Help with a city interlude, please?

[slivergrim]

I THINK A CITY CAMPAIGN CAN BE A GREAT SET UPT FOR CHARACTER COMING OF A LONG JOURNEY, BUT IT CAN ALSO SET UP ALL TYOES OF INTRIGUE AND ESPIONAGE. lIKE ANY BIG CITY EVEN A MEDIVEL OF FANASTY ONE, THERI ARE VARIOUS TOOLS.
eVIL LORDS CORRUPT OFFICIAL AND BATTLING GUILDS. a CITY CAN ALSO BE A PLACE OF WONDER, WHERE P.C. CAN MEET WIZARDS OTHER NPC CONNECTED TO THE PLAYERE OR MAGICAL ARTIFACTS. lOOK TO YOUR OWN TOWN FOR WHAT YOU NEED. I ALWASY START WITHA TOWN SETTING AND START SMALL IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A HUGE PART OF THE CITY, A FEW INNS FOR THE P.C. TO REST. A COUPLE OF STORES SO THE P.C CAN BUY A EQUIPMENT, AND WHAT EVER ELSE THEY MIGHT NEED. wELL I HOPE I'VE HELPED YOU A LITTLE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, AND TAKE CARE

 

[Virago]

Don't forget the pickpocketing urchins!

Another thing to think about is neat landmarks in the city. An old clock tower that doesn't work, an important historical bridge. Give it flavor, make it seem old if the city is old. Mention hearing the noon bells strike as they move from one section of town to another.

Attack them for cash constantly; nickel and dime them. Charge them up to a silver every time they cross a certain (historic) bridge (sorry, no change accepted).

Work out law enforcement, because the PCs might very well run afoul of it. Certainly work up the stats for one or two average members of the Watch -- the sap is a pretty good weapon for them. How effective are they in different areas? Some higher-ranking watch members might have zone of truth iand/or speak with dead items -- or they might rely on a local church for this enforcement -- or the church might have a much greater hand in law enforcement.

Be at least prepared to think about what will happen if a PC kills someone in broad daylight, with lots of witnesses. This sort of thing can happen pretty easily, and playing it out faithfully could lead to the death of the PC. Probably in this case the benefactor would intervene and get the PC perhaps only banished. Or perhaps this might tip the benefactor's hand, so the benefactor does things much more carefully, which still saves the PC, but leaves the PCs a lot less comfortable when the benefactor tells them nothing can be done...

Make up notecards for "things going on in the city," and every now and then flip to one at random, and see how that relates to current player activity. Perhaps (shudder) even make an encounter table.

I'm running a city-based campaign right now, so a lot of these posts are very helpful to me too

 

[Buttercup]

They'll be arriving in the city soon, and it will be right at the beginning of a three day festival. I like the idea of a toll bridge. Also, I think I'll raise the price of all goods & services by 10%.

They are very cash poor at the moment, because all the treasure they found could not be sold in the small village they were using as a base, or at best could be sold for only a fraction of its value. If they liquidate all of their treasure, though, they'll have about 1000 gold between them. Still, that can go pretty fast in the big city.

I've got a whole stable of NPCs now (as per advice upthread), some of whom are looking for the main chance and will gladly steal or lie to get it. I've got a mercenary company, a Necromancer, a druid grove just north of the city, temples filled with clergy, and plenty of shopkeepers, tavern wenches, inkeepers, street vendors, lamp lighters, and a few thugs. No sewer system/dungeon yet, but I do have a couple of mini-dungeons and side quests that I can use now or later, as the situation arises.

Thanks to all of the ideas I've gotten in this thread, I'm really looking forward to this interlude rather than dreading it. In fact, I may run my next campaign entirely in a city. I think I'm adicted.

 

[Darklone]

I've got a whole stable of NPCs now (as per advice upthread), some of whom are looking for the main chance and will gladly steal or lie to get it. I've got a mercenary company, a Necromancer, a druid grove just north of the city, temples filled with clergy, and plenty of shopkeepers, tavern wenches, inkeepers, street vendors, lamp lighters, and a few thugs. No sewer system/dungeon yet, but I do have a couple of mini-dungeons and side quests that I can use now or later, as the situation arises.

Thanks to all of the ideas I've gotten in this thread, I'm really looking forward to this interlude rather than dreading it. In fact, I may run my next campaign entirely in a city. I think I'm adicted.

Not sure if this has been mentioned already: Check Old Ones storyhour, recently there was a nice little talk about bureau-crazy in a big city... If you REALLY want to bug your players.

No idea if you play low high or medium fantasy... Want some ghosts in your town at midnight? A vampire? A werewolf? Do you prefer some wererats? City sewers are a classic. Name the different quarters of the city. Think about the architecture in those quarters. Is there a harbour? Warehouses and taverns are nice too. Markets? Corrupt cityguards? Roofrunners?

 

[Buttercup]

Ghosts roaming at night...yeah, I think so. I think I mentioned upthread somewhere (or maybe in a completely different thread, dunno) that there's a crazy necromancer. I want to put him into a mini-plot where he animates some things that get out of control. There's a necromancer in my party, and I'm making him work to find training. I figure this crazy NPC necromancer will train him in exchange for putting the undead to rest. So maybe an army of ghosts, or skeletons, or even a mixed bag of undead swarming around would be good.

My game is medium fantasy. My academic background is in Medieval Studies, so I tend to throw in little pinches of reality here and there. Then again, I also tend to throw in famous medieval literary characters, like Chaucer's Miller. I think the Wife of Bath will eventually turn up as well.

And thanks for the tip, Darklone. I'll go check out Old One's story hour.

 

[Darklone]

Hah!

Another addict !

 

[Zustiur]

maps and disasters

First advice, never try to map an entire city. It's just too damn hard. Villages and towns are okay, they have limited size. But a city is too big.

Second advice: You could always do what I did recently. Have an earthquake or other major disaster hit the city. This is especially good if there are too many npc's to keep track of or what have you. Lots of people die in natural disasters like this. (It's also another good reason for not having maps of cities.. you'd have to make lots of changes if a major earthquake struck).

IMC the earthquake left a huge crater near the center of the city and vast numbers of undead were discovoured there, trying to reach the city and cause havoc.

Zustiur.