D&D General what's your favorite starting town?

[GlassJaw]

As a DM, one of my favorite things is introducing the starting town or "home base" to the PCs. I love bringing the town to life and hopefully making the PCs feel connected and a place they want to be. A good map also goes a long way in doing that.

Like most of us, my free time is a luxury so borrowing and salvaging from published sources is necessary. My son is rapidly becoming interested in D&D and he really likes the idea of town-based adventures. I'd like to create a mini-campaign that primarily takes place in a single town with lots of short quests and tasks given by the NPCs of the town.

So what are your favorite published, starting towns? Bonus points for good maps, lots of adventure seeds, a small but detailed surrounding region, and interesting NPCs. Thanks!

 

[SiCK_Boy]

I don't know that it's my favorite, but Phandalin fits that description perfectly, at least with the content from the Starter Set and the Essentials Kit.

If he really wants to stay in town, Waterdeep can keep multiple parties adventuring for their entire career without ever needing to leave (see Dragon Heist and Dungeon of the Mad Mage), but it's more like having a campaign set in New York city rather than some small town in New England.

The original FR setting had a lot of emphasis on Shadowdale as a starting location. Except for the presence of a lot of high level NPC (which can easily be changed), it was a great location close to a lot of potential adventure sites (access to the Underdark, old elven ruins filled with the remains of a demonic invasion in Myth Drannor, plus the constant threat of Zenthil Keep to the north made it a great starting location, as did most of the other dalelands locations.

 

[R_J_K75]

I've used it a lot over the years so I'm inclined for something different these days but Shadowdale in the Forgotten Realms was always one of my favorites. Good amount of NPCs and locations with history but not too much to be over bearing to start out. It is quaint enough that the PCs feel safe there but no so much that there is still danger if they look for it or are unfortunate to come across it. There is quite a bit of adventuring locations nearby too. The maps aren't the greatest but if you look through the various products that have been put out over the years you can find some decent ones.

Last year I was running a campaign and went through the Shadowdale book that came with the 2E campaign setting and created a list of all the NPCs of the dale. The majority are farmers, merchants, etc., but doing that put the town into a whole different perspective for me.

 

[R_J_K75]

Except for the presence of a lot of high level NPC

Honestly, besides adventuring groups that pass through there, there really arent that many high level NPCs. Elminster is never there and rarely if ever sees visitors. Storm Silverhand doesnt normally see visitors either if she is there. Sylunes dead, although she is still powerful, but that power is rather limited based on where she can actually go. Other than that I cant think of many more unless I forgot some. The chances of running into those NPC's are relatively rare, but of course They are likely to come out if there is significant danger to the dale, otherwise for the day to day that's what PCs are for.

 

[Scott Christian]

Recently our DM used Saltmarsh. Pretty solid. I also liked Port Nyanzaru from Tomb. My favorites though have been built from scratch.

 

[Eltab]

You can lift some of the Intro Quests from Rime of the Frostmaiden without having to go into the Antarctic conditions. The quest involving locating a shipment of casks of mead would work anywhere. Going fishing is also a common make-a-living. For a "Nightmare Before Christmas" -ish vibe, the White Moose quest would work.

+1 for Phandalin.

Loudwater (4e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting) and its NPCs / quests looked interesting too.

 

[Tonguez]

Mordentshire

 

[jgsugden]

Most of my campaigns involve relocating the PCs, so their initial hometown is usually a memory soon after we begin.

 

[commandercrud]

Threshold

 

[The Glen]

Also Threshold