Town & City Building 101
Medieval town by Hetman80 |
There is a quick formula that I always use for creating
towns, which I got from the Forgotten Realms Adventures book by Jeff Grubb and
Ed Greenwood. Now I am new to the Realms, but I am not new to this book. A
friend of mine let me look at it years ago to help me pick my first character’s
religion, I fell in love and bought the book and have always used it as a
trusty DM tool, namely for the formula which I’m about to talk about. The book
served me better then most of them combined! I highly recommend getting it. Not
only does it help with city building, but it aids in religion building and has
a couple of treasure tables that is far superior to anything in the Dungeon
Master’s guide.
MAP OR NO MAP?
I’m going to let you in on a secret about city maps. They
aren’t for Dungeon Masters. You don’t want to sit there and label everything;
it is a colossal waste of time. Nobody wants to slow the game down to a dungeon
crawl speed, not unless a major attack is going to take place on one of the
streets, or some such scenario where you need to know exactly what is where (but
that is where smaller maps come into play) so for this exercise, we don’t
really need a detailed map. Of course, if you are playing in an established
setting, such as Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms, then it is best to see what is
out there. Maybe some strange module came with a map of the place? Or another
DM built one, you never know and it only takes a moment or two.
A map can be helpful during this stage, and if you are going
to generate one, now is probably the time to do so. Don’t put anything on the map that is too
revealing, because when it comes to game day, you’ll just be throwing the thing
at the PC’s anyway, so that they can get a better idea of how to see the city.
Of course the most important part of the mapping process is finding
your location on your big map. This leads us to our very first question that we
have to ask ourselves.
“Why is this place here?”
Available Resources
A good rule of thumb for everything that you add to your map
is that small towns produce raw goods. The more raw goods a town produces, the
larger it can be. Larger cities buy the raw goods and produce finished goods.
What is out there? If a village is in the mountains, they
must be mining something, in the forest, wood. Do they grow a spice? Dig clay?
Form bricks? Once we got an idea of how they get money, we have to figure out
how a small town moves the raw goods to a city. The most common answer is
WATER! A river is the main ingredient for a successful town. If a city is on
the Ocean, its chances of being large are extremely good, but if it also has
river access, this town is going to be colossal because of shipping.
Shipping raw goods down river is always preferable and
cheaper then shipping them by road.
This just helps us establish size and population. Once we
know this then we can draw up a quick and very brief map, or, if we have a map
already, then we can figure out how much money the town can gain access too and
we are off to the Magic Formula!
The Magic Formula
For this step I recommend putting your computer away and
grabbing the old-school DMs best friend, a common notebook. It is common for
our initial answers to these questions to change as we write, so none of this
is final. We are going to use this information to write up our outline.
- Who rules:
- Who really rules:
- Population:
- Major Products:
- Armed Forces:
- Notable Mages:
- Notable Churches:
- Notable Rogues’ and Thieves’ Guilds:
- Equipment Shops:
- Adventurers’ Quarters:
- Important Characters:
- Important Features in Town:
- Local Lore:
No matter how big or small a community, AWAYS use this
summery. This is stuff that you’ll have to know to make your life easier. Also
pay close attention to what your PCs will be interested in, we’ll want to add
color, but we need this place to be functional too. Of course we don’t need to
get overly complex here. You can spend the rest of your life creating every NPC
that lives in this place, but you’ll never use it all. As long and as drawn out
as we are going to get, this still must remain a sketch.
Some of these items need some explaining.
POPULATION
Unless it is noted, always assume that 100% of the
population is human. If this isn’t true, then we have to make a notation. Are
there elves, dwarfs, or some other demi-race that lives here along with the
humans? Is it a city just for the demi-race, or is it mixed, and why. The why
may come up later in local lore.
IMPORTANT FEATURES IN
TOWN:
We are not writing “Anytown, USA”. We need to think of
something that sets this place apart. While not that important for tiny little
villages; the larger the population, the more important that it is.
LOCAL LORE
This also sets up the history of the place: Where it came
from, how it succeeds (if it is or not), this section will grow as you write.
For our first draft, just write a couple of suggestions to yourself to guide
you in fleshing the place out, though, I’ve abandoned some of my original ideas
completely once I got going.
