City Campaign Advice

[The Lemon Merchant]

I'm well into my current Greyhawk campaign, but I have this habit of preparing for my next campaign well ahead of time. I'd like to run a city campaign on my next run and am looking for any advice I can find. It will be in Greyhawk, City of Greyhawk even, with some personal modifications. Anyhow suggestions would be greatly apprectiated and if there's a product out there that would be helpful please let me know about it.

Thanks.

 

[MEG Hal]

I'm well into my current Greyhawk campaign, but I have this habit of preparing for my next campaign well ahead of time. I'd like to run a city campaign on my next run and am looking for any advice I can find. It will be in Greyhawk, City of Greyhawk even, with some personal modifications. Anyhow suggestions would be greatly apprectiated and if there's a product out there that would be helpful please let me know about it.

Thanks.

[plug]
Try Bluffside a d20 medium fantasy fully fleshed out city with hooks and a bunch of cool stuff. Web enhancements available and we are tweaking a 25+ page free adventure for the city on the edge! Click on the Thunderhead link in my sig.
[/plug]

 

[Hand of Evil]

NPCs, Lots of them.

Have a few landmark locations. Watch tower, a tavern things like that. This can be used for general direction and area location.

Let your players make up locations for you. Just given them a number to pick from (5-10) and let them tell you what it is. If you have a map, let them show you too! Be sure to set some ground rules. These are places the players go. A wizard will know where to find stuff for his trade but would not know where to find an armorer.

Something I do is with henchmen, I make this NPCs that are loyal to the player, that they can use as contacts and friends in a city/world. They don't adventure with the characters, they become a resource pool.

Bluffside is a wonderful city book, lots of NPCs and downloadable maps that you can write and mark on! (Plug)

 

[Zenon]

If you can, lay your hands on a copy of City of Greyhawk box set by TSR.

Two booklets (dealing with power structure, NPC's, etc) and two or three large maps (detailing the city (with locations detailed in the second booklet). The maps alone make it worth it for me, I'm lousy at drawing maps.

It's a very nice set, not available as an ESD unfortunately, but there are currently two listed on eBay.

The downside? You'll have to convert NPC's to 3E rules.

The alternative is pick up one of the 3E city books out and you don't have any additional work.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Just want to chime in in support of Bluffside as well.

If you feel like something a littel darker, give Freeport a look.

 

[Songwind]

I resemble that remark!

I'm running a city campaign currently. It's the first time I've run an extensive campaign in a city, and here are some of the issues that I have run into:

1) Like the others said, NPCs, NPCs, and more NPCs. If you have to make someone up off-the-cuff, write their name down somewhere you won't lose it. You never know who your PCs are going to latch onto as a friend.

2) Consequences. Since the PCs are staying in the same area, and their opponents are often going to be other people of various races, their actions have more consequences. Even the "bad guys" are citizens protected under law. Dangerous flashy magics are illegal in my city, so arcane force can be tricky. Reputation is more damning and less likely to elevate you to legendary status when the neighbors see you dump your night pail just like everyone else.

3) Less combat. There have been a ton more skill checks and roleplaying sessions. My group was always roleplaying heavy anyway, so it has gotten pretty extreme for us. We're having a great time so far, though.

4) Field trips. Remember to get out of the city, or under the city, or something, from time to time.

 

[Crothian]

You can make the PCs part of the city. They can own businesses and have day or part time jobs. You don't need to always adventure. You can give them time off to earn honest money. Allow them to get a daily routine.

 

[MEG Hal]

You can make the PCs part of the city. They can own businesses and have day or part time jobs. You don't need to always adventure. You can give them time off to earn honest money. Allow them to get a daily routine.

I want to be Barney from Mayberry, the deputy......"you can carry that dagger Barney BUT only if you have it sheathed and then tucked inside your pants, and remember if you pull it stop shaking and looking so scared, do not have your eyes *pop* out it is very unprofessional" little does Andy know that Barney is a 5th lvl Fighter

 

[Crothian]

I want to be Barney from Mayberry, the deputy......"you can carry that dagger Barney BUT only if you have it sheathed and then tucked inside your pants, and remember if you pull it stop shaking and looking so scared, do not have your eyes *pop* out it is very unprofessional" little does Andy know that Barney is a 5th lvl Fighter

That NPC needs to be in Bluffside. He'd make a great addition to the Old City. He could have been there for about 10 years and have a historey with some of the people.

 

[Kilmore]

Amusement park dungeons

One thing I like to do is the urban dungeon. Once the bad guys were holed up in the sewers, and this latest time they were in a catacomb beneath a run down temple of death. Both times they were chasing cultists. Two more ideas I have are for a maze of buildings in the bad side of town and a boat city like in Hong Kong where hundreds of boats are tied together.

I'd be wary of amusement park dungeons though, like Underdark in Waterdeep. I prefer that the party discover where their enemies are hiding out on their own.