Player-driven City Development?

Grakarg

Explorer
I'm running a 5e D&D campaign and the players are currently helping a small hamlet on the frontier. They've taken a liking to the village and are working hard to develop it into a thriving community and a safe home base.

Besides the Kingdom Builder rules from Pathfinder's Kingmaker adventure path (which seems a bit fiddly), are there any good resources out there for 'player-driven' city development?

General settlement/city sourcebooks are ok too if they have useful ideas, but I'm specifically looking for things where I as the DM can present a list or menu of options for the players to pour over and discuss with each other. (And then introduce complications for their goals like any good DM would!)

This is for a 5e campaign, but I can convert as needed.

For example, I see that Matt Colville's just released his Strongholds & Followers book from his recent Kickstarter, anyone have a copy they can review and advise if it seems worth picking up for what I'm trying to do?

What suggestions/recommendations do you have that you think would be useful?

Thanks and Game on!
 

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ad_hoc

(they/them)
I'm also interested in this.

I played a game on the frontier where the village would get better over time but it would be nice to do one where the PCs are directly involved. So much so that they're the leaders of the community.
 

bedir than

Full Moon Storyteller
I think you could use strongholds and followers for this. Many of the followers and retainers would fill the roles of things like farmers and carpenters, etc. Have a single keep of small size because this is a village and that would make sense as well. the levees in the warfare rules would represent the ad hoc militia and if they have any sort of standing Force you could represent that with other units as well.
You wouldn't be able to use this to establish tax income and other revenue. Overall the framework is late enough that you don't need specific maps or sizes to figure out these things.
The players in my group reinvigorated and abandoned city and I've started to apply stronghold some followers to that. They also captured a pirate ship and we're using that via stronghold rules too
 

Tales and Chronicles

Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
I find the rules in Strongholds and Followers a little dense if you dont want to spend a lot of time on building. I personally use this one https://www.dmsguild.com/product/20...rowned-structures?term=stronghol&test_epoch=0 . Its a Pay What You Want product from Walrock who has some great material that got high-seller award. Its simple, elegant and you can also add the other product for random wandering merchant to visit your village depending on the buildings your players invested in.
 


Some hints.
Avoid micro management.
Use your city as hookup for mission to your party.
External or internal threat. Politic with neigbour, commercial or economical development.
Plague, disease, natural events.
 

Eltab

Lord of the Hidden Layer
Power of Faerun (3e hardcover supplement) has a chapter on "Tame the Frontier". The other chapters have ideas you can pick-and-choose to fit your needs. Ex: a cleric PC might want to build a church.
 

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