Settlements
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the intricacies of world-building, focusing on settlements as pivotal elements in storytelling. It advises Dungeon Masters to detail only locations relevant to the player's journey, emphasizing the necessity of a place to stay, pray, and shop for short visits. The script outlines settlement types from hamlets to cities, detailing their hierarchy, resource dependencies, and evolution. It discusses the importance of government, religion, trade, and the role of various NPCs, providing a comprehensive guide for creating immersive and dynamic settings in tabletop RPGs.
Takeaways
- 🌍 For world builders, settlements are crucial as they reflect the history and provide a setting for storytelling.
- 🏰 Dungeon Masters should focus on creating detailed locations relevant to the party's journey, rather than exhaustive world-building.
- 🏠 In short visits, players typically need places to stay, pray, and shop, which should be given personality if the settlement is a home base or quest hub.
- 🏡 The foundation of any settlement is a resource, most commonly food and minerals, which can be exploited and potentially exported.
- 🏞️ Hamlets are small, with less than a hundred people, and are unlikely to have much to offer adventurers beyond basic survival and information.
- 🏕️ Villages, with a population of up to a thousand, have farms, animal husbandry, and a basic government structure, often with a noble family in charge.
- 🏪 Villages also feature a church or shrines, reflecting the need for faith in a world with many unseen secrets.
- 🏢 Towns, with around 3,000 citizens, are hubs of trade, with an influx of merchants and a variety of goods, and often have guild systems for craftsmen.
- 🏦 Cities are complex, with layers of development and a diverse range of experiences, governed by a circle of nobles and featuring extensive law enforcement and trade guilds.
- 🏛️ Cities are also religious centers, with grand cathedrals and temples, and are the heart of a kingdom, offering a wide array of services and opportunities for adventurers.
- 🏖️ Kingdoms are networks of settlements under one ruler, typically centered around a city, and are the highest level of organization in the settlement hierarchy.
Q & A
What is the primary factor that leads to the formation of a settlement according to the script?
-The primary factor that leads to the formation of a settlement is the presence of a resource, such as food and minerals, which can be exploited.
Why are hamlets rarely visited by adventurers in the script?
-Hamlets are rarely visited by adventurers because they are small communities with little to offer in terms of goods or services, and they generally have a tight family mentality that discourages outsiders.
What are the key differences between a hamlet and a village as described in the script?
-The key differences include the number of residents, with villages having more than hamlets, and the presence of cultivation of food, a government structure, and a church in villages, which are absent in hamlets.
How does the script suggest handling the creation of settlements for a short visit by adventurers?
-For short visits, the script suggests focusing on providing a place to stay, a place to pray, and a place to shop, as these are the essentials for adventurers.
What is the typical government structure of a village according to the script?
-The typical government structure of a village is a single noble family that owns the village and is responsible for its upkeep.
Why are towns characterized by a surplus of a rare good in the script?
-Towns are characterized by a surplus of a rare good because they either pop up on major trade routes or their export rarity makes trade routes form around them, attracting people from far and wide to trade.
How does the script describe the evolution of a town into a city?
-The script describes the evolution of a town into a city as a process involving a significant increase in population, the development of layers with each expansion, and the establishment of a complex governance system involving a circle of nobles and a bureaucratic legal structure.
What are the two types of guilds mentioned in the script, and how do they differ?
-The two types of guilds mentioned are traders and craftsmen. Traders band together to set prices for goods, while craftsmen set standards for the quality of goods representing their trade.
How does the script suggest adding personality to locations in a settlement?
-The script suggests adding personality by describing the people who run the locations, such as a family that runs an inn or a tavern, the presence of other guests, and the types of entertainment available.
What is the significance of a kingdom in the context of settlements as described in the script?
-A kingdom is a network of towns and villages under one ruler, with a city serving as the administrative center, and it represents the political and economic structure that connects smaller settlements.
