# What buildings are a MUST for any town?



## Oryan77

The PCs enter a new town. It's far away from any major cities but close enough to a well traveled road. The town sees its fair share of visitors, but there is no reason for any to stay long. It has a modest population that mostly takes care of themselves.

What buildings/professions does a town *need* in order to sustain itself?

I'm just curious what a bare bones town would need as a minimum in order to support itself and be referred to as a "town". So, what should every town at least consist of?


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## jonesy

General merchandise.
Blacksmith/arrowmaker/armorer.
Woodcutter.
Healer.
Someone growing vegetables, maybe a proper farm.
Someone growing livestock, or hunters/fishermen. Shepherd, swineherd, cowherd, horse trainer.
Tanner.
Candlemaker.
Tailor/seamstress.
Shoemaker.
Baker/cook/butcher.

Depending on the makeup of the town many professions can be combined into one. The farmer might handle all food production with her family. The shoemaker could be the tanner. The woodcutter might be the one handling general merchandise. The healer could be making candles and arrows. The hunter could be the butcher.


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## Gilladian

I think it is simpler than that: each village needs residents who produce enough food crop to feed the town and have enough left over to feed some animals. There need to be some people who raise/care for those animals. There needs to be a place where these people meet and exchange their goods. If they produce enough extra food, they will then need a few other things, such as a metalworker/blacksmith, a person collecting taxes and administering the law of the land, a meeting hall which could also serve as a temple or place of worship, and a drinking hall, which again can be the same building. A mill, if the local grain requires grinding, a community well if there is no running source of water (or even if there is), a communal burial ground, a communal oven, and you're pretty much set. Formal places of business don't develop until there's a need for trade with outsiders; if the community IS a trade center, then it will have many inns, a few taverns, a place for the poorest travelers to seek refuge (ie a church-run hostel), shrines or places for travelers to make offerings, and some sort of law-enforcement facility, whether that's a feudal keep for the Lord and his knights, or the Army, or some other variant. 

General merchandise shop would be the LAST thing; you'd have a LOT of individuals plying their own specific trade from their homes long before you'd have real shops.


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## jonesy

When I said general merchandise I didn't mean a dedicated shop, I meant someone handling miscellaneous stuff. Which is why I would combine it with someone who already produces stuff like that, like a woodcutter who can make miscellaneous wood products.

Chairs, tables, mugs, spoons, a hat/coat stand, etc. all falls under general merchandise I think.


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## Nellisir

Most people would be in "agriculture".  Farmers, herdsmen, etc.  There's a lot of ways to break that down - goatherd, swineherd, shepherd, etc, but in a small town you're likely to have a lot of mixing.  Anyone growing grain (which is almost everyone) needs a mill, though.  A priest.

In Paris in 1292, the most common occupations (more than 100 practitioners) were: shoemaker (366), furrier (214), tailor (197), jeweler (131), pasterycook (106), mason (104).  I don't think every small town needs a furrier, pastry cook, or jeweler, but the next down the list are carpenter, weaver, chandler (candlemaker), cooper, baker.

More specialized professions were probably possible on a manor, where there was a lord to employ beekeepers, etc, etc, as opposed to residents of a free village or town.  A lord or lords also allow for service occupations - maidservant, groom, etc.

http://www.svincent.com/MagicJar/Economics/MedievalOccupations.html


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## Olgar Shiverstone

If they're on the frontier, probably some sort of holdfast that the villagers can retreat to ... which would probably serve as a meeting place.

If the town wants to encourage trade, it will need an inn/tavern, to encourage traders to stop.  That will mean stables with sufficient extra room to care for travellers' mounts.  If the town is the center of a large agricultural area, there will probably also be a large area to serve as a fairground or farmer's market (probably not a building, but I suppose there could be a stall-like structure for farmers on market days).


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## Derren

Its impossible to have a self sustaining town of any substantial size.


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## howandwhy99

I think you're going about this differently than I would. For me, need or want determines use. If the culture builds, then the building(s) will be optimized for a single use, or multiple in a more complex culture. Of course, a lot of early simple fortifications are used for stuff like protection, sleeping, eating, mating, and storing. Newcomers may only be provisionally accepted and have a place of their own to sleep. Travellers may have a special place.

It's important to note that buildings do not need to be enclosures. The assigned use of the example structures above do not need to apply to a town, but also to sections of a city, rooms in a home, or locations in a forested territory. There are elephant graveyards, grazing lands, washing and drinking areas, and probably more. Buildings specifically refer to constructed fortifications by "building creatures" (like ants, bees, foxes, and humans). 

