Unique City-Based Locations for "Planar" City

[NeuroZombie]

I have always wanted to run a city-based campaign, so I am in the process of creating a city for that reason. It is still in its infancy, so bear with me. The city is called (at least for now) Sraosha, The City of All-Worlds, and is basically a large island within a demi-plane somewhat akin to Sigil from Planescape. I am going for a more typical metropolis feel as opposed to the wacky Sigil feel, although the city will have regulated gates and various other means of planar travel available for those with proper means. As it stands now, I have 18 Wards and Warrens (there is a difference between these in this city) and I have begun to compile a list of interesting locations/organizations/etc... within these areas.

I just wanted to ask you, the enworlders, what unique locales, etc... you would add to such a city. Any and all comments are highly welcome.

* A note regarding Wards and Warrens: Wards are the original areas of the city and the Warrens have sprouted over the years. The Leaders of the Wards are Hereditary positions similar to barons, and there is a High Lord as well (king). They are the High Council. The Warrens are also rules by lords, but they are appointed by the High Council. The Warren Lords comprise the Low Council of the City. *

The Wards:
Castle (government, High Lord, etc...), Noble, Dock, & Merchant Wards

The Warrens:

• The Hivewarren (slums)
• The Craftworx (industrial)
• The Deathwarren (cemetary, needs new name)
• The Godswarren (religions, etc..)
• The Earthwarren (large fey tree-city, new name needed)
• The Stonewarren (mountains and tunnel city)
• The Worldwarren (a collection "little chinas" of the various d&d worlds, FR, GH, etc...)
• Arena (gladiators)
• Talis Park (fancy park area)
• The Training Grounds (university, beter name needed)
• The Sorseer's Tower (seperate area, home of a powerful seer)
• The Colony (penal colony on small island off the coast)
• Runeslann (the wizard isle, w/schools, etc..)

 

[LGodamus]

for inspiration you might wanna look at some of the stuff from planescape that describes the city of glass on the elemental plane of water....it is a large planar metropolis without the feel of Sigil

 

[NeuroZombie]

Good idea. Time to pull out some of my old books

I do, however, want to get away from the planescape "feel". I am going more for a fantasy version of Mega-City 1 from Judge Dread. I am also thinking about adding a few judicious tidbits from Perpetrated Press' Arsenal and Factory, although I haven't got as far as looking thri those books yet. One step at a time

 

[Shemeska]

*pondering* Well first of all, lemme ask, what cosmology are you using outside of the demiplane your city is going to occupy? And with that, how connected do you intend for it to be with the prime material, the inner and the outer planes. How much interconnectivity you've got will certainly affect the type of people who live there, and the flavor of the architecture, businesses, etc.

And one last question, will your city exist in the same cosmology as Sigil, the City of Brass, Shrakatlor, Tu'narath, other planar metropoli? And how old is the city and the demiplane it has existed within?

 

[NeuroZombie]

Sraosha will exist in the typical "wheel" cosmology and will have regulated gates to just about anywhere, especially the prime material. As the gates are regulated, the odds of invasion forces, etc... are not high, although still possble. I do not see the city as having the Avatars of gods, or Pit fiends galavanting about everyday, but I also do not see it out of the realm of possibility. I basically want the city to be able to accomodate just about any PC race, from any just about any source. I see the city as basically Lawful Neutral in the Wards, but varying as per the particular Warren (i.e. The Earth warren may be CG).

I am looking towards a highly multicultural city, but not one with the issues that plague Sigil, such as the Factions and the direct connections to the various alignment planes. Basically, I want the ties to specific alignments gone, as far as a comparison to Sigil goes.

Mind you, I am NOT an expert on planescape, so some of my assumptions on the facts thereof may be off.

As for age, I haven't really gotten that far, although the city will be much younger than Sigil, which doesn't really help much, does it?

 

[Piratecat]

This is a neat idea. I recommend making the ruling body be something itneresting... any ideas already?

I'd be sure to add monuments around the tombs in the cemetary, and turn it into both a cemetary and a museum/heroworshipping shrine/public attraction area.

 

[Shemeska]

Hmmm.... a ruling body that's interesting. Honestly I'd try using a ruling body of dragons, possibly gem dragons, given the neutrality of the city and all. It also helps to explain why any given planar city with lots of connections to other planes hasn't been exploited and conquered by a deity, the celestials, or the fiends.

This was one of the main problems I had with Union, is that it tried to copy Sigil in many ways, but whereas Sigil had The Lady of Pain to protect it, Union had, well, nothing that could conceivably protect the city. Dragons, a very powerful group of them, could do that IMHO.

 

[NeuroZombie]

I was thinking that the high lord would be an epic level hero of some sort and the elite guard would be very powerful in their own right, kind of a legion of super heroes of the medieval set, with magic (or items) in place of powers for the most part. I was also thinking of using Perp Press' Arsenel and Factory to make them a force to be reckoned with as well.

 

[Piratecat]

I would go the other way, and have the leader of the city appear to be nothing more than a charming old man with no appreciable power. You'd certainly have everyone wondering.

 

[masque]

I'm not sure about the cool factor, but in my game in the major city of an immortal race cursed to ever bear mortal children, there is a plaza with temples to the gods, all glittering and shiny and enormous, and just generally impressive. Off to one side is an unfinished temple, just as large as the others, to the betrayer goddess of death. Not ruined, just unfinished, with the scaffoldng still around the walls and columns. And it will never be finished.

This city "persuades" its children to leave upon maturity by carefully instilling a love of adventure, mostly out of a selfish desire never to bury their children. But the world is not perfect, and not all children grow to maturity. It is in the temple to the betrayer goddess that their bones go, neatly stacked in separated piles: skulls, femurs, fingerbones. In time, the displays will grow too large for the tiny sheltered overhangs in the temple, and the Ossuary (as it is called in common parlance) will have to go underground.

As for the Hivewarrens, think about how the slums are separated from the other parts of the city, and since it isn't a planned part, what Ward of the city is it closest to? Or, just for fun, do a basic "map" of what Wards and warrens are next to eat other, and what conflicts arise out of that. Interesting locations can come from that.

For instance, I'd imagine the Hivewarren, the Craftworx, and the cemetary warren are rather close together. Depending on your view of undead, the poor of the Hives could be competing for jobs with the slave labor of undead (I hear Hallowfaust is a decent idea mine for non-evil use of undead, but never read it myself). And it would be fairly easy for a Hiver to cart the body off to the cemetary to dump it.

As for a religious warren, I must admit I never like the idea of an area set aside specifically for temples. I always tend to think that the more idealistic initiates would go and graffiti other temples, or other, bigger problems would arise (even with the assumed enforced peace of an area like this). Besides, I like the image of rounding a corner, and finding a tiny shrine, or a larger temple that doesn't visually fit in with its surroundings but seems quite at home nonetheless.

For me, I can't quite get the image of how some of the warrens fit together with the more traditional warrens (especially the mountain one and the tree city). Wacky Sigil indeed.

How are the wards and warrens separated? Walls and gates? space? they fade into each other? For Talis Park, what do you mean by "fancy"? Hanging Gardens fancy? Victorian gardens fancy? Is it exotic and natural and abundant or structured and well-manicured and overdone? Or are there sections of each?

Are all the wards placed like countries on a map, or could certain wards be placed entirely within others? I could conceivably see the Nobles Ward enclosed by Talis Park, for instance?

Erk, I'm going on and on, and really don't have much to say. Ending here, then.