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Preparing Towns in a Sandbox
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<blockquote data-quote="Baldurs_Underdark" data-source="post: 8554487" data-attributes="member: 6880355"><p>I'm running a sandbox game. The PCs accepted a plot hook where they must travel a pretty big distance, and I don't know yet which route they will take. </p><p></p><p>I want to prepare some towns along the route (at first I'm thinking to prepare 3 towns). I'm trying to keep a balance between making these towns memorable, while not spending too much time writing them because it is not my intention that these towns are destinations in their own right. (Also, I'm not sure that the party will even visit the towns - they may choose to avoid towns altogether). </p><p></p><p>I am hoping that the players (and their PCs) will either love or hate the towns, but at least not experience indifference or boredom ("Meh"). The towns must not all look & feel alike, and must give the party some roleplay opportunities. However, the story itself has enough plot hooks already so I am not looking for side-quests or new plot hooks.</p><p></p><p>What basic elements would you put into a town to make them memorable, to give the party enough opportunities for memorable roleplay for a single session?</p><p></p><p>So far, I have a few towns that I can pick up and place along the route with:</p><p>1. A catchy and distinct name</p><p>2. A basic description of the looks of the town (palisade or wall, towers, made of wood/stone, rich or poor)</p><p>3. A few pubs & inns (of course), inhabited with a few NPCs with pre-written characters (with flaws)</p><p>4. A few stores, also with some pre-written NPCs (details of the NPC is just 1-2 lines of text)</p><p>5. A wandering weird guy</p><p>6. A landmark feature of the town</p><p>7. A temple, either to the wrong gods (the cleric will have an opinion), or the right gods (happy cleric)</p><p></p><p>Maybe I am aiming too high, but I'm hoping for answers that teach how to fish, rather than feed the hungry (i.e. generic answers over good examples).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Baldurs_Underdark, post: 8554487, member: 6880355"] I'm running a sandbox game. The PCs accepted a plot hook where they must travel a pretty big distance, and I don't know yet which route they will take. I want to prepare some towns along the route (at first I'm thinking to prepare 3 towns). I'm trying to keep a balance between making these towns memorable, while not spending too much time writing them because it is not my intention that these towns are destinations in their own right. (Also, I'm not sure that the party will even visit the towns - they may choose to avoid towns altogether). I am hoping that the players (and their PCs) will either love or hate the towns, but at least not experience indifference or boredom ("Meh"). The towns must not all look & feel alike, and must give the party some roleplay opportunities. However, the story itself has enough plot hooks already so I am not looking for side-quests or new plot hooks. What basic elements would you put into a town to make them memorable, to give the party enough opportunities for memorable roleplay for a single session? So far, I have a few towns that I can pick up and place along the route with: 1. A catchy and distinct name 2. A basic description of the looks of the town (palisade or wall, towers, made of wood/stone, rich or poor) 3. A few pubs & inns (of course), inhabited with a few NPCs with pre-written characters (with flaws) 4. A few stores, also with some pre-written NPCs (details of the NPC is just 1-2 lines of text) 5. A wandering weird guy 6. A landmark feature of the town 7. A temple, either to the wrong gods (the cleric will have an opinion), or the right gods (happy cleric) Maybe I am aiming too high, but I'm hoping for answers that teach how to fish, rather than feed the hungry (i.e. generic answers over good examples). [/QUOTE]
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