okay, so I've DM'ed for a couple years now, and there are several aspects of the game that I'm pretty confident in, I feel i can do them fairly well.
There is one aspect, though, that has been the bane of my existence from the very beginning. CITIES!!!
now, to explain the context, I've always been a fan of using my own worlds in D&D, it lets me improv comfortably and, through this repeated improv with several parties that exist in the same world, lets me create a fleshed out world that is my very own.
This means however, that every city I'm running in the game, has to be built from the ground up. And somehow, however much I try, the very concept of medieval fantasy cities continues to elude me. Once again, I can improv fairly okay, but as soon as I sit down to prepare the layout and inner workings of a city, I draw a blank.
For one, the entire think just seems extremely daunting. You're dealing with large and small scale at the same time, with important individuals and locations that are no more than one building; but you're also dealing with a large population still, with many people on a relatively small area, and a lot of intricately interconnecting pieces because of this.
If anyone has pointers for me that would be great. A place to start would be most appreciated, since that is the biggest threshold for me at the moment.
Search "building cities for writers" and you'll find a bunch of worksheets and articles to help with the worldbuilding aspect of it. For me in my novels I tend to map out the big picture of the city and the basic road structure, note the important features like characters' houses, and then just build from there. At least knowing the general areas of the city to start will give you a good basis to go off.
I tend to do cities like you see them in tv shows. I have main "sets" that I use. The preferred tavern, the public well, the incredible planar market place, the calm church of some faith.
I also then try and give all the people one or two cultural quirks that help me and my players get a feeling that this city is different from the last city. Maybe they eat very spicy food, or cover there heads with strange hats.
Other then that, unless my game is going to be political, I have a rough idea of the leaders, the crime level and how rich are the rich, and how poor are the poor.
Think of it from the perspective of player interface. They see nothing you don't tell them about, but, conversely, if you don't tell them anything specific, they'll fill in the blanks themselves.
With that in mind, just whip up the basics: some shops, bars, hq of and factions or guilds who hold away, a quest giver or two, and then finally, just write a paragraph for yourself describing the look and feel of the city. That's really all you need to do. The only other thing you need to do is be ready to improvise.
Because your players may ask for something you didn't plan, but that doesn't mean it can't be there if you didn't plan it-- they don't know you didn't plan it. Just make sure it makes sense for that city to have the thing they want before saying it's there. For example, if your bard asks where the nearest whorehouse is but the city is a strict theocracy where such indecency is punishable by death, maybe they dont have one. Of like, a mountainous city with a mining economy might not have a harbor for your party to buy a ship at.
But if, in some downtime, a party member is like "I want to sniff around the seedy underbelly of the city to see if there's illegal street fighting to get in on then like, cool!
Planning for the basics and being ready to improvise is the best advice you can get for DM-ing in general.
The details can be left to play, but the first place I would start when creating a city is "Why is it there?"
Sure, the obvious answer is to give the players someplace to go to sell stuff or meet people, but if you're looking for more than a set piece the city needs a reason to exist beyond that.
Is it commercial? Does it lay on a major trade route/natural harbor/river and there is a constant (or at least predictable, depending on size) stream of merchants and travelers moving from point to point with tales and goods?
Religious? There is a central shrine or temple to some god/goddess and the city/town grew up around it.
Political? The first King declared his capital would be on this spot after defeating the last of the great enemy of his people and so it became, or, more simply, the local lordling erected his keep in the most defensible (personally desirable) location after either being granted lands by a higher lord or deciding to claim lands of his own and the town/city grew in the safety provided by his walls.
There is a lot of useful info here. I build my world/s from the ground up as well. Actually its more of an ongoing process as players interact within your world. Im always adding more areas and whatnot. Anyhow, When it comes to cities besides the whole mapping them out over a godless amount of time. I will add a few places but often add places as the players need and if I feel it will fit in the location well. So basically when the players for whatever reason want to find a blacksmith for example, I just pick a location and let them interact with NPCs to get directions. I then just add it as a peppermint to the city. Well unless some turn of events changes that.
