Sample
Sample
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Celes�al Whispers ...........................................................16 Dragonfire Glassworks .....................................................72
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Crown & Comb ................................................................20 Ba�leborn Fitness ...........................................................76
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Blackwood’s Boun�ful Butchery ......................................28
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Quill and Plume Market ................................................130
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Iron Remedies ...............................................................134
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Blackwood Dis�llery ......................................................142
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Astrologer ........................................................................17 Glass Blower ....................................................................73
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Barber ..............................................................................21 Gymnasium .....................................................................77
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Bu�onmaker....................................................................31
Candlemaker ...................................................................33
Knifesmith .......................................................................87
Laundress ........................................................................89
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Carpenter ........................................................................35 Leech Collector ................................................................91
Plumer ...........................................................................131
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Porter ............................................................................133
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Private Inves�gator........................................................137
Puppet Theater..............................................................139
Rec�fier .........................................................................143
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Rope Maker ...................................................................145
Scribe .............................................................................153
Shipwright .....................................................................155
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Silversmith .....................................................................157
Skinner ..........................................................................159
Stables ...........................................................................161
Tailor ..............................................................................163
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Ta�ooist .........................................................................165
Thatcher ........................................................................167
Tinkerer .........................................................................169
Tobacconist ....................................................................171
Trapper ..........................................................................175
Undertaker ....................................................................177
Introduc�on
Town Builder is a collec�on of 87 shops filled with interes�ng characters, rumors, inventory, and more, ready to drop into
your game. An addi�onal 25 government posi�ons are detailed to further enrich your towns.
� The first line of each shop descrip�on is other names that type of ac�vity might have been called in past �mes.
Some are exact matches, others are similar and could be used for several businesses. Others could be poor matches –
research on search engines is never perfect. The extra names offer you a bit more diversity for the same shop type if you
are crea�ng mul�ple towns.
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� NPCs are helpers and are described to help prep you for role-playing them. But don’t feel trapped by them. Swap
the owner & appren�ce, embellish, replace, or move them around to other shops as desired. Take bits of descrip�on
from different ones to create brand-new NPCs.
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� Item prices are guesses based on extrapola�on of 5e price lists and could be wildly off. Feel free to modify them
to fit your campaign/rule set.
� The quest seeds offer interes�ng ideas that can be expanded into anything from a li�le side mission to a grand
adventure. It is up to you. Fill in details that would make them exci�ng for your players.
� While all the shops are unique, some overlap somewhat with others and may offer similar products and services
or have overlapping func�ons. For instance, a blacksmith can generally create pots, horseshoes, weapons, armor, and
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others, but they would be a generalist, whereas the other types of shops would specialize in par�cular lines of goods.
As you use these shops in your game, remember that they represent excellent opportuni�es for your players to get to
know some of the townsfolk and interact with them posi�vely and nega�vely. They are great places to share rumors, buy
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unique items, and build friendships, allies, and enemies.
Most of all, Town Builder’s shops are meant to be places where you and your players can have fun while in town.
Enjoy!
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Marrowmere’s Slaughterhouse
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(Slaughterhouse, Butchery, Carnage House, Meatworks) The observant passerby occasionally sees a white-cloaked
inspector wandering the grounds, ensuring the opera�on
Marrowmere Slaughterhouse combines stockyards and a
meets minimum sanitary condi�ons. The inspector walks
slaughterhouse in the poorer part of town where people
each sta�on, making check marks on their clipboard and
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have no power to complain about its odors. The en�re
neighborhood is filled with the fragrant odor of manure
and ro�ng flesh and offal, especially during the hot
summer months. The stockyards are large, open, o�en
then delivering the report to the owner so any noted
deficiencies can be corrected.
