TEXT: Creating quasi-realistic populations for your low-fantasy Chimera campaign
  Low Fantasy Population Generator
  Acknowledgements.....................................................................2
  Sources.....................................................................................2
  Introduction...............................................................................3
  Regional Area and Populations...................................................3
  Inputs............................................................................................3
  Regional Results..............................................................................4
  Settlement Size and Populations.................................................7
  Inputs............................................................................................7
  Settlement Results...........................................................................7
  Freeholders..............................................................................10
  Chimera RPG Conventions........................................................14
  Settlement Overview......................................................................14
  The Village of Lydon.....................................................................15
  - 1 -
  CREATING QUASI-REALISTIC
  POPULATIONS FOR YOUR LOW-
  FANTASY CHIMERA CAMPAIGN
  Version 2.0.2 (20 November 2006)
  Copyright © 2006 The Welsh Piper LLC. All
  rights reserved. 
  The Chimera Roleplaying GameTM and The
  Chimera RPG logo are trademarks owned by
  The Welsh Piper LLC.
  No part of this book may be reproduced or
  transmitted in any form or by any means,
  electronic or mechanical, including photo-
  copying, recording, or computerisation, or by
  any information storage and retrieval system,
  without permission in writing from the pub-
  lisher, The Welsh Piper LLC.
  CREDITS
  Author: Erin D. Smale
  Artwork: Nova Development Corporation
  Project Control: Peer Pressure
  ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
  The Welsh Piper is located online at 
  welshpiper.com.
  This article is reproduced in electronic format
  at: welshpiper.com/node/66.
  Direct access to the Low Fantasy Population
  Generator online tool is available at:
  welshpiper.com/node/46.
  An offline version of this tool is available at:
  welshpiper.com/files/lowfantasypop.zip.
  CORE RULES CITATIONS
  All Core Rules (CR) citations refer to the ver-
  sion 1.2 PDF. If you don't already play Chi-
  mera, check out welshpiper.com/chimera.
  You will feel better about yourself, your life,
  and your game.
  DEDICATION
  No one in particular—just the good folks on
  the Yahoo! Groups CC2-l list, who have al-
  ways been willing to answer my questions and
  review my work (and politely suggest im-
  provements). Thanks to you all.
  
  Acknowledgements
  Acknowledgements
  This document is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License, located online at:
  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/.
  S. John Ross, whose work on Medieval Demographics Made Easy (http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm) has
  made it possible to create realistic populations for low-fantasy campaigns throughout RPG-dom. Without question, this is
  one of the most valuable RPG tools on the planet. Really.
  Brandon Blackmoor, whose development of The Domesday Book (http://www.rpglibrary.org/utils/meddemog/)
  served as the code base for The Low-fantasy Population Generator. It's refreshing to see how shared ideas and efforts
  make the global RPG community a better place.
  Sources
  Blackmoor, Brandon. “The Domesday Book.” RPG Library. 2005. Brandon Blackmoor. 9 Jun. 2002
  <http://www.rpglibrary.org/utils/meddemog/>.
  “Castle.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Nov 2006, 12:41 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Nov 2006
  <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Castle&oldid=86479637>.
  “Free Imperial City.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Sep 2006, 10:50 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 Nov
  2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_Imperial_City&oldid=78666401>.
  Howarth, David. “1066: The Year of the Conquest.” New York, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1977.
  McEvedy, Colin. “The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History.” Penguin Books, 1992.
  “Medieval university.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Sep 2006, 13:25 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Oct
  2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medieval_university&oldid=74711077>.
  Ross, S. John. “Medieval Demographics Made Easy.” The Blue Room. 2006. Cumberland Games. 27 Apr. 2006
  <http://www.io.com/~sjohn/demog.htm>.
  Norman, A.V.B. “The Medieval Soldier.” New York, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1971.
  Steele, Lisa J. “Fief: A Look at Medieval Society from its Lower Rungs.” Austin, Texas: Cumberland Games & Diver-
  sions, 2001. <http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/fief.htm>
  “Village.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Oct 2006, 18:00 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Oct 2006
  <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Village&oldid=80451060>.
  - 2 -
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  The so-called  “swords and sorcery” genre has long
  been divided into the high-fantasy and low-fantasy variet-
  ies.  Both  are  characterised  by  medieval trappings,  but
  high-fantasy—rife with magic, wizards, evil high priests,
  fantastic monsters, loads of treasure, and wondrous arte-
  facts—takes  a  more  “swashbuckling”  approach  to  the
  genre. High-fantasy settings ignore a certain amount of
  realism, but given the prevalence of magic, this is under-
  standable: GMs of high-fantasy campaigns can safely as-
  sume that  magic,  in  some form,  compensates for the
  mundane drudgery of everyday life.
  By contrast, low-fantasy settings downplay magic and
  promote real-world,  quasi-historical qualities: literacy (or
  lack thereof), the amount of land required to feed popula-
  tions, the ability of armed adventurers to roam unchal-
  lenged across the countryside, and the rarity of minted
  coins in  treasure  hoards  for  example.  Wizards,  magic
  items, enchanted creatures, and legendary treasures do ex-
  ist, but their frequency is tempered by a sense of “realism”
  not found (or necessary) in high-fantasy campaigns.
  This article is not intended to promote the merits of
  one flavour of fantasy over another, and we recognise that
  high- and low- varieties each require different approaches
  to create a particular style of  play.  Instead,  this piece
  provides some realistic values for use in populating fantasy
  settings; we use the term “low-fantasy” only to indicate the
  Generator's foundation on the historical record, where (os-
  tensibly) high-fantasy magic is ignored. (The population
  figures used  here were  gleaned  from  Medieval  Demo-
  graphics Made Easy, by S. John Ross. While I've not inde-
  pendently corroborated Ross' findings, familiarity with his
  bibliography  compels  me  to  believe  that  the  values
  provided are certainly reasonable for RPG purposes.) That
  said, the Low-fantasy Population Generator is useful for
  any “Middle Ages” milieu, as long as the reader accepts
  the relative emphasis it places on real-world grit over the
  fantastic.
  As a final note, we've taken liberties for the conveni-
  ence of game masters. For example, we've established a
  neat  correlation  between  knights,  villages,  and  manor
  houses; barons, towns, and keeps; and earls, cities, and
  castles. While these are helpful and quasi-realistic group-
  ings, they're not 100% historically accurate. Correlations
  like this make it easier to populate RPG kingdoms and set-
  tlements, but the reader is warned against repeating them
  on his Medieval Studies term paper. Instead, take what we
  offer for what it is—an RPG tool to facilitate campaign de-
  velopment. If you want more accurate information, please
  consult our sources (noted on page 2, above). 
  Regional Area and Populations
  The Low-fantasy Population Generator (aka the “Gen-
  erator”) serves two functions: (1) to populate entire re-
  gions with settlements, and (2) to populate individual set-
  tlements with  people. This is a good, “drill-down” ap-
  proach that requires very little input from you. Start the
  process by grabbing a map of your campaign and identify-
  ing kingdoms and other distinct regions; with minimal in-
  put, you can populate each area with reasonable figures.
  Inputs
  The Generator takes four values to populate a given re-
  gion:
  ➢ Region Name: The kingdom or region's name 
  ➢ Population Density: The area's average population per
  square mile 
  ➢ Physical Area: The area's size in square miles 
  ➢ Region's Age: The number of years the area's been in-
  habited 
  REGION NAME
  The area's name, or what the kingdom or region is
  commonly called. This is more for your benefit (if, for ex-
  ample, you want to print the Generator's output). The re-
  gion's name is not used in any of the Generator's calcula-
  tions.
