I'm asking because I always have trouble thinking of relevant buildings for my towns, so I always stick to random structures. Having a dozen or more buildings for a speciffic purpose would add some flavor to "random village #5" settings.
Each structure will show up in various frequencies based on town size as well, so that may be relevant.
Village
Population: under 1000 according to DMG, I say 500 is more reasonable.
Generally just a collection of small houses and some other minor buildings. Everything is probably made of wood, thatch, and dirt floors. Villages *may* have a wooden palisade, but nothing more than that. A wall of cultivated briars or something may be more likely. Villages may also build their structures close together and add some brick walls between the buildings in an attempt to fortify things a bit.
Villages should have a very communal feel, and probably don't actually use currency too much. A bartering system may be more common here, and they would probably let adventurers sleep in a hay loft for free, or in exchange for helping them with some minor things.
Magic items in a village would generally be small trinkets or baubles, and would be considered family heirlooms.
Many of the specialty jobs found in a Town or City would be performed by the village members, though the results would probably be far more utilitarian. Examples include a tanner, basket weaver, woodworker, and a poleturner. These activities would only be needed occasionally in a village, but a town would be large enough to support the occupation as an independent affair.
Town
Population: 1000 to 10,000 people, according to DMG. I would say 500 to 3000 would be more reasonable.
Towns may have cobbled streets, especially if near a source of stone. Towns tend to have more niche structures, and probably an actual government, rather than "Bill's in charge." Towns probably have a wall around them, especially if monsters are frequent nearby.
Many buildings may be stone, and clay roofs would be quite common as well. Multi-story buildings would start to emerge. Glass windows may start to emerge as well, especially if the town houses a glassblower.
City
Population: Up to 25,000 or more.
Cities are big, and would almost always have a wall of some kind, especially around the inner city, though the city would often outgrow this wall. This wall would often be made of stone, and possibly be magically reinforced. Cities also have a clearly defined class system, either by design or by natural occurrence. A well-trained militia or guard force would be common.
Cities would also begin to sell magic weapons in high numbers, though the price would remain high. Magic items would probably be common among the nobility, though random trinkets may be found among the commoners as well.
Cities are dependent on neighboring towns for resources, especially food, though they would also be able to export finery. Their size would be able to sustain highly-trained and highly-talented craftsmen.
Another factor to consider is the composition of each location. This is especially important in cities, and mildly important in towns.
By composition I mean the structure, layout, and overall design of the city.
Compare building in a Germanic style village to those of an Asian style or Greek. It's possible to mix a little but adding that kind of flair to a town is another factor to consider. Is the town all cut stonemasonry or mud bricks? Is it Plastered Panels or Simple timber structures? Do the local religions effect the makeup heavily or do they just have a marble church ine the middle of mud huts? In a city setting, are the streets cobble stones or pressed gravel? Allies are unlikely to be as well-maintained as the main roads are.
One final note: The race making up the majority of the city will have a significant impact on it's overall design.
City Composition Archetypes:
The Fortress - Surrounded by high walls, and probably has laws preventing people from building right next to the wall. Enchantments to sense powerful magic or tunneling under the wall may also be around.
Fortresses are most likely found defending important economic centers and located in naturally defensible locations such as high spots or a river.
Fortresses are most likely to have several layers of defenses. Many buildings in a fortress would have flat roofs, so defenders could climb on top and rain archer fire on invaders. Major roads would cut wide gaps between each city block. This way, if a single block is overtaken, defenders can simply remove the planks/bridge to those rooftops and continue the defense.
Perhaps each major square has magic stone walls that sink into the ground (merging with the road) during peace time, but erupt from the ground to stop invaders from walking down the major roads. Infiltrators would still slip through, but it would force the invaders to split up (inviting a massacre), or spend time breaking down the wall, giving the defenders more time to regain control of the situation.
The Metropolis - After many, many years of relative peace, this city has outgrown the limited space it has available. Think of New York City. Everything is built on top of everything else. Buildings tend to grow up, not out. Everything is more expensive, because of the competition for space. Depending on the situation, the city may have started growing down, presenting a whole new set of problems.
Perhaps the metropolis has a form of public transportation, such as short-range teleportation circles or a canal system full of enchanted (driverless) boats, kind of like taxis.
Steeltown - Located next to an important resource source, such as a mine or harbor, this city has a very industrial feel. While everything is in good condition, many of the buildings are utilitarian. Entire blocks may be taken over by warehouses or factories. Instead of favoring a craftsman trade, this city focuses on making large items. Steeltown is experiencing an industrial revolution.
