Town Types 01

Towns Transplanted, Part 1.

1. The village – small 200, medium 400, large 800 pop.

Often with no defenses and no standing guard force. Some were fortifies with walls, but most used location as protection, with only a few easy ways in / out. Most had extensive agricultural land around them. Depending on the culture and time period, some or all the men will have basic fighting skills. Only villages seriously worried about attacks will support a standing force, usually 10-30 men.
 

2A. The castle – usually with less than 50 pop living in it.

Most are guards and servants of the owner’s family. Some times a few skilled craftsmen or priests will also be in residence. Of course the castle can house a lot more people for short periods. A lot depends on the culture and time period.

Here we have a well fortified medieval castle - village.
Below is a Celtic hill-fort village with a castle at its center.

2B. The manor house – is a variant on the castle, with more people and comfort, but less defenses. We usually find them in the Renaissance. But a Roman villa is basically one too.
Here we have a linear undefended village and a manor house with basic defenses, not able to stand up to an army but good to protect from small raids.

2C. The fort – unlike the above, this represents a state military installation. It will usually be built to house 500-1000 troops, but will only have a garrison of 100 men, unless a war is going on. It will usually have workshops and storehouses.

Here we have a Roman fort, a big one this size may be considered a town more than a village. 

In Play.

As a game setting this small scale starting location, has some advantages and disadvantages, in terms of game play. It will not have a lot of industry or man power, however it will be very self sufficient. Most villages could supply all the essentials from the nearby area and needed trade only for luxury goods. However resource access may be a problem, assuming food, water and wood are at hand, what about iron and other minerals?

The GM should detail the village and castle, with basic info on who is who. The characters will know just about everything if it is their home. Nothing says they must be from the location, some or all of them could have been visiting when the transplant event happened. In terms of character activity, in a small place they will quickly be the big fish. If they prove capable of accomplishing tasks, they will likely be given more authority to set goals. However the established leader(s) will not usually surrender their power easily.

At extreme ends of organization / militarization we have; 1. A small peaceful village, never troubled by war in generations, that is run by an unofficial council of elders, who are basically democratic. Here the characters have a lot of freedom to do what they like. 2. A fort on the edge of the Empire, fully garrisoned and recently involved in war, ruled by a lord-commander who also holds absolute power over the local village that supplies food for the fort. Here the characters are confined by the military system, but also supported by it.

You can guess that the paths taken by these two communities will be very different. So would the play style of the game centered on one or the other. The village may simply struggle to survive and keep on with life as it has been. Maybe hiding or seeking aid from whom ever they can if the dangers and difficulties seem too great. The fort on the other hand, will likely behave as if still part of the empire, seeing any neighbor as an ally- to be controlled or enemy – to be eliminated. Its actions will depend a lot on the commander's personality, but will likely be planned tactical maneuvers.