Scott Christian
Hero
It sounds as if you are treating the "town" as a character. One the PCs may or may not encounter. If this is the case, then I would shoot for thematic towns. They should all revolve around the same theme. Like literally everything. This will make them different from one another and memorable. Here is an example:
Bellour - the town has six bell towers. Each one rings in a different key, and one will ring each ten minutes. The hour mark is comprised of a tune that uses them all. The people of the town are almost all musically inclined. Instruments strewn about, maybe even an old piano underneath a weatherproof roof in town square. People are always singing. You can write a few lyrics that might hint at a nearby clockwork dungeon.
Sift - the town that packs up every year. So everything in the town is portable. This makes for strange accommodations like inns being tents. The townsfolk all talk about all the places they visit. Their bazaar is full of just that, bazaar stuff from all their travels. They are all oddly dressed, yet none of them match each other either. They wear clothes from their travels. Maybe they hint of rumors that the PCs might find way in the future.
I guess that is one way to approach it. Not too much work, but still creating a small impact and adding to the mystique of the realm they are adventuring in.
Bellour - the town has six bell towers. Each one rings in a different key, and one will ring each ten minutes. The hour mark is comprised of a tune that uses them all. The people of the town are almost all musically inclined. Instruments strewn about, maybe even an old piano underneath a weatherproof roof in town square. People are always singing. You can write a few lyrics that might hint at a nearby clockwork dungeon.
Sift - the town that packs up every year. So everything in the town is portable. This makes for strange accommodations like inns being tents. The townsfolk all talk about all the places they visit. Their bazaar is full of just that, bazaar stuff from all their travels. They are all oddly dressed, yet none of them match each other either. They wear clothes from their travels. Maybe they hint of rumors that the PCs might find way in the future.
I guess that is one way to approach it. Not too much work, but still creating a small impact and adding to the mystique of the realm they are adventuring in.