NPCs
We need to create the NPCs which the PCs are likely to have
to deal with. People who have push in the town. If a town doesn’t have a mage,
then just write: none. If it does, then why is he there? What does he do? If
the place has no church it probably has a shrine and somebody to maintain it.
What gods are important to these people? Don’t get too carried away! Even large
cities won’t have churches to the entire pantheon! They will have a couple of
major gods (possible just one) and a few minor shrines. Churches will change
the way the town or city functions, if not the entire area around them so be
careful with them.
SHOPS
For our brief outline we want to keep it simple. The
equipment list assumes that it is a huge city. If it is, then it will be
FULL/Normal. But for smaller towns and hamlets, they are probably limited to
things that they use to acquire their raw goods (which would be affordable),
and things that you can put a cap on; for instance we’ll put a 50gp cap on the
town, they don’t sell anything over this amount. The prices for this stuff will
also be a bit higher then listed in the PHB as well, any where from 25% to 100%
increase. Also keep in mind that seasons effect items availability too. For our
outline, we’ll just keep it to terms like Partial, and Cheap or Expensive. We’ll
fill in the specific rules later. Same goes for Adventurers Quarters, which we
know are important. Do they have taverns? Are they squalid or fine? Do you have
to share a bed with a stranger? Do they offer food? Are they expensive or
cheap? For larger towns you can have a variety and let the PC’s choose for
their selves based on how much they are willing to spend.
WHAT ABOUT BIG
CITIES?
If we are dealing with just a small little mining town, then
we’re probably done. We’ve used all of these questions to fill in the blanks
and we can start writing up our summary, but what about BIG GIANT CITIES that
the mean people at TSR failed to flesh out beyond a paragraph? Well friends, if
this is the case, then NOW the fun really starts!
How do we do this without going insane? Easy! We chop it up
into manageable pieces. We break our city down into smaller sections, or
districts, and we treat them like they are their own small little towns. Our
ruler doesn’t change, but who really rules might. Each section will have its
own flavor and reason for being there. You’ll want to assign social classes to
each section, the larger the city, the more divided that it becomes. Where are
the people that we already have on our lists? We’ll recreate these lists but
this time adding real detail.
We’ll put the wizard in the poor part of town called the
Shadow District because of the thieves’ guild that runs it. We’ve got to figure
out if he runs the gang or if he is there to fight the gang. Maybe he doesn’t
care and that was the best land that he’s got! What do the local guards think
about him, or the people? Do they think that he secretly runs the gang? Enjoy
yourself! Have fun! Think of what-ifs!
For big cities, we also have to consider those around it. Do
they have an enemy nearby? Are they actively at war, or has it gone cold? Who
are their allies? Are there any secret societies in the town? How do these
answers affect our summary? I have found that now is the time to write up a
paragraph or five to better see the area that I’m writing about.
This is a lot of work.
It will take a couple of days and it does help to have some kind of map
to look at and just work on it section by section until you’ve answered all of
the questions again for each section.
SHOPS PART TWO
It is nice to have places already named and ready to go.
Again, we are going to keep it simple. We’ll look at the needs of our PCs, what
kind of shops would they be interested in, and what kind of services might they
be interested in? Who is likely to employ them? While there may be hundreds of
shops in town, we only need to describe a few. Running a city scene should be
like a movie, the players might say, I wonder what kind of armor they have
here? Or “Where can I get spell components?” Anticipate their questions and
describe the places where they might want to go, as well a few other places
just for local color if you want to.
Once we are done with the individual outlines for all of the
different city districts, it is time to put them all together. This time we are
going to make the Master Outline. We will know all of the answers for each
question. Don’t be afraid to edit yourself, we wanted lots of information, most
of the stuff on our lists will find homes on our master lists, but probably not
all of it.
