuff shop.
your baseline village has the inn, the blacksmith and the stuffshop and a marketplace thats used monthly/weekly/whatever. thats the minimum amount of economy for a village. the next are a chapel, church or temple, city hall (starting as small as a special room in the inn, ending with a palace) and more specialized shops (tailors, carpenters, etc). when the city gets big enough to have a city guard, you'll have a barracks, the city hall will propably be a standalone building, most basic shops, multiple inns and taverns and the first stonemasons. your city will get its first guildhalls around the time where it gets a functional city watch if the city is specialized. it will take a bit longer if the city isnt really specialized in anything (but then multiple guilds will be foundet at the same time)
now for a small city state i'd go with a city around 5000 people and 5 to 10 times as much population in the surrounding area (if you want it historical accurate) or a 10k city state with next to no population around it (if you consider you can conjure food out of nothing because magic!)
city hall being a small palace where the king/queen lives with a staff of around 200-400, a quarter of them being guardsman. either one major local temple with several chapels or any number of churches. also shops for every mundane good imaginable and 1-4 marketplaces that are used every single day.
a city of the size will either have a city wall, or it will begin building a citywall unless there is absolutely no need for one (a goblin and hobgoblin infestation is propably enough reason for a village with a population of 100 to build stone fortifications ^^).
the geographic position of the city will have a major trading route or a defensible position or both as a point of origin.
| Mark Hoover |
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So this is a "kingdom" in the sense that it has a monarch ruling over the city. Other than that, it's a single city with a castle, a church, an inn and an (abandoned) adventurer's guild hall.
It doesn't sound much like a "city" as defined by the Pathfinder Core Rule Book. It sounds like a keep
You've got a lone settlement of some kind, serving as the genesis of a new kingdom on the edge of a vast, untamed frontier. There are potential allies and enemies in all directions. The land, though filled with bounty is itself a hazard. And buried in the wild meadows and forests are the shadowed ruins of an older civilization whose fall may merely have foreshadowed the folly of this new society.
Now that we've got the fluff out of the way Tranzor Z, think practically; what would this settlement need, as small as it still is, to survive in this region you've imagined?
1. A name - the settlers more than likely have a name for their home. Your players will need to know it as much as the settlers do since presumably they'll be hanging around the place for a while. Naming the place gives it an identity and a reality that the new settlers can get behind. Even if it's something as simple as "Fort Wilderness" at least give it some kind of presence by naming it.
2. A trading partner - you've got the dwarves for that. My suggestion here would be to add either a dwarven population in the settlement significant enough to be noticed by the party or at least allow the trading companies to have a presence here; dwarven caravans are a frequent sight, there's a dwarven consulate (which is really just a tavern built into the side of a hill where the visiting dwarves can gather after a hard day's trading. There'd be rooms there too for said dwarves to sleep it off and of course stabling for horses/vehicles), or perhaps just frequently mentioning the dwarves would be enough. Side note: after you're done with this settlement you should at least place the dwarf settlement on the map in such a place relative to the castle where it makes sense that they're trading with the new settlers.
3. Resources - wood, stone, iron and cloth; all of these raw goods will be important to the growth of a young settlement. While much of it might be coming in from the dwarves at least a LITTLE had to have been gathered by the settlers themselves to first establish the place. So, what resources are brought in by the settlers, not the merchants? Once you've determined that, decide what businesses/facilities these resources would need for processing. For example, if the young settlement does all its own logging in the area it should have mills and carpenters. If they are doing a lot of hunting/trapping for leather goods, there should be a tannery. Maybe its more agrarian and the settlement has herds of livestock; an abattoir might make sense or at least several outlying farms.
