Techniques for running a predominately urban campaign

[fba827]

When I DM, I tend to lean towards wilderness-based locations and events simply because it avoids some of my DM weaknesses that are associated with running more city-based locations (as in a major metro area).

Having said that, I still think about trying more city-based locations partially to grow in terms of what I can do, and also for simply a change of pace.

But then that leads me to certain weaknesses I have as a DM that make me shy away from city locals as a primary area for action/encounters/events.

So I thought I'd tap the ENWorld collective brain for some thoughts and suggestions on ways to possibly get around my DMing weaknesses that are specific to city adventures...

1. How to stop the PCs from going to the authorities for everything? If there is a authority system, I know the default answer in the party would eventually turn in to "well, let's see what the constable/king/etc wants us to do" OR "now that we've heard this rumor, let's tell the authorities so they can send in the reinforcements to deal with it ..."

But I want the focus to be on the PCs, so I was brain storming and came up with either a) it's a city without authorities (lawless), b) the PCs are the law, or c) the threats the PCs deal with are so 'extraordinary" that the regular authorities would be in over their heads and would be certain death for them, but the PCs have some special abilities that make them better suited to investigate.

Any experiences with using any of those? Or other possibilities?


2. Details, Details, Details -- my brain will fry trying to keep track of names, personalities, locations, and their relative positions to one another, and so on.

Short of extensive note-taking and maps, anyone have any other suggestions that have worked for them?


3. Mass NPC conversations. In a major urban environment there will eventually be points where lots of NPCs are gathered and discussing things (i.e. The PCs walking into a merchant council and overhear them talking about their latest problem that is blocking trade, etc). But I feel awkward when I'm acting out 2 or more NPCs talking to each other because it turns the players into an audience rather than participants.

I could 'summarize' the conversation to shorten it, but then that seems to break the fourth-wall a bit too much. I could try and let the players act out certain roles of the NPcs based on motivations I give them... but not all the players in my group would be in to that.

Any tricks that other people use for this?


4. I am not a good spontaneous speaker for NPCs. With so many NPCs and so many possibilities of who and what the PCs can discuss, I'll have a hard time coming up with responses on the fly to PC questions/conversations. And, the people I tend to game with are generally better improvisational (sp?) speakers than I am.

I guess this is just a skill i need to work on myself.


5. Spatial considerations - combat areas simply need to be larger than is convenient. In a dense urban area, I'd imagine the interiors are smaller, leading to either really cramped combat areas, or insides that are bigger than the outside, or every building just has some basement/underground type area as a default standard.

I guess I could just make underground areas a default standard building feature... or if the city is specifically defined as being magical perhaps interior space is magically larger. Or are either of those ideas just too weird?


6. Prisoners - when it's monsters it's easier to say kill the enemy in combat. when it's humanoids, it is more likely to result in the players (via the PCs) having drawn out discussions in every combat as to whether to kill or take prisoners. And while I can appreciate the role-play aspect of it, if the party doesn't have a general consensus it will just turn into a conversation that gets repeated way too often for my liking...

Is that something I should just try and setup/get consensus on in the campaign start-up or really just let it evolve on it's own?
--
All that said, maybe I should just avoid having such a strong city-based campaign since I know it is a weak point for me. And instead stick with what I can do better (and leave the cities for side-treks rather than the main focal setting) ? Anyway, just brainstorming at this point.

 

[jonesy]

This thread might have things you could use:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/295620-city-encounters-features-table.html

1. How to stop the PCs from going to the authorities for everything?

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. You can be sure it will be investigated."

"Yes. We are still undergoing investigations into the matter. Unfortunately our resources have been streched rather thin recently due to the crimewave that has struck our fair city. Perhaps you would like to be good citizens and offer your help?"

"The men we dedicated to the investigations were found dead in an alley not far from here. Their deaths are a more urgent matter. We will get back to the other once this is dealt with."

 

[Nagol]

Other possibilities to keep the spotlight on the PCs are the following:

1) the law is ineffectual for the type of threat (i.e. will take a week to get around to investigation whereas the plot line will complete in 2 days time).

