In this review, we talk about Organic Towns, a system-less manual that allows you to manage and simulate the growth of one or more settlements.
The manual is published, in English only, by Headless Hydra Press which we thank for sending us a copy; we recommend that you follow them on their website and on Facebook and Instagram pages to stay up to date on their projects.
If you are interested, you can find Organic Towns in hardcover on the official store for $49.99; otherwise, you will always find the digital-only option on the store for $24.99. In case you want both, you can have them for $79.99 here. For the PDF-only edition and the PDF plus hardcover edition, you can take advantage of discount code NDU2023 for 20% off the price.
Organic Towns Writing and Art Review
The Organic Towns manual is presented with solid, coherent and well-crafted writing; there is also an excellent graphic sector to accompany everything.
Organic Towns is organized into two macro areas: the first concerns the various mechanics, the second instead presents a large number of buildings to be exploited in their game campaigns. We also find many very useful examples for both veteran and novice storytellers; and thanks to the use of bold and italics, navigating the manual is a delight.
Surely one of the points in favor of the manual is its being completely agnostic. Thanks to the careful use of terms and a punctual construction of the mechanics, this manual can be used with any fantasy RPG on the market.
I appreciated the presence at the beginning of the manual of a glossary with all the specific terms used; this way the reader will never be lost. Organic Towns ends with two settlements already built, a great example to show the potential of the system.
Another plus point is the beautiful illustrations that accompany the reading, making it very enjoyable. Thanks also to the consistency of the style, the authors were perfectly able to convey what they had in mind; having a dedicated illustration for each building helps a lot to imagine them, and you can enjoy some of the paragraphs in this review of Organic Towns.
Growth and Development of a City
The core of Organic Towns is the innovative system that allows the growth and development of a settlement.
A fundamental point is the Settlement Points (SP), that is, the unit of measurement that represents the workers, raw materials and gold of the settlement. Each settlement earns a monthly amount of SP directly proportional to its population. Obtaining SP can be conditioned by random events, of which the manual provides various tables; they include, for example, the weather and other elements related to the game world in which you find yourself.
SPs can be spent in two ways: to build buildings or to perform Settlement Actions; on the construction of buildings we will return later, instead Settlement Actions are actions that can be taken to obtain bonuses such as increased food production, troop training, trade and much more. Settlement Actions serve to give dynamism and versatility in the management of a settlement, certainly an excellent tool to give freedom to the narrator.
The other fundamental element for a settlement is Morale, which is not a score but a modifier. This will be added to a roll of d20 on the relative table; depending on the result, the situation in the settlement could be turned upside down; it goes from: “they are all motivated and proactive” to “the citizens put on a revolt”. All this can bring bonuses and mechanical maluses, such as increasing or decreasing the cost of SP to build buildings or varying population growth.
Organic Towns Settlements Review
In Organic Towns, the settlements become characters in every way, with their card and characteristics.
The main features are Defense, Trade, Morale and Crime; the last two are modifiers and will be added to the roll of a d20 on the related tables, leading to malus and bonuses. Instead, the Defense is a value that must be compared with that of the Attacker to define whether the settlement resists the assault.
Trade, on the other hand, is a pool of points that can be spent to carry out Trade Actions; in this way, the settlement will be able to obtain resources that it cannot produce independently, from raw materials to finished products.
To help us manage everything, the manual provides a well-crafted and very clear card; it is useful for the GM to keep track of everything that happens, even in the largest settlements. The Organic Towns system, as recommended in the manual, must be used between sessions; in addition, the PCs can influence the settlements, perhaps helping them find food or open new trade routes; all this weights the overall management and allows you to integrate the mechanics with the plot of the adventure you are playing.
The Fundamental Resources
The fundamental elements for a settlement are Food and Water; like all Resources in Organic Towns, they have three levels of availability: Rare, Adequate and Abundant. As Food and Water are necessary for the survival of a settlement, these cannot fall below the Adequate value. To select the best option, the manual recommends taking into account various elements, such as the presence of a river near the settlement.
This leads GMs to build the world in a very careful and credible way; obviously, the manual also admits the existence of settlements in difficult conditions, which can represent an intriguing challenge or a good narrative starting point for the campaign.
The manual is very specific and mathematical in this aspect; for example, for every 5% of the population that does not have enough drinking water, 1d4% will die. Food works like this: for every 5% of the population that does not have enough food, a +1 will be added to the roll of the d6 on the “Food Famine” table; the higher the result, the worse the situation. Of course, these are not impossible calculations, but they certainly require a moment of familiarity with the calculation.
