Village & Town Generators In The Elder Wastes

Eldritch Age Setting Stuff So Far
Intro
Strange Wizard Missions
Remnants of Lost Empires
Races of the Monster Empire
Wizard Wars 1 Causes and forces
Wizard Wars 2 Encounters and links
Wizard Wars 3 Rumours and treasure

Barbarian clans & decor + races and men of the wastes

City State Generators
Research Methods of Bad Wizards
Spell Complainants for Bad Wizards

Defences suggested by JD from last post
Obviously the bigger the settlement the more of these they have
Its ok to have all of them in a big settlement

d10 Defences for Small Community
1 Trenches
2 Moat works
3 Wall ten foot high
4 Large Gate
5 Militia of all able bodied men
6 Everyone trained in slings 
7 Guard dogs
8 Guard geese
9 Watch tower
10 Signal fires to call help

d20 Defences for City
1 Trenches
2 Moat works
3 Wall twenty foot high with walkways
4 Mighty gatehouse
5 Militia of all able bodied men
6 Everyone trained in slings 
7 Archery corp
8 Chariot corp
9 Spear and phalanx corp
10 Heavy Infantry in armour
11 War hounds and guard dogs
12 Geese by all entrances
13 Mediated magic wielder
14 Fortified inner ward
15 Secret tunnels
16 Garrison
17 Armoury
18 Parade Ground
19 Watch towers
20 Fortress

The further from civilisation the more likely you will find non human villages and camps. Beastmen and cavemen are among the most common plus demi humans. I might need separate tables for them.

d12 Village Culture & Tech Types
1 Hunters and gatherers in hide tents*

2 Hunters and gatherers in temporary reed and brush shacks*

3 Hunters and gatherers in mud brick huts*

4 Nomads with woven tents and thorn fences for animals

5 Nomads with waggons and herds

6 Barbarians in woven reed shacks

7 Barbarians with wood and hide shacks

8 Barbarians with mud brick buildings

9 Barbarians in carved stone buildings

10 Civilised herders and farmers in mud brick houses and fences

11 Civilised traders outpost with smithy and market with brick defencive walls

12 Civilised military outpost with watch tower and fortifications

d10 Village Population
1 Roll d20 due to some recent tragedy
2 25

3 40

4 55

5 70

6 85

7 100

8 115

9 130

10 150

d10 Village Ruler
1 Assembly of elders

2 Shaman or priest

3 Leader appointed by assembly

4 Leader appointed by holy person

5 Hereditary leader

6 Biggest bully

7 Richest person 

8 Wisest person

9 Chosen by omens

10 Leader appointed by larger settlement

d12 Village Features
1 Good water supply with stream, spring or well

2 Quality granary with years storage

3 Locals have disciplined militia of fighting folk

4 Village has quality herd and a famous breeding beast

5 All locals expert slingers from children to elderly

6 A huge famous tree possibly fruit bearing

7 A quality spell caster lives in village (Lv d4+3)

8 Secret tunnels or caves under village

9 Impressive great hall for feasts and functions

10 Retired famous hero lives here anonymously
11 Attractive person with special skill seeks a mate
12 Famous local food or beverage

d12 Village Problems
1 Livestock going missing

2 A witch or cult operating in area

3 Barbarian raiders taking livestock and people

4 Someone dug up something best forgotten

5 Merchants have had problem getting through

6 Someone is plotting to take over
7 A greater powers is trying to sway the population to join them

8 Bandits in the area causing problems

9 Monster seen in area

10 Important materials are scarce and needed 

11 Important specialist is needed to keep village successful

12 Sickness has recently gripped the village but you should be ok

d12 Town Culture & Tech Types
1 Hunter Gatherers with woven reed shacks and a wooden wall

2 Hunter Gatherers with mud brick, wood and hide huts and brick wall

3 Hunter Gatherers with circular mud brick complex and buildings stacked on top

4 Nomads with wood and hide buildings with walled areas for tents, waggons and beasts

5 Barbarians in reed and wooden shacks with fences

6 Barbarians in mud brick shacks with crude mud and wooden walls

7 Barbarians in mud brick buildings with low brick walls 

8 Barbarians in stone shacks with crude walls

9 Barbarian with huge earth work hill fort, wooden buildings and earthen walls

10 Warlord or wizard fortress with stone walls and intact ancient structures*

11 Civilised outpost with wooden and plaster buildings with wooden walls

12 Civilised  satellite town of a great city with mud brick fortified walls

*These are mostly enemy settlements and dangerous to visit, many are strongholds from the monster empire or the age of necromancer kings. They are avoided by decent folk.