Enlightenment - This city had it's roots in the study of arcane magic, or something. It has a very intellectual culture. Perhaps it's the result of a powerful wizard's university, or perhaps it grew around a supernatural phenomenon that naturally attracted the curious in nature. Examples of this include waterfalls that fall up, floating rocks, temporal phenomenon, Weird Stuff Happening (the Bermuda Triangle, only smaller in scale), or maybe a weird glitch in space-time that lets astronomers see into other dimensions.
Zealous r We - A city with a highly religious atmosphere, possibly at the base of your world's Mt Olympus.
OK, that's all I've got for now.
Blacksmith's - Every village should have a blacksmith, even if he's only part-time
Barn - Farms would generally have a barn for storing their tools, hay, and for housing the animals.
Church - Church would probably be held in a small building or perhaps at someone's house. Larger villages would probably have a dedicated town hall and use it for both purposes.
Farm - Villages will be surrounded by farm fields. Each farm would probably specialize in one or two crops or animals, but still grow enough other things for personal use.
Granary - A large silo, for holding grain (commonly called Silos today)
Graveyard - A small family gravesite, or village graveyard. Would probably be a short distance outside the village, especially if locals are concerned about necromancers. Perhaps the village believes in cremation.
Hovel/Hut - A one or two room structure for living in. Probably has a chimney/stove and a sleeping chamber.
Mill - Again, nearly every village would have a windmill or water mill to grind up the wheat
Root Cellar - Where community members store their crops and stuff. By storing the items underground, they remain cold and (mostly) fresh. Larger villages may have several, and prosperous families may have a small personal root cellar as well.
Sawmill - Where people take trees to be cut into lumber. Many sawmills were powered by water, but manpower or beasts of burden could be used in the absence of a large river.
Smokehouse - Sometimes a family would have one, but village residents may share.
Store/Shop - Sells assorted items, traveling gear, and food. Probably near the center of village.
Well - Every village would need a well or stream to get their water from
"Wise Woman" - Probably works from home, heals people's afflictions. Probably full of random superstitions and a couple of true nuggets of knowledge. Probably knows of and grows some herbs, but these would be on the low end of effectiveness, only curing mundane (non-magical) ailments.
Types of Farms
Animals*
Chickens - Chickens were quite common and easy to raise, but some farms probably specialized in them...
Cows - Milk, beef, cattle
Goats - Milk, meat. More adaptable than cattle.
Horses - Horse breeding was a very important job
Oxen - Used to pull very heavy wagons
Pigs - Pork
Sheep - Wool
Hounds - Trained dogs were invaluable to farmers and such. They keep away most vermin, and are useful for hunting. Different dog breeds have different uses. For example, small dogs are useful in an urban setting to keep away rats, but don't take up much room. Country farms would probably prefer larger dogs, especially those that can hold their own against low-level monsters (goblins).
*See post 27 for some details on farms and herd animals. Apparently herd animals weren't raised on farms until the 15th century. This may/may not be true in a fantasy environment (personally this is one true-to-life factoid I'd skip), but there you are.
Field Crops
Barley - Makes beer
Beans
Corn - Corn was actually in the new world (Americas) on Earth, but perhaps your plane has it?
Potatoes
Rice - Another biggie. Asian cultures practically used this in place of wheat.
Wheat - Probably the number one crop. Used to make bread.
Orchards
Apples
Bananas?
Grapes - Makes wine
Oranges
Olives - Olives are food, a flavor enhancement, a source of light and mechanical lubrication. CRITICALLY important to any Mediterranean culture
Animals*
Chickens - Chickens were quite common and easy to raise, but some farms probably specialized in them...
Cows - Milk, beef, cattle
Goats - Milk, meat. More adaptable than cattle.
Horses - Horse breeding was a very important job
Oxen - Used to pull very heavy wagons
Pigs - Pork
Sheep - Wool
Hounds - Trained dogs were invaluable to farmers and such. They keep away most vermin, and are useful for hunting. Different dog breeds have different uses. For example, small dogs are useful in an urban setting to keep away rats, but don't take up much room. Country farms would probably prefer larger dogs, especially those that can hold their own against low-level monsters (goblins).
*See post 27 for some details on farms and herd animals. Apparently herd animals weren't raised on farms until the 15th century. This may/may not be true in a fantasy environment (personally this is one true-to-life factoid I'd skip), but there you are.
