My Appendix C: Part 2 Settlements

 Part 2 of my basic starter procedures for brand new DMs.

Design a Settlement

A settlement is a good second campaign item to work on.  This first settlement is where your characters will buy supplies, rest, and collect rumors and hirelings.  The first thing to determine when creating a settlement from scratch is its size.  This will help define the population and features. For your initial settlement, it is recommended to start with a Village.  Otherwise, you can select the size or determine it randomly with a 2d6 roll.

2d6	Size	Max Pop	Market Cap	# of Hirelings	NPC Level	Sphere of Influence
2-5	Hamlet	400	50 sp	3	3	N/A
6-7	Village	900	150 sp	7	4	N/A
8-9	Town	6,500	1,500 sp	50	6	Controls its Hex
10-11	City	60,000	25,000 sp	400	8	Controls Adjacent Hexes
12	Capital	None	None	Endless	9+	Controls 2 Hex Radius

Hamlet: Small groupings of building consisting of mostly interrelated families. They are typically centered around one economic activity.  It is unlikely to have any stone structures.

Village: Larger and more spread out, usually with at least one central stone building such as a temple or fortification.  They will often have a formally recognized authority figure.

Town: These larger communities still cluster around a single central market or “downtown”.  In addition to leaders, they will have a least a small-dedicated watch or garrison.

City: A city will have multiple civic centers, often separated by district and purpose (residential, commercial, etc.).   They will almost always have walls, at least around their core.  The values listed here are for the city proper; they are often surrounded by outlying villages and communities of their own.

Capital: Much like a city, but larger, and likely the center of power (political or mercantile) for a region,

Max Pop: This is the maximum number of people found in the community proper.  You can presume that 20% of this number are in a condition to take up arms as zero level NPCs when needed.

Market Cap: Items below this amount can be readily found for sale in the community.  Above this level assume there is a base 10% chance and/or 1d6 weeks to procure.

# of Hirelings: This is the number of available hirelings per season in the area.

NPC level: This is the generally the highest level of NPC one is likely to encounter.  Folks above this level may be present, but they are special individuals, like adventurers for example.

Sphere of Influence:  How much of the surrounding land the settlement able to keep peaceful (See Wilderness below)

Populate the Settlement

While a settlement is composed of hundreds or thousands of individuals; in practice, you just need to focus the folks the PCs are likely to interact.  You can create and develop others in response to play.

·         Who is in charge (an elder, mayor, council, lord, hierophant, etc.)

·         Where do they buy weapons/armor (a simple blacksmith, a dedicated weapon smith, a dwarf)

·         Where do they get common goods and supplies (at the inn, dedicated provisioner, open market)

·         Where do they carouse/hear rumors (tavern or taverns, inn, a local brewer, gambling hall)

·         Where do they rest (at the tavern, a separate inn, boarding house, unoccupied home)

·         Is there anyone in town who can help identify magic items, brew potions, or provide scrolls

Map Out the Settlement

You will want at least a basic map of the settlement for your and the players’ reference.  Again, this does not need to be an artistic endeavor.  It is enough to mark some lines for major roads in and through the settlement, location of the civic center, and the establishments you defined above.  You will also want to sketch in any bodies or water or other geographic features such as woods, hills, etc.  Finally, make a mark or notes on anything of interest on the outskirts, groves, abandoned structures, notable beings.

For Cities and Capitals, it is often enough to know the main roads, gates, major locations and buildings (such as the ruler’s keep, major temple, markets, etc.) as well as a rough idea of the “districts”. 

Details

With the basic of the settlement established it is a good time to generate a collection of Hirelings, Rumors, as well as any town guard and proprietors of the major establishments your PC’s are likely to interact with, using the guidelines below.

Hirelings will be first level. Town guard (if present) are 1^st level fighters with a 4^th level sergeant for every 30 guards.  Most other townsfolk and specialists will be zero level.

    Race: 1-3 (Human), 4 (Halfling), 5 (Dwarf), 6 (Elf)

                Class: 1-3 (Fighter), 4-5 (Thief), 6 (Wizard – roll again if Elf)

                Alignment: 1 (Lawful), 3-5 (Neutral), 6 (Chaotic-Hidden)

                Ability Scores: 3d6 in order if Zero level or 2d6+6 for one of choice, if 1^st level.

                Hit Points: By class, or 1d6 if Zero level. Reroll any 1s and 2s if first level.

You can even make a notable NPC or two (rulers, crazed hermits, etc.) of higher level (see NPCs above). 

Rumors

You can make up rumors based on the work you have done already, or randomly create some:

Veracity: 1-2 = True, 3-4 = Mostly True, 5 = Mostly False, 6 = False

                When starting out, it is probably best to keep your rumors (mostly) true.

Topic: 1-3 = Dungeon Location, 4-5 = Wilderness Location, 6 = Rules Lore

Dungeon Location: The first few of these should be related to the treasure you placed in the main dungeon and stories about the monsters within.  Afterward you can randomly determine the dungeon level and expand the topics.

Wilderness/Other Location: Choose a detail about a neighboring settlement, forest, lair, or hex (if you have one).  This can be a further call to action, hints about wandering monsters, local politics, etc.

Rules Lore: This is a chance to introduce some aspects of play that may not be obvious to the players.  “The Witch at the edge of the wood can brew you a potion if you bring her a sample”, “Consuming Belladonna will prevent the curse of becoming a wolf”, etc.

Finishing up

Finally, sprinkle in some details about the settlement like you did for the dungeon.  What are the sights and sounds one is greeted with.  How do they make their living? What do the locals think of Dwarves or Wizards?  Does the community harbor any secrets?