Another thing I will do is have all sorts of city related things going on that can lead them off to some sort of adventure. Things like a criminal underground, cult activity, and two bickering controlling houses for example. And if the players skip out on any of you carefully crafted plots and do something totally random. Thats fine. Let them and just add that to the city/story. Also be prepared for lots of roll play with NPCs. Which could easily be a whole session. And have a list of random names or have a name generator handy and ready to go.
Creating cities is much like creating any other setting. You have the important NPCs and you have the surrounding environment. In a forest you have trees, streams, hills and in a city you have streets, buildings and people. The general crowds are pretty much comparable to the trees in the forest and need just about as much preparation. Have some generic descriptions and ideas in mind for what the folks in the city do but otherwise they are pretty much comparable to the trees in the forest.
The players only know what you tell them. Is the city crowded? Is it multi-racial? Is it segregated or integrated? Is it well policed or lawless? These questions have to do with the kind of society and government in place. Do the people tend to believe in the betterment of folks, helping their neighbors or are most folks selfish and look towards advancing themselves first? Answering these questions gives you an idea of the society and how average folks are likely to react to requests from adventurers.
Other than that, draw on what you have seen or read in fantasy film or fiction to help you describe what your city is like.
Finally, drawing out your own city in any detail is a daunting task. There are three ways to proceed. Do it all yourself, but in this case I would only add detail where you need it .. you don't need to document every alley, side street and NPC. Second, draw on historical sources for plans of medieval walled towns as a starting point.
Just one example .. the walled city of Carcassonne in southern France is a great example of a walled medieval city and it a great starting point for building a street plan of your own walled city.
There are lots of medieval castles and towns in Europe that can be a great starting point for devising any sort of city you might want. Sea ports, land locked, keep perched on a hill or mountain with a surrounding village.
Finally, there are quite a few folks who have put together city maps for various fantasy RPGs and then sell them. The world of Harn is just one example. A friend of mine used some of the cities of Harn in his campaign so he didn't need to fiddle with all the details. Prices are usually pretty reasonable.
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okay, so I've DM'ed for a couple years now, and there are several aspects of the game that I'm pretty confident in, I feel i can do them fairly well.
There is one aspect, though, that has been the bane of my existence from the very beginning. CITIES!!!
now, to explain the context, I've always been a fan of using my own worlds in D&D, it lets me improv comfortably and, through this repeated improv with several parties that exist in the same world, lets me create a fleshed out world that is my very own.
This means however, that every city I'm running in the game, has to be built from the ground up. And somehow, however much I try, the very concept of medieval fantasy cities continues to elude me. Once again, I can improv fairly okay, but as soon as I sit down to prepare the layout and inner workings of a city, I draw a blank.
For one, the entire think just seems extremely daunting. You're dealing with large and small scale at the same time, with important individuals and locations that are no more than one building; but you're also dealing with a large population still, with many people on a relatively small area, and a lot of intricately interconnecting pieces because of this.
If anyone has pointers for me that would be great. A place to start would be most appreciated, since that is the biggest threshold for me at the moment.
Search "building cities for writers" and you'll find a bunch of worksheets and articles to help with the worldbuilding aspect of it. For me in my novels I tend to map out the big picture of the city and the basic road structure, note the important features like characters' houses, and then just build from there. At least knowing the general areas of the city to start will give you a good basis to go off.
My Homebrew Backgrounds | Feats | Magic Items | Monsters | Races | Subclasses
I tend to do cities like you see them in tv shows. I have main "sets" that I use. The preferred tavern, the public well, the incredible planar market place, the calm church of some faith.
I also then try and give all the people one or two cultural quirks that help me and my players get a feeling that this city is different from the last city. Maybe they eat very spicy food, or cover there heads with strange hats.
Other then that, unless my game is going to be political, I have a rough idea of the leaders, the crime level and how rich are the rich, and how poor are the poor.
Think of it from the perspective of player interface. They see nothing you don't tell them about, but, conversely, if you don't tell them anything specific, they'll fill in the blanks themselves.
With that in mind, just whip up the basics: some shops, bars, hq of and factions or guilds who hold away, a quest giver or two, and then finally, just write a paragraph for yourself describing the look and feel of the city. That's really all you need to do. The only other thing you need to do is be ready to improvise.
