What makes a great city Source book?

[R_J_K75]

Tables for street scenes, pickpocketing results, taverns, inns, shops, 2E AD&D had two books, Cities of Mysteries and City System which had some good table to create random places and scenes. 3E D&D also had Cityscape which was pretty good. Another thing I would like to see in a book on this topic is population size and how it effects cost of living, availability and price of goods.

 

[jdrakeh]

The two big things for me are interesting, multifaceted, NPCs and factions. Also, an overview of daily elements of daily life in the city is key - law and punishment, cultural foods, burial rights, the place of magic in day to day life, etc.

 

[Xamnam]

I'll add districts. Have areas of the city that feel distinct from each other.

And I'll second this. Easily what I can latch on to the most as a player in an unfamiliar locale, not to mention attempt to make functional choices off of.

 

[Voadam]

I have a number of city sourcebooks, Lankhmar, Greyhawk, Waterdeep, Ptolus, Freeport, World's Largest City, Sanctuary, Parsantium, Mor Aldenn, City of Brass, Sharn, Menzoberranzan, Hollowfaust, Mithril, Shelzar, The Great City, Bard's Gate, others.

Ones I've ended up using a lot of material from include Greyhawk, Ostohar (from 1e Role Aids Dwarves) Rigus (from Planescape and Lord of the Iron Fortress), Freeport, and Ptolus (though Ptolus more for setting material than for the city itself).

Freeport was probably my favorite of the city books for use, Ptolus with its free short players guide was instrumental for my homebrew mashup setting.

I find I like narratively engaging themes and descriptions a lot more than stats in my city sourcebooks.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I really liked the way they did the Sharn: City of Towers book. It's split into districts, and each district gets some detail: the feel of it, the architecture, sights and smells, some notable residents, etc. A few locations get a callout in most of them as well, but it's not so detailed as to constrain the DM. I contrast it with City-State of the Invincible Overlord, which I also love but it tries to go into detail, but with constrained notation. CSIO I feel like I have to prep more, while SCoT I can just skim the blurb and dive in.

 

[Irlo]

Broad descriptors of several different areas of the city to set the tone, with typical street scenes for each area -- even a bullet point list of what you might see strolling through the area. Threats and opportunities associated with those areas -- adventure hooks. Then, detailed focus on many small locales and people to give me something to sink my teeth into. Travel times and distances from point to point in an easy to read matrix.

 

[Irlo]

Smells and sounds.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Plot hooks and tie ins for classes in the game

 

[Hand of Evil]

A system for player contacts/NPCs - this is something I try to work into my games. A player can use it to pull out an NPC they can go to for something (aid, hiding, knowledge, etc.). They have to have a connection to the character by class or a backstory, example "I know an old classmate from school, or I know an armor in the district, or such." I base mine on level and CHR modifiers.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Maps. City State of the Invincible Overload has survived forty+ years in my library because it's map. Likewise Harn Cities.

A detailed, easy-to-read map is the first thing I look for. If the map isn't up to speed, I don't bother with the rest.