Places

So here's an example Digger rolled up (or chose) and I fleshed it out

The City of Dirt

Temperate Mountains

Rulers: Three Hobgoblin Rogues

Government: Oligarchy

Dirt was originally the site of a gold rush and the boom town of greedy dwarves and men quickly grew into a large, rich and chaotic city. The richest of the gold merchants had small private armies that never left their mines and estates, too worried that the others would gain an advantage over them if they did. They were destroyed one at a time, when if united they could have repelled the hobgoblin invasion.

The gold mines have just about all played out and now the city is home to a dozen wildly successful hobgoblin tribes whose war chiefs fear and heed the wisdom of the city's secret ruling trio and an equal number of unhappy slaves and dead that did not.

The heads of three thieves guilds rule the city of hobgoblins through the frequent use of assassination, secret police and bribery.

The most brutal of the ruling triumvirate is Longtooth Hensetter, and as commander of the Kingsmen (assassins) he has no living political rivals. His guild specializes in bloody slave raids on villages in the dead of night. He despises halflings and his guild kills them on sight. He runs the cities slave markets, gladiator pits, mining camps and work crews.

Nineface's guild specilizes in information and smuggling rare and dangerous items, particularly poisons. His folk are masters of disguise and no one alive has ever seen his true face. He commands the secret police and runs the city's brothels, inns and taverns. Unknown to Longtooth, 6 of Nineface's guild members are halflings who stay disguised as goblins while in the city.

Lepidus Urbanus or Mr City (as he prefers to be called) long ago learned that a well placed bribe can not only leave the richest man unguarded long enough to rob him blind but can also leave an entire city wall unwatched the night of a raid. Why fight an entire army when you can pay one half to kill the other and split the loot with the survivors. His guild is comprised of burglars, brigands and con artists. He runs the city's markets and collects taxes. Its said that his touch can turn a goblin into gold.

Dirt

LE Small City

Corruption +4; Crime +3; Economy +3; Law -4; Lore +2; Society +0

Qualities notorious, racially intolerant (elves and halflings), secret police, insular

Danger +15

Demographics

Government Secret Syndicate (council of 3 hobgoblin thieves guild leaders)

Population 6,006 (3,000 hobgoblins, 6 halflings, 800 hobgoblin slaves, 1,200 goblin slaves, and 1,000 slaves of other various races)

Notable NPCs

Longtooth Hensetter (LE male hobgoblin rogue 11)

Nineface (LE male hobgoblin rogue 9)

Mr City (LE male hobgoblin rogue 10)

Marketplace

Base Value 4,000 gp; Purchase Limit 25,000 gp; Spellcasting 6th

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/settlements

Any thoughts on the one human in the village? Is he a fur trader, a bard who is the lone survivor of adventuring party, a mage exploring the ruins, a cleric spreading his faith, a fighter in hiding whose family backed a losing coup attempt far to the south?

The Needle Oasis

Desert Plains

Ruler: Stone Giant Wizard

Government: Narcokleptocracy (Rule by a Drug Dealer)

As the only nearby source of water Mr Goat and his bandits of the oasis once led travelers astray so that as they slept at their open air inn the pollen of a nearby viper vine would overcome them and afterward he would send in the cactus leshys to loot the remains.

Egoraos Snake-Tongue had always been different from the others of his clan and on his naming day he left to live a solitary existence in a cave full of bats on the other side of the mountain. One night after following bats during a drug induced vision he watched as they fed on the flowers of organ pipe cacti in the desert below his mountain home. When the sun rose and he thought his head had cleared the cacti hopped up and ran to a nearby oasis. There he met the cactus leshys master and his folk.

Too powerful to rob the bandits let the odd stone giant remain and study the local flora and fauna with Mr Goat as his guide. A month later they let him join their not so merry band. During his time with the people of the oasis his fascination with dangerous plants, poisonous vermin and animals led him to perfecting a concoction he calls Needle. Consisting mainly of viper vine pollen and a drop of scorpion venom this addicting drug is delivered into the system by sticking yourself with a cactus needle.

Now they feed the viper vine just enough goats, camels and nosy people to keep it sated and gather its pollen to make Needle for their growing drug trade with the passing caravans.

The Needle Oasis

NE thorp

Corruption –1; Crime –6; Economy –4; Law –4; Lore –3; Society -6

Qualities strategic location; Disadvantages Hunted

Danger +10

Demographics

Government overlord

Population 16 (15 humans, 1 stone giant)

Notable NPCs

Egoraos Snake-Tongue (NE stone giant wizard 5)

Mr Goat (NE male human druid 8)

Debt and Loss (NE twin female human rangers 4)

Marketplace

Base Value 55 gp; Purchase Limit 500 gp; Spellcasting 4th

Minor Items 1d4; Medium Items —; Major Items —

Needle

Type injury; Addiction moderate, Fortitude DC 20 Price 20 gp

Effects 1 hour; +1 alchemical bonus to initiative.

