Setting up a new project, need some advice on Map scales and Size rations

[Dimitris R Havlidis]

Hello everyone,

We are starting a new project in Lostkingdom.net which is called "Let's design a e medieval fantasy village" ( you can read more about it here http://www.lostkingdom.net/lets-desi...-introduction/ )

Before I started building components and maps I really wanted to make sure that I got my scales and lighting correctly so I can use it across all the components. I have written an article about it so i can get some feedback on this and then use it as a reference point.
Can you please read the article here:
http://www.lostkingdom.net/lets-desi...d-size-ratios/

And comment here with you advice. I am a bit at a loss and i really want to begin this but without making sure I am starting at the right foot, I hesitate.

[Tomalak]

Is this a gaming-style or history-style project? Something I've noticed about "fantasy" vs "historical" villages is that fantasy (largely by the influence of D&D) has given labels to the size of various settlements, whereas in history those terms referred more to the purpose of the settlement. For example, a 'village' usually sat surrounded by farmlands - not by modern 'farms.' The villagers would stay in the village at night (their homes) and go out to the farmlands to work. They did not (usually) have houses outside the village, and very rarely were there many businesses inside the village. Villages were too small (and too close together) to individually support a non-farming tradesman. A town, on the other hand, would have all those tradesmen (cobblers, blacksmiths, etc), as well as a market for the trade of agricultural products. The farmers would come to town to buy & sell. (A Hamlet, btw, was much like a village, but was supported by orchards rather than farms.)

Further, villages rarely 'grew into' towns. Not only was a village a different purpose than a town (closer to a suburb), but to found a village, town or city you had to have a charter from the Lord of the land - and too many towns was not always beneficial for the feudal lord, so he might say no.

This is, of course, completely irrelevant if the goal of your contest is a D&D-style fantasy village, because historical accuracy is less important than narrative value, and giving individual villages specialist workers increases the ease of adding plot points.

I hope this was useful, or at least interesting!