City Generation Tables

The city walls were as tall as four men and as thick as three, with guards and lookouts posted at intervals all along the top. The main entrance gate had two large doors covered with polished sheets of bronze, cast with the forms of the 12 tigers. Inside the walls the buildings seemed much like others of the area, tightly packed mud brick dwellings built in a continuous complex with only the occasional alley or street between them. But curiously none of them could be entered from the ground level, the only entrance being hatches on the roof. This meant that intruders could be delayed by pulling up the ladders that led to the top. Even the citadel of the elder council was accessible only by large wooden staircases that could be removed when necessary.

- An Account of Sundaland by Alom Takal 

Here are some tables to help generate the details of a city or for when you need a random location.

City Areas

Common labourers, artisans, merchants and bureaucrats will account for the majority of the population and take up the largest area. The foreigners and slave areas might in some cases be located outside of the main city walls. Some cities will have inhabitants from different groups living amongst each other while others will have them strictly separated.

1. Foreigners travellers, merchants and mercenaries.
2. Common labourers and enslaved people.
3. Artisans, merchants and bureaucrats.
4. Warriors, soldiers, guards.
5. Religious caste.
6. Nobles or Elites.

City Features

Use this table to identify a particular location. Some cities will have all of these features, some will only have several, some will have multiples of a single type.

1. Fort or walls.
2. Market
3. Temple
4. Plaza
5. Storage building.
6. Residential building.
7. Workshop
8. Flower garden.
9. Palace
10. Aquaduct or fountain.
11. Harbour
12. Vegetable or fruit garden.
13. Animal enclosure.
14. Watch tower or lighthouse.
15. Public bath and sauna.
16. School, academy or training facility.
17. Open air theatre or arena.
18. Barracks
19. Prison
20. Catacombs, underground complex or tunnels.

Type of Residential Buildings

The typical residential buildings for commoners.

1. Wooden houses sometimes raised on earthworks or stilts.
2. Round or oval buildings with wooden or thatched roof and a low stone wall or base.
3. Tightly packed mud brick buildings.
4. Carved into the rock, either above or underground.
5. A single continuous interconnected complex made from stone or mud bricks.
6. On stilts along rivers or in the water.

Unusual Features

1. Extensive waterways.
2. Entry to buildings through the roof.
3. Causeways or raised walkways.
4. Necropolis within the city walls.
5. Terraced city.
6. Extensively planned city layout.

Features Outside the City

1. Nearby quarry or mine.
2. Farm or garden terraces.
3. Ancient megalith site.
4. Numerous or especially large cenotes.
5. Large waterfalls.
6. Independent religious community.

City Scenarios

1. Hidden tunnels are revealed.
2. A new cult is spreading.
3. A rebellious faction is growing in power and influence.
4. A slave or commoner revolt is on the verge of breaking out.
5. Critical infrastructure such as walls, roads, ditches or terraces are neglected and in disrepair.
6. A prominent person is assassinated.

Monsoons and Typhoons in Sundaland

When the winds shift and the rains start to fall the people of Sundaland celebrate the nourishment it brings to the land. They give thanks and offerings to their gods and enjoy festivities with their families. The weeks and months ahead will result in a bounty that is a reward for hard work and preparations made during the rest of the year.

- An Account of Sundaland by Alom Takal 

Monsoon Rains

Unlike Europe and North America the area of Sundaland does not experience four distinct seasons. Instead there are two Monsoon seasons, broadly speaking a warm and wet season and a cool and dry season, with some local variations in timing. The point is that the cycle of dry and wet seasons will be an important influence on the local culture as it is today where there are special festivities to celebrate the coming of the rains. These alternating seasons could be an influence on religion, festivities, ease of travel and war opportunities.

The monsoon rains are driven by prevailing winds which alternate in origin from the Southeast and Northwest directions with a curvature at the equator due to the coriolis force. As I mentioned there are local variations in terms of timing so I won't go into too much detail here. I've linked to climate pages for each of the countries in the region which will help you get an overall picture of the weather.  Remember that the average temperature of the planet was a couple of  degrees cooler during the last Ice Age and that it was dryer compared to now since more water was locked up in ice sheets. This means that rainy seasons are even more important than normal to the people of the central Sundaland plains.

I suggest you do a search for the area name plus 'climate' or 'monsoon' if you want more details. The climate of the central plain of Sundaland will fall somewhere in between the relevant landmasses.

North Australia
Papua New Guinea
Sulawesi
Java
Sumatra
Malaysia
Borneo
Philippines
Cambodia
Thailand
North Vietnam
South Vietnam
Myanmar
Southern China
Taiwan

Read more about the Malaysian-Australian Monsoon.

Typhoons

A typhoon is a tropical storm that develops in the Pacific Ocean and moves towards the west. The wind speed must be greater than 119 km ph / 74 mph for a tropical storm to be categorised as a typhoon. Peak months for typhoons are from May to October but they can occur throughout the year.

The areas most affected by typhoons are where the modern day countries of the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong exist.

Besides the high winds other features of typhoons include tidal surges along the coasts and landslides in hill areas.

Real History: 44,000 year old cave painting found in Sulawesi

The cave art found in Sulawesi depicts several Anoa, warty pigs and animal-human hybrids. It is thought to be twice as old as the previously known oldest cave art found in Europe.

Read the full BBC article here: Sulawesi art: Animal painting found in cave is 44,000 years old

Random RPG Faction Generator

This is a set of tables to help you generate the various aspects of a faction for your world or to add to culture you've previously created with the Sundaland Culture Generator. You might already have some of the big picture ideas figured out in which case you can use the appropriate tables to flesh out some of the details.

My tip is to find ways to link the factions in some way. Perhaps one faction possesses a secret or MacGuffin that another aspires to own, or maybe two factions are working against each other to achieve contradictory goals. This will make the setting dynamic and give players ways to engage with it.