Fences or penned in areas count as fortifications. So do pits and tree stands and all kinds of earth works. Builders usually have usage reasons. Creatures which pillage and raid usually appropriate and use up other creature's fortifications as they also need or desire.  They may use a kitchen as sauna and great hall as a group bedroom. It depends upon the culture of the creatures currently lairing within.

What should every town at least consist of? A territory broad enough for the population with an environment capable of sustaining it. Food, water, and some sort of shelter. 

In OD&D a new fort took control and patrolled the land around it to a specific radius. For a 1000 person town I'd say about a 20 mile 1:1 travel radius. ~but the environment must support this. A town in alpine mountains is far smaller in square mileage. A "town" in the Sahara is more a collection or clan of large travelling families within a vast territory.


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## Bluenose

Medieval Demographics Made Easy appears to be reasonably welll researched, and includes a list of common trades. The Medieval History Sourcebook has a lot of information, though it's also quite hard to find it if you aren't familiar with the content. And I remember that the excellent Magical Medieval Economy series had information about this, though I can't really get at my books right now owing to a bit of building work I've got going on.


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## delericho

Bluenose said:


> The Medieval History Sourcebook has a lot of information, though it's also




unfinished?


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## Bluenose

delericho said:


> unfinished?




Well, yes, it was till I edited it. Shouldn't post on antibiotics, steroids, and chest infections.


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## steeldragons

In a large village/small town...let's say for 1,000 people (though I've done villages of significantly less)...

Assuming a temperate (4 season) climate, standard arable fields, rolling hills, woods, 1 "main street" where (obviously) the market is held and majority of the best/most successful shops will be and a good deal of outlying farms for foodstuffs and animal goods.

Off the bat, let's say 500 sub-adult young. Let's toss out another 100 as elderly. There's no reason "seniors" couldn't help out with (if not still run) certain family business...but 100 "elderly" who are old enough that they are not really "working" more than, perhaps some patching up clothes, prepping/cooking or watching over little ones.

Knock off another 100 infirmed at any given time. Normal (some chronic) illness, lameness, blindness...the "village idiot"...the few "veterans" missing arms or legs who returned from the last big battle/war of the local lords.

That brings us down to an adult "working" population of 300. Assuming a fairly even 50/50 split of men to women (just an assumption and not necessarily accurate...maybe the bulk of able bodied men were lost in that battle/war I just mentioned and new able-bodied men/mates are a much desired commodity?). But we'll just assume an equitable 50/50 split for the purposes of this sample village.

As others have mentioned, food production is Job #1. Having adequate stores for the winter: as individual families, to maintain businesses - like taverns - who serve or prepare food, not to mention tithing/taxes either with direct donations of goods to the tax collector or taking items to market to get the coin to give to the tax collector...any way you slice it, _everyone_/the community needs to make enough food.

200 out of those 300 are farming, fishing (if near enough water to make a living at it, otherwise its recreational/supplemental), herding or hunting:
Farmers: 115
-Easily 100 are working fields for grain. Everybody needs grain. It makes the bread [and the ale/spirits.  ]
-Most likely all farming families (and several others) keep individual gardens for vegetables.
-Say, perhaps, 10 individuals devoted to orchards for fruits.
-And let's throw in a vinyard for wine production, let's say there are only 5 people doing this.

Fishing: 40*. I'm going to assume a moderately healthy system of streams, lakes and a larger river system around/moving through this community. So, let's say 40 people go out on boats or "down to the fishing holes", daily, making a living as fishermen. Fresh water fish, eels, and/or crabs/crawfish, all good stuff.
* If this town is on a seacoast or large lake or large river, the numbers of fishermen and farmers should/could be reversed. Most of these guys are probably also skilled in the making and repair of nets, small/rowing boats and the fauna/flora of the local waterways.

