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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Barastrondo" data-source="post: 5397433" data-attributes="member: 3820">Lots of fantastic discussion already. I'll just add a few more "me toos" and maybe a few specializations on the techniques that have worked for me.Frequently the authorities may be corrupt or unreliable, obviously. I had recent success with the PCs finding that some of the authorities were corrupt, but others weren't -- but they didn't have easy proof. They were still interested in the welfare of the city, but couldn't trust any random guard patrol to be in the pockets of the corrupt element instead of straight-arrows.Also, some of the NPCs that the PCs are tied to may be in sensitive positions that the PCs don't want dragged out into the daylight. These needn't be criminal, mind: maybe a cousin is being blackmailed, and the PCs would rather help keep that cousin's secret instead of drawing it out in the courts. Maybe revealing the demonic dungeon under the favorite tavern would get the tavern closed. PCs may simply be a tidier solution. One of the things that really helped me get a handle on city adventures was the idea of giving districts personality. That made it easier to organize details, and it also meant that the players had extra mnemonic hooks: they don't have to remember the street address or the exact tavern name, but they might remember "Let's go back down to that Dockside dive in the back alleys" or "Let's meet in the plaza with the mermaid fountain." I don't map out cities to an exacting level of detail, personally; I just try to get enough of an overview of where the wards are that the players feel comfortable, name a few significant streets, and that's enough to get started.Tricky one. Usually I try to summarize it in a fairly distinctive way: the PCs overhear not one merchant talking about the problem, but one throwing a blustery Brian Blessed tantrum about the problem while others try to talk him down. This can encourage PCs to get involved in the conversation themselves, because they like interacting with standout personalities.It's tricky, and practice is really the best medicine for it. It may help to "cast" NPCs in your head ahead of time. To use the above example, I find it easier to improv with a Brian Blessed-type because it's easier for me to think in terms of "What would Brian Blessed say or do right now?" Perhaps think in terms of a combat area spilling across multiple rooms; a fight in a shantytown should encompass several huts, or a battle in a house should involve every room on the floor and perhaps multiple floors at once. Also, extensive underground is pretty easy to rationalize in a D&D game; lots of settlements are built on the ruins of those who came before. It may not be super-innovative to have a city built atop a dwarven ruin that has lots of underground and basements for every house, but it certainly is gameable.Generally my players tend to comport themselves differently depending who they're fighting. A vicious, fanatical cult: they never have the conversation. Wererats? Strike to kill. Bullies and bravos? They may leave them unconscious and groaning, with a warning not to let it happen again. But it's hard to give advice for this one, as it's more dependent on player chemistry than on what you can yourself do. Honestly, you should do what you feel will make a good game. But that said, I used to be in the exact same position you were, blocked by many of the same problems. Now I enjoy running urban adventures; confronting the problems face-on and looking at ways to solve them was a great process, and it was great not having to be nervous about urban adventure any more. If you give it a try, good luck -- it may pay off with fantastic dividends!</blockquote>

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