So my most recent session the players have found their way into a bustling city, and have made their way about searching for some jobs, and partial of their own one going quest takes them in the city to do some poking around. So my question is how does on prepare a city, fill it shops and stores, places of interest, nobilities, and such. As well as how do you run a city, what kinda of encounters and information to include, things to do, as well as down time activities.
I've had the best luck by starting with a map and thinking about cities I know... Their geography has features like, "Such and such a shop is on the green subway line." Probably you won't use subway lines, but give the street a name and let its relationship with some shop start to create a geography...
Think about what the city is known for. In a dnd setting, I find that cities being more specialised than modern ones (no "ye starbucks" in my cities) works well.
Is the city on the coast, or on a river, making it a port? If so, do they import or export? Do they fish - what is the waterway used for? Do they have a huge bridge, for which a toll must be paid? Are they home to a magical university? Do they import everything, because wizards don't do farming? If so, how do they get their money?
Once you know what the city does, then you can make things make sense - if they were famous for cattle or livestock, have a big livestock market at the end of a wide street which used to be for driving cattle through the town. If they are famous for their brews, have distilleries and brewing houses around, and a higher than average police count to close illicit 'stills and escort the drunks home.
I tend to think along the lines of:
wat do they make, sell, and produce
what do they have to buy in, because they don't make it
how do they import it in - caravans, canals, trains, ships, teleportation circles, ritual sacrifice?
how do they export it out
who makes the money from this?
where do they live? this is the rich part of town
where does everyone else live? This is the poor part of town
how is this all policed/governed?
who is in charge?
where are they?
how d othey get their money?
and so on. Just keep asking questions until you can answer everything, and your town might become a bit messy and puzzling - but that's how old english cities are anyway.
For newer cities, base them more of american designs - straight roads, in blocks, to keep navigation easy!
Who lives here; which races are most common? 2nd most common? What about the rest?
What are the major religions? Or is there just one?
Are any religions illegal? Why? Does anyone secretly practice them anyway?
Are there any major learning centers, magical or otherwise?
Do the laws apply to everyone equally? If not, who gets special treatment, and why?
What happens to law-breakers? Fines, prison, hard labor, exile, or execution?
Are there any other powerful organizations worth noting? Guilds, Monastic Orders, Gaming Clubs, etc.
Of course this could go on and on. Stop asking questions when you've got enough detail to begin your game session. During the actual game session, the PCs will *always* come up with a question about the city you hadn't thought of and force you to make something up on the spot!
When I flesh out my cities, I start with the politics.
Who runs the city? A noble house? A lord? The guard? The people? No one knows?
How do they run it? Do they have a militia? Do they make the laws? Is there rules about what they can and cannot do, or do they make all the rules? Are they a good ruler?
How is the leader chosen? Is the position inherited? Is there an election? Do noble houses compete for the position once the leader dies?
Who opposes them? Other royalty/houses? Commoners in an underground faction? Merchants who want things to benefit them? Assassins/spies from other cities? All of the above?
Who supports them? Their family? The guard? Other families/alliances? Other cities?
How does each group operate? Direct attacks? Subtle sabotage? Political maneuvering? All three?
All of these questions can help determine factions with in the city, groups that the players may interact with. Once I’ve defined how the city operates politically, then I draw a map of the city.
On the map I include important features such as: faction headquarters, house of the leader, slums, living quarters, shopping distracts, guard centers, temples, etc. You can include some or all of these, or make it entirely different. The layout of the city can take into account nearby natural features and can be a way to differentiate this city from others.
Next, I define key players in each faction. Who is the leader? Who are the ordinary agents? I give important NPCs that the players might interact with faction loyalties. For example, if the players enter the city to research something in the library, the librarian will definitely have ties with one or more of the factions. Since I can’t always predict who the players will interact with, I have a general idea of what type of person supports which group. If the players start spending time with a particular NPC, I take more time to define their faction loyalties in between sessions.
Then, I give each faction a problem that they could use the players help with. Are there nightly attacks in a district that the leader needs investigating? Does the underground faction need someone to exterminate monsters in their hideout? Is someone stealing from the merchants? These can be jobs for the adventurers, that lead to a deeper connection/more jobs with a particular faction, which I determine once they are needed.
After I know these things, I let my players begin by doing what they want to do, and have the results be related to one of the factions. I know they will undoubtably make someone mad- by inadvertently supporting their enemy or directly harming them. (For example, in my first city my players literally robbed one faction on their very first session) They will also probably make allies, by hearing of trouble and helping with a problem. Basically, I drop my players into a boiling political mess and see what kind of chaos they can make. Then, I use my knowledge of my factions to predict their reactions. The players will probably entrench themselves with one or more factions, where I can then reveal their motives and give them quests that are more connected with the faction goals.
If my players don’t find trouble, I have it come to them. I have certain factions approach them with their quests. I have them hear/see something going down and need to intervene. I have factions start pushing their goals, changing the way the city works. (Ex, assassinations, robbery, direct challenges to leadership)
As for more precise fleshing out, I tend to do it more on the fly. I might create a central shop, a major inn, the guardhouse, the noble’s house, etc. However, if the players are interested in something I haven’t prepared, I improvise and improve upon my improvisation between sessions. I let the players help me create the locations, because I don’t want to make something in detail that they don’t care about or won’t ever see. I don’t tend to give much downtime (because political chaos).
