Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Malawain 10-09-05, 06:15 PM	Here's something a lot of people have thought about: City based adventures. I guess the main purpose of this thread is to learn other peoples experience with city based adventures and/or campaigns. What they like and what they don't like. Some things to avoid or definitely include. What to do at higher levels? Etc, etc. The only thing that comes to mind for me are lots of taverns and sewers. I hope this brings up only good memories, but please share the bad ones too.
Lina_Inverse 10-09-05, 07:15 PM	the easiest one? dont ever think of useing a murder mystery, a 2nd level spell finishs it.
Draco Strang 10-09-05, 08:44 PM	Well let me be the first to tell you that there's tons of stuff to do in a city-based campaign. Stick thousands of individuals together when each one has a personal agenda, and there will be plothooks as a result. I've found that when running a city-campaign, one of your biggest priorities is to make sure that you have numerous hooks going, and that at least some of them tie together. It sort of gives the whole environment a "gee whiz" element. Wouldn't you (as a player) be impressed when the thieves guild turned out to be a bunch of pawns for the illithid mindflayer that lived in the sewers whom the party brushed with two adventures ago when they were looking for a lost wizard who had the answers to the riddle they needed to solve to open the door in the crypt right outside of town. See where I'm going with this? Whatever you do, try to use cliches in moderation, and don't let your city get too top-heavy with them. Not every city has sewers full of were-rats, a hidden slaving ring, and a morally corrupt government and watch. Try a different spin. For example, what if the government was just very very meticulous and stuck to the letter of the law all the time? A few officials who just can't be swayed to "look the other way" when the PC's need them to can be just as challenging as a black-hearted politician. The DMG II is a pretty good resource for cities if you aren't sure where to begin. Saltmarsh is pre-generated, and has a lot of those plot-hooks I was talking about already floating around. In addition, there's just a ton of little things you could lift for your own city. Always keep the players busy. Give them options. Always something to do. It's a large city, isn't it? Good luck.
Flakster 10-09-05, 08:55 PM	In my up coming campaign, I'll be running a heavily roleplaying oriented first adventure. I'm trying to get my players comfortable with roleplaying, and will be awarding experience depending on how well they handle situations. It will based in a good sized city, I was thinking Calimport. I haven't really fleshed it all out yet, but they will be stuck between 2 organizations that both want the party to do a job for them. But each of the jobs involves ******* off the other organization, so no matter what, they will be dealing with some angery, powerful people. Let the battle of words, or potentially weapons, begin!
ramhammer 10-09-05, 09:37 PM	I just started a campain that starts with the party clearing a small trade town for a man who will give them a cut of all profits of trade once they rescue it from an undead hord controled by a vampire. if they acomplish this goal the campain can start. they will need to start trade with others, keep all roads in and out of town safe,make sure no one trys to under mine there economy, plus it will give them a place to set up a home base. The dwarf can set up a blacksmith shop, the rouge a guild, the wizard a tower, this could go on forever.
Malawain 10-09-05, 09:51 PM	What would be a good springboard for a low level campaign in a city? I am tired of cliches, but I know sooner or later that the PC's are going to encroach upon some territory owned/operated by the thieves guild. It's one thing I noticed they do not write a lot of adventures about. In fact, I am hard pressed to think of one that was contained entirely within the city walls. To further expound upon my question: What would be some good, non-cliched challenges for 1st level PC's? I want something that is broad and general, but doesn't get everyone thinking "been there, done that". What about an abandoned part of town (or even an abandoned city) where the streets can be used like corridors and the buildings (decayed remnants of some bygone era) would serve as "rooms"? That way the city could be like a dungeon itself. Now, this won't work in a populated city, but maybe there are some wards/districts no one goes to anymore because there's something there that makes it dangerous to venture through. Hence, a dungeon-like environ that still constitutes a city adventure. I like the feedback, keep 'em coming........
Draco Strang 10-09-05, 10:49 PM	What would be a good springboard for a low level campaign in a city? I am tired of cliches, but I know sooner or later that the PC's are going to encroach upon some territory owned/operated by the thieves guild. Oh, of course they are. While cliche, thieves guilds are a lot of fun to mess with or join. It's a staple of city-adventures. Just don't rely too heavily on them for material. It's one thing I noticed they do not write a lot of adventures about. In fact, I am hard pressed to think of one that was contained entirely within the city walls. Part of "The Shackled City" Adventure path takes place entirely within city walls. But you're right...I don't see an awful lot of city-only stuff. Of course, I also don't look at a lot of 3rd party material. Maybe give some a shot? To further expound upon my question: What would be some good, non-cliched challenges for 1st level PC's? I want something that is broad and general, but doesn't get everyone thinking "been there, done that". Children are being kidnapped. Party needs to solve it. The whole town is suffering from a plague. Party needs to find a cure. A rival adventuring party mistakes the PC's for someone else. Hilarity ensues. The fruit trees in the town's orchard suddenly all whithered and died. What's happening? The city's mayor likes to dress up in women's clothing, and someone found out. PC's can either be blackmailing or have to stop the blackmailer. The kobolds ate my baby! The City Watch just got a shipment of low-quality blades that are shattering after only a few uses. Thus far, the bladesmith that manufactured