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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2012

    Default An idea of collaboration and if any would be intersted

    Hey all. I am just wondering if there would be an interest in a little bit of collaborated world building of sorts.

    What I mean is: One creates a town, gives a short (comparatively) overview of the town and then persons of interest and such so a DM/GM can just drop it into their campaign world rather easily. Or if the creator so chooses they can instead create an organization. Further could be a deity/religion, a new creature, even a new way of looking an an old creature (ala sovereign stone mongol horseman dwarves)


    If this is not something that interests anybody, thats cool. I just thought It would be nice for like DM/GMs short on time or even just starting out to actually HAVE the town over the next valley out when the heroes decide to do typical player actions.

    if so, just lemme know :)

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2012

    Default Re: An idea of collaboration and if any would be intersted

    Well, its seems that my idea was hated. So, I guess I need to apologize for even bringing the idea up.


    In case there are any potential DM/GMs that actually were intrigued by the idea I submit Thorn Bridge.

    Thorn Bridge
    Thorn Bridge is a small town that rests a top a low knoll a bow shot of the nearby river. Most of the population lives in scattered homes and huts, but the primary focus is the town proper. Thorn Bridge consists of mostly one story homes and structures made of blocks of stone. Each has a slate roof, chimney, and usually an enclosed yard. The main part, which lies behind a stone wall that bears scars of numerous assaults, consists of 18 primary structures, as well as a gate that lies directly in front of a dark wooden bridge with carved and fluted designs that stick out like thorns on a briar patch, which gave the town its name.

    Size/Type: Small Town
    Population: 1,878
    Demographics: 35% Human, 25% Elven, 20% Halfling, 10% half-elven, 4% Dwarven, 6% Other
    Gold Limit: 800gp/75,210 gp assets.
    Power Center: Town Council
    Important NPCs: Baera male human exp4, Terdiln male dwarf exp2/fighter4, Quarea female elf wizard3, Salia Three-toes female halfling rogue 7

    History: 85 years ago Thorn Bridge was a logging camp with maybe ten or so full time residents and a hundred or so seasonal loggers. A near-by gnoll tribe (The irony is not lost on the thorn bridge residents) did not appreciate trespassing in what they considered their forest. When construction of larger buildings, still made of wood, started so too did the raids. Many townsfolk died in the raids. With the rainy season the previous bridge built washed out leaving a battalion sent to help the beleaguered townsfolk stranded on the other side of the river. As fate would have it though, the battalion commander had previously been owed a life debt to an elven druid and called that debt in. As much in a payment of the debt as the druid, who was a leader in his community, saw also an opportunity to strike a blow against the gnolls who have plagued the region for decades. The druid and his circle managed to create a wonderfully beautiful and strong bridge that allowed the battalion to cross and with the aid of the small band of elves, break the siege. Over the next generation there were multiple raids on the town by the gnoll tribe, one of which burnt the majority of the town severely.

    Economy/Trade: Thorn Bridge imports almost all of its food, in addition to wine, metal, stone, and luxuries. It exports the best furniture, bows, and wooden weapons to be found in the kingdom. A handful of merchants visit every few months, but tariffs make it difficult to make a profit. Metal (or mostly metal) items cost an additional 15% above the regular cost.

    1 Temple: This beautiful building stands, quietly, as one of the few multi-story building within the walls of Thorn Bridge. The strong stone seems to rest comfortably on the grass and seems more of a natural extension of the landscape than a building. However, despite its beauty and obvious important, there is a quietness, a sense of emptiness around it. In the adjacent graveyard are rows of graves, with tall trees here and there among them.

    2 Weaver's Guild: This building is marked as a local chapter of the weaver's guild. The stout door is make of oak and reinforced with bronze bands, with the windows covered in metal grates.

    3 Pineford Inn: The inn is a large, white washed structure that is obviously the center of the village activity. a set of stairs leads from the street, over the gutter, and into the main part of the building. A walled yard has a small stable and plenty of room for a market.

    4 Farmer Homes: A small cluster of homes sit facing the road. Around each are latrghe plost of lands, cleared from wall to wall to provide room for farming. Unlike the farms passed further south, these are for smaller affairs and probably provide a bit more food for the families the house need.

