Any City System Plans

[tensen]

Well looking at your list, if you want them all in one place you'll have to wait. Although ones that touch on areas:

PDF's
Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe
Everybody Else (Ambient Games) - NPC Stats
City Guide 1: Everyday Life (Dark Quest) - Locations
City Guide: Coffer of Coins (Dark Quest) - Locations (Jewelers Quarter)

Future PDFs
City Guide: Nautical Necessities (Dark Quest) - Locations (Wharfside)
City Watch : Law Enforcement Guide to the City (Natural 20 Press)
City Guide: Villages (Natural 20 Press)

 

[Zephalon]

Most of these supplements are too specific. I mean who really needs 10 different detailed jewelers? Most people do not run burglary adventures (well, okay if there is some decent pillaging and mayhem involved).

If a DM needs such locations for their adventure, they can easily make them up. But if your players happen to stay in a city for a while and you haven't planned it, then you'll probably run out of interesting encounters very soon. That's why i think encounter tables would be a lot more useful.

The same is true for handling situations like players joining the city watch, thieves guild and so on. This brings up questions like "How much do I earn? Does anything interesting happen? Do I get XP?". Making up rules for this kind of things on the spot can bring you into really bad situations if you make them too generous for example.

I like the "Everybody else" approach for NPCs. Thats a book which really helps save time at the gaming table.

Nobody really dares to bring out a generic supplement for city rules.

 

[tensen]

The same is true for handling situations like players joining the city watch, thieves guild and so on. This brings up questions like "How much do I earn? Does anything interesting happen? Do I get XP?". Making up rules for this kind of things on the spot can bring you into really bad situations if you make them too generous for example.

I like the "Everybody else" approach for NPCs. Thats a book which really helps save time at the gaming table.

Nobody really dares to bring out a generic supplement for city rules.

A generic suppliment?
You are asking for dozens if you want it done properly.

Look at the two Common Ground books from Bard Productions. Those cover specifically the rules for creating:

1) Churchs, Inns, and Merchants

2) Guard Towers, Thieves Guilds, and Private Clubs

 

[jgbrowning]

Nobody really dares to bring out a generic supplement for city rules.

It depends are what you mean by rules. If you mean rules for experience gained through non-combative encounters or if you mean plot hooks like what mr. mearls is currently doing, you're right.

[plug] If you mean rules about how cities develop, what they look like, building density, government, professions, and guilds just download A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe. All in all we spend 31-39 (depending upon whether or not you count the economic simulator) pages on cities, their functionings, and systems to help you create and simulate real cities. At $10, the price can't be beat especially when theres another 100 pages of other useful information.

Several other people have mentioned us in this thread, so far all our customers are happy with their purchase. [/plug]


joe b.

 

[Zephalon]

I just read the free preview of "Magical Medieval Society" and must say, I am quite impressed by it. Now, this one is primarly for creating cities not living/adventuring in them.

What I seek is a book like "Magical Medieval Society" but for living and adventuring in that city. "Magical Medieval Society" gives a really good base for that, the different wards and their make-up. Add to that ward-based Encounter and Event Tables (encounters for short timeframes, events for long timeframes) , Jobs and Professions, adventuring hooks and so on and you have it.

What I do not seek are:
- Collections of maps and descriptions for different establishments
- Collections of NPCs
- Essays about very specific organizations or areas of a city (I don't want to buy a whole library just to DM in a city)

Don't get me wrong, these kinds of supplements are creative and well-written, but just do not cover what I would describe as a city system (or rules).

 

[jgbrowning]

I just read the free preview of "Magical Medieval Society" and must say, I am quite impressed by it. Now, this one is primarly for creating cities not living/adventuring in them.

What I seek is a book like "Magical Medieval Society" but for living and adventuring in that city. "Magical Medieval Society" gives a really good base for that, the different wards and their make-up. Add to that ward-based Encounter and Event Tables (encounters for short timeframes, events for long timeframes) , Jobs and Professions, adventuring hooks and so on and you have it.

What I do not seek are:
- Collections of maps and descriptions for different establishments
- Collections of NPCs
- Essays about very specific organizations or areas of a city (I don't want to buy a whole library just to DM in a city)

Don't get me wrong, these kinds of supplements are creative and well-written, but just do not cover what I would describe as a city system (or rules).

Then it sounds like mr. mearls' book may be more of what you're looking for. I don't know of anything d20 up right now that does all that.

joe b.