If I remember correctly it’s Matt Colville who taught me the SPEM acronym: Social, Political, Economic, Military. The five kinds of buildings/people you want to get sorted.
@@Braincain007 yup my tired brain clearly couldn’t count. It was in one of his live streams where he sat in front of a mostly empty spreadsheet for most of the time. Could be it was taken off after a while as the quality wasn’t on his usual level. I don’t care but I understand he does. Also now I’m thinking about it it could be Dael Kingsmil who did some world building stuff around the same time.
S.P.E.R.M. social/political/economic/religious/military - you might wonder what category a tavern is- that turns into a meaningful choice, i e if you decide it's under "S" for social and not "E" for economic, it might automatically have the built-in story of not being a tourist-facing establishment. Means your NPC pool might be insular, a bunch of locals who aren't used to talking to traveling adventurers (your pc's) and conversations you might overhear them in the middle of would be old-friends or old-neighbors stuff (how's your apple orchard looking this year? hey is your mother planning on bringing her cider to the eventname this year?) - also you could mix in some travelers who wanted a quiet place for a meal. Think "truckstop diner" and less "franchise restaurant" and you've got the vibe. This then extends into your own categorization of stuff like, say, a police station. "E" might mean it's mainly a guard outpost who keep bandits out of a customs department or trade depot. "M" might be a good fit for a military outpost of highly trained and comptetent police officers- necessitating the question, what kind of city needs such capable and dangerous police forces? All of this is for your use (as a DM) - categorizing stuff in your campaign under these 5 umbrellas (if you're homebrewing stuff from scratch) helps answer the initial questions and helps direct the first few decisions about the world's design. It starts with deciding whether a church is "R" for religious "E" for economic or, if we want to get 40k about things, "M" for military. I know this isn't directly relevant to your comment nor the video itself but if someone anyone out there finds this useful or helpful, cool. Also I first heard about it from Dael Kingsmill's channel, but Matt Colville may have spoken about it during a livestream- I can't recall any mention of the categorizing acronym with a funny name in any of his videos.
Does OBS not screen cap well? I use that one when streaming. Either way, love the video. I've seen these generators but I get kind of lost trying to figure out what to do with them.
To be honest, I'd suggest OBS. It's usually used for streaming but can also record video in a few different types of files and qualities. It's also free.
Nord games has a great source book called Spectacular Settlements that fleshes out a wide variety of Settlements from trading posts to capitals and everything in-between. They also have a book for adventure sites call Dangerous Destinations. I highly recommend both.
I found this channel recently, and I regret not having found it sooner. Your videos are very useful and have helped me as a beginner DM, thanks a lot :D
only wanted the top down visual town generator because im scared of drawing maps lol that is to say it's exactly what I wanted and im gonna spend the next hours making some cities
@@jeroenimus7528 it refers to formal, seven course dinners. They start with the soup course and then, many courses later, after desert nuts and fruit are put out for snacking. I learned the term planning my wedding (no we didn’t have seven courses)
@@marktan3368 sounds logical. Just checked with my wife who's a chef and although she worked in high end restaurants in London she's unfamiliar with the idiom.
This was a great resource! Some the examples here I only recently discovered, would've been so nice to have at the beginning of my campaign aha, great video as always
Those first two sites are great; I had been to donjon long ago but forgotten about it. Thank you. This will be very helpful as a prepare for my upcoming new campaign.
A good thing to remember is that most towns exist for a reason. Fresh water, trade routes, important defensive positions and/or natural resources like mines or fertile farmland are all reasons that a town might spring up. The more of these that come together in one place, the larger your town is likely to become.
It's funny that you make a video about this as I'm currently working on a few new towns for my Homebrew and I've used a few of these generators but it's good for more people to know about them
Thank you, this is helpful. It's always hard to know what to use, and the instinct these days to find 1 thing that works for everything is strong. I have to remember that I can't be so picky.
I stumbled across ur channel and videos by shere coincidence, not even looking for smth but holy jesus, the videos are so incredibly helpfull! Thanks for it! Really glad i found the channel
i make many towns and NPCs on the side for this. they are what i call modular towns, if they dont like a modular town then they have the choice to stick to the main story, if i have to make things on the fly ill pull from my back up concepts. i have a book of random encounters i get from the net, for example "you see a goblin dragging a rather large book/tomb across the road, when he spots you he freezes, to afraid to move, what do you do?" to go along with this idea of being prepared to run a game lol the players will always throw you curveballs, need to have things ready to go on the fly.
I actually don't use inns, taverns, or blacksmiths in all my towns. Many have them but some aren't traveled enough to make use of the inn (most people in the middle ages just asked for shelter in a random house or shed with nobles taking residence with the local lord), some don't have the resources or manpower to spare on brewing, and others don't use enough tools to warrant a full-time blacksmith instead getting supplied by pedalers or when the odd merchant passes through on their way to somewhere else. Full cities on the other hand always have multiple of each.
Why does the Medieval Fantasy City Generator fit within your screen?? I mean, I know you can full screen it, but why does she not do that and it just fits? I actually have to scroll down and stuff.
