11 Places to Bring Your Fantasy Town to LIFE

If you're building a D&D town, here are 11 places you should think about putting in your town to bring it to life...
Get your Storytelling and Dungeons and Dragons tips for Dungeon Masters and players alike, at The Fantasy Forge!
Thank you so much for watching! Please consider liking and subscribing,
Crafting stories, one realm at a time...and bring your next story to life with Dscryb (use code FANTASYFORGEUNIVERSE at checkout):
dscryb.com/fantasyforgeuniverse
Subscribe and never miss an update for content just like this:
www.youtube.com/@thefantasyfo...
Join our community and even have your name written in our Tome of Legends:
/ thefantasyforge873
Visit us at: www.FantasyForgeUniverse.com
Shop our wares at: www.etsy.com/shop/ShopFantasy...
Bring out the worldbuilder in you with our World Weaver's Workbook: a.co/d/iTG1DjK
Want to be a better Dungeon Master? Start with our guide, the Master of Realms:
a.co/d/0SfaLV0
#dungeonsanddragons #dnd #5e #onednd
_______________________________________________________________________________
AFFILIATE LINKS - Get your products and also help support the channel at the same time!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Get a gift for the DM in your life, the core rulebooks AND MORE here: amzn.to/43lmHUD
Joseph Campbells book that inspired Star Wars and I use to plot my campaigns: amzn.to/439VhBb
Crafting stories, one realm at a time...and bring your next story to life with Dscryb (use code FANTASYFORGEUNIVERSE at checkout):
dscryb.com/fantasyforgeuniverse
_______________________________________________________________________________
CHANNEL
_______________________________________________________________________________
MORE OF OUR VIDEOS HERE:
/ @thefantasyforge
Don't forget to like and subscribe for new tabletop roleplaying content and tips for game masters, all the time! Stay up to date and never miss a new video.
On this channel we are devoted to providing dungeons and dragons and ttrpg tips and tricks from real life experience. If you have a question you want solved, let us know! We'd love to tackle it.
DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE! Never miss a new update!:
www.youtube.com/@TheFantasyFo...
Visit us at: www.FantasyForgeUniverse.com
_______________________________________________________________________________
SOURCES
_______________________________________________________________________________
All videos clips in this video follow fair-use law, are from copyright free websites, or were purchased by the channel owner.
Art for our channel was created by the amazing artists:
isadora.pol...
galewanwan...
_______________________________________________________________________________
CONTACT US
_______________________________________________________________________________
Visit us at: www.FantasyForgeUniverse.com
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, reach out to us at:
[e-mail]

[@justinblocker730]

1. Tavern 2. Town hall (might be a palce to get quests) 3. Herbalist 4. Marketplace 5. Alchemy Lab (depends on magic system) 6. Smithy (weapons, armor and shields!) 7. Church/shrine (probably skip it, depends on campaign) 8. Barrack/town watch (see Number 11) 9. Town Well/River (could be plot important later) 10. Food source (NO) 11. Town Jail (The party might end up here)

[@CooperAATE]

Not including a church is iffy but doable, but... no food source? Those people won't last very long.

[@lndianajoe]

Why is a church "iffy"??? Even if you are of no faith, Dungeons and Dragons has a pantheon

[@ts8744]

For food, hunters, gatherers and farmers could be the supply. Nothing crazy, but it could be a plot point if the hunters of a small community don't come back and they need finding or rescuing

[@CooperAATE]

@lndianajoe no, I said NOT including a church is iffy.

[@lndianajoe]

@@CooperAATE that's my b

[@the_markoman]

One can also take away the opposite lesson. If you want a town to feel uninviting, be it due to monster raids, disease, or tyrannical rule, you can make a point of having the town lack several of the things that make it feel alive.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Oooh, this is solid advice. Thank you for that

[@TheArgentDefender]

There’s a town im hoping to introduce that lacks any kind of guard force, far out in the unexplored frontier. I want the players to question it. Why aren’t there any guards? Why does the village seem undisturbed by local wildlife. There is a reason that they’ll discover throughout the adventure. I hope it pays off.

[@tucan6376]

it is so refreshing to see a dnd/worldbuilding video from someone who actually gets the fuck on with their topic

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL I keep hearing that, I dunno. I just know I skip shit when I'm watching them, so I just wanna get to the meat. Thanks for the comment haha

[@Yattatt]

@@TheFantasyForge I know this comment is 4 months old, but I just think it's amazing that I got more from this video than almost every other dnd worldbuilding video, and every topic took less than a minute to cover.

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@Yattatt aw shucks, I'm glad it helped. Hoping to get better with the videos

[@macoppy6571]

Does your town have GUARDS? G • Government (Law) U • Underworld (Crime) A • Altar (Religion) R • Resources (Markets) D • Downtime (Sleeping space) S • Social Hub (Tavern)

[@KujoTV]

1. The public toilet (all ancient cities had them). 2. The public gymnasium (see toilets). 3. The public theater (see public toilets and gymnasiums).