4. Defenses - you've given them a castle, and that's fine, but who mans it? Is this a trading hub with a military presence or a military outpost that does a little trade on the side? Answer these questions and others to determine what kind of defenses the settlement has. Once you know how big a military you want the settlement to have, decide what the guards/soldiers do all day. Do they just stand on walls, waiting for the inevitable siege by goblins, or do they actively probe the land looking for in-roads to the bounty of the fey wilds. If they DO leave the settlement, how far do they go, what routes do they take, and what kind of patrols are they - scouts and rangers blending with the wilds or hardcore soldiers in half-plate carving out paths with fire and blade?
You need to make some concrete decisions Z-man. How large a settlement are we talking? What resources are they gathering for themselves and how are they paying for the stuff the merchants bring? What plan is there to actually BE a kingdom i.e. expansion, development and so on?
Imagine 2 very different scenarios here and how they would inform your players about what they're in for:
The town itself is a mere 3000 souls, mostly human and half-elf with some dwarves besides, who busy themselves with outlying fields, hunting and trapping in the nearby Sablewood and working the mills. The main business of the town is lumber and forestry. The dwarven traders who descend from the nearby Elder Peaks range have a need for the strong spars of Darkwood that Rangertown produces.
The dwarves have established Beardbristle Hall; a tavern and inn they use as their "trading house". Built into the side of a hill just inside the northwestern wall this establishment is open to the public as far as the bar goes. The private rooms, stabling and storage are kept solely for the dwarf caravans who frequent the town.
There are of course other businesses in town as the settlement thrives on trade. Gimlek and Sons, a general store selling tools, gear and other necessities for explorers and adventurers who frequent the area. There is also The Hammer and Anvil - a consortium of smiths running a long row of forges in the center of town, far from the dust of the mills. There is also Vindleprick's; the home and shop of a Halfling leather smith named Alvier Vindelprick. Still other businesses line the open Cobblewood Market; the open air center of Rangertown which, like the castle was built as much with fieldstone as it was in timber.
Residents of the settlement are focused mainly on natural pursuits and look to the land for survival. They venerate many gods who watch over these aspects of spiritual life. At Greenheart Lodge the lady pastor Yarlemene Von Greenheart, a half-elven ranger/cleric of Erastil, watches over her flock. The lodge is simply a gathering place for local hunters and wood-folk who come together to chronicle hunts, prepare and share experiences. This informal shrine to the Stag Lord also supports the efforts of other deities; Saranrae and Desna specifically. Greenheart is known to welcome all, not just the hunters, as a place for protection in travel, lore of the woods and healing to survive these journeys.
The settlement has survived three mass attacks since it was established some 30 years ago. Goblins have attempted to burn down the walls; the weird elven xenophobes of the darker Belgreve Forest drove beasts down on it and most recently a coven of hags dominated an army of ogres and gnolls who went berserk and tried to tear the place down by brute force. Rangertown has survived by the combined efforts of the standard town guard known as the Woodwall Guard and the elite units known as the Thornwalkers. These advance scouts are the pinnacle of the townsfolk of Rangertown. They are premier rangers, warriors and rogues who prowl the wooded wilds gathering information from the very trees and beasts, consort with denizens of the wilds and keep careful watch on the rising threats in the land
The hard-working population of 3000 humans and dwarves here are a no-nonsense folk. They work the mines, herd sheep and cattle on the hillsides and labor at crafts and professions in their homes. They trade with the dwarven kin of the settlers. Many of the buildings and walls here show as much dwarf architecture as human.
Caravans are frequent from the dwarves of the upper heights of the Elder Peaks. These merchants haul in great timber spars from the pine woods above as well as lodes of quarried stone, trading this for the rich iron ore smelted in the foundries that are built into the northwestern corner of the wall. The caravans have well established themselves in town and as such a number of breweries now compete for their business in a section of the town known as Alewash. Several taverns attached to these breweries cater to all manner of traveler, merchant adventurer and townsfolk.
