In a well-constructed world the stories write themselves. Party has been traveling up and down the Great Northern Road pursuing leads but a recent vow of vengeance took them off the road and into the woods to the east - toward the mountains. There's another small village a week away. No trail connects them bacause south flowing rivers provided better passage. Snowtall. It's existence had been plotted and it's economy created but I needed to flesh it out. Nothing fancy. Nickel mining with an occasional peridot. Sable habitat nearby suitable for trapping. And goats. As the party approached the village the biome changed. More pine forest. And they climbed about 1,000 feet. Colder. Just enough different from where they've been to make it interesting. And goats. Chevon to the French. And all the differences it makes. Goat milk. Cheese.
Goat meat replaces pork on the menu. Cabbage and onions. Carrots when you can find them. Beer and vodka. Kefir for ceremonies. And then there's the neighboring town of Lireverc. It's a 9-10 day journey. But it sits in the lowlands. And they raise pigs. So over the years a trade has developed. In the fall the goat herders and the swineherds cull their animals and begin driving toward each other. Many a peasant and workman make the trip as well. For the boys it is a rite of passage, for they carry the heavy packs of salt and provisions. The drovers meet at a halfway point and the slaughter commences. Huge bonfires are lit with hogs and goats roasting for three days. The animals are skinned: the goats more carefully as their hide is more valuable. Amateur tanners set about their task. Then the butchers. Entire carcasses are prepared as are specific cuts. The salters prepare the meats for shipping. And after three days of slaughter, hard work, story-telling and passing the news each side packs up and heads home to prepare for the winter.
Our party missed this years slaughter by about three weeks. But they'll hear about it. Probably eventually pass the site of this years event. Might lead to an adventure. But regardless it makes the world real. And it wasn't some fanciful die-roll on a pre-generated "festival" table. It was what the world gave them.
I've been going back through some of your earlier posts that I hadn't read. This one I had, but neglected to comment on just how great it is. A really nice example of the kind of game I think is most engaging.
ReplyDeleteThx Sterling. Trying to learn from Alexis et al. That whole thang just lept from the spreadsheet/map. I don't use random encounters in town anymore. I play the village. Why are the players there? Why is the village there? Half my party engages with these, the other half follows but isn't quite sure how it "fits" because it isn't an obvious "adventure hook."
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