[@TheTrueUlfhednar]

Some alternatives to wizard academies: military academy, a mundane historical college, bard colleges, artist symposiums. Anything that can be taught can feasibly have an institution of learning. It helps flesh it out more beyond a series of wizards schools.

[@mouseblackcat5263]

Also depends on the size of the town/village/city. Smaller/poorer places may have no central learning at all, only apprenticeships to artisans. A more well off community may send thier youth to the local Church/Abby for basic instruction. A large/rich settlement may have several establishments of dedicated learning.

[@TheTrueUlfhednar]

@@mouseblackcat5263 Oh totally. I simply was throwing out alternatives to a place that would otherwise be a wizard school. Always appropriately size the institution. A tiny hamlet of farmers is likely to only have at most... a single pastor or priest that may have one acolyte who's responsible for tending the graves. A bustling metropolis can be a hot bed of inter university clashes, rival schools and large tournaments (ala Shonen Anime Sports Arc) One of the most important things is always verisimilitude. If it makes sense, it's believable.

[@WayneBraack]

Great idea if you're building a word-based on the modern technical culture. But if you're trying to build a quasi medieval type setting your time would have none of those things. Perhaps in a very large city might but your town's villages would have none of it. They wouldn't even have an inn.

[@johnnelson4411]

Some ideas for my mining centric town: 1. The Quarry (Tavern from a retired mine foreman and Gnoll, Dia Dourmane) 2. Foreman's Office (originally just used to oversee the local mine, as the town grew the Foreman's Office doubled as the center of government; the name stuck as a historical reminder.) 3. The Boneyard (a Barber shop ran by a Dhampir with a twisted sense of humor, Barret "Bones" Barber) 4. Crossroads Market (sprang up where goods from the mines would meet, and go in different directions: the local town, or nearby larger cities) 5. Nulman's Official Trade School (Started as a bet that elven kin could know as much about mining as dwarves, Half-Elf geologist Nulman has shaped his 'NOT School' into a true vocational powerhouse) 6. Dragon's Tongue (A dragonborn owned and operated smithy, the Dragon's Tongue prioritizes orders for the local mines and town hall in exchange for a small tithe of rates gems and stones) 7. The Lost Ones' Rest (originally a monument to the first cave in of the town, The LOR has since become part monument, part graveyard, and part agnostic temple for the townsfolk) 8. Miner guard barracks (unofficially called The Deep Watch or Depth Watchers, the mines began having a series of outfitted guards to watch for underdark threats; those guards later expanded to protect the whole settlement) 9. The aquifer (found in one of the first mines of the town, and allowed the town to not be reliant on mountain rivers that might be too frozen for use for half the year and required alot more transport) 10. Foraging, trade, and The Lodge (due to the craggy area, traditional agriculture does not work here. Instead, foraging edible mushrooms, herbs, and berries combined with local hunting provides the only food source outside of trade. This means the town relies heavily on imports during colder months) 11. The Pits (The town usually prefers corporal punishments, fines, or exile, but in cases where locking someone up makes more sense, they use a series of deep, near-vertically carved mines that require ladders to climb out; the pits have anti-magic runes installed near the top exit and outer wallsto prevent flights or magic attacks out)

[@TheFantasyForge]

Omg I love how much thought you put into this. Make this a map and you have yourself a whole campaign or at least an Act 1. Love this comment, thanks for the love

[@eliplayz22]

I might have to borrow this at some point

[@danielmiller3596]

Workers at my jobs have, "maybe we can use this piece we messed up later..." as a boneyard. Yours is scarier.

[@quillfire7144]

3:56 the cutest displacer beast(kitten?) I have ever seen

[@TheFantasyForge]

he would definitely say he's full grown 😏

[@nickscheffer5739]

How does this guy not have more subscribers? Everyone else just goes on and on! This guy gets to the brass taxes; it's so refreshing!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Aw appreciate that, I just try to make videos that would be helpful for me

[@potatolord6726]

I am starting a new campaign and just made the new town! This list made me know I wasn't missing anything. It also made me realize that my temple is the town hall, the arcane school, and the jail.. This was all intentional, but I was worried my heavily religious town wouldn't seem very religious-y haha

[@TheFantasyForge]

Ha! I love the blend of all three of those buildings. I think religious means so many different things that it will work for you

[@valthalin7613]

Churches were often used as town halls since it was a place for community to gather. "The Church" was often into sciencey things before it was cool. Also they will kill or imprison people that wanted to also do sciencey things and talk about it without their approval. Also as in the vid, they kept libraries for study. If the "Arcane" is in alignment with the religious temples views why wouldn't it be encouraged on the grounds. It would also be a good way of monitoring / keeping power (actual/political/militarily). I've heard of monetarists or the like being build to "contain" an evil object or site. The Dungeon was often in the highest place. If height is closeness to your deity and the temple is a favored site. Maybe it's a good place to keep people from running away and have god purify them through proximity. Or in the depths of the earth, if the head priest thinks they should be closest to god and not some soon to be wall decoration.

