Settlements are the cornerstone of a lot of tabletop RPG settings. From the major ones like Night City, Seattle, or Waterdeep, to the minor ones that anchor campaigns and adventures at tables all over the world. But sometimes, these places start to feel a bit same-y. Villages, towns, and cities all blur together with little to distinguish them. So how can we as GMs and world builders address this? Let’s dive in!

Background

This is an issue many of us face in our careers as world builders and GMs. You get zoomed in on the adventure and leave the setting stuff in the background. At best, when this happens, everything feels the same. At worst, the setting becomes superfluous to the game you’re running and loses the interest of the players. But the remedy is actually super easy. It’s just about looking at some real world examples of settlements that have unusual features compared to the norm.

The Nuragi Civilization

First let’s head to Sardinia, and the Nuragic civilization.

Now, to be clear, they’re a fascinating operation by themselves in terms of layouts and designs. But one is particularly fascinating, and that’s the village of Tiscali. Built in a collapsed cave, it was hidden but not inaccessible, offering many of the benefits of subterranean living without many of the drawbacks.

On the surface or just below it, these are solid examples of comparatively simple changes to more conventional settlements that can make them stand out to your players. This kind of settlement might even be the dominant variety in a Karst Lanscape.

Beppu, the City of Steam

Time to hit up Japan.

Built over massive thermal vents in Japan, Beppu is a city that fires the imagination. Why? Steam, hot water, geothermal power, and so many other things can all happen there at once. Need to cook? Natural or vented steam. Need to keep the house warm in the winter? Same. Want to jumpstart a weird solarpunk steampunk hybrid industrial revolution? Also in the cards.

Beppu is an outstanding example of a settlement blessed with an unusual collection of natural resources. Geothermal energy, hot springs, steam, volcanic mineral muds… The list goes on. But it’s easy to see how a place like this would be memorable and a potential source of a lot of adventures.

Yazd, Adapted to the Desert

I love ancient Egypt and the whole 1001 Arabian Nights vibe that desert settings have, but I also like to mix it up, so Yazd, an ancient settlement in Iran, is the next up.

Now, this is my humble opinion, but Persia and its modern descendants like Iran don’t get nearly enough mainstream recognition for their pioneering technologies that allowed them to not just exist, but comfortably exist if not thrive, under harsh desert conditions. Technologies and building designs that persist to this day as both active designs and historic sites. We’re talking non-mechanical/electric air conditioning and ice manufacturing.

Desert civilizations are far more diverse than our popular media depicts, so it’s good to zoom out and take a look at the bigger scene once and awhile. Persia in antiquity and into the age of Rome is a great place to look to create desert settlements that feel different.

Kumasi, Heart of the Ashanti Empire

Turning to Africa, we land in Kumasi, the imperial capital of the Ashanti Empire.

Kumasi, like many precolonial African cities, was clean, efficient, and filled with technological surprises. In this case, one surprise for early arriving Europeans in the area was the presence of flush toilets and effective sewer systems. Which make sense given the dangers of poor sanitation practices in tropical regions. Unfortunately, like most major cities from that era, Kumasi was largely destroyed by colonial Europeans. But for us, as world builders, the notes and images that remain can help us recreate this at the table top.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot more to post on this city that doesn’t get into the larger Ashanti Empire and its history, which aren’t the thrust of this article. However, checking them out, or other precolonial West African empires and nations is never a bad plan as a world builder.

Taking to the Water, Floating Cities

Floating cities. Sci-fi? Yes. Fantasy? Yes. Based in reality? Also true!

Floating settlements of any kind can add a lot to a setting, and for a lot of reasons. Foremost is that they change the normal methods of travel and interaction. They present unique environmental challenges and benefits. And there’s a lot of amazing develops that come out of them.

But keep in mind, things can also be very difficult, especially when there’s pressures like capitalism at work.

All of that said, floating settlements, whether they’re on rivers, lakes, or in the ocean, have a lot of options that can make them more than just a place to visit. They can easily become the hub for entire campaigns.

Final Thoughts

This article just touches on a few ways you can make the settlements in your setting stand out. This applies whether they’re a brief stop off in an adventure or a hub for a campaign. Taking a few extra moments with setting design for settlements in a game can also be a huge factor in increasing immersion and interest on the player side of the table. So check these out, and don’t hesitate to fall down an occasional archaeology documentary hole while looking for inspiration!