Outlines
🏰 Building Settlements in RPG Worlds
The paragraph emphasizes the importance of settlements in world-building for RPGs, suggesting that their current state is a reflection of their history. It advises Dungeon Masters to focus on locations relevant to the party's journey, such as places to stay, pray, and shop. For short visits, only essential locations are needed. The paragraph also touches on adding personality to locations and the types of shops that might exist, suggesting that for more detailed world-building, one should consider the settlement's resources, which are the foundation of its development.
🌾 The Evolution of Settlements: Hamlets to Towns
This section delves into the hierarchy of settlements, starting with hamlets, which are small groups of people with minimal resources, typically not visited by adventurers. It describes the growth from hamlets to villages, which cultivate food and have a basic government structure, often a noble family. Villages may have a church, guards, and basic shops, and can be formed in various ways, such as by city commission or through integration of different groups. The paragraph also discusses the transition to towns, which have a surplus of a rare good, attracting trade and leading to the development of more infrastructure like inns, taverns, and a more complex legal system.
🏙️ Cities: The Pinnacle of Settlement Development
The final paragraph discusses the characteristics of cities, which are large, well-established settlements with a complex structure. Cities are composed of layers, each representing a different period of growth. They have a circle of nobles, a robust legal system, and a significant military presence. Guilds play a major role in cities, controlling trade and setting standards for goods and services. Cities also feature large cathedrals and temples, which are central to the religious life of the settlement. The paragraph concludes by mentioning kingdoms or nations as networks of settlements under a single ruler, with a city typically serving as the administrative center.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Settlement
💡Resource
💡Hamlet
💡Village
💡Town
💡Guild
💡Church/Temple
💡Noble
💡Guards
💡City
Highlights
The importance of settlements in world building for storytelling and character development.
Simplification advice for Dungeon Masters: focus on locations relevant to the party's journey.
The necessity of a resource for the establishment of any settlement, with food and minerals being the most common.
The role of goods that are not daily necessities in the development of settlements.
The concept of a hamlet as the smallest settlement unit with less than a hundred people.
The transition from a hamlet to a village involves cultivating food and establishing a government.
The function of a village's church and its significance in the community.
The variety of craftsmen and their roles within a village's society.
The evolution of a village into a town due to a surplus of rare goods attracting trade.
The impact of trade on the development of inns, taverns, and the guild system in towns.
The structure of a town's government, including nobles, appointed overseers, and elected councils.
The presence of larger temples and the representation of various religions in towns.
The characteristics of a city, including its layers, diverse experiences, and complex social structures.
The role of guilds in cities and their influence on trade and craftsmanship.
The bureaucratic systems and law enforcement present in cities to maintain order.
The concept of a kingdom as a network of settlements under one ruler, with a city serving as the administrative center.
The video's conclusion and the presenter's invitation for viewers to contribute additional information in the comments.
Transcripts
for us world builders arguably the most
important thing to flesh out below the
heroes are where people live because the
current state of a settlement is the
result of all the history that predated
it and now we get to tell a story inside
of it for Dungeon Master's I have a
little statement to make if you follow
this guide for every settlement that you
make your brain will die because all the
information I'm about to give you is
completely unnecessary for the village
you're running all you need are the
places that the party is actually going
to go as a general rule of thumb for
short visit settlements all you need is
a place for them to stay a place for
them to pray and a place to shop if the
settlement is big enough don't expect
exploration from players with a goal
already in place for a home town or
quest centric areas it's best to add
personality to each of the above
locations an inn and a tavern have a
family that runs them other guests and
sometimes a form of entertainment for
adventurers they'll try to get involved
in things like fight pits or bard songs
a temple should have a priest and
usually its own current issues like
false teachings or poor funding I'll be
describing the types of shops that might
exist in certain settlements later in
the video check out my NPC video to
populate these locations but for myself
and people like me I don't care at all
about making the process easier for
myself I want to make a damn City from
the ground up not a quick backdrop with
two buildings a hot elf barkeep and a
cardboard general goods shop even if
that's all I need so let's get started
the one and only thing that sparks a
