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Old 04-27-2020, 12:31 AM   #1
JoelSammallahti
 
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Default Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

I'm looking for book and tool recommendations. I'm thinking of running a fantasy campaign set in a world somewhat analoguous to classical antiquity. The PCs would do a lot of travelling, by sail or road, mostly visiting minor kingdoms, port cities on islands, etc.

I'm looking for resources that would save me some of the trouble of coming up with believable settlements and help answer questions like:
  • How big is this city?
    What does it cost to get a ride on a ship to that other place?
    This guy's a rich farmer, so how much livestock does he own?
    Where's a market where the PCs could sell their horses?
    How many guys with spears can the local lord raise on short notice?

Costs, head counts, distances, things like that. I have the GURPS Low-Tech books (3rd and 4th edition). They're great books, but I'm looking for something more specific and less universal.

I'd appreciate ease of use and convenience above all! It doesn't need to be all that realistic, because this is a fantasy campaign with magic and gods. It doesn't need to be exactly the right period either: I can work with medieval or early modern assumptions, fudge as necessary, and get by on flavor. I'd like to minimize the amount of work I need to do beforehand, and only work out what I need in a given area when the PCs get there. I'm fully comfortable with filing the serial numbers off setting-specific or historical books, as long as they're not focused on plot hooks or fantasy stuff, since those are things I don't need help providing.

All recommendations are welcome! System- or setting-specific or fully generic, $40 hardcover or $2 pdf, software tools, websites, spreadsheets, anything.
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Old 04-27-2020, 07:12 AM   #2
The Colonel
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

These are some of the modern classics for that sort of thing, and there's plenty more suggestions in the "also purchased" racks below them:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...rain-Into-Gold

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...orge-and-Steam

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...Western-Europe

Note that the Magical Medieval Society is very 3.x D&D so that if you don't like their assumptions, it may not fly for you.

whereas this is all GURPS:
http://www.saduria.co.uk/sitebuilder...arketplace.pdf
(as I understand it this pdf is free-to-user fanmade, if it's not a legit download, please kill it)
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Old 04-27-2020, 07:37 AM   #3
JoelSammallahti
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

Thanks! Those look promising. Based on your warning and the preview, I'll give Magical Medieval Society a miss, but I'll look into those others!
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Old 04-27-2020, 12:25 PM   #4
thrash
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

Swords and Sorcerers, for Chivalry & Sorcery, had a lot of embedded economic information, not only for the Vikings, Celts, and Mongols explicitly covered in the sourcebook, but also in a section on medieval European "Instant Manors and Baronial Holdings." Plus the price is right ($0.00 on DTRPG).
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Old 04-27-2020, 05:30 PM   #5
mehrkat
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

I second grain to gold. Its probably in my top 5 world creation tools. I converted the standard charts to excel so that I could easily change a few things to make unique cities with different common items.

You might also try most things from HarN for inspiration and city builder
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...ng-Communities
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Last edited by mehrkat; 04-27-2020 at 05:37 PM.
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Old 04-28-2020, 03:13 PM   #6
Black Leviathan
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

As long s we're on SJGAMES.COM Have a look at GURPS Low Tech, lots of interesting historical technology and side-panel about they were used.
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Old 05-05-2020, 12:00 AM   #7
namada
 
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Default Re: Sourcebooks and tools for low-tech campaign setting

There's the old Medieval Demographics Made Easy. If you don't already have them, there are also the old 3E sourcebooks for historical times/places, like Celtic Myth, Egypt, Greece, etc. I've done pseudo-historical low-tech fantasy worlds using those books before, and it's worked out well. Then there's Rolemaster's And a 10' Pole, which is a super-dense list of equipment, and will have the added value of giving you a consistent set of prices across all eras (IIRC, it's Tin Pieces, Copper Pieces, Silver Pieces, and Gold Pieces).

Do you have the Low-Tech pdf's for 4E?

Last edited by namada; 05-05-2020 at 12:03 AM. Reason: fixed link
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