Comments on: Random 18th Century Villages for a Gothic Sandbox

By: Ynas Midgard

Ynas Midgard — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:29:27 +0000

Yeah, I totally get that – burning yourself out on the Gothic front wouldn’t do good for either of us 😛 Plus, I am rediscovering the beauty of traditional fantasy myself, so there’s that as well.

By: Daniel James Hanley

Daniel James Hanley — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:07:52 +0000

In reply to Ynas Midgard.

Thanks. And don’t worry – I’ve not abandoned Ghastly Affair! I just happen to be running Rules Cyclopedia D&D at the moment. I’m re-charging my Gothic batteries with a detour into (more-or-less) traditional Fantasy. And after all, GA was heavily influenced by Rules Cyclopedia D&D – a re-exploration of the old game can only be good! Especially for the future development of GROOVY Ghastly Affair. As for this generator, I’ve redone Tables 8A, 8B, and 8C to include typical occupations found in each type of village. Maybe I’ll upload them as an update and expansion to this post.

By: Ynas Midgard

Ynas Midgard — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 11:58:50 +0000

I really like reading about Panzoasia (the 10-point lists, brevity, and layering of detail are very good), but just so you know, I became a regular for the Ghastly Affair posts – and this one does not disappoint.

By: Daniel James Hanley

Daniel James Hanley — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 01:22:19 +0000

In reply to Froth. Thanks!

By: Froth

Froth — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 01:18:15 +0000

REALLLLLLY quality work here. I linked folks here from my blog this week.

By: Daniel James Hanley

Daniel James Hanley — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 04:49:26 +0000

In reply to Ed Allen. Thanks!

By: Ed Allen

Ed Allen — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 04:04:33 +0000

Nice. Linked it on the MeWe RPG Random Generators group.

By: sunlessnick

sunlessnick — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:41:43 +0000

In reply to Daniel James Hanley. Victoria has us going into every nook and cranny of Highdark Hall - it would be cool if she uses this for the local villages too.

By: Daniel James Hanley

Daniel James Hanley — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:13:28 +0000

In reply to sunlessnick. Good points. I could add more possibilities to Table 9 in the final version, reflecting more complex class relationships. Also, I agree that the kind of situation you've outlined (hated landlord with a beloved son) does offer many possibilities for role-playing and investigation. It's another thing to consider for the final version. I'll probably release the final version as a free supplement to "A Ghastly Companion to Castles, Mansions, & Estates", rather than add it to the main body of the book.

By: sunlessnick

sunlessnick — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 13:37:15 +0000

That’s a great collection of tables. And a source of odd mysteries if you replace the occasional “roll again if class relations are poor” with an “and why is that if class relations are so poor?”
The landlord charges outrageous rents and imposes outrageous duties – the villagers hate him for it, but for some reason his son is the most beloved person there. Is he a True Innocent who feels for the villagers’ plight and helps where he can, yet cannot believe ill of his father’s actions? Is he secretly stealing from his father for the villagers’ benefit? Is he not so secretly at odds with his father’s policies and meaning to change things when he inherits? Does he merely convincingly feign that? Does he hold some sinister, or even preternatural, sway over their unsophisticated minds?

How likely is it for class relations to be uneven? Like the landlord is a dickhead, but the tradesmen are more reasonable – or do class difficulties tend to snowball across all boundaries?

Is this being added to the final version of the estates supplement?