CROWDSOURCING
Session Zero 7 is nearly complete, but I need some help generating a list of 50 “interesting features you’ll find in a village”.
Here’s a sample of the type of stuff I’m looking for…
1 a statue near the well that animates to defend the village
2 a dilapidated church on the village outskirts
3 a blind farmer who grows the best crops
4 a painting of an ancient scholar which will answer one question each day
5 an abandoned tower or keep
6 a hanging tree, complete with hangings old and new
If you create a feature I use in the table, you’ll get your name in the credits (inside front cover) of the issue!
These may need edited for length:
7 a small house/studio where a famous painter, the villages’ only famous citizen, once painted
8 a fountain of dark, sluggish water that harbors an immense carp, Ole Taddy, that everyone feeds
9 the open-sided blacksmith’s shop from which the heat and ringing issues nonstop from dawn to late night
A red barn on the outskirts of town; at night, a full spectrum of colorful lights emanate from the attic windows.
An orchard that grows a strange fruit only produced by this village. Every evening a robed choir sings to the trees to promote a good harvest.
An opaque glass structure; inside, thousands of tiny spiders weave webs that are harvested for textiles.
Crimnal’s [sic] Mill, where lawbreakers are sentenced to grind wheat while mocked by braying donkeys.
Ack, these got progressively longer.
A broken well with an immovable rod clogging it up.
The village is hounded at night by a creature that eats its victims’ memories, then emulates their voices to draw their families out.
An old dusty painting of a familiar sight (perhaps a local tavern room) but the figures depicted (dark, diamond-eyed beings) are feasting on one of the player characters .
The town is situated upon a roaring river; it rotates on a continual basis thanks to the platform beneath, which looks a bit like a lazy-susan. The town can only be entered by either side of the river twice a day, when the docks line up for 15 minutes at a time. It may or may not be on fire.
A lonely dam nearby, developed by a now-dead civilization. Youth regularly dare one another to scale its surface without falling. Recently, a young girl fell, but returned unscathed the following morning, smelling of sulfur and iron.
A renowned brewer, famous for his excellent spirits, regularly invites friends and strangers alike to hear his youngest daughter Teufel perform strange, sad tunes on her fiddle. Observant individuals will note the dented bracelet sometimes visible around her ankle.
Thanks everyone! I got a lot of great stuff so far! If you have contributed you already have your name in the credits, even if I had to edit your entries down a bit. I need about a dozen more, but I’ll leave this use for a few more days. Right now the table is d100 in 50 rows (1-2 = this, 3-4 = that, etc.). If i end up with a TON more I’ll just present it in 100 rows instead.
* The Marvida mill, abandoned now since old Marvida was found at the bottom of the creek with the millstone around her neck and her mouth full of grain.
* Vigrim’s Wonderous Tonics. A garish cart smelling of mint and snake oil.
* Blind Sigyn, the towns resident oracle, screaming nonsense at anybody drawing water at the well.
* Fishermen mending nets, scrubbing boats while chewing the fat
* Stockfish drying on huge wooden racks. The villagers claim they smell like money. They mostly smell of ripe fish.
To give a point of reference how this is used, you’ll roll one of every die together and use various table to determine a piece of fiction about a village:
Village name is a predominantly [(d6) RACE] village whose leader is a retied [(d8) “CLASS”]. It [(d4 by d12) PLOT POINT] [ and possible 2nd PLOT POINT], features [(d100) VILLAGE FEATURE] [and possible 2nd VILLAGE FEATURE], and [(d20) COMMERCE] items may be purchased there.
You have to come up with an appropriate name. If the d100 is even, you get to choose a 2nd plot point, and if it’s odd you get to choose a 2nd feature.
That sounds like a bunch of hassle, but here’s a sample roll:
Oxenford is a predominantly Elven village whose leader is a retired Paladin. It is home to a dying immortal, features a small cottage where a famous artist once painted, a bonfire that never consumes its fuel, and “uncommon” items may be purchased there.
It’s a small piece of fiction that you can start extrapolating from. The next section in SZ7 uses a similar method to build “Notable Residents”, and here’s a sample roll of it:
Dori is a fair Elf Sorcerer-turned-silversmith who can carry, afford and/or buy “Unique” items.
Taken together, I THINK the immortal’s immortality is linked to the bonfire, and he’s dying because Dori is syphoning power from it to craft powerful silver artifacts. I have to find a way to justify Dori’s “fair” trait though… maybe I’ll switch it to “focused” (she’s focused on her work and doesn’t realize what she’s doing) or “greedy”…
An old house belonging to a crazy enchanter. He gives life to items, and a weird goal in life.
A dilapidated manor that everyone avoids except children on a dare.
An unfinished bridge across a dried up brook.
A leaning bell-tower.
An overturned wagon.
The smoldering remains of a burned out library.
The home of a statue-making hermit.
A public well (that legend says provides wishes during a full moon).
A bloodstained cage in the square where the citizens collectively stone those judged guilty of capital crimes.
A ship for sale at a quarter of what the price should be.
People protesting the unsafe conditions of the work mill.
An underground mage fighting arena.
The burnt remains of a brothel.
A working sewer system beneath the town.
An asylum run by the good doctor…
EDIT: Added a few, will continue to add as they come to me. This sounds cool!
Thanks Jeremy Stewart! I had the 50 I needed, but they keep coming in so I made the table larger. Only 36 more to go now LOL
a saint buried in the cemetery that attracts religious tourists.
built into a cliff-side
built on stilts in a swamp
underground tunnels used to defend against occupiers
fetid pond behind tavern that is source of odd food
the “singing terrace” where lovers profess their dedication in song
fossilized foot prints of giants
a caged play area for the chosen children
the 50 foot tall wall blocking chronic northern winds
– A merchant that sales cloaks made up of worn out fabric squares. Each square is woven from silk and dreams.
– An abandoned mine outside of town. Children often go missing inside, despite the fact the entrance has been boarded up.
– A massive library, with an artifact inside that scans your mind for what you’re looking for, and summons up the exact right book(s)
– One of the local characters is Rags, a mean scruffy cat, that seems to have been around as long as the village, maybe even longer.
– The village or a tree in it, seems to be a nesting colony for ravens. The villagers leave out shiny trinkets for them, for their protection and goodwill.
– A big sundial of bronze stands at the center of the village.
– A band of smugglers secretly use the village as their base of operations.
– A well-known adventurer was born in this village. The villagers eagerly await his return and the riches that will follow.
Good idea!