Field Crops
Barley - Makes beer
Beans
Corn - Corn was actually in the new world (Americas) on Earth, but perhaps your plane has it?
Potatoes
Rice - Another biggie. Asian cultures practically used this in place of wheat.
Wheat - Probably the number one crop. Used to make bread.
Orchards
Apples
Bananas?
Grapes - Makes wine
Oranges
Olives - Olives are food, a flavor enhancement, a source of light and mechanical lubrication. CRITICALLY important to any Mediterranean culture
Apartment - High frequency in Cities, perhaps one or two in a town.
Basket Weaver - Makes things out of reeds, especially baskets. Villages may do this on the side, but a town would probably have an expert. Random fact: wicker baskets can be made watertight!
Black Market - So you want something... special, eh? Suppose I know a guy...
Brewer - Makes the world's favorite beverage. Water was often unsafe to drank in the medieval ages, so everyone drank wine and beer. I would argue that the presence of magic would make sanitizing water a snap, but that still may not be feasible in towns.
Butcher - Farmers probably butcher their own meat, but a town may have a butcher. Butchers would need a icebox, an underground cellar packed with ice to keep things cold. Salting is also an option. Cities may have task mages capable of enchanting the icebox with a Cold spell.
Catacombs/Graveyard - Depending on size and concerns about necromantic magic, towns may have graveyards or catacombs.
Cistern &/or Aquaduct - Access to clean water becomes harder as settlements increase in size. Even with probable access to magical water purification, cities would still need access to lots of water. Nobles would surely have magically purified water, but lower class people may have to settle for mostly-clean aquaduct water. Rivers, especially those supporting a large population, were generally vile to say the least.
Cobbler - Makes or repairs shoes. Shoes were generally made of leather, but they sometimes had wooden soles.
Cooper - Makes barrels. Barrels would have been everywhere, used for shipping practically everything. May want to be near a blacksmith to make the steel rings. Possibly maker of coffins and other things. (see post 13 & 14 for details)
Chandler - Makes candles, sells them at market. Candles are made out of beeswax and/or animal fat. Possibly smelly if latter, and on outskirts/downwind side of town.
Church - Moderate churches would begin to show up.
Dock - paths suspended above water for easy passage to and from ships.
Drydock - A warehouse where ships can be pulled out of the water for repairs.
Farms - A town would be surrounded by farms for quite a distance. When trouble brews, the farmers seek safety inside the town walls.
Glassblower - Makes glassware and windows out of sand. Needs a blast furnace. May be in conflict with potter
Gong Farmer (aka: poopsmith) - Scoops up all the animal droppings. Wee.
Inn - Towns would have an inn, possibly doubling as a diner in smaller locations. Stables would be nearby.
Marketplace - Possibly a set location for selling goods, sometimes just vendor carts at the side of the road. Cities would probably have dedicated market districts, such as a fish market and a farmer's market.
Merchant Post - Merchant posts would collect food and other goods sold in nearby villages and arrange for caravans to be sent out to other towns and cities. Merchants may also hire low-level adventurers for protection.
Mine - Towns tend to spring up around important terrain features. A mine would be one example of such feature. Mines provide an excellent source of raw materials for local workers. Raw material can also be refined or exported to another location.
Tavern - Most towns would likely have a tavern, especially if the Inn doesn't have a large common room.
Tanner - Takes leather/hide and cures it using various caustic & smelly chemicals.
Town Hall - Basically a big meeting hall, probably with 2-3 rooms in moderate towns. Villagers probably meet at someone's house.
Guard Tower - Towns will probably have an active guard duty of some kind, though it may not be much more than 3-5 guys with some decent armor. A militia would also be a common occurrence.
Potter - Makes clay pots for general purpose use. May also make bricks, though that was more of an untrained task IIRC. Needs a kiln. May be in conflict with glass blower.
Prison - Towns would have a prison, though it may not be much more than a cell or two in a stone building.
Stable - Any town with an inn is going to have a stable, probably owned by the innkeeper. Cities may have independent stables, sort of like a car parking garage.
Specialist Shops - Town Blacksmiths would begin to specialize in one industry. Sword smiths and armor smiths may begin to emerge. Shops may begin to sell only a speciffic category of items (such as spears or crossbows), and magic items may begin to show up, though they would be highly expensive.
Herbalist/Apothecary - Probably a low-level healer, a druid who lives nearby, or possibly a fake. Makes potions and goes around healing people. In a City setting, this would almost certainly be a trained Cleric.
