The Obojima Podcast the Blog | Episode 1: Building a Village in D&D: Okiri Village

Episode 1 - Building a Village in D&D: Okiri Village

Welcome to the first episode of the Obojima Podcast (and the first installment of the blog!). This podcast is a deep dive into the creative process of creating Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass. First thing’s first, let’s meet our intrepid crew of writers. 

• Jeremiah Crofton - The Creative Director of 1985 Games and the creator of Obojima.
• Ari Levitch- Head Writer
  
• Adam Lee- Head Writer

Ari and Adam’s credentials are highlighted. They’re talented writers who have worked on numerous projects both at and outside of Wizards of the Coast, including The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Descent into Avernus, and Curse of Strahd to name a few. They’ve also worked on the Magic the Gathering Team, Disney’s Lorcanna, and more. Their humor, insight, and talent made them the ideal choices to work on Obojima.  
After their initial introduction, the team goes into the purpose of the podcast. Which is to provide insight into the world-building and writing process for Obojima. This way, viewers and fans can understand not only the world as it is created, but also the process and reasoning behind the writer’s decisions. They describe this as “fairly loose” conversations, and while notes are taken, NONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CANONICAL UNTIL THEY END UP IN THE BOOK. 
Jeremiah, Ari, and Adam discuss their process and philosophy of writing. At this point, they have been writing for four months, building out the lore and world of Obojima. They hold writers’ meetings one or two times a week, which they then decided to turn into this podcast. The book is actively being written so some things discussed may get cut or reformatted as they go on. The team emphasizes that much of the process involves sifting through many ideas to find the “little seeds” that will become cool content. They encourage listeners to feel free to use or adapt any ideas they hear for their own stories, stating, “steal all our stuff, throw it in there, it’s all good.”

Creating Okiri Village

The trio of creators start brainstorming about Okiri Village. It’s flavored as a  feel-good, safe, home-base starting location for players, intended as a place where nothing bad ever happens. It’s described as a cute village full of kind and wonderful people, with the crankiest person being an old man upset about kids chasing chickens. The village should be an “ideal town” where players feel comfortable, serving as a consistent home base. It draws inspiration from places like the Shire in Lord of the Rings, where inhabitants are content and rarely venture far, and potentially Bree, as a crossroads hub.
They started a discussion of possible adventure hooks includes festival disruptions by
rambunctious, feathered creatures called yokario, a pseudo-goblinoid creature obsessed with festivals, which provide a fun, low-level adventure. Another idea is a missing child adventure involving a “kid on the bike” who uses a potion to glide with giant jellyfish, offering a combat-less or optional-combat scenario. NPCs discussed include quest-givers, tavern innkeepers who hear rumors, commoner farmers, and a charismatic field worker who always has a job. They also talked about a “drumbelly,” a giant ogre-type creature that slams its belly to make beats, while it’s mentioned, it’s a creature that didn’t make the community build but could be menacing or show up in the future. 
 Festivals are a central part of Obojima and Okiri Village is no exception. They talked about  a concept of festival grounds where other local villages descend, bringing outside people and news. These celebrations offer fun activities for players beyond combat, such as unique regional sports. Festivals are proposed to be based on seasonal vegetables like a Turnip Festival or a Pumpkin Festival or something themed around flowers like a Rosebud Festival, attracting different people and spirits.
The team debates the presence of spirits, 80s technology, and diverse peoples
(nakudama, dara, humans, elves) in Okiri Village. They ultimately lean toward an “idealized abundance of all elements” rather than an absence. They describe Obojima as a mixture of fantasy, medieval elements, 80s technology, and spirits. Okiri Village is envisioned as the perfectly plutonic ideal version of this. Okiri should be a place where players are not necessarily in danger, but every building could serve as an avenue for new adventures. 
 They talked about the village leadership structures. It could include a “lead farmer,” a “farmer oligarchy,” or a “farmer consortium.” The idea of a village elder is also discussed. Ultimately, the village is suggested to have a decentralized authority structure where specific problems are handled by specific people, and skills like running festivals or herding “sheep dragons” are handed down through families, rather than one person running the village.
 The writers had a discussion of Okiri Village’s location near the woods and adjacent to the Gale Fields, which is one of the five or six regions of  Obojima. It is described as a “sleepy farming village” that transforms into a “festive hub” on market days and festivals, where villagers from around the region come to celebrate, trade, and compete. The village is characterized by its trusting, open nature, where people leave their doors unlocked and farms unattended.

NPCs in Okiri Village

Jeremiah, Ari, and Adam went on to discuss the colorful cast of NPCs who would occupy Okiri Village. First they had an exploration of the existence of multiple witch covens across the island. The local witch character is proposed to be a former, powerful member of one of the “major three” covens who retired to Okiri, like Galadriel going to Okiri instead of Great Haven. She might be a little rusty and her magic could be afoot, leading to adventures and introducing the mechanics for potions and strange ingredients.
They further discussed the types of NPCs in the village, including a delivery boy, the local worker, the witch, and a shepherd. Since the authority structure is decentralized, with no single person running the village; instead, specific tasks or events are managed by specific individuals or families, like “Sally runs the festival.” The shepherd is proposed as a key NPC who roams the furthest while grazing sheep, making them an outside source of information. They can bring news or adventure hooks from outside the village, or even go missing, providing an easy tie-in for adventures. They also added the introduction of a curious, adventurous nine-year-old nakudama child who is an information gatherer and potential adventure instigator. She might claim to have climbed down a well nobody else has, or found a “razor sharp” knife, and she subtly follows players around, “butting into your information” with a high DC-15 for detection.

Factions and Points of Interest

 After filling the whimsical town with NPCs, the writers talked about the factions of Obojima that would call Okiri Village home. First is a postal service, which is the main organized ground that comes through. It’s described as “more exciting than it sounds” and “very, very cool.” They further discussed the design and security of the postal box. Ideas for its appearance include a “giant rook,” a “neighborhood book drop-off,” or a stone statue of a “giant koi fish with its mouth open.” Tampering with it could result in an “ink stain” that requires a special potion to remove, marking the player to postal workers who might use a “ruby monocle” to identify them. The postal service is seen as a great source of adventure, allowing DMs to send players on delivery quests.
 They also talked about Sword Schools, training locations scattered throughout the island of Obojima where people can train and learn special techniques with the sword. There was debate over whether the sword school should remain in Okiri Village or be moved to a more bustling, dangerous town. The writers came to a consensus to move the school to a location like the Gale Fields or Coastal Highlands. However, a retired sword master could be found in the village to provide exposition on the sword schools and provide a challenge for any that are interested. There was discussion on how combat in the setting can be non-lethal, focusing on mastery and duels rather than death. Creatures are often described as having self-preservation instincts and will flee if things go wrong. Duels can be fought “to touch,” where striking without actually hitting signifies mastery, allowing for combat without reducing opponents to zero hit points.
 Finally the team concludes, noting how discussions about Okiri Village naturally lead to a broader worldbuilding and development. This small step can cascade into fleshing out the entire Objima setting. 
 This is just the first of what will be many episodes. Stay tuned to her more insight and thoughts from the trio of writers who will bring Obojima to life. Welcome to the island, everyone!

To watch the entire episode follow this link: https://youtu.be/QBe6y27GxPc?si=fY2iaxIX_do5U_wv