When you need a place to start an adventure or to stock up in the middle of one, the market is a welcome site. Artisans, vendors, performers, and people of all kind populate the market. Where to go first?
Situation
The town market is a weekly (or so) event that brings every farmer and family from around the town in for a day of food, festivity, and frivolity. It’s a chance to sell or trade some goods and to buy items or services to prepare for the week ahead. Though town markets may be smaller than the cities’, there is no telling who or what will turn up at the market week to week as travelling artisans, sellers, performers, or what have you move around the countryside on a circuit through the towns. Visitors take in the sights, sounds, and smells of healthy community activity on Market Day. Music plays as a backdrop to the calling out of salesmen hawking their goods and the laughter of the men gathered around the ale cart. The smells of baking and cooking mingled with the aroma of livestock, fish, and perfumes create a cacophony for the nose! Meanwhile, jugglers, potters, jewelers, and smiths impress the eyes with dynamic activity and production. Where to go first?
Environment
- stalls, carts, booths, tents, racks, cooking fires, ovens, hearths, water well, town spring,
- barrels, crates, kegs, boxes, chests, jugs, urns, baskets,
- puppet shows, minstrels, dancers, actors, criers, drummers, mummers, mimes, jugglers, magicians, charmers, sword swallower, fire breather, “Dr. Wickles’ Caged Wonders”, midway, circus, buskers
- gallows, stockades, public stonings, executions, humiliations,
- the ground is dirt, mud, rock, cobblestone, moss, grass, woodchip, straw
- sounds of laughing, calling, peddling, dealing, clanging, drumming, murmuring, singing, knocking, fire crackling, arguing, fighting, bellering, crying, chatting,
- smells of bread, meat, barnyard, metal, smoke, manure, hay, frying, roasting mutton, lamb, wood fire, incense, tallow
- weather is sunny, bright, hot, muggy, dry, overcast,, gloomy, drizzling, downpouring, stormy,
- bordering the market square, there may be an inn, barn, stable, guildhall, laundry, bakery, blacksmith, general store, artisan shops, public baths,
- animals: birds (starlings, pigeons, crows, bluebirds, jays, swallows, chickadees), vermin (mice, rats, snakes, moles, raccoons), fox, coyotes, deer, domesticated (cats, dogs, ferrets, cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys)
Stuff
Well, it’s a market, so there’s a chance you could get almost anything here. Whatever you’re after, roll 3d6 to see if you can find it. Apply disfavour if it’s a rare or obscure or very specific item; apply favour if it’s fairly common. Very common stuff you can assume you just find it. Here are a few interesting things to add to the variety:
- rope, twine, cord, nets, line, hooks, chain, clasps, shackles, locks, keys, nails, spikes, horseshoes,
- cabbage, turnip, pumpkin (fall), tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, sugar, spice, herbs, dried beans, wheat, barley, flax, melons, tobacco, bread, buns, cake, pie, croissants, baguettes, pastries, mutton, beef, pork, chicken, sausage, rootbeer, mead, cassava, choys,
- spice; cinnamon, vanilla bean, paprika, oregano, pepper, salt,
- leather goods: straps, whips, horse tackle, bracers, jerkins, “adult fantasy” wear, wallets, bags, boots, belts, books
- metalwork, ingots, bullion, wrought iron bars, cast iron pots, horseshoes, axes, hoes, spades, rakes, forks
- magic items, potions, spells, scrolls, rings, wands, swords, shields, talismans, amulets, orbs, gems, wards, runes, bracelets, magical chewing gum of ogre strength, ointments and salves, brooches, clasps,
- pans, pots, wooden spoons, kettles, sieves, washboards, pails, basins, giant cast iron plate over a hardwood fire for making flatbreads, milk jugs,
- paper, ink, maps, scrolls, cases, sealing wax & stamps, dice, playing cards, tarot cards, oiled paper “windows”, baskets, origami, toys, paint, canvas, brushes
- tea, coffee, tinctures, herbs, incense, pastes, infusions,
- cloth, linen, tunics, pants, hoods, jerkins, belts, sashes,
- wood, stone, and bone carvings
- blessings, curses, readings, omens, prognostications, healings, cures
- gravestones, signs, sculptures, caskets, memorials,
Characters
- farmers, ranchers, cowhands, cowpoke, shepherds, tribesmen, serfs, peasants,
- scouts, rogues, scavengers, thieves, pickpockets, spies, revolutionaries, mercenaries, soldiers, police, band of barbarians or hill people, sailors gettin’ drunk
- religious zealots, missionaries, clerics, crystal ball readers, palmists, diviners, witchdoctors, clairvoyants, wizards, pilgrims, monk
- wanderers, miscreants, hobos, beggars, tricksters, charlatans, drifter, leper,
- kids, toddlers, infants, trainees, squires, servant boys, boys and girls
- cobbler, woodturner, spinster, tailor, seamstress, blacksmith/farrier, leatherworker, paper maker, baker, noodle maker, cheesemaker, baker, hunter, spice merchant, florist, herbalist, alchemist, gardeners, orchard keeper, clothier, weaver, embroiderer, barber,
- storyteller, bard, musician, trio, town crier with the news,
- soldier, town guard, sherriff, marshall, captain,
- noble folk, mayor, reeve, magistrate
- servants, cooks, manor servants, butlers, porters, slaves,
Activities
- shopping, resupplying, trading, selling, lending, borrowing, weighing, bartering,
- performing, dancing singing, tooting flutes, strumming lutes, stomping boots
- gaming, gambling, dueling, jousting, fighting, brawling, wrestling, boxing
- robbing, stealing, cheating, investigating, questioning, sleuthing, prying, listening
- kids playing games: skip rope, hopscotch, tag, hide and seek, pin the tail on the guy in the stockade
- throwing rotten vegetables at petty criminals, stoning, hanging, eviscerating, torturing,
- building, forming, carving, making, baking, cooking, frying,
Developments
- a religious inquisitor has come to town and presides over the trial of several townsfolk deemed “witches and wizards” of evil; the truth is that the magistrate himself and the king he serves are the evil ones.
- a travelling artist challenges any comers to a rapping contest, beatboxing, or slam poetry.
- there’s a tournament today! Join the battle! the prize: princess’ hand in marriage, a golden sceptre, a keep on the border, entry into the King’s Guard; a spell book loaded with cool stuff (Stuffius Coolius in Wizard language), a gargantuan pet tarantula
- the king is hiring soldiers and a lavish booth is setup to lure in potential warriors.
- a legendary storyteller, late in the evening, tells a harrowing tale of a great treasure hoard in the mountains lorded over by frost giants; those who see it are so awed they freeze in place – literally becoming an icy undead army of the frost giants
- a merchant somehow senses the characters’ adventurous spirit and shows them some items of great mystique: a glowworm lantern, a cowl of seeing, and a bead on a leather strap that will grant the wearer one wish. He will give the lantern on retainer if they will take on a quest for him and upon completion they can have the other two.
- one of the characters is approached by a sheriff who accuses them of a crime.
- a wizard has used his magic to design a wild rollercoaster called the Puke-o-whirl… if you dare
- a herald comes riding into town to announce the coming of a wealthy nobleman, causing quite a buzz
- a gnome “invendor” (an inventor who sells stuff at markets) has a vending machine of magical items; just like one of those robot arm games where you grab a stuffed animal; just don’t pick up the cursed item!
- an old sea captain wants to hire some mercenaries to go after a treasure on a mysterious island