  POPULATION DENSITY
  Select the option that best describes the kingdom or re-
  gion's  average population  density,  or  the  number  of
  people who live in a square mile (640 acres). Because this
  value indicates  the average  across  the  entire area,  be
  aware that some locales may have more or fewer people
  per square mile than the figure you select.
  Population density relies heavily on land quality, or the
  ability of the area to sustain settlements. In most cases,
  this  means food—whether  grown  or  hunted—but  land
  quality can also refer to valuable trade goods, abundant
  raw materials, or excellent natural defences. In all cases,
  the better suited the land is to growing crops, yielding re-
  sources, providing access, and supporting commerce, the
  higher the population density.
  The Generator provides a general description of land
  - 3 -
  
  Regional Area and Populations
  characteristics or temperature for each population density
  figure. For example, a population density of “40” is con-
  sidered “Rocky, Chilly.” This means that the land is either
  dominated by broken wasteland, crags, and rocky soil, or
  that the climate is, on average, chilly, with limited growing
  seasons or viable crop options. Either, or both, of these
  conditions limit population density to about 40 per square
  mile.
  However, you do not have to interpret these descrip-
  tions literally. A value of “20,” for example, is described as
  “Barren, Cold.” Ordinarily, this indicates a relative waste-
  land or a climate with temperatures too low to include
  much of a growing season. However, it could also describe
  a region just recently settled—barren implies little growth,
  and a kingdom's frontier, for example, would have less cul-
  tivated acreage than its heartland. In this case, “barren”
  doesn't mean crops won't grow, just that crops aren't be-
  ing grown. With that in mind, feel free to take some creat-
  ive license when assigning population density.
  PHYSICAL AREA
  This is the kingdom or region's size in square miles.
  The figure represents all the land within the region's bor-
  ders, regardless of terrain. Depending on how your cam-
  paign map is rendered, there are different ways to determ-
  ine area:
  ➢ Area equals length times width, so if you want a fast
  (but  inaccurate)  figure,  just  multiply  the  region's
  east/west dimensions by its north/south dimensions. 
  ➢ If your map has a square grid, count the number of
  squares in the region and multiply the result by the
  area of each square. This grants a more accurate figure
  than the method above. 
  ➢ If your map has a hex grid, count the number of hexes
  in the region and multiply the result by the area of
  each hex. You can figure out a hex's area if you know
  how many miles the hex measures from side-to-side: 
  •
  Length of a side (D = distance between  parallel
  sides): s = D / 1.732 
  •
  Length of a side (D = distance between “corners”):
  s = D / 2 
  •
  Area (A) = 2.598 * s2 
  ➢ Some cartography softwares provide a function to cal-
  culate  area;  for  example,  Campaign  Cartographer's
  AREA command gives you the area of a region selec-
  ted with the mouse 
  ➢ If your map scale is metric, remember that one mile
  equals 0.621 kilometres. 
  REGION'S AGE
  This is how long the kingdom or region's been settled,
  in years. The Generator uses this value to determine how
  many fortifications, active and ruined, are within the re-
  gion. Another way of interpreting this input is to ask your-
  self, “How long has the area been settled by a fortification-
  building culture?”
  Regional Results
  After supplying the generator with population density,
  size, and age, you get a whole host of population data:
  ➢ Regional Area: A division of arable and non-arable land
  ➢ Regional Population and Distribution: The number of
  inhabitants and settlement distribution 
  ➢ Universities  and  Fortifications:  The  number  of  uni-
  versities and fortress distribution 
  REGIONAL AREA
  This is the kingdom or region's size in square miles and
  acres (if you need to know such things). Based on the pop-
  ulation density figure selected, the Generator decides how
  much of the region is arable and how much is wilderness
  (also provided in square miles and acres). 
  Arable land is suitable for settlements and may or may
  not be currently cultivated (or even occupied). Wilderness
  is a catch-all for terrain that doesn't support agriculture
  (forest,  marsh,  heath,  swamp,  moor,  hills,  scrubland,
  mountains, desert, tundra, et al.) though some  might be
  converted to farmland if sufficient manpower, technology,
  and finances were applied.
  REGIONAL POPULATION AND DISTRIBUTION
  Population is the product of region area and popula-
  tion density. Based on these factors, the Generator distrib-
  utes people across the region in villages, towns, and cities.
  The total number and overall population of each settle-
  ment type is shown, and the average population for each
  village, town, and city is provided for convenience.
  ➢ Isolated:  Itinerant  individuals  or  those  living  in
  homesteads outside settled areas. Isolated folk include
  hermits, wanderers, exiles, outlaws, and the odd family
  who tries to forge its own way in the wilderness. Life is
  hard for the isolated: not only do they lack the re-
  sources and safety offered by an organised settlement,
  but unless they can demonstrate that some community
  or lord vouches for them, they'll be marked as outlaws
  (regardless of their actual intentions or disposition). 
  ➢ Villages: A village, hamlet, or thorp numbers between
  10 and 1,000 people. Most are devoted to agriculture,
  though some gain an income from mining, timbering,
  or extracting some other resource. Village leadership
  can take the form of a local council, though a local lord
  (typically a baronet or knight) holds the village in fief.
  Local lords typically dwell in a manor house (typically
  of timber, fortified if the lord is wealthy). 
  ➢ Towns: A community between 1,000 and 5,000 in-
  habitants. Towns rely less on agriculture and more on
  - 4 -
  
  Regional Area and Populations
  production and trade. Craftsmen, artisans, guildsmen,
  and freeholders of all trades congregate in towns, pool-
  ing  resources,  employing  labourers,  providing  trade
  education, and boosting the local economy. These be-
  nefits result from a relative independence from farm-
  ing: people have more time to pursue other advances
  when they buy their food instead of grow it. Towns are
  usually protected by a tower or keep occupied by a vis-
  count or baron who holds the town in fief. Few towns
  are walled. 
  ➢ Cities: Populations of 5,000 to 30,000 people make
  up a city. The commercial advantages of towns are
  magnified in cities. In addition to the concentration of
  freeholders, cities support other amenities possible only
  where part of the population can spend time doing
  things  other than  cultivating  food or  crafting trade
  goods. Thus, cities contain libraries and universities,
  diplomatic quarters, parks, bath houses, theatres, and
  other non-essentials. As a by-product, cities are more
  prone to guild politics, (semi) organised crime, and oth-
  er intrigues. Cities are typically held in fief by a “lord
  mayor” who probably shares the burden of leadership
  with  a council composed of guildsmen, political ad-
  visors,  and  (rarely)  a  representative  or  two  of  the
  clergy; directly or indirectly, this body is vassal to the
  local earl, who rules from a nearby castle. 
  ➢ Big Cities: Settlements with populations greater than
  30,000  are  extremely  rare  and  occur  in  only  the
  largest regions of ideal land—there may be only one or
  two metropolises on a single sub-continent. Such are
  governed much the same way as smaller cities, though
  the levels of bureaucracy are deeper. Big cities are al-
  most invariably walled, and the local liege (typically an
  earl, but possibly the king or emperor) dwells in a castle
  or fortified palace compound. 
  The Generator also provides a rough distance between
  settlements of each type. This helps you place communit-
  ies logically throughout your region—settlements too close
  together compete for resources, while settlements too far
  apart  become isolated and risk reverting to wilderness.
  Use these figures as guidelines, and place cities on your re-
  gional map before towns; it's unlikely that you'll want (or
  be able) to show villages on a large-scale map, as they will
  be too numerous to render clearly.
  Free Cities
  A city might be “free,” having secured a charter from
  the king (or the ranking ruler of the realm) to conduct its
  own affairs and provide certain resources in exchange for
  autonomy. 