Herding: 30. Goods grazing lands, fields and hills. Let's give a good 20 adults are making a living on livestock.
-Swineherds: doubling/specializing in salting and curing their meats, maybe some sausage-making, along with just selling live to the butchers/at market (who will also make sausages), and skins to the tanner. 
-Sheep and/or Goat herds: at least 1 family herding sheep will be the most popular/respected for the quality of their wool/cloth/cloaks and 1 family herding goats is popular for their cheese production. Most will trade wool with the local weavers and tailors, as well as sell to merchants to take it out of town...also providing lamb and mutton.
-Dairy Cows: Most farming and/or herding families keep a dairy cow for their own personal use, bottling/distribution of milk is rare to nonexistent. At least 1 family who herds dairy cows is popular for their cheese production.
-Cattle: "Beef cattle" are a rare/uncommon delicacy as the bulls are more valuable for impregnating the cows. Excess young males, up to 3 years old, may be slain for/regarded as "veal" (but it's really mature beef, not veal in the modern/American sense of the word). In a 1,000 person community, I might not even have a Cattle herder, though its a setting dependent thing. You might want a village who thrives on production of Beef for the entire region, in which case more/larger/successful herders would deal in cattle. 
-Things like chickens, duck and geese are generally kept by individual families, though having 1 family be noted for the quality of their eggs and/or dedicated to a chicken farm (perhaps doubling as a butcher's shop) or a single aging spinster-woman who people go to for her remarkably well-fed and succulent ducks and geese, isn't so bad.

Hunting: 15. The local hunter's lodge currently counts 15 members in their ranks, 2 of whom (the senior hunter/head of the lodge and 1 other) have actual Ranger levels.
Steady livings are made on the meat from deer and boar, pheasant, grouse and partridge are easy enough to come by. Deer and boar skins go to the tanner, as well as ample fox, badger and raccoon to hunt for furs. The occasional "mad bear" is a rare occurrence, but the local wolf packs (2 separate ones) are a regular threat for the herders...all of which keep the village's dedicated hunters on their toes.  

That's 200. So we have 100 left for other businesses, artisans, merchants, government and security.

Security: 2. We're going to, basically, scrap. It's a community of 1,000 people. The mayor/elder/village council appoints a Constable/Sheriff. They have 1 devoted deputy. Any other needs involve the able bodied men of the hunter's lodge and others get deputized/roused as militia when necessary. So only 2 "security" personnel. This Constable/Sheriff may or may not have actual Fighter levels/training (DM's call).

Government: 5.
I'm going to go with a "Town/Elder Council" of 5 members running/making decisions for the comunity:
-the Council Chair (wealthiest guy in town and/or local lord's representative). Let's say, for our purposes, this is Willard Westfarth. He is a descendant of  one of the town fathers who claims undisputed ownership the best grazing lands. The Westfarth family has supported a number of [Townname]'s shepherd families for multiple generations. While he holds no formal, noble title, he is viewed as such by many of the town's inhabitants...and enjoys the noteriety and esteem, though is not a particularly greedy or wickedly-disposed person. 
-the local high priest, Abbot Renuold
-the predominant artisan/merchant guild leader: Currently one Thrace [the] Carpenter, recently nominated and voted in as the local artisan's guild. The aging Jakister [the] Tinker was not pleased to be ousted for the younger, handsome carpenter (who happens to be one of the town's most sought after eligible bachelors). 
-the hunter's guild/lodge leader: the well past his prime, Bellior Blackbow (9th level Ranger).
-1 other affluent merchant/individual. We'll make it Goergor the Miller who is well liked by all the residents of the eastern farms.
-The Scribe (see below) and Constable are also privy to private Council chambers/meetigns, but they do not, themselves, have any say in decisions.

Religion: 15. (detract or add to as suits your setting's religious needs/wants. Maybe the whole community is kinda fanatical. Maybe there are 3 different factions of the same god? Or 3 gods...or no gods/temple in the community at all. The closest temple [with spell casting clerics] is in "Bigtown" 2 days hard ride away? It's your setting, make it your own.)
_-I'm_ going to say there's a single abbey with small shrine/temple for holy-day and seasonal services (likely to a harvest/weather/agricultural deity) tended by a small enclave 8 novitiates (non-casting but avowed religious), 2 priests (3rd level Clerics) and the local "high" priest ("Abbot Renuold": 5th level Cleric).
-Then 4 other religious persons: the "odd but not bad" old guy who lives in the woods and is occasionally seen coming and going from the hunter's lodge (a regional 7th level Druid)
-The "new church" (maybe a god of law/justice/civilization deity _*or *evil infiltrating cult_?  ) with a 3rd level leader and 2 1st level acolytes.

So...100 - 22 = 78 (?...) Yes, 78 left...to supply and care for 1,000 people...aight, let's do dis.
Artisans:
10 Butchers (who are not separate from the herder families that might butcher themselves)
15 Bakers: most families will bake at least some of their own bread and  cake needs, but there are enough folks (and enough grain) to warrant  families that can make a living by baking for others....and speaking  of...
4 Millers: placed along the various larger streams and 1 on the river, producing flour and meal for the community.
4 Cheesemakers
1 Fishmonger: most of the fishermen or their wives/older children take  care of the sale and distribution of their catches themselves.
1 Brewer: the vinyards make their own wines, and many households and the inns brew their own ales or distills spirits, but this chap brews his own ale, favored by many in town and exported.

Merchants:
2 "General Store": the purveyors of dry goods and "go to" folks when you want some miscellaneous good brought in from out of town.
5 Candlemakers: two of them make soaps as well! It hasn't caught on with most of the farmers though.
4 Tailor/Haberdashers: either as a couple in the same shop or two competitors.
1 Milliner: for hats
2 Cobblers: for shoes
5 Tanners: for repairs or orders for leather goods
1 Dyers: for coloring leathers and garments
2 Cart & Wheelwrights: they are brothers, who hate each other, in serious competition.
5 Carpenters/Woodworkers: for buildings, furniture, 1 of whom only does simple wooden goods/carvings.
3 Weavers: 1 renowned for her excellent cloaks (the business-savy wife of one of the hunters).

Specialized Goods/Services:
1 Scribe/Notary: also writes and reads messages, keeps the town's various records (land deeds, trades, marriages, etc...)
1 Herbalist/Apothecary: supplies medicinal herbs, salves and poultices for the community.
5 Blacksmiths: 1 master with 2 skilled apprentices, 1 who works alone, and 1 with an apprentice (his young son) not trained enough to count, only the master smith or his top apprentice (who is also his eldest son and itching to branch off on his own) is skilled in weapon and armor repair.
1 Tinker/Pewtersmith: for simple soft-metal items.
5 Inn/Tavernkeepers: 3 full inns with rooms, stabling and taverns, 1 rooms and stable only, 1 tavern only.


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## Stormonu

well, for it to be more than a collection of homesteads, it had to "incorporate", so there's some sort of official or headsman over the town, and he/she will need somewhere to conduct official duties and store records.  

There will likely be somewhere for townsfolk to gather and meet for announcements, pronouncements and the like.  Could range from an open square to someone's barn to a building specially built for town gatherings.

Most likely there will be a place of worship.  Again, this may be a shrine folks gather at up to a church or temple for the community.  If there is a church, there's a good chance of a local community cemetary as well.

The larger the town, the better chance there are merchants.  In extremely small towns, peddlers may drop by on a regular basis to swap for goods.  With enough residents, merchants can make a livlihood and set up established shops.  I would imagine that a general store, carpenter and blacksmith would be most likely, with additional specializations depending on the nature of the town's main economy.

Also, there is a good chance of a mill being in the area to process certain crops.  Towns require a water source and are often built near sources of running water, so a water-powered mill is likely.


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## Stormonu

Oh yeah, and there's the Southern rule of township.  Unless you have a Stop sign or crossroad, you're just a thorp (in someone's side).  You get bragging rights for your town when you get your first Stoplight (in D&D, probably the eqivalant would be an Inn).


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## steeldragons

Ah! Right, so...buildings you asked for, didn't you? 

1. Town/Council Meeting Hall
2. Constable's Office/Jail.
3. Religious center: in the above example an abbey and small temple/church.
4. Hunter's Lodge...though this is not a "must" or every town, it is in the above example. A meeting/guild hall per known/larger guilds, though, I would include as a must. Smaller organizations probably jsut meet at a tavern or someone's home. But a predominant industry probably has their own hall.
5. Farmsteads (however many you need) including, as others have mentioned, as many pens, sties, coops and corrals needed  to house the community's livestock and associated "outbuildings" (like a  smokehouse for curing bacon and hams).
 6. However many barns needed to store equipment, draft animals (either  horses, mules or oxen). I'd say 1 per grain-farming and orchard-running  homestead.
7. A Manor/Estate for the council chair/ancestral family home of the Westfarths. I'd say all towns have something like this...wherever the bigwig/wealthiest/local lord or aristocrat guy in town lives.
8. Buildings for the shops. Some built together (probably with living quarters in back or on a second story if two-storied buildings exist here). Some will be individual separate homes/buildings. Butcher shops are likely to be separate buildings...as the noise of slaughter, odor...and abundant blood might not be desirable. But, depending on the size, density and urbanization of the community, maybe not.  
9. Inns/Taverns...likely all separate buildings with separate stables where applicable.
10. The smithies and, I would say, the cartwrights are their own separate buildings which may or may not be attached or beside their living quarters.
11. Maybe a silo or some other place(s) for holding/keeping communal winter stores dry (and hopefully minimizing loss from vermin/pest). Some homes will keep their own stores in cellars.

OO! Forgot a beekeeper and potters in the above person-by-person breakdown. Add in 1 beekeeper/honey-maker and 3 potters. Take away 2 tanners and 2 tailors.


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## Meatboy

I guess it would depend on the size of the town.

if it's just a collection of houses (5-20 families I'd say) the outside of their houses you'd need a source of water, maybe a well, and a place to store your harvest and livestock, probably a communal barn.
this sort of town would likely be a satellite village within a days journey of a larger settlement. 

This is larger town might be more what your thinking of and it would probably have a smith/ferrier, mill, church, hall and a village square/green where farmers and craftspeople from the nearby smaller villages could sell their stuff.


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## Nellisir

Stormonu said:


> well, for it to be more than a collection of homesteads, it had to "incorporate",




Tiny font and silver text doesn't work for those of us with the white background.


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## Nellisir

Keep in mind that most people didn't keep separate buildings either.  A craftsman had his shop on the first floor and lived above.  A baker lived at the bakery (though the oven would be outside.)  A barn and a household would share a roof.  The miller lived at the mill.

Industries would also be regional.  The vineyards mentioned above are one example.  In boggy areas, you might find peat cutters or smelters for bog iron.  Rocky outcrops could provide tin, copper, or other ores and minerals to be mined.

Generally, places had to produce something other people wanted.  Charles C. Mann, in 1493, lays out the case that trade between China and Europe was restricted for centuries because Europe didn't produce anything China wanted.  This didn't change until the discovery of silver in South America, which China needed to prop up its silver-based economy (the economy had outgrown China's silver resources and led to an official paper currency and an unofficial, underground currency of old silver coins.)

Sometimes places just produce people.


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## Stormonu

Nellisir said:


> Tiny font and silver text doesn't work for those of us with the white background.




Ha, now that's a switch.   Usually its the dark gray/black text that gets us with the legacy black backdrop.  Don't know how that formatting got in, I'll see if I can fix.


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## Celebrim

Oryan77 said:


> The PCs enter a new town. It's far away from any major cities but close enough to a well traveled road. The town sees its fair share of visitors, but there is no reason for any to stay long. It has a modest population that mostly takes care of themselves.




There is a farrier, because horses throw shoes and need shodding.
There is a wainwright, because wagons and carts on the road need fixing.
There is an inn, because weary travelers need a place to say.
There is a cobbler, because it is the most common skilled profession.  Also, goodwives can spin, sew, and mend clothes - but not shoes.
There is a blacksmith, because farm tools will need to be made or repaired.
There is a priest in a temple or shrine, to take care of the towns and travelers spiritual needs.
There is a miller who grinds grain and collects the local taxes.  Because of the later, the Miller is not well liked.

And that's about it.   A slightly larger town might have a carpenter, tailor, thatcher, tanner, two inns instead of one, two cobblers, etc.   But in a true rural area, most people take care of their own home construction and repair - with the assistance if needed of neighbors and family (usually the same thing).   About 50 farm families, including some sizable extended families with multiple households living together live in the immediate environs of the town and farm the surrounding 1200 acres or so and think of themselves as belonging to the town even if you cant' see their house from the town.  There are also a dozen families of woodcutters, shepherds, swineherds and other rural professions.   Lots of households are pulling double duty of some sort, but haven't yet got enough business as chandlers, dyers, fullers, cheesemakers, or whatever to give up farming as the primary livelihood.  As the towns population expands, branches of these families will take up full time professions (often because the land is running out).

Every week or two, a travelling merchant will stop in the town.  The town may have a regular Faire day when merchants know to come to the town because the farmers will come from the farms to buy things the town can't provide.  This may involve a lot of barter, with the merchant trading for things he knows he can sell at a profit in the city, because coin in these parts are scarce.  Depending on what the local products are the town may have a Cooper to make and repair barrels.  

Every few weeks a reeve appointed by the king may stop in town to see how things are going.  But most complaints, civil disputes and justice go through the local Lord (a hereditary Knight or a Baron), who has a manor around here with 6-12 servants for his family.   

Every few months, a tinker will stop in the town, offering to repair pots.

Seasonably, the town may see a travelling bodger set up shop.


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