Managing Population Growth
Another important detail is the condition of the Houses which has a direct impact on the state of the citizens, with an operation similar to that of Food.
Therefore, buildings will also be used to increase or decrease Population Growth, a fundamental value because it directly impacts Settlement Points. Monthly it will be set at 3%, with minimal variations based on factors (even by 0.1%); it is therefore even clearer the need to be willing to use a calculator and do some operations.
For those who do not appreciate this aspect, the manual allows a simplified management of the system in which all these resources are not used and only SPs, Morale and Crime are exploited. This makes the product much more versatile.
Types of Settlement and Governments
Organic Towns divides settlements into three categories based on population:
- Village: 1 to 999 inhabitants.
- Town: from 1000 to 4999 inhabitants.
- City: more than 5000 inhabitants.
Whenever a settlement reaches the necessary number of inhabitants, it moves on to the next category. This brings bonuses related to the increase in the population, but also malus; for example, climbing from Village to Town imposes a -1 on Morale and a +1 on Crime.
Another interesting detail is that, when we create the settlement, we can decide the type of government. The manual introduces us to various types of government, from democracy to monarchy, and each is characterized by permanent modifiers and a special effect. Monarchy for example permanently reduces Morale by 1, but Crime will also be 1 lower; as a special effect, the cost of Settlement Actions will be reduced by 50%.
The types of leaders are varied and interesting, such as Commander, Mage and Merchant; each brings a specific bonus and malus. Taking the Commander as an example, the cost of maintaining military units is reduced by 50% but the cost of SP to build Orphanages, Theatres and Trade Companies is doubled.
In addition to this, we can decide if our settlement contains Guilds and what type they are; we are helped by tables to define the details, to make the operation faster and more thorough.
In addition, we also find tables for city parties, gossip and much more to make everyday life more dynamic.
The beauty of Organic Towns is that all these details, like the previous ones, can also be applied to existing settlements and above all we can use the various elements in a modular way to increase customisation and be able to better define the game world.
Building and Management Guide
Buildings are the backbone of every settlement; Organic Towns presents us with 39 of them, all different and each of them with 3 levels of improvement.
Each building has its mirror in which we are shown its characteristics:
- Level: the higher the grade of the building, the greater its usefulness.
- Prerequisites: Resources or other necessary buildings before starting construction.
- Costin SP, Time and Resources: everything that will be spent to build the building
- Maintenance Cost: SP’s monthly expense to make it work.
- Benefits: the bonuses that the building offers once active.
Each building has unique features that make sense for all 39 options to exist. These include the House, the Barracks, the Town Hall, the Well and much more. Some can be built several times (such as the House), others cannot (such as the Town Hall). Given the prerequisites of construction, we find a schematic conceptual map that shows us the buildings needed to build others.
In addition to each building, we find a table in which we can observe the events that can happen in that place; for example, in a Brewery the owner might quarrel with the hop suppliers. All options are truly imaginative, allowing for a wide variety of uses of this manual.
The Settlement Turn
The Settlement Turn is the system to put into practice the possibilities offered by the manual. Every month (at stake) you have to do it.
It is a functional method, based on steps to be followed in a certain order; the exception is the Settlement Actions, which can be performed at any time.
The first thing to do is to carry out a Building Roll, that is, with 1d100 you will have to decree in which building an event happens; once the result is obtained, you pull on the event table of the building. Depending on the category of the settlement, this roll (as well as subsequent ones) can be made several times.
Subsequently, a shot will have to be made on the Morale table and one on the Crime table; then it will be time to build new buildings. Finally, it will be necessary to control the situation of Water and Food, and then behave accordingly in increasing or decreasing the population.
Nothing complex, but they are a series of mechanical steps with which you have to take your hand; fortunately, the manual provides a complete example of a truly detailed and well-made Settlement Turn.
Conclusion of the Organic Towns Review
To conclude this review of Organic Towns, I can say that we are facing a very complete product, articulated, but well structured and usable; it can give a lot of satisfaction, although it will take a little practice to understand all the facets and apply them to the best. Add to all this a maniacal attention to detail and an excellent artistic sector.
I recommend Organic Towns to all GMs who want to make their settlements and game worlds more alive, to involve their players as much as possible. My advice, however, is not to limit yourself to making the shots in succession, but embellish them with stories and rolling, to keep the interest of the players even higher!
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