  Officially, a free city was outside the jurisdiction of the
  king, and so could establish laws, field troops, pursue dip-
  lomatic relationships, and dictate trade practices without
  adherence to or permission from the crown (essentially
  akin in to a modern-day “incorporated” community). Free
  cities might be called upon to provide military support to
  the king, or to pay certain fees in exchange for protection
  if the countryside were threatened. However, free cities
  could not be taxed, nor were they obligated to provide
  troops for the king's army.
  Charters could be obtained through a variety of means,
  but money was usually the most effective, especially if the
  crown needed cash. Alternately, an extremely powerful
  city might leverage its role in trade or production to obtain
  a charter. Once free, a city might voluntarily revoke its
  charter, particularly if it could not protect itself, and thus
  place itself once again under the auspices of the king.
  In all cases, the designation of a free city had more to
  do with  economics and power  struggles than  anything
  else. For RPG purposes, we recommend the following fre-
  quencies: small city (1/12 chance),  average city (4/12
  chance), and large city (8/12 chance).
  UNIVERSITIES
  Historically, medieval universities grew out of the need
  to  instruct  professional clergy,  and as they  developed,
  some came to include secular disciplines as well (e.g., lo-
  gic, language, oratory, economics, et al.). Most universities
  produce  “intellectuals,”  who  are  armed  with  whatever
  knowledge qualifies someone as “educated” in the setting.
  Depending on the campaign, universities may or may
  not provide religious studies; such were often the exclusive
  province of monasteries or smaller “cathedral schools.”
  Tradecraft, or knowledge of artisans and craftsmen, is not
  taught in universities, being the intellectual property of its
  respective guild. 
  Large universities were sometimes viewed as guilds in
  themselves, with Bachelors, Masters, and Doctors forming
  the ranks of apprentice, journeyman, and master. Uni-
  versities are invariably located in the region's largest settle-
  ments—they impose too high a burden on local resources
  to exist in smaller communities. If universities are indic-
  ated, use the following table to suggest what's taught:
  Table 1: University Types
  Die Roll (d12)
  University Curriculum
  1 – 8
  Liberal Arts (arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy,  music
  theory, grammar, logic, and rhetoric)
  9 – 11
  Faculties (law, medicine, or theology)
  12
  Class speciality (“wizards' school,” bardic college, etc.)
  FORTIFICATIONS
  The number and type of fortifications in the region de-
  pend on the region's size and how many years the popula-
  tion have been building such constructions. The Generator
  provides a roster of castles, keeps, and towers, where they
  are located (settled or wilderness areas), and the current
  disposition of each (active or abandoned). Active fortifica-
  - 5 -
  
  Regional Area and Populations
  tions are manned and tend to serve their original purpose
  (see below), while abandoned fortifications may be in ruins
  or inhabited by squatters, but in any event no longer fulfil
  the function for which they were constructed. It is import-
  ant to note that these fortifications are free-standing and
  independent of those that may protect towns and cities.
  Towers
  These are multi-storey constructions of timber or stone,
  typically square, but possibly round if local masonry is suf-
  ficiently advanced. The least expensive sort of fortification,
  towers have from 3-6 (1d4+2) floors, which may extend
  both above and below ground. Most are free-standing, but
  some are protected by a walled enclosure that contains
  outbuildings (e.g., stables, smithy, and storage); the typical
  tower houses a garrison of 1d4 men-at-arms per floor.
  Active towers are used for observation (i.e., watch towers),
  signalling, or to ward strategic locations (a mountain pass,
  a river ford, or a road leading to the wilderness). 
  Those not so employed, may be inhabited by petty
  lords or reclusive types—wizards absorbed in their studies
  come to mind, though a tower might be headquarters to a
  self-styled bandit prince, a recently enfeoffed noble taming
  the wilderness, or a monastic order. Naturally, tales will
  abound of ruined wilderness towers rich with treasures and
  magic, but guarded by fearsome beasts and necromancers;
  whether these are merely embellishments is up to the GM,
  but the Generator helps you flesh these out if desired.
  Keeps
  Keeps are larger and stronger than towers, made of
  timber or stone, and form the fortified centre of a defens-
  ive compound. Keeps comprised of 4-7 (1d4+3) stories
  extending above and below ground and sheltered the local
  ruler (often a baron or higher), his family, and his retainers
  (including 3-8 (1d6+2) men-at-arms per floor). 
  Some  keeps  were  built  atop  hills,  making  assaults
  against them difficult, while others were simply surrounded
  by walls or similar defensive structures (e.g., gullies or wa-
  ter-filled moats). Integral towers often fortified the keep's
  corners and were accessible from within; these provided
  enfilading fire and strengthened the keep's structural integ-
  rity. Where masonry technology allowed it, keeps were
  round to better deflect attacks by battering rams or cata-
  pult missiles. Rooftops could include crenelations to pro-
  tect defenders as they fired ranged weapons at attackers. 
  Owing to their size, keeps housed more men, stored
  more supplies, and defended more soldiers than smaller
  towers. As a result, keeps could hold out longer during a
  siege and for that reason, keeps were built to cast a pro-
  tective shadow across major settlements.
  Castles
  It is not entirely inaccurate to describe castles as large
  defensive complexes dominated by a heavily fortified keep.
  Indeed, castles grew as networked walls and towers wound
  a defensive web around the central keep, forming separate
  areas that could channel attackers to be dispatched with
  relative ease by defenders (5-12 (1d8+4) per floor). 
  Castles employed the concept of mutual defence, in
  which each part of the structure thwarted assault against
  the others. Thus, walls were supported by flanking towers,
  towers were built to cover walls with fire, and the central
  keep—generally  considered  the  last  defensive  refuge—
  could be captured only after every intervening defensive
  layer had been penetrated. However, castles also fulfilled
  offensive purposes by providing a stronghold from which a
  lord could launch attacks and retreat to safety; in such a
  way, castles were built (or captured) as key components in
  conquering and holding territory. 
  A castle's strategic value placed great responsibility on
  the resident (usually an Earl or higher); in the rare case of
  an abandoned site, the castle is probably ruined to any fur-
  ther use, having been razed by an overzealous attacker,
  cursed, or perhaps “haunted.”
  - 6 -
  
  Settlement Size and Populations
  Settlement Size and Populations
  After you've determined the number and type of settle-
  ments in your region, you can focus on individual villages,
  towns, and cities,  populating each with rulers, officers,
  clergy, freeholders, and citizens. The Generator determ-
  ines population breakdowns based on a single population
  number, and it also gives you some guidelines on how
  many buildings all these folk need to live and work.
  Inputs
  The Generator takes one value to populate a settle-
  ment:
  ➢ Population: The number of inhabitants who call the
  settlement home 
  POPULATION
  This is the number of people who live in the settle-
  ment. You can select a basic settlement type from the
  drop-down menu, which fills in a default population figure.
  You can also enter your own population number if none
  of the defaults really describe the settlement you're detail-
  ing. 
  A good guideline for customised values can be obtained
  from the Regional Population and Distribution results giv-
  en above, which provide an average population for each
  settlement type. Note that these are averages, so most set-
  tlements will shelter more or fewer persons than indicated.
  Settlement Results
  After supplying a population figure, the Generator spits
  out settlement details:
  ➢ Area: The physical area of the settlement 
  ➢ Population  Overview:  The  settlement's  number  of
  nobles, officers, clergy, freeholders, citizens, and hire-
  lings 
  ➢ Population Breakdown: A detailed roster of each popu-
  lation segment shown in the overview 
  ➢ Settlement Buildings: The number mansions, churches,
  business, municipal buildings, and homes in the settle-
  ment 
  AREA
  The physical land occupied by the settlement, given in
  square miles and acres (if you need to get that detailed).