Your Big City Master List should contain the following
information:
- Name of the City
- Country it is a part of, or independent
- Who Rules
- Who Really Rules
- Major Products
- Armed Forces: (include Town Guard totals, Naval Forces, Constables, and the number of men the ruler can gather to form a standing army. I try not to be too specific about WHO. If I developed a cool Constable or something, he goes down in “Important Characters”)
- Notable Mages: (who and where)
- Notable Churches: (who, where, brief description of what they do)
- Notable Rogues & Thieves Guilds: (who, where, brief descriptions)
- Equipment shops: (Name and what they sell)
- Adventurers Quarters:
- Taverns:
- Food:
- Services:
- Important Characters: (anybody who I noted in my outlines who didn’t make it elsewhere on this list)
- Important Features in Town: (Quick descriptions of all of the districts including places not elsewhere on this list)
- Local Lore:
- A Key: (I do make notations on the map, but I first ask myself if it is important or not. Do I need to know EXACTLY where something is? Usually the answer is, No.)
- Notes: (things that either are or are not on the map, describe strange conditions of weather if any, add a couple of rumors that are floating around, or long term plans of some NPC to destroy the place; etc.)
- Festivals: (holidays and events that people fear/look forward too.)
And you’re done! Now you have a well balanced description of
a large city that is described enough for quick play, but brief enough to allow
room for growth.
Further Reading:
Let's Build a City
1001 Common Structures in a Village, Town, or City
The Secrets of Great City Campaigns
Further Reading:
Let's Build a City
1001 Common Structures in a Village, Town, or City
The Secrets of Great City Campaigns
Saturday, September 19, 2015
|
Labels:
campaign ideas,
money and equipment,
NPC's
|
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
- campaign ideas
- NPC's
- combat
- Miscellany
- encounters
- rants
- Ripper's Gaming Sessions
- monsters
- money and equipment
- Reviews
- pc classes
- magic
- Proficiencies
- Treasure
- Time and Movement
- Sunday Supplemental
- experience
- campaign add-ins
- Alignment
- races
- Mechanic Series
- vision and light
- Ability Scores
- wizard spells
- Supplemental
- priest spells
My Blog List
-
-
Ho provato Pasión de las Pasiones! - Salve, Ieri sera ci siamo trovati a giocare Pasión de las Pasiones. Si tratta di un gioco di ruolo che ha lo scopo di riprodurre un copione delle teleno...1 week ago
-
Play as Sculpture, Play as Prism - Watching my eldest child and friends engaging in imaginative play, I'm often struck by the fact that what seems to excite them is deciding who gets to be...1 week ago
-
The Light Dawns - THIS!!! Yes, a thousand times, this! Back in the day, I referred to this as “neo-classicalgaming,” which is to say, the sorts of games that came ou...3 weeks ago
-
Daggerheart vs. the MCDM RPG vs. D&D: A Playtest Comparison - If games to suit every play style and new games bringing fresh ideas makes a golden age, then the best time for gamers is now. In the past weeks, I’ve play...3 weeks ago
-
MASSIVE GEEKOUT With David Finn Of Signal Of Doom – Episode 275 – 3/29/2024 - Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #275 – 3/29/2024 A wide-ranging geekout with David Finn of the Signal of Doom podcast. Lots of comic book and MCU chat (lik...3 weeks ago
-
Protect your Gamemasters (and don't call it "fudging") - *November last year I went to check out X. I had heard lots of promissing things about the changes there, and the possibilities that come with them. Gott...1 month ago
-
Attronarch's Athenaeum - Over at the forum El Borak mentioned Attronarch in his thread Hirelings, loyalty, and morale which you should take a look at. Attronarch has a website Att...1 month ago
-
Xandering, Jaquaysing, or Arneson-ing the Dungeon? - Yet another gamer firestorm arose shortly after the passing of Janelle Jaquays when it was noted that Justin Alexander had changed a rather well known p...2 months ago
-
Last move - to self-hosting! - As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to self-hosting. I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at) Blog: ht...3 months ago
-