    5 Butcher & Tannery: This low building has a large number of chimneys as well as large vats and wooden structures in the yard. There is a slight stench to the yard, however it is clearly a very busy place. a few poles come out of the roof and from them dangle animal carcasses, obviously being cleaned and prepared for food. a sign proclaims "Fine Leather Good" and another near the building declares "Game Meats"

    6 Blacksmith: The sound of metal striking metal reverberating from this building. Black smoke billows out of the chimney, staining the roof a soot black. The front entrance is actually overlarge, made of two iron-reinforced oak doors, easily able to take in a small cart or wagon.

    7 Shepherd's Hall This building is large with great glass windows. Over the door is a small holy symbol. The building has a grassy yard, carefully tended, and the building itself is but a single room, dominated by a large table, and row after row of benches. The hall itself was built to regulate trade and is the last building you of the town before you leave through the small southern gate.

    8 Whisper Hall: This large, sprawling two-story building at the center of town is a the anchor around which the town was built, and it is well maintained by the townsfolk, as it is their meeting hall and the only reinforced building capable of determined resistance should the need arise. The hall has a trio of ballistae and a catapult on the roof.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Orc in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2006

    Default Re: An idea of collaboration and if any would be intersted

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    Well, its seems that my idea was hated. So, I guess I need to apologize for even bringing the idea up.
    I wouldn't read too much into it, this subforum doesn't get a whole lot of traffic. But I guess a lot of world builders might be too ego centric to want to collaborate on a shared world.


    In case there are any potential DM/GMs that actually were intrigued by the idea I submit Thorn Bridge.

    Thorn Bridge
    Thorn Bridge is a small town that rests a top a low knoll a bow shot of the nearby river. Most of the population lives in scattered homes and huts, but the primary focus is the town proper. Thorn Bridge consists of mostly one story homes and structures made of blocks of stone. Each has a slate roof, chimney, and usually an enclosed yard. The main part, which lies behind a stone wall that bears scars of numerous assaults, consists of 18 primary structures, as well as a gate that lies directly in front of a dark wooden bridge with carved and fluted designs that stick out like thorns on a briar patch, which gave the town its name.

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    Size/Type: Small Town
    Population: 1,878
    Demographics: 35% Human, 25% Elven, 20% Halfling, 10% half-elven, 4% Dwarven, 6% Other
    Gold Limit: 800gp/75,210 gp assets.
    Power Center: Town Council
    Important NPCs: Baera male human exp4, Terdiln male dwarf exp2/fighter4, Quarea female elf wizard3, Salia Three-toes female halfling rogue 7
    This is a very cosmopolitan town. I guess it's great for a diverse band of low level adventurers, almost any low level class/race combo could be found here. My question though is why is this small town so diverse? Is it on a major trade route? Are they a neutral ground that is picking up refugees from a major war? Is the edge of the frontier and a bunch of outcasts trying to get away from their own culture are congregating here.

    Any of these answers are good, but it's important to know because it will dictate the flavor of the town and the likely disposition of the NPCs. And of course a trading town, collection of war refugees, and a frontier town all have their own distinct adventure hooks.

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    History: 85 years ago Thorn Bridge was a logging camp with maybe ten or so full time residents and a hundred or so seasonal loggers. A near-by gnoll tribe (The irony is not lost on the thorn bridge residents) did not appreciate trespassing in what they considered their forest. When construction of larger buildings, still made of wood, started so too did the raids. Many townsfolk died in the raids. With the rainy season the previous bridge built washed out leaving a battalion sent to help the beleaguered townsfolk stranded on the other side of the river. As fate would have it though, the battalion commander had previously been owed a life debt to an elven druid and called that debt in. As much in a payment of the debt as the druid, who was a leader in his community, saw also an opportunity to strike a blow against the gnolls who have plagued the region for decades. The druid and his circle managed to create a wonderfully beautiful and strong bridge that allowed the battalion to cross and with the aid of the small band of elves, break the siege. Over the next generation there were multiple raids on the town by the gnoll tribe, one of which burnt the majority of the town severely.
    I certainly like the story of the bridge, it makes this town more memorable to readers any potential PCs.

    One thing to keep in mind is if the majority of the town was burnt down, it would have been rebuilt in a probably different way. Maybe some of the rebuilt buildings are elfy and some are some are dwarfy depending on which inhabitants in your cosmopolitan town built what. Maybe the rebuilding was funded mostly by a vain rich guy so his portrait, initials or family crest is carved into most of the buildings. Maybe the druids helped rebuild so the buildings have a one with nature vibe. Maybe the town was rebuilt with a fortress vibe because of all the gnoll attacks.

