Settling the Issue of Settlements
How to make Interesting and Lively Settlements with accompanying articles.
I've read a lot of Settlement Articles. Over 600, to be slightly more precise. I don't regret it, but Over two years of Summer Camp Sponsorship has granted me with a unique perspective in what creates an interesting, well-established, and well-rounded settlement.
Building Your Settlement
What Purpose does this settlement serve in your World?
Who Lives Here?
A Settlement is nothing without its people. Consider carefully who is living in your settlement. Where did they come from? What backgrounds do they have? Are they Wealthy and influential, or refugees scraping to get by? Are they first-time settlers, or immigrants seeking a new life?Avoid having multi-race demographics unless your settlement is large enough to reasonably accomodate several distinct districts or boroughs. We here on earth are ONE race and we can't get along with each other, it's unreasonable to expect seven fantasy races to inhabit one city without racial profiling or discrimination. If your city does have multiple species living within it, consider both architectural needs that must be met for various species, and when each species started living in the city. Use real-life inspirations like Chinatown in [City of Choice] or The many districts of New York City.
I also reccomend avoiding specific numbers in terms of population unless your world has a regular census and/or that one odd guy in town that just likes counting people. Small details like this can make or break immersion and the 'beliveability' of your settlement.
Why Are They Here?
What attracted your original settlers to this spot? Usually this can be anything from a valuable, harvestable resource to simply having the water and fertile soil needed to support a permanent settlement. If it's an organization with a particular goal, what is that goal? What will they do once they have achieved it? As a rule, even if you do not reveal to your readers/players the source of the creepy noises in the well or Why No Ones Goes Past The Gate, You as the author/creator need to know. That's what notebooks and secrets are for. For your settlements built to explore a frontier or research something unknown, at least have an idea of what they are going to find. This gives you a framework to work off of for suprises and twists.
For the more established settlements, what attracts new people to the settlement? Alternatively, what external forces push or pull inhabitants to your town? Settlements are rarely built on deserted islands, and even those will be reaching out for contact with others. 'Isolated village that keeps to itself' is a type I saw Far more frequently than I wanted to. Who are they trading supplies with? What are they trading? Who are they at war with? Why? How do the inhabitants feel about the war?
Why Are They Still Here?
If the mines dry up, the town dies. The same goes for Farmlands in Famine and Gold Rush Towns without a source of Gold. What keeps a settlement alive long after it was originally established? For places that have come under siege, had forcible changes in power or are just unpleasant to live in, what keeps or prevents the inhabitants from uprooting and starting somewhere else? Speaking from experience, A small town whose one source of income dries up will often find another export or industy to specialize in. My hometown turned to ranching and logging after the gold mines mostly dried up. It's okay for smaller settlments or outposts to be dismantled or left abandoned, especially if the land is no longer habitable.
Time to Dig Deeper
Ready to start writing your article? Check out the article block below for Part II!
Awesome article! Thank you for giving a little more insight into writing proper settlements! PS: your authors notes have the same colour as the background, so it's not readable unless you select the text by dragging the cursor over it. ^^
Fixed it! Thank you for helping me find the problem!