Thurber Village

I reworked Thurber Village for my Patreon. I added a few things and cleaned up the text. I do like how it turned out. I've been fiddling with layout options and what information I provide. The goal is to make it as easy to run as possible.

With Thurber Village you'll get the map you see above. Random Encounters table. What I really love about this table is it provides life and movement to the village. It also helped me create the Recent Happenings section by rolling twice on the table and combining the two rolls. I found it to be very effective.

I provide general information, a little bit about the lord of the area and detail six key people within Thurber. But players are always going to different parts of the village talking to people not detailed so I added a list of names a GM can use to use to provide names and a space to write in their connection to the village.

I also added a Random Merchant table. The previously mentioned Random Happenings. And to spice up the surrounding area, some Local Folklore tidbits. The last thing included are brief description of the keyed building in the Village of Thurber.

His any of the links and you'll be transported to my Patreon. The PDF is free for anyone to download. But, if you'd like to get a physical copy, something cool in the mail, then consider the pledge levels on the right hand-side.

I hope you find Thurber Village useful and fun.

Enjoy!

Building a Village Example

A little while ago I did a podcast about Random Encounters for a Village. I spoke about how I tend to do it. This is one of my methods. I like the twp page spread, easy to reference, if I put them into a binder there is no page flipping. Here is the link to the PDF on Google Drive for Thurber Village. I made the village on a map not made for a village, I just added the black squares as houses and it served the purpose well.

If your interested in listening to the podcast, here is the link.

Creating Village Random Encounters

Random Map Monday 13

A little hamlet in the middle of here and there.  A small creek runs through that floods on the north side.  A few flood walls were built to redirect the water during the heavy spring rains.  There are a few travelers that visit.  To the north there are two pitch camps located in the forest.  Workers from the camps come to visit Chancey's Pub (the largest building on the map).  And once a month, a tinker named Brisco comes through with his cart and a pony named Cheddar.  He fixes things for a few coppers and sells random items. 

To the east, a low stone wall (4' to 5') surrounds a graveyard.  There are a pair of heavy wooden doors that give access to the graves.  They are old, but work surprisingly well.  There are sixty-two grave markers.  Most are low, foot markers that only have a first name crudely etched into the dark granite.  There are a few dozen other sites where there looked to have been a marker.  The locals stay away from the graveyard.  A small shrine (located across the road to the west) with a broken wooden altar still stands.  There looks to have been some sort of writing or pictures on the wall, but all have worn off.  The locals considered tearing it down, but they fear that they might attract the anger of a sleeping god. 

To the south, is the road of many ways.  Several other roads split off from it, leading to a dozen other hamlets and villages.  It ends at the north gate of Crothia, the only town in the area. 

Citizens of Ashbourne, Part 1

I plan on writing a short series of posts about Ashbourne, a small hamlet established by a pair of wealth adventurers.  All these posts will be first drafts.  I just write and not worry about edits or content.  When I free write I usually come up with ideas that give the piece flavor.  At least I hope that is the result. 

Each entry has an overview that covers what the person or people are like and usually some of their habits and profession.  Along with this I add valuables and plot hooks.  So when the players arrive in Ashbourne I can use a plot hook from this house or another to make it feel alive.  That events are moving whether the players are present or not.

And lastly, I sometimes add unique touches to the area or people to give them a distinct feel. 

1. Warren & Gorman (horse trainer)
Warren moved to Ashbourne to get away from the normal political bullshit that cluttered a working man's life.  Ashbourne, settled by adventurers, promised those who came could live their life free of such nonsense.  The only requirements are to work hard and be respectful to the others.  Warren has trained horses for thirty-two years.  Now he trains them for his own profit and not for others.  He goes to market once every six months to sell off the latest group.  And now living next  to the Golden Grasslands, he has two expert wranglers that capture the wild horses.