Several other businesses cater to the needs of the town. Urlock's Hall is a general store run by a surly half-orc who used to haul coal from the mines and now supplies travelers with re-furbished miners' gear. Lanterns, packs, ropes and tools can be bought and sold here. Of course there are dozens of smithys, forges and crafters scattered about Iron Keep. The most highly skilled work for Master Havelk, the dwarven smith and proprietor of the Sootbeard Foundry. Havlek's major rival however is a human female; a former warrior for the crown who is as strong as any man and can work twice as long. She is Guretta Murne, but everyone refers to her as Murney.
The laws and regs are as important in the mines as they are in life. If folks don't follow the rules down in the dark, people die. As such the spiritual life of the town is ruled by the same tenets. A gothic edifice known as Stoneblade Cathedral stands in the center of town. The building is all arches and stone with shingled steeples tipped with iron. Inside the folk of Iron Keep are drawn to worship by the somber tolling of the bell above. Their chief patron is Abadar, though not in his aspect as merchant. Rather they pray to the Lord of Cities and Defense to keep their walls strong, their trade plentiful and their tragedies few. Other deities supported here are Torag, Iomedae and Pharasma; an iron-fenced graveyard behind the church is maintained well by the clergy of the Mother of Graves.
The defenses of the town are severe. All able-bodied folk of Iron Keep are trained with at least simple weapons and have a post in times of battle. The second tier of defense above the militia is the Stonshield; trained warriors who constantly patrol the walls of Iron Keep. Above these are Knights of Iron; a heavy cavalry trained to lead afield. The Knights, when not in the keep, lead detachments of Stoneshields through sweeps of the nearby Sablewood and the Bargreve Forest beyond. They have begun to carve inroads to the wilds and drive the interlopers there before them, though they have respected the ruins they have so far uncovered.
2 different settlements, both roughly the same size, with 2 very different feelings about them.
| Mathius |
Wow Mark, just wow.
Iron Keep would be more likely to have an abandoned adventures guild since the city is more likely to be uncomfortable to adventures. This city needs the adventures more since they do not have light scout forces and this could bite them. They like what adventures do in the woods but really hate the bar fights.
Rangertown does not need the free adventures because the thornwalkers are adventures. If you have rotating but larger player base the thornwalkers are great way to change up party composition. Your 8-10 PCs are the thornwalker regulars while a few NPCs fill out the officer ranks.
You could even have both towns in the same area (10 to 20 miles apart) but backed by rival kingdoms. This would add some intrigue to the area and PCs could make a discovery and sell it to the highest bidder.
| Mathius |
Demographically each town could probably support somewhere between 150-300 solders. The highest level character would be around 11th or 12th level. This is supported by 5th level spells being reliably available in a large town. The requires a 9th level character and there would be around 6 people in town at that level or above and likely one of them can cast spells.
Broken Zenith
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This is exactly what you want. It generates exactly what was in medieval towns of various sizes.
| Munchwolf |
Simple rule, for every element you add, ask questions, then answer the questions, and ask more questions. At some point stop on a question, and move on to a different element, leave some questions open. This will flush out your kingdom.
You start with a kingdom, besieged by Goblins and Hobgoblins. Ok, how are the goblins and hobgoblins organized? Are they small independent tribes, or a large uniformed army? Where are they attacking from generally (the hills in the east .. oh, look, now we have hills .. in the east, or from caves deep underground). How are they attacking? Is it small bands, wolf riders, with ogres as leaders? Do they only attack in spring? If so, what are they doing the rest of the year? Maybe they migrate like mongols? Or they attack in the spring since they never plan out their winter food supplies properly and are starving ...
Next you mention a tavern, with a food list. Nice. This will give an idea of what wildlife and plants are in the area, and what is not in the area. Is lobster on the list? Then an ocean source with plentiful bounty is nearby and easily accessible. What about other seafood? Or do you limit to boar and deer? Are there other animals in the area that are not on the menu, and if so, what and why? Maybe deer are off since only royals by law can eat them. Why is that? How does the tavern get the food on it's list? Are there a lot of local hunters? Is there a brewer nearby for drinks, or does the tavern make their own? Why is there only one tavern? Is it in the city, or is it a waypoint between the city and somewhere else?
