How do I create a city? (DM advice sought)

[candidus_cogitens]

Any advice? I have always found it daunting to create cities because there are so many things to consider, and so many possibilities for PCs to initiate. How is it possible to create enough NPCs and settings to make my city realistic?

 

[Drawmack]

I find it is best to create a general outline for the city, mood, political structure, etc. just one or two pages then define the city as it is needed in the game.

 

[Krug]

Get Everyone Else from RPGnow.com. It'll help fill up the generic NPCs.

How to go about it? We're figuring it out too. See .sig.

 

[Darius101]

I pretty much do what Dawmack does.

I create the map for the city ....then make an outline of basic buildings and districts.

Then another page for political structure and then make the main NPC's for the city takes about a day to do it this way.

I guess it really depends what you want to use the city for as well. I think is it just a stopping point or is it going to be a recurring part of an adventure.

Darius

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Dragon issues 304, 305, and 306 each have an article about creating a city written by Monte Cook.

 

[Tonguez]

1. Type of City - Trade, Port, Religious, Capital

2. Define Geography eg Seaside, large swamp to the east, lowlnads grasslands to north, rocky coast to west

3. Describe Districts - Harbour, Market, Slums, Artisans Quarter, Noble Quarter, Government District, University District and Temples.

4. Draw a quick outline of the City and place your districts

5. Write down the key Locations and NPCs for each District
eg Port - NPCs: Harbourmaster, Ben Grimm the Smuggler, Elsie the Whore. Locations - The Docks, The Warehouses, Elsies Brothel, The Tired Fish In

6. Introduce the PCs - "Coming Down the way from the Central Market, the smell of sea and old fish is strong as you enter the Harbour district with its small stone buildings, its row of warehouses and of course the encircling Docks. Three large ships are in the harbour along side a bevy of smaller fishing craft. Stevedores scramble about the docks unloading cargo from the ships and a few fisherman haul in the last of their catch. You have been told that the Tired Fish lies along the Esplanade and there you ought to find Ben Grimm..."

 

[Golem Joe]

Drawmack has it about right.

I've found city maps to be relatively over rated. For one thing, I'm not very good at it. For another, I rarely use the ones I do draw!

Much more useful is a list of important places with some detail, a list of important NPCs, a summary of the power structure (both real and unseen), a short list of plots, secrets and other adventure nuggets. Top all this off with a list of rumors.

If this is an established group, chances are you already know the kinds of places they seek out. If you're so inclined, detail a number of these in broad terms. Then insert them into your campaign as necessary. Temples, armories, and taverns are always good candidates, as well as any locations that bare special significance to the party members (I've grown accustom to detailing shops for wine and cheese, for instance).

 

[aurin777]

The DMG has it best, I think. Don't roll, just decide, but it helps meet all the basics. After that, flesh things out, like some of the important npcs, the surrounding area, any spots of interest in the city, and a sketch of the map.
~~Brandon