City Supplements - What do we like?

[Fenris-77]

I specifically bought Cawood Publishing's Monsters of the City book for 5E because I want a bunch of generic urban NPC types.

I want multiple levels of thieves, from pickpockets to muggers to cat burglars to master thieves. I want low level guards, I want more experienced guards and I want the ruler's bodyguards. I want vermin of all sorts. I want all levels of the religious hierarchy. I want all sorts of nobles, including Romeo & Juliet street-brawling toughs. I want alchemists and the stuff that lives in the alchemists' sewers. I want the wizards guild.

Books like the Shadowdark core book had to have limits to what they can include, so there's only a handful of urban NPCs (although I still think they could have jettisoned the chuul for some other monster stat block), but an urban setting should have a bunch of these.

Yeah, this is the kind of thing I was thinking about. I favour a Skerples approach to bestiaries for SD, which means a range of stat blocks and some associated random tables for a 'group'. Like this one for Orcs.

 

[Fenris-77]

I specifically bought Cawood Publishing's Monsters of the City book for 5E because I want a bunch of generic urban NPC types.

I want multiple levels of thieves, from pickpockets to muggers to cat burglars to master thieves. I want low level guards, I want more experienced guards and I want the ruler's bodyguards. I want vermin of all sorts. I want all levels of the religious hierarchy. I want all sorts of nobles, including Romeo & Juliet street-brawling toughs. I want alchemists and the stuff that lives in the alchemists' sewers. I want the wizards guild.

Books like the Shadowdark core book had to have limits to what they can include, so there's only a handful of urban NPCs (although I still think they could have jettisoned the chuul for some other monster stat block), but an urban setting should have a bunch of these.

Based on this I wrote up a list of ideas for two (or four) page spreads -
Criminals and toughs
Militia
The Authorities (Watch and Inquisition)
Fops and dandies
actors and dilettantes
alchemists and students
sewer horrors

 

[zakael19]

If you're not already planning this, a small table of like random city occupation / distinction might be useful for grabbing random NPCs and implies a lot about the random folk of the city. Assuming you've already got a general "names" page set up to go with the existing spreads you're considering.

Edit: wow I forgot just how much Harper put on p302/303 in blades for that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, this is the kind of thing I was thinking about. I favour a Skerples approach to bestiaries for SD, which means a range of stat blocks and some associated random tables for a 'group'. Like this one for Orcs.

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Yeah, what they're doing, what makes these guys different and, for me, sample names, are great tools to have at the table.

Your orc chieftain has a non-standard capitalized "Orc" midsentence, btw.

 

[Fenris-77]

If you're not already planning this, a small table of like random city occupation / distinction might be useful for grabbing random NPCs and implies a lot about the random folk of the city. Assuming you've already got a general "names" page set up to go with the existing spreads you're considering.

Edit: wow I forgot just how much Harper put on p302/303 in blades for that.

Each of the wards has a list of 20+ jobs and types of folk in a list for just this purpose. Like this one...

There will also be a random doode generator.

 

[Fenris-77]

Your orc chieftain has a non-standard capitalized "Orc" midsentence, btw.

You hush.

 

[zakael19]

Would be happy to proofread/edit if you need extra eyes in the future

 

[Fenris-77]

On a mechanical level I'm thinking about using something I'd call NPC abilities. These would be abilities listed in a stat block that only work on other NPCs (as opposed to the PCs).

Would be happy to proofread/edit if you need extra eyes in the future

I'm still looking for another first reader or two. This sucker is going to be close to 200 pages and have a lot of moving parts.

 

[zakael19]

Happy to help, I've done a lot of both personal and professional proofreading (I'm no paid editor mind you).

 

[Voadam]

I specifically bought Cawood Publishing's Monsters of the City book for 5E because I want a bunch of generic urban NPC types.

I want multiple levels of thieves, from pickpockets to muggers to cat burglars to master thieves. I want low level guards, I want more experienced guards and I want the ruler's bodyguards. I want vermin of all sorts. I want all levels of the religious hierarchy. I want all sorts of nobles, including Romeo & Juliet street-brawling toughs. I want alchemists and the stuff that lives in the alchemists' sewers. I want the wizards guild.

Books like the Shadowdark core book had to have limits to what they can include, so there's only a handful of urban NPCs (although I still think they could have jettisoned the chuul for some other monster stat block), but an urban setting should have a bunch of these.

I was going to say almost no statblocks but this is a good reason to want them. You generally want to be able to pull out any of those things for a city adventure.