Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

[Piratecat]

Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?

My rule? Don't have more than the players can remember, and have them all be noticeably different. I wouldn't go higher than five.

 

[Knightfall]

Quarters sounds good, but can you have just three? Maybe I need to divide the bigger northwest district into two halves?

You could come up with something unique to the city. And if you have just three "wards" you could try using a word like "triad" to describe each distinct area. This would work well if each triad is also divided into three distinct subdivisions, as suggested by P'Cat.

If Parsantium has any planar connections then I'd suggest having portals that lead directly to Sigil. IMO, a city with three "wards" with three "subdivisions" would gain some planar notoriety with Planars who hold true to the ideals of the "Rule of Threes" (a Planescape concept).

Just some suggestions...

 

[Knightfall]

Note

If you're not into Planescape but like the triad concept you could also use the Wiccan Rule of Three.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Three_(Wiccan)

"The Rule of Three (also threefold law or law of return) is a tenet of Wicca. claiming that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times."

The city could be a "mecca" for witches, both good and evil. A place where magical energies converge.

 

[Leif]

And while you're discussing "Threes," don't forget the "Power of Three" from the "Charmed" tv series! hahahaha

 

[RichGreen]

To be more realistic, you'll want more teams than just 3. A good example is the famous Palio in Siena, Italy.

One option is to split each neighborhood up into three sections, giving you nine teams. Another option is to have each deity's temple sponsor a team. But intra- and inter-neighborhood rivalries are a GREAT source of adventures.

Either way, this is really fun. I did something similar in Eversink, where each merchant house sponsored a boat in a race through the canals.

Fair point about the number of teams. I think the sponsors should be a mixture of temples and important individuals (nobles, merchant leaders). Not all temples and faiths would be interested in sports and gambling. I'm definitely looking for this rivalry to lead to an adventure or two.

Cheers


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

You could come up with something unique to the city. And if you have just three "wards" you could try using a word like "triad" to describe each distinct area. This would work well if each triad is also divided into three distinct subdivisions, as suggested by P'Cat.

If Parsantium has any planar connections then I'd suggest having portals that lead directly to Sigil. IMO, a city with three "wards" with three "subdivisions" would gain some planar notoriety with Planars who hold true to the ideals of the "Rule of Threes" (a Planescape concept).

Just some suggestions...

Thanks for your ideas! I might go with something like triads if I end up with less than four quarters, but I'm thinking I will probably have four or five distinct areas: two on each side of the river with the Mercantile Quarter in the centre.

I love Planescape and Sigil but I'm not thinking about planar connections at this stage. There might end up being a connection to the City of Brass though.... I have that boxed set and it's really good.

Cheers


Richard

 

[Tonguez]

IMC Bishnagar is the Trade crossroads and is ruled by a Dragon

It is made up of 3 Circles
The Low Circle is divided into the 5 Low Districts including the Docks, Rivergate, High gate, The Judges Gate and the Lows (a slum technically outside the city walls via Rivergate),
The Second Circle includes the Merchants District and Guild holdings(overlooking Judges Gate), the Verdancy (Public Parks & Gardens overlooking Rivergate) and the Temples District (overlooking High gate)
The Judges District is the top circle and includes the Royal Palace, the Manors of nobles (called High Judges in Bishnagar) and the Grand Library and Academy. The Judges Circle is enclosed by a wall and its gates are guarded

Merchants enter via the Judges Gate where authorised Low Judges (ie Sheriffs) take account of their goods and apply the appropriate tarrifs (from here most then head to a Caravanserai or a Guild house as appropriate). Market Judges are also stationed in the Markets to witness any agreements, sign Credit Notes (called Dragon Marks)and adjudicate any disagreements and generally to apply 'the Dragons Law'

 

[Robbs]

Couple of quick thoughts. Since you have the two major bridges linking the center to the two shores have you thought of whether they are simply conveyances/choke points or if they have houses and such built into them? Also, how fast moving is the river at this point? Something I've used in the past is a floating 'Sanctuary-type' area. Basically old boats and unused docks with more and more added until it becomes its own portion of the town. In my game it arose because of space considerations in the city and due to a quirk in the zoning laws you dodged certain taxes by not being 'on land'. Gave the poor area of town a different feel (and made PCs very nervous about wearing metal armor!).

 

[RichGreen]

Couple of quick thoughts. Since you have the two major bridges linking the center to the two shores have you thought of whether they are simply conveyances/choke points or if they have houses and such built into them? Also, how fast moving is the river at this point? Something I've used in the past is a floating 'Sanctuary-type' area. Basically old boats and unused docks with more and more added until it becomes its own portion of the town. In my game it arose because of space considerations in the city and due to a quirk in the zoning laws you dodged certain taxes by not being 'on land'. Gave the poor area of town a different feel (and made PCs very nervous about wearing metal armor!).

Good question about the bridges: there will probably be food stalls and such-like along each bridge but I didn't imagine houses built into them. There could be apartment blocks lining each side with an arcade and small shops beneath? Maybe this is only on the southeast bridge and the northwest one is grander and lined with sculptures of past rulers? Made out of copper, these have turned green with age.

The river is actually the Dolphin Strait, a bit like the Bosphorus so wide and slow-moving. There would be a fair amount of river traffic though and I like the idea about disused docks and houseboats. Should be room for somewhere like this in the Old Quarter, near the poor district. Maybe new docks were built in the Imperial Quarter and merchants arriving by sea from [Zakhara] started to use these instead, making the divide between two halves of the city even worse?

Cheers


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

IMC Bishnagar is the Trade crossroads and is ruled by a Dragon

It is made up of 3 Circles
The Low Circle is divided into the 5 Low Districts including the Docks, Rivergate, High gate, The Judges Gate and the Lows (a slum technically outside the city walls via Rivergate),
The Second Circle includes the Merchants District and Guild holdings(overlooking Judges Gate), the Verdancy (Public Parks & Gardens overlooking Rivergate) and the Temples District (overlooking High gate)
The Judges District is the top circle and includes the Royal Palace, the Manors of nobles (called High Judges in Bishnagar) and the Grand Library and Academy. The Judges Circle is enclosed by a wall and its gates are guarded

Merchants enter via the Judges Gate where authorised Low Judges (ie Sheriffs) take account of their goods and apply the appropriate tarrifs (from here most then head to a Caravanserai or a Guild house as appropriate). Market Judges are also stationed in the Markets to witness any agreements, sign Credit Notes (called Dragon Marks)and adjudicate any disagreements and generally to apply 'the Dragons Law'

Thanks for this -- need to think about tariffs and so on. I like your judges.


Richard