settlement of any size is this a
resource if you've ever played
civilization you probably walked around
some before finding a good resource to
exploit the two most common resources
our food and minerals
examples include huge tracts of land a
surplus of flora and fauna a cave full
of iron ore and of course rivers all
settlements need a source of water
nearby just below that would be goods we
don't usually use at home on a daily
basis like lumber or spices not to say
that this is the only thing that a
settlement has but it's something they
can collect in abundance that can
eventually be an exported good so let's
move on to
you can debate the accuracy of a
settlement hierarchy but I'll base this
video on my own research and the book
itself the first and the smallest is a
hamlet this isn't in the DMS guide
because there is next to no reason for
an adventurer to ever visit one this is
a group of generally less than a hundred
people who work just enough resources to
survive until tomorrow basically imagine
your first week in Minecraft when you
were seven all you wanted were dirt
walls to protect yourself and some food
to eat it's unlikely these guys have any
goods to offer they don't have a church
because that's a textbook trait of
Hamlet's for some reason and no shelter
for an outsider to stay in if you want
to tie a hamlet to the story the best
they can provide is information and
maybe a hot meal and trade for labor
they either haven't been around long or
have a tight family mentality and want
to keep it that way in either case you
won't see a hamlet on a map now let's
double the size of the residency and add
some stability to create a village
during that growth quite a few things
happened first they started cultivating
food instead of relying on the local
flora fauna patterns they either have a
small number of farms or animal
husbandry
this is enough food to provide for the
village itself with a possible surplus
to trade with outsiders such as
merchants second they gained a
government to keep the excess of people
in check
this is usually a single noble family
that owns the village and is responsible
for its upkeep government believe it or
not is where things get tricky further
down the line I'll talk about cities but
villages don't always evolved from
Hamlet's oftentimes they're commissioned
by a city or town to collect valuable
resources they could be formed by a
pilgrimage of foreigners a conquered and
integrated tribe or purchased from a
noble and redesigned to fit a city's
needs in situations where a village is
owned by a city the city could provide
food for the villagers so they can work
mainly on minerals or other local goods
regardless of who's in charge they need
protection stations throughout the
village there is a massive misconception
about town guards but here's a couple of
bullet points most are volunteers
and not all of them are well trained to
do more than attack or detain someone
each settlement handles log differently
and each individual does the same there
is no realistic guard to person ratio
and the number heavily depends on the
type of natives but my personal
preference is roughly one official guard
to every 50 people in addition to those
improvements they also built a church we
all need something to believe in and the
world is a place that holds too many
unseen secrets to stay faithless this
doesn't mean the villages religion makes
any sense at all because history is more
than overflowing with human sacrifice
and ideological warfare so let's run
through what all that actually means if
the heroes walk into a village they'll
find anywhere from a hundred to a
thousand people working the land for
shelter this place will likely have some
where merchants are welcome to stay
while they're trading for religion there
is either a temple or a network of
shrines to make offerings or to pray to
for shops they'll likely have a small
shop with general Goods relating to the
villages own needs so they likely won't
include weapons or armor there's likely
also going to be a traveling merchant
passing through with a few unique items
for sale for order there is one guy in
charge most of the time he doesn't even
live here however he's got someone who
does all the paperwork and that guy
lives in a nice home where he collects
taxes and writes letters just below that
you've got a decent population of guards
to keep the village in check for locals
we have farmers religious workers and
craftsmen who are just skilled enough to
get the job done a lot of crafts fall by
the wayside but they're still working 9
to 5 jobs people like cobblers leather
workers butchers bakers candlestick
makers potters rat catchers foresters
and quite a few more will walk by the
adventures without ever saying a word
now imagine if you will that a village
had close to 3,000 citizens and more
spices than they know what to do with
what's going to happen then is people
here about a surplus of a rare good and
come running in from far and wide to
trade or to reign this is what we call a
town let's go through the changes first
the excessive trade towns either pop up
on major trade routes between cities
or the rarity of what they export makes
trade routes pop up around them as a
result of this the town has to
compensate for a surplus of foreigners
and merchants this is where the business
of taverns and inns explodes towns
receive a wide variety of basic goods
like large stocks of salted meats grain
