This is the second entry in the 69 Villages project. The last one took about an hour to create, but that’s because of newness and some configuration issues.1After two passes at this, it’s clear that the bulk of the time is taken with consulting the various random tables. Consolidating these sources will speed things up, and I’ll post whatever I come up with. While I agree with Sade when she says, “It’s never as good as the first time,” let’s see if we can’t capture the magic again, yeah?
Overview
Coldwick (Population 250; Lawful)
Nobles: 8 [4 in ruling house; 4 in second house]
Officers: 4 [Indifferent law enforcement]
Clergy: 2 [lesser priests]
Freeholders: 24 [1 butcher, 1 chandler, 1 charcoaler, 2 cobblers, 1 entertainer, 1 forester, 2 furriers, 1 mason, 1 metalsmith, 2 millers, 1 ostler, 1 physician, 1 potter, 1 ropemaker, 2 tailors, 1 tanner, 1 tavern, 1 vintner, 1 weaver, 1 woodcrafter]
Citizens: 211 [1 hireling]
Buildings: 56 [1 mansion, 1 church, 30 businesses, 24 homes]
Spending Limit: 15.91gp (2.11gp + 2.8gp + 11gp)
Crime Rate: 1d6 [each result of “1” indicates a crime; PCs are victims if the 1d6 roll exceeds combined party level]
Ruling House
Coldwick is ruled by Barnard Rudhale, an old but subtle man (AL L) of marginal influence, despite his family’s appreciable holdings (12 five-mile hexes). Rudhale’s primary goal is to increase his territory, but his clan’s small size makes this difficult. The solution may take the form of Julian Dunham, a young and arrogant son of the rich Dunham family, merchants in the capital.
Julian (AL N) is eager to exploit his family’s wilderness holdings (whose 30 five-mile hexes just happen to abut Coldwick’s borders), though he has scant influence or the means to do so. Rudhale has agreed to marry off his daughter to Julian, essentially to merge their holdings, increase Coldwick’s sphere, and forge a lucrative alliance with the Dunham family.
Dunham sees the marriage as a means to an end, which is to build a commercial settlement that absorbs Coldwick with routes straight back to the capital. He’s moved to Coldwick with his brother and two houseguards to begin the surveying process. Unfortunately, Dunham is short of manpower—all he has is land, which may or may not suit his purpose. Rudhald, on the other hand, is sure that it will, and while he also sees a great trading centre, he plans to be at the helm, ensuring that anything Dunham produces in the wilderness goes through Coldwick first.
Background
Coldwick has steadily grown under the Rudhale family; with the pending marriage to the Dunham’s the territory will more than triple in size. The people here are tolerant of outsiders, and adventurers are welcome in the aid of clearing the surrounding wilderness, not only of dangerous predators, but also to pave the way for cropland and pasture.
Naturally, there is a black spot: Dunham is planning to capture and indenture travellers to create a labour force to clear his wilderness. He won’t touch Coldwick’s villagers for fear of arousing suspicion, but traders, pilgrims, mercenaries, and (of course) adventurers) are all fair game.