D&D 5E City of Arches-Perfect 5e Setting

[Arilyn]

Sly Flourish's City of Arches, by Mike Shea recently arrived on my doorstep. I think it's a near perfect setting for the current take on modern D&D.

The City of Arches is connected to the multiverse via arches scattered throughout the city. Upon entry, arrivals have little memory of their original homewolds or backgrounds. This allows your players to go wild with all the 3rd party releases: Valda's Spire, Humblewood, Eberron, dinosaur books, etc.

This is not a planar adventure setting, however, unless you want it to be. The city, the reaches below and the outside environs are fully detailed with a ton of adventure seeds and hooks. There are also several framework suggestions for adventure arcs. The book is also brimming with NPCs and factions, all of which come with potential hooks.

There's plenty here to help GMs and players weave great stories. Is the evil builder of the city, The Nameless King about to return? Can the players find keys to long dormant Arches? Do the players want to comb the depths looking for loot, or are they true archaeologists?

It's easy to adjust the setting to be as dark or as light as your table wishes. It's primarily a setting book, so can be used fairly easily with any fantasy TTRPG. The players in my group are playing with material from Level Up, 5e, Kobold Press, Valda's Spire and Dr Dhrolin's Book of Dinosaurs.

If you are looking at 5e/24 art and thinking how are all these species together, making any kind of sense, look to City of Arches. Honestly, I think it makes for a way better sample setting than Greyhawk or Borderlands.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Sly Flourish's City of Arches, by Mike Shea recently arrived on my doorstep. I think it's a near perfect setting for the current take on modern D&D.

The City of Arches is connected to the multiverse via arches scattered throughout the city. Upon entry, arrivals have little memory of their original homewolds or backgrounds. This allows your players to go wild with all the 3rd party releases: Valda's Spire, Humblewood, Eberron, dinosaur books, etc.

This is not a planar adventure setting, however, unless you want it to be. The city, the reaches below and the outside environs are fully detailed with a ton of adventure seeds and hooks. There are also several framework suggestions for adventure arcs. The book is also brimming with NPCs and factions, all of which come with potential hooks.

There's plenty here to help GMs and players weave great stories. Is the evil builder of the city, The Nameless King about to return? Can the players find keys to long dormant Arches? Do the players want to comb the depths looking for loot, or are they true archaeologists?

It's easy to adjust the setting to be as dark or as light as your table wishes. It's primarily a setting book, so can be used fairly easily with any fantasy TTRPG. The players in my group are playing with material from Level Up, 5e, Kobold Press, Valda's Spire and Dr Dhrolin's Book of Dinosaurs.

If you are looking at 5e/24 art and thinking how are all these species together, making any kind of sense, look to City of Arches. Honestly, I think it makes for a way better sample setting than Greyhawk or Borderlands.

Sounds cool, for sure. I'm not planning on running 5E any time soon but I am interested in this kind of setting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If I were in the market for a new 5E campaign, this is definitely one I would be looking at. I love the "yes, and" structure it sets up for DMs and players.

I can see a few times it would be a problem when a character build relies on having contacts beyond the city, but that seems like something that can be addressed with DM/player discussion 99% of the time. (Your PC didn't pop through an arch yesterday; they've been here a while and their contacts are within the city itself.)

 

[Zaukrie]

Ya, I almost bought this, but in the end, I own SO MANY settings.....but if I was looking for one, this would be it.

 

[Imaro]

Sly Flourish's City of Arches, by Mike Shea recently arrived on my doorstep. I think it's a near perfect setting for the current take on modern D&D.

The City of Arches is connected to the multiverse via arches scattered throughout the city. Upon entry, arrivals have little memory of their original homewolds or backgrounds. This allows your players to go wild with all the 3rd party releases: Valda's Spire, Humblewood, Eberron, dinosaur books, etc.

This is not a planar adventure setting, however, unless you want it to be. The city, the reaches below and the outside environs are fully detailed with a ton of adventure seeds and hooks. There are also several framework suggestions for adventure arcs. The book is also brimming with NPCs and factions, all of which come with potential hooks.

There's plenty here to help GMs and players weave great stories. Is the evil builder of the city, The Nameless King about to return? Can the players find keys to long dormant Arches? Do the players want to comb the depths looking for loot, or are they true archaeologists?

It's easy to adjust the setting to be as dark or as light as your table wishes. It's primarily a setting book, so can be used fairly easily with any fantasy TTRPG. The players in my group are playing with material from Level Up, 5e, Kobold Press, Valda's Spire and Dr Dhrolin's Book of Dinosaurs.

If you are looking at 5e/24 art and thinking how are all these species together, making any kind of sense, look to City of Arches. Honestly, I think it makes for a way better sample setting than Greyhawk or Borderlands.

What would you say the big differences in tone, mood, theme and gameplay between this and Planescape or even Ravnica are? I have both and wonder what sets this particular setting apart from those two?

 

[Arilyn]

What would you say the big differences in tone, mood, theme and gameplay between this and Planescape or even Ravnica are? I have both and wonder what sets this particular setting apart from those two?

There is the assumption that you may spend the whole campaign in City of Arches and the surrounding areas and not do plane hopping. You could certainly do a little or a lot of plane hopping, if you want, of course. City of Arches is overflowing with hooks and ideas to inspire ideas, but you can easily make the setting your own. I'm not familiar with Ravnica at all, so can't address this one.

The main city is safe and run by decent people but you can shift it darker, if you want. There's danger beneath the city and surrounding areas. It's a toy box full of goodies. There's whimsy. Gift baskets with cheese and scented soaps are given to beings who stumble through the Arches with no memories. And then they get a relaxing dip in the spring.

 

[Arilyn]

Sounds cool, for sure. I'm not planning on running 5E any time soon but I am interested in this kind of setting.

We've drifted away from 5e as well but this has intrigued us. Might be our last 5e for a while. And it was irresistible to go wild with all the 3rd party books.

 

[Tonguez]

So if I already have a city - Ptolus, Radiant Citadel, Freeport, Bishnagar, . What stands out about the City of Arches that make it a must have to add the the other cities in my world

 

[DrJawaPhD]

So if I already have a city - Ptolus, Radiant Citadel, Freeport, Bishnagar, . What stands out about the City of Arches that make it a must have to add the the other cities in my world

Exactly what I was wondering in terms of comparisons to the Radiant Citadel. I need to check this new book out!

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Appreciate the pitch! Like others in this thread, I've got a bunch of similar urban settings and multi-planar settings - so at first glance, this one would not be for me...