I have an awful lot of world building books and PDFs, primarily aimed at fantasy. Traveller of course has its own set of world building, from the basic building blocks built into the core rules as well as several expansions such as Grand Census. I'm slowly organizing the plethora of electronic sources into a single directory instead of scattered everywhere for my fantasy games, and then there was a black Friday sale at Nord for Sensational Settlements. Apparently I did not follow the Kickstarter from 2 years ago, but at 40% off for both the hardback and the PDF, I was sold.
I figure there needs to be a trading post of sorts at the south end of the path the characters are traversing. It meets up with the Eastern Ocean Trade Route, and is also the intersection to the city of Tuvano, the published adventure that I've been dropping a few hints on (and need to possibly drop some more into the Lamia's Labyrinth adventure I am so slowly play testing for the day we do get to play again).
There is a brief review of the contents at the end: I've never done a review before and not sure I want to go down that route. But I am certain if you search you can find reviews of Nord Games books much better than mine. My review is more of a let's go through the process and see what happens.
Windemere Crossing
Situated at the south end of the Path of Lost Hopes where it ends at the East Ocean Trade Route, Windemere Crossing is built up out of the remains of what was once a military outpost of Tuvano. The remains of a road still head south into the mountains to the dead city, but the majority of traffic is heading east or west along the ancient trade route.
Origin
Windemere is built on the bones of an ancient military outpost, and boasts a wall that is mostly still standing around the core of the trading post. There have been a few buildings added outside the walls, most noticeably Durdro's Tannery, run by the Tanner's Guild and providing an interesting set of smells to the outpost.
Specialty
Known for its hospitality, the Nimble Priest Inn is a welcome sight to many travelers. Maintained by the acolytes of the Fair Lady, the inn charges reasonable rates, with a steep discount to fellow clerics and adherents of the faith. The Silver Pirate Tavern, run by a band of half-Elves thought to be pirates who have moved far inland, provides exceptional fare and drink.
Age
Windemere has only come into its current form in the last year or so. While the buildings have existed for hundreds of years, it was only in the last few months that a concerted effort was made to make this into a more bona fide trading post. The reason behind that is in recent history, a criminal element has taken over. Rumors abound about the half Elves being the true power behind Windemere, and deals brokered to continue their grip on the community.
Condition
The trading post is in good condition: the original outpost was well made and withstood the passage of the centuries with little wear. The roads in the outpost were recently cobbled, providing better drainage for the few rains Windemere Crossing receives.
Crowds
Being on the East Ocean Trade Route, there is a fair amount of traffic in the east/west directions. Caravans and traders show up every few days, and rest a day or two and reprovision. Lurbuk and his family, the only Orcs in town, have a good stable and can provide mounts for a variety of purposes and people. They also take in and care for animals, his eldest daughter being a vet.
Size
This is a larger trading post than the population really supports. There are over 70 buildings, the majority being inside the 8 foot walls. However, several of the buildings are unoccupied or abandoned.
Community
Going to combine the resident population, demographics, disposition together here.
Windemere is sparsely populated: several buildings are not being used. When the pirates moved in, a few businesses also left, either from fear or from losing any power they may have had. Some may have been removed more forcibly. While move than half of the population are human, half Elves make up a sizable portion as well. The original group that built up the Silver Pirate Tavern seem to have more employees than would be warranted by the tavern itself. There is a smattering of other races who either live in Windemere or nearby. The residents are neutral towards newcomers, appearing a bit stand-offish. Once you get to know them, though, they are more open hearted. Frequent visitors are warmly greeted.
Combining Law Enforcement, Leadership, Crime and Population Wealth
Windemere Crossing has a small local watch, consisting of the sheriff, Ira Sprigbasher and his deputy Ellis Newtonson. Though the titular sheriff, he reports to Nomehi Wirididae, the former pirate captain now in charge of the Silver Pirate. The pirates have moved from the open seas to this trading post and have ousted the previous ineffectual leaders through various means. To the average visitor this would not be apparent as the trading post is run like most other trading posts: stores and services are there to help travelers as well as create some profit for themselves. It is just that a bit of everyone's profit goes to the half Elves. Despite that, there is no abject poverty: Windemere Crossing is about average in terms of the population's wealth.
