Step One:
Roll three different-colored d6 dice and two different-colored pairs of d8 dice (3d6+4d8)
Each house has...
- A 4-in-6 chance of having d6 children
- A 1-in-6 chance of having d3 dogs
- A 1-in-6 chance of being wealthy
Consult this 2d8 table to see how many adult men and women are in the household:
Step Two:
Stock the house with treasure and find a place to hide it. NB: Gems and jewelry are assumed to have values given on page B47 of Moldvay Basic. Gems and jewelry can have an unassigned value until recovery, if the Referee desires.
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Step Three:
Arm the fighting-aged men. Roll a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. Each fighting-aged man in chain has a 1-in-6 chance of having +1d4 HD.
Step Four:
Using your wealthy houses, assign the following roles:
- Nobility
- Inn
- Clergy
- Moneychanger
- Merchant
There is typically only one moneychanger per town. If there are multiple churches due to your milieu being polytheistic, split the treasure somewhat evenly between them.
IN ADDITION TO their normal treasure rolls, wealthy houses also roll on the following treasure table:
- d6 x 1,000 gp
- d4 x 100 pp
- d6 HIGH-VALUE gems (these gems are worth d6x200gp ea)
- 75% chance of d4 pieces of HIGH-VALUE jewelry (worth d6x1,000gp ea)
- 10% chance any two magic items
A merchant will have half this amount, rounded down (10% chance of any ONE magic item, and usually not for sale).
The majority of gp in a wealthy house will not be cash, but rather paintings, expensive silverware, luxurious rugs, rare spices. Cash and gems are always hidden away. Churches typically have wealth in the form of rare religious artifacts.
For each wealthy house:
- Re-roll chance for dogs if there are no dogs
- 50% chance of having a guard (d3 HD)
- d4-1 (0-3) servants, employees, or apprentices
- Each fighting-aged man has a 50/50 chance of having +d4 HD
- ANY NON-GUARD WITH HD 3 OR MORE WILL HAVE A +1 WEAPON
Consult 1d100 names (printable link) and assign livelihoods commensurate with material wealth. Farmers, smiths, weavers, tailors, carters, cabinetmakers, potters, herdsmen, millers, wainwrights, carpenters, brewers, and stonesmasons are all staples of such towns. One can hold off on generating names for unimportant NPCs until asked.
Step Six:
Refer to my article on in-town factions and assign some villagers a faction. Five in six households have no interest in faction politics. Wealthy houses almost always do.
In Part II, I go over creating an Inn & Tavern. Click here to read it.
In Part II, I go over creating an Inn & Tavern. Click here to read it.
Interesting breakdown - I like proceduralizing the creative process: as it creates dynamics within the setting that wouldn't necessarily have been concocted by an author - ending up with greater depth than would have been without.
ReplyDeleteGood resource - and I'm looking forward to the special wealthy resident table!
Thank you! I hope it can be useful for people.
DeleteNice work and VERY handy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the resource!
Thank YOU for the kind words!
DeleteThis series is turning out quite interestingly! I'm looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Rest assured, I'm plugging away and have plenty more to do on the subject.
DeleteStill one of the best blogs / youtube channels on D&D. Hope you come back!
ReplyDelete