Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Everyday Paladin" data-source="post: 6413881" data-attributes="member: 6778338">As Boarstorm says, a bit more information would be useful. Things like population are a huge factor.How big is this town/city? Most cities in medieval times had a few thousand residents, at most. Only the major cities of Europe had large populations comparable to those we often see in DnD settings.It's in forested terrain, so I'd think they could be a supplier of lumber. Lumber is most easily transported via waterways, but could be moved over land or via magic, if you wish. Likewise, it wouldn't be strange to have skilled leatherworkers, and maybe clothiers, in town.Suppliers of raw materials likely sell to merchant guilds. These guilds then sell to the craftsmen, who create and sell finished goods. The guilds could be powerful organizations, with guildsmen making up a large portion of the ruling council of East Gantrick.The general stores we see in nearly every DnD town did not exist in the real medieval world. That doesn't mean you can't use them, but I tend to prefer more true to life businesses in most of my settings. People by goods directly from the craftsman who makes them. You'd have smiths (for general metalwork), woodworkers, leatherworkers, a tavern (or taverns?), and maybe an inn, if enough trade passes through town. Weaponsmiths (who make weapons and armor) may or may not be present, and may be bonded to the ruling council, meaning they only do work for the council. If your characters want arms, they have to go through the council. Are there productive mines nearby? Prospectors are likely in the area, one way or the oh her, looking to find that mineral vein that will make them wealthy.EDIT: I just remembered the Adventurers Guild. Unbonded weaponsmiths make sense, in light of that guild. With a sizable population of adventurers in town, a lot changes. Adventurers probably pour a lot more gold into the economy than your average citizen. Other things I've mentioned, like magic streetlights and defenses, may be much more likely in an "adventurers' town". More craftsmen would possibly be needed to cater to adventurers' needs, probably meaning a larger town than I'd been imagining.Basically, I try to figure out how day to day life works in a town and build accordingly.  I don't like creating NPCs and organizations that exist solely for a single, metagame reason. I like everyone and everything to have a logical place in a living world.For example, is there a Mage Guild? If so, what do they do to make ends meet on a day to day basis? If East Gantrick lights its streets magically, that may imply a very wealthy town, depending on how common such magic is in your world. Is this something a single Town Mage with a few apprentices could handle? It doesn't sound like work for a powerful guild of mages, or whatnot.Based upon its location, and with no information regarding levels of magic and technology in your world, I'd say East Gantrick's defenses and public works should be largely mundane. In most settings, magic doesn't come cheap, and this town doesn't sound like they have a pressing need to invest in expensive magic.Mflayermonk suggested a group of mages might maintain a vigil over the ruined keep. Are they based in town, or are they watching from afar, via magic and vigilant locals? I'd say the latter, allowing them to pursue other concerns (and make a living) more freely. Such a Mage could make for a valuable contact or ally beyond the town in future adventures.What about the Adventurers Guild? (I'd completely forgotten to account for this. EDIT inserted above.) How was it established? The area must be full of monsters, treasure-laden ruins, or something similar to support the adventurers' trade. With the wealth adventurers bring, maybe this town does have the hold and means for magical defenses and amenities.</blockquote>

Verification