Looking for a Well Developed City Setting

[Geogrere Ziacara]

Ok, so I resently ran into an old friend that I started playing D&D with 20 some odd years ago (has it really been that long) and we started talking about how great it would be if we got the old group together an started playing again on a semi-regular basis. To make a long story short, we both made some phone calls and it looks like we're going to start up again in the new year (yay!). I, of course, got voted GM(not so yay). Since my roll-playing has evolved well past the good old hack and slash/monty haul days, I wanted to try my hand at running a city-based campaign where I can use recurring NPCs and districts of the city to really make the streets come alive and feel 'real'; at least that's the plan. Now, I've got alot less free time in my 30's than I had in my teens, so I looking for a good setting to get. The question is which one? I figure someone out there must have an opinion(or three). Here's what I'm looking for:

-a well delveloped city setting including districts, NPCs, businesses, street names etc
-a coastal city or at least close to the coast
-large poster map of the city and perhaps one of the surrounding countryside
-full of plot hooks, secret societies or thieves' guilds-something for our good heros to tangle with


If I think of anything else I'll add it later. Anyway thanks for the help!

 

[Dimwhit]

You know, it's not 3ed (it's 1st or 2nd), but the City of Lanhkmar setting is really nice, if you can get your hands on it. It has everything you just listed, and I think any conversion could be done fairly easily.

 

[Crothian]

Thieves World. THe old box set has a great poster map and its very usiable in that era with the great new books Green Ronin is putting out.

 

[Starman]

http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?ptolus

It's not out yet, though.

 

[Nightfall]

Yep Theives World is one, Freeport is another, Shackled City is one more I'd go for.

 

[Crothian]

There is also Bluffside

 

[Nightfall]

Doh! Yeah forgot about Bluffy, it's a great city too.

 

[luke_twigger]

Do you need a city just as a backdrop to an adventure/campaign idea you've already got? Or do you want the two combined?

Here's a random selection, more info can probably be found in the Product Guide/ Reviews section of this website:

Freeport has a whole series of books, including a sourcebook and several modules which form a campaign story arc.

Shackled City is getting a lot of attention at the moment, it's a mega campaign set in a single city.

The Adventure Begins is an old AD&D 2nd Ed book with lots of details on the City of Greyhawk.

Sharn, City of Towers is a city sourcebook set in the new Eberron world.

Banewarrens by Monte Cook is a big adventure set in his city of Ptolus. A city sourcebook is on its way for that, but not due till next August.

 

[BWP]

I second the recommendation for Thieves' World, lots of potential for different sorts of characters. There's hardly any faction in the city that's "obviously evil" for everyone else to oppose; it's really more a matter of deciding whose side you're on -- if anyone's! I haven't had a close look at the new Green Ronin books (yet) but I'd strongly advise you to hunt up a copy of the original Chaosium box set (and separately published Companion) -- it will be sure to be useful.

TW aside, you might also consider City-State of the Invincible Overlord, part of Necromancer Games' updated Judges Guild line of books.

I don't pay much attention to Forgotten Realms products, but I believe that there is a book detailing the city of Waterdeep -- I don't really know much about it, though.

Diverging from "typical" D&D settings somewhat, you could also check out Chaosium's Pavis and Big Rubble, a city (more of a large town, actually) in Glorantha. There are several versions you could buy -- the original two, separate box sets for RuneQuest 2nd ed.; the updated and summarised versions contained within the book River of Cradles, for RQ3; or the reprinted-and-bound-in-one-book (either hard- or soft-cover) Pavis/Big Rubble, which as its title suggests combines the contents of the original two box sets. The latter has the benefit of being currently the easiest to obtain, whereas the box sets would need some hunting to dig up -- but it would be worth it, for the poster-sized maps contained therein.

 

[Nightfall]

Waterdeep is good but honestly it's STILL FR. So it can be a lot of baggage involved. Theives World and Freeport are kind of "own their own" deal.

GR's TW is awesome. It truly captures the feel of the city IMHO.