You have a magic shop. Where does he get his supplies? Does he make the potions himself, or trade for them, and if so, with who? You mention he trades with another kingdom, how is that trade handled? Does he close up shop and personally travel to that other kingdom, or does some middle man handle the trades? Answering these questions can add flavor and adventure hooks if something happens to the trade process.
You have a church of no specific denomination that I find really interesting. To establish a church you usually need a sponsor (it could be the priest trying to self-establish, or get financing from a local lord). What is the priest's denomination? What is his sponsor's denomination? Why the stipulation of no denomination for this church instead of supporting the sponsor's deity or the priest's deity? Does the church help supply the magic shop with potions? Maybe the magic shop was established by an ex-adventurer who is just trying to offload the trinkets he's collected throughout the years and doesn't need anymore. He helped establish the church as a source of easy low level potions, and since he isn't divinely interested he demanded the no specific denomination clause. Maybe the priest has some resentment that this wizard has lordship over him, or maybe the priest was also an ex-adventure who traveled with the wizard, and is doing this out of friendship? What other ex-adventures are in the area, and what businesses are they running? Why are they no longer adventuring?
You also mention dwarves and elves in the area, having more advanced item creation than the current kingdom. Same question as the goblins, how are they organized? How are they related to the other groups? Why aren't the goblins attacking them? How big are their kingdoms? Why are they more advanced? Assuming the tavern keeper / priest/ magic shop owners are not dwarf/elf ... because if they are, why are they at this kingdom and not with those groups? Even if they are human, if there are better established kingdoms of dwarves or elves in the area, why aren't they there? Is there racial prejudice? How will this factor in with the kingdom trying to grow?
Again, add an element, then ask questions about that element, then answer those questions, adding more elements, and keep working back and forth. Ask how elements relate to one another even if they seem like they shouldn't. And switch up which element you focus on so every so often as not to get burned out on just one.
| Zair_Zetross |
Maybe I did underestimate the size of the army, I'm bad with numbers, the kingdom's name is Cein. All of this has been very helpful, I'm going to get to work on that general store, choosing a deity for the priest, and the other important stuff mentioned. If you need to know about goblins they have small camps near the city while the hobgoblins have an army that rivals the city's, the hobgoblins are using the goblins to basically keep the kingdom busy while they build their siege weapons, so the players will fight goblins for a while, do some scouting into the hobgoblin lands and find the siege equipment which the will hopefully take the time to sabotage it while their there, and all this will lead to the siege of Cein. Of course exploring the ruins and other activities will be in between so they can gain some levels and loot.
| Munchwolf |
Why are the hobgoblins sieging Cein? Are they trying to destroy it? Are they trying to harvest resources, so that they will leave most of it around, just destroy the military? Are they looking for something specific? Are they doing it for revenge? Is Cein built on lands they claim to own?
If you know why they are attacking, it will help determine how they attack or when.
Maybe there is a dragon demanding tribute of humans, and is too lazy to get them himself. The hobgoblins need to gather up slaves as food, and would focus on quick raids to less fortified positions (small villages, or travelers), while leaving the main city alone to repopulate (for future raids). This also sets up a future villain for after the hobgoblins are defeated, as the dragon will want to know where it's food supplier went.
Maybe the hobgoblins want to raise the city to the ground as they hate neighbors. The goblin attacks are more for information gathering as the hobgoblins are overly cautious. Maybe the Dwarves and Elves have found ways to hide in the mountains/forest, since they know of the hobgoblin's xenophobic ways. This would also make them less trustworthy of strangers, lest they lead the hobgoblins to their doorstep (but they would be great info for about the hobgoblins).
Maybe Ogres have forced the hobgoblins from their land, and this is a refugee army. They want to take this city for their own as it is the easiest one in the area to take. Maybe there is a way to peacefully deal with them, and help them against the ogres.