Help me flesh out a city! (Or, A Worldbuilding Diversion for Bored People)

[Aholibamah]

(I like the daisy story, cool and just slightly creepy enough to be part of local urban legend)

More Fish Market Stuff:

- children strong enough to push a barrow gather every morning to get cooked or cooled fish, crabs, clams, oysters and so on to sell by going through the streets hawking them. There is fierce competition for this, the children swearing and cursing at one another as they vie their streets. Because the city has a strong fishing industry this is one of the best ways to get cheap fresh fish. One of the biggest organizers of such children is Egan, a lean lanky man with a hoarse voice and an odd mix of finery and rags who rumor has it has a secret fortune hidden away. He always travels with a small gang of tough dockside youths who have graduated from pushing barrows to being aides-de-camp. He may be a member of the Thieves' Guild.

- near the fishmarket is a bustling row of shops that support the fisherfolk--ropesellers, canvas and other clothsellers, coopers, and the stinking smoke reeking long building that brews tar. It is called Smokestink Row by locals. House Buras owns most of the rents on this street.

- Older fisherfolk by local tradition often sit on the wharves fishing with trained birds. (herons, cormorants, ospreys, whatever) They are a good source of local rumor. One such is Salty Pete, a weathered old ex mariner who smells of brine and has a cunningly crafted wooden leg. Salty Pete has about 6 trained birds and is unbeknownst to locals a former seagoing ranger. He is content to tell lies mixed with wisdom and truth at a local tavern and act like he is just an old retired sailor, making a small living selling the fish his birds catch to people like Egan. He avoids trouble--perhaps he has a dark past or feels sorrow for something he did or didn't do.

 

[Galethorn]

Oh, wow, that's a lot of material, DrunkonDuty! It's gonna take me a bit to read through...

In the mean time, here's the map I forgot to attach to my original post:

 

[Dan Bell]

So, I need taverns, inns, temples, market squares, and unusual buildings, as well as notable NPCs, notable relationships between people and organizations, and anything else that I might be able to throw at the PCs to make the city more interesting. As it stands, I'm using the old map of Suzail from FR I found on the web...

Hi Galethorn,
Here are some downloads that you might be uble to use:

City block maps & text: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...=247&ttitle=Upper_Eastside_City_Block_(Tashal)

Another city block: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...oaddetails&lid=225&ttitle=Eastside_City_Block

Noble townhouse: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...nloaddetails&lid=213&ttitle=Caldeth_Townhouse

Merchant: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...loaddetails&lid=132&ttitle=The_Spice_Merchant

Another merchant: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...s&lid=78&ttitle=Generic_Guildsman's_Townhouse

Yet another merchant: http://www.lythia.com/modules.php?o...nloaddetails&lid=150&ttitle=The_Wool_Merchant

Good luck.

 

[Galethorn]

Wow, lots more stuff!

DrunkonDuty
Thanks for all that stuff! All of it is both thematically appropriate and useful. I especially like the mounds! Bravo!

Regarding the fishing, yes, they fish quite a bit on the lake, but they take in even more barreled stuff from the sea in the south, since the lake doesn't produce enough to both feed the city and make a profit sending more to the frontier to the northeast.

Aholibamah
Thanks for this latest nugget; I can always use more flavor in my wharves.

Dan Bell
Wow, that's quite the collection of PDFs...and all of them look extremely useful! I've never seen your site before, and it looks like there's a lot more stuff in there that I'll be able to use for my game. Kudos, sir!

Future Posters
I think I've probably gotten enough stuff to be ready for the first session in the city, but the more the better; I think the city is going to more or less be the focus of the campaign, so I doubt I could have too much material.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Your welcome. As more stuff occurs to me I'll pop it on.

I think I'lll have to yoink some of the other posts for my own city.

 

[Aholibamah]

The City's Army

Prince Loras' bodyguard company (called the Young Gentlemen, made up of minor aristocracy; while the officers are fairly well off and often titled, the ranks are filled by untiltled sons of squires or minor knights who are personally grateful to Loras for him having outfitted and housed them; apart from the Order of the Sun they are the best trained body of troops in the city. They are capable of fighting mounted and dismounted and most commonly use lances, longswords, heavy crossbows and are all outfitted with plate mail armour. Commander is Lord Blasing, a provincial baron who grew up with Loras and is his personal friend and comrade.)