  This figure is the subject of some debate, so we'll explain
  our logic and tell you how to change it if the figures don't
  seem to fit your campaign.
  Settlements are classified as either rural or urban. Rural
  settlements rely  heavily  on  agriculture  and  need more
  physical land as a result. Urban settlements have less need
  for farming: Their size and commercial capabilities make it
  more efficient for them to buy food than to grow it (creat-
  ing, incidentally, a marketplace for produce grown on rur-
  al settlements). The reason we distinguish between rural
  and urban settlements is because they possess different
  acreage  to  population  ratios,  or  the  amount  of  land
  needed to support a single individual.
  Rural settlements required a minimum of 1.25 cultiv-
  ated acres per person, (available resources, land quality,
  and climate severity could vary this figure). Urban settle-
  ments, on the other hand, support a much higher popula-
  tion density: about 60 people per acre. Urban folk require
  the same amount of food as rural people, but because
  they're not producing it themselves, the settlement's land
  requirements are smaller. 
  All this leads the Generator to assume that any popula-
  tion of more than 3,000 people is urban. If this figure
  doesn't sound right, there are a couple of constants you
  can change. 
  First is the people-to-acre ratio, which indicates how
  many acres it takes to support one person. In rural settle-
  ments, values vary according to land quality, climate, crop
  type and yield, and the availability of other food sources
  (e.g., a lake with abundant fishing or a forest with lots of
  game). In urban settlements, 60 people per acre seems to
  be a fairly consistent number. In either case, though, dif-
  ferent sources provide different numbers, so pick a value
  from a source you trust and stick with it.
  You might also want to adjust the threshold at which a
  settlement shifts from rural to urban.1 We chose 3,000 be-
  cause that's the default size we assigned to an “average
  town;” when you jump up to “large town,” you cross the
  threshold. That said, 3,000 is more than just a dart in the
  wall, and it's certainly more than a matter of semantics:
  When a population grew this big, the settlement was well
  on its way to becoming a commercial fixture, attracting
  freeholders, and relying less on its own agriculture.
  POPULATION OVERVIEW
  This section gives you the raw numbers in the settle-
  ment, by “type,” shown below:
  ➢ Nobles: The size of the ruling family's household, as
  well as any additional gentry in the settlement 
  1
  If you want to tinker with any of these numbers, you'll need to down-
  load the Generator  and edit the  pop_function.js script.  The
  function that handles settlement area is named cityCalc() (lines
  182-205), and the usual caveats about making edits apply: make a
  backup before you start playing, and do so at your own risk!
  - 7 -
  
  Settlement Size and Populations
  ➢ Officers: Municipal and law enforcement agents (city
  watch, town militia, minor bureaucrats, administrators,
  etc.) 
  ➢ Clergy: The total number of clerics and priests of all
  sects within the settlement 
  ➢ Freeholders: The number of artisans, craftsmen, and
  “skilled” workers in the community 
  ➢ Citizens: Normal folks; “unskilled” workers 
  ➢ Hirelings: The number of citizens available for hire by
  PCs as retainers, henchmen, and guides 
  Note that when any of the “Recalculate” buttons are
  used, these numbers update automatically.
  POPULATION BREAKDOWN
  The Population Breakdown provides a detailed roster
  of each population's composition, based on the Population
  Overview above. These values are calculated automatically
  by the Generator, but you may “Recalculate” these values
  with the buttons to the right of each sub-category.
  The presence and number of each individual is based
  on the settlement's overall population size, and the fre-
  quency of each is noted parenthetically in the descriptions
  that  follow.  For  example,  an  armourer  is  noted  with
  (1/1500), indicating that it takes about 1,500 people to
  support a single armourer. The Generator uses this value
  to determine if any armourers exist in the settlement, and
  if so, how many. 
  For example, in a settlement of 600, there is a 40%
  chance of one armourer (600 / 1,500 = 0.4). In a com-
  munity of 2,100, the chance rises to 140%, meaning that
  there is definitely one armourer, plus a 40% chance of a
  second. In  this case,  there are one or two  armourers
  present (clicking the Recalculate button bears this out).
  Ruling House
  A settlement's ruling house is that of the noble who
  holds the community in fief. Always assume at least one
  noble member of the ruling house, regardless of popula-
  tion. For convenience, base his rank on the settlement's
  size: village (baronet or knight), town (viscount or baron),
  city (count or earl). In addition to the single noble indic-
  ated, the household is rounded out as follows:
  ➢ Relatives  (1d6):  In  addition  to  the  noble  ruler,  his
  household may include a spouse, children, nephews,
  nieces, uncles, aunts, or cousins 
  ➢ Servants (1/2 nobles): These are domestic types and
  include houseboys, valets, or maidservants 
  ➢ House Guard (1/3 nobles): A personal “garrison” of
  bodyguards, armed retainers, or squires 
  ➢ Sergeant (1/6 house guard): This veteran commands
  the household troops 
  Noble Households
  The settlement might include other noble houses in ad-
  dition the ruler's. Despite the name, these are not always
  nobles in the literal sense and could represent, at the GM's
  option, landed gentry,  rich merchants,  guildmasters, or
  other people of fame, influence, and wealth.
  ➢ Additional  Noble  Houses  (1/450):  The  number  of
  “noble” households in the settlement, in addition to the
  ruling house 
  ➢ Population (3-10/house):  Each  household includes a
  family, support staff, and possibly house guards; the
  GM is free to assign these roles as desired 
  Settlement Officers
  In addition to the ruling noble, there are several officers
  charged with the day-to-day operations in the settlement.
  There is, at most, only one of each major officer in a set-
  tlement. However, these are assisted by a staff of what we
  generically refer to as “law enforcement agents.” The local
  lord typically draws officers from the citizenry, and while
  the positions don't often earn a salary, officers are forgiv-
  en any labour obligations in exchange for service.
  The presence and number of officers result from the
  settlement's level of law enforcement, noted by the drop-
  down menu on the Generator. Most settlements field “typ-
  ical” law enforcement, in that they employ principle of-
  ficers with minimal agents. Based on the settlement's atti-
  tude, the dangers of the surrounding environment, and the
  disposition of the local lord, law enforcement may range
  from lax to oppressive, and changing this value updates
  the tally of Settlement Officers.
  ➢ Reeve (base 80%): The reeve is the chief administrator
  of a settlement, responsible for delegating and oversee-
  ing day-to-day tasks that promote the settlement's abil-
  ity to satisfy its financial obligations. The reeve presides
  over local councils, makes purchases on behalf of the
  settlement, collects rents, and levies fines. The citizen
  with the most land frequently holds this office, and he
  wields significant  power,  the post  is not considered
  popular. 
  ➢ Messor (base 75%): The messor is chiefly an agricultur-
  al administrator, charged with a settlement's pasture-
  land, livestock, feed stores, and defence against tres-
  pass. Sometimes impolitely referred to as the “fence-
  warden,” the messor's job is important in communities
  where livestock—both as feed animals and beasts of
  burden—impact food supply and farm work. Messors
  are called to distinguish boundaries between grazing
  areas, manage field use and crop rotation, oversee the
  harvest,  and  protect  stores.  In  larger  communities
  where agriculture is “outsourced,” messors are still re-
  sponsible for property lines, food stores,  and com-
  merce related to produce. 
  ➢ Woodward (base 70%): The woodward, or warden, is
  - 8 -
  
  Settlement Size and Populations
  in charge of any forest or timberland in or near to the
  settlement.  His  primary  responsibility  is  to  prevent
  poaching in the lord's woodland, but also to cut and
  plant trees, manage game populations, and to maintain
  safety within and through the forests. Woodwards are
  especially useful to lords who like to hunt, though in
  larger settlements where most surrounding land is de-
  forested, woodwards still work to keep the area clear of
  outlaws and the roads safe for passage. 
