D&D 5E How advanced/civilized are your cities?

[Lanefan]

As much as I hate to say it, half these things I don't even think about when 'building' my cities. So I didn't vote for them, even though some, like jails, would certainly appear if one were needed.

Jails (or dungeons) are one of the few things I did vote for, as it's nigh-guaranteed such a thing would be present in any city. Ditto for castle/fortress/palace and city guards/watchmen (which should also include constabulary) as every worthwhile city has those; and a trade plaza or bazaar.

As most of my cities are either independent city-states or are somewhat at war, I also voted for standing military force. To me this would also include the equivalent of a Royal Guard that protects leaders in capital cities.

I also voted for organized guilds: though the specific guilds present may vary from city to city, every city has some. Also voted for both library and academy/college, as these things are IMO vital for arcane casters, sages and the like and those people are present in any city.

Thus far I'm a lone wolf in one respect: I gave slavery a vote, as in my setting the PCs have yet to spend much time in any city that doesn't have at least some slaves: even though slavery isn't technically legal in a lot of places in the setting it's still a fairly common thing.

 

[Lanefan]

Actually that’s interesting.

General question:
When building a city do you go for an aesthetic first approach and then populate on an as-needed basis? Or do you put in what’s relevant to that city (or adventure) first and then add an aesthetic as a flourish?

Fantasy or Function first?

History first.

By that I mean the first thing I look at is why the city is there in the first place. Trade center? Safe harbour? Farming supply center? Particularly good resources e.g. fertile land or abundant fish or controlling an oasis? Sitting on a gold mine? Place where refugees ended up sometime in the past? Divine inspiration? Some combination of these and other factors?

From there I build it out in the most general of terms based on that history, then fill in specifics later as required by play.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Actually that’s interesting.

General question:
When building a city do you go for an aesthetic first approach and then populate on an as-needed basis? Or do you put in what’s relevant to that city (or adventure) first and then add an aesthetic as a flourish?

Fantasy or Function first?

For me, it is map first. Then I squeeze in whatever I think may be needed. Which is why I don't think about jails (most of my players create characters who try to stay out of them), although every city has at least one. They just don't show up on the map key more often than not.

 

[Lanefan]

For me, it is map first.

Heh - not me.

While I'll quite gladly map anything else I hate mapping cities! (says he, on whose plate currently sits mapping out two or three large cities; a task I've thus far put off for 12 years and counting...)

 

[embee]

No jails in my cities. Crime does not get "punished" with three hots and a cot.

 

[Voadam]

I usually use pre-existing stuff in a mashup homebrew, so Ostohar, Rigus, Freeport, Whitethrone, and Lepidstadt are already detailed to one extent or another. I tend to go with big picture thematics and feel free to improvise stuff on the fly like bars even if Freeport has named them all and placed them on the map.

So all my PCs were clear that Ostohar was a mountain dwarf kingdom inside of a mountain with fungi farms and such while Rigus has LE militaristic planar oriented mortals and outsiders as a gate town leading to Acheron from Concordant Opposition. Freeport is corrupt pirate trade hub, Whitethrone has Russian winter witch domination, and Lepidstadt is a fantasy Frankenstein's center of learning.

 

[Oofta]

No jails in my cities. Crime does not get "punished" with three hots and a cot.

I was kind of on the fence on that one as well, but decided that while I don't have prisons where people are kept long term I do have jails where people are kept temporarily until judgement can be passed.

In most cases people convicted of crimes pay fines, must work off their debt, or are subject to corporal punishment. The concept of prisons for anyone other than exceptional individuals is a very recent invention.

 

[Baldurs_Underdark]

All that I voted for, but also temples, lots of guild artisans and pubs, bars, inns (with some local specialties)...

And most importantly, some NPCs that are memorable. Buildings really don't matter as much as the people in it.

 

[embee]

Many years ago, I had a recurring homeless client. Being homeless sucks and is dangerous for a variety of reasons. In addition to the risk of exposure, when the weather turns cold, there are fights for subway grates.

His "solution" was that every fall, he'd go on down to the local precinct and heave a brick through the window. A cop would rush out and he'd put up his hands, say he did it, and get booked. I'd plea him out the next day to a few months in jail. And that way, he'd have a warm place to stay for the winter.

No one would get hurt because it's just a window and the financial cost to society was pretty low.

In a medieval setting, he'd have wound up in a workhouse (or house of correction). Indeed, the average PC, as a vagrant, can either adventure or be a vagabond and be set to work in a field.

 

[Charlaquin]

It's the 'typical' clause that poses a problem when voting.

All of those features can be found in at least one city in my game world, but as very few can be found in every city or even most cities the rest don't count as 'typical' and thus didn't get a vote.

Same. My setting follows the Points of Light philosophy, so cities are kind of by definition atypical.