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Message: <blockquote data-quote="random user" data-source="post: 1818990" data-attributes="member: 16581">Some rambly thoughts, as I was thinking about this while trying to fall asleep last night:I think that complexity is sometimes a perception.  Things can appear simple when looked at in one direction, yet very complex when looked at in another direction.I've found that simple things can give rise to complexity just by existing.  For my campaign, all I did was create a set of NPC's and gave them motivations.  To carry out their objectives, I thought about each NPC and what they would do, and how they would interact with other NPCs (and eventually the PCs).  This gave rise to some complex interactions, but at the core, each NPC still had a simple objective, whether that was to keep the status quo, attain more power, create partnerships, or whatever.In regards to a complex city, I wonder what could cause a city to have a lot of dead ends, or twists, etc.  That just doesn't seem very... city-like... I guess for lack of a better word.If I wanted to create a complex city (which I don't think would be useful unless the PC's plan to spend a lot of time there), I would again, start at the beginning.The city needs to exist for some reason originally.  Here are some possibilities:- Is it on the river? Maybe it was a place to stop along a trade route.  - Maybe there was a blacksmith who lived there, and people came to get things repaired- Maybe it was a farmer that was renowed for growing great fruit and vegetables- Maybe it's about 1 day out from a major city- Maybe there was a war and the place became a supply station.Once you come up with a reason for the cities' existence, then you put that piece in the center.  Perhaps it's a smithy, or an inn, or a farm.  Then you decide what might come next.Perhaps the smithy was so successful, he decided to make extras and sell it in a store.  Someone else realized that when the people came, they were often hungry so he opened a tavern/restaurant.  It served drinks too but was "upscale."If it was a stopping point, perhaps the first thing that happened was someone had a farm and got tired of people asking to sleep in the barn.  He created another structure and made it an inn.  People often were running caravans, so the next structure to get built was a tack/feed/general store.  Though most people don't want to admit it, the next structure build was a brothel, though it was constructed a discrete distance away. It was so successful (and they needed an excuse for being there) that they put up a bar (which quickly got the reputation of being rowdy) next to it.Build a couple more structures then create a growing pain.  It might be minor, like they realized crime was a problem so they created a militia/police/whatever.  Or it might be major like a fire swept through and destroyed half the town.Do that a few times, and now you have a living and breathing town with a real history.So now if the players ask, "Um that makes no sense, why does that street just deadend," you can reply, "Well there used to a large estate at the end of that road, but the noble ran up some debts and it fell into disrepair.  Development continued around it, while the house just stood there in shambles.  Since the estate was already claimed they build other streets to bypass it.  Eventually someone bought up the land and tore down the house.  But they didn't want to waste their acreage so they just put up the inn and tavern that's there now.  People complain that it's kind of a pain that it's there."I'm kind of rambling here, but the point is that things seem complex when you can only look at it from one angle.  If you can provide the players an explanation of the underlying cause of why things are the way they are, I think they will have a much easier time tieing everything together.And yes, I know a good DM can look at any city map and come up with good reasons why certain things are the way they are on the fly.  Not everyone can do that though.  One thing creating a history will do, though, is create more cohesiveness than most on-the-fly performances can provide.And no, I don't advocate doing this for every town the party comes to, especially if they aren't going to spend a lot of time there.  But if it's going to be the player's base of operation for 8 levels, and you aren't using a pre-fab city, it might be a worthwhile exercise to do.I find for myself that if I remember the underlying motivations for my NPC's etc, then I can keep everything straight without too much trouble.  It may seem complex to someone who doesn't know all the stuff that's going through my NPC's head, but in reality he's just trying to twist whatever circumstance he happens to be in to his advantage in whatever he is trying to accomplish.</blockquote>

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