[@beammeupscott3032]

Don't forget the house of lady favors. Even if your party isn't the type to go to one to gain favors there are endless quest sources that can be found from those locations because typically no one else would help.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Love this idea! Assassins Creed Brotherhood did that iirc

[@jamestaylor3805]

Additional 'locations' needed. 1. The Rumor Mill, this may be a tavern or a person, but is THE spot in town where rumors are the most tightly concentrated, and is not a universal hub from town to town. I like herbalists hosting a tea circle that works as the rumor mill. 2. The Third Place(kids version), the 3rd place label is for those locations we spent time when not at home or at work, like taverns. But children can struggle to establish a 3rd place for themselves in some towns so when then have a place they congregate in your town it should be noted. These places can be great for gathering information adults may overlook, recruiting little spies, perferming acts of service for clerics and paladins. 3. The animal doctors. Any town of size would have a individual or two who was trusted with the treatment of livestock and working animals. Adventurers tend to have lots of little pets who may need specialized care and quests to get it. 4. The Local Industry, for a town to become more than a village usually requires a trade good of locally renowned quality, something this town makes that others in the area do not(or aren't very good at it). Along with this industry will be a collection of places related to it. They may never come into play but are almost requisite for immersive flavor. Have to explain how a town got big sometimes. 5. The Hive, the location used by citizens of the underbelly for their 3rd place. 6. The gully/the warren... where the unfortunate souls of a community lay their heads. The collective homes of the Gully Dwarves from original DragonLance are wonderful examples of their potential place in stories.

[@TheFantasyForge]

The third place! Never heard of that term, but that gave me Kingdom Hearts 2 vibes (when they are all sitting on the clock tower). That's such a great way to add some atmosphere. Really appreciate the thought put into this post

[@valthalin7613]

- gym/bath house (could be guard barracks, but more social. Rome gym was great mixer for rich/poor) - The Front Gate House (also could be guard barracks in small town) - wreck / contest area (e.g. arena) - Gallows / execution site (probably outside of town like a hangman's tree, a site of unrest or evil) - Burial Ground (how are the dead put to rest / is their spirit/body kept or watched over?) + Undertaker home (corpse embalming, coffin making, funeral rites site; resource reclamation, workforce recruitment 'undead') - Home of the displaced & disposed (Orphanage, destitute, lame/leper dwelling) - Serenity garden; a place for sensitive people to recover (PTSD soldiers), often had roaming animals / plants to care for and lots reflecting pools/flowing water, and areas of falling water / wind chimes with gentle lighting 24/7. I forgot what it's actually called. - Organized crime structure (money/control strict pecking order) and or - Thieves sewer hideout (thrill/skill fear/respect based hierarchy) - Pig Farmer (were do the bodies go?) - Brothel; house of ill repute or Companion temple (depending on how sexy time things are viewed; and or darker carnal desires like a Slaaneshy / gilgameshy anything goes kinda place) - Place of unrest or evil, not like the gallows but a natural place were the peoples fear gathers. It harbors a deeply unsettling vibe and the threat of the unknown. Even if the area is physically known or visible the gnawing notion that a terrible something is waiting.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL "where do the bodies go?", that killed me xD

[@imayb1]

While good ideas to pad-out a larger community, I see all but one of these as "extra". - In a farming community, the farm workers get plenty of exercise. - Protections for a village could be important, depending upon the area. In a very settled area that has regional guard patrols, a village might not even have walls. In more frontier areas, a wall and gate are more necessary. - Small villages often used exile or ostracization, rather than execution. - In the past, the dead were often laid to rest on their own land. Descendants would bury a loved one under a favorite tree, for example. - A small village wouldn't have enough population to support an orphanage or poor farm. Generally, some family would take in an orphan or a childless couple would adopt them. - LOL. A serenity garden is a sign of great wealth absent in a small village, and largely unnecessary. - Even the Amish have organized criminal gangs, so I'll give you this one. Crime finds a way, even in supposedly idyllic pastoral settings. - Most villages *wish* they had sewers. This is definitely a city issue. - Another city thing. Villages might have a disreputable 'whore' but in a village, you're more likely to have whispers and rumors of who is cheating on each other. - I like this idea, but I don't see it as a necessity, either. I'm going to count it among a village's one unique thing-- as gamerraven said, above. Overall, very nice list of expansion ideas.

[@Docsfortune]

3:57 I found him! Also, I was really inspired by this. I’m using a homebrewed setting based on the Darkest Dungeon video game, and now I know exactly what not to introduce so my players can build it up from scratch.

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw yay! Glad I got your gears turning :D Thanks for the love

[@samstanage]

Absolutely incredible. Great pacing, excellent b-roll, well thought out reasoning. Not sure why this is my first time seeing you but you deserve way more views! Instant sub.

