D&D General Cities are theme parks!

Building too many cities (and watching Pointy Hat) hit the nail on the head.

All Cities are theme parks.

I've been lucky that most of my work is based on reinterpretations of real cities, so they already have their own unique qualities.

ex. Ed-town is Edmonton is what if it was a heavy psychic city inspired by Ohm town which was in the 80's rock anime Rock and Rule, but with heavy metal Minotaurs controlling the colosseum district), Genefield is a saskatoon reinterpreted by psychic plant mad scientists (coming soon),

Every listed location has to have a plot hook that the PCs can choose to clamp down on.

So I'm asking for your advertisement for a fantasy city you like (either already written or your own).

Let's hear your ads for your city/theme parks!
 
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I don't love characterizing Vancouver, where I lived for many years and married my spouse, as a pleaser city with mental issues. I feel like this thread is going to go sideways, fast, if your other real life inspirations are as "amusingly" characterized.
 

PORT BLACKSAND: CITY OF THIEVES - where there's a knife in every shadow and trust is for the dead
Whether you're a rogue in training or a noble on the run, the cobbled chaos of Port Blacksand promises unforgettable thrills—and probably a few curses. Keep your head low, avoid the Blackguard and beware the Night Prince.
(with thanks to Ian Livingstone of course)

BISHNAGAR: NEXUS OF TRADE - Where the Hoard is his heart, and the City is his fire.
Step into the shimmering sprawl of Bishnagar, where silken caravans, ivory ships, and wildland traders converge beneath golden domes and towering vaults. Built atop the golden hoard of the Celestial Dragon.
Whether merchant, adventurer, mercenary or thief, Bishnagar is a realm where every contract is sealed with dragonfire and every shadow hides a secret deal. But beware: the Dragon ensures all debts are paid …
 

The ideas in the video sound like they could work and make things easier to work with when dealing with cities. I've always been hesitant to have the PCs go to cities since there are so many places things can go off the rails so to speak. A lot of things get made up on the fly and then need to be made part of the game.

Now I just need to name the X in Waterdeep and Neverwinter.
 

I don't love characterizing Vancouver, where I lived for many years and married my spouse, as a pleaser city with mental issues. I feel like this thread is going to go sideways, fast, if your other real life inspirations are as "amusingly" characterized.
Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I want to address your points with care:

  1. I will remove the term "dopple city" from the opening post. It was intended to be light-hearted, but I recognize it may not have been appropriate.
  2. I sincerely apologize for the ableist implications in the post; that was not my intention.
  3. One of the goals of Hodgepocalypse is to resonate positively with the communities we discuss. If something feels inappropriate, we are committed to making adjustments accordingly.

Here is the link to the specific blog entry: . Please feel free to send me a private message with any further feedback you have, as I want to ensure we approach this topic with the necessary sensitivity and respect.


Thank you again for your input.
 

Building too many cities (and watching Pointy Hat) hit the nail on the head.

All Cities are theme parks.

I've been lucky that most of my work is based on reinterpretations of real cities, so they already have their own unique qualities.

ex. Ed-town is Edmonton is what if it was a heavy psychic city inspired by Ohm town which was in the 80's rock anime Rock and Rule, but with heavy metal Minotaurs controlling the colosseum district), Genefield is a saskatoon reinterpreted by psychic plant mad scientists (coming soon),

Every listed location has to have a plot hook that the PCs can choose to clamp down on.

So I'm asking for your advertisement for a fantasy city you like (either already written or your own).

Let's hear your ads for your city/theme parks!

There's been discussion recently on city game loops and procedures in other places I visit, so first, here is a list of resources that may be of help generally.

Reading:

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Pick a copy of this book either used or from your local library and read it. Pick any page, and read it! Or read several pages, if you like. It will get you to think about what cities are differently, as well provide gobs of inspo on how one might envision them.

RPG Settings (Featuring Cities)

The first is a search of posts from Hill Cantons, Kutalik's blog, from around the time writing was done for Fever Dreaming Marlinko before it was published. You'll find excerpts from it, as well as discussion about how the different cantons came together. Naturally, it is available to purchase.

Oz, by Andrew Kolb, was recommended to me last year when I was seeking good examples of how to organize city campaigns. It has great examples of combining good, graphic design with meaningful content. You can find a copy at your local library.

Blog Posts:

The first blog is the one that spurred new discussion on cities as setting. There's a been a lot of writing about cities in the TTRPG space, but these four I feel illustrate the broader points.

The next two entries are more for historical purposes; you can see from when they came out that it's been a long discussion.

The last one is framed in response to elmcat's, but also provides a deep, contextual background. It is quite long, so have several chunks of time available.

Re: Pointy Hat, and Blogs Above

  • Designing City-As-Theme, then expanding it to a theme park is fine! I feel you have to be aware what purposes the city is for. If your table desires only to visit a settlement to resupply for example, there's little point in taking a granular lens to it. Rides, no matter how tempting, won't interest them.
  • Cities change over time, sometimes very quickly. Theme parks do as well e.g. I haven't been to Disneyland for almost a decade; it's quite a different experience overall now than before. Even if you go to theme park lands you're familiar with, their themes, services, layout and rides have changed.
  • The purposes of the city from your table's perspective, will influence what systems/loops you decide to employ in their discovering, exploring and engagement with that city. Engagement can consist of: its peoples, its physical structure, its factions, its verisimilitude (yes, contrary to what Pointy mentions).
  • Be mindful that within cities, there are constraints where you might go. Your city may have modern, accessible transport (or its equivalent), but your table will not be able to go wherever they may want due to: time of day, the environment, hidden or unknown knowledge, strange customs (e.g. businesses close in the afternoon and reopen late at night, because it gets too hot), laws, not having influence, a lack of reputation, class differences, and so on.
 
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