Help populate the growing Fort town of Drezen!

[Kol Korran]

Hi all! This is for a game of Wrath of the Righteous in PF, but deals nearly entirely with flavor. No real spoilers here.

The party will soon gain control of a small military outpost, and old dwwarven hold (Above ground), that was conquered by demons about 75 years ago, and now the party has reclaimed. The place will get substantial boost in population, troops and supplies, aiming to rebuild the place, and make it worthwhile.

Now, the party are sort of the rulers of the place, but as discussed in the group, they prefer to focus on adventuring, and most of the daily life will be run by the NPCs they have grown to trust, with the party coming into town and dealing with Various pressing major decisions.

One of the players wishes to build a small yet efficient "secret police" organization, since he is sure that the demons will try to infiltrate the place under various guises and stir up trouble. The other players may have more plans, but I'm not sure what exactly yet.

So, I wish to have various people come into town and populate the city. For two main reasons:
1) TO give the place more of a feel of a "lived in place/ organic town" and not just a base for selling and buying loot. I want to give the town faces. Make the place more of a "home", than a "base".
2) Possible potential for schemes and threats (real or not), the secret police organization could explore.

I'd love to hear some of your ideas!

Some things to consider though:
1) The place is an outlying military outpost, in the depth of demon infested territory (though it has a "sort of" secure supply line). This means it's a dangerous tough place, with high alert. It most attracts the tough, the faithful, the adventurous, the opportunistic or the desperate. Think of an outlying wild west kind of place, only with military presence.
2) Main populations will come from:
- Various army units. of the general humanoid stock.
- Sarkori humans (People who lost their land.). They have been long time outcasts, and seek to reclaim their place. follow mostly druidical kind of beliefs.
- people who lived in a 100 year old war of crusades (Areas around Mendev in Golarion, if that helps) They can be new or veteran to the struggle.
- Mongrelfolk who have recently proven their worth, though maybe not yet fully accepted. (proteges of one of the PCs)
-A small clan of dwarves, coming to help rebuild their old fort (One of them is a noble who will later try to demand rulership of the place)
3) Main religions are Golarion ones, though generally good crusading faiths. If it helps- Iomedae, Shellyn, Sarenrae, Desna, Torag.
4) Top level should be around level 7-8 at most for now. No need for builds! Just flavor concepts.

Current ideas
1) The Jacklo sisters: 4 gnome sisters, 1 of them a witch, one of them an alchemist, with two other mundane sister. they make living by selling potions and other consumable items, as well as divination, and all kind of stuff. Lots of arguments between the witch and the alchemist (Sort of the bickering duo in Princess Bride? :smallwink:) Very straightforward, very honest (Some would say blunt), highly practical.

2) Donnen the wall: A dwarf who sets up a small discreet bar right up the inner side of the Fort's wall, open to the sky, mostly serves troops. Also acts as an info broker (i assume him to be a rogue of some level) "Ears to the wall" and all of that. Doesn't serve "dwarven ale".

As you see, I've only just started... All help would be welcomed!

[Vhaidara]

Well, I'll offer up the population of Snailsburg, a town that I built on an old character who had levels in Thrallherd. The specifics of their roles might change, but it made for a fairly defensible, self sufficient, and well covered village.

Also note that this was 3.5, so some of the ACFs and races wouldn't be available in PF, but it should be simple enough to transition them.

Believers:
25 Level 1 Experts
10 Level 1 Warriors
15 Level 1 Adepts
5 Level 1 Bards
3 Level 2 Rangers
1 Level 3 Druid
1 Level 3 Factotum
1 Level 4 Artificer

Believer breakdown
Experts
10 medical experts who run the hospital where people who have ODed on Oasis Water are taken to recover. (half elves)
10 Craftsmen of all kinds (4 dwarves, 3 gnomes, 2 elves, and a human)
1 Siege Engineer, just in case (Half-Orc)
1 Librarian (Knowledge Skills) [Grey Elf]
1 Housebreaker . Just in case (Grey Elf)
1 Chef (Halfling)
1 Sailor. Just in case (Aquatic Human)

Warriors
All guards, 5 with Longsword and Heavy Shield (Dwarves), 5 with bows (Elves)

Adepts
5 Medical experts, for when magical healing is needed (human)
5 Offensive experts, for basic magic combat (elves)
5 Utility, for protection spells and detection spells

Bards
1 Mimicking Song (Elf)
1 Spellbreaker Song (Human)
1 Half-Elf Bard (Racial sub) [child of first]
1 Gnome Bard (Racial Sub)
1 Bardic Knack (Gnome, married to racial sub]

Rangers
3 Archery focused, FE Undead/Construct/Animal, all Wild Elves

Druid: focused on providing food and water, Dream Dwarf

Factotum: Handyman. 1 point in every skill. Lesser Tiefling

Artificer: Makes stuff for the village. Warforged, with sub levels.

