I got really, really bored in class today. Like, way more than usual.
The result?
AN ENTIRE TOWN GENERATOR BASED ENTIRELY ON D8s. There's one d4, easily rollable with a d8. I didn't want to write the same thing twice four times is all.
With it, you can generate or choose the size of the town, then what concentration of shops, residential, and governmental buildings are around, the general town layout, types of roads, average level of wealth for citizens, educational opportunities for citizens, what types of stores are around as well as their quality, pricing, willingness to buy items from adventurers, and willingness to haggle, what kinds of houses are around, what government facilities there are around and their quality, the economic basis of the town, it's community focus, recent/quest events, factions within the town, level of crime, and any special buildings not relating to shops, houses, or the government.
As a general rule, 1s are horrible for the player, 4-5 is average, 8 is fantastic, unless it's a classification (such as store type).
I'll post the whole thing at some point if people are interested.
Town Size is important as number of shops, houses, and government buildings directly tie in. A Metropolis (largest size) at absolute minimum will have 5 shops, 5 houses, and 5 government buildings, as well as at least one special (like a bar.) At the absolute maximum it has 11 of each type plus four specials, meaning a Metropolis can have anywhere from 16-37 places for players to visit. A Hamlet, the smallest possible town size, is capable of having 0s in every category, and might require rerolls, although I like to stick with the results as is. Abandoned towns may crop up in such a way, adding intrigue.
Most options won't have much bearing- such as Economy. Economy boils down to "We import and export", "We make it ourself", or "We make some things on our own as well as trade with other towns." There's also no option for how towns are ruled, though they could be pretty easy- if you had city-states, you might want to choose between government types and officials morality/benevolence level. Kingdoms would be under one person and may encompass many towns, so I left it out.
Some things do require GM input, such as the "Special" shop type. These are shops that may be like others, but sell unique items. Maybe a town has no Apothecary, but has a Special. The GM might choose to say the Special is a "confectionary", selling various candies made with potions mixed in, giving limited but delicious effects. Players may pay to mix in their own potions, although effects are lessened in the candies, though they are very portable.