2) The authorities are implicated in the threat either overtly in the case of a rebellion/Robin Hood campaign or indirectly in the case of a organised crime "dirty cop" way.

3) The PCs have no credibility and will be ignored/locked up if they approach the authorities.

Really, just look to the justification for most modern urban movies.

For the details, I prepare a brain map for any campaign for important and/or developed items. Really, the amount of detail in an urban setting from the perspective of the players isn't any different than any other setting. Just because the population has 100 times the density doesn't mean the PCs interact on a first name basis with any more people than in a small village.

For NPC-on-NPC action, I'll usually narrate what the PCs hear as opposed to holding a conversation with myself for their benefit. First, it's faster. Second, Talking to myself feels stilted.

I'm not sure why you think the city is too small for combat unless the game system has a lot of forced movement or other consideration. Simply let the action flow to the streets and you'll have plenty of space in a environment rich in choice and special terrain (multiple levels, clothes lines, canopies, pedestrians, carriages, corners, etc.)

As for prisoners, it depends on your game and the relationship the PCs have with the legal authorities. People could vanish never to be seen again (or found floating the river a week later), be left for the watch to collect, or sold to the slave galleons for extra cash. Getting a consensus or setting a campaign expectation will go a long way to reduce discussion.

 

[frankthedm]

6. Prisoners - when it's monsters it's easier to say kill the enemy in combat. when it's humanoids, it is more likely to result in the players (via the PCs) having drawn out discussions in every combat as to whether to kill or take prisoners. And while I can appreciate the role-play aspect of it, if the party doesn't have a general consensus it will just turn into a conversation that gets repeated way too often for my liking...

As DM you are the one who has to make the final call on how in game morality goes, so YOU MUST have decided what is right and wrong for your game world from the get go. There is NOTHING wrong with characters arguing / debating / coming to blows over disagreements about what to do with captives, but the players need to have been given a reasonable idea on what the correct answers actually are.

 

[buddhafrog]

I'm glad to see this thread - I'm looking for similar help/advice.

I don't worry about the PC discussions. My feeling is that once they decide their general approach to enemies (kill, give to authorities, other), that is the approach they will usually use. Also, their internal discussions might give you insight/inspiration into their thoughts about where the campaign is/should be heading.

 

[kitsune9]

1. How to stop the PCs from going to the authorities for everything?
2. Details, Details, Details -- my brain will fry trying to keep track of names, personalities, locations, and their relative positions to one another, and so on.

3. Mass NPC conversations.

4. I am not a good spontaneous speaker for NPCs.

5. Spatial considerations

6. Prisoners

I'll try my hand on this.

1. Authorities
There's a whole bunch of ways to deal with this. Here's my ideas:
a. Have the authorities come to the PC's first. There is a matter that needs the hand of outside help and the authorities need agents to do their work for them. The PC's won't be deputized because the authorities in question don't have that authority (that rests with the nobility, mayor, etc who is anti-adventurer).
b. The PC's go to the authorities, the authorities say they will do something about it, but nothing gets done. The PC's learn that the authorities are either completely apathetic to the situation or they are on the take.
c. The PC's go to the authorities at a really bad time when the authorities are barely keeping the peace. My personal example is that I had the PC's running through an urban adventure during a festival time when virtually all the nation's nobility shows up. There is a lot of dueling, fighting, and settling old scores. The authorities are stuck between a rock and a hard place to try to keep the peace without overstepping their bounds with the nobility. They don't have the time to deal with cultists / thieves / monsters running around the streets. This will be obvious to the PC's.
d. The authorities' priorities are not the PC's priorities. The authorities will have their directives on their superiors to focus on certain crimes and pretty much nothing else. For example, in my current campaign, there is a city called the City of Wine in which the rulers are only concerned about the export of their products and ensuring good trade. If there is a crime that is committed that harms that trade, the authorities will come down hard, but if all is well, then who cares if some insane cultists are going around killing peasants? Plenty more where they come from.
e. The authorities have heard it all before. The PC's learn of a plot of a group of cultists that are operating in the city to bring about the end of the world! They immediately run to the authorities and the Watch Sergeant says, "Yeah, riiiiiight.....Well, fill out this form, and we'll get riiiiight on it." Let's face it, there are a lot of wierdos out there and they come in with crazy stories all the time. Adventurers are no exception, because they go out and explore dungeons, meet terrible horrors, hear their minds snap like brittle twigs, and go off the deep end. Of course, the worse ones are the rogues and thieves who make up this crap, send the authorities on a goose chase in order to divert attention from that noble's villa he intends to burglarize.
f. The authorities do go with the PC's....only to get outright killed. The PC's seek the aid of the Watch and immediately the Sergeant shouts to round up a posse. They go with the PC's, encounter vile monsters and cultists, only to have a scene in Aliens play out. The PC's should realize that they've wasted their time (and these poor watchmen's lives) by going to them. The Watch will not make the same mistake twice with the PC's.

