I want to create a village called Samhain in my game. Samhain was originally little more than a collection of forest hamlets, that banded together to help each other survive and fend off an attack by the beasts of the forest, and the wild elves that made the forest their home. Over time the cooperation between the hamlets became official, makeshift palisades became more permanent, and more expansive until they surrounded all the hamlets with a singular defensive construction, maintained and constantly manned, twenty-four hours a day, year-round.
The palisades and the forests environment meant that the residents lived in almost perpetual twilight. So they unofficially called their home, Samhain, as it reminded them of bleak midwinter. In 1449 DR, Samhain was officially recognised as a village during the first-ever census of the population, of the Kingdom of Eredluin; with those who resided there putting on the census that they lived in the Village of Samhain.
Although Samhain is officially part of the Kingdom of Eredluin, it is such a remote outpost that few people travel there or even know of its existence, and they are so far from the kingdoms capital city, that they are largely self-governing. The village is ruled by a village council, known as The Clave. The Clave control everything that happens in the village, from hunting and food production to the maintenance and manning of the palisade, to trade with outsiders and the payment of taxes, which are collected once a year by a Sherif, and his forces, who travel around the entire Kingdom of Eredluin, on a continual cycle, ensuring that everyone in the Kingdom pays their dues. The current head of The Clave is a man called Nehemiah Hadi. Unlike his predecessors, Nehemiah has been pushing for more openness and acceptance of outsiders, believing that Samhain would benefit greatly from an alliance, with their closest neighbours - the wild elves who share their forest home, as well as more permanent and better-established trade routes with the rest of the kingdom.
Nehemiah has few followers as fear, isolation and self-reliance is all the people of Samhain have ever known. The only reason that The Clave has not moved against Nehemiah is because of his bloodline. Nehemiah is born of Dragons; the descendant of a Green Dragon. Although Nehemiah is nothing like his draconic ancestor and is many generations removed from them, The Clave are still afraid of him, and the destruction that in their minds, he could bring down upon them if they should fail to remove him from power and so, for now, they placate him. Agreeing to small token changes, while trying desperately to hold off the ambitions of a man, that to them, wants to destroy their way of life utterly and completely.
For his part, Nehemiah only wants to serve the people and believes he can best do that by establishing a truce and forming an alliance with the wild elves, and opening-up Samhain to more frequent, consistent and safer trade with the rest of the kingdom. Nehemiah Hadi, you see, is a man who possesses the gift of prophecy, and what he sees in his peoples future, if they do not change, terrifies him. Nehemiah doesn't know that his prophecies tie into the campaign's overarching themes and that it is not just his people or the Village of Samhain that is in danger; it is the entire world.
So, I hope that I can use the Village of Samhain, to create an interesting little detour for my plays to enjoy, as part of a one-shot, while still tieing into the world and the more expansive campaign.
Does all of this sound too bizarre, though? I would love to hear what you, as fellow Dungeon Masters, world builders, and even players think of these ideas.
The Clave is already falling apart. How can they stop farmer Brown from growing mint and purple hull beans in far corner of his acre?
Change the tax collection from yearly to quarterly because even with your tax base being 5 hamlets, you don’t have enough currency for lump sum payment. (Anybody want to guess who is getting their paper work together?)
Is there a palisade around the village or the former hamlets?
Forever twilight will change the food production. What are some the crops? Can I get some hard numbers on the population? What % of population is adventuring or NPC classes?
So, if the Clave is so afraid of dragonboy, why would they allow him to lead them? If it is because they're afraid of him, what is there to stop him from doing what he wants anyway? If they're not afraid of him, why do they let him get away with things? I dunno. The whole thing just seems contradictory and convoluted for no reason.
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Hi,
I want to create a village called Samhain in my game. Samhain was originally little more than a collection of forest hamlets, that banded together to help each other survive and fend off an attack by the beasts of the forest, and the wild elves that made the forest their home. Over time the cooperation between the hamlets became official, makeshift palisades became more permanent, and more expansive until they surrounded all the hamlets with a singular defensive construction, maintained and constantly manned, twenty-four hours a day, year-round.
The palisades and the forests environment meant that the residents lived in almost perpetual twilight. So they unofficially called their home, Samhain, as it reminded them of bleak midwinter. In 1449 DR, Samhain was officially recognised as a village during the first-ever census of the population, of the Kingdom of Eredluin; with those who resided there putting on the census that they lived in the Village of Samhain.
Although Samhain is officially part of the Kingdom of Eredluin, it is such a remote outpost that few people travel there or even know of its existence, and they are so far from the kingdoms capital city, that they are largely self-governing. The village is ruled by a village council, known as The Clave. The Clave control everything that happens in the village, from hunting and food production to the maintenance and manning of the palisade, to trade with outsiders and the payment of taxes, which are collected once a year by a Sherif, and his forces, who travel around the entire Kingdom of Eredluin, on a continual cycle, ensuring that everyone in the Kingdom pays their dues. The current head of The Clave is a man called Nehemiah Hadi. Unlike his predecessors, Nehemiah has been pushing for more openness and acceptance of outsiders, believing that Samhain would benefit greatly from an alliance, with their closest neighbours - the wild elves who share their forest home, as well as more permanent and better-established trade routes with the rest of the kingdom.
Nehemiah has few followers as fear, isolation and self-reliance is all the people of Samhain have ever known. The only reason that The Clave has not moved against Nehemiah is because of his bloodline. Nehemiah is born of Dragons; the descendant of a Green Dragon. Although Nehemiah is nothing like his draconic ancestor and is many generations removed from them, The Clave are still afraid of him, and the destruction that in their minds, he could bring down upon them if they should fail to remove him from power and so, for now, they placate him. Agreeing to small token changes, while trying desperately to hold off the ambitions of a man, that to them, wants to destroy their way of life utterly and completely.
For his part, Nehemiah only wants to serve the people and believes he can best do that by establishing a truce and forming an alliance with the wild elves, and opening-up Samhain to more frequent, consistent and safer trade with the rest of the kingdom. Nehemiah Hadi, you see, is a man who possesses the gift of prophecy, and what he sees in his peoples future, if they do not change, terrifies him. Nehemiah doesn't know that his prophecies tie into the campaign's overarching themes and that it is not just his people or the Village of Samhain that is in danger; it is the entire world.
So, I hope that I can use the Village of Samhain, to create an interesting little detour for my plays to enjoy, as part of a one-shot, while still tieing into the world and the more expansive campaign.
Does all of this sound too bizarre, though? I would love to hear what you, as fellow Dungeon Masters, world builders, and even players think of these ideas.
Thanks,
Forge XD.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Sounds pretty cool
One question, did you remember to leave a bowl of milk out for the cait sìth?
The Clave is already falling apart. How can they stop farmer Brown from growing mint and purple hull beans in far corner of his acre?
Change the tax collection from yearly to quarterly because even with your tax base being 5 hamlets, you don’t have enough currency for lump sum payment. (Anybody want to guess who is getting their paper work together?)
Is there a palisade around the village or the former hamlets?
Forever twilight will change the food production. What are some the crops? Can I get some hard numbers on the population? What % of population is adventuring or NPC classes?
Story wise I have no major problems.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
So, if the Clave is so afraid of dragonboy, why would they allow him to lead them? If it is because they're afraid of him, what is there to stop him from doing what he wants anyway? If they're not afraid of him, why do they let him get away with things? I dunno. The whole thing just seems contradictory and convoluted for no reason.