Are you a one person team or is this channel run by a group? I don't know if I found it late or if you guys just started recently but this channel is amazing, and perfect timing me finding it as I'm building a new campaign haha
High level commoners like that are usually very old and have lived in more dangerous areas and through tumultuous events--wars, famines, revolutions, plagues, invasions, etc. He also probably has a huge extended family.
If I remember correctly it’s Matt Colville who taught me the SPEM acronym: Social, Political, Economic, Military. The five kinds of buildings/people you want to get sorted.
@@Braincain007 yup my tired brain clearly couldn’t count. It was in one of his live streams where he sat in front of a mostly empty spreadsheet for most of the time. Could be it was taken off after a while as the quality wasn’t on his usual level. I don’t care but I understand he does.
Also now I’m thinking about it it could be Dael Kingsmil who did some world building stuff around the same time.
@@Braincain007 I was right about 5, just forgot the 5th: Religion. Making it SPERM
th-cam.com/video/sJd6g--Ok_A/w-d-xo.html
S.P.E.R.M. social/political/economic/religious/military - you might wonder what category a tavern is- that turns into a meaningful choice, i e if you decide it's under "S" for social and not "E" for economic, it might automatically have the built-in story of not being a tourist-facing establishment. Means your NPC pool might be insular, a bunch of locals who aren't used to talking to traveling adventurers (your pc's) and conversations you might overhear them in the middle of would be old-friends or old-neighbors stuff (how's your apple orchard looking this year? hey is your mother planning on bringing her cider to the eventname this year?) - also you could mix in some travelers who wanted a quiet place for a meal. Think "truckstop diner" and less "franchise restaurant" and you've got the vibe.
This then extends into your own categorization of stuff like, say, a police station. "E" might mean it's mainly a guard outpost who keep bandits out of a customs department or trade depot. "M" might be a good fit for a military outpost of highly trained and comptetent police officers- necessitating the question, what kind of city needs such capable and dangerous police forces?
All of this is for your use (as a DM) - categorizing stuff in your campaign under these 5 umbrellas (if you're homebrewing stuff from scratch) helps answer the initial questions and helps direct the first few decisions about the world's design. It starts with deciding whether a church is "R" for religious "E" for economic or, if we want to get 40k about things, "M" for military. I know this isn't directly relevant to your comment nor the video itself but if someone anyone out there finds this useful or helpful, cool.
Also I first heard about it from Dael Kingsmill's channel, but Matt Colville may have spoken about it during a livestream- I can't recall any mention of the categorizing acronym with a funny name in any of his videos.
I prefer SPERM: Social, Political, Economic, Recreation, Military.
@@anon-nx4qe wouldn't social and recreation be the same thing?
Adding video of the generators was a last minute decision, so sorry about the watermarks. Post any screen recording software you'd recommend.
Does OBS not screen cap well? I use that one when streaming. Either way, love the video. I've seen these generators but I get kind of lost trying to figure out what to do with them.
The video was so captivating I didn't even notice, great job!
Not sure if you are still looking for a good screen cap tool, but Filmora is decent and not expensive.
@@cavanoleary this. Filmora is awesome and I'd highly recommend their lifetime basic option. It provides pretty much everything and anything you need.
To be honest, I'd suggest OBS. It's usually used for streaming but can also record video in a few different types of files and qualities.
It's also free.
Fuck yeah Donjon call out
Been using that baby for like 8 years, always a go-to tool for me
Donjon is easily one of the most used and most useful tools in my dming tool box, and i suggest it to anyone who wants to be a dm
Random generators have been life savers for me, especially online when I needed to throw a dungeon map together real quick.
Nord games has a great source book called Spectacular Settlements that fleshes out a wide variety of Settlements from trading posts to capitals and everything in-between. They also have a book for adventure sites call Dangerous Destinations. I highly recommend both.
I just rename the town and/or city I wanted them to go too. Only works for the first time they've been to the city.
Veteran hacks
I have no Way to Express my gratitude for You making this video
I think you just did
I found this channel recently, and I regret not having found it sooner. Your videos are very useful and have helped me as a beginner DM, thanks a lot :D
only wanted the top down visual town generator because im scared of drawing maps lol
that is to say it's exactly what I wanted and im gonna spend the next hours making some cities
i discovered this channel yesterday and I love the way these videos are made
Great video. I was aware of some of these generators before, but I have never seen them put together in such a great soup to nuts way. Thanks!
Same here, didn’t know about the soup and nuts idiom but it tastes good 😉
@@jeroenimus7528 it refers to formal, seven course dinners. They start with the soup course and then, many courses later, after desert nuts and fruit are put out for snacking. I learned the term planning my wedding (no we didn’t have seven courses)
@@marktan3368 sounds logical. Just checked with my wife who's a chef and although she worked in high end restaurants in London she's unfamiliar with the idiom.
This was a great resource! Some the examples here I only recently discovered, would've been so nice to have at the beginning of my campaign aha, great video as always
Ho, ly, crap, that town generator is worth its weight in diamonds.
