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<blockquote data-quote="Trit One-Ear" data-source="post: 6531090" data-attributes="member: 6678017">My group just finished a big period within a city, so here are a few tips I can give from my experience.*Sketch out broad-scale details, about the city and some individual areas. Are there large market areas? What kind of residential neighborhoods? What kind of races are present? What colors/building materials are commonplace?These are only as important as you need them to be, but giving the heroes some descriptive qualities helps the city stand out in their minds. From there, I made some basic districts/quarters/neighborhoods, each with its own feel or purpose. When heroes asked me &quot;Where would we find this?&quot; I could direct them to a specific area of the city, which in turn colored their actions and responses.Once you get all that, focus on what the story needs to move forward. Yes, there is a lot that happens in a city, but if a labor strike or the thieves' guild doesn't help you move your story forward, those things can happen in the background (and not even be touched on with the players). Only what you and the players decide is important is... well, important.In general terms, while a dungeon is more of a setting, a city is more of a backdrop. While for a dungeon you know the stats of every creature, trap and hazard inside, with a city you can get away with more general knowledge and make up the details as you need them.Lastly, bear in mind that a city is big enough and alive in a way that if you need something to happen for the sake of the story, you can almost certainly get away with it. There will always be areas of the city you have left undefined to be your new black market/holy site/mages guild etc.Trit</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Trit One-Ear, post: 6531090, member: 6678017"] My group just finished a big period within a city, so here are a few tips I can give from my experience. *Sketch out broad-scale details, about the city and some individual areas. Are there large market areas? What kind of residential neighborhoods? What kind of races are present? What colors/building materials are commonplace? These are only as important as you need them to be, but giving the heroes some descriptive qualities helps the city stand out in their minds. From there, I made some basic districts/quarters/neighborhoods, each with its own feel or purpose. When heroes asked me "Where would we find this?" I could direct them to a specific area of the city, which in turn colored their actions and responses. Once you get all that, focus on what the story needs to move forward. Yes, there is a lot that happens in a city, but if a labor strike or the thieves' guild doesn't help you move your story forward, those things can happen in the background (and not even be touched on with the players). Only what you and the players decide is important is... well, important. In general terms, while a dungeon is more of a setting, a city is more of a backdrop. While for a dungeon you know the stats of every creature, trap and hazard inside, with a city you can get away with more general knowledge and make up the details as you need them. Lastly, bear in mind that a city is big enough and alive in a way that if you need something to happen for the sake of the story, you can almost certainly get away with it. There will always be areas of the city you have left undefined to be your new black market/holy site/mages guild etc. Trit [/QUOTE]

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