2. Details, details, details. Your city should be like your campaign world; however, you don't need to detail every shop. If you use a published campaign that details out the city, your work is already mostly done, but if you got your own homebrew thing going, then start small:
a. Identify who rules the city
b. Identify two power-brokers. This can be a guild, person, family, noble, crime syndicate, but this is something that all the commoners in the city know.
c. Identify three contacts. This is your innkeeper who has an ear to the streets, an ally who can get the PC's access to the power-brokers, and a merchant / guild rep / sage who can provide a source of goods or adventure hooks.

Six names, six locations, and you're done. Now, to keep the player's focused, whenever they want to go "off-map", you just breeze through the NPC interactions for people that are not important or redirect them to one of the names you have. For example, if the PC's want to go shopping, you got your merchant who can provide all their deals. If the PC's want to go get a map copied, the same merchant will take care of it for them or you just tell the PC's, "Your map is copied, 15 sp." and then move on.

3. Mass NPC conversations. There are two approaches that I've done with this:
a. Make notecard tents with each NPC name on it. If you're going to read a big box text with the conversation between two or more NPC's then whoever is speaking, place that notecard with their name on it upfront where the PC's can see it. Once you move onto the next NPC, move their card to the front.
b. Have the Players temporarily take on the roles of the NPCs and act out the whole conversation. Now I did this with handouts that explained who the NPCs were, their motivations, and what they hope to accomplish. The Players then had to try to get their point of view across or maybe "win" the exercise. Now to get the players onboard with this, I would reward their actual characters with something for participating.


4. Spontaneous NPC speaking. This is a skill and isn't learned overnight. I am not a witty person nor am I a good debater at all, so if I have an NPC argue with the PC's, I'll go as much as I can and then I'll tell the player, "The NPC continues to argue with you back and forth" and so on. I don't do the variable voices thing. While it would be cool to do it, it's hard on my throat. Just go with what you're comfortable with.

5. Spatial considerations. I'll assume that you're bringing this point up because you're using minatures. If not, then don't worry about space, just dictate the flow of action. If you're trying to go for a very realistic campaign, then spatial considerations are a problem, but this is a fantasy campaign, so who cares if your small sized inn measures 80' x 100'. Go for it!

6. Prisoners. This is kind of up to you as to how you want the PC's to handle prisoners. If you want them to be able to take prisoners, but dump them, the fast forward their ability to get them to the authorities and get them out your and the players' hair. Hand waive that scene so that the players aren't inconvenienced by having to detail their actions on how they are handling each and every prisoner. If you don't care if the PC's slit their prisoners' throats, then toss it up in the air as how the city reacts to bloodthirsty players. In large cities with a seedy side of the city, throat-slitting is common.

Hope this helps!

 

[Dilvias]

1. Possibilities to why they can't count on the law:

The law is corrupt. Either the city government itself is evil, or certain parts of it are. One of the major subplots is going to involve overcoming the authorities. Alternatively, the law is competent, but the PCs are criminals.