Crime does exist in Windemere, with the occasional theft or tavern brawl. When necessary, Sheriff Sprigbasher can round up a watch to aid him, either in breaking up a fight or pursuing a thief.
Points of Interest
Shops
There are 14 shops available in Windemere Crossing. The general store is a good store, run by Jesp Zrag. See this post for the Zrag Goblin family of traders. The store is well stocked for the average trader, but may have some specialty items. Additionally there are 2 tanneries, a magic shop that specializes in clothing, a second general store in much worse shape than Jesp's store, a butcher, tailor, herbalist, two smithies, textile production, herbalist, rare libations, a banking exchange and a wainwright.
Services
There are 9 services, ranging from the Silver Pirate to Lurbuk's stables. A tavern, hiring hall, soothsayer, doctor, a house of leisure (and this house may vary based on who is going through the town: the father and his two boys will have a different house of leisure than my other gaming group!), the bath house and a barber.
There is no specific place of worship, though the Nimble Priest Inn is run by acolytes and clerics, and there is a small sanctuary in the back. It is not unknown for some locations to have small sanctuaries or alters to whatever deity they may follow, but there is no central place.
Extra Intrigue
As previously mentioned, the trade post has been taken over by the half Elf pirates. There is tension in the air as the neighboring kingdoms seem on the brink of war. There are the occasional trouble makers that the town watch can usually take care of. An occasional raid happens, though it was more than six months ago since the last one from a band of Ogres from the west.
Quick Review of Spectacular Settlements
So I really like it so far, having rolled up just one trading post. Now I need to use the Remarkable Inns and Remarkable Shops to expand out on the inn, shops and wares available. And I need to make a map to practice at that some more.
As per the Remarkable books, there are examples of each of the types of settlements you can create. And as per those books, they make clear that these are for inspiration: don't like what you rolled, feel free to re-roll or pick what you need. However, just like the Traveller odd worlds you can generate, part of the fun is figuring out how to make the oddities fit together. And those are some game mechanics that really help me. Part of the reason I really like Traveller, other than being a good SF game: the classic character generation can give you characters you never would have thought of. For those who have an idea in mind it is horrible, but if you let the dice roll and go from there, you can have something you may never have thought of.
And that's what happened here in Windemere's Crossing: some of the rolls were interesting, and after I rolled on another random table from a different book for the tavern name (Silver Pirate), and another table for who the 40% population was (the half Elves), and the recent history roll of being taken over by a criminal element, I had my half Elf pirates :) And the fact that it ended up being built on the remains of a military outpost helped me to link it to Tuvano for an as yet to be run Fantasy Trip adventure. Now to re-read that adventure to see if I can add hints about that city to my new trade post and the adventure I am so slowly play testing.
The other settlement types that can be built are trading posts, villages, towns, cities, capitols and fortresses. There are random tables for a variety of things such as names, rumors, and encounters as well as a bunch of "useful" tables that I have to poke through more. I printed off the work sheet for the trading post, and it makes for a nice summary as you go through the various tables. I'll be adding that to my notebook (yay hole punch things!) as I am slowly getting more organized for gaming. Very slowly... The sheets are easy to work with and will be a good aid when running the game as 2 pages covers the majority of what most players probably want to know. There is also room for a lot of potential game hooks.
From my one run through with Windemere Crossing Trade Post, I have to say it is another good resource to help produce settlements that are not going to be cookie cutter copies. I am hoping the physical book is well made: the Remarkable series are physically great books, a pleasure to hold and read. Here is hoping that book is the same.
If anyone wants me to do longer and more in-depth reviews, let me know. I just figure there are enough sites out there that do this already, and while I've been gaming since the 70s, there are some decade+ long gaps in there so I missed out on a lot.
So sometime soon (4 day weekend - yay!) I'll try and do a map and expand out on the Nimble Priest and a few of the shops and NPCs in town.
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