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw shucks, I appreciate the love

[@StinkerTheFirst]

This is a great list. One could make any number of plot-points by emphasizing one aspect or another. Or make a hubtown by building them all out. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you! Just glad it helps even a little

[@vicentebahamondez196]

A cementery is a place that my players usually ask for after adventures... normally some npc died or someone in the past and in the case of someone having speak withe dead is a must have

[@TheFantasyForge]

That's amazing! How cool to be able to visit old characters D: That's some top tier D&D right there

[@peterwheeler4928]

Great video, one of my favourites of yours thus far. The pacing is excellent, not too much time bogged down on each example. Its a good signal to noise ratio

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love! :D

[@igoonx15]

I started writing my own story to help me paint and draw characters and worlds, landscapes, etc... and i started writing a light novel to help me find ideas and i kinda loved writing fantasy stories so this channel helped me a lot. Thank you so much!

[@TheFantasyForge]

aw I'm glad! You sound like me haha. I'm doing the exact same thing.

[@igoonx15]

@@TheFantasyForge i usually find inspiration from video games since i play a lot of them but then i started thinking and finding ideas that i thought to myself why not actually writing and creating my own so thankfully i found your channel. You’re doing great explaining stuff because i saw a lot of videos and a lot of them were very difficult for beginners.

[@TheFantasyForge]

@@igoonx15 I just try to think "how would I do this" and then just explain that as simply as possible haha. Hey, maybe one day you can write your own video game ;)

[@igoonx15]

@@TheFantasyForge i appreciate the simplicity tbh, it’s easy to digest if that make sense😂

[@noahrice3362]

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen something from this channel, and dang, you have my attention and subscription now. I do a lot of world building, but frankly, it can be really hard to get started or know where to go. This was a huge help, and I'm so gonna be keeping an eye out for more stuff. Also, I caught Tobias in the Smithy segment, very cool. (I swear though, now I'm thinking about Sonic and the Black Knight on top of a bunch of other things and I really wish I could play it...)

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thank you for the sub! And you mean Black Knight the movie? 😎

[@wraithlester1672]

I got to say, ive only seen three of your videos but if they are all like this, then you have something. Easy voice to listen too. Quick points, explained briefly and immediately with decent visuals and style. Do more please, believe it or not you're hitting something direly needed among dnd channels and story tellers.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Aw shucks, I needed to hear that. Thank you for the love! :D

[@Snoil]

Seat of government/rulership. be it a humble civic hall for the village or a palace or even a parliament for national capitals.

[@AmaiarAiramand]

Another great addition to towns would be some kind of transport hub, be it a maritime port or a stable where travelers can leave their horses or hire carriages.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Definitely! Every town needs a reason to exist, and trade is a big one

[@stupiddude6824]

really good content man. Interesting thoughts, concise, to-the-point well presented with funny clips. I'm subscribing for more :)

[@tylerdruskoff9689]

A great way to make a town feel inviting is to have families feel safe to have their kids play in the street. Kids shape the town. Having no kids around makes a place feel colder and less safe. If kids are stealing or in gangs in makes the town seem that much worse, that even the innocent are corrupted.

[@TheFantasyForge]

YES. Ever seen Children of Men? No kids in the whole film. When you hear children laughing in the credits, it gives you chills.

[@Hardymovies]

Great content as always Fantasy Forge!

[@TheFantasyForge]

appreciate the love :D

[@harveyspectre3512]

Great video! My town would’ve had a distinct lack of healthcare if it wasn’t for this list. Now to come up with an npc…

[@TheFantasyForge]

A doctor collecting "patients who have passed" in his basement? 😈

[@edwardg8912]

Great video. Earning a sub for knowing the history of the word barber and of the European university.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Gotta give that to my SO, she's the one that knew all of that, I was blown away. Had no idea barbers were so damn badass

[@fmcypher4823]

I really enjoy the way you talk about the game. It really resonates with me for some reason. Only seen two videos, but loving the content so far. ❤

[@TheFantasyForge]

Glad you like it! Thanks for leaving some love :D

[@thegodsea6003]

This was exceptionally helpful!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Glad to help! And thanks for the love

[@The-Swift-Kobold]

Great channel I really like how concise the information is here (posting to say thank also for algorithm)

[@TheFantasyForge]

Praise the algorithm! Appreciate the love haha

[@_Simoose]

Great outline, thanks. I've been developing the area around my starting town, as that comes easy to me, but the actual town I've been struggling with. This will help a lot.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I'm glad it helped! Appreciate the love

[@PlazmaPup]

Hi Tobias! I see you at 3:55!

[@edwardheppenstall8690]

Been DMing a campaign of the lost mines of phandelver, as the party completes quest I'm having the town (phandalin) become more developed. The party cleared the bandit militia out of the old Manor? The Lords alliance sends some soldiers and builders to turn the manor into a barracks. And so on as certain quests are completed

[@charlesbarthalmuelmortimer1445]

Great content!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks for the love! 😁

[@seth8121]

Very nice!

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks for the love!

[@Crits-Crafts]

Tobias needs to be careful, He might burn his whiskers hanging round near the blacksmith at 3:55

[@TheFantasyForge]

nice catch 😉

[@gameraven13]

3:55 I see a new Lannister in the bottom left there lol. Perhaps they should change their house crest from a lion to a displacer kitten Also for a 12th location, I think every town should have something unique. Sure it could be one of the 11 listed, but something like a coliseum/arena or a strange structure like an obelisk with celestial or infernal writing on it. Maybe not *every* town needs this, but I think it absolutely adds flavor.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Haha! And agreed! I love me some creepy obelisks

[@imayb1]

This is why we have towns that advertise stuff like "The world's biggest ball of string!" or "Home of Merrick's Cheese Wheels!"