d10 Town Population

1 150

2 200

3 250

4 300

5 350

6 400

7 500

8 600

9 700

10 800

d10 Town Ruler
1 Assembly of elders
2 Important priest or shaman

3 Hereditary ruler

4 Ruler appointed by holy folk

5 Emergency military ruler selected at start of a crisis

6 Assembly of merchants

7 Emergency military leader did not retire

8 Governor placed by a greater power 

9 Crafty elder elected by assembly

10 Usurper despot who seized power

d12 Town Features
1 Great walls and a mighty gate

2 A full granary

3 A famous market place

4 A famous craft workshop

5 In impressive palace 

6 A Impressive temple

7 Well armed and equipped professional soldiers

8 A school headed by a renowned teacher

9 A protective spirit watches over the town

10 A impressive graveyard

11 Carved stone monuments of ancients common in area

12 Bardic school

d12 Town Problems
1 Feuds with another settlement over water rights and irrigation

2 Clan feud is tearing apart community

3 Someone has been moving and vandalising border stones

4 Raiders have been attacking and stealing livestock

5 Recovered from a siege but some damage still

6 Slave workers on a project escaped and have become bandits
7 A new senior priest or shaman or wizard is required 

8 A dangerous cult has emerged as responsible for crimes

9 Many witches were recently burned or drowned and everyone on the edge

10 Someone once important sold everyone out to local enemies out of spite

11 Terrible omens have rulers on edge

12 An evil wizard in region has been threatening peace

d6 Hunter Gatherer & Nomad Cults
1 Ancestor worship
2 Underworld spirits
3 Nature spirits
4 Celestial spirits
5 Beast cults
6 Elemental Cults

d20 Barbarian Cults
1 Ancestor worship
2 Underworld spirits
3 Nature spirits
6 Elemental Cults
7 Giants Cults
8 Dragon Cults
9 Demon Cults
10-19  Beast Cults
20 City Deity

d20 Warlord & Wizard Cults

Remnants of the lost empires of prehuman times and necromancer kings

Mostly hostile and evil trouble makers
1 Arachnid Cult of the nefarious Spider folk
2 Amphibian Cult of the croaking Frog folk
3 Ichthyoid Cult of the underwater Fish folk
4 Reptilian Cult of the cosmic Serpent
5 Cephalapod Cult of the vile Squid folk
6 Carrion Cult of the fiendish Vulture folk
7 Chiroptera Cult of the horrible Bat folk8 Cult of the Worm
9 Cult of the Insect
10-11 Elemental Cults
12 Giant Cults
13-14 Dragon Cults
15 Demons Cults
16 Devil Cults
17 Necromancer Kings
18-20 Wizard Cults

d20 Civilized Cults

1-14 City Deity
15-17 Elemental Cult
18 Demon Cult
19-20 Wizard Cult

Some Notes on technology & magic
Cities are literate, use bronze, have priests and gods who are city patrons
Wizards exist in even stone age culture and are the first literate peoples
Barbarians tend to shun writing, metal and wizards
Shamans are like priests but deal with spirits and are lower technology
Shamans in civilisation are refereed to as exorcist priests or mediums
Druids are uncommon but most common with non civilised peoples
Druids in civilisation might serve in sacred gardens or in rural areas
Thieves are civilised in other cultures they are scouts or unpopular
Most gods are connected to a city state as the patron
There are no pantheons yet but some gods are kin or married or allies
Loose confederations of allied cities may declare their gods are kin
Pantheons are a product of empires and mostly shunned

Gods Bondage and feeding your gods
When a city conquers another city it will take the vanquished idol of the god to their temple dungeon so the followers of that god pay tithes to the conquering cult. Such gods are well cared for and priests will attend them with offerings if the tithes are kept up. Sometimes the god will be set free if a deal is reached or the peoples become allies rather than subjects. Evil gods are kept in deepest dungeons and mistreated. Destroying such idols is considered shocking and extreme and best done with the blessing of a god. Shrine statues are smaller and more portable and have many copies but get lesser versions of this treatment. The rich will keep idols f themselves in prayer in a temple to gain favour of the gods. Many keep trinkets or even bones of their ancestors or families to prey to when away from home or when they need luck. The main gods temples have many shrines around them celebrating various children and kin of the gods and even their servants like gate keepers, lamp bearers and porters because they might put in a good word to their gods for you. Streets and even households have shrines. Most commoners have buried dead under their floors worshipped as ancestors and even consider the hearth a shrine. If you don't sacrifice to your gods and ancestors they get hungry and might seek food themselves or be forced to eat excrement in the gloomy underworld.