It's tempting to create a fully detailed world in every sense but this can inhibit creativity and emergent content. It's better to detail the minimum you need before playing since you don't have to account for every single faction in your setting. Two or three per culture will be enough to start with and some details may not be discovered until later. See my article for more on this topic: Constructing fictional worlds while leaving room for other people's imagination and creativity.

As with the culture generator I advise you to embrace results that seem strange or contradictory, this will help you avoid tropes and cliches and will force you to create an interesting narrative to thread everything together. See also: Creating Culture Shock In Sword & Sorcery Settings.

There are twelve tables, each with six results so you can roll a d6 for each one. I encourage you to vary the order of the tables you use otherwise you'll find yourself thinking along familiar cliches. You could use a d12 to determine the order that you roll in.

1. Caste or Faction Type

Does the faction originate in or from a particular caste?

1. Warrior Caste
2. Priest Caste
3. Scholar Caste
4. Bureaucratic Caste
5. Merchant Caste
6. Casteless, Secret Organisation or Cult

2. Origin 

The age, location or circumstances of the faction's origin

1. Ancient
2. New or Recent
3. Local
4. Foreign
5. Alliance
6. Splinter Group

3. Leadership

The leadership structure of this faction as perceived by it's members or outsiders.

1. A perceived or real otherworldly or higher power.
2. Authoritarian: One person.
3. Elite: A small group of people.
4. Council: Elected, self-appointed or appointed on merit.
5. By Vote: By popular vote or voted in by particular members.
6. Unknown: Not even the members know or understand who leads.

4. Motivation

The faction might have several overlapping motivations but one of them is the most important.

1. Power
2. Wealth
3. Influence
4. Maintain balance or the status quo
5. Revolution
6. Destruction

5. Method

How does this faction achieve their goals?

1. Legal or By The Book: Within the legal framework of the current culture or society.
2. Overt Violence: War, raids, ceremonial or gladiatorial combat.
3. Hidden Violence: Assassinations, secret raids.
4. Bribery and Corruption: With resources or favours.
5. Sow Distrust and Discord: Pit different people or factions against each other.
6. Manipulate or Leverage: Using secret knowledge.

6. Strength

What is this faction's strength?

1. Act Decisively: No hesitation when an opportunity presents itself.
2. Meticulous Planning: Account for all possibilities and outcomes.
3. Decentralised: A network of associations, hard to shut down.
4. Allies: Have supportive and powerful allies.
5. Resources: Own or have access to valuable resources.
6. Fanatical: Will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

7. Weakness

What is this faction's weakness?

1. They have a debt or someone has leverage over them.
2. Overly greedy or ambitious.
3. Corrupt
4. Immoral
5. Disorganised or incompetent.
6. Impulsive 

8. Secret or MacGuffin

This faction possesses or has access to a secret or MacGuffin. This might be the thing the faction needs to achieve their goal or a thing they must keep from another faction. Roll on the extra tables for more details about this secret or MacGuffin. 

1. Artefact
2. Location
3. Person
4. Knowledge
5. Event
6. Resource

8.1 Artefact

1. Idol or Statue
2. Tablet or Scroll
3. Tool or Instrument
4. Treasure, Jewels or Jewellery
5. Urn, Bones or Remains.
6. Weapon, Armour or Shield.

8.2 Location

1. Building
2. Cave System or Underground Complex
3. Island
4. Ruin
5. Settlement
6. Valley

8.3 Person

1. Close Relation
2. Friend or Ally
3. Heir or Claimant
4. Prophet or Guru
5. Reincarnation or Avatar (perceived or real)
6. Traitor, Spy or Informant

8.4 Knowledge

1. Astronomy
2. Biology
3. Geography
4. Politics
5. Crafting
6. Religion

8.5 Event

1. Alliance: Impending or secret alliance
2. Assassination: The target and/or the assassin
3. Astronomical: Foreknowledge of an astronomical event like a comet or conjunction.
4. Attack: Knowledge about the timing, strategy or resources involved.
5. Betrayal: The traitor, spy or informant and who they are working for.
6. Embargo or Resource Restriction: The resources that are restricted and why.

8.6 Resource

1. Animal
2. Human
3. Mineral
4. Plant
5. Tool
6. Weapon

9. Complication

Something is getting in the way of the faction being able to achieve their goal.

1. Running out of time.
2. Need more or specific people.
3. Need more or a specific resource.
4. A spanner in the works.
5. Arousing suspicion.
6. Something is wrong with the secret or MacGuffin.

10. Inner Conflict

There is a conflict within the faction.

1. Disputed Leadership
2. Competing What's: What should they be doing?
3. Competing How's: How should they go about achieving what they want?
4. Competing Why's: Why are they doing what they do?
5. Inherent Contradiction: There is a contradiction between what the faction wants to achieve and how they're going about achieving it.
6. Traitor, Spy, Informant: One of the members is working against the faction.

11. Outer Conflict

There is an outside force that is working against the intentions of the faction.

1. Direct Competition: Another person or faction wants the same thing.
2. Direct Opposition: Another person or faction is trying to stop them.
3. Accidental Interference: Another person or faction in accidentally working against them.
4. Environmental Disruption: Something in the environment, perhaps a natural disaster, is inhibiting them from achieving their goals.
5. Political Disruption: An unintended shift in the political environment is preventing the faction from achieving their goals.
6. Secret or Weakness Discovered: Another person or faction has discovered the secret or weakness and is exploiting it.

12. Moral Compass

How do they make decisions within the faction?

1. Might makes right
2. Discern the will of the gods
3. Let fate decide
4. Strict rule of law
5. Collective will of the members
6. The leaders decide