[@thiagom8478]

Doesn't has to be a cosmic reference, or something from some civilization lost 65 million years ago. Could be as simple as a stone tower destroyed by a lightening tempest 50 years ago and never repaired, that some people falsely believe to be hunted. Or a theatre from a period that ended 70 years ago, when the city had a more important role in national economy, that became too big and luxurious for the reality of the city now, and because of that stays mostly locked. But yes, I thing is advisable to have something for every permanent settlement in the story. One thing all small cities used to have where their local "street people". Who could be living literally on the streets or not, but where seem wandering all day, mostly talking nonsense. The insane beggar type, harmless, scarring the children or being bothered by them. The kind of street folk you get, and the way they are treated, can help storytelling as a background element.

[@Dudeman715]

Good stuff

[@TheFantasyForge]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@peteralexandergraae2830]

I sort of have this idea for, NOT a tavern. But a theater. A place where i hope the pcs will stay and live and use as sort of their homebase, once established as such. It is based on a real theater troup that has a show every year, full of bad humor, dirty jokes, music and magic. As well as an organised sect that is the theme of the scetch. I am kinda hoping to slowly upgrade the place as the pcs bring more and more buisness to the place and hopefully pays to keep the place running and they get to enjoy a theater play and a show every once in a while, which isn't a bad idea if you want to do business with various noblemen and high standing commoners alike

[@TheFantasyForge]

that sounds awesome! I'd love that as a player

[@luminous3558]

May I present to you the library or archives. A place to get info on historic events pertaining to the town, info on local customs and factions or nobles. Info is the most crucial part of any campaign and a place for answers to harder questions is always good. No more asking every old person if they remember what happened 20 years ago when the bad guy appeared the first time and instead we get to put Investigation, history, religion and or arcana to good use or just convince the librarian to help out. Players tend to flail around if they don't have a comprehensive overview of the situation so giving them a line to getting the big picture is great. You can even integrate it as a quest by having the bad guy remove certain parts of info from the local library and filling in the blanks requires finding someone who remembers the events or otherwise still has that knowledge. Learning about the history of the local NPCs might give the party ideas for how to better interact with them or discern their motivations or even open up new quests or ways to get more items or resources.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Super smart, so true. They need a helping hand and a library is a great way. You can also add so many twists to a library to make it unique. Or creepy lol

[@ActuallyDad]

Seems like a lot of things for a small town. I think that levels of civilization makes a little more sense. Villages have 4 of these, towns have 8, cities have all 11. That kind of thing. Some are crucial, like water, but others can be almost non existent. The tavern could be missing, and the farmer with the big family would invite you in to hear your stories and news. The jail probably isn’t a part of a small village, they just make a posse and run trouble makers out of town. Countering that, there is a group of nearby villages that are on the way to becoming a city so they have agreed upon laws and thus do have a jail!

[@TheFantasyForge]

I think it depends on if you're assuming it's a "medieval" town or more of a late 18th century kind of town. But I love your points!

[@WallNutBreaker524]

Wow! This video came at the time i needed it most! 😂

[@TheFantasyForge]

haha glad I could help. Thanks for the love :D

[@branderwilson173]

Waste management services, this can be Latrines, poop wagon, burn pile. The Town dump or sewer systems.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Why do you need waste services if you have a river? :D jk….except not really because that’s why medieval peasants couldn’t drink most water

[@ludwigvannormayenn8657]

Great

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love

[@petersmythe6462]

One thing I will say, long term warehousing of prisoners was not always a thing in the past. Food staples being the dominant living expense don't exactly encourage long term prison systems. Something that today would be a pretty bad misdemeanor would likely instead result in being beaten, whipped, exiled, publically humiliated, having to pay a fine, torture, mutilation, or very short jail terms, but the idea of keeping people in jail for decades is a rather modern one that is more related to liberalism and socialism and low food prices. The effort to maintain a jail is much greater than that to maintain a gallows though, and often times harsh punishments were used to compensate for relatively poor solve rates for crimes. Do not expect someone who gets caught committing a robbery or murdering people to get light sentencing. Also, generalized police that are simply there to protect everyone's rights and the public order are another modern invention, present to much greater extent in a liberal or socialist state than a feudal one. That's not to say that burglary was legal but it wouldn't have been the #1 priority of the state such as it existed in feudal societies to go around trying to solve every property crime for free.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I think I equated my small fantasy town to a 18-19th century town where jails and law were more common. In one of my other videos I talk about how I don't like that fantasy town always means medieval Europe, and this is why lol.

