One of the interesting things about worldbuilding in D&D and many of the games it’s inspired is that D&D claimed to be set in a pseudo-medieval European realm — and then mostly ignored the actual demographics of medieval Europe. Though its population was nowhere near what it is today, Europe in the Middle Ages was positively full of people, most of whom lived in tiny settlements scattered between larger towns and occasional cities. However, D&D in its earliest days created a baseline sense of the adventuring world as being mostly frontier, with villages scattered at distances of a day’s walk apart or more.
A lot of fantasy GMs who are into this sort of thing got an initial sense of what a real pseudo-medieval milieu might feel like from “Medieval Demographics Made Easy” by S. John Ross, whose mechanics have been implemented all over the internet. That approach to fantasy game demographics talks about villages as being home to the largest segment of any territory’s population, scattered in large numbers and often less than an hour’s walk away from the nearest other villages. Of note, though, “Medieval Demographics Made Easy” shares with the D&D 5e rules the use of “village” to cover a wide range of settlements with populations of 1,000 or less. D&D 3e broke that category down into villages (maximum 900 population), hamlets (maximum 400) and thorps (maximum 80). And for me, hamlets and thorps set only hours apart from each other in settled lands have always been a great baseline for worldbuilding.
Using thorps, hamlets, and villages as touchstones while adventuring heroes are traveling is a great way to help create a sense of the world that those heroes are fighting for. Which is to say, small settlements remind characters that there’s actually a world of people around them, not just empty landscape. Villages, hamlets, and thorps are small enough that they don’t need a lot of development when the characters are just passing through. Random name generators for settlements are easily had, and a baseline sense of what a village, hamlet, or thorp looks like can be improvised fairly easily, inspired by prevailing culture, environment, and the industry derived from that environment (farming, mining, fishing, and so forth). But on top of that baseline, you can make a village, hamlet, or thorp memorable with a defining unusual characteristic using the following table. This is the table I use in my own campaigns, including a current game focused on a lot of short-distance traveling through densely settled lands as the characters track down lore and secret dungeon sites long lost to history.
Some of the features on the table are overtly magical. Some are clearly mundane. And some can swing both ways, letting you decide how far to lean into the fantastic in your own campaign.
Unusual Small Settlement Features
d100 Feature
- Abundant household animals
- A freshwater pool of unknown depth, its bottom never sounded
- Locals wear distinctive clothing or jewelry
- Old watchtower
- Outdoor clock
- Well water acts as a healing draught for ill and injured livestock and mounts
- Copious flower gardens
- Ancient statue randomly bestows magical benefits to those who touch it
- Geothermal spring or vent
- Ancient shrine sometimes bestows good luck to those who meditate before it
- Raised walkways cross over difficult or dangerous terrain
- Trained animal messengers
- Colorful lanterns
- Beautiful fountain
- Ramshackle buildings
- Brightly painted buildings
- Outdoor gallery of statues
- Clockwork labor-saving devices
- Unusually large cemetery
- Well dispenses limited amounts of holy water
- Well-groomed parks
- Wild green space
- Several awakened animal residents
- Polluted well
- Extensive fishponds
- Colorful flags
- Tall spire
- Burgeoning local theater or music scene
- Tall spire
- Unusual-colored stone in buildings and field walls
- Proliferation of sign languages
- Carnivorous domesticated animals (bears, lions, and so forth)
- Glowing moss or flowers
- Shrine holding ancient bones
- Standing stones
- Ruins hold a magically floating altar
- Locals wear tokens of good luck
- Scattered statues are clearly petrified creatures
- Abundant birds
- Copious pleasant arthropods (butterflies, crickets, and so forth)
- Copious unpleasant arthropods (roaches, flies, and so forth)
- Freestanding arches
- Underground tunnels connecting buildings
- Mechanical lifts for ascending tall buildings or steep terrain
- Large heated communal pool
- Vines or trees bear fruit even in winter
- Life-sized statue of a dragon
- Local landscape sometimes yields up cut gemstones
- Old bell tower
- Superior local beer, wine, or spirits
- Rooming house is a secret thieves’ guild safehouse
- Elemental fire vent
- Stone disks are intermittently functioning teleportation portals
- Locals raise and competitively race dire animals
- Crystal geodes are common decorations
- Local oracle correctly predicts the future exactly half the time
- Communal barn has a large extradimensional space within
- Unseen creatures pilfer non-valuable items from those passing through
- Ancient giant-sized structures repurposed to humanoid size
- Protected by retired mercenaries
- Noticeably cooler or warmer than surrounding environs
- Fully lit up at night by swarms of fireflies
- Local wild flying mounts (griffons, hippogriffs, and so forth) will transport characters in exchange for delicacies
- Ancient shrine to a forgotten deity
- Settlement protected by local lycanthropes
- Fey creatures common in area
- Wind chimes on most buildings play soothing music
- Arched bridge doesn’t cross over any obvious obstacle or barrier
- Teleportation portal connects to another nearby settlement
- Grand statue magically takes on the visage of one random person in the settlement each midday
- Ancient lightning rod retains electrical energy from recent storms, arcs out to zap anyone engaging in violence
- Extensive and elaborate topiary
- Settlement is built partly underground in repurposed dungeon ruins
- Benevolent ghost of settlement founder watches over locals
- Large number of gamblers
- Proliferation of edible mushrooms
- One or more buildings are built on ancient stone foundations that float above the ground
- Roving floating glass orb allows anyone touching it to telepathically communicate with anyone else in the settlement
- Crumbling wall sends back unnaturally loud echoes
- Healing spa bestows temporary hit points
- Cheap alchemical reagents sourced from local bogs
- Glass obelisk retains the images of the last people to look into it
- Wild animals (bears, lions, eagles, and so forth) protect the settlement and patrol the outskirts
- Area of wild magic grants a one-time ability to cast a random cantrip
- Large magical sundial also tracks local weather for the next three days
- Earthbound or swimming wild animals can magically fly within a hundred paces of the settlement
- Built around the bones or skull of an ancient monster
- The sound of wind is heard even when the wind isn’t blowing
- Ancient shrine randomly summons low-threat creatures who serve nearby characters for 1 hour
- Harmless giant arthropods escort travelers into and out of the settlement
- Always shrouded in light fog
- Exceptional local cuisine or baked goods
- Natural scrying pool activates randomly once per month
- Huge boulder grants spider climb ability to anyone while climbing it
- Ancient pump dispenses limited amounts of lamp oil
- Unusually high number of local poets
- Visitors who eat local food learn one bit of secret lore
- Ruined library contains a magically shifting array of books
- Retired master smith repairs one nonmagical weapon, suit of armor, or shield at no cost in exchange for a promise to do good
- Awakened tree willingly serves as a children’s adventure playground