Great Fantasy Cities (and what makes them so awesome)

[Herobizkit]

Manifest, City of the Dead from the Ghostwalk setting. I mean, come on... it's essentially the Greek Underworld, in city form.

And chalk up another "ftw" for Lankhmar. The 2ed treatment of White and Black Wizards was something that I had always wanted for my campaigns back then.

MY 1000th POST! WOO HOO!​

 

[Baron Opal]

Pavis was my favorite too. Our group had years of adventure there, in both the new and old cities.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Second Lhankmar, Manifest and Sigil. (Now that I've heard about Penance, I'm intrigued.) I'm going to nod to City State of the Invincible Overlord, but I don't have the current version yet (I so want it!).

Ptolus, the City Beneath the Spire: Here's a city where the D&D world lives and breathes. Fantastic creatures roam the streets - as citizens. An invisible pyramid floats upside down over the place. The guard aren't afraid of web spells; they think of them as nuisances. Adventure runs wild in the streets, above the city (in the spire) and in hundreds of amazing locales beneath the city in the Banewarrens, in the drow city, in Ghul's Labyrinth, and more. What I like about Ptolus the best? That it not just makes a place for adventurers (Delver's Square), but it embraces them.

The Free City of Greyhawk: Nostalgia runs in the streets like a flood. Home of Zagig! Local base for Castle Greyhawk, the most intriguing dungeon of my formative years playing D&D. It even has its own coat of arms prominent in the Gazetteer that still sits on my bookshelves. So many famous characters from Gygaxian tales walked its streets. Strangely, I never adventured in it, but I always wanted to.

 

[Khairn]

Ptolus and Waterdeep are the 2 cities that typify classic D&D.

Tashal has a fantastic "almost real" quality to it that I love.

But my current city of choice is Five Fingers: The Port of Deceit. As for why its awesome, let me list a few things ...
Pirates
Smugglers
Evil Cults
Brutal Politics
Warjacks
Spies
Orgoth
... and oh so much more.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

I have always really liked Pavis. I also have a soft spot for the City State of the Invincible Overlord


But Ptolus is just amazing. I haven't gotten to use it yet, but between the book and the large vinyl map, it blows away every RPG supplement I have ever seen.

Ken

 

[szilard]

But Ptolus is just amazing. I haven't gotten to use it yet, but between the book and the large vinyl map, it blows away every RPG supplement I have ever seen.

I wish it hadn't gone out of print so quickly...

I'll give another nod to Sigil. It is fairly unique in that it can serve as a base for adventures to anywhere.

Leaving D&D cities behind, for the moment, Exalted has some great cities in it. Nexus (gritty, cosmopolitan metropolis/trade center built upon the ruins of an ancient city wiped out by plague and ruled by a mysterious council) is the one that gets top billing there, but Chiaroscuro (a city of ancient colored glass, stronger than steel) is pretty cool, as are Sijan (a city dedicated to relations with the lands of the dead), Great Forks (a tourist-friendly city ruled by a triumvirate of powerful spirits), and plenty of others. A lot of the color in these cities isn't setting specific.

-Stuart

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Putting my vote in for Waterdeep. It always been a personal fave.

Wish I hadn't sold my 2E Boxed Set. :\

 

[Lorthanoth]

No love for Freeport?

I also like Lankhmar (no, I LOVE Lankhmar), Ptolus, and Sigil.

 

[GlassJaw]

No love for Freeport?

Yeah really. This thread shouldn't have gone 18 posts before it was mentioned.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Paridon (Ravenloft): It's gone through a number of iterations, but I love that it combines both the grittiness of the city, the dark splendor of Ravenloft, and the shifting loyalties of its denizens. Sometimes, it's been empty, sometimes bustling, sometimes more London 1666, sometimes more London 1866, but... I like it, since I can put my stamp on it.