[(Un)Inspired]

Peter Salt: Human Investigator. Police lieutenant detective. With a glass eye, a bit of a paunch, and dumped dex and str Detective Salt was never gonna be an adventurer. He is, however, the best damn detective one could ever hope to meet. With an affable bumbling blue-collar charm he lures criminals into revealing their own guilt after picking up some clues with his legendary investigatory prowess.

He's garbage is any combat scenario but he'll keep the murders off the streets while the pcs are away.


(Good god I watch too much Columbo)

[PurpleSocks]

The waffle stand guy, should be a cheerful halfling with a heavily patched waistcoat, he should appear to be in his middle years with a few graying hairs.

He is a pathological liar who gives false albiet plausible information about his background whenever asked. For example he is known by his customers as either the waffle stand guy or each customer has a different name for him.

Naturally he runs a stand that sells delicious waffles in a variety of flavours and toppings. The waffle stand guy works if he is beloved by all and npc's in the fort and nobody questions like what a waffle is or how he maintains a supply of fresh milk and eggs in this remote location. In addition he has the ability to cast undetectable alignment on himself.

So long as he maintains his air of mystery the waffle stand guy serves as a plot device that enables the DM to do pretty much anything with him.

[Honest Tiefling]

1) A young child has started to idealize the PCs...Particularly the one with the mongrel folk proteges. To him, they have funny features that are neat. His father might have some rank or pull with the military and does not wish to have him consort with abominations. Perhaps the dwarf? Either way, the little rascal keeps running off to play with his new friends and mimics the PCs...And if they are a little rough around the edges, unfortunately pick up some new vocabulary.

However, this little rascal has not gone unnoticed. This group doesn't want to kill him, oh no, but they might make it look as if someone does want to. They want to use this to incite some tensions between the Mongrelfolk and the dwarves, perhaps to have the military not honor the Dwarf's claim to the land, or to incense dwarves back home to take it by force. Perhaps if the mongrelfolk have any coin use this as an excuse to exile them and take their stuff. Perhaps even going as far as to frame someone else for the framing of the mongrel folk.

2) One of the priests is false, and is secretly working against the others. They get a short list of suspects, and have to determine which one is the saboteur. Doesn't help that the religions might not approve of random searches on holy ground. But surprise! There isn't just one, but two who help cover for each other.

3) Just because it is a military town does not mean there isn't some competition. Smiths compete with each other to supply metal goods, and even innkeepers come in and compete with one another for the money of the hungry and thirsty soldiers. Which means plenty of slander, bribery and roughing up. They could even appeal to the PCs for backing. Some might have gambling or the like that other people do not approve of, causing more friction.

4) Someone finds a seam of valuable ore nearby. They are trying to keep it a secret while getting the means to exploit it. They get whacked, causing a dead body to pop up. Finding the murderer shouldn't be so simple, so perhaps someone bribed someone else who seduced someone else, etc. Someone might have even done the deed with good intentions, as the seam might actually be a little too close to the prison of a powerful demon to start poking at willy nilly.

I'd introduce a traveller exploring the region who comes to the party asking for info and depending on their station, offer to buy them a drink and a meal in exchange for it. This way he has a name before being killed.

5) People in the town get replaced by demons. With tensions high, fingers keep getting pointed at each other and someone takes the law into their own hands and offs the wrong person who turns out, wasn't a demon after all. Others use this as an excuse to take other people's things. Other people might be more opportunistic and decide that dead bodies typically don't need coin, so no harm done if they weren't the ones to do the deed. They however, if searched, have the dead person's belongings, or have sold them to some stooge.

[Solaris]

Military itself has its own subculture with stock characters. For example, you could have the incredibly bitter and salty veteran who's been everywhere, seen everything, knows the profanity of just about every language, and constantly laments every change as being a desecration of his army and everything he holds dear.

[Honest Tiefling]

I don't know if this is wholly appropriate for Desna, but since she has a bit of a beef with a Demon Queen, perhaps her following is ALSO trying to infiltrate the town spy upon potential demon worshippers? The PC's own organization could run across them, and decide to try to compete, destroy, run out of town, ally or even just take her best agents. Perhaps one could be friendly (Or 'friendly') with either the PC or a trusted NPC, further complicating the issue of whether or not to trust them and what should be done.

