I generally start with who rules the village on a mid-macro level  (who is the duke or baron if any) and then who rules the village on a local level (a lord of the manor, a mayor a council of elders?).

Next why is their a village here? What does the village produce?, is there a good water siurce, is it naturally defensible?

Once these half a dozen questions have been answered the layout of the village nornally draws itself organically.

All that's left is to populate it with a couple of interesting NPCs and a local threat or tension.

The whole thing can take 5 minutes with practice.

I do it pretty much the same way you do it, SHARK, but in a slightly different order.  I always ask why the village is there first, and let the commerce or story drive my development.  I get into the factions a little earlier as well, as it guides what kind of NPCs I want to include, etc.

I will say that I only go to the level of detail you go to SHARK, if I'm sure the characters will be in the village for a while.  If they're just passing through it'll be an inn, what's on the food and drink list, and a few interesting NPCs to throw some kind of in-town encounter/mini-adventure.  I also try to place one really memorable description component in so that it's memorable.  That helps since my guys don't always remember the names of places they've been but they almost always remember, "You know, that town where all the houses had low gates painted blue," or, "We need to go back to that village where they had all the colorful banners celebrating the gods," etc.  I usually try to do that with my inns/taverns as well:  interesting games, food, structures that will be memorable.

Ill miss your grandiose posts SHARK.

Quote from: THE_Leopold on July 25, 2022, 06:42:03 PM
Ill miss your grandiose posts SHARK.

Pat and Shark are gone, but the woke-defenders and trolls remain.  If Pundit isn't careful, these forums will lose a lot of their utility.  It like the old adage about AA fire: the plane has to dodge every single one, but the AA guns only have to be lucky once.  Over time, everyone who contributes will eventually slip up.  Then what will we have?

Nuts, SHARK got banned?  I must have missed something.   

Most of the villages I come up with I do on the fly.  I think about why the PCs are there and how long they may stay.  I'll come up with a few details that might stick out and some non-cookie cutter NPCs to interact with.  I might look at my notes and see if it's a good place to drop in a rumor or an interesting encounter or some other diversion for the group.

If it seems like the PCs might decide to stay for an extended time or are likely to come back, I'll flesh it out a bit more after the session.  I very rarely get into the level of detail Shark mentions.  Maybe for a city, but not a village unless the adventure hinges on some of those things.

Quote from: Brooding Paladin on July 25, 2022, 11:53:09 PM
Nuts, SHARK got banned?  I must have missed something.   

Over a three month old threadban that's not even code enforced.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 26, 2022, 10:58:12 AM

Quote from: Brooding Paladin on July 25, 2022, 11:53:09 PM
Nuts, SHARK got banned?  I must have missed something.   

Over a three month old threadban that's not even code enforced.

How is a poster supposed to remember which ancient threads they've been banned from posting in? Makes me a little trepidatious to post in any thread ... at least, not more than once per thread.

Keep a sticky note next to your computer with your banned threads?

On the subject of this thread,  I've been reading the collected stories of "John the Balladeer" by Manly Wade Wellman.   I kinda like how he depicts people just kinda building homes out in the middle of nowhere, like.. John just wanders around in the wild and mountains and whatnot and almost always seems to find someone living around where he goes, maybe with a day or two max in between some people.   

So I like to think that if you were building a campaign, people would choose to try and spread out and live almost anywhere, so you'd have lots of scattered homes and whatnot.  Then some bigger gatherings/collections of people around important places for trade or religion or governance.   And if you don't find people in an area, then it would probably be because of dangerous monsters, or maybe the people are still around but they're good at hiding from the monsters and so you aren't able to easily find them.

Quote from: Brooding Paladin on July 25, 2022, 04:14:14 PM
I do it pretty much the same way you do it, SHARK, but in a slightly different order.  I always ask why the village is there first, and let the commerce or story drive my development.  I get into the factions a little earlier as well, as it guides what kind of NPCs I want to include, etc.

I will say that I only go to the level of detail you go to SHARK, if I'm sure the characters will be in the village for a while.  If they're just passing through it'll be an inn, what's on the food and drink list, and a few interesting NPCs to throw some kind of in-town encounter/mini-adventure.  I also try to place one really memorable description component in so that it's memorable.  That helps since my guys don't always remember the names of places they've been but they almost always remember, "You know, that town where all the houses had low gates painted blue," or, "We need to go back to that village where they had all the colorful banners celebrating the gods," etc.  I usually try to do that with my inns/taverns as well:  interesting games, food, structures that will be memorable.

Greetings!

Outstanding, Brooding Paladin!

Yes, I enjoy being detailed. Sometimes, though, it can be wasted, when the Players go left instead of right, as it were.

I manage to avoid that, usually, as I provide a basic frame for whatever is going on--quick visits, that kind of thing, random. Then if I know they are definitely basing themselves there or are crazy enthused about the new village, then it is easy to fill in all the other detailed stuff I like afterwards, but before the next game session.

Sometimes, honestly, the uber detail can backfire the other way, in the sense that the Players go crazy for the village, a Player falls in love with a milk girl, or a female player gets involved with a local Wizard's Apprentice, or a handsome Paladin, and they want to know all the family details and everything. *Laughing* The Players can get deeply involved with such a village, and it can become a home and base to them for *years*

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I missed you SHARK. Never leave me again <3

Yeah!  Glad you're back!

Quote from: THE_Leopold on August 01, 2022, 12:51:22 PM
I missed you SHARK. Never leave me again <3

Greetings!

Thank you, Leopold, my old friend! I have missed you as well!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Brooding Paladin on August 01, 2022, 05:18:56 PM
Yeah!  Glad you're back!

Greetings!

Well, thank you, Brooding Paladin! I appreciate your kindness and regard! I am glad to be back. I have returned!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: HappyDaze on July 22, 2022, 07:11:35 PM
I have a hard time picturing unwalled villages in most fantasy settings because they would be too vulnerable to monsters (of various types). For the same reason, I have a hard time envisioning large numbers of true non-combatants. At the very least, any able-bodied individual should have militia training.

Depends on the setting and how monster infested or not an area is.

You'd see alot more unwalled towns in areas closer to capitols and heavy population/patrol zones.

The further you get from those areas the more likely some manner of defense may be needed.

Though at the end of the day walls may be little more than a brief hinderance in any setting where monsters are either numerous or have abiliities or spells that can make short work of walls. Especially any creatures with sapping skills to just go under walls and the like.

Settings like FR actually show why its a but redundant as periodically orcs come down from the north and lay waste to civilization. Including heavily fortified dwarven cities.

I've seen more than a few towns with local predators like bears, wolves and coyotes and wonder why the hell do they not put a wall up? Or even a simple fence.