Substance
A community is not just a small settlement of huts, it is also the area beyond that the people traverse, where they have their secluded resting places, their hunting grounds, havens and sacred groves. Imagine that each community has a region beyond their immediate settlement that is part of who they are. It is also not uncommon for communities to be wide spread between several small settlements.
The players partake in adding important and interesting elements to the community, making it essentially their own, and leaving their mark on the world, partaking in world building and granting them ownership of the setting and the community which they seek to protect.
Each player chooses one element of substance to forge and add to the community. Each element contains suggestions to their role and status, but it is up to the players to figure out who these characters are.
People
Who are the important people of the community and How would loosing one of these impact the players?
Examples:
The Sickness Mender - heals the sick and treats wounds - knows the best spots to acquire healing ingredients.
The Dress Weaver - mends and weaves clothes for the ceremonies, knows secrets behind treating hide and fiber to weave the finest of dress.
The Hunt Master - tracks down beasts and sets up traps, knows the beasts and their ways better than anyone.
The Craft Smith - crafts and mends the tools of the people, knows there to find the best wood and stone.
The Earth Tender - tends to plants and encourages them to share their flesh with the gatherers, knows how to call forth fruits from simple earth.
The Kin Strider - the fastest of the people, carries messages between settlements and areas, knows the hidden shortcuts.
Areas
These are part of the greater community, areas the people travel through from settlement to settlement, or that the people travel to for specific reasons.
Examples:
The Hunting Grounds - Far away from the central village the hunting grounds lie, where one hunts animals.
The Healing Grove - A secret grove where special plants grow with healing properties
The Silkwoods - a part of the greater forest where rare spiders spin vast constructs of silknet, which is gathered for ceremonial garbs.
The Elder Woods - a dark part of the forest with long stretched shadows, many shrines are spread about
The Forest of Dolls - A forest populated by wooden dolls of varying sizes, strange whispers said to come from these dolls.
The Growing Fields - small fields where edible plants and fruits are grown,
The Lookout Peak - away and up from the central village, atop a mountain or mound stand a constructed tower which grants an eagle view of the region.
The Putrid Bogs - near the hunting grounds lie dangerous bogs that have claimed many lives over the ages, move through with caution, and avoid if possible
Hermits
These are people of near mythical status amongst the people, fallen heroes who now live removed from the people, if they are still even alive.
Shrines
Shrines are places or worship; gratitude, praise and appeasement. Shrines must be maintained to keep a bond strong
Havens
These are hiding places in the wilds that offer refuge to hunters and travellers caught by darkness or inclement weather.