Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Brad on 15:17 17 Aug 2002
Fantasy World building applies to both FRPG's and to fantasy stories so I'll post this here in this forum.
I always look for for historical examples if the fantasy world I am creating is roughly equivelent to Dark Ages or medieval. There are no rules on how to create a fantasy world but some things are more believable if they make some sort of sense.
Let's look at these facts and then I will tie them all together:
Despite countless centuries of human inhabitation the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror (it's really an inventory) done after 1066 AD lists about 50% of England as still primeval forest. But today, even the most remote corner of the British Isles have been altered by man at some point in history.
This was a 3 mile per hour world at best. And travel for any distance, for an illiterate person (assuming they were freemen) would be a very scary thing indeed. Probably most people lived and died within 3 - 5 miles of the spot where they were born.
Villages: I keep reading in stories or in games about encounters in isloated farm houses. Those are probably very rare. A few hermits might live off on their own. In those days, living alone would have been very hard, if not impossible for only one extended family unit. Protection, labor, needed crafts, skills and resources are just too difficult for even a dozen people living alone. Farms tended to be directly part of a village. They would have formed an outer ring to the village itself with the fields roughly spreading "ladder-back" fashion in a crude wedge from the back of the farm place away from the village. (Think of a dart board. The bulleye is the village. The farms would form a fairly tight ring around the village. The rest of the dartboard would be the fields, probably enclosed in either dry stone walls or hedgerows depending on terrain. If it is a lawless time the buildings of these different farms might all be cojoined to form a sort of defacto wall around the village proper. It would not stop raiders or military invaders but it would help against bandits.
There are a thousand variations on that but it might give you some ideas. Villages may well cluster around a castle or tower of a lord or wizard. Or the monestary or temple of a religious order, both for protection and trade. You probably will have larger market towns and market villages being feed by the goods produced in smaller "feeder" villages.
I'll avoid going into the whole feudalism thing.
My point being that this is not like our experience in America at all. You don't have little isolated farm houses every mile. In troubled times things will be rather fortified. In lawful settled areas under a strong ruler, things will be rather more open but still clustered together for mutual protection and support.
The area outside of a village is going to get progressivily more wild until you start entering the outer orbit of the next village. So you have a bit of lonely wild area seperating each more civilized place.
Fantasy World building applies to both FRPG's and to fantasy stories so I'll post this here in this forum.
I always look for for historical examples if the fantasy world I am creating is roughly equivelent to Dark Ages or medieval. There are no rules on how to create a fantasy world but some things are more believable if they make some sort of sense.
Let's look at these facts and then I will tie them all together:
Despite countless centuries of human inhabitation the Doomsday Book of William the Conqueror (it's really an inventory) done after 1066 AD lists about 50% of England as still primeval forest. But today, even the most remote corner of the British Isles have been altered by man at some point in history.
This was a 3 mile per hour world at best. And travel for any distance, for an illiterate person (assuming they were freemen) would be a very scary thing indeed. Probably most people lived and died within 3 - 5 miles of the spot where they were born.
Villages: I keep reading in stories or in games about encounters in isloated farm houses. Those are probably very rare. A few hermits might live off on their own. In those days, living alone would have been very hard, if not impossible for only one extended family unit. Protection, labor, needed crafts, skills and resources are just too difficult for even a dozen people living alone. Farms tended to be directly part of a village. They would have formed an outer ring to the village itself with the fields roughly spreading "ladder-back" fashion in a crude wedge from the back of the farm place away from the village. (Think of a dart board. The bulleye is the village. The farms would form a fairly tight ring around the village. The rest of the dartboard would be the fields, probably enclosed in either dry stone walls or hedgerows depending on terrain. If it is a lawless time the buildings of these different farms might all be cojoined to form a sort of defacto wall around the village proper. It would not stop raiders or military invaders but it would help against bandits.
There are a thousand variations on that but it might give you some ideas. Villages may well cluster around a castle or tower of a lord or wizard. Or the monestary or temple of a religious order, both for protection and trade. You probably will have larger market towns and market villages being feed by the goods produced in smaller "feeder" villages.
I'll avoid going into the whole feudalism thing.
My point being that this is not like our experience in America at all. You don't have little isolated farm houses every mile. In troubled times things will be rather fortified. In lawful settled areas under a strong ruler, things will be rather more open but still clustered together for mutual protection and support.
The area outside of a village is going to get progressivily more wild until you start entering the outer orbit of the next village. So you have a bit of lonely wild area seperating each more civilized place.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Arislyn on 21:13 17 Aug 2002
Those are great points, Brad.