broken down into useful parts and “trash” to be sold to leave his cool cave to personally inspect some aspect of
others. The opera�on is quite efficient and can quickly the business. He is short-tempered but can easily be
break down even the largest animals. calmed with a sweet or BBQ sandwich, a trick most
employees know. Oddly, he is as humane as possible with
Once broken down, the large sec�ons are put on ice un�l
the animals, ensuring the killing tools always work at peak
delivered to butchers and other buyers for further
efficiency to minimize suffering. However, one can tell
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butchered and sent to shops in the poor district at • Beef (per pound): 3 sp
“bargain” prices. • Bones (per pound): 2 sp
• Chicken (whole): 5 sp
Aba�oir
• The inspector has a gambling problem and frequently
looks the other way when a few coins change hands. • Heart (each): 2 cp
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• Tasmin has the gi� of reading entrails and has a side • Jerky (per pound): 5 sp
business where customers pay her to read their • Kidneys (per pair): 5 cp
fortunes as she works. • Lamb (per pound): 4 sp
• One bin of pigs seems to be pets as they are long- • Lamb Chops (per pound): 6 sp
term residents. On an unrelated note, Gideon is quite • Liver (per pound): 1 sp
friendly with the local thieves’ guild. • Marrow Bones (per pair): 5 cp
• Pâté (per jar): 1 gp
Quest Seed: The Cursed Meat • Pork (per pound): 2 sp
• Pork Belly (per pound): 4 sp
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Marrowmere Slaughterhouse offers butchering services
for a few hunters who are friends with the owner. One
such hunter brought three large bears from his most
recent hunt for processing. He then sold the broken-down
•
•
•
•
Prime Rib (per pound): 6 sp
Sausages (per pound): 3 sp
Tenderloin (per pound): 8 sp
Tongue (each): 5 sp
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meat to a specialty butcher in town. A�er selling a good Services:
por�on of the bear meat over the past few days, he
• Blood Pudding Rendering (per jar): 3 sp
pulled the rest from the shelves as several buyers
• Bone Meal Rendering (per pound): 5 cp
complained of ge�ng sick. He refunded those who • Butchering Fee (per animal): 1 gp
complained, and everyone went their merry way. • Custom Cuts (per request): Varies (1 gp minimum)
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The town was overrun by bears that rampaged and • Delivery Service (local): 1 gp (flat-rate)
• Lard Rendering (per pound): 2 sp
caused massive destruc�on on the next full moon. When
• Slaughtering Fee (per animal): 2 gp
the residents tried to find tracks to hunt them down the
• Tallow Rendering (per pound): 1 sp
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The Mys�c Elixir Apothecary
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(Transmuters, Herme�cists, Spagyrics, Chymists, Magi) invites them to par�cipate in various prayer and healing
rituals he prac�ces regularly.
The Mys�c Elixir Apothecary is a small, invi�ng wood
frame building with a large front window filled with Appren�ce Eira Nightshade is a young woman with a
candies, vials of colorful liquids, and baskets of spices and striking presence, her long, flowing hair as dark as
herbs. The shop’s name is painted above the window. midnight cascading down her back in loose waves. Her
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The interior contains shelves and tables filled with
baskets, bo�les, jars, poul�ces, candies, and other
prepared items. A counter towards the rear is a place to
piercing blue eyes hold a spark of compassion and
curiosity. She frequently wears intricate jewelry cra�ed
from rare gemstones and metals; each piece imbued with
symbolic meaning and significance.
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pay for purchases or consult with a staff member. Beyond
are numerous shelves holding bo�les, containers, and jars Despite her youth, Eira possesses a maturity beyond her
of individual ingredients and two small worktables filled years, and she confidently assists Bo in running the shop
with mixing equipment, all used for crea�ng custom and conduc�ng experiments in the laboratory when not
prepara�ons. The air is a confusing medley of smells, serving customers or mixing up standard poul�ces and
some sweet, some pungent, all with an underlying note �nctures to add to the inventory on the shop floor.
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tables to clean and render harmless the some�mes hypnosis to plant posi�ve healing energy in them,
poisonous or acidic discharges before direc�ng them crea�ng a powerful placebo effect that gets them
outside. well.
• Bo personally speaks with sea captains over a glass of
The owner, Bo Twees, is a tall, slender figure with ale every �me they come to port, inquiring about
intelligent, piercing green and long, unkempt hair their travels and asking if they found any items that
cascading down his back, adorned with beads and he might find interes�ng. Many have seen pouches
feathers collected from his travels through distant lands. change hands during these conversa�ons.
