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Friday, March 8, 2013

Improv Settlements, Redux

I'm redoing the improv tables for settlements (towns) and territories (kingdoms) to make them more regular and easier to use, or even memorize. The idea behind the improv tables is, of course, to eliminate the need to define things in advance, so anything that potentially simplifies the process is good.

First, the settlements. Essentially, settlements are defined by their size in dice: 1d6 = village, 2d6 = town, 3d6 = city, with a hamlet equal to half a village. These size dice are used for the number of trades in the settlement and the number of hirelings available per week, with hamlets having a max of 6 hirelings, ever. The modifiers "large" and "small" add or subtract 1 point from each die roll.

Settlement: Hamlet  Village     Town     City      Mods: Small Large
Service: Mill +Smith +Stable +d6/2 +/- same +1
Trades: d6/2 1d6 2d6 3d6 +/- same +1
NPCs: 1 per 1 per 1d6 2d6 +/- same +1
Market: none* weekly daily daily n/a n/a n/a
Lodging: none* Inn/Tav 1d6 2d6 +/- -1 +1
Religion: none* 1 church d6/2 1d6 +/- -1 +1
Law & Order: none* sheriff guards guards n/a n/a n/a

Entries in the "Service" row are cumulative. A mill may be a grain mill, lumber mill, or any other service tha supports the local economic activity. Trades are other services not central to the main economic task. Each trade or service will have at least one NPC to negotiate with.

For hamlets, "None*" means no formal building or NPC in that category, but each family can provide for its own needs or offer hospitality to travelers as needed.

 Every lodging will be either a tavern (sleep on the floor in common room) or an inn (a few rooms available. Halve the number rolled to determine how many of each.

There will be only one dominant religion in a settlement unless a 6 is rolled for the number of churches, in which case there are two religions. There will be half as many small sects or cults, however, usually operating in secret except in cities.

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