Something else to keep in mind is the level of medical knowledge that these people had. Most of your average peasants aren't going to live to a ripe, old age because of not only the normal hardships that come from working the land, but also the various diseases that plague them. While we have vaccines and over the counter drugs to handle just about anything that we would encounter in everday life, it wouldn't be unusual at all for a medieval peasant to die of something as simple as the flu. In fact, it hasn't been that long (historically speaking) since my grandmother was a child, and she has told me of her younger sister dying as a child from pneumonia because they lived far enough back in the mountains that getting medicine was hard. Imagine what it would be like in the medieval ages!
Of course, you can always say that clerics have magics available to heal the masses in your world, but I would imagine that most of your clerics are going to be low level, without access to the more powerful healing and curing spells. More than likely, most healing is going to be done by an herbalist, and that can be a dangerous profession. There are many plants that, if given in the proper dosage can cause sleep or aid healing, but in too great a dose, can kill.
Those are great points, Brad.
Something else to keep in mind is the level of medical knowledge that these people had. Most of your average peasants aren't going to live to a ripe, old age because of not only the normal hardships that come from working the land, but also the various diseases that plague them. While we have vaccines and over the counter drugs to handle just about anything that we would encounter in everday life, it wouldn't be unusual at all for a medieval peasant to die of something as simple as the flu. In fact, it hasn't been that long (historically speaking) since my grandmother was a child, and she has told me of her younger sister dying as a child from pneumonia because they lived far enough back in the mountains that getting medicine was hard. Imagine what it would be like in the medieval ages!
Of course, you can always say that clerics have magics available to heal the masses in your world, but I would imagine that most of your clerics are going to be low level, without access to the more powerful healing and curing spells. More than likely, most healing is going to be done by an herbalist, and that can be a dangerous profession. There are many plants that, if given in the proper dosage can cause sleep or aid healing, but in too great a dose, can kill.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Brad on 08:45 18 Aug 2002
That is a very good point, Ari. We do forget that there was medicine before sulfa drugs and penicillin. Just read, "All Creatures Great and Small" and you get a glimpes of it. Sure that was vetinary medicine but not all that different from what was used on humans.
And it did have some effect against illness. It was better than doing nothing. Now add in magical healing arts and it gets interesting.
A village healer might very well be a solitary sort of person with a "witchy" reputation, because they wander off to isolated places to collect their herbs. And i think they would tend to be a bit secretive about it so that they can control the knowledge.
That is a very good point, Ari. We do forget that there was medicine before sulfa drugs and penicillin. Just read, "All Creatures Great and Small" and you get a glimpes of it. Sure that was vetinary medicine but not all that different from what was used on humans.
And it did have some effect against illness. It was better than doing nothing. Now add in magical healing arts and it gets interesting.
A village healer might very well be a solitary sort of person with a "witchy" reputation, because they wander off to isolated places to collect their herbs. And i think they would tend to be a bit secretive about it so that they can control the knowledge.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by MoonHunter on 06:37 20 Aug 2002
History works well, however you need to look at the history of more than one culture.
In Japan/ Nippon, in its feudal area, the concentration of population was much higher, with a higher concentration of skilled artisans, and a vastly smaller distance between villages. Religious leaders were just normal people around town (until the invasion of Buddhism).
In China, the distances were slightly smaller, with small cities and huge cities (by Western medival standards)... though China never had a Dark ages. Its population distribution is a bit like Rome's.
There was a game Mekton, a while back that had HUGE Cities (practically archologies) with vast spaces between them. The world of Argol has huge, nasty monsters, so the population lived in huge walled encampments (later cities) since the begining just for self defense. (I know it is not historical, but it makes a point and it was a good piece of social engineering).
It all depends on the cultural and environmental factors. History is not always an accurate guides for all places. After all, you can't use medival distances cultural distances for a non medival culture. With magikal fertility, less land would be required to produce enough food. With central governments, you would get a distance like you found in 1700s America for villages, towns and cities, rather than the European distances which were based on Medival power centers (who could protect what with the forces the King allowed them).
The users of Powers (magikal clerics and mages) you have to determine how prevolent they are and their impact. They, like any form of technology (Thank you Mr. Clarke), impacts how many people can live in an area. A water system with a pump increases the "livability" of an area for a vast distance when compared to an aquduct or viaduct. However, if a create water magik is readily available.. it can be even more effective than the technology (especially if you can enchant an item to make water automatically for you).
The techniques the Nipponese used for farming were vastly more efficient than their Chinese and European counterparts. Those of the Incan people made the Nipponese look like slackers. The presence of certain ideas and technologies make for a greater impact on living patterns.
History works well, however you need to look at the history of more than one culture.
