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<blockquote data-quote="Emiricol" data-source="post: 817534" data-attributes="member: 469">Lots of good advise given already.&nbsp; Let me emphasize a previous point though - rogues and wizards will both be major players in the game so do NOT let them get away with having a weak background.&nbsp; You will need built-in plot hooks and conflicts to keep them in check.Also, bards are murder on many city campaigns, but also good tools for you.&nbsp; Expect Gather Info and Bardic Knowledge checks early and often so use that to your advantage.&nbsp; Don't make mysteries anything a bard could conceivably unravel - this means having NPCs who are pawns of other NPCs be the visible enemies and allies of the PCs for example.&nbsp; But if you want them to follow a particular clue, let Tim the Bartender reveal it in a gather info check and they'll usually be off like a cat on string.Experience is often an issue in city campaigns, as combat is less frequent and PCs are itching for fights.&nbsp; One way of doing things is to assign XP per hour of gameplay- 25 per hour per level of the PC for example - plus the combat XP.&nbsp; Another way might be to assign an EL to any die roll the PCs have to make (if the DC is 5 more than the PC's skill, it is CR=PC level, if 10 more CR=PC level+1, etc).&nbsp; This one takes some work as you will need to make most of the checks opposed checks or the PCs will quickly stop being able to gain XP as the tasks become relatively speaking easier and easier.Finally, one way to give PCs real tie-ins and built in plot hooks is to give PCs &quot;contacts&quot; that are not defined at game start - 1d6 contacts plus cha mod - which represent allies, people the PC grew up with or encountered in their past.&nbsp; Any time a PC encounters an NPC they can check to see if they have a history with the NPC, or the DM can arbitrarily decide an NPC is one of a PC's contacts.&nbsp; I made the check a simple D20 roll, no stat mods, DC 10 plus whatever I felt appropriate.&nbsp; So, a fighter with a criminal background might be more likely to know the rogue guild lieutenant than a cleric from a LG church who grew up in the order...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Emiricol, post: 817534, member: 469"] Lots of good advise given already. Let me emphasize a previous point though - rogues and wizards will both be major players in the game so do NOT let them get away with having a weak background. You will need built-in plot hooks and conflicts to keep them in check. Also, bards are murder on many city campaigns, but also good tools for you. Expect Gather Info and Bardic Knowledge checks early and often so use that to your advantage. Don't make mysteries anything a bard could conceivably unravel - this means having NPCs who are pawns of other NPCs be the visible enemies and allies of the PCs for example. But if you want them to follow a particular clue, let Tim the Bartender reveal it in a gather info check and they'll usually be off like a cat on string. Experience is often an issue in city campaigns, as combat is less frequent and PCs are itching for fights. One way of doing things is to assign XP per hour of gameplay- 25 per hour per level of the PC for example - plus the combat XP. Another way might be to assign an EL to any die roll the PCs have to make (if the DC is 5 more than the PC's skill, it is CR=PC level, if 10 more CR=PC level+1, etc). This one takes some work as you will need to make most of the checks opposed checks or the PCs will quickly stop being able to gain XP as the tasks become relatively speaking easier and easier. Finally, one way to give PCs real tie-ins and built in plot hooks is to give PCs "contacts" that are not defined at game start - 1d6 contacts plus cha mod - which represent allies, people the PC grew up with or encountered in their past. Any time a PC encounters an NPC they can check to see if they have a history with the NPC, or the DM can arbitrarily decide an NPC is one of a PC's contacts. I made the check a simple D20 roll, no stat mods, DC 10 plus whatever I felt appropriate. So, a fighter with a criminal background might be more likely to know the rogue guild lieutenant than a cleric from a LG church who grew up in the order... [/QUOTE]

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