D&D the setting main piece

I am told that the most important thing in a game is to not to break the perception of preparedness, when someone decides that they want to go to that ruin on the left, you can't say no, I am not ready for you to go there.  The correct response is to say, "I thought you would never ask," and begin describing it.  There are lots of little things that break the aura of a setting, like meeting random people and not having names for them.  Or taverns, or temples.  Or other things.  As Ford Prefect said in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, if a hitchhiker came prepared with his towel, his must have just lost everything else, so lending him anything else is not a hardship.  DMs need to have their towels ready.

Inns.  In Hommlet there is the Welcoming Wench, all ready for someone to go in and start a bar fight.  Every village has at least on inn or drinking establishment.  The more prosperous has two or three.  They provide places for locals to swap news, gossip and hold impromptu meetings– as well as get a good mug of ale and a meal.  

Every village has a blacksmith.  Someone to repair the metal goods and shoe horses and such, they might also repair leatherwork if there is no tanner or leather worker.  

How does the village feed itself?  Most common there are farms and then what must there be as well?  A mill to grind the grain to flour.  If there is a mill, there may be a brewer and they might be the same.  

Temples, every village will have at least one temple, maybe two or three.  Who are they temples of?  Hommlet has two, a temple to StCuthbert and a grove to the Druids.  The villages around Greysteel include an Agricultural Deity, and a nature deity, because there are farms and lots of woods, but it makes sense that there might be a temple to a protection Deity, and a temple dedicated to prosperity in Orlane, and a temple dedicated to Trade or Rivers in Saltmarsh. Saltmarsh might also have a temple dedicated to a trickster deity, because there are lots of Smugglers there.  The duke worships Scoria, that Goddess' temple is large and prominent in Greysteel.  Replace Hommlet's StCuthbert with Scoria, the Goddess of agriculture Stomidia. Prosperity Aurista, 

So that a is a few different gods that I must prepare for the setting that I have created. I have already detailed, or started to detail the major gods of the world, so I should start with those.  

Agricultural Deity: the Goddess of Weather seems like a good start, in this area.  CG, CN, and CE.  Good weather is good for crops.  Also, this might double as a good Temple for Saltmarsh, as this goddess is about trickery too.  She could be worshipped in the farmlands for bringing sun and rain in their proper measure and warding off her storms, in Saltmarsh also to pull the wool over the eyes of officials.  Name… Stomidia, of the Fickle Wind.  Who tended her children by scattering the winds and pushing them together, who lashed out with cyclones to destroy those who wronged her and who sent a thunderstorm to dampen her Sister's wedding day as a prank.  The Goddess of  Weather is Chaotic (Red). Tempest, Nature, Trickery.  Those who perform an elaborate prank and do not get caught that causes chaos recieve Stomida's Blessing

The people in the area need a god to call upon to protect them against the evils of the world.  Particularly against the evils that have arisen nearby a century ago, a god of righteousness and protection, Hestium, protector and Smiter of evil, locked in a never ending battle with his brother the War God, the God of health is depicted as a Winged Deva with four arms, holding a Sheild, Warhammer, a flower and a ewer of water.  The God of Health is Good ( Small and White, 1/4 year rotation, eclipse every five rotations) Life, Protection, City, NG,LG, and CG.  Giving meaningfully (not seeking reward) assistance to the poor and destitute, grants the Blessing of Hestium.

The god of nature might be easy to take the god of nature , but that would mean adding another Greater God to the mix, perhaps it is time to just broaden the mix by adding a demigod, or just the local Nature of the area, embodied by the idea of a cloaked stranger that wanders the forest who can change its shape to rock, tree, stag or man.  Known as the Grey Warder, he picks no side except those that can't defend against the stride of civilization.  Proper prayers must be given to him before a farm is planted, before land is cleared.  Stories are abound of those that tried to do so only to find a years work undone in a single night.  Neutral, god of the forests and lands drained by the River Wild.  Domain Nature.

Goddess of trade and prosperity , domains of Forge and City CG, CN.  Aurista is worshiped in all cities in various forms and appears as a gold or silver woman with a bulging purse at her side and a bundle of goods over her back.  Stories are told often how she traded with another god and then traded to yet another and gained much more in the exchange, others say that she trades worthless junk for valuables.  Most market places are overseen by a cleric of Aurista, and wise merchants evoke her name before entering trade.  Trading posts often have her image on a their sign post.