lumber and metal ingots this doesn't
mean jack to adventurers but it's
the underground lifeblood of every
settlement there's a reason companies
like Cisco or Home Depot have an army of
delivery trucks running 24/7 and just
like us most adventurers won't really
acknowledge a traveling merchant unless
they have personal goods second
craftsmen are allowed more freedom to
perfect their craft most towns of some
form of guild system were specialists
take on apprentices and have more
authority local and well-known artisans
or craftsmen take up the mantle of
overseeing most trade in the town
third you have too many people running
around to keep a loose law system in
addition to the noble and they're
appointed overseer the town adds a bit
of a republic to the system and elects
their own council of overseers sometimes
this group melds pretty heavily with the
local church or the guild system and to
keep the streets in check we have more
guards more rules and better training
lastly when merchants spread so does the
church larger temples are built
different religions are represented and
drama plays out in the triad of the
three systems when the God's will isn't
heated when the law is ignored and when
goods get stolen our set of in town
factions starts throwing blame at each
other so let's take a walk through the
town in the outskirts we have massive
amounts of resources being collected
split up by roads that lead inside
somewhere just beyond or maybe in a city
nearby lives the noble that owns this
land further in we find housing for
merchants a medley of Inns and taverns
to keep travelers entertained somewhere
nearby is the trade center
world owned and run by guild members
maybe they deal directly with merchants
or maybe they open up the streets for
travellers to sell their goods freely
here you'll find all the basic goods or
services you might need the number of
specialists doubles when compared to a
village and the cobbling business always
does really well certain towns may also
offer higher Ling's
slaves or a red light district scattered
about or various temples teeming with
devout clerics and a surprisingly small
amount of human sacrifice somewhere near
the center of town tucked behind a
mountain of residences and a barred gate
is City Hall this is where the council
collects taxes and rights laws and
somewhat more prominent in a town than a
village are of course the guards
everyone's favorite type of NPC to deal
with they won't be everywhere but
they'll likely be near the heroes points
of interest you'll find them buzzing
around trade centers taverns and
swarming around city hall like fruit
flies
if you tightly pack three to eight towns
together you'll get a city these are the
settlements that have had a lot of time
to grow and a lot of luck in terms of
both location and resources these
colossal monuments of human progress are
the hearts of kingdoms and offer the
widest variety of experiences for a
traveler the most definitive trait of
cities are layers everything exists in
layers here in the center of the city is
where the old town used to be every
expansion adds a new layer a new
defensive wall is built and the city
shifts as a whole a long-lived city
viewed from above might look like a cut
tree trunk with rings to show its age
and districts that represent the time
they were built their expansive
structure is uncommon due to how hard it
is to hold together instead of one Noble
there is a circle of lords and ladies
each seat upward holding more power than
the one below in order to protect the
city's interest a more than healthy
amount of guards are posted throughout
the city the law systems here are held
up by a court or another bureaucratic
model prisons and barracks are in
healthy supply here and the number of
trained and armed forces are well above
the amount required to wage war several
guilds take hold and sit
offering perfected trade of even the
rarest goods and services the Guild's
can be divided into two groups
but each trader or craftsman will likely
monopolize their craft traders band
together and set the prices for various
goods and craftsmen set the standard for
what types of goods will represent their
trade caravans travel from far and wide
to cities and the trade district plays
host to everything an adventurer could
want some examples for your city and who
herb shops magic component salesman
trinket sellers potion shops bookstores
palm studenten this list
great cathedrals and other central
temples become the tent poles of their
religions powerful clerics and paladin's
collect here to worship and pay homage
to their gods lives are lived in full
inside city walls and stories are
written on every street corner massive
housing districts play host to the
working common folk and abandoned
districts shelter both low-lives and
seedy deals adventurers might have a
reason to visit any district and deal
with any number of citizens inside a
city a kingdom or a nation isn't exactly
a type of settlement but more so a
network of towns and villages connected
under one ruler any larger Kingdom has a
city as its head and a single Noble in
charge of all the people's future well
that's all i got i know i droned on near
the end and i'm sure i missed some major
stuff like irrigation and some
government details feel free to add some
information in the comments hope I
helped some then thanks for watching
you
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