Warehouse - Used to store various goods in, warehouses may take up an entire block.
Winery - A town may have a winery to make wine at. Wine needs to be stored underground and let cure for many years, so a warehouse nearby would be important.
Woodworker - In a small town, the construction of furniture and other devices would begin to increase in demand.
Aquatic Structures
Dock
Drydock
Netmaker
Sailmaker
Oarmaker (oarmaster?)
Types of Boats:
I'm not even going to try narrowing this field. Suffice to say, boats have a long history of special functions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Boat_types
I can't keep most of the names straight, but here's some general types of boats
Sail boat - Generally a small, sail-powered boat. Possibly used for personal transport?
Ship - Required deep water and a long dock to load supplies in.
Merchant Ship - Big, bulky, handles like a supersized SUV. Often unarmed or minimally armed, they focused on making big stupid boats that could carry lots of cargo.
Poleboat - Used in small canals and stuff. No oars, just a long pole to push off the bottom.
Canoe - Fits 2-4 people, excellent for small rivers. Can land anywhere, generally light enough to carry. An adventuring party would probably need one for every 2 people.
Rowboat - Has 2 oars that can be used by the same person. Possible to use for one person and some gear, but are generally much wider and bulkier than canoes.
Dock
Drydock
Netmaker
Sailmaker
Oarmaker (oarmaster?)
Types of Boats:
I'm not even going to try narrowing this field. Suffice to say, boats have a long history of special functions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Boat_types
I can't keep most of the names straight, but here's some general types of boats
Sail boat - Generally a small, sail-powered boat. Possibly used for personal transport?
Ship - Required deep water and a long dock to load supplies in.
Merchant Ship - Big, bulky, handles like a supersized SUV. Often unarmed or minimally armed, they focused on making big stupid boats that could carry lots of cargo.
Poleboat - Used in small canals and stuff. No oars, just a long pole to push off the bottom.
Canoe - Fits 2-4 people, excellent for small rivers. Can land anywhere, generally light enough to carry. An adventuring party would probably need one for every 2 people.
Rowboat - Has 2 oars that can be used by the same person. Possible to use for one person and some gear, but are generally much wider and bulkier than canoes.
To get at the nitty-gritty, towns and up would have a chandler to make candles for them. Cities would have teamsters for cartage. Realistically, villages and towns would probably have a "wise-woman" who would make them cures for everything from headache to pregnancy. This could probably be a druid who lives in a nearby forest grove.
Added apartments and some other random thoughts, such as a glass blower.
I realize there is lots of info out there. I was attempting to consolidate a nice list for people to browse. ;)
Added several City specialty shops.
Also, for the record, I'm attempting to keep this quasi-realistic. Feel free to add a fantasy flair, but I work best by starting with a mundane idea and elaborating on it, not the other way around.
UNLESS said nation has developed glassblowing. There's a good chance that many items will be made of glass and most major potters are out of business (see roman empire for a real example). Could be an adventure hook too, a dispute between two guilds.
Village:
Poleturner-makes poles (handles) for shovles and farming implements, could be pressed into service in times of war for spear shafts
Basketweaver-dependent upon geography and localized species
Miller-grinds wheat into flower
Kennel-home of a dog breeder
Common (Community) Root Cellar-storage of the harvest
Sawmill-either powered by water or by raw strength using several two-man sawing teams
This is nice I'll keep thinking on it
Added a sawmill, root cellar, and added Hounds to the list of farm animals.
;)
City
Barrister: this would be in a city that allows and upholds a written contract or it could be a neutral guild negoitator
Bookpress/Bookbinder: for making blank books and paper from scratch
Copyist/Scribe: would most likely be located in the same shop as the Bookbinder
Pwetersmith/Tinsmith: would make small implements like knives and spoons, or possibly pitchers and bowls
I'll still keep thinking.....
Barrels were indispensable for storing and transporting food like preserved meats and pickled vegetables. Also useful for beer and distilled spirits. The process is quite labor intensive, so any good sized community benefits from a skilled cooper.
If it's an oriental style community, then people may be buried in barrel-like coffins, which means your cooper doubles as coffin maker. Sounds small, but could be quite important RP wise.
Cathedral - a large extremely ornate temple.
Town & city:
Dock -paths suspended above water for easy passage to and from ships.
And while less important in regards to supplies, places of entertainment are always key to keep the masses happy.