  ➢ Constable (base 90%): Essentially the chief of police,
  the constable (or beadle) is responsible for keeping or-
  der, maintaining and overseeing the watch, protecting
  municipal property, collecting levied fines, and gener-
  ally enforcing the lord's laws. The office is typically held
  by a warrior-type, but in larger settlements, the beadle
  may be more of a bureaucrat. 
  ➢ Law Enforcement (1/150): As noted, these could be
  city watch, town guards, or some other “police” force.
  That said, few communit-
  ies could afford to employ
  regular police (most main-
  tained order by means of
  a tithing or some similar
  measure to enforce mutu-
  al accountability). For our
  purposes,  law  enforce-
  ment agents include any
  member of the population
  whose job is to assist the
  principle officers, and so
  might  include  lesser  ad-
  ministrators,  minor  bur-
  eaucrats,  secretaries,  re-
  gistrars,  and  other  func-
  tionaries. 
  Settlement Clergy
  Religion  is an  important
  element in low-fantasy societ-
  ies,  and  even  the  smallest
  settlements support at least one shrine, temple, or church.
  Church hierarchies are divided along three lines: laity (the
  “normal” parishioner), clerics (monks, acolytes, and dea-
  cons), and priests (bishops, archdeacons, and cardinals).
  Exact titles vary according to religious traditions, but for
  our purposes (and ignoring the laity), the Generator de-
  termines the number of ordained clergy.
  ➢ Clerics (1/120): Lesser functionaries within the church,
  responsible  for  day-to-day  duties,  keeping  records,
  serving as scribes, translating scripture, assisting the
  priests, and administering to the laity's general needs. 
  ➢ Priests  (1/30  clerics):  High  functionaries within  the
  church, responsible for conducting ceremonies, assign-
  ing penance, instructing clerics, and representing the
  church in matters of interest. 
  Freeholders
  These are free tenants who hold their land in exchange
  for barter, cash, or military service. Artisans, craftsman,
  and guildsmen pay their rents in the form of licenses to
  practice their trade, and yeomen pay in military service.
  Historically, there were free farmers who could pay their
  rents in cash instead of labour, but for convenience, the
  Generator categorises such folk as “citizens” (see below).
  Freeholder families consist of 4.0 people, consisting of
  one or two parents and children who may not necessarily
  be apprentice workers in the freeholder's industry. The
  roles and responsibilities of individual freeholders are de-
  scribed in the next section.
  Citizens
  These are unfree tenants who hold their land in ex-
  change for labour (e.g., farming, timbering, mining, etc.).
  Their lands and homes are owned by the local lord, to
  whom  they  pay  rents  via
  some form of work. 
  Some  citizens  possess
  skills  and  personalities  that
  make them suitable as hire-
  lings:  henchmen,  retainers,
  guides,  and  man  servants.
  For game purposes, assume
  that  hirelings  may  be  em-
  ployed by player characters.
  Not all citizens are work-
  ers;  the  Generator  creates
  households  of  4.75  each.
  These  include  one  or  two
  parents and children of vari-
  ous (pre-marital) ages.
  SETTLEMENT BUILDINGS
  The Generator calculates
  the number of structures re-
  quired  by  the  settlement's
  population. These are guidelines only, but provide a good
  starting point for GMs who need to map out a city, town,
  or village.
  ➢ Mansions (1/noble house):  Multiple-storey  structures
  for the ruling household and gentry. Examples include
  manor houses, walled estates, and fortified homes. 
  ➢ Churches (1/16 clergy): Any church, temple, or shrine
  dedicated to the worship of a deity. The church may
  have land—known  as a glebe—which  is worked by
  clergy and laity alike to satisfy rents, perform penance,
  or in lieu of a cash tithe. Multiple churches may repres-
  ent centres of worship for multiple deities or smaller
  shrines all dedicated to the same god. 
  ➢ Businesses  (1/Freeholder,  +1/industry):  Commercial
  property used by freeholders. Most freeholders live and
  - 9 -
  
  Settlement Size and Populations
  work in the same building, but some industries require
  separate constructions (such are noted with an asterisk
  (*) in the Freeholder list). Where this occurs, the free-
  holder lives in one building and works in the other. 
  ➢ Municipal (1/10 officers and agents): These structures
  serve  the  settlement  officers  and  law  enforcement
  agents. Municipal buildings include town meeting halls,
  administrative offices, watch stations, garrisons, gaols
  (rare), and barracks. 
  ➢ Homes (1/4.75 citizens): Individual homes for the un-
  free  citizenry.  Most  are  simple,  one-storey  affairs,
  cheaply made, and rarely with more than 2-3 rooms.
  The average household is 4.75 citizens, though based
  on overall population density, physical constraints, and
  available resources, this can vary from settlement to
  settlement at the GM's discretion. 
  Freeholders
  Freeholders hold their lands in exchange for rent paid
  in cash, in kind, or via military service. Unlike unfree ten-
  ants, freeholders are permitted to earn a wage and join a
  guild of similarly skilled freeholders.
  Historically, freeholders established guilds to organise
  and empower just about every industry that required spe-
  cialised skills, and most guilds held a monopoly on its re-
  spective trade. Monopolies were granted in exchange for
  license fees paid by the guild, which worked out well for
  the collecting lord, who saw guilds as a source of income. 
  Monopolies also worked out to guilds' benefit, because
  they limited competition and ensured a relative degree of
  quality control. They were also a good way to consolidate
  and protect trade knowledge, which was valuable leverage
  for a rising middle class. Finally, they were easy to main-
  tain, given the low literacy rate among the population. As
  a result, trade secrets remained within the guild structure,
  passed from master to journeyman to apprentice.
  Guilds vigorously protected their monopolies, and prac-
  tising a trade without guild membership was punishable by
  fines. Still, there was occasional overlap between indus-
  tries (for example, both chandlers and apothecaries might
  make soaps).
  It was up to the guilds to resolve such conflicts and
  settle disputes, not only to protect their industrial rights
  and trade secrets, but also to maintain whatever license
  fees were due to the lord (because no lord was going to ac-
  cept a lesser fee just because so-and-so guild decided to
  stop producing such-and-such a good). 
  Such tensions were less in rural communities, where
  the lower number of freeholders required some degree of
  overlap. In large settlements, however, where there was
  plenty of room for lots of freeholders, monopolies were
  strictly enforced.
  Freeholders are listed with their population frequency.2
  If, as GM, you need to flesh out a particular freeholder,
  we've provided some likely traits for the average guildsman
  2
  1/x, where x indicates population required to support the freeholder;
  these values are used by the Generator and may be changed if you're
  willing to edit the pop_functions.js script.
  in each industry. The first trait listed is possessed at a rank
  of 1d4; ranks for any other traits cited range from 0–3
  (1d4-1). While traits are cited in Chimera RPG terms, they
  are easily adapted to other systems.
  As a reminder, freeholders marked with an asterisk (*)
  require an industrial building separate from their home to
  conduct business.
  ADVENTURER (1/3000)
  These are personage NPCs who call the settlement
  home. Unless retired (and wealthy), they have regular jobs,
  either within a guild or as an employee of the lord. Adven-
  turers are created as personage NPCs (CR/100) and are
  represented as follows:
  ➢ Fighter Type (d%: 01-70): In low-fantasy campaigns,
  fighter types form the majority of adventurers. When
  not  exploring  the  countryside,  these  worthies  may
  serve as caravan guards, bodyguards, watchmen, or in-
  structors for local militia. Regardless, they are expected
  to defend the settlement in times of need. 