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    Economy/Trade: Thorn Bridge imports almost all of its food, in addition to wine, metal, stone, and luxuries. It exports the best furniture, bows, and wooden weapons to be found in the kingdom. A handful of merchants visit every few months, but tariffs make it difficult to make a profit. Metal (or mostly metal) items cost an additional 15% above the regular cost.
    The metal thing makes sense I'm not sure about the food thing. If the town is on a trade route they could get away with this but if the town is fairly isolated they need to be more self sufficient with food. If they have a major water source maybe it has good fishing too.

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    1 Temple: This beautiful building stands, quietly, as one of the few multi-story building within the walls of Thorn Bridge. The strong stone seems to rest comfortably on the grass and seems more of a natural extension of the landscape than a building. However, despite its beauty and obvious important, there is a quietness, a sense of emptiness around it. In the adjacent graveyard are rows of graves, with tall trees here and there among them.
    Is this for the druids or some other religion. Given the diverse population is this a shared space where people of different religions can worship in their own way?

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    2 Weaver's Guild: This building is marked as a local chapter of the weaver's guild. The stout door is make of oak and reinforced with bronze bands, with the windows covered in metal grates.
    That's a lot of security for a bunch of weavers, a smell a mystery!

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post

    4 Farmer Homes: A small cluster of homes sit facing the road. Around each are latrghe plost of lands, cleared from wall to wall to provide room for farming. Unlike the farms passed further south, these are for smaller affairs and probably provide a bit more food for the families the house need.
    You said the town imports most of it's food. Now you are including farmers. Does the town grow cash crops?

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    5 Butcher & Tannery: This low building has a large number of chimneys as well as large vats and wooden structures in the yard. There is a slight stench to the yard, however it is clearly a very busy place. a few poles come out of the roof and from them dangle animal carcasses, obviously being cleaned and prepared for food. a sign proclaims "Fine Leather Good" and another near the building declares "Game Meats"
    Unless the town is very windy all the time or there is some kind of magic effect in play, it is probably more than a slight stench. Tanneries were about the foulest thing in pre-industrial societies. In the real world, a lot of times tanneries were outside the town proper.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    sandmote's Avatar

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    Oct 2017
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    Default Re: An idea of collaboration and if any would be intersted

    I don't think the idea was bad, I think it's just hard to present it as a premise. Compare someone asking for suggestions about their personal starting town for some game; there's usually a couple of threads on that going on.

    Quote Originally Posted by Scalenex View Post
    You said the town imports most of it's food. Now you are including farmers. Does the town grow cash crops?
    Note that historically, fruits and vegetables (along with dairy products) were grown just outside the market (often still within the walls), as they only last a few days (unless somegnome invented refrigeration). Most of the food for a town would be imported from the grain farms beyond the area for gathering firewood. These outer farms should extend about 4-5 times further parallel to the river than they extend perpendicularly from it. Beyond the farms, expect pastures of animals raised for meat: they can walk themselves to market, and get pushed away from the town as a result.
    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    Economy/Trade: Thorn Bridge imports almost all of its food, in addition to wine, metal, stone, and luxuries. It exports the best furniture, bows, and wooden weapons to be found in the kingdom. A handful of merchants visit every few months, but tariffs make it difficult to make a profit. Metal (or mostly metal) items cost an additional 15% above the regular cost.
    If there is an iron mine anywhere in the area, the ore would be shipped to Thorn bridge for smelting. Wood is very heavy, and charcoal (unless somegnome developed the type you'll see for grills in the store) won't survive being transported. I suggest specifying bog iron is the only type available in the area.

    Also, that's kind of a lot to import. Unless they're also exporting wood for shipbuilding, I don't see how they're surviving economically. At the very least say they had a quarry or mine that paid for the town's construction before it went kaput.
    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    5 Butcher & Tannery: This low building has a large number of chimneys as well as large vats and wooden structures in the yard. There is a slight stench to the yard, however it is clearly a very busy place. a few poles come out of the roof and from them dangle animal carcasses, obviously being cleaned and prepared for food. a sign proclaims "Fine Leather Good" and another near the building declares "Game Meats"
    The butchery and tannery should have pictures displayed, rather than words, and a formal butcher isn't going to handle game meats--expect those from the hunters who set up their stalls at the local market (which should be a regular occurrence).

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