TOWN DESIGN: PART 1 - ESTABLISHED RELIGION

Note: I use the simple OD&D & Moldvay Basic alignments of Lawful, Neutral & Chaotic; so while T1 uses the more complex 8 alignment system, I will only mention this if it's totally necessary...

Within the village of Hommlet the lawful generally attend the Church of St. Cuthbert, the neutral follow the Druid of the Grove, & some chaotics are secret servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil.

There are approx. 29 households/shops/farms/living quarters in Hommlet. Two of these have folks of different religions under the same roof; however, for now, I am assigning that place to whatever the owner is. Likewise, I am focusing on those that live in Hommlet, not those that are staying @ the Inn temporarily & as for workers in a camp, I am not guestimating their wives & offspring, etc. Of the 29 households/shops/farms in Hommlet, 38% follow the Druid of the Grove, 31% follow St. Cuthbert & 3% are secret agents of the Temple of Elemental Evil. That leaves roughly 28% that subscribe to no religion @ all.

Furthermore, there are approx. 188 people that live in Hommlet (above exception also applies here). Split this way, we see that 44% follow the Druid of the Grove, 25% follow St. Cuthbert, 3% are secret agents of the Temple of Elemental Evil, & 28% subscribe to no religion @ all.

The simple reason for the increased percentage of Druid of the Grove followers by body is b/c those that have lived in Hommlet for most or all of their lives tend to be followers of the Druid & have large families. On the other hand, 56% of the households that follow St. Cuthbert are "newcomers" to Hommlet, having moved there within the last two years. One description even goes as far as saying, Having come to the village about two years ago, this family is considered as "outside" folk, and will be until their beards grow gray.... 33% are more dug into the community & of course 11% are keepers of the church.

Of the 28% that do not align themselves w/ organized religion, it is interesting to note that most of them are either loners of the community, or seem to have had tragedy in their lives (widowers, spinsters, simpleton, etc.), here's an example: These people do not follow any religious persuasion, so they are excluded from most village functions; ironically the other slice of this percentage is made up of military leaders & other hubs of the community. While these folks work w/ & may be friends w/ the church & druid leaders, they are not followers of either faith.

Overall, Hommlet is a fairly neutral place; so much so, that even the first listed followers of St. Cuthbert are said to be lawful neutral. Lawful good characters are rare in this town. But this is what makes Hommlet unique, as well. The main thing is to realize how organized religion strengthens T1 (could it even exist w/o it?) & how this approach can be used in designing your own village. Though the evil/chaotic element in Hommlet may be slight percentage-wise, it is sneakily powerful & challenging once perceived. In a game world that revolves around the tension between Law & Chaos, established religion boils it down to the community, which helps create suspense, intrigue, mystery, etc. for town adventures once players get to mingling.

[for other parts of series click "town design" label below]