[@spinesauce2687]

3:55 Little buddy! I might name a displacer kitten after him in my game, seeing as the party might go to the lair and adopt any babies they find! (don't ask what happened to the parents or why the party was there) 8:31 RAAAAAAAAAAAAH I WAS MENTIONED

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL love this comment. And I’m sure Tobias will make them happy if you do that 😇🤓

[@thiagom8478]

Taverns are a nice trope, I agree. I would say, however, that one interesting way to make a distinct society in fantasy is to build a city where there are not taverns, and find a way to distribute the functions of such places to somewhere else. In European society by some time that "somewhere else" was peoples houses. The habit of visit people in by surprise, have guests and value hospitality highly belongs to a society where taverns and hotels did not existed. Or where not the norm. A society where you must do what you would usually do in a tavern not in a commercial establish but in private mansions (being those castles or palaces, depending on how important concerns with security are for those who design and build them) where you need to be welcomed by the owner of the house, is a society that tastes different than usual D&D setting. But story flows equally well. Gentlemen Clubs are another option that plays some parts of the role of taverns. Cafes and Tea Houses are another, closer to the "anyone can enter, and just pay what they consume" paradigm, but you don't usually get a bed to sleep for the night in those places. Taverns are great. And since they are so great is very interesting not to have them in every society.

[@psibernight2177]

Smaller towns will combine these. For instance, the Church/religious center would also be the healers and the place of learning as churches often kept certificates of birth, death and marriage. The reverse is also true with larger towns and cities having all of these in greater and more specialized numbers. Instead of just a blacksmith now there is a weaponsmith, armorsmith, bower and fletcher.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! love the detail :D thanks for the comment

[@Marcus-ki1en]

Possible Adds: Breweries, Wineries, Distilleries (larger scale than an ale house); Tanneries; Mills (both grain and weaving); Butchers; Midwifes to go with the Barber; Toll /customs house for border towns to tax imported goods

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! Love these. Especially the breweries. Toll house makes me think of Baldurs Gate 3 😰

[@cteal2018]

One you forgot, any settlement of size will have it's seedy underside. Who is running the thieves guild in the area, and what is their game?

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! So much happens in cities that we don't know about

[@CaptCook999]

It sounds more like you are talking about cities not towns. Midevil towns were much smaller. Larger than a village but nowhere near the size of a city. A town would most likely not have a mage college. At best it would have a school for children. It might have a healer of low level. Perhaps a cleric of 3rd level. Perhaps a few if there is more than one temple. And I doubt that most towns would have a castle. A small keep perhaps outside of the town atop a hill to have a good vantage point.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Medieval* and keeps were part of the castle. The castle was just where the local lord lived but all lords had castles of varying sizes and protected multiple towns that the lord “owned”. And towns could be anywhere from 1000 to 6000 people or more. Meaning hundreds of buildings. I’d call that a town and any population of that size can and would have everything I mentioned. Cambridge started in a small town and is now a major university so if a town can have a university, why wouldn’t they have a mage? But you are free to build your town your way.

[@tech_kotleta2808]

Yea, all of this is important, but to my mind not every place must be in every town. In my current campaign I have a huge kingdom, which is changing from West to East. On the West i have my Capital of the kingdom with most of these places, but for example, there is no Magic academy, cause I want my party to go to the neighbouring town, so Academy is there. And further to the East towns getting poorer, there are no huge marketplaces and stone houses. On the East edge are just poor villages. I think this way of placing special buildings in your kingdom makes your world more realistic (especially if there is an evil king ;})

[@TheFantasyForge]

Yes! Definitely just do what works for you :D

[@TheMichaellathrop]

I think the place of academic learning is predicated on the size of the town, while their might be a wizard or even just a scholar living in a tower near a village or a hedge mage in even the meanest hamlet I doubt that there would be any kind of formal non monastic education magical or otherwise anywhere smaller than a mid-sized town. Similarly while you can have a monastery off in the sticks most villages and even some small towns would only have one or possibly a few temples or even just some shrines, in a hamlet you might have as little as a single shrine tended by deacon or some other lay member rather than a priest or monk.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I think it fully depends on how your world is set up! If magic is common and anyone and everyone has access to it, chances are you'll find arcane practitioners everywhere. And there may be one or two hiding in small towns too ;)

[@TheMichaellathrop]

@@TheFantasyForge like I said there can be a tower bound wizard or a local hedge mage anywhere the plot requires but a formal arcane university is only likely to be either off in the absolute middle of nowhere and hard to reach or in a city, depending on whether or not they are reclusive. I was mostly trying to point out how those features might appear in a hamlet village or small town, whereas your suggestions seemed to mostly cover how those things would look in a city or possibly a very large town.

[@thiagom8478]

Sure, depends on the setting. And ideally one should consider how common education institutions will be, and connect that with the kind of education the average commoner has. If everybody can write and read in this world then probably you should have some collective effort in place to make that happen. Children learn how to speak by being around people speaking but they usually don't learn how to read and write in the same way. Some intentional effort must be made by adults to educate children. That's something taken by granted sometimes, I think, specially in Medieval Fantasy settings. Perhaps parents teach their own children how to write and read, cool, but then you must have this as a social institution in itself. Parents will need the time in the day to do that, you will see the tools for this in every home. If you have only one small group of people or two that write and read, then makes no sense to have schools or libraries in small villages. Only the Caste of Scribes, or the house of the magister, shall have books. If magic is taught by initiation, and/or is hereditary only, then you may not have any schools of magic in the world. Or only a few Universities (for advanced studies) in large metropolis or State Cities build around those very institutions. Wizards teach their students in their Wizard towers, like medieval apprentices used to be taught. In many cases they will only teach their own children, possibly nephews.