If addicted, the user also gains immunity to fear for as long as he is addicted

Damage 1d2 Con damage

Egoraos Snake-Tongue (wizard 5)

Use regular stone giant stats except as follows

Alignment NE

hp 142 (12d8+5d6+68)

Int 15

Skills Climb +12, Intimidate +12, Perception +12, Stealth +4, Craft (alchemy) +10, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (nature) +9, Spellcraft +10

Languages Common, Giant, Sylvan, Undercommon

Cactus Leshy     CR 2

XP 600

N Small plant (leshy)

Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +2

DEFENSE

AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 size)

hp 15 (2d8+6)

Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2

Immune electricity, sonic, plant traits

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft. Melee needles +1 (1d6–1)

Ranged needles +4 (1-4)

Special Attacks pollen

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +6)

Constant—pass without trace

STATISTICS

Str 8, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 14, Cha 15

Base Atk +1; CMB –1; CMD 11 (15 vs. trip)

Feats Blind-Fight

Skills Stealth +6 (+10 in deserts), Survival +2 (+6 in deserts); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth and +4 Survival in deserts

Languages Sylvan; plantspeech (cacti only)

SQ change shape (Small plant, tree shape), verdant burst

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Change Shape (Su)

All leshys can transform into plants, which works similarly to the spell tree shape. Unlike the spell, however, these plants are always Small. The plant a leshy transforms into always looks the same. It is a swift action for a leshy to turn into or from a plant. Cactus leshys commonly turn into organ pipe or saguaro cacti (but only 2' tall).

Plantspeech (Ex)

All leshys can speak with plants as if subject to a continual speak with plants spell, but only with species they're related to.

Pollen (Ex)

A cactus leshy always has flowers and anytime it takes damage it releases a cloud of pollen, forcing all adjacent creatures to make a DC 14 Fortitude save or have their vision reduced to 10 feet for 1 minute. Spending a full-round action to wash one's eyes with water ends this effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Needles (Ex)

A cactus leshy can fire needles as a ranged attack.

Verdant Burst (Su)

When slain, a cactus leshy explodes in a burst of fertile energies. All plant creatures within 30 feet of the slain leshy heal 1d8 points of damage. All normal plants in the area are affected as per the enrichment aspect of the spell plant growth (CL 4th).

ECOLOGY

Environment any desert

Organization solitary or cluster (2–16)

Treasure standard

Cactus Leshy CL 8th; Price 2,500 gp

Ritual Requirements Knowledge (nature) 5 ranks, plant growth, summon nature's ally II, creator must be druid or plant type; Skill Knowledge (dungeoneering) or (nature) or Profession (gardener) DC 14; Cost 1,250 gp

A cactus leshy with more than 2 Hit Dice can be created, but each additional Hit Die adds +2,250 gp to the cost to create.

--- In arrgh Digger wrote:

>

> Desert Plains

> Stone Giant

> Ruler: Wizard

> Government: Narcokleptocracy (Rule by a Drug Dealer)

So what do you think of...

The Village of Gorglith

Arctic Hills

Ruler: Ratkin Monk

Government: Pornocracy (Rule of Harlots)

Beneath the crumbling towers of a cabal of wizards long since dead lies the hidden village of Gorglith, populated by the descendants of the only survivors, the raktin that were once experimented on.

The males are hunters and often die violent deaths at the claws of the local fauna both on the surface and below. A hunter that earns a name also has the right to take a mate, unnamed hunters rely on the harlots for companionship and offspring. Unmarried females second class status as harlots means they are not allowed to have weapons. Unwed females live in the 7th ward in the old cells that once held their people, unwed males dwell in the tower ruins above.

After centuries of separation each sex has evolved slightly different. The males all have adapted to the bitter cold of the surface and all of them have white fur. The females all have red eyes adapted to the lightless depths below the ruins. Add the arctic template to male ratkin from Gorglith and the nocturnal template to females.

Queen No-Summers is an extremely shrewd individual who runs the village and does nothing to dispel the rumors that undead belly dancers wrapped in their rotting funeral shrouds come for those that abuse the harlots of the 7th ward.

Chief Ghostwalker earned his name when he slew a winterwolf named Ghost Tongue, he wears a robe made of his pelt. He has no patience for politics or disputes and focuses on providing enough food for his people and keeping them safe.

Madam Rosie Gentry is in charge of the 7th ward and teaches all the female ratkin the ways of all things unarmed, combat and otherwise. She is very patient and protective of all females including the lost twin changelings under her care.

Gorglith

LN village

Corruption +0; Crime –5; Economy –1; Law +3; Lore +0; Society +1

Qualities insular, superstitious

Danger +0; Disadvantages impoverished

Demographics

Government autocracy (Queen No-Summers)

Population 180 (127 nocturnal ratkin, 50 arctic ratkin, 2 changelings, 1 human)

Notable NPCs

Queen No-Summers (LN female ratkin monk 7)

Chief Ghostwalker (N male ratkin ranger 6/horizon walker 1)

Madam Rosie Gentry (LN female ratkin monk 5)

Marketplace

Base Value 250 gp; Purchase Limit 1,250 gp; Spellcasting 1st

Minor Items 1d4; Medium Items 1d2; Major Items —

--- In arrgh Digger wrote:

>

> Arctic Hills

> Ratkin

> Ruler: Monk

> Government: Pornocracy (Rule of Harlots)

I started with the fact that organ pipe cactus are night bloomers and are pollinated by bats.

So whats the story with Debt and Loss?