In a magic heavy city, perhaps there are wizards concerned only with performing tricks for people to enjoy. Maybe fantastic creatures are dragged into the arenas for people to fight. Maybe creatures are dragged in because they can perform impressive tricks. Maybe there is some kind of zoo for such creatures.
And if certain stuff is banned, that may also be a focus for the city. Just because it's unlawful, doesn't mean people don't wanna see it.
Whether simple monthly gatherings in the village square, or continual bustling trade in a dedicated area, there will almost certainly be some sort of market. In smaller villages and towns open stalls would certainly be more prevalent than permanent shops. Though a large city would probably have a merchants' quarter of some sort, there would still probably also be a marketplace.
(Yay! I'm helping!)
I'm pretty clueless about boats in general, and I always get the terms mixed up, but if anyone has details to add, knock yourself out. I'm not sure why, but this is one category of information my stockpile of random factoids that always seems to leak. ;)
City
Orphanage: for the kiddies
City Mission: for assisting the desperate and homeless
Asylum: could be something like a version of "Arkham" from dc comics
Added Catacombs to city, graveyard to Village, and made a note that towns may have either.
Could make for a good plot hook.
City: Teleportation Circle
Added some stuff about mines.
Cisterns
Coldhouses
Graintowers or Storage Barns
Still thinkin'
sources of clean water are necessary: Cisterns, wells, aqueducts are all preferable to river water, though that may be used as well. relatively clean water is needed as a basic for cooking!
also: you missed a type of common farm: Olive Groves. Olives are food, a flavor enhancement, a source of light and mechanical lubrication. CRITICALLY important to any Mediterranean culture.
Also: Most herd animals are not grown on farms until at least the 15th century. Sheep and goats, especially, but in lesser extents beef cattle and horses are tended by nomads who bring the animals to a city for trade.
Perhaps a decommisioned creation forge in large/significant eberron settlements?
Wait, what now? Never played Eberron.
Give me some detail and an example and I'll add it.
WOW. lots of ideas here so forgive me if i duplicate. but i hadn't noticed another factor. Religious, racial, and regional factors will also determine certain building types and factors. Compare building in a Germanic style village to those of an asian style or greek. It's possible to mix a little but adding that kind of flair to a town is another factor to consider. Is the town all cut stonemasonry or mud bricks? Is it Plastered Panels or Simple timber structures? Do the local religions effect the makeup heavily or do they just have a marble church ine the middle of mud huts? If your in a city setting. Are the streets cobble stones or Pressed Gravel? It's unlikely the alleys are paved if the main roads are. I'm just saying. there are a lot of factors to think about beyond just what type of building is there. I see a lot of cool ideas here tho.
Point. I'll make a note of this in the first post
Cities may have
Botanical Gardens: dependant upon local climate
Coffee House: again dependant upon local crops
Also specialized craftsmen (with the exception of the blacksmith for larger villages) and shops would be exceedingly rare in a village setting. Medieval villages were pretty much exclusively farming communities.
Inn have historically, depending time and place, very common in villages, and were usually frequented by traveling knights and nobles.
I don't think I saw a standard Hospital on the list.
Sure, lots of places will have clerics to come tend to people, but clerics only get so many spells per day. There is always injury and disease, especially in times of hardship, famine, war. You're going to need a place to put these people, and probably a staff of experts and adepts to care for them.
Also, an ore refinery would be useful in a town that has a mining industry. Obviously, the mines themselves would not be likely to be located in town, but they would likely cart their material back to town to be refined.
Woodworking shops - people gotta make stuff
Library - depository of all knowledge
Single Family Homes, Multiple Family Homes - people need a place to put their stuff
Guard Towers - even a town with meager defenses will likely have a high guard tower where a keen-eyed teen could watch for dangers on the horizon.
Large cities may even have a bank. Likely it would be a heavily fortified structure full of traps and magical wards that wealthy individuals would pay a yearly rent to keep their valuables safe.
It's free, designed for a medieval type setting, and it's very well detailed. It provides all manner of information on shops, inns, settlements and so on.
Weekly market
Stocks/jailhouse
Fishing area
Customs/excise house
Toll road
You know, I thought of restarting this thread with some better forethought (IE: multiple OPs and a more well defined structure), so perhaps I'll do that this weekend.
I'm actually having my first go at DM now, so I'll finally have a use for some of this. (in fact, I was sort of poking around for it. creepy)
For some reason the idea of a Toll Booth amuses me. I'll have to stick this in my campaign.
Imagine a tribe of Trolls charging a toll to use their road! They could even keep the other monsters in the area in line! :D