The Hub

In any campaign, or rather any campaign I like to run, there's a hub location from which the adventurers can rest and plot their escapades and pile their loot.

But I have to decide on the scope and the breadth of hub and its location.

First, since my players will be starting at the location it can't be too large - why are they solving existential problems if there's higher level adventurers who could make a daytrip to wipe out the goblin invasion for example?

But it has to be large enough to be plausible for them to find everything they need. So let me call it a modern day "village" of 1000-5000 people. Depending on the story being told, closer to 1000, on the larger end, 5000. There should be 3 or 4 "spoke" villages but 95% of the population of the area should be rural if we're doing a bronze age or medieval style game but only about 70-80% of the population if I'm doing one inspired by the Ancient world (regardless of technological setting).

So let me set it, for now, at around 2000. This allows us to create enough variety that if NPCs go amiss the players won't immediately run away and leave all our hard work to be redressed.

Examining the needs of a PF2e adventuring party:

1. Plot hooks: arguably the most important, if they don't have a way to lazily pursue epic adventure they won't be happy.
2. Equipment: no matter how richly you litter the world for them with items they'll want more! So they have to have someplace to buy it.
3. Leisure: invariably one player's character is just out to get laid or drunk endlessly so they need a way to do that.
4. Help: Players, being lazy, want people to figure stuff out for them! So this is a place for them to have them do that.
5. Reinforcements: New adventruers blowing in out of nowhere in the wilderness isn't very believable. Coming in off the noon stage in a hard scrabble town is more believable. Showing up in a town in the wilderness where adventure happens is much more believable.

That being the case Ineed at least a vendor, a tavern, a town hall, a temple, an old wizard and a caravan company.

Next I need to think about the setting and how that'll work. I'll do that next post.