[Pokonic]

Yizrick the Tiefling:

Yizrick is a relatively unwelcome member of the settlement, being both evil and unrepentantly unpleasant. However, he is tolerated because, as a visibly devil-descended Tiefling, proved mostly by the presence of his imp companion and his bull-like horns, it is believed he apposes demons (which is true). Yizrick is a cleric of Moloch, a accomplished one (Lvl 8) at that, and has been given orders straight from hell to keep the base secure. His help has been very useful, but many at the base are weary of what would occur if he was given a formal spot in the military present there, which he has been petitioning for.

Yizrick, regardless, has several confidents in the soldery present at the base, as he is perfectly willing to speak with LN individuals in his small, cramped chapel, which also doubles as a small armory. He styles himself as a intellectual, and is willing to engage in friendly debate with clerics with other religions, and with paladins of faiths which align with hell's interests. He also provides healing and weapon enchantment for the solders at a heavy discount.

[Coidzor]

Madam Muriel's Magnificent Meadhouse and Brothel- A camp follower ended up getting control of an inn and is now running a brothel. Is currently playing the soldiery against the clergy to stay in business, but is running into tensions with the clientele for having used the collective power of her brothel to get better pay both for herself and her girls. May or may not also have some conflict with the dwarfs who discover what the building she's based out of used to be and want to seize control of it and return it to that purpose.

Most of her employees are Commoners or Experts, though she has one or two Witch or Alchemist subordinates who handle the health concerns of the girls, and the occasional crusader will also rent a room as a way to raise additional funds.

Sample employee names: Lill, Deb, Calli, Milla, Alana, Reyka, Ola, Birn, Trelalia, Vonne, Jan, Pillip, Milo

The Ostholm triplets: Bron, Than, and Greg, who are a Half-Orc, Half-Elf, and Human respectively, work as bouncers, cooks, and brewers. They are quite sensitive about inquiries about their familial bonds and view Madam Muriel as an Aunt, though only reveal this when around those they are comfortable with.

Madam Muriel herself(real name unknown) is a Half-Elf Sorceress or Bard posing as a Human woman of her certain age and prefers low-key and more subtle uses of her power rather than anything particularly flashy. She has friendly relations with a few adventurer contractors, some of whom act as bouncers while spending downtime in town and some of whom rent rooms from her for hiring out their services. Controls most of the prostitution in town with a few independents operating here and there as her main competition. May or may not be clandestinely co-opting or running competitors out of town.

A few Adventurer-Types associated with Madam Muriel's:

Thelia - A Half-Orc woman that specializes in grappling and, well, grappling, and is reputed to proudly display her collection of weaponry and other trophies in her boudoir.
Volan Cayhound - A Human Cavalier who styles himself as a Paladin of Cayden Cailean and who shares some history with Madam Muriel and freely admits his indebtedness to her but refuses to divulge the nature of the debt. Has been known to pay soldiers who have to be ejected from the brothel a visit to set them straight, one way or another.
Alestria - A camp-follower-turned-Ranger who became a forward scout after her lover died in battle.
Brell - An Abadarian Cleric who receives a stipend for certifying that none of Madam Muriel's girls are succubi in disguise.

[Malroth]

The Pest
Half Fiend Human Girl 7 years old CN ninja
An escaped demonic experiment The Pest had been making out a meager living stealing food and valuables from the lower ranked Demons and other Slaves, This behavior continues under the new regime but her raids get even bolder now that the threat of Demonic reprisal is gone. She barely talks and treats anybody who manages to find her as hostile.

[Dayaz]

The 'Secret Police' could be a mix of rogues, investigators, inquisitors, and maybe some slayers. I'll come up with a few more distinct people when i'm home and have a chance to focus on it.

[PeekingPenguin]

You would need a captain of the guard of course! :smallcool:

It's also quite possible that he used to be an adventurer like you... until he took an arrow to the knee.

[Pokonic]

Billy Brightstar:

Billy was the only son of a farmer from Taldor; Billy was strong and not very bright, but he had a few sisters who knew how to read. Billy, being a big strong boy, was quickly conscripted onto the front lines. Billy was always a odd one; his skin was a shade closer to grey than what's typical seen as normal, and most of the ones who knew his pa, a old veteran himself, thought the boy was a half-orc and let the question of the boy's origins drop, because while he was a little simple he wasn't violent and he helped around the village without question.