Goddess of the Green Sun, Scoria Goddess of justice.  She is depicted as a woman with four arms and two faces, one on the front and one on that back.  She is dressed in armour and carries a drawn Sword, an open book that she writes the good deeds and bad deeds on, a balance which she weighs people's souls and a hammer which she forges souls.  Her brow shines with the light of the Sun.  She is the God of Order.  She is neither good nor evil, she is lawful.  Worshipers are lawful, possibly looking for vengeance.  Those who keep their faith or oaths in the face of temptation are empowered by the Oath of Scoria.

Dragoth the Slayer.  God of the Green Moon is the god of murder and war; Strife.  Depicted as a god with three faces and nine arms.  In temples his statue rotates, not that he has many temples.  One face has one eye, one has two and the other has three.  He wields a sword, a dagger, a whip, a morningstar, a flail, lightning, a palm up with a cloud in it, chains and a fist raised to the heavens.  Sacrifices are made every full moon and every dark moon and they are always blood sacrifices.  All sacrificers are blessed by the god, the greater the sacrifice the greater the reward.  The statue is splattered with blood and it will glow green and the blood will burn off and the eye will bathe the worshiper with green light.  The god is evil.

Beshtak'l the goddess of magic and of what is hidden.  She is the goddess of knowledge.  Her name is unknown to all but her priests and it is never spoken aloud save on her holy days.  Her temples always include a window, the greater the temple the more window.  The floor is always clean and without furniture.  There is no idol.  When the light of only the blue sun shines through, the window becomes opaque and the statue of the goddess appears.  She is alternately as a child, a maiden, a mother or a crone.  She is the only god whose name is always the same.  She is the god of knowledge, magic and stealth and is Neutral.  Those that uncover hidden knowledge, lost knowledge and make it availible recieve her blessing

Xeric, the god of nature and the life cycle.  The god of the blue moon.  The moon of months.  He is the god of seasons and he is depicted as a may with a staff and a cloak of flowers.  He is all about nature and the life cycle.  God of life and death and all things natural.  Completely neutral. He is the god of Nature, Grave, and Life.  Undead are antithetical to his being, and should anyone kill the interrupter of the natural cycle of life, they will be blessed with Xeric's Blessing.

All the supreme goddesses have light domain for free because they are all suns.

The Goddess of Light is Lawful (Green) City, Forge, Protection

The Goddess of Magic is Neutral (Blue) Arcana, Knowledge, War

The Goddess of  Weather is Chaotic (Red). Tempest, Nature, Trickery

The God of Health is Good ( Small and White, 1/4 year rotation, eclipse every five rotations) Life, Protection, City

The God of Nature is Neutral (Medium and Blue, monthly rotation, eclipse every nine rotations) Nature, Grave, Life

The God of War is Evil (Large and Green, bi-weekly rotation, eclipse every 27 rotations) Death, Tempest, Forge

Of Gods: There are six greater gods, they are the only greater gods in all of Creation.  They are named differently in different cultures across the globe, and different cultures emphasize different aspects but there are a few things that remain common through all the greater world. 1) All the greater gods have three domains available for clerics, but they get more spells, the goddesses have Light Spells and the Gods have Darkness Spells.  2) The goddesses are associated with One of the suns, and the gods with a moon.  When the moon or sun is absent from the sky they lose power.  3) The major gods have a greater hold on the world.  When any intelligence invokes the proper sacrifice, action, they receive a material benefit to any one who does it… 

Beshtak'l's Blessing: gain ability to cast a single spell of higher level once a day for five castings or cantrip for a week.

Dragoth's Blessing: +5 to hit next attack.

Blessing of Hestium: next failed saving throw, succeeds.

Stomidia's Blessing: advantage for a day

Oath of Scoria: Sanctifies an Oath with divine Retribution

Xeric's Biddance: allows a version of Raise Dead to work.  Raise Dead short of a wish fails otherwise, unless cast by a cleric of Xeric.