  ➢ Rogue Type (d%: 71-90): Thievery is dangerous busi-
  ness in the close-knit confines of most low-fantasy set-
  tlements, and in  smaller communities, there is little
  worth  stealing anyway.  In  large  settlements,  rogues
  may consolidate to form a so-called “thieves guild,” but
  it's more realistic to assume that these folk work at
  non-descript jobs to keep their clandestine skills secret.
  That said, some rogues may find employ among vari-
  ous nobles as spies, thugs, or even assassins. 
  ➢ Wizard Type (d%: 91-99): Arcane magic tends to be
  anathema in most low-fantasy environments, so wizard
  types hide their magical skills and attempt to fit in as
  sages, apothecaries, librarians, and tutors. 
  ➢ Other (d%: 00): These could be any “fringe” profession
  the GM wants to include. As with other adventurers,
  the individual takes steps to blend in with society and
  apply such skills as they may to the benefit of the com-
  munity at large or the lord in particular. 
  Note that cleric types are not mentioned, having been
  included as part of the settlement's clergy.
  - 10 -
  
  Freeholders
  APOTHECARY (1/2800)
  Apothecaries specialise in mixing raw, natural ingredi-
  ents to create useful remedies for physical illness or specif-
  ic industrial applications. In settlements where they exist,
  apothecaries probably make soaps, perfumes, and other
  cosmetic agents. When crafting remedies, they typically
  sell only to physicians, though they might have on hand
  several raw ingredients to be used for various purposes (in-
  cluding poisons). [Craft (apothecary), Knowledge (natural
  herbs and ingredients)]
  ARMOURER* (1/1500)
  These craftsmen specialise in making armour. Some
  are leatherworkers, who make protective devices of cloth
  and hide, while others are smiths who make chain and
  plate armour. The guild's market consists of the nobility,
  and it charges a premium for its services and expertise.
  [Craft (armourer)]
  ARTIST (1/2000)
  These freeholders practise some form of artistic ex-
  pression  (verse,  music,  painting,  sculpture,  etc.).  They
  might be commissioned by noble patrons or contract with
  entertainers to stage productions or concerts. [Compose]
  BUTCHER* (1/1100)
  Freeholders who operate slaughterhouses; some might
  specialise in a particular type of meat (poultry, beef, pork,
  or game), and their primary market consists of nobles and
  salters.  Low-fantasy  populations are  well  aware  of  the
  dangers posed by rotting or rancid meat, though butchers
  were not above selling bad cuts if it meant making a profit.
  Some butchers may have knowledge of taxidermy. [Craft
  (butcher), Knowledge (taxidermy)]
  CHANDLER (1/600)
  Primarily responsible for manufacturing lamp oil, pitch,
  candles, and tallow. Chandlers might also make soaps and
  perfumes, though they do so at the risk of infringing on
  the apothecaries' monopoly. [Craft (chandler)]
  CHARCOALER (1/400)
  Charcoal is a valuable industrial fuel for armourers,
  glassworkers, smiths, potters, salters, weapon crafters, and
  chandlers (who use ash). The charcoalers guild pays for
  rights to take a certain amount of timber from the lord's
  forest. [Craft (charcoaler)] 
  COBBLER (1/150)
  Everyone needs shoes, and cobblers are very common
  as a result. Some specialise in a particular type of foot-
  wear (e.g., riding boots). [Craft (cobbler)]
  ENTERTAINER (1/1200)
  Alternately known as bards, harpers, or skalds, these
  folk provide amusements to crowds, assemblies, and pay-
  ing audiences. Each entertainer specialises in some artistic
  form (e.g., oratory, acting, musical instrument, acrobatics,
  juggling, etc.). In small communities, they are hired by the
  local  lord to entertain  important guests; in  large com-
  munities,  they  may  have  their  own  theatre.  [Perform
  (choose medium), Compose (choose medium)]
  FORESTER (1/800)
  A woodsman, who probably assisted the settlement's
  woodward (q.v.). Foresters report directly to the lord and
  do not belong to a guild. Each forester is responsible for a
  specific acreage of the lord's woods and keeps the area
  free of poachers, highwaymen, and outlaws, and also en-
  sures that charcoalers and timberwrights remain within
  their rights. [Nature Sense, Track] 
  FURRIER (1/250)
  Furriers trap small game and sell the pelts to tailors and
  nobles. The furriers guild is required to obey the settle-
  ment's woodwarden and foresters. To ensure profits, furri-
  ers are as concerned and responsive to poachers and out-
  laws as foresters. [Craft (furrier), Nature Sense, Track]
  GLASSWORKER (1/950)
  These freeholders craft glass vessels, but have a limited
  market because their wares are more expensive than clay
  crockery and pots. The guild's customer base consists of
  apothecaries and nobles. [Craft (glassworker)]
  INNKEEPER (1/2000)
  Historically, innkeepers grew out of  a monopoly to
  brew ale, which didn't travel well and so was easily local-
  ised.  In  well-trafficked  communities,  local  brews  attract
  travellers,  and innkeepers  provide food and temporary
  shelter for non-residents. Where possible, innkeepers part-
  ner with ostlers so that travellers' mounts can be cared for
  and properly stabled during their stay. [Craft (innkeeper,
  brewer), Rumour]
  JEWELLER (1/400)
  These freeholders create jewellery from metal and pre-
  cious stones. Some practise only with relatively mundane
  materials, while others craft truly beautiful (and expensive)
  adornments. Jewellers may possess knowledge of gems-
  mithing. [Craft (jeweler), Appraisal, Knowledge (gems)]
  LITIGANT (1/800)
  It would be an oversimplification to call these folks me-
  dieval lawyers, but they do act as advisors and advocates in
  - 11 -
  
  Freeholders
  legal matters. Their job is to understand the law and prop-
  erly apprise a client of his rights and obligations. In small
  communities, they may serve the lord directly and help ad-
  minister the town council; in large settlements, they are
  called upon to unentangle disputes over property, money,
  and  guild  affairs.  [Craft  (litigant),
  Etiquette, Persuade]
  LOCKSMITH (1/1800)
  A locksmith is required to fashion
  locks  for  chests and doors.  Some
  might  be  capable of  incorporating
  traps; a locksmith's rank is added to
  the target number of any Burgle at-
  tempt made against one of his locks
  or traps. [Craft (locksmith), Burgle]
  MASON (1/500)
  Skilled  masons understand how
  to  cut,  transport,  fit,  and  finish
  stone.  Masons are  called  upon  to
  direct  the  construction  of  stone
  walls,  towers,  bridges,  wells,  and
  other stone structures, and may su-
  pervise labourers in a quarry. [Craft
  (mason), Knowledge (engineering)]
  METALSMITH* (1/300)
  Traditional  smithies  create  and
  repair tools, farm implements, and
  other metal goods; weapons and ar-
  mour are beyond the scope of such
  craftsmen, due to guild monopolies
  and the expense of such commodit-
  ies.  In  large  settlements,  smiths
  might specialise as ironsmiths, tin-
  smiths,  silversmiths,  etc.  [Craft
  (metalsmith), Repair]
  MILLER/BAKER* (1/250)
  Millers  ground  flour  for  bread,
  and  most  millers  own  ovens,  in
  which a community's bread is baked. The industrial equip-
  ment required for mass milling makes it easy for millers to
  enforce their monopoly (though hand mills are occasion-
  ally found amongst the populace, leading to fines). Most
  guilds rented (or purchased) their own muscle-, wind-, or
  water-powered mills. [Craft (miller)]
  OSTLER* (1/600)
  Ostlers stable and care for mounts, but also engage in
  some husbandry and veterinary care. They may partner
  with innkeepers, if the latter's clientèle is large enough to
  promise steady income. In addition to roofed stables, ost-
  lers often have access to a fenced common where they
  can run horses and train mounts. [Craft (ostler), Ride]
  OUTFITTER (1/1500)
  Outfitters  sell  all  manner  of
  odds-and-ends  and  serve  as  part
  “general  store”  and  part  pawn-
  broker. Despite the monopoly-driv-
  en climate of the guilds, outfitters
  are  permitted  to  sell  goods,
  provided they don't actually manu-
  facture  them, and as a result, an
  outfitter's  goods  are  always  ob-
  tained second-hand. 