[@TheMichaellathrop]

@@thiagom8478 I tend to see the general literacy rate being low in most medieval fantasy settings

[@thiagom8478]

I am not sure about that,@@TheMichaellathrop. Perhaps the point is what we compared it to, when we say "low" in that context. I suppose would make sense for people able to write and read to be the exception_ possibly a rare exception, so rare that you would pass half a dozen villages before find someone to read you that letter you cannot read yourself_ but we are so used to this useful tool that is easier to take it for granted. On the other hand, there was places and period where at least some peasants learned how to write, if I am not mistaken. "Medieval" is a big box, I think, and there are a lot of different things in it (even before we ad the "fantasy"). I mostly like the notion of societies where only those who "need" to learn how to read do so. But mostly because it contrasts with our basic assumption about the subject. One option is to make literacy a sort of magic, at least in the eyes of common folk.

[@T4N7]

One thing every IRL town needed was working girls. Wouldn’t fault anyone for omitting them but realistically there is a reason it was humanity’s first profession 😹

[@jimothyworldbuilding3664]

Don't forget you can have a single building/place carry out multiple functions, if you want a smaller number of places for your players to go to (ie: if you or they are big dumb dumbs, or it suits the setting). The town hall doubles as a communal place for drinking and parties whenever not being used for discussions and court cases. Jail can be under the town hall. Medicine was often done religiously, so you can merge church/shrine and herbalist. And town well/river can be integrated into the market, for example a well in the middle of the market or a river running past it. A market will likely be right where the smithy and alchemy lab, plus other shopping things, can be found. Thinking about how things are positioned relative to each other helps as well, a kind of soft-merge. "the people cross the bridge over the river to farm in the fields beyond it, then return home at night. The guard tower is next to the bridge, overlooking fields and town alike."

[@Sgtwarpotato]

say i wanted the guards around the town to be skeletons but friendly ones reanimated by a good necromancer how would i incorporated into the town along with that maybe a morgue or cemetery your going to need to bury the dead or the town will start to smell like rot also you could make it connected to a beginning quest for the party

[@TheFantasyForge]

Ooo I love that! Maybe they have a "resting" area, and an area where they get their gear and stuff for their "shift?". Or an office for the person who summons them? This is such a cool idea tho

[@CooperAATE]

3:55 gg ez

[@danielsanders7538]

You should call this about CITIES not towns. Idk what games you're running but no fucking way every random ass town has a mage's tower. Or even a formal government/town hall. Might just be there's some dude people decided was the mayor and he makes decisions on thursday nights in the pub. Good general list but VERY simplistic.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LMAO...so don't put it in your game? See how easy that was. Thanks for the comment 😉

[@nivaldoschmiedel8245]

Great video. Not all towns should have places dedicated to learning, since in real life during the middle ages many places didn't have a proper study place, instead places that had other focus would end up also being used as learning place, like a guild or a temple.

[@TheFantasyForge]

thanks for the love :D

[@StormAsher104]

You forgot the INN!!!

[@thiagom8478]

And I will disagree once more, about Jails. For most societies they do not make sense, or at least they will be way less common than we are used to expect. To punish people with a period of time locked, getting food, and being under guard, only makes sense for extremely pampered societies. Where levels of technology (or its equivalent in magic) allow a lot of extra food and expendable labour. E know for a fact that lock people for decades is NOT a effective strategy to make them better in follow consensual morality and social rules. It work sometimes, but not most the time. And it is insanely expensive. To use death penalty more often is probably better than things like decades in prison, or life sentences. Bellow that slavery is an option, yes, slavery. Perhaps, bellow that, you can have a time limit for slavery: "you will be a slave for two years, and the tattoo we are placing on your face will fade completely when that time ends". Bellow that, physical punishment and the public humiliation that comes to that will work well enough for some societies (but that depends on having a high level of cultural unity in your society: people must feel humiliated by the humiliation rituals, or they do not work for what they are intended). Banishment, permanent mutilation and fines are also tools of punishment that can make sense and work well, according to context. Jails are good for war prisoners, mostly. Having them for keep people waiting trial shows an inefficient legal system, likely corrupt. I can see no other justifiable reason to have jails.

[@briankelly1240]

Idea: have different towns where there is a story about why one of these is missing

[@TheFantasyForge]

That's honestly a great idea and makes you think about the town's history

[@docstockandbarrel]

👍🏻

[@TheFantasyForge]

you have a great name

[@martastekla1779]

Am I the only one who thinks the script sounds like it was written by ChatGPT?