I thank y'all for your advice, I feel like I was on the right track with what I was currently doing for my city development (only if I could remember the name of the cleric they spoke to lol, forgot to right it down). Y'all's advice as well will allow me to great increase my expanding and development of the city, and I am sure I will look back as I develop the city. I have great ideas for making it a More so tourist city for nobles, for it is located next a much larger city that it piggy backs off of with trade. And has a rather larger divide between nobles and commoners.
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So my most recent session the players have found their way into a bustling city, and have made their way about searching for some jobs, and partial of their own one going quest takes them in the city to do some poking around. So my question is how does on prepare a city, fill it shops and stores, places of interest, nobilities, and such. As well as how do you run a city, what kinda of encounters and information to include, things to do, as well as down time activities.
I've had the best luck by starting with a map and thinking about cities I know... Their geography has features like, "Such and such a shop is on the green subway line." Probably you won't use subway lines, but give the street a name and let its relationship with some shop start to create a geography...
I have done a decent bit of that, not nessecarlly street names, but printing a map and labeling locations and such
Think about what the city is known for. In a dnd setting, I find that cities being more specialised than modern ones (no "ye starbucks" in my cities) works well.
Is the city on the coast, or on a river, making it a port? If so, do they import or export? Do they fish - what is the waterway used for? Do they have a huge bridge, for which a toll must be paid? Are they home to a magical university? Do they import everything, because wizards don't do farming? If so, how do they get their money?
Once you know what the city does, then you can make things make sense - if they were famous for cattle or livestock, have a big livestock market at the end of a wide street which used to be for driving cattle through the town. If they are famous for their brews, have distilleries and brewing houses around, and a higher than average police count to close illicit 'stills and escort the drunks home.
I tend to think along the lines of:
and so on. Just keep asking questions until you can answer everything, and your town might become a bit messy and puzzling - but that's how old english cities are anyway.
For newer cities, base them more of american designs - straight roads, in blocks, to keep navigation easy!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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Excellent method for writing up a city!
A few things that I'd add:
Of course this could go on and on. Stop asking questions when you've got enough detail to begin your game session. During the actual game session, the PCs will *always* come up with a question about the city you hadn't thought of and force you to make something up on the spot!
Behind every successful Warlock, there's an angry mob.
When I flesh out my cities, I start with the politics.
Who runs the city? A noble house? A lord? The guard? The people? No one knows?
How do they run it? Do they have a militia? Do they make the laws? Is there rules about what they can and cannot do, or do they make all the rules? Are they a good ruler?
How is the leader chosen? Is the position inherited? Is there an election? Do noble houses compete for the position once the leader dies?
Who opposes them? Other royalty/houses? Commoners in an underground faction? Merchants who want things to benefit them? Assassins/spies from other cities? All of the above?
Who supports them? Their family? The guard? Other families/alliances? Other cities?
How does each group operate? Direct attacks? Subtle sabotage? Political maneuvering? All three?
All of these questions can help determine factions with in the city, groups that the players may interact with. Once I’ve defined how the city operates politically, then I draw a map of the city.
On the map I include important features such as: faction headquarters, house of the leader, slums, living quarters, shopping distracts, guard centers, temples, etc. You can include some or all of these, or make it entirely different. The layout of the city can take into account nearby natural features and can be a way to differentiate this city from others.
Next, I define key players in each faction. Who is the leader? Who are the ordinary agents? I give important NPCs that the players might interact with faction loyalties. For example, if the players enter the city to research something in the library, the librarian will definitely have ties with one or more of the factions. Since I can’t always predict who the players will interact with, I have a general idea of what type of person supports which group. If the players start spending time with a particular NPC, I take more time to define their faction loyalties in between sessions.
Then, I give each faction a problem that they could use the players help with. Are there nightly attacks in a district that the leader needs investigating? Does the underground faction need someone to exterminate monsters in their hideout? Is someone stealing from the merchants? These can be jobs for the adventurers, that lead to a deeper connection/more jobs with a particular faction, which I determine once they are needed.
After I know these things, I let my players begin by doing what they want to do, and have the results be related to one of the factions. I know they will undoubtably make someone mad- by inadvertently supporting their enemy or directly harming them. (For example, in my first city my players literally robbed one faction on their very first session) They will also probably make allies, by hearing of trouble and helping with a problem. Basically, I drop my players into a boiling political mess and see what kind of chaos they can make. Then, I use my knowledge of my factions to predict their reactions. The players will probably entrench themselves with one or more factions, where I can then reveal their motives and give them quests that are more connected with the faction goals.
If my players don’t find trouble, I have it come to them. I have certain factions approach them with their quests. I have them hear/see something going down and need to intervene. I have factions start pushing their goals, changing the way the city works. (Ex, assassinations, robbery, direct challenges to leadership)
As for more precise fleshing out, I tend to do it more on the fly. I might create a central shop, a major inn, the guardhouse, the noble’s house, etc. However, if the players are interested in something I haven’t prepared, I improvise and improve upon my improvisation between sessions. I let the players help me create the locations, because I don’t want to make something in detail that they don’t care about or won’t ever see. I don’t tend to give much downtime (because political chaos).
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
I thank y'all for your advice, I feel like I was on the right track with what I was currently doing for my city development (only if I could remember the name of the cleric they spoke to lol, forgot to right it down). Y'all's advice as well will allow me to great increase my expanding and development of the city, and I am sure I will look back as I develop the city. I have great ideas for making it a More so tourist city for nobles, for it is located next a much larger city that it piggy backs off of with trade. And has a rather larger divide between nobles and commoners.