  Successful  outfitters  are  good
  traders and do a brisk business with
  folk who  can't  afford buying  dir-
  ectly from a guild craftsman (even
  if  quality isn't always  up  to  par).
  [Bluff, Persuade]
  PHYSICIAN (1/600)
  Doctors  of  medicine  who  ad-
  minister  to  wounds  and care  for
  the sick. Low-fantasy medicine is of
  questionable  science,  and not  all
  physicians  apply  the  same  treat-
  ments to the same maladies: some
  specialise in herbal remedies, oth-
  ers consider sickness to be the res-
  ult of demons, and still others are
  truly innovative. 
  Disease  could  run  rampant  in
  medieval cities, and patients were
  more likely  to die from infection
  than from actual injuries. Despite
  the  disparity  of  effective  treat-
  ments, physicians are welcome ad-
  ditions  to  any  settlement.  [Craft
  (physician),  Knowledge  (herbal
  remedies), Heal]
  POTTER (1/450)
  Potters create crockery, cups, urns, jars, tiles, and oth-
  er useful items from clay, which is cheaper than glass.
  [Craft (potter)]
  ROOFER (1/1800)
  These freeholders build and repair roofs for structures.
  The easiest material they can work is thatch, but some
  roofers are skilled with tile or slate as well. [Craft (roofer)]
  - 12 -
  
  Freeholders
  ROPEMAKER (1/1800)
  Just about every industry has a need for rope (espe-
  cially masons, shipwrights, teamsters, and timberwrights).
  Ropemakers create rope, nets, and rigging from raw ma-
  terials, usually plant fibres. [Craft (ropemaker)]
  SAGE/HERALD (1/1800)
  The professors of  their  day,  sages and heralds are
  people of specialised knowledge. In small communities,
  they serve as tutors for nobility; in large communities, they
  may administer to libraries or teach at university. Proper
  heralds are versed in history, though sages might possess
  knowledge  of  nearly  any  field  imaginable.  [Knowledge
  (choose two fields), Language (choose 1 foreign language)]
  SALTER* (1/600)
  The salters guild preserves food by various means (im-
  mersion in brine, smoking, or salting). Some make cheese,
  but most preserve meats. [Craft (salter)]
  SCRIBE (1/2000)
  Scribes are common in large, commercial settlements,
  where they prepare official documents. In areas were the
  literacy rate is low, scribes are an all-too-scarce necessity,
  and their knowledge allows them to serve in legal, contrac-
  tual, guild, and diplomatic circles. [Craft (scribe), Language
  (choose 1 foreign language)]
  SHIPWRIGHT* (1/2400)
  Common only in coastal, lakeside, or river-based com-
  munities, shipwrights make boats for fishing and transport.
  [Craft (shipwright), Knowledge (seamanship)] 
  TAILOR (1/250)
  Tailors make clothes, from rough work-a-day tunics to
  expensive finery. Guildsmen use raw materials (like wool
  and cotton) and have knowledge of dyes, textile quality,
  and mending. Some may also clean fabrics. [Craft (tailor)]
  TANNER* (1/1200)
  Hideworkers make of leather items from animal hides.
  A skilled tanner can also shear sheep, butcher meat, and
  trap game, so long as there aren't any competing guilds to
  take on these tasks. [Craft (tanner), Craft (butcher)]
  TAVERNER (1/450)
  Taverners are similar to innkeepers and may be mem-
  bers of the local brewers guild. Unlike innkeepers, tavern-
  ers are not equipped to provide overnight accommoda-
  tions (converting common rooms to sleeping areas is con-
  sidered an infringement on the innkeepers guild mono-
  poly). [Craft (taverner), Rumour]
  TEAMSTER (1/1400)
  Teamsters, or drovers, transport goods from one place
  to another. They often contract with guilds to run wagon
  trains and caravans, and their geographic knowledge is of-
  ten better than that of the comparatively provincial popu-
  lation. Naturally, they are staples of a settlement's eco-
  nomy, and their guild enjoys better than average influence.
  [Craft (teamster), Knowledge (local area), Ride]
  TIMBERWRIGHT* (1/700)
  Professional loggers who extract timber from the lord's
  woods and create lumber for use in building and wood-
  craft. The guild serves a secondary purpose by clearing
  wooded areas for settlement, farming, and pastureland.
  [Craft (timberwright)]
  TINKER (1/800)
  A tinkerer is a sort of handyman who repairs small,
  mundane items (like dented pots and shards of crockery or
  a  broken  lantern).  Some  may  sell  small,  second-hand
  wares much like an outfitter. 
  Tinkers operate somewhat at the peril of organised
  guilds,  but  because  they  don't  manufacture  their  own
  wares, the low prices they charge for repairs are not con-
  sidered a viable threat to guild monopoly (and, in truth,
  many tinkers form partnerships with guilds for raw materi-
  als or repairs beyond the tinker's skill or capacity). [Repair]
  VINTNER (1/900)
  Vintners make wine or distil spirits. Most convert fruits
  from  the  lord's  orchards  into  alcoholic  beverages,  but
  some have their own vineyards. Vintners sell the bulk of
  their wares to the lord or other nobility, but some portions
  may be destined for other locales, enabling potentially luc-
  rative trade agreements. [Craft (vintner)]
  WEAPONCRAFTER* (1/1000)
  These craftsmen specialise in weapon-making and in-
  clude bowyers and swordsmiths. Guilds often contracted to
  outfit a lord's house guard and perhaps the city watch (if
  such existed). 
  Weapons are a commodity, expensive, and legally sold
  only to nobles (or those designated by nobles). As a result,
  arms are generally unobtainable by the general population.
  This suits the nobility because it prevent the “rabble” from
  bearing arms, but it allows the guild to charge a premium
  for their wares. [Craft (weaponcrafter)]
  WEAVER (1/600)
  Weavers make non-clothing items out of fabric: rugs,
  banners, tapestries, blankets, etc. [Craft (weaver)]
  - 13 -
  
  Freeholders
  WOODCRAFTER (1/300)
  Woodcrafters work wood on various scales,  crafting
  tools and furniture (carpenter), containers (cooper), carts
  and wagons (wainwright), or buildings and sheds. Wood-
  crafters might form partnerships with timberwrights or re-
  tain a license to cut their own wood from the lord's forests.
  [Craft (woodcrafter)]
  YEOMAN (1/450)
  A yeoman pays his rents in military service, and he is
  obliged to accompany the lord whenever the lord must an-
  swer a call to arms. Despite his non-noble status, a yeo-
  man is permitted to bear arms. 
  During peacetime, the yeoman works his land like the
  rest of the population but assists in the settlement's de-
  fence, and possibly captains a portion of the local militia
  (historical evidence of this practice is questionable). When
  not called to war, a yeoman is permitted a scutage, which
  is  a  cash  payment  in  lieu  of  military  service.  [Melee
  Weapons, Missile Weapons]
  Chimera RPG Conventions
  Formatting the Generator's output into something use-
  ful for your game is a matter of personal taste and your
  game's style. For Chimera, it goes something like this.
  Settlement Overview
  The settlement format used in the Chimera RPG is not
  unlike a “stat block” that might describe NPCs or mon-
  sters. The benefit is that it captures the Generator's out-
  put, but does not require the GM to provide full details.