Gorman is Warren's little brother.  Gorman talks to himself, sings a lot, but is always polite except when the 'demons' are attacking him.  During these times he remains silent.  He doesn't work with the horses.  They scare him.  He hangs around by the road and waves at people and smokes a pipe continuously.

Valuables: Warren has a small coffer in a locked room that holds 100sp for everyday business expenses.  Hidden in the pantry, within a small cask are 364sp.  He has 200sp worth of saddles, feed, ect. to run his business.

Plot Hooks: Gorman's demons are very real.  They crawl out of the ground and follow certain people.  Those people usually end up getting sick or some misfortune happens.  Gorman knows if the demons discover he knows he can see them, they'll kill him.  Warren is being followed by a demon, blue-black in color, a death demon.  He's terrified to say anything, but wants to save his brother.

Warren has been accused to stealing a nobleman's horse.  The penalty for this is hanging.  Warren claims he is innocent.  The leader of the village, Maximus, is standing by Warren, but needs a group to infiltrate Sir Urick's manor and find evidence that would exonerate Warren.  Maximus can only delay the trial by two days.

2. Ingrid (herbalist, 3rd lvl fighter)
Ingrid is a tall statuesque woman with long auburn hair.  She lives alone in he shop.  The others show her great respect due to her expansive knowledge of herbs and she has proven to be very hand with an axe.  She is friendly, but keeps her private life private.  She travels into town once a month for supplies.  She hires one or two random people to go with her.  Many of the single (and married) men seek her attention.  She has never shown interest in any of their advances and knocked out a drunken Rud (11.) because he became too amorous. In her shop you can buy a variety of non-magical ointments, salves and unguents. 

Valuables: Ingrid has amassed a small fortune that she keeps hidden beneath a floorboard.  She has 13 small pouches with 100sp in each.  In a unlocked box in her private living area she has 54sp.  Most of the other in Ashbourne pay in coin, but if they are unable she will barter labor or for food.  She collects jade figurines, she has eight of them, all valued between 10sp to 40sp each.

Plot Hooks: Ingrid is visited by another woman, Taylee.  Her usual calm and distant demeanor is now unsettled and she is visibly shaken.  She will slip a note to one of the players (maybe one that has been kind to her).  The note reads: doppelganger. 

Ingrid is always looking for ingredients.  She hears the party is traveling to a place that grows Unter Wildwells.  These are large flowers that grow in dark wet places.  She will pay well (20sp) for every flower the party returns with.  She will provide them the containers they will need to go into.

During her trip to town, Ingrid is taken by a group of bandits known as the Crack Maws.  Ronald (18.) was able to escape.  He reports she put up a fight and the bandits leader kept shouting "We need to take her alive".

3. Nicola (miner)
This small, stone cottage is well-kept.  Hanging outside the front door is a small plaque with a crossed pick-axe and shovel, symbol of the Miner's Guild.  He lives here with his wife, Rochel.  Both are young and energetic.  Nicola works in the iron ore mine.  He's one of the newbies.  Both are well-liked.  Although some want to puke when they get all kissy kissy.

Valuables: Not to speak of.  They have some loose coins.  Rochel received a small chest with a set of blankets, dishes and a painting to start her new life.  While all these objects mean a great deal to her their market value is negligible. 

Plot Hook: Rochel is sick.  Ingrid has given provided what care she can with her medicines, but the fever is not letting up.  It all started when she saw a shadow man (see Local Legend) in the field.  She believes she is cursed to die now.  She must give a gift to the shadow man or she will die, but she doesn't know where he lives.  The party will ask to find the shadow man's home and give him her painting.

 Local Legends
Shadow Men
Shadow men are dark fey.  Legend is that if someone sees a shadow man they will die unless the shadow man is given a gift.  This tale is passed down through the generations to scare children, but there is a truth to it.  Spotting a dark fey means the person was already sick, that death spirits have already taken notice.  This is why one person may spot the shadow man while the rest see nothing.  The shadow men do not deliver the fatal blow, but they do have a relationship with the death entities.  If a gift is given, the shadow man will protect that person from the death spirit, but cannot do anything about the debilitating effects of the disease or accident.

