Lost & Found 6: Building a New RPG Realm

posted May 2012

Lost & Found 6: Building a New RPG Realm

Game Ready Content Campaign Setting Generators Lost and Found Setting

We’ve spent enough time in this original campaign setting to get the lay of the land, and to find our way to some major population centers. Today we build up and flesh out four unique cities & towns using “The Explorer’s Sovereign Cityscape Spawner,” which you can find linked at the end of this post. In fact, all but the Population Sizes have been randomly assigned using this generator! In a week or two, we’ll populate these areas with some interesting NPCs to interact with. Until then, let’s build!

WETHERSMYTHE

Population Size: City (5). A city can meet the needs of its many diverse inhabitants through the efforts of its own citizens. Clear sections of both residential and commercial properties are also evident. A city has D8 + 3 Defining Features.

Local Sentiment: Hostile (1). The population is actively opposed to outsiders; as such, it is difficult for a party to deal with them or earn their trust. This may result in higher prices, false information, or an outright denial of rights or services.

Defining Features: D8 (5) +3 = 8.

1. House of the First Dawn (House of Worship): The oldest place of worship in the realm. The once-grand cathedral known as the House of the First Dawn is a destination for many troubled souls, especially those devoted to Akiva.

2. Pale Horse Inn (Public House): Only tavern left standing in Wethersmythe, situated on the cliffs overlooking a turbulent sea. Provides food, drink, and entertainment for the city’s remaining citizens, in addition to comfortable rooms and hospitality for any and all travelers as they pass through.

3. The Havens (Estates): Collective name given by common folk to the district that houses all the familial estates of Wethersmythe’s founders. Some homes are hauntingly occupied by the old money of the city, while others have long since become tombs for expired lineages.

4. Wethersmythe Wards (Medicine): Originally founded to care for those stricken by illnesses or ravaged by predators in this new land. As the population has grown more resilient and spread out, the Wards now cater almost exclusively to the rich. Many of its patients suffer in the mind, and are permanent residents.

5. Outdoor Sculpture Gardens (Galleries): Much of Wethersmythe is built from stone, from its estates to its churches. As such, the land’s finest sculptors learned to shape stone into fantastic works of art. Although largely overgrown and ignored, the outdoor sculpture gardens are maintained by a dedicated few patrons.

6. The Stone Quarries (Harvesting): Much of the wealth of Wethersmythe was drawn from these quarries. Steady demand for the different stone mined from them means opportunities for work for common folk. The stone is still sought after by other settlements for building their defenses.

7. Graveside Chapels (House of Worship): Local supply of fine stone means Wethersmythe’s gravestones are exquisite, especially when compared to the simple wooden markers commonly used throughout the land. All prominent cemeteries have ornate chapels for burial services and prayers to Golgomane, rarely seen outside this city.

8. The Stone Steps (Arenas): Series of hand-hewn rock tiers, used historically for town pronouncements, music performances, and other significant community events.

UPPER HOUNDSFELDT

Population Size: Village (3). A collection of homesteads and minimal commercial endeavors, a village still depends heavily on the outside world. A village has D3 + 1 Defining Features.

Local Sentiment: Ambivalent (4). The people of this region are content to go about their business and let others do the same. They make no effort to stand in another’s way, but neither will they take pains to aid someone who may need it.

Defining Features: D3 (3) +1 = 4.

1. Hound’s Tooth Inn (Public House): A well-respected place to eat and drink, the Hound’s Tooth Inn doesn’t actually offer accommodations. They do, however, have the finest selection of beers brewed from the rich grains that made this region famous.

2. Family Farms (Harvesting): Upper Houndsfeldt enjoys some of the richest soil in the land, and works hard to provide almost every grain, fruit, and vegetable that will grow here. Grains prove most desirable, as they are popular for bread and beer. Farms are everywhere here, and are generally multi-generational affairs.

3. Agriculture Collective (Education): Residents of this village seem to have a secret knowledge about how to use the land to produce crops. They reluctantly agree to share that knowledge with outsiders who are willing to join the collective, and work their fair share. This knowledge has helped to keep several other settlements self-sustaining.

4. The Dirty Root (Public House): Infamous for cheap ale, loud fights, and late hours, this earthen-floored establishment is frequented only by common laborers- and those thrown out of the Hound’s Tooth Inn.

BURNING SPIRE

Population Size: Town (4). A town enjoys some self-sufficiency, and may even be called home by multiple bloodlines. It also tends to attract newcomers with its untapped opportunities. A town has D4 + 2 Defining Features.

Defining Features: D4 (2) +2 = 4.

1. The Museum of Discovery (Galleries): Celebrated collection of both the land’s natural wonders and unique relics from the realm’s history. Strong emphasis on the achievements of this civilization’s people, with displays on cultural heroes, grotesque monsters, and artifacts from its founders.

2. The Gilded Lily (Public House): This is the only accepted drinking establishment for most of the city’s inhabitants. It boasts lavish decorations, many of which were donated by recent arrivals and ‘new money’ to make names for themselves. Situated in a relatively calm seaside cove, it is seen as a waste of perfectly good shoreline by many of the other settlements.

3. Fair Housing Commons (Accommodations): Since this settlement lacks much land suitable for building, homesteads are hard to come by. Instead, ambitious men have taken to mooring their ships in the calmer waters and offering them for rent. Over time, lodgings have been built just for such a purpose. Just about every full-time resident here occupies one of these floating cabins.

4. The Burning Spire (Shrine): Local lore holds that the Burning Spire was formed when the original population of the settlement melted all their most valuable possessions in a sacrificial gesture to Akiva. The Burning Spire was the monument to that sacrifice. It was long ago moved to the top of a church steeple to serve as an inspiration to the surrounding populace.

WAKE HILL

Population Size: Settlement (2). A settlement is typically the result of several groups of interested parties congregating around a valuable resource or natural wonder. A settlement always has one Defining Feature.

Local Sentiment: Ambivalent (3). The people of this region are content to go about their business and let others do the same. They make no effort to stand in another’s way, but neither will they take pains to aid someone who may need it.

Defining Features: One (1).

1. Wake Hill Lighthouse (The Docks): Erected on the legendary first landing of this civilization’s founders. Travel by sea would be almost impossible if not for the lighthouse, as the shoreline is quite treacherous. The settlement is really just a cluster of shelters surrounding the lighthouse itself, as the few charged with keeping it lit live there only to maintain the light. Viewed as an almost sacred duty.