Billy suddenly gaining a halo in the middle of combat, naturally, was a bit of a surprise to many. It wasn't to Billy, really.

Billy, now referred as Billy Brightstar by a lot of people who aren't Billy, is a naturally gifted Aasimar paladin of Sarenrae, who may or may not be the mortal-sired child of Sunlord Thalachos itself; Billy's father, then, would merely be the mortal servant who was entrusted with the care of the child. Billy himself, however, is still not a inherently intelligent individual, and was mostly led to the area due to the constant threat in the area.

Billy uses a warhammer in combat, as well as a homemade shoddy-looking suit of studded leather armor that still inexplicably grants him protection against fire. He is not a subtle opponent, as he has no formal combat training; that said, he has a instinctual usage of his paladin abilities and shows no hesitance in fighting creatures confirmed as evil. Billy, however, prays immediately after any conflict, even a civil one, a trait which will likely either earn scorn or pity in the lands he is in now. Billy has a large frame, and his grey-white skin, combined with his bald head, gives some credence to the possibility that a orc is in the family tree. Billy's mount is a celestial mule named Sprinkles; Sprinkles is not used by Billy as a mount so much as a travel companion and trusted compatriot, and the mule may or may not actually be a guiding force in Billy's life.

[Kol Korran]

So many replies! Thanks! :smallsmile: This will go a long way towards helping populate Drezen!


Well, I'll offer up the population of Snailsburg. Drezen will have about 2,700 people. I'm less interested in statistics now, and more in personalities as roleplay ideas. But I may yet use this for another place I have in mind, so thanks!
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Peter Salt: Human Investigator. Police lieutenant detective.
.....
(Good god I watch too much Columbo)
Joking aside, this could be made into a really cool character! I've only seen 1-2 episodes of the show, but he IS an interesting character. I'll need to develop it a bit. I'm not sure about the race, but thinking either rogue or a very personable inquisitor. I think it might be interesting if he comes upon some of the characters own secrets? Hmmm...
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The waffle stand guy.
...
So long as he maintains his air of mystery the waffle stand guy serves as a plot device that enables the DM to do pretty much anything with him.
Um, maintaining an air of mystery will be problematic as the characters are quite suspicious of betrayal at this point, and will use whatever abilities they have (Either spells, interoggation or their secret plice organization) to get out at the trurth. So without DM fiat (which Feels too heavy handed here), I don't see this working out.
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1) A young child has started to idealize the PCs... Oh, this could be awesome! A child groupie sort of. Good idea, would give the place just a bit more of a special touch.


However, this little rascal has not gone unnoticed. This group doesn't want to kill him, oh no, but they might make it look as if someone does want to. But I'd prefer not to use that, at least not at the start. but perhaps keep it in reserve. Something interesting to keep in reserve.


2) One of the priests is false, and is secretly working against the others. .... But surprise! There isn't just one, but two who help cover for each other. This sounds interesting, will need development. Why are they there? Who do they really worship, or do they just do this for the perks? This might be an interesting "conspiracy" which the secret organization may find, but may blow to bigger proportions than it is. Or perhaps one of the duo is harmless, but the other malicious?


3) Just because it is a military town does not mean there isn't some competition. . They could even appeal to the PCs for backing. Some might have gambling or the like that other people do not approve of, causing more friction. Oh, competition there will be, just not sure how much to the fore should it be. I don't think my players will take interest in that.


4) Someone finds a seam of valuable ore nearby. They are trying to keep it a secret while getting the means to exploit it. They get whacked, causing a dead body to pop up. Hmmm, this sounds like it has potential, but I'm afraid it will develop into too much of an adventure, when these interactions are supposed mostly to be "side encounters" and roleplay opprtunities. I'll need to think about it. Nice idea though![/quote]


5) People in the town get replaced by demons. With tensions high, fingers keep getting pointed at each other and someone takes the law into their own hands and offs the wrong person who turns out, wasn't a demon after all. This is in fact something I'm p[lanning on doing, with maybe a few minor demon infiltrations, enough to start panic and suspicion, which may lead to a wrong killing, perhaps even by the secret organization itself...


