Mercurius
Legend
About a month and a half ago I got some good advice on city design in this thread for an upcoming city-based adventure I will be running (I plan on modifying Scions of Punjar to my homebrew setting), but I'd like to go a bit further with it. I've got a detailed map of the city (every darn building), a basic overview of the place and some random details, but I feel a bit lost on most of it--how deeply to plan out all the details, what is absolutely necessary to run a city campaign and what is just nice to have, etc. In addition to any advice, I am looking for two things:
1) A book that is the "best" guide to city design, even step-by-step. I own the old 2e World Builders Guide, which is pretty good, but not that detailed. What are the most useful city design supplements, both in terms of how in-depth they are but also ease of use?
2) Examples of great fantasy cities and their supplements. I own the 3e Waterdeep book, which is pretty good (although I miss the pull-out maps from the old box sets). I remember liking the 2e Greyhawk boxed set but must have sold it in one of my many ill-advised RPG purges. What are the best RPG cities to glean ideas from?
If it makes a difference, the city has approximately 20,000 inhabitants and is the second largest in the local region. The demographics are 60% human, 20% dwarves, 10% elves, and 10% various (halflings, gnomes, half-orcs, a couple other minor races). It is basically a crossroads/frontier city that boomed in a big way and became the center of an adventuring/exploring industry as well as the major trade hub. The world is very points-of-lightian: recovering from a magical apocalypse a few centuries before that pretty much wiped out memory of the previous ages. Civilization is just beginning to flower again, with humans, dwarves, and elves relatively equal in power, but all relatively weak compared to the "Wilds". The dominant power in the city is the Seekers Guild, which "oversees" the seeking out and exploration of remnants of past civilizations. There is also the usual thieves guild, a strong dwarven community and relatively nearby is a major elven city. The city rests on a hill at the confluence of three rivers; part of it is sinking into an encroaching marsh.
I can provide more details if necessary, but wanted to give a sense of the place. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
1) A book that is the "best" guide to city design, even step-by-step. I own the old 2e World Builders Guide, which is pretty good, but not that detailed. What are the most useful city design supplements, both in terms of how in-depth they are but also ease of use?
2) Examples of great fantasy cities and their supplements. I own the 3e Waterdeep book, which is pretty good (although I miss the pull-out maps from the old box sets). I remember liking the 2e Greyhawk boxed set but must have sold it in one of my many ill-advised RPG purges. What are the best RPG cities to glean ideas from?
If it makes a difference, the city has approximately 20,000 inhabitants and is the second largest in the local region. The demographics are 60% human, 20% dwarves, 10% elves, and 10% various (halflings, gnomes, half-orcs, a couple other minor races). It is basically a crossroads/frontier city that boomed in a big way and became the center of an adventuring/exploring industry as well as the major trade hub. The world is very points-of-lightian: recovering from a magical apocalypse a few centuries before that pretty much wiped out memory of the previous ages. Civilization is just beginning to flower again, with humans, dwarves, and elves relatively equal in power, but all relatively weak compared to the "Wilds". The dominant power in the city is the Seekers Guild, which "oversees" the seeking out and exploration of remnants of past civilizations. There is also the usual thieves guild, a strong dwarven community and relatively nearby is a major elven city. The city rests on a hill at the confluence of three rivers; part of it is sinking into an encroaching marsh.
I can provide more details if necessary, but wanted to give a sense of the place. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!