In Japan/ Nippon, in its feudal area, the concentration of population was much higher, with a higher concentration of skilled artisans, and a vastly smaller distance between villages. Religious leaders were just normal people around town (until the invasion of Buddhism).
In China, the distances were slightly smaller, with small cities and huge cities (by Western medival standards)... though China never had a Dark ages. Its population distribution is a bit like Rome's.
There was a game Mekton, a while back that had HUGE Cities (practically archologies) with vast spaces between them. The world of Argol has huge, nasty monsters, so the population lived in huge walled encampments (later cities) since the begining just for self defense. (I know it is not historical, but it makes a point and it was a good piece of social engineering).
It all depends on the cultural and environmental factors. History is not always an accurate guides for all places. After all, you can't use medival distances cultural distances for a non medival culture. With magikal fertility, less land would be required to produce enough food. With central governments, you would get a distance like you found in 1700s America for villages, towns and cities, rather than the European distances which were based on Medival power centers (who could protect what with the forces the King allowed them).
The users of Powers (magikal clerics and mages) you have to determine how prevolent they are and their impact. They, like any form of technology (Thank you Mr. Clarke), impacts how many people can live in an area. A water system with a pump increases the "livability" of an area for a vast distance when compared to an aquduct or viaduct. However, if a create water magik is readily available.. it can be even more effective than the technology (especially if you can enchant an item to make water automatically for you).
The techniques the Nipponese used for farming were vastly more efficient than their Chinese and European counterparts. Those of the Incan people made the Nipponese look like slackers. The presence of certain ideas and technologies make for a greater impact on living patterns.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Kainja on 08:03 21 Aug 2002
All excellent ideas to think about. In at least some cases I've tended to make up pieces as I needed them, (that is villages or river crossing towns) instead of setting back and thinking out a lot of details before hand.
My only additional comment might be not to let the world-building keep you from writing. The story must go forward.
All excellent ideas to think about. In at least some cases I've tended to make up pieces as I needed them, (that is villages or river crossing towns) instead of setting back and thinking out a lot of details before hand.
My only additional comment might be not to let the world-building keep you from writing. The story must go forward.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Brad on 19:43 21 Aug 2002
Moonhunter - excellent points. A favorite RPG of mine was Empire of the Petal Throne, because it borrowed (and morphed) so many non-European elements and then fused them into a wonderful world.
Kainja - I agree. Although, I love doing world building during the commuter drive, or when I have to drive on long trips. Makes it go faster.
Moonhunter - excellent points. A favorite RPG of mine was Empire of the Petal Throne, because it borrowed (and morphed) so many non-European elements and then fused them into a wonderful world.
Kainja - I agree. Although, I love doing world building during the commuter drive, or when I have to drive on long trips. Makes it go faster.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by MoonHunter on 05:34 22 Aug 2002
My only additional comment might be not to let the world-building keep you from writing. The story must go forward.
That is soooo true. Both GMs and writers can spend so much time in research, developing, dealing with the minutia an details, that they forget why they are stuggling with all of it... to write a good story or create a good campaign.
Here is a gaming rule that applies to this situation:
The Mona Lisa Rule This great masterpiece was never actually finished. What you see today is a piece of work that is really only 1/3 done and took several years to do. What should we learn from this? Only to put as much work into something as what you are going to get out of it. A masterpiece is not a masterpiece if no one ever sees it. Two years for 6 hours of play is not a good trade off. So invest a few hours in a game environment, for a few hundred hours of gaming pleasure.
| Quote (Kainja @ Aug. 21 2002,05:03) |
| All excellent ideas to think about. In at least some cases I've tended to make up pieces as I needed them, (that is villages or river crossing towns) instead of setting back and thinking out a lot of details before hand. My only additional comment might be not to let the world-building keep you from writing. The story must go forward. |
My only additional comment might be not to let the world-building keep you from writing. The story must go forward.
That is soooo true. Both GMs and writers can spend so much time in research, developing, dealing with the minutia an details, that they forget why they are stuggling with all of it... to write a good story or create a good campaign.
Here is a gaming rule that applies to this situation:
The Mona Lisa Rule This great masterpiece was never actually finished. What you see today is a piece of work that is really only 1/3 done and took several years to do. What should we learn from this? Only to put as much work into something as what you are going to get out of it. A masterpiece is not a masterpiece if no one ever sees it. Two years for 6 hours of play is not a good trade off. So invest a few hours in a game environment, for a few hundred hours of gaming pleasure.
Fantasy World Building: Villages and the wild - by Brad on 09:16 26 Aug 2002
Here is an excellent resource, Questions for Fantasy Wourld Building
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm
Here is an excellent resource, Questions for Fantasy Wourld Building
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm