Building The Stilts

I've been running a campaign of Mythic Bastionland since February. We've had 22 sessions so far. 

The game is excellent. I love it. Until now I've been running it from the PDF but the print edition should be available early next year. It contains a great one-page procedure for creating a map for a campaign, which I followed to create the Realm of Zaraz.

Zaraz has four large settlements, two of which have featured prominently during the campaign to date. Over the Christmas holidays I plan to flesh out the remaining two settlements. (This is a generative, improv-driven game, so if I did nothing beyond the simple prompts I gathered when creating the realm, it would be enough to play with. But I know more about our campaign and what to offer up to the players now, so I'm keen to do some more prep.)

One of the two settlements they haven't visited yet is The Stilts. Here are some concepts. 

The Stilts is built on mud flats by the coast. The buildings are wooden and supported on stilts rising them above the mud and water. The wooden platforms and interconnecting bridges aren't a great place for horses, so the stables are a short distance away on more solid ground. 

The town was founded in this awkward location because of a bay that makes a good port. There's good fishing - though some problems with the sea which I'll get back to. The mudflats also offer giant edible mushrooms (big as trees) which make up for the lack of decent farmland. 

One thing I've mentioned in passing already in the campaign, is that the Stilters elect their leaders. This is unusual in the realm, where there is usually a hereditary system, or at least a ruler choosing their successor. The usual title for someone from The Stilts is Freeman or Freewoman, to emphasise this element of their culture. 

The current ruler has a spouse and about seven kids. This is a contrast to the rulers they've met in other holdings, who have been single. I like the idea that on arrival in The Stilts the players could be attacked by a rabble of children in a mock fight.

Last thing for now, is that the Stilters will be big on superstition and mysticism. There is a fog that comes in off the sea that they avoid as it is linked to spirits and demons. There is some kind of druid on their council who is very influential. They view the people of the South of Zaraz as softer, because they live further away from the fog and this sea.

Before the players get to the Stilts, I plan to have a point crawl map showing a few locations, and a bunch of characters, and a few things going on in town. The Beyond the Pale solo play I've been doing has been a good way to learn about populating a town with situations and ongoing intrigues.

There is plenty going on in our game to keep them busy, and Mythic Bastionland just generates adventure without the GM having to prep anything, but I like the idea of stirring in some themes and a particular tone with this new location.