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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PatrickLawinger" data-source="post: 2024352" data-attributes="member: 2735">CsioI am glad some people seem to like the City State so much. I did my very best to hold true to the original, while bringing things up to more "modern standards." I'll try to answer a few of the questions/comments here.This book is designed as a DM aid and is not really for first-time DMs or people completely new to RPGs. The details provided for the city are kept deliberately generic so that you can use the city with minor tweaks in virtually any setting. Between comments on our boards, a few emails, and some people I know personally, I know people that are using the revised CSIO (or the original) in Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Greyhawk, Erde (Troll Lords), and the Wilderlands along with use in homebrew settings or other worlds.The greater detail provided for the NPCs and rooms of the Dungeons beneath the City State have two reasons; first, these are more "adventure" based so more detail is provided for the DM, the DM can always change, alter, tweak, or eliminate whatever they see fit, second, the Wraith Overlord material was written by Scott Fulton with a different style and detail than that provided in the original CSIO by Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen. I did my best to remain faithful to all of the original material I had.Why not more detail/stats? Well, there wasn't really space. As it is, the book was longer than I was supposed to write (shhhhh). I tried to provide what I thought were "necessary" stats for shokeepers, etc. with plans of including a more generic NPC appendix for those times a fight might start. In the end, we provided some generic NPCs as a download created by Scott Greene and Clark Peterson. Stat blocks take up space, when you have hundreds and hundreds of NPCs, well, they take up LOTS of space. I did provide stats for those creatures/npcs in the dungeons beneath the City State because those are much more necessary.NPC Wealth: a lot of NPCs do have magic items or strange items that they might not normally have, and a number actually have lower wealth than they should. This is part of the City State that wasn't changed. Not everything can, or should go by strict guidelines. Here is what we say in the book;"NPC WealthA majority of shopkeepers and merchants have their wealth tied up in their shops, wares, and slaves. A few shopkeepers and NPCs might be extraordinarily wealthy through inheritance, good business practices, adventuring, or simple luck. Thus, the gear and coins carried by many of the NPCs do not follow the wealth guidelines presented in the DMG. The Judge can choose to add additional items to the NPCs if they desire."NPC "flavor": much of the "flavor" for the NPC shokeepers and such is a result of the room description, a very brief description, or even just their name, here is an example; Quote from City State of the Invincible Overlord:"14. Boot & StrapAn aroma of new leather wafts through the doorway above which a large sign reads, “Elves & Halflings Axed on Sight in Shop.” The massive battle-axe over the counter has a well-worn haft and a very sharp blade, not surprising considering the temperamental reputation the owner, Karugy One-Eye, has gained over the years. Karugy maintains the store with the assistance of his ogre wife, Aliadar (female ogre). Karugy has at least 28 pairs of boots in stock with a 20% chance of fitting anyone that happens to enter, and can make boots to fit specific customers within 2-3 days. Karugy’s boots are sturdy, soft, and surprisingly elegant. His main clientele includes a number of bandits, thieves and ogres and he generally has 1d6 customers (Lvl 1d6) in his shop at any one time.A secret compartment (Search DC 20) in the counter holds a strongbox containing 3 gp, 538 sp, and 234 cp. A trapdoor hidden behind the counter (Search DC 20) leads down to the tunnels beneath the cityA door in the rear of the shop leads into private quarters where a quick search turns up 4 kegs of wine, and a roast pig. More detailed searching turns up a key to the strongbox above hidden in the pocket of a cloak hanging on a peg near the door (Search DC 24) and a map to 3000 gp hidden in the Despot Ruins is tucked into the drawer of a decrepit night stand (Search DC 26).Karugy One-Eye, male human Ftr3: CR 3; hp 30; AL CE; SL 5; Str 13, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 14; Iron Will, Weapon Focus (greatsword); greatsword, 3 gp in a belt pouch."Yes, the greatsword was supposed to be a greataxe, mistakes do slip in (yeah, we kick ourselves over every single one). Obviously, bolding and layout make this much easier to read in the actual book.Basically, you have an evocative description without being overly detailed. Here we have a one-eyed man with such a disposition (and probably size) that he is married to an ogre. As a DM I can use that alone as an adventure seed, combine that with a hidden map, trapdoor to the tunnels and dungeons beneath the city, well, you can do a lot with this one room. Here is another important quote from the book:"...The Judge should feel free to tweak, modify, change, or eliminate any of the locations below in favor of their own campaign design. We deliberately provide just enough information to start you off and leave the rest to you and your PCs. The locations presented below are not meant to be set in stone but rather as tools to spark the imagination and make your job as Judge a little bit easier."Well, I wrote this in pieces, I'll try to check back on this later if someone has other questions/comments. Thanks,Patrick</blockquote>

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