Random Events for Players Arriving in a Village

1 - The village is celebrating the wedding of one of its own. The villagers are in a great mood and welcome the players to join in the celebration. During the celebration the villagers have several contests, a foot race, wrestling, rock throw (both accuracy and distance), and a giant tug of war at the end. The players will be treated as family, fed well and their tankards will never be found empty.

2 - The players see the burnt husks of cabins where the village once stood. Among the ruins the villager bodies can be found, but there are too few bodies. The livestock have fled to the fields which remain untouched. In the middle of the ruins is a spear thrust in the ground with a brown shield hung on it.

3 - The men are working the fields and the women are going about their chores. All the children are all hiding in their homes. As the players enter the village they pay little notice. If approached a villager will look terrified. Some will tremble and be unable to speak, others may feint, and others will cry and ramble on about something horrible in the forest. Within the forest an eldridge creature of nightmares has awaken and has been feeding off the villagers for the past two weeks.

4 - A tinker will approach the players as they near a village and shake his head. I wouldn't go in there. Bad stuff. If he is pressed for more information he will just explain that something ain't right. If the players enter the village they will be greeted with by friendly villagers as they go about their business. They will offer the players the visitors cabin to stay in and invite them to join them for dinner that night. All the villagers meet under an open air pole building to talk about their day. They will ask for stories from the adventurers and any news they might share. The players food will be laced with a subtle poison that will make them very tired. The villagers worship a blood god and need a sacrifice. They don't want to kill the players, but drain some of their blood.

5 - The harvest is in full swing. Villagers are working hard. As the players approach they will see a knight riding his horse across the field at a full gallop. His armor is torn and he shouting warnings to everyone. A few moments la wolf, the size of an elephant pursues him. One of the wolves grabs the closest villagers and swallows him whole.

6 - The local baron is holding court at the village. A local mage is being tried for murder. Many mages are in attendance as well as many local nobility. The tension between between the two groups. This quiet village now has 4x as many people within that usual. It has become an event and craftsmen and merchants are taking advantage of the spectacle.

World Building, Villages

Back in October I wrote about Villages . The few things I would add are villagers are the masters of 'making do'. They do not have the crafting experts, the best healing or bravest fighting men, but they have a way of getting things done. If a tool breaks in the village a craftsman might only come around once a month to fix things. They need to work those fields so they find a way. Maybe the farmer just uses the tool as is or he binds the handle with some rope and a branch to support it.

Villagers fall sick or injure themselves depending on your campaign. I doubt there is a healing cleric in every village. In my campaign there is a church/temple/abbey/shrine within a day's walk or more from a cluster of villages. The priests do a circuit of the villages every so often to do any ceremonies that might need done. The big the three are the birth of a child, a marriage ceremony or the death of someone. And as long as the villagers pay their tributes to the priests they don't care much about what goes on in the villages. So healing is handled by healing women who are experts in the local herbal lore. Their ways work they just take a lot longer.

Defending the village is very important to my campaign because there is always some critter or group trying to make trouble. Most of the villages have a simple stockade around them, but it does little to keep an organized force from invading. The village usually has a semi-trained militia, men and women who are armed with typical villager weapons, but there might be a few who are ex-soldiers, ex-mercenaries or ex-adventurers who have some swagger to their swing.

Whatever the case, the villagers know how to survive on less. That's why these villages continue to stand after sickness, invasion and drought. When the adventuring party comes traipsing through the village I doubt it is the first time these people have ever seen this. They know how to appease the players. They know how to act like gracious hosts and acts like they have nothing to possibly get a coin or two of charity. They know to send a runner to the local knight to inform them of the players. And the villagers know sometimes they need to just leave. Everything they have can be replaced and sometimes they just need to wait things out.