Because your players may ask for something you didn't plan, but that doesn't mean it can't be there if you didn't plan it-- they don't know you didn't plan it. Just make sure it makes sense for that city to have the thing they want before saying it's there. For example, if your bard asks where the nearest whorehouse is but the city is a strict theocracy where such indecency is punishable by death, maybe they dont have one. Of like, a mountainous city with a mining economy might not have a harbor for your party to buy a ship at.
But if, in some downtime, a party member is like "I want to sniff around the seedy underbelly of the city to see if there's illegal street fighting to get in on then like, cool!
Planning for the basics and being ready to improvise is the best advice you can get for DM-ing in general.
The details can be left to play, but the first place I would start when creating a city is "Why is it there?"
Sure, the obvious answer is to give the players someplace to go to sell stuff or meet people, but if you're looking for more than a set piece the city needs a reason to exist beyond that.
Is it commercial? Does it lay on a major trade route/natural harbor/river and there is a constant (or at least predictable, depending on size) stream of merchants and travelers moving from point to point with tales and goods?
Religious? There is a central shrine or temple to some god/goddess and the city/town grew up around it.
Political? The first King declared his capital would be on this spot after defeating the last of the great enemy of his people and so it became, or, more simply, the local lordling erected his keep in the most defensible (personally desirable) location after either being granted lands by a higher lord or deciding to claim lands of his own and the town/city grew in the safety provided by his walls.
There is a lot of useful info here. I build my world/s from the ground up as well. Actually its more of an ongoing process as players interact within your world. Im always adding more areas and whatnot. Anyhow, When it comes to cities besides the whole mapping them out over a godless amount of time. I will add a few places but often add places as the players need and if I feel it will fit in the location well. So basically when the players for whatever reason want to find a blacksmith for example, I just pick a location and let them interact with NPCs to get directions. I then just add it as a peppermint to the city. Well unless some turn of events changes that.
Another thing I will do is have all sorts of city related things going on that can lead them off to some sort of adventure. Things like a criminal underground, cult activity, and two bickering controlling houses for example. And if the players skip out on any of you carefully crafted plots and do something totally random. Thats fine. Let them and just add that to the city/story. Also be prepared for lots of roll play with NPCs. Which could easily be a whole session. And have a list of random names or have a name generator handy and ready to go.
I found this quite useful: https://youtu.be/XetdfyDlkzc
Creating cities is much like creating any other setting. You have the important NPCs and you have the surrounding environment. In a forest you have trees, streams, hills and in a city you have streets, buildings and people. The general crowds are pretty much comparable to the trees in the forest and need just about as much preparation. Have some generic descriptions and ideas in mind for what the folks in the city do but otherwise they are pretty much comparable to the trees in the forest.
The players only know what you tell them. Is the city crowded? Is it multi-racial? Is it segregated or integrated? Is it well policed or lawless? These questions have to do with the kind of society and government in place. Do the people tend to believe in the betterment of folks, helping their neighbors or are most folks selfish and look towards advancing themselves first? Answering these questions gives you an idea of the society and how average folks are likely to react to requests from adventurers.
Other than that, draw on what you have seen or read in fantasy film or fiction to help you describe what your city is like.
Finally, drawing out your own city in any detail is a daunting task. There are three ways to proceed. Do it all yourself, but in this case I would only add detail where you need it .. you don't need to document every alley, side street and NPC. Second, draw on historical sources for plans of medieval walled towns as a starting point.
Just one example .. the walled city of Carcassonne in southern France is a great example of a walled medieval city and it a great starting point for building a street plan of your own walled city.
https://about-france.com/cities/carcassonne.htm
https://pasarelapr.com/detail/carcassonne-map-8.html
http://diamant-ltd.com/where-is-carcassonne-in-france-map/cite-de-carcassonne-map-spectacular-where-is-carcassonne-in-france-map/
There are lots of medieval castles and towns in Europe that can be a great starting point for devising any sort of city you might want. Sea ports, land locked, keep perched on a hill or mountain with a surrounding village.
Finally, there are quite a few folks who have put together city maps for various fantasy RPGs and then sell them. The world of Harn is just one example. A friend of mine used some of the cities of Harn in his campaign so he didn't need to fiddle with all the details. Prices are usually pretty reasonable.