[@TheFantasyForge]

I was using a fiver script writer, so it's possible! Probably why my older videos didn't do as well haha. As the channel got bigger I've been writing them myself. Thanks for the comment!

[@VisonsofFalseTruths]

1. Place of Socializing 2. Place of Government 3. Place of Healing 4. Place of Business 5. Place of Learning 6. Place of Crafting 7. Place of Prayer 8. Place of Security 9. Place of Water 10. Place of Food 11. Place of Punishment Some of these might be the same location; the town church might also be responsible for education and healing (common in the middle ages). The sheriff’s office might also house the town jail. Others might be entirely absent; a town that serves as a satellite for a larger city might not have their own jail or church or even marketplace, expecting that need to be filled in the larger town or at the individual or household level.

[@mikeg8564]

12, a graveyard, where do the dead go.... could be a quest point.

[@TheFantasyForge]

Ooo good point! Love this idea. Thanks for the comment

[@David_Apollonius]

No no no. Taverns were not inns. They were taverns. You couldn't sleep at a tavern. You slept at an inn or a hospital/hospice. (Before the word hospital meant place where they heal the sick. The wordckme sfrom hospitality) A tavern is a pub, that's all. Also, you probably couldn't get a private room at an inn. You had to share that bed and there were more beds in that room. Don't believe everything you see in movies.

[@lamMeTV]

Wouldnt be surprised if this script was made by AI or by a "writer". This list is only for the biggest cities in your world. Most towns and villages would obviously have none of those.

[@TheFantasyForge]

LOL you’re free to build your world your way but a town of 6000 would and did have all of this. Edit: minus the arcane school

[@thiagom8478]

Yes, and take a lot of food to keep 6000 people alive too,@@TheFantasyForge. In low tech that is likely to take a lot of land around the city, or some serious commerce (with a value product to trade being produced by the city). 6000 is very small for a city today, but I imagine it would be respectable size in the eyes of most people living before Industrial Revolution. Ancient Rome famously had more than 1 million residents at some point, but Rome was a scary beast in its historical context. Risking to sound too "Marxist", perhaps that is the first thing any settlement should have. What defines its personality, before anything else. And "economic base". A city where the hearth of economy in fishing industry should smell different (metaphorically speaking) from another based in manufacturing musical instruments. And both should be connected to some sort of market. Is hard to imagine a self-sufficient city that feels like a city. Villages can be isolated and then they neither import nor export anything significant. But cities beg for more economic context. Anyway, where that obsession with AI writers is coming from? I cannot find a single list of comments in youtube now without some meditative speculation about something being or not a product of AI! I wish I could draw and paint half as well as AIs today can. And write is easier than draw. Is "that looks like something written by AI" intended as high praise nowadays ?

[@Belzediel]

Uh.... No mill. You have a lot to learn.

[@TheFantasyForge]

I would put that under their food source

[@Belzediel]

Yeah, You have a LOT to learn.@@TheFantasyForge

[@mikeg8564]

@@Belzediel why so passive aggressive? not all towns in all worlds will have a mill. But they will have a food source / food production.

[@kompatybilijny9348]

This video has quite a lot of misinformation

[@TheFantasyForge]

I'm not a historian, and this is for fantasy worlds so relax lmao. Thanks for the comment!

[@kompatybilijny9348]

@@TheFantasyForge I mean, stuff like a single blacksmith could work for a very small town. And city guards? If the town is basically owned by merchant's guild, then yeah, but otherwise guards would be nothing more than militia. And Jails were rare - if you were caught, you would have been beaten up on the street, or punished on the market. Keeping prisoners is simply expensive and noone wants to waste money on a random thief. Also Taverns and Inns are different things and what you described fits an Inn far more.

[@TheFantasyForge]

1. I didn't say you needed multiple blacksmiths. 2. A town would need to be able to defend itself no matter what you want to call it: militia, guards, army...etc. 3. Jails were rare? Stockades, cells, all existed. There are so many famous instances of people who were jailed throughout the centuries, so I disagree with you there. Taverns and inns are different, but they can also be one building. Again, it's a fantasy world, build it how you want, but relax LMAO. @@kompatybilijny9348

[@kompatybilijny9348]

@@TheFantasyForge Yes - famous people. You would jail nobles and important people and that was usually done in bigger cities that actually had jails. Commoners would get beaten on the street, usually by other citizens. City guards existed only in large cities - and those cities had barracks. Smaller towns had volounteer militias for the most part and any other guards would be paid by specific guilds - yes, they would uphold law and order, but they were loyal to the guild, not the town.

[@TheFantasyForge]

You just agreed with me. Okay then, good morning and thanks for the comments! @@kompatybilijny9348

[@akale2620]

11? This town doesn't even have 11 houses. Its a small town. What you describe sounds more like a big city.

[@TheFantasyForge]

A small town in medieval Europe would have anywhere from 1000-6000 people. Assuming each house has 4-8 people in it...do the math. You are talking about a village.

[@mikeg8564]

most civilized placed need these, but they may not have dedicated structures, they may share or be vacant spaces.

[@badverb9267]

was this scripted by AI lol