D&D: Worldbuilding Tips: Settlements
Are your Dungeons and Dragons settlements as wondrous and captivating as your complex dungeons?
No?
Well then, stick around as we delve into our Guide for Worldbuilding Settlements in your Dungeons & Dragons game.
The D&D world is a wide and wondrous place, filled with monsters and magic. However, most people live in relatively safe communities, and even bold adventurers need safe havens. Such areas are points of light in a dark world, and they share common traits. When you think about the civilized areas of your world, consider these questions:
Components of a Settlement
What purpose does it serve in your game?
A settlement’s primary purpose is to facilitate the fun in your game. Creating a settlement should also be fun. Other than these two points, the actual purpose the settlement serves determines the amount of detail you need to put into it.
How big is it?
The size of a settlement is largely a matter of flavor, but it can also influence the goods and services available there.
Who lives there?
Having a predominant race and/or group with similar ideologies can help flesh it out.
Who governs it? Who else holds power?
In the absence of empires or large kingdoms, power and authority in the D&D world are concentrated in towns and cities. Here minor nobles cling to the titles their families carried under past empires—dukes, barons, earls, counts, the occasional prince, here and there is a self-styled king.
What are its defenses?
Soldiers—both professional and militia—serve double duty in most settlements. They carry the responsibility of defending the settlement from outside threats, including bandits and raiders. This also includes walls, outposts, and even simple motes.
Where do characters go to find what they need?
Even small villages give characters ready access to the gear they need to pursue their adventures. Provisions, tents and backpacks, and simple weapons are commonly available. Traveling merchants carry armor, military weapons, and more specialized gear.
What temples or other organizations are there?
Temples, guilds, secret societies, colleges, and orders are important forces in the social order of any settlement. Occasionally, their influence stretches across multiple cities, echoing the wide-ranging political authority that crumbled with the fall of empires.
What fantastic elements distinguish it from the ordinary?
In the magical world of the D&D game, most settlements follow the patterns described above. But fantastic exceptions abound, cities where magic or monsters play a significant role in government, defense, commerce, or organizations. Or unique locales or broken norms can be used to inject a fantastic flavor into the settlements your player characters visit.
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Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Tips and Tricks for DMs and Players
Monster Variant: Fuariora
Origin: Death Dog
Lost Features: Bite, Two-headed, Size becomes small
New Features:
Damage Vulnerabilities: Bludgeoning, fire
Damage Immunities: Cold
Frost Luminesces. While in freezing temperatures, the fuariora sheds bright blue light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
Resurgence 10. When the fuariora takes damage from a single source greater than its resurgence threshold, it releases a burst of thick 10-foot-radius sphere of chilled fog centered on itself. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for 1d4 + 2 rounds or until a wind of moderate or greater speed ( at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) cold damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or have its movement speed reduced by 10 feet for up to 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If the creature fails the check by 5 or more, its speed is reduced by half instead.
Frost Tail (Recharge 5 or 6). The fuariora whips its tail releasing a 15-foot cone of cold air. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 5 (2d4) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Encounter: Spearhead of the Clan Chief
Berghilda, an elderly seerer is seeking the aid of adventurers. Through her divinations, she has seen an item of power that hides deep within the Burning Spear Cultist territory. It’s guarded by beasts, brutes and magic. The item she seeks is called the Spearhead of the Clan Chief (circlet of blasting). The characters must remove it from the hands of the vile Burning Spear. She warns the characters to be wary, for the spearhead is likely in the possession of one of the agents of the Burning Spear. If this is true, then their power would be much greater than those of the minions that surround them.
The location of the cultist’s cavern opens around the long side of a river. It’s a perfect spot for them to enter and leave from, as well as a powerful way to bring goods and equipment into their sanctuary. Berghilda believes that with the correct tactics, patience, and a little luck, the characters should be able to enter the cavern, retrieve the spearhead, and return. If possible, she would like to see all of the Burning Spear punished, so she will have a special reward if the characters can manage to deal with the entire cult within the lair. But it is a tall order.
Magic Item: Illusionist’s Hand Wraps
Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement by a spellcaster)
The hand wraps were created by a particularly gifted illusionist. She was able to bind her unique gift for casting multiple illusion spells to her hand wraps.
While wearing the hand wraps, you can cast the minor illusion spell. Whenever you use an action to cast the minor illusion spell, you can use a bonus action on the same turn to cast it a second time.
Dungeon Master Tip: Table Talk
It’s a good idea to set some expectations about how players talk at the table.
Make it clear who’s speaking—the character, or the player (out of character).
Can players offer advice if their characters aren’t present or are unconscious?
Can players give other players information such as how many spell slots they have left?
Can players take back what they’ve just said their character does?
Player Tip: Class Acts: Rogues
Not every rogue skulks in the shadows, a dagger in one hand and a bag of ill-gotten treasure in the other, always keeping one eye out for a back to sink a blade into. Some ply their skills openly as locksmiths, trapmakers, and dungeon guides who take great pride in their work and feel no need to hide their talents behind deception. Some would say the shadows might eat them alive, others that they are simply pragmatic. A few outsiders refuse to believe that the smith who crafts the lock can resist the temptation to crack it open and take what it protects for his own.
So it is with the Fraternal Order of the Inner Vault (also known simply as “the Vault”), a secular and honest guild of rogues who reject a brutal life in the shadows for one of honor and brotherhood under the light of the sun and civilization.
-Dragon Magazine, Derek Guder-
RPG Phatloot Giveaway: Bard College of the War Chanter
War Chanters look to the tales and legends of heroes of the past for inspiration. The weapon of choice of many war chanter’s is the polearm. This stems from the idea of standard bearers, carrying a visual representation of their beliefs. As such, the weapon often has a small standard with intricate designs or a coat of arms that hangs from the end. Not only can these sow discord among your enemies when fluttering around in combat, but when they are placed skyward, they create a rallying point for your comrades in arms
Winner: machine.gmc
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