Populate the Village of Shepherd's Lake

[exile]

For teh first time in a long time, I am stepping away from published campaign worlds and doing a bit of my own world-building. I originally started with a top-down approach, but quickly honed in on a particular continent, and subsequently a particular village. I've provided some vague information about the village here, but would like your input on what more it needs- people, places, opportunities for adventure (particularly for low-level characters), etc.

Shepherd's Lake is a village of some 400-500 people. The population is primarily human, but there is a sizeable minority of dwarves. Halflings and gnomes round out the population, and other races are quite rare.

The dwarves rule the continent where this village is located, but wars against humanoids are causing their numbers to dwindle. Humans were initially imported as slave soldiers and laborers to aid in the war against the humanoids. Halflings (resembling hobbits more than typical 3.X halflings) have always coexisted with human and were likewise imported to support the waning dwarven population. Gnomes have always existed alongside the dwarves and are the scholars of the area.

The village is loosely ruled over by Angus Greenshields a human barbarian/fighter and his wife (an expert cook). Angus recieved the land the village is built on as a reward for loyal service in the war against the humanoids. His daughters Ansley and Mhairie are also well known in the area. Ansley is a prodigiously intelligent shepherdess (i.e. scout). Mhairie, while also quite intelligent, has a reputation as a brawler and is often in trouble with her father and the dwarven authorities.

The economy of the village is based on herding and agriculture. Built on a sizeable lake, the village is well-known for its orchards which produce peaches, pears, and apricots. Livestock is primarily sheep, with a few cattle.

The village is probably most well-known for St. Raphael on the Lake (the humans are monotheistic, with clerical domains based on which saint a cleric is dedicated to), a large church/hospital. St. Raphael meets the religious need of the community, but also cares for all types of injury and illnesses. It is populated largely by clerics and healers, but there are a few paladins as well.

There are two halfling families in the village who are at odds with one another. I'm not certain if I want them to be violently at odds with one another or simply in competition. They are the Prettyfeet and Summertoes. I could see them having some younger members who are star-crossed lovers (a la Romeo and Juliet).

The village's inn/tavern is called The Painted Cow (named for the brightly painted cow statue that stands at the front entrance). The key feature here is a messageboard where peopel can post wanted posters, employment opportunities, etc.

The village also hosts a druidic circle. I see this as a lawful neutral circle that works for the good of the community, but is probably soemwhat at odds with the church (as they represent an older faith).

The final thing that I should comment on is that the dwarves of the continent have a well-developed steamrail system. Shepherd's Lake is a stop on one line. The railstation is itself a minifortress complete with lodging, detainment cells, etc. Very near the station is a warehouse/store called Lake Outfitters manned by an eccentric dwarven entreprenuer (bright orange ponytail, but bald on top, gawdy jewelry, etc.). The dwarf readily buys up used adventuring gear, captured weapons, and other mundane items, then refurbishes and sells them.

So, any thoughts that you all have are much appreciated. I gladly welcome critiques as well as further fleshing out of the above ideas or even entirely new ideas that you think would fit in well here. One friend suggested that I need a wizard in residence, but I'm not sure. What do you think?

Chad

 

[Kafkonia]

Do the humans now outnumber the dwarves because of a low dwarven birthrate and high casualties in the battle against the humanoids? If so, I'd say that the dwarves who are left should be either too old for combat, frail/injured and unable to fight, or too young, with the young ones obviously the smallest number due to the low birthrate.

Likewise, are the humans taking part in this war? The above should apply to them as well.

Since you say that humans were initially brought in as slaves, when did this practice stop? I would imagine there is substantial tension between the dwarves and their former slaves, especially if this slavery is within living memory -- either dwarven or human. Depending on the situation, the humans may be more numerous but sociopolitically less powerful, with most of the positions of import being held by dwarves.

Depending on the nature of the battles they've waged against the humanoids, you may have a larger-than-normal number of warriors (rather than fighters) in the populace, to defend the home front. The majority of wizards, sorcerers, clerics, et al with combat-useful powers have probably been conscripted into the fighting, so if you do have a wizard in residence he's probably either very low level or focused primarily on non-combat spells, and you may want to consider using the Cloistered Cleric alternative class from UA (and the SRD) to represent the non-combatant priests left behind. After all, while the aged and infirm are of little use in the front lines, they're still perfectly capable of casting empowered fireballs from a distance.

 

[exile]

The dwarves are the traditional rulers of the island-continent. For much of the last age (an age lasting an as yet undetermined amount of time), they warred against the humanoids that envied their wealth. Early on, the humanoids were little more than an annoyance; despite continued losses, their numbers continued to grow, while the numbers of dwarves declined (curse that low birth rate). When the situation finally grew desparate for the dwarves, their lord enacted a desparate plan, and the last age ended with the activation of a doomsday device that laid waste to the center of the continent, levelling mountains and destroying vegetation.

The surviving dwarven population fled to the island-continent's east coast where, content that the humanoid menace was at an end, they turned their attention to building a new dwarven civilization. During this construction, humanoids again started to appear out of the desert that had been created by the Doomsday Device. Pinned between the ocean and a desert harboring an unknown number of humanoids, the dwarves turned to a novel source of help- importing human (and to a lesser extent halfling) convicts to bolster their numbers.

The humans and halflings were brought to the island as slaves and set to a variety of tasks. Some were charged with fighting alongside the dwarves. Others were set to skilled or unskilled labor as their talents allowed. The war against the humanoids (really a protracted series of skirmishes) lasted for some thrity years, finally "ending" with the construction of a great wall that would separate the inner desert from the island-continent's eastern seaboard and the emancipation of the emancipation of the imported slaves.

The dwarves were wise enough to recognize that they were indeed now outnumbered by the humans, and in addition to freeing them, gave grants of land (and wealth) to those who had made teh greatest contribution in the war. The population breakdown is now roughly 60% human, 30% dwarven, 5% halfling, 3% gnomish, and 2% other.

While the dwarves still hold most of the socioeconomicopolitical power, the humans are very much on the rise in this regard.

I hope that helps she a little more light on the setting in general.

I had not previously considered the age distribution amongst the races. Since most of the importees were quite young at the time they were brought to the island (teens to twenties), the oldest amongsth them are now in their fifties, and have children who are starting to approach the age they were when they were first brought there.

I like your idea of making the dwarven population older in general- will definitely have to do that.