Topic: Village Design

[egdcltd]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any resources or books that would be useful in designing (believable) villages, particularly fantasy medieval. I have Life in a Medieval Village - and some similar books - on my reading list already, but I'm looking for anything else.

I'm specifying fantasy medieval because fantasy villages face threats that medieval ones don't. For one thing, the countryside seems rather more dangerous. I don't believe that villages were still being fortified in Britain in medieval times (there still were fortifications; I just don't think that you would encounter villages surrounded by palisades, for several reasons), but that may not be an option for a fantasy village.

I'm not just looking for layout hints, but also how to build a community, with the village at its core, of different types, that could be largely self-supporting, unless it was on a major trade route, as most villages would have been. I think I did something along those lines in GCSE Geography, but that's many moons ago now.

[Peter R]

That period in history is covered by the Key Stage 3 History curriculum here in the UK. You may find that you can get some free resources from educational sites. I woul dhave thought that KS3 would have enough detail for roleplaying purposes?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zfphvcw

[pyrotech]

Don't forget S. John Ross' article on Medieval Demographics.  I've used it more times than I can remember.  It only goes so far at the village level but may be helpful anyway.

http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

Regards,

[Frabby]

Good stuff here - thanks for the links.

As a GM, I deliberately use infrastructure as a means to set the mood. There are fortified frontier villages with gruff, poor and unfriendly (to outsiders) settlers who brave the dangers of the wilderness; they are all warriors with a secondary profession such as farmer or blacksmith. In the hinterlands, by contrast, settlements are sometimes not even fortified and there are well-maintained roads, inns, scheduled coaches and a royal mail service. The people are more urban in outlook, with thieves/artisans more common than warriors. There are few orcs or bandits, but condescending nobility and their retainers may cause problems.

[jdale]

Lisa Steele's Fief might also be useful. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/fief.htm It's sort of adjacent to your topic area.

Is Life in a Medieval Village good? I found it here: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Medieval-Village-Frances-Gies/dp/0060920467 I'm also interested in anything else you turn up that is useful.

[egdcltd]

That period in history is covered by the Key Stage 3 History curriculum here in the UK. You may find that you can get some free resources from educational sites. I woul dhave thought that KS3 would have enough detail for roleplaying purposes?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zfphvcw

I hadn't thought about educational resources, thanks (although I had to look up what KS3 applied to).

Don't forget S. John Ross' article on Medieval Demographics.  I've used it more times than I can remember.  It only goes so far at the village level but may be helpful anyway.

http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

Regards,

I think I've seen that before by the looks of it, but I hadn't made a note of it, thanks.

Lisa Steele's Fief might also be useful. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/fief.htm It's sort of adjacent to your topic area.

Is Life in a Medieval Village good? I found it here: http://www.amazon.com/Life-Medieval-Village-Frances-Gies/dp/0060920467 I'm also interested in anything else you turn up that is useful.

I haven't purchased Life in a Medieval Village as yet (or the similar Castle and Town books) but I plan to. It's in the bibliography of A Magical Medieval Society Western Europe Second Edition - along with a lot of other books. That supplement is itself quite useful for a society, but doesn't have much on villages. There's a brief section on village creation, but it's also connected to the manorial system, and independent villages are rather more common in fantasy settings than they were in Europe.

Perhaps look further afield, maybe into Viking settlements?

[yammahoper]

rmc I had a village generator in it along with density of professions.

[egdcltd]

rmc I had a village generator in it along with density of professions.

I actually have that one, thanks. It's a bit short, but it's got some useful stuff in it. The companions really have an eclectic range of things in them, don't they?

[Peter R]

rmc I had a village generator in it along with density of professions.

I actually have that one, thanks. It's a bit short, but it's got some useful stuff in it. The companions really have an eclectic range of things in them, don't they?

That they do!

[markc]

I do not know it it would help out or not but some shows on TV such as Point Pleasant about a community in Alaska where the people live a subsistence lifestyle could.might also be of a big help.
They talk about spending most of their days trying to find food, village upkeep making sure their water supply is secure, etc. If you have to spend most of your days doing those basic things so you can live and put some food away for the lean months it does not leave a whole lot of time for other things.


MDC

[Alwyn]

If I remember right, there was a good section on fantasy/medieval villages and their environs in Gary Gygax's old "Living Fantasy".  If you can still find a copy or the pdf.