Sex-Crazed Falling Stars, Free Weather Magic, and Adventures: News of the Hill Cantons - *Grandma Gaya, the Rav-Witch of High Kezmarok*, seeks the stout of limb and humble of mind in the *obtaining of fallen stars* from an upcoming prophesied ...3 months ago
-
Thanks for your comments, friends! - Dear friends and followers of the blog, Thanks for all your comments over the years. When Google+ opened, I decided to jump on board. Everything got coupl...8 months ago
-
GUARDIANS OSR Superhero RPG- DC Heroics House Rules - It's been a rough year with sickness. But here I am. Let's go. Guardians is a fun little game from Night Owl Workshop games. They have a lot of fun OS...10 months ago
-
Coming Fast! 50th Anniversary of OD&D January 2024 (OGL comments) (& how Wizbro is stupid) - The 50th Anniversary, the 50th Birthday of OD&D is approaching and will be here in January 2024. Wizards of the Coast, instead of preparing for something s...1 year ago
-
Original Dungeons & Dragons Has Its 50th Anniversary In January 2024 (Feb 2023) - The countdown to the 50th Anniversary of the Original Dungeons and Dragons in January 2024 continues. Give the drama with Wizards during January 2023, it...1 year ago
-
I'm In!! The monthly posting challenge leadup to the 50th Anniversary of OD&D in 2024 - I am inspired by this post found here, to be part of the monthly posting during 2023 and 2024 to highlight the 50th Anniversary of OD&D. We were challeng...1 year ago
-
It's been a decade, now... - This is a tough time of year for me. So, with your indulgence, here's this link to a post I did a decade ago... EDIT: I have no idea why it didn't take. S...2 years ago
-
This Blog is now on Indefinite Hiatus - Greetings, I haven’t been able to post except sporadically for a while. I just found out I will need to find a new place to live within the next few months...2 years ago
-
Ind of the Year - The Colors of Magic - On December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the *Ind of the Year Bundle 2020* that includes *The Co...3 years ago
-
Be The DM, 1 - OK, I've run plenty of games and I've talked with and read the thoughts of many other DM's. One thing is certain; No two DM's are the same. I have seen ...3 years ago
-
The Crowning of King Harold - Here is a spooky story that comes from my latest novel, Lions Red and Gold, available now in digital and dead tree only on Amazon. I post it here in ho...3 years ago
-
MIDLANDS CHARACTER GENERATION - Character development (of Player via imagined formative experiences) in my dog in DMing. Placyer character development is a huge part of my sandbox. I use ...3 years ago
-
Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ... - Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ...: LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/colle...4 years ago
-
Character Concepts: Planescape pt 3 - Part 1 Part 2 Continuing my series on oddball Planescape Faction Personalities... Harmonium Sidby the Stick (LG/halfling/fighter) - Sidby's a good enough b...4 years ago
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...4 years ago
-
Announcing the Contest Winner! (Plus Some Interesting US Coin Facts) - The third semi-annual Save Versus All Wands contest - What is the Value of this Coin Hoard - is over. $1,000 was the winning guess, only a bit below the ...5 years ago
Statcounter
Contact me at Ripx187@gmail.com
Search This Blog
Blog Archive
-
►
2018
(5)
- ► October 2018 (1)
- ► September 2018 (1)
- ► April 2018 (1)
- ► February 2018 (1)
- ► January 2018 (1)
-
►
2017
(39)
- ► November 2017 (1)
- ► September 2017 (3)
- ► August 2017 (2)
- ► April 2017 (6)
- ► March 2017 (5)
- ► February 2017 (5)
- ► January 2017 (4)
-
►
2016
(58)
- ► December 2016 (4)
- ► November 2016 (6)
- ► October 2016 (5)
- ► September 2016 (4)
- ► August 2016 (4)
- ► April 2016 (4)
- ► March 2016 (4)
- ► February 2016 (4)
- ► January 2016 (7)
-
▼
2015
(24)
- ► December 2015 (6)
- ► November 2015 (7)
- ► October 2015 (7)
-
►
2010
(14)
- ► March 2010 (5)
- ► February 2010 (5)
- ► January 2010 (4)
-
►
2009
(123)
- ► December 2009 (3)
- ► November 2009 (4)
- ► October 2009 (6)
- ► September 2009 (4)
- ► August 2009 (13)
- ► April 2009 (15)
- ► March 2009 (14)
- ► February 2009 (5)
- ► January 2009 (10)
-
►
2008
(73)
- ► December 2008 (3)
- ► November 2008 (4)
- ► October 2008 (5)
- ► September 2008 (4)
- ► August 2008 (4)
- ► April 2008 (18)
- ► March 2008 (5)
0 comments:
Post a Comment