  During play, you can reference the Settlement Overview
  and flesh out only what you need.
  NAME,  TYPE, TECH, AND ALIGNMENT
  Start with the settlement's name and type (small village,
  average town, large city, etc.). The settlement's technology
  level  (TL),  assuming  low-fantasy,  is  probably  TL  3.
  However, some realms (or big cities) might support TL 4;
  conversely, there may be “pockets” of TL 2 or even TL 1.
  You may also include the settlement's general align-
  ment tendencies (Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic). Community
  alignment is strongly affected by the ruler's own disposi-
  tion and the influence of predominate religions. 
  POPULATION AND BUILDINGS
  Note the settlement's population and its area in square
  miles (and acres, if desired). The Generator gives the min-
  imum  cultivated area, and the settlement probably occu-
  pies more actual land. It's also helpful to indicate the num-
  ber of buildings, broken out into the ruler's home (manor
  house, tower, keep, etc.), mansions (for nobles), churches,
  businesses (for freeholders), municipal (for officers), and
  residential homes (for everyone else).
  COMMERCE
  This is the maximum dollar amount of any single com-
  mercial item generally available for purchase. The larger
  the community, the more valuable the goods and services
  obtainable, and this figure is useful when PCs need to buy
  gear and other commodities. More expensive items might
  be available, though not on the open market.
  You may also wish to indicate any resources or exports
  of note: armour, foodstuffs, furs, gems, glass or pottery,
  jewellery,  leather,  metalwork,  mounts or livestock,  ore,
  potables (ale,  wine,  spirits),  stonework,  textiles,  timber,
  weapons (of any type), or woodcraft.
  Table 2: Settlement Commerce
  Settlement Type
  Average Population
  Commercial Limit ($)
  Small thorp
  10
  $5
  Average thorp
  30
  $10
  Large thorp
  50
  $20
  Small village
  100
  $25
  Average village
  300
  $50
  Large village
  500
  $100
  Small town
  1,000
  $125
  Average town
  3,000
  $250
  Large town
  5,000
  $500
  Small city
  10,000
  $1,250
  Average city
  15,000
  $2,500
  Large city
  30,000
  $5,000
  LEADERSHIP
  The  identity  of  the ruling landholder,  including  his
  household (relatives, servants, and house guard). Settle-
  ment rulers are almost always personage NPCs, and you
  should provide at least a skill level and class, if not full stats
  (CR/100, 145). 
  OFFICERS
  The identity of the four principal officers (if present)
  and the number of law enforcement agents. You may wish
  to break out agents by role (e.g., town watch, bureaucrats,
  clerks, etc.).
  CLERGY
  The number of clerics and priests in the settlement,
  broken out by religion
  - 14 -
  
  Chimera RPG Conventions
  FREEHOLDERS
  The number and type of freeholders in the community.
  These represent the goods and services available in the
  settlement—if it isn't here, the settlement has to import it,
  probably via (ir)regular merchant caravans.
  CITIZENS
  The number of hirelings and labourers in the settle-
  ment. You can use the total number of citizens in the com-
  munity, but that  does not necessarily reflect the active
  workforce. If this number is what you're after, divide the
  number of citizens by 1.50 to get a relatively accurate tally
  of actual workers.
  PROMINENT RESIDENTS
  Use this space to note any exceptional residents; these
  could be potential enemies, allies, patrons, or protagonists
  of the PCs. Instead of full stats, it's enough to indicate the
  resident's skill level, class, and identifying notes (e.g., align-
  ment, outstanding traits, etc.).
  The Village of Lydon
  Here's  an  example  called  Lydon,  a  smallish  village
  formatted in the Chimera RPG style.
  BACKGROUND
  Lydon is a growing village of 412, held in fief by Lord
  Bayfield, a knight of the realm. Bayfield lives in a fortified
  manor house and pays rents to his liege through a com-
  bination of cash and military service.
  Lyndon would be an average farming community if it
  weren't for the fact that it borders a forest in which the ru-
  ins of a necromancer's tower stand. This feature attracts a
  fair  number  of  adventurers,  and Lyndon  is  marginally
  more “cosmopolitan” as a result. This gives the village a
  commercial edge (treat as Large village on Table 2) and
  makes the settlement's law enforcement above average.
  AREA AND POPULATION
  In the Generator, we enter a population of “412” and
  select “zealous” from the Law Enforcement drop-down
  menu. We learn that Lydon occupies at least a little over
  half a square mile, which translates to about 330 acres.
  A quick look at the Population Overview gives us 12
  nobles, 8 officers, 3 clergy, 25 freeholders, 362 citizens,
  and 2 hirelings. Your numbers may vary, but it's important
  to note that the figures add up to your total population (in
  this case, 412).
  The Generator has also determined that there are 92
  buildings in the community: 2 mansions, 1 church, 32
  businesses, 1 municipal building, and 56 homes.
  POPULATION BREAKDOWN
  According to the Generator, the House of Bayfield
  numbers six: 3 relatives (let's say Lord Bayfield, his wife,
  and 1 daughter), 1 servant, and 2 house guard. There's
  also a second noble household of six. Given Lydon's size,
  this is probably not an actual noble house; we'll call it a
  rich merchant family for now.
  The Generator supplies us with each of the four prin-
  cipal  officers,  plus an  additional  four law enforcement
  agents. We'll assume 3 town watch and 1 administrative
  assistant to the village reeve.
  Lyndon's clergy consists of 3 priests. Because the Gen-
  erator gave us only 1 church, it makes sense to assume
  that these fellows belong to the same religious order (a
  Lawful church common in the realm).
  The freeholder breakdown gives us a broad scope of
  business (noted in the stat block below). Again, your num-
  bers will vary, but in our example, the Generator gave us 2
  metalsmiths, so we'll build off that a bit. 
  Let's say that metalwork is Lyndon's chief export (ini-
  tially we might have said timber, since the village is close
  to a forest, but the Generator didn't give us any timber-
  wrights—perhaps the forest is avoided because of the nec-
  romancer's ruined tower?). We'll go a step further and as-
  sume the rich merchant makes his money in the metal-
  working industry—maybe he runs caravans that import
  raw ore and export finished goods. As GM, you don't have
  to work out all the details, but you can draw some logical
  conclusions from the Generator's output.
  SETTLEMENT OVERVIEW
  Given the above, Lyndon's Overview looks like this:
  Lyndon (small village; TL 3; AL Lawful)
  Population: 412 (min. 0.52 sq. miles/329.6 acres)
  Buildings: 1 manor house, 1 mansion, 1 church,
  32 businesses, 1 municipal, 56 homes
  Commerce: $100; metalwork
  Leadership: Lord Bayfield (Skilled Noble (Lawful);
  wife, 1 daughter; 1 servant; 2 men-at-arms)
  Officers: 8 (Reeve, Messor, Woodsman, Constable;
  3 town watch, 1 reeve's assistant)
  Clergy: 3 (3 clerics, Lawful religion of the realm)
  Freeholders: 25 (1 artist, 1 chandler, 1 charcoaler,
  3 cobblers, 1 furrier, 1 jeweller, 1 innkeeper, 1 lock-
  smith, 1 mason, 2 metalsmiths, 2 millers, 1 outfitter,
  1 salter, 1 tailor, 1 tanner, 1 tavern, 1 tinker, 1
  weaponcrafter, 1 weaver, 1 woodcrafter, 1 yeoman)
  Citizens: 364 (2 hirelings, 243 labourers) 
  Prominent Residents: Edlon Pennell (Skilled Mer-
  chant (Neutral); metalworking industry)
  - 15 -
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/_GM Books/World Building & Game Design/ Misc J, K, L/Low Fantasy Population Generator.pdf