Next step in campaign prep, I found myself working out standard equipment loadouts and standard stat ranges for bandits and soldiers of the various factions, so I have a benchmark idea of what my hero will face and can see he compares.
Then I started looking for market information data, and found a wonderful website for Mike’s Saduria campaign. In his Marketplace book, there is an expansive list of trade goods and prices. This is the sort of thing it has taken me years to compile for my D&D campaigns, but is already assembled for a GURPS fantasy setting and in far greater detail than I ever would, so aside from disagreeing on the price of a pig, I can start converting my “peasant wealth” data, which I find convenient for calculating “how much is in that guy’s pouch?” There are also many rules for modifying prices, haggling, designing jewelry, etc. pricing microgames I am not interested in at this moment, but will undoubtedly use in the future. His quick NPC creator is also good if I don’t feel like going full bore on UNE for a throw away encounter.
Next, I made the decision to rename the kingdoms and towns. While this campaign is inspired by Bannerlord, and uses a modified Bannerlord map, it is not Bannerlord. And as I will likely want to post portions of this campaign online, I don’t want there to be any confusion about this being a heavily modified setting. This way, I don’t feel constrained to game canon, clan or character names. I generally prefer home brew settings anyway in order to avoid such constraints, so that’s what I’ll do here.
So the Kuzaits are now the Kushan, Sturgia become Nortlan, Vlandia becomes Vaylan, Aserai becomes Surani, and the Empire, well, Lathen at the moment. Renaming settlements will take longer, as will remembering which one is where, because, I really like knowing the way to Poros (and to San Jose). But I also now have the freedom to move the imperial capital to a port city rather than Lycaron, which made little sense to me.
So I took to my map again, and after tinkering further with terrain types, started looking at the natural geography. I like the idea presented in Calradia Expanded Kingdoms of many different cultural groups. Of course in that mod, these were each individual kingdoms splintering from the original six, but I’ve decided to create this cultural human geography, with many of the groups being “subject peoples” with no kingdom of their own, and kind of list some “off map” cultures so I have names and inspiration for foreign traders and cargoes from across the sea:
Main Cultures”
-Lathen-Empire Byzantiam
-Surani-Ottoman Turks
-Vaylan-Normans
-Belton-Celts/Iroquois
-Nortlan-Norsemen/Vikings
-Kushan-Huns/Scythians
Other cultures
Bushan (bushmen/pygmies)
Vaklen (Sea Raiders)
-Tayern-(Sea people/Pheonician) (so this is why the imperial capital isn’t on the coast)
Helsh-Outcasts/Lepers/Cannibals/Demon worshippers
Gulgesh-Mongols
-Krug-Kushan separatists (the Old Ways)
-Hubyar-(subjects of Kushan and Lathan)-a Fishing people
-Vish-(subjects of Nortlan)
Heyet-Subjects of Belton and Vaylan cultures
-Pelth-Subjecs of Vylan and Lathen
-Gyuk-subjects of Lathen (Mandan/Hidatsa)
Off-Map
Hyun-Ancient China (across western sea)
Ragin-India (across western sea)
Shego-Ancient Japan (across western sea)
Jeval-(Taureg/Bedoin)-(south of Surani)
But this leaves a daunting amount of work for plotting out a world, when really, I want to play a “not Sturgian” woodsman chasing down the bandits that raided his village. Perhaps alongside his brother to rescue their younger siblings or something silly like that.
But I found Ragged Little Fiend’s World Building Culture Questions and Checklist site, which makes things much easier. These suggestions helped me scale back from trying to write an anthropological thesis about seventeen different peoples and their religions. Using this template, it took on average, about two or three hours (with interruptions) to kind of flesh out each of the six main cultural groups. The minor cultures, those I bother to write up, will take less time as I will likely use the recommended method of blending neighboring influences with only a few unique twists.
If all this sounds tedious, well, it is totally unnecessary for most people and most campaigns. It’s just the sort of thing I geek out over, especially defining different cultures. In actual play, it helps me understand “who that foreigner is”, where they came from and how they will likely react when they encounter my character. It is a tool for roleplay, and I love building settings!
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