Using the Map-A-Weeks

So I had an idea about using the various Map-A-Week posts and giving them a purpose outside of just...well, being a map. So far we have two villages, a 'typical dwelling', and a city. A small city, but still a city. And there's more tomorrow. Therefore, it's time to put these maps to use and...start building something vaguely resembling a campaign setting.

This is something I'll work on piecemeal between posts on the various products that come out. September is going to be a heavy month; there are eight separate products, including the Dungeon Master's Guide to cover. But I can do one map at a time, I think, and have enough to do something interesting. So, we'll start with the first Village map, which I shall repost here:

This map is identified as 'Village 1'. That's not much of a name, of course. Let's run up the trusty Fantasy Name Generator, and...Highwich sounds decent. It rolls off the tongue nicely, anyway. So, Highwich it is.

Okay, so I'm going to set this in a temperate zone, maybe a bit northward so we get more significant winters (arctic monsters are always fun). Highwich sounds pretty English, so I'm getting an Arthurian vibe here. Throw in some Celtic flavor, maybe some Germanic or Viking influence...yeah, that can work. It will be a bit of a mishmash, but that's what D&D is all about, isn't it?

So, there are twenty numbered locations on this map. And I can't help but notice that it's an enclosed area. At first I thought the border was a big rectangular wall until I saw that it is actually a frame with a canvas or deerskin surface stretched tight and tied on with sinews or something. But the village itself is indeed enclosed. That suggests a defensive necessity; humanoid raids, perhaps? Or other dangerous creatures in the nearby wilderness? I'm currently limited by what's in the Player's Handbook and the 2000 Survival Kit, as well as monsters from the "Dead of Winter" adventure. Oh, and the Pomarj creatures from Dragon 274. So there aren't a lot of options. I'm going to go with a few hostile tribes of goblins in the region. So this village is either an outpost or there's been an invasion and this village is now effectively on the borderlands. I'm going to go with outpost; the surrounding wall suggests that the entire place was built that way on purpose.

I said it's temperate, but that's not specific enough. Goblins can be located anywhere, so that doesn't restrict me. Let's put it in a hilly region; the map shows what looks like piles of boulders and rocks lying around the perimeter. They could also be bushes, maybe a combination of the two. I'll say no trees, though; if you're expecting to be raided, you don't want to block line of sight, so any trees would have been cut down.

Being in a hilly region means that stone will be the primary building material. If you look closely at the map, the walls in between the buildings are definitely showing a stony pattern. The buildings might be wooden, but I will say they are stone on the outer walls to make a stronger defense. There's no river on the map, but it's safe to assume the villagers have access to water, and it's not difficult to say there's a river just off the map to the right.

Okay, so let's start identifying these numbered areas. The Legend that accompanies the map is a useful tool for this, and I'll keep the descriptions as short as possible for now.

1. Main Gate. Guarded during the day and locked up tight at night.

2. Village Square. Summer festivals happen here, as do militia drills and mustering when raids are expected (or underway).

3. Mayor's House. The largest residence in the village, it doubles as a military headquarters.

4. Gardens. A community project to help ensure food is available during sieges.

5. Carpenter's Residence.

6. Head Gardener's Residence.

7. Mining Offices. If this village is in the hills, there's going to be mining. This is where the mine's owners and overseers do business.

8. Miner's Barracks. This is where the miners spend their non-working time.

9. Tanner's Residence.

10. Stonemason's Residence.

11. Weaver's Residence.

12. Wizard's Residence. Doubles as an alchemist.

13. Blacksmith.

14. Temple.

15. The Black Eagle Inn.

16. Guard Towers. Also the secondary entrance to the village.

17. Butcher's Residence.

18. Herbwife's Shop. Minor medicinal stuff.

19. Stables.

20. Covered Well. This will be very useful in case of siege or assault.

So, that's a quick outline. Obviously, this village won't be self-sufficient; farms are needed. Being in hilly terrain, there won't be a huge amount of farmland available, but a few outlying farms will certainly help with the food supply, both grains and meat. And assuming there is a forest not too far away, game will also be available (not to mention lumber when necessary).

So, Highwich has been around for a while, long enough to build up its defenses to hold off goblin raids. The occasional ogre joins the raids, which makes things more exciting, but thus far Highwich has maintained sufficient strength to fend off all comers. So far. The Mayor is a bit of a pudgy fellow who hasn't forgotten how to use his old sword, though he's slowing down in his elder years. He's a 4th-level fighter.

The village wizard is only 5th level, and the head of the local temple is a 5th-level cleric of Heironeous. I was looking for a more mining-oriented god who isn't Moradin or Garl Glittergold, but came up empty. Maybe the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer will provide a suitable option in November.

I think that will do for a start. Highwich isn't fleshed out all that much, but the essentials are there. It may provide a suitable home base for a temperate hill-based campaign. We shall see. Tomorrow, I'll cover the last August online releases and add another map to our campaign setting. Which, by the way, I shall call 'Tasiri'. Just because. Is it a country? A continent? The whole world? I don't know yet. But it's a different name than anything I've used before, so I'll go with it.