There is a lot of misunderstanding about European medieval settlements.

I think years of fantasy gaming has led people to believe in a more idealized way of life than existed in the 1300s-1500s. Real world advances and trappings and we think of in many fantasy games just didn’t exist as much back then. Who needs realism, anyway?

It’s not to say I’m totally tossing all semblance of reality out the window in this new world I’m building. I just want to temper what most Dungeons & Dragons players expect a town to be like with a somewhat more realistic approach in many places.

For example, there might not be a western style saloon with a sassy bartender and rooms up above for rent. There might not be a covered stable for the whole town. I don’t intend to have rows of shops including some place that peddles magic items. Instead, let’s look back at some things most medieval settlements would have realistically had.

Typically there was a manor house, where the local lord lived. In some cultures this might have been replaced by a lodge house which I’m not ruling out as an option for my game. Most of the people in the surrounding community served the local lord in some way.

Then there’s the church. This again will vary from one settlement to another in my campaign world. We all know I don’t really have plans for organized religion in my game. It might be more of a town hall or lodge. Basically the idea is to have some place for the local community to gather for a common cause.

Last there was the communal field or barn in some cases. The local community usually banded together to raise livestock, take care of crops, etc. In  some northern cultures individual farms were more common.

If you’re building a town on the fly, those three structures plus some sort of lodging is really all that is necessary. A blacksmith would be another common feature in a lot of settlements. I also usually include some sort of apothecary or town medicine person just out of kindness.

Most towns had some sort of law enforcement even if it was just a few of the men-at-arms from the local manor. Walled settlements were more uncommon in the real world. That’s probably going to carry over to my fantasy aspirations.

That’s it for today. We’ll talk more about critical NPCs next time.

Thank you for being here with me today. I appreciate you. Keep it real, but please strive for positivity, too. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy in your life.