The law is incompetent. Or too busy. Or the problems are beneath the notice of the authorities. Or there is no law. Either way, the PCs cannot count on there being backup for them beyond what they themselves arrange.

They are the law. That means they must obey their superiors and their rules, while dealing with problems on their own. There may be backup, but their backup will likely be several minutes away if even available. They may not be actual city guards, but are in some way part of the establishment. Guild members, servants of a baron, sons and daughters of nobles.

Note you can have all three if you want. The players could be guild enforcers of a thieves guild, the local city guard commander is being paid to look the other way by all sides, and the duke in charge of the city quarter is involved in a plot to take over the city.

2. Details:

Think globally, act locally. To start with, you only need the most major of players (King, some of the council, a few guild leaders) and a few big bads that are working behind the scenes, along with a few overarching plots. Then concentrate on the few NPCs that you need at the start of the game and the area of the city where the characters will start. As the game continues, you can introduce more NPCs and parts of the city as needed.

Also, get your players to help. Ask them to detail who their contacts are for you. Heck, they can completely build them for you if they want. Maybe the rogue can create her fence, her sponsor into the thieves' guild, and a former partner now working for the city guard. The wizard can describe his master, a rival apprentice, and a shopkeeper where he buys his supplies. The fighter can stat out his brother who now works as a teamster, the old seargent who trained him, and the local barmaid who has a crush on him.

3 and 4. On conversations:

NPC to NPC, a quick summary is usually sufficient. "While sitting at the bar, you overhear several converasations. A couple of merchants are complaining about rising taxes on spice imports. The Blacksmith at the bar is buying people drinks after getting a commission for a major order of steel shields. A couple in the corner are talking about the woman's parents cancelling a trip to a nearby castle. Another group is talking about the disappearance of the baker's son. And there is the man in dark robes who seems to be watching everyone, including you. Are you listening closely to any particular conversation, or approaching anyone?"

Only bother with a detailed conversation if the PCs are talking to NPCs, or if the details are particularly important.

When talking as an NPC, just like an actor you need to know "What is my motivation?" What do they want? Do they know the PCs? If you truly feel uncomfortable taking on their "role", be sure to at least convey the information you want to give the players, even if it is in summary form. NPCs are the major way the GM gets information the players need to accomplish their goals, so make sure they get it.

5. Spaces:

This is going to depend on how combat heavy the game is going to be. City campaigns can be very combat light if you want them to be, dealing with politics and solving mysteries. But even in combat heavy games, there are going to be areas that play out as regular "dungeons". The city sewer is pretty classic, but you will have places like warehouses, guild halls, temples and even city streets. Sure, a commoner's home is going to be cramped, but how often are you really going to need to fight in the home of a commoner? And a noble's home can be as big as you need it to be.

6. Prisoners:

The best choice is to decide at the beginning of the game how the players will want to deal with it. This is going to depend a lot on question 1. If the law is both powerful and competent, then things like getting away with murder is going to be a lot harder. Also, if the characters get a reputation for taking prisoners (or taking no prisoners), this is going to influence how their enemies react. If they survive to higher levels, they are going to become famous.

Finally, at the beginning of the game, even before the players start building the characters, sit down and talk. Let the players know what the city is going to be like (type of government, size of the city), and find out what the players want to do. Do they want to focus on combat, mysteries, intrigue, politics? What level of social status do they want to start at? Do they want a city-wide sandbox or would they prefer easy to follow plots? Once you know what your players desire, you will be able to concentrate on the part of the city that they are interested in.

 

[NewJeffCT]

On details, make up a list of names, male and female, for the dominant races in town. I would go overboard on this – if you think 20 human male and 20 human female names are enough, make names 30 for human males and human females. If the city is primarily human, of course. If the city is diverse, make a list for each race.

If your players are good at improv like you say, they may want to go into a tavern and speak with ten different people there – barkeep, serving wenches, the bard and her assistant, the merchant and his bodyguard, etc. Just having a list of ready names will make the setting come alive, as there is nothing worse than when I am caught off guard by, “and what is her name?” and then stumble to think of something that does not sound silly/stupid and it breaks the rhythm of the encounter.