He has a weathered face, stained teeth, and mo�led
hands, dyed myriad colors from working with ingredients. Quest Seed: The Alchemist’s Grove
Even though he looks odd, he is professional and is o�en Eira invests a lot of �me reading dusty old alchemical
consulted by healers to discuss par�cularly perplexing books in Bo’s private library, learning new techniques and
cases. He treats his staff and customers well and o�en ancient founda�onal bases for the medicines and other
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products they make. A�er reading an odd note or passage • Gorgon’s Gaze (per crystal): 100 gp
about “The Alchemist’s Grove” for the seventh �me, she • Griffon Feather (each): 20 gp
finally asks Bo what it is. • Hea�ng Lamp (each): 15 gp
• Iron Nails (per dozen): 2 sp
Bo explains that it is just a fairy tale about a place that • Iron Shavings (per ounce): 1 sp
contains every secret and ingredient an alchemist would • Kraken Ink (per vial): 30 gp
need to learn the secrets of transmuta�on – not just lead • Lead Ingots (per pound): 5 sp
to gold but anything, even death to life. He adds that • Mandrake Root (per ounce): 10 sp
many have lost their lives in the search for this • Man�core Tail Spike (each): 15 gp
nonexistent place, and he even hands her a personal • Mercury (per pound): 10 gp
• Mortar and Pestle (set): 2 gp
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notebook of all his notes, which he says proves
conclusively that it is a fairy tale and invites her to borrow • Nymph’s Tears (per drop): 50 gp
Alchemist
• Phoenix Feather (each): 50 gp
it.
• Retort (each): 10 gp
• Salt (per pound): 5 cp
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Three days later, she tells Bo her home was broken into
and only the notebook was stolen. • Silver Powder (per ounce): 10 gp
• Silver Thread (per yard): 5 gp
Items: • Sublima�on Apparatus (set): 30 gp
• Sulfur (per pound): 2 sp
• Alchemy Scale (each): 5 gp
• Tin Bars (per pound): 2 gp
• Alembic (each): 10 gp
• Troll Blood (per vial): 50 gp
• Basilisk Eye (each): 75 gp
• Unicorn Horn (per inch): 100 gp
• Belladonna Leaves (per ounce): 5 sp
• Wyvern Venom (per vial): 75 gp
• Calcina�on Furnace (each): 50 gp
•
•
•
•
Charcoal (per pound): 1 sp
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Chimera Scale (per scale): 10 gp
Copper Filings (per ounce): 2 sp
Copper Wire (per foot): 1 sp
Services:
•
•
Alchemical Consulta�on: 10 gp
Custom Alchemical Formula (Basic): 50 gp
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• Crucible (each): 5 gp • Custom Alchemical Formula (Complex): 200 gp
• Dis�lla�on Kit (set): 20 gp • Iden�fica�on of Alchemical Ingredients: 2-5 gp per
• Dragon’s Blood (per vial): 25 gp item
• Fairy Dust (per pinch): 5 gp • Po�on Brewing (Common): 100 gp plus cost of
• Filtra�on Funnel (each): 1 gp materials
• Glass Phials (per dozen): 5 gp • Po�on Brewing (Rare): 750 gp plus cost of materials
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• Gold Chain (per foot): 10 gp • Po�on Brewing (Uncommon): 300 gp plus cost of
• Gold Leaf (per sheet): 5 gp materials
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The Honeyed Hive
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(Bee Yard, Bee Farm, Beekeeper) a slender, muscular build from all her outdoor ac�vi�es
managing hives and the store. She dresses in airy sun
The Honeyed Hive is a deligh�ul beehive-shaped shop in
dresses, typically adorned with sunflowers or other
the food district. It is round at the bo�om and tapers at
seasonal flowers, and o�en wears a bonnet with a
the top and is painted a bright yellow. Its many windows
stylized bee pin.
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allow ample sunlight to filter into the shop, showcasing its
many offerings. A sign over the front door is painted to
look like a bumblebee, its face buried in a flower. Its many
beehives are sca�ered across the region, at farms, and in
Polly is a walking encyclopedia of beekeeping knowledge
and delights in sharing the detailed history and origins of
any of the shop’s honey offerings. Apart from working
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wildflower fields, and they have a beekeeper who visits with the bees, her favorite part of her avoca�on is
them in a planned rota�on, collec�ng the honeycombs, working with the beeswax, crea�ng deligh�ul candle
performing repairs, and moving the hives to new designs. She loves the wax’s texture, smell, and
loca�ons as the seasons change. They also have a small malleability on her fingers as she works it into beau�ful
workshop outside of town where they build new shapes. She is extroverted, loves having people around,
beehives, process the honey into products, and store the and tries to get to know each of her customers by name
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Every �me the shop door is opened, a wa� of warm Appren�ce Lizbeth Brightwing is a young, pe�te woman
honey-infused air dri�s into the street. The shop has with arms and legs that are too slender, bright black hair,
deligh�ul A-Frame shelves displaying a dizzying array of and raven-dark eyes. She frequently walks with her head
honey in bo�les, pots, tubs, and dried blocks. They also pointed to the ground as though heavy thoughts weigh
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have beeswax candles in humorous bee-themed shapes her down, but when she looks up, she always has a lovely
and blocks of beeswax for the do-it-yourself candle smile that makes the room light up. She wears light
maker. Several shelves offer honey-centric beauty and dresses with muted pa�erns, pre�y and subdued at the
health products. A small counter near a rear door serves same �me. She enjoys the wonderful fragrance of honey
as the focal point of interac�on with the shopkeeper. and loves working in the shop, especially when she gets
Beyond the rear door is a storeroom filled with more to taste a new honey blend Polly created. She likes it
products to replace the items in the shop as they sell. The when parents bring their children into the shop, and she
storeroom is periodically resupplied from their workshop. weaves mys�cal tales about bee knights and heroes
protec�ng their hives against fierce predators like bears,
The owner, Polly Amber, is a thirty-year-old woman who
mesmerizing the children and deligh�ng the parents.