Thank you so much for the resources. This is _exactly_ what I was looking for.
One of the best DND channels, needed this vid rn :)
Those first two sites are great; I had been to donjon long ago but forgotten about it. Thank you. This will be very helpful as a prepare for my upcoming new campaign.
Wow, this video and accompanying resources are insanely helpful and well put together!! Can’t believe it doesn’t have more views and likes
A good thing to remember is that most towns exist for a reason. Fresh water, trade routes, important defensive positions and/or natural resources like mines or fertile farmland are all reasons that a town might spring up. The more of these that come together in one place, the larger your town is likely to become.
It's funny that you make a video about this as I'm currently working on a few new towns for my Homebrew and I've used a few of these generators but it's good for more people to know about them
So glad you guys are back making videos. I love your quality consise content geared towards dungeon master's.
Thank you, this is helpful. It's always hard to know what to use, and the instinct these days to find 1 thing that works for everything is strong. I have to remember that I can't be so picky.
I stumbled across ur channel and videos by shere coincidence, not even looking for smth but holy jesus, the videos are so incredibly helpfull! Thanks for it! Really glad i found the channel
I'd love to see a video about generators Waldo makes for Waldo's Guide to DND!:D
I strongly recommend taking a look at all of watabou's tools. Lots of useful stuff for panicked DMs with an hour till session!
Love this channel and your content. It’s always nice to find new resources for my world building 🇦🇺👍🏻
Ahhh thanks, just really kicking my campaign up now, this is really helpful
"why do all of these look almost the same?"
"Uh.........uhhhhh........there's only one architect......ever......for the whole world"
tysm this will make my homebrew 100% easier!
This is probably the most helpful channel I've found in a while
These videos are severely underrated. I know that's a pretty common comment, but it's definitely true. This needs more views.
The tools introduced in this video are awesome. Great thanks!
these are some great resources, thank you! perfect timing…my first session zero (as a DM) is in 2 weeks
Lifelong DM here, gotta say - your videos are quickly becoming my favorites!
This is an amazing compilation of resources!
nice video with cool tipps and tools. Thanks a lot :D
Could you guys do how to make governments, maps
We sure can!
i make many towns and NPCs on the side for this. they are what i call modular towns, if they dont like a modular town then they have the choice to stick to the main story, if i have to make things on the fly ill pull from my back up concepts. i have a book of random encounters i get from the net, for example "you see a goblin dragging a rather large book/tomb across the road, when he spots you he freezes, to afraid to move, what do you do?" to go along with this idea of being prepared to run a game lol the players will always throw you curveballs, need to have things ready to go on the fly.
I am useing that first one to build towns iv mapped out on my simi open world sea fairing campaign.
I actually don't use inns, taverns, or blacksmiths in all my towns. Many have them but some aren't traveled enough to make use of the inn (most people in the middle ages just asked for shelter in a random house or shed with nobles taking residence with the local lord), some don't have the resources or manpower to spare on brewing, and others don't use enough tools to warrant a full-time blacksmith instead getting supplied by pedalers or when the odd merchant passes through on their way to somewhere else. Full cities on the other hand always have multiple of each.
Thanks for the guide, I am a very fresh DM. It helps a lot
Really incredible channel, so glad I found this. Love the art and solid pace each video!!
HOLY S*** THANK YOU SO MUCH
Very informative!! Subscribed.
I play games like Banished a lot. They are great for D&D town creation.
Why does the Medieval Fantasy City Generator fit within your screen?? I mean, I know you can full screen it, but why does she not do that and it just fits? I actually have to scroll down and stuff.
Thank you. I knew about some of these resources, but wasn't really taking advantage of them. Now I know XD
Great tool recomendations!
Love your videos!!
This Chanel is so good good work guys I love it!
Thank you! 😊
This is amaZing!!! Thank you😍😍😍😍😍
Are you a one person team or is this channel run by a group? I don't know if I found it late or if you guys just started recently but this channel is amazing, and perfect timing me finding it as I'm building a new campaign haha
This is so handy!
This video got my subscription, thank you for this!
So cool
I love DonJon
I am a world builder. And am tempted to spend 120 hours just making town after town after town to populate my setting.
Mythweaver is cool.
But what in god's name is a lv9 commoner????
What are his skills??
He can clean a room with one sweep of a broom.
High level commoners like that are usually very old and have lived in more dangerous areas and through tumultuous events--wars, famines, revolutions, plagues, invasions, etc. He also probably has a huge extended family.
@@VorpalDerringer
Now I'm asking myself what level my grandfather is..
You ever run a campaign with only one person in it? I don't got many friends who are into it so just some tips would be nice
This is a fantastic video!
Your content I like it. I shall subscribe and bell.
Keep it up
I didn't even know town generators were a thing...
Oh boy. I got a lot of work to get Amhurst done. It's drawn out and locations plotted but that's about it.
iOS GM’s tool kit
Medieval Fantasy City Generator is useless. Not user friendly.