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[5E] Urban Intrigue Campaign - Gating the Sandbox
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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7622333" data-attributes="member: 12377"><p>I would absolutely use Lifestyle as a gate: Lifestyle is too often ignored in D&D, and it would be nice to give that expenditure a concrete value. Make sure to also play up the role-playing value of lavish clothes, food, lodging, your own private carriage, etc. I'd probably make Lifestyle a "floor." Like, if you have letters of introduction to get you into the Noble District, you need to also have an Aristocratic Lifestyle for the past 30 days, or else you look like an unwashed commoner. (Disguise kit might work, though it's risky.)</p><p></p><p>Here are some more barriers:</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Water.</em></strong> Put a couple of rivers that are too wide to swim across. There are only a few bridges, and they're great places for...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Tolls.</em></strong> If entering the Harbor District costs 10 gp per person, most 1st-level parties aren't going to put that up, just to see what's in there. Maybe for 100 gp you can buy a medallion that lets you enter the Market District whenever you want. Maybe that medallion can be looted as treasure, found on a corpse in...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Sewer Tunnels.</em></strong> The Dungeon Comes To You! Entering these tunnels requires a key, or a secret entrance. More importantly, exiting also requires a key -- and exits in nicer parts of town may also be guarded. And those guards don't expect sewer workers to have weapons and armor...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Weapon Privileges.</em></strong> Certain parts of the city may not allow you to traipse about wearing armor and carrying warhammers and longbows. Some might even restrict arcane foci. This is more of a "soft" deterrent, because players can still go there, they just need permission to carry all their stuff. Or maybe it is a hard barrier, enforced by...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Arcane Wards.</em></strong> Magical enchantments can keep characters, or certain types of characters, out of certain areas. Waterdeep has an enchantment that keeps out dragons, for example. You could say that the Royal District only allows people with royal signets or royal servants' livery (thus the PCs need to find some of that, or find a way to counterfeit it, to enter -- or maybe <em>Nystul's magic aura</em> will do the trick). These wards might change how they function depending on...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Time.</em></strong> Some areas might not <em>exist</em> all the time. An example might be a large black market that only operates on certain nights, or an underground fighting ring that moves every few days, or a masked cult that meets at a different noble manor every month. For these, the "key" is the information of when/where the thing will be -- you have to know a guy who knows a guy. Most such "temporary locations" are probably kind of small, but they needn't be. An example might be a neighborhood that is only accessible at high tide, and only if you take a certain path through the rocks and sandbars -- getting there at any other time requires taking an expensive ferry. An easy one might be the Night District, where nocturnal races live; during the day, all the buildings are boarded up tight, so you can go there but there's nothing to do (and maybe this isn't obvious the first time the PCs enter, so they have to ask around to figure this out). The Night District could be an example of an...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Ethnic Neighborhood.</em></strong> Some D&D races might want to live primarily among their own kind. Humans aren't welcome and the city guard discourages human visitors. The PCs can go there, but they'll get the cold shoulder; so there's not really much exploring or adventuring to do. Maybe everyone there pretends they don't speak common. Eventually, the PCs might find a way to get on the people's good side, and become welcome visitors. Actually this may be required if the neighborhood exists within...</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Another Plane.</em></strong> Like a pocket dimension within the city itself -- Diagon Alley. You can only go in or out of the plane via a few coterminous places (an archway here, an old alley there), but instead of finding a small courtyard, there's an entire plane in there! This is obviously more "fantastical" than mundane barriers, but it could work for, e.g., the Wizards' District or the University District.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="77IM, post: 7622333, member: 12377"] I would absolutely use Lifestyle as a gate: Lifestyle is too often ignored in D&D, and it would be nice to give that expenditure a concrete value. Make sure to also play up the role-playing value of lavish clothes, food, lodging, your own private carriage, etc. I'd probably make Lifestyle a "floor." Like, if you have letters of introduction to get you into the Noble District, you need to also have an Aristocratic Lifestyle for the past 30 days, or else you look like an unwashed commoner. (Disguise kit might work, though it's risky.) Here are some more barriers: [B][I]Water.[/I][/B] Put a couple of rivers that are too wide to swim across. There are only a few bridges, and they're great places for... [B][I]Tolls.[/I][/B] If entering the Harbor District costs 10 gp per person, most 1st-level parties aren't going to put that up, just to see what's in there. Maybe for 100 gp you can buy a medallion that lets you enter the Market District whenever you want. Maybe that medallion can be looted as treasure, found on a corpse in... [B][I]Sewer Tunnels.[/I][/B] The Dungeon Comes To You! Entering these tunnels requires a key, or a secret entrance. More importantly, exiting also requires a key -- and exits in nicer parts of town may also be guarded. And those guards don't expect sewer workers to have weapons and armor... [B][I]Weapon Privileges.[/I][/B] Certain parts of the city may not allow you to traipse about wearing armor and carrying warhammers and longbows. Some might even restrict arcane foci. This is more of a "soft" deterrent, because players can still go there, they just need permission to carry all their stuff. Or maybe it is a hard barrier, enforced by... [B][I]Arcane Wards.[/I][/B] Magical enchantments can keep characters, or certain types of characters, out of certain areas. Waterdeep has an enchantment that keeps out dragons, for example. You could say that the Royal District only allows people with royal signets or royal servants' livery (thus the PCs need to find some of that, or find a way to counterfeit it, to enter -- or maybe [I]Nystul's magic aura[/I] will do the trick). These wards might change how they function depending on... [B][I]Time.[/I][/B] Some areas might not [I]exist[/I] all the time. An example might be a large black market that only operates on certain nights, or an underground fighting ring that moves every few days, or a masked cult that meets at a different noble manor every month. For these, the "key" is the information of when/where the thing will be -- you have to know a guy who knows a guy. Most such "temporary locations" are probably kind of small, but they needn't be. An example might be a neighborhood that is only accessible at high tide, and only if you take a certain path through the rocks and sandbars -- getting there at any other time requires taking an expensive ferry. An easy one might be the Night District, where nocturnal races live; during the day, all the buildings are boarded up tight, so you can go there but there's nothing to do (and maybe this isn't obvious the first time the PCs enter, so they have to ask around to figure this out). The Night District could be an example of an... [B][I]Ethnic Neighborhood.[/I][/B] Some D&D races might want to live primarily among their own kind. Humans aren't welcome and the city guard discourages human visitors. The PCs can go there, but they'll get the cold shoulder; so there's not really much exploring or adventuring to do. Maybe everyone there pretends they don't speak common. Eventually, the PCs might find a way to get on the people's good side, and become welcome visitors. Actually this may be required if the neighborhood exists within... [B][I]Another Plane.[/I][/B] Like a pocket dimension within the city itself -- Diagon Alley. You can only go in or out of the plane via a few coterminous places (an archway here, an old alley there), but instead of finding a small courtyard, there's an entire plane in there! This is obviously more "fantastical" than mundane barriers, but it could work for, e.g., the Wizards' District or the University District. [/QUOTE]
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