exudes warmth and joy like a bright summer day. Her skin
radiates with a naturally tanned health, a pleasing Lizbeth spends most of her days in the shop, but once a
contrast to her honey-blond hair, o�en worn in a single week, Polly takes her on a field trip to teach her the other
braid. She has bright blue eyes and a ready smile. She has aspects of the business: hive inspec�ons, harves�ng
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honey, evalua�ng fields, making decisions on when to urchin into an alley, coming out a few minutes later
move hives, how to maintain the hives, and covered in blood and gore. Seeing what happened, the
understanding seasonality and how it affects the bees observers all start to stone it, and it twirls in a confused
and the quality of their honey. frenzy before bashing through the crowd, killing two, and
running into the woods. When the shock wears off, the
Rumors
�nkerer is nowhere to be found, and the townsfolk fear
• � A golden beehive is somewhere in the nearby there is a killer machine running amok in the woods, a
mountains, where the flower pollen absorbs gold poten�al danger to the en�re town. The mayor puts out a
leached into the groundwater. The honey produced is call to hearty adventurers to hunt it down and return with
filled with microscopic gold flakes and glistens in the its head for a reward.
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sun. It is so rare that no one in living memory has
seen this remarkable honey. Items:
• � Polly has powerful guardian magic placed on each
• Bee Pollen (small pouch): 5 sp
Apiary
of the hives. If they are not approached correctly, a
• Beekeeping Book (basic guide): 5 sp
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fierce defender erupts from the ground, violently
• Beeswax (1 pound): 5 sp
pushing the interloper away.
• Beeswax Candles (pair): 1 sp
• � The regional fall harvest fes�val is marked by a
• Beeswax Lip Balm: 5 cp
friendly rivalry between The Honeyed Hive and other
• Beeswax Polish (for furniture and leather): (1 sp
regional apiary shops over who will be crowned the
• Beeswax Soap (bar): 3 cp
Queen Bee for making the best honey. Polly has won
• Beeswax Thread (small bundle): 1 sp
five years in a row and worries one of the compe�tors
• Beeswax Wraps (for food preserva�on): 2 sp per
might sabotage her this year.
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• � The Honeyed Hive only sells the finest of its
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honey in the shop. Any honey not mee�ng its high
standards is sold to the local mead maker.
� Polly’s beeswax candles have just a touch of
magic in them and, when lit, fill the air with a
• Honey (1 pound): 5 sp
• Honey-glazed Nuts (bag): 5 cp
• Propolis Tincture (small bo�le): 2 sp
• Raw Honeycomb: 2 sp per comb
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• Royal Jelly (small vial): 10 sp
cleansing and relaxing scent.
Services:
Quest Seed: The Apiarist Automaton • Bee Removal: 2 gp per hive
• Beehive Installa�on: 5 gp per hive
A �nkerer is in town and is demonstra�ng his latest • Beehive Rental (seasonal): 5 sp per month
inven�on, a prototype clockwork beekeeper, in front of • Beekeeping Lesson (basic): 1 gp per hour
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The Honeyed Hive. He sets up an en�re display with • Custom Hive Design: 10 gp per design
several “hives” laid out on the ground and then • Hive Inspec�on: 1 sp per hive
commands the automaton to perform various tasks that • Honey Extrac�on (per pound): 1 sp per pound of
the beekeepers normally perform. At first, the automaton honey extracted
performs admirably, and then an urchin throws a rock at • Pollina�on Services (per acre): 1 gp per acre
it and laughs. The automaton is angered and chases the
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