The Militia (this is made up of representatives of all families holding full citizenship. There are monthly training drills. Each member has to maintain a suit of studded leather, helmet, spear, and handweapon if they are in the infantry, or chainmail, helm, shield, a horse, spear and sword/axe/flail/warhammer if they are in the cavalry. Some members of the militia are on regular duty as part of the city watch or the wall and gate guards.)

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Another Tavern/Inn

The Slippery Eel is located just behind Smokestink Row and is infamous among the locals. The bar is located on the basement floor of a four storey building. The upper floors are lived in by the landlord or rented out. It's floor is uneven flags, covered in stale beer and rotted rushes. Light comes from a couple of lanterns hung from the solid oak rafters and, in cooler months, the hearth fire. The beer is cheap and the wine is sour. But the locals proudly claim the eel pies are the best in the city.

Brawls are common here. Sailors vs. Dockhands. Fisherman vs. merchant-seaman. Any excuse really. These fights are rarely fatal but always brutal. The champion bruiser is an enormous dockworker called Big Willem. Willem is not a particularly violent man. It's just that he is so big that many a drunk looking to make a name for themself picks him for a brawl. This almost always ends with the challenger being thrown out the Eel's door.

The Eel's hundred year leasehold is up for renewal next year. And the landlord, Murphy, is worried that the landlords, the wealthy Buras family, won't renew it because of the Eel's bad reputation. So he is desperately trying to think of a way to stop the regular bar fights. His best idea so far is to water the beer thereby reducing drunkeness, but this seems to be making the crowd more angry.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The Northgate Guardhouse

This guardhouse is slightly different from the run-of-the-mill guardhouses that are located throughout the city. As a gate guardhouse it of course must police traffic in and out, including checking tariffs on goods. A tariff clerk is always on duty here as well as the guards. But tariff clerks work at all the gate guardhouses. No, Northgate Guardhouse stands out because it is here, just outside Northgate that the city gallows are located.

The gatehouse is larger and more solidly built than most, to stop escapes/rescues. Its cells range from the lowest, most filthy dungeons, for the commons, to almost luxurious suites for the nobility. Of course, anyone with the money to pay the jailer can find themselves living in the better cells.

Hangings are popular affairs. Many treat them like holidays, bringing their family along to watch the condemned dance the "Northgate Jig." The most popular are always nobles and famous criminals. The gatehouse guards make a few extra coppers by selling places in roped off VIP areas. The condemend themselves vary from the terrified (always booed) to the cheerful, grandstanding type who look to go out giving the crowd a show. A good farewell speech is always a crowd pleaser.

The Gatehouse is commanded by Captain Krafstein. He is a very serious man who rarely smiles. He is a firm believer in law and order and wrong-dooers getting their just desserts. He is not cruel, but he is never moved by mercy. He rather appreciates repentence from the gallows and is quite a good church goer.

EDIT: added reference to the Northgate Jig.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The Aurandite Sisters

The Aurandite Sisters is a nunnery located just outside the city walls. It is home to the monastic order of the same name. It is not a very strict order. Sisters are allowed to talk, although gossiping is frowned upon. Food is simple but nourishing and of good quality. Of course the nuns must work and pray hard every day, rising before dawn and going to bed with the sunset. But there is ample opportunity for sisters to perform a variety fulfilling tasks, from working in the fields to helping in the hospice or perfoming charitable works in the city. The Sisters also take in orphans, but only girls and even then they must become novitiates.

This monastery is popular with ladies of quality as a refuge in times of trouble. Ladies come here when they are hiding from scandals or suffering a loss, such as the death of a family member. Some come here merely for the peace and quiet and the chance of contemplation. Even noble ladies are required to work while here, although their duties are always light, usually nothing more than embroidery.

Ladies are welcome for two reasons: The nunnery gets a lot of charitable donations from noble families and thus the Abbess, Mother Superior Euphemia,f eels it is politic to provide a service for them. Also the Abbess is keen to hear the all the gossip from the city. She herself is from a common background and thus all the more keen to hear about the scandals of the nobility.

Behind the Nunnery, along it's eastern side is a field that is usually given over to hay growing but that has several high trestles for grape vines. It is popular as a spot for young men to duel. It has the duel (pardon the pun) advantages of privacy and proximity to the hospital of the Sisters.