I don't know if this is wholly appropriate for Desna, but since she has a bit of a beef with a Demon Queen, perhaps her following is ALSO trying to infiltrate the town spy upon potential demon worshippers?
Hmmm... perhaps not Desna's followers, but one of the PCs belongs to another organization, perhaps he will be interested, though he has shown no inclination so far. I'll talk with him.
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Yizrick the Tiefling: This is intriguing. I'm not fully sure about the cosmology of Golarion (I'll need to check), but so far there have been no mentions of demons. This could be an interesting character, but I fear that since the campaign is very much "Good Vs. Evil, against the fiends!" type of campaign, is that he will be taken out quickly. I'll need good reason to have him in the city. I'm pretty sure the PCs will kick him out (at best) out of the city as soon as they learn of him.
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Military itself has its own subculture with stock characters. For example, you could have the incredibly bitter and salty veteran who's been everywhere, seen everything, knows the profanity of just about every language, and constantly laments every change as being a desecration of his army and everything he holds dear. Ha! This is good! I'm thinking of a Captain Vimes character type from the Discworld novels (At least partially. without the "who watches the watchmen" stuff). I'll need to develop it, but this is great!
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Madam Muriel's Magnificent Meadhouse and Brothel- A camp follower ended up getting control of an inn and is now running a brothel. Is currently playing the soldiery against the clergy to stay in business, but is running into tensions with the clientele for having used the collective power of her brothel to get better pay both for herself and her girls. May or may not also have some conflict with the dwarfs who discover what the building she's based out of used to be and want to seize control of it and return it to that purpose.

Most of her employees are Commoners or Experts, though she has one or two Witch or Alchemist subordinates who handle the health concerns of the girls, and the occasional crusader will also rent a room as a way to raise additional funds.

Sample employee names: Lill, Deb, Calli, Milla, Alana, Reyka, Ola, Birn, Trelalia, Vonne, Jan, Pillip, Milo

The Ostholm triplets: Bron, Than, and Greg, who are a Half-Orc, Half-Elf, and Human respectively, work as bouncers, cooks, and brewers. They are quite sensitive about inquiries about their familial bonds and view Madam Muriel as an Aunt, though only reveal this when around those they are comfortable with.

Madam Muriel herself(real name unknown) is a Half-Elf Sorceress or Bard posing as a Human woman of her certain age and prefers low-key and more subtle uses of her power rather than anything particularly flashy. She has friendly relations with a few adventurer contractors, some of whom act as bouncers while spending downtime in town and some of whom rent rooms from her for hiring out their services. Controls most of the prostitution in town with a few independents operating here and there as her main competition. May or may not be clandestinely co-opting or running competitors out of town.

A few Adventurer-Types associated with Madam Muriel's:

Thelia - A Half-Orc woman that specializes in grappling and, well, grappling, and is reputed to proudly display her collection of weaponry and other trophies in her boudoir.
Volan Cayhound - A Human Cavalier who styles himself as a Paladin of Cayden Cailean and who shares some history with Madam Muriel and freely admits his indebtedness to her but refuses to divulge the nature of the debt. Has been known to pay soldiers who have to be ejected from the brothel a visit to set them straight, one way or another.
Alestria - A camp-follower-turned-Ranger who became a forward scout after her lover died in battle.
Brell - An Abadarian Cleric who receives a stipend for certifying that none of Madam Muriel's girls are succubi in disguise.
This stuff is gold! Exactly what I was looking for! Plus, the player seeking to build the secret organization thought about hiring prostitutes or having a brothel to work as an information gathering place. So this could be quite fitting. Thanks a lot! I'll use it all!
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The Pest
Half Fiend Human Girl 7 years old CN ninja
An escaped demonic experiment The Pest had been making out a meager living stealing food and valuables from the lower ranked Demons and other Slaves, This behavior continues under the new regime but her raids get even bolder now that the threat of Demonic reprisal is gone. She barely talks and treats anybody who manages to find her as hostile. Sorry, but this just... doesn't quite fit for some reason. I'm looking more for roleplay interactions, less combat.
But it could fit as one of the mysteries.
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Billy Brightstar:
Billy, now referred as Billy Brightstar by a lot of people who aren't Billy, is a naturally gifted Aasimar paladin of Sarenrae, who may or may not be the mortal-sired child of Sunlord Thalachos itself; Billy's father, then, would merely be the mortal servant who was entrusted with the care of the child. Billy himself, however, is still not a inherently intelligent individual, and was mostly led to the area due to the constant threat in the area.
This sounds mostly like a PC, I don't quite see his place here as "An aasimar paladin". I am not familiar with Sunlord Thalachos, so I don't get the reference. I just don't see what sort of an interesting interaction he will promote in Drezen.
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Thank you all for the suggestions, I can work quite a few of them into the story, thanks!