Then, get a list of a similar amount of adjectives that can describe people – the pretty serving wench, the plain serving wench, the bald barkeep, the beautiful bard, the quiet assistant, the fat merchant and his ugly man-at-arms bodyguard, etc.

Then, have some names of taverns – a few high end ones, a few regular ones, and a few dives. “The Golden Griffon” and “The Roaring Orc” and “The Rusty Dragon” and whatnot. Of course, it also depends on the size of the town/city. A town of 1,000 people might only have one or two inns and taverns, while Waterdeep probably has hundreds.

As you go through the list, check off the ones you used in terms of names.

And, when you describe a new scene, just remember the five senses: What do the players see, hear, smell, taste and touch?

 

[Mallus]

I've been playing in and running primarily-urban campaigns for the last 6-7 years. I'm apparently somewhat stuck on the idea of cosmopolitan fantasy cities. If you want some examples, if not necessarily advice, check out the "Chronicles of Burne" story hour in my .sig. If nothing else, it's funny, and the action is mostly urban.

1. How to stop the PCs from going to the authorities for everything?

You can always make the authorities corrupt, incompetent, craven, or some winning combination thereof. Or just make them the principle antagonists. In my World of CITY campaign, the PC's quickly became the protectors of an immigrant ghetto, a place where the authorities simply didn't care about the populace, or were on the take from the people exploiting them, or were exploiting them themselves.

..."now that we've heard this rumor, let's tell the authorities so they can send in the reinforcements to deal with it ..."

The city is having manpower issues. The Guard's spread very thin and the PC's are the only ones who can respond in a timely fashion.

... it's a city without authorities (lawless), b) the PCs are the law, or c) the threats the PCs deal with are so 'extraordinary" that the regular authorities would be in over their heads and would be certain death for them, but the PCs have some special abilities that make them better suited to investigate.

Both are fine ideas.

Short of extensive note-taking and maps, anyone have any other suggestions that have worked for them?

Note taking is helpful, but a full street-level maps are completely unnecessary. The trick is to create a small, manageable number of memorable and vividly-described places. These "become" the city to the players. Plus, you can always add more as needed.

Note this is how actual people actually experience cities. I live in Philadelphia. My Philadelphia isn't the whole of the map, it's the handful of locations I go to frequently.

IBut I feel awkward when I'm acting out 2 or more NPCs talking to each other because it turns the players into an audience rather than participants.

Then avoid trying to act these scenes out. Summarize.

I could 'summarize' the conversation to shorten it, but then that seems to break the fourth-wall a bit too much.

No, trust me, summarize. Or run smack dab into what my old writing professor would have called the Mimetic Fallacy.

With so many NPCs and so many possibilities of who and what the PCs can discuss, I'll have a hard time coming up with responses on the fly to PC questions/conversations.

Work on this. The secret is, good cities are made of good NPC's. You can describe the marvelous architecture until you're blue in the face, but the truth is, players can't talk to a flying buttress. Players need to be able to interact with the game environment, and the best, and easiest way to provide this is give 'em NPC's to chat up.

I guess this is just a skill i need to work on myself.

Try a glass of wine --but not too much-- before the session.

5. Spatial considerations - combat areas simply need to be larger than is convenient.

This is true. My advice, stage combats in big structures, like a warehouse by the docks or a public square, and for other interiors, just fudge the dimensions. Trust me, no one's going to notice some implausible square footage in your buildings.

Is that something I should just try and setup/get consensus on in the campaign start-up or really just let it evolve on it's own?

I'd let it evolve on it's own. More interesting that way. One thing I'd do is make granting mercy, ransoming, letting foes live, etc. into a viable choice.

All that said, maybe I should just avoid having such a strong city-based campaign since I know it is a weak point for me.

No, no, go for it! City-based D&D can be a blast (as can working on the weak areas in your DM'ing).

 

[Raven Crowking]

Good idea for a thread!