creating a homebrew metropolis - where to start?

[GlassJaw]

My next campaign is going to be set primarily in a large and dark, steampunkish/Victorian city. I've always wanted to run a city-based campaign and I've started some threads about running such a campaign.

My next task though is creating the city itself. I'm wondering if anyone out there has run a campaign in a large city that they've created and if they have any advice about undertaking such a task.

I have a good amount of city-based materials (Freeport, Thieves' Quarter, Streets of Silver, the City System and City of Splendors FR boxed sets, Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, City of Greyhawk boxed set) but it's still a daunting task to flesh out a whole city on your own. I'll obviously borrow quite a bit here and there but I'm mostly wondering about the more important aspects I should be focusing on and good places to start the process.

Thanks!

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Hi, Chris. I think, as someone that's tried to do this before only to pack it in when things got a little too overwhelming, I'd do two things first:

(1) See if you can find a historical antecedent or multiple antecedents for the city — you've mentioned that you want to work with a Victorian city, so the natural/immediate precedent is London, but is there another city from the late-19th century world that'd work? Vienna, Paris, Istanbul, and Boston all come to my mind for various reasons. Look at pictures, maybe read some snippets of history, just stuff to get a feel for how the city worked as a unit, and maybe to find some specific inspiration for neighborhoods.

(2) Design from a neighborhood up — have a loose idea of the whole city, but really flesh out one of the neighborhoods first. The PCs have to come from somewhere, and a cohesive home environment can supply characters with appropriate plot hooks and motivations (if the PCs all come from someplace like Victorian London's Whitechapel, then you've got a firm basis for them adventuring — extreme poverty — plus some themes and conflicts — class divisions/social mobility, sanitation/disease/medical care, police attention/crime rates) that you can lay over the campaign and into the fabric of the city. You can have groups and some places of interest in other parts of the city, but I'd say that you shouldn't even bother with too much detail until you really need it. Plus, if said neighborhood's kind of small and insular (think ethnic enclaves in early 20th-century American cities, like Southie and the North End in Boston), you can play up the metropolitan aspects of the rest of the city when they get there.

Just some thoughts.

Nick

 

[The Thayan Menace]

Building a City: 3.5 DMG Supplement

Check this out download from WotC:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20030719a​

 

[Tonguez]

Generally I say start with the big overview and work down
and do it by asking what TYPE of city, what THEMES, what DISTRICTS and then what are the POWER CENTERS?

Once these are in mind it then becomes easier to decide how to flesh out the look and feel of each district and to add appropriate NPCS

Decide first
1. Type: Port, Trade, Religious Center, Academic, Royal
2. Theme: Decadent, Growing, Established, Meltingpot, Metropolitan
3. Districts: eg Docks, Ghetto, Market, Foulburg, Merchants, Industrial, Academic, Government, Scholastic, Temple, Residential, Old City, Palace
4. Power Centers: Official Government, Guild Power, Cartels and Cabals, Noble Houses, Gangs


eg the City of Bishnagar
Type Port, Trade Theme Melting Pot, Metropolitan, Power Centers Guild of Judges, Merchants Guild, The Scarlet Hand
Districts: Docks, Fishersgate, Caravanserai, Low Market, High Market, Merchant Quarter, Artisans Quarter, Temple Quarter, Government District, Judges Quarter, Palace

Bishnagar is the largest city in the world and is a PORT city and as the terminus of both the east-west spice road and the north -south gold trade is the major TRADE center. Bishnagar is a true METROPOLITAN MELTING-POT with peoples of every kind mingling in its twisted streets, Nonetheless the Council of JUDGES watching from their lofty mansions in the Judges Quarter keep a firm hand on all that occurs, mediating the excesses of the MERCHANTS (as long as such is good for business and keeps the merchants and the city rich) and contending with the many machinations of the Scarlet Hand.

Next decide how to describe each district eg
The PCs enter the Caravanserai essentiall a broad plaza with a number of brightly coloured pavilions and mud brick enclosures offering shelter to the many visting merchants and other travellers who converge upon Bishnagar during the Markey days.
The paths and streets between the various structures are packed with people from all manner of places some entering or exiting the pavilions, others leading their camles to the stables at the far western edge of the plaza and others lounging about sucking sweet fumes from a hookah, eating fresh fruits and watching the dancing of beutiful girls

When it comes to particlar p[laces of people just set a DC eg

The PCs have been told that in the golden pavilion they should find Kushka a large human with a thick brown beard. ( to find the Golden Pavilion DC 15, identify Kushka DC 5)

 

[philreed]

Track down a copy of Fantasy Flight Games' CityWorks. It includes instructions for designing a city and will prove very useful when you begin work.

 

[Buttercup]

Start with an overview, like Tonguez says. Why is the city there? Generally speaking, what districts and power centers does it have?

Then zero in on one neighborhood, as Kajamba Lion recommended. Come up with a detailed map of that neighborhood, populate it with NPCs, create half a dozen plot hooks (no need to flesh them out just yet) and Google up some appropriate images to show your players.

If you want or expect your players to move out of that neighborhood eventually, you'll need to stay ahead of them in creating shops, NPCs and plot hooks. But there's no need to get too far ahead, a session or two will do.

 

[Cabe Zeree]

New Crobuzon

If you've never read China Miéville and Perdido Street Station, I recommend it for some steampunk dark victorian flavor. Plus a lot of new magic/tech crossing and a bunch of races that are just different. Plus its a great read IMHO.

The book is set in New Crobuzon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Crobuzon), an amazing metropolis. It details many of its burbs, hoods, regions with Mieville's unique and darkly provoking style.

Plenty of Ideas to borrow...

Enjoy the day

 

[Ry]

To Kajamba Lion's list, I would add...

(3) After the first neighbourhood, try to think of the rest of the city in terms of what the other neighbourhoods are like.

 

[GlassJaw]

Hi, Chris.

Howdy! Long time, no talk.

(1) See if you can find a historical antecedent or multiple antecedents for the city — you've mentioned that you want to work with a Victorian city, so the natural/immediate precedent is London, but is there another city from the late-19th century world that'd work? Vienna, Paris, Istanbul, and Boston all come to my mind for various reasons. Look at pictures, maybe read some snippets of history, just stuff to get a feel for how the city worked as a unit, and maybe to find some specific inspiration for neighborhoods.

Yeah, I actually thought about doing this, at least for the maps. Using an existing city in sort of a alternate reality (a la League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) might be kind of cool.

On a side note, I seem to recall a cartographer mentioned in here a while back that makes historical maps that he sells. Does that ring a bell to anyone?

(2) Design from a neighborhood up — have a loose idea of the whole city, but really flesh out one of the neighborhoods first.[/QUOTE]

Good stuff. In this campaign, I can see the players having to bounce around the city quite a bit but I think setting up a "home turf" area is a good idea.

 

[GlassJaw]

Generally I say start with the big overview and work down
and do it by asking what TYPE of city, what THEMES, what DISTRICTS and then what are the POWER CENTERS?

Great breakdown! Thanks.

Track down a copy of Fantasy Flight Games' CityWorks. It includes instructions for designing a city and will prove very useful when you begin work.

Duh, I totally forgot about that! *slaps forhead* I already own it!

If you've never read China Miéville and Perdido Street Station, I recommend it for some steampunk dark victorian flavor. Plus a lot of new magic/tech crossing and a bunch of races that are just different. Plus its a great read IMHO.

Cool. I'm always looking for new steampunk material. Thanks!