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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Robert Ranting" data-source="post: 3528714" data-attributes="member: 28906">I'm currently running an Urban Campaign, and I've found the thing that works best is to have several plots going at once, with the PCs choosing the order in which to do them.  Clearly, you've already figured this out for yourself, since we have 1) A magical storm that could lead into higher-level adventures.  2)Kobolds coming up from the sewers, and 3) Half-Orc dockworkers getting bored and violent.  I also think that Firedancer's idea of a Merchant deliberately buying up stock in a common commodity (alcohol or flour seem like good ideas), and involving a pirate ship that's been stuck in port would be great ideas to incorporate.I'd introduce the PCs to the town by describing it during rainfall, with water deep enough to have a noticeable current.  As they make their way into the city, they see an attractive young woman trying to carry a couple heavy bundles across the street, sopping wet and obviously encumbered, as the PCs approach, one of the sacks breaks and drops her supplies into the moving water.  Theoretically, if your PCs are decent people, they will help the poor woman gather up her supplies, and take her to where she's going.  Turns out, this damsel in ordinary distress is a chatty, sassy barmaid who is more than willing to volunteer information without the PCs asking for it.  She works at the inn run by your  Kobold NPC,  she was picking up some of the monopolized trade good for the inn's kitchen, and one of the other guests is a mysterious stranger who pays in foreign currency and carries some obviously mystic bauble with him at all times, although he tries to keep it hidden poorly.  If the PCs help her back to the inn with the goods, have her buy the party a round of (cheap) drinks on her for their help, and proceed to chat them up about local news.  (You're out of towners, right?)  Once you've dangled enough plot hooks, send in the Half-Orc Thugs!Violence has a way of galvanizing PC plans.  Once the thugs are dispatched, they'll likely immediately go sniffing down that plot trail, but you will have established several other points that they can go back to when they hit a dead end.  The best thing you can do with an Urban Game is to set up a situation where when one thing isn't making progress, the answer to "Well, what do we do now?"  is "Well, there's always investigating (insert alternate plot hook)".  Since a city is usually very easy to get around in, and covers a defined,small area, it's easy for PCs to pursue multiple adventures more or less simultaneously, shifting gears as new information presents itself.  Out of Character, you may want to make sure the PCs have a notebook or something so the "organized guy" in the group could jot things down to remember later, and when it seems appropriate, call for a PC to make an intelligence check to remember an event that the Player might have forgotten, but his 16 Intelligence Wizard should probably remember as a new piece of information makes it significant.  Also, don't be afraid to make some encounters particularly challenging.  If there's a willing temple in town, healing and restoration should be at hand, available within 10-15 minutes after an encounter. Also, allow the PCs chances for escape or at least leave the option open to retreat and come back later with better plans and equipment (perhaps even an NPC ally, if the party decides that they want help).Generally, if the rain is continuously heavy, you probably don't have to worry about non-essential street encounters with anyone but town guards.  If someone is outside in this weather, they have a reason to be outside, and those reasons are often plot-points worth investigating.  Referring back to the stranger at the inn, he would be a good person to have the PCs see lurking about, especially if you decide to have the supernatural storm throw up some random encounters.  My thought is that this stranger is a servant of the evil wizard who is shaping up to be a BBEG, sent to observe the storm's effect on the city.  The magic bauble he carries allows him to record what he sees and send it to his employer remotely.  If your PCs are level 2 when they first enter town, I'd make this guy level 5 or so, with a mix of roguish and magical capabilities (Bard or a Rogue/Arcane multiclass if you stick to core books) focused on making a quick escape.  Whenever the weather is worst, this guy's there, and so the PCs will likely confront him.  Have him flee the first time, (his mission is just to observe, after all) and if the PCs remember he was staying at the Inn, have him abruptly move to another locale within the city.  Let the PCs deal with some other plothook, and then, see him at a distance again, letting them know he's still around.  Once they're curious enough, the PCs will investigate.  Gather Information checks can lead the PCs to where he might be, or they could use divination or simply tail him if they can keep up with him.  Eventually, have the PCs catch and subdue him in a dramatic location (a flooded dock-house with a primitive crane, lofts full of random goods, and maybe even a tethered boat provides a wide variety of tactical movement options and obstructions.)  If they subdue and interrogate him, or if they simply rifle through his pockets, they should find clues leading them to the identity of the mad wizard conjuring this storm.  Even if the PCs aren't ready to take that guy on, this knowledge could be invaluable to the Count, who will likely reward them for the information (if they also provide proof, such as the servant himself, or letters found in his possession).The same sort of setup might also be used to weave the kobolds in and out of the adventure.  Make your PCs get used to the idea of making spot and listen checks often, and use the terrain to spice things up. (A kobold can slip through a sewer grate too small for a human, a Half-Orc might drop a full crate of goods from an upper floor to crush a PC investigating a warehouse, a spellcaster can use the roof of a building for elevation and cover while harrying the PCs, etc.)As far as pacing goes, let your PCs determine that.  Figure out ahead of time what NPCs know, what their agendas are, and what information they will gladly volunteer, and what they will keep secret.  If you think that they need to slow down, have them hit a dead end in an investigation (sometimes, even the best investigators have to wait for the criminal to act again) or give them an encounter with lasting consequences that will force them to rest (poison and energy drain are heinous at low levels, and both monstrous vermin and undead might make their way into a city of a decent size, especially with the sewers flooded and a pirate ship from an unknown port in town).  Sure, the PCs can press on despite these setbacks, but the logical thing for do is for their characters to step back, and follow another plot hook.  If you have enough hooks in the water, and enough compelling reasons for the PCs to care about saving this city and being heroes, then they will go about doing so on their own time, at their own pace, and so long as they have some control over which adventure path they're following, they won't feel any more railroaded than your average MMORPG player.If you really want inspiration of how to pace these things, my advice is to watch crime dramas.  Law & Order, NYPD Blue, CSI, The Shield, and any show that involves a private investigator will give you an idea of how to pace mystery and intrigue based adventures in an urban environment.  The only difference in terms of storytelling is that transportation is on foot, and your PCs use spells, swords, and arrows instead of guns.  While it might seem anachronistic, your PCs might recognize and appreciate elements that they find familiar from similar source material, and might even run with it ( PCs calling the villain a "perp" and using terms like "shakedown", "stakeout", and "racial profiling").  Shows like The Dresden Files, Charmed, and The X-files also can provide inspiration for hiding the fantastic or horrific in an urban setting without necessarily alerting everyone in the city of it's existance.Hopefully, my advice will be of some use to you.  Best of luck.Robert "Ptolus, City Works, Cityscape, and Various Other Sources Could Also Help" Ranting</blockquote>

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