Smaller Towns and Settlements

“Some of the greatest heroes are born in a place that nobody’s ever heard of. Me? I’m from… well, a small town you’ve probably never heard of. But I wasn’t trying to big myself up just then.”

• Ogden Hammerguard, Hero of Understone

While a lot of big and important places appear on maps of Harodom and the world, such as capitols, major cities, and historically or logistically significant locations, that’s far from all of the settlements, villages, and dwellings within these realms. Smaller settlements may only appear on smaller, regional maps, or may not appear at all – after all, the cartographers of the world can only work so quickly. With recent wars changing border lines and redrawing domains of authority, it has been hard to keep up with where every settlement has relocated itself.

Smaller settlements typically have fewer than one hundred residents, and will often be remote, or at least off of the beaten path. Merchant caravans will typically make a note of places where they can resupply, or ply their wares, if they appear on major roadways. Some settlements form because of the proximity to a good or source of supplies that makes settling there appealing – such as a mineral deposit, arable cropland, or a healthy forested area – while others are appealing because of their remoteness, harbouring those who wish to avoid taxation, those who have difficulty dealing with strangers, or outlawsthat the law may well have long forgotten.

Typically, when someone has been a survivor of a tragedy befalling a village or settlement, it is such a settlement that has undergone such a reversal in fortunes. While the armies of most nations will make a reasonable effort to protect settlements from the depredations of monsters and bandits, those that are more remote – and those that have specifically avoided scrutiny – are more difficult to effectively defend.

Governance

In Harodom, most settlements, towns, villages, and even cities fall under the rule of a Lord or Lady. These localities will most commonly be a part of a barony led by a Baron or Baroness, which will in turn be a part of one of Harodom’s four duchies. In practical fact, much of the land of Harodom is not densely enough settled to be divided into meaningful baronies. Smaller, more remote settlements may have a Lord or Lady, if they have any local nobility at all – or they may technically fall under the demesne of the Duchy, with no more local leadership.

Although the titles may vary, this is true of many nations within the Lakes Region. Smaller settlements, and notably remote ones, may see little of their nation’s representatives, which for some is very much the point. Settlements smaller than one hundred residents are unlikely to have any landed nobility, and instead rely on local representatives to adjudicate disputes, collect funds in service to a public good, or treat with other settlements.

Defence of Smaller Settlements

It can be hard for smaller settlements to mount an effective defence against bandits and monsters, but with recent conflicts with nearby nations, even smaller settlements have some blooded warriors at least basically skilled with arms and armour. In forested regions, hunters will often have slings or bows that they are prepared to dedicate to mutual protection – and of course, those who acts bandits against other small towns have to live somewhere. Although most nations limit the amount of professional soldiers that they want to be located in one place without oversight, impromptu guards or militias are an inevitability in a world where the deep forest contains true monsters.

Truly remote settlements may have difficulty sourcing good metal for bladed weapons, but well-made staves and cudgels are deadly in trained hands, and slings and stones are simple enough to craft. Tools that are typically used for forestry or agrarian ends can be just as deadly, with a pitch fork serving as a spear in dedicated hands, and an axe being an axe no matter where you are. A professional guard might not choose these weapons for themselves, but few professional guardsmen would care to see a skilled warrior coming at them with any such weapons.

Law and Order

Even those small settlements mostly populated by scofflaws and those who find less than total scrutiny appealing want some kind of internal order. After all, people will often prefer that their own possessions be respected, and few wish to be assaulted or murdered. The distaste for necromancy within the Lakes Region is firmly baked in at a social and cultural level, and with some few exceptions, those who partake in such magics are viewed with suspicion if not outright hostility, even in places that have few other taboos.

In those places where no external source of justice reigns, local governance will often pick up the slack. Village councils, founders, or respected townspeople will be called upon to make judgment calls based on the accusations and whatever evidence is available. Judgments are often final, or lasting – few small settlements have the resources to maintain a local prison, and may at best have a gaol capable of holding two miscreants, three if they’re standing. A serious crime may face dismemberment, exile, or even death, because the resources are simply stretched too thin to provide any other sort of resolution.

Magic in Small Settlements

While the Guild Arcane might prefer to have a chapter in every place where arcanists practice, some mages choose to settle in smaller, less populated areas, where they might be the only worker of the arcane arts – often building a tower or workshop. Trading magical solutions for more mundane wares, such spellcasters value their privacy and secrecy, taking apprentices rarely, and perhaps training them in ways of which the broader Guild might not necessarily approve.

Barring proximity to a holy site, or being an entirely faith-based settlement, a small hamlet might have one, or perhaps two invested clerics of any faith, with perhaps an acolyte learning the ways of faith. While exceptions certainly exist, it is difficult to sustain too many full-time clergy within a limited area, although there may be several lay-followers of any number of religions, marking personal observances to the best of their abilities. Most often, the most dominant faith will pertain to the nature of the settlement – fishing villages will often have shrines to Beldon for example, and farming, forestry, and mining all receive some measure of blessing from Atha.

Some experts in matters of alchemy or herbalism will also settle in an area, often with some basic physician skills as well. These learned figures are often admired for their studies, or shunned for their different views on the world – but when trouble rears its head, scholars who have been incorporated into their communities are often of great use in finding a clever resolution.

Authored by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
Copyright © Endless Adventures Ontario