Gods of the Realm:

Greater 

Beshtak'l or the hidden god, absent god supreme god N

Dragoth E

Hestium G

Stomidia C

Scoria L

Xeric N

Lesser

Aurista goddess of prosperity CG

*Cyr Astra of the Dulcimer, god of music CG

*Csane god of oaths, LN

*Volduct god of buildings, LN

*Dalmera goddess of rivers and streams, CN

*Ghelestria goddess of stars, LN

*Candalmar god of fire and artificial light, CG

*Balath god of murder, CE

*Jard goddess of righteous actions, LG

*Maristophelis goddess of common knowledge, N

*Fagus goddess of plagues, NE

*Lamatur god of friends and family relationships, NG

*Omarra goddess of the forge and industry, LN

*Qarous god of travel, NG

*Hatelan god of misfortune, NE

*Dimghit god of night, CN

*Restenest god of wild animals, CN 

*Yesdreai goddess of time and healing, NG 

*Wegnaturn god of the deal, LE

*Ruersa goddess of malice and vengeance, LE 

*Sorisrow god of corruption, CE

*Ahdet god of Death, NE

Demi

The Grey Warder, N

*Papax god of disease, CN

*Reho god of strength, CG

What else does a village have?  A place to get what they don't produce a trading post or a market place, one or the other, the latter tends to be in cities and large towns, if not, then the former, but in towns there may be more than one— if so they will likely specialize in other areas so as no stepping of toes occurs.  One might sell weapons and armour while another might sell things used on a farm, both might sell the usual dry goods, a third might sell textiles too.  

Villages might have one or more specialized craftsman.  For example there is a brewmaster in Hommlet, a wine maker in Orlane and in The Downs they make Apple Brandy.  The Downs also have more cattle than the other villages and so they probablly have a leather worker too.  Greysteel grows a lot of food, but not enough so it imports food from the other villages.  Because Greysteel is bigger, they have more blacksmiths and even a metal Armourer and weaponsmith, three of the best furniture makers are there too, the other is in Hommlet.  The cooper, lives in Greysteel too.  Most villages have a potter, but the town has better and more.  Most of the fish comes from Saltmarsh, and the salt.  Boats dock in Saltmarsh, before their contents head inland on the roads or on barges to Greysteel.  

Interesting roleplaying scenarios,  what happens when the characters spill blood in a temple to Drogath and the image of him is splattered with blood and the character receives his blessing?  

The Duke worships Scoria, and it has been made the State Religion.  He is LE but theoretically characters could worship her and be LG or LN.  

Central tension is law vs Chaos.  But both are bad as the leader is Evil and the opposition is also Evil.  The leader opposes the Temple of Elemental Evil, but is intent on war with the nation of Orcs to the south and has aspirations of conquest.  The world at large is not in peace, but the region is isolated.  The nation has got problems and it is gearing up for war.  If the characters fix the problems, the Duke can go to war.

Population of the area:

All the villages are larger than just the main village.  There are hamlets and groupings of farmhouses satellites around the village. A village might have forty houses there with 250 people there, but the area outside the village might have ten times that in the area.  Hommlet would have around 3000 inhabitants, same for the Downs, Orlane might have 5000 people including the outside people.  Nulb and Saltmarsh mug have 1500 people around both villages.  The town of Greysteel has 3000 inside its walls but outside the walls have another 7000 people farming the area.  All told 24,000 people in the area

Greysteel 3000; 600bldg outside 7000; 700bldg

Neloar 5000; 500bldg 125+375

Sunnydale 3000; 300bldg 75+225

Mehlomt's Dale 3000; 300bldg

Blun's Vale 1500; 150bldg 40+110

Saltmarsh 1500; 150bldg

2000 outliers, on the roads and in the woods 35 micro settlements 

26000 people.

If the players track down the smugglers and the pirates and pay their taxes the duke will have the money to outfit the army.  The will buy up all availible weapons and armour, Duke's discount.  50% of price, then deduct 25% taxes.

If they protect Orlane and Sunnydale the food security will be solved and the army will beable to be supplied.  Food prices increase by 10% rising to 50% as food becomes more scarce.

If the characters defeat the temple, the money and magic from taxes will help the war and the area will be protected.  Raising a Draft for the army.  The streets become more empty.  As young men and women are pressed into the army. 

Clearing out Humanoids is part of the security and allows the duke to press even more troops into the army.  If everything all lines up he will 

Saltmash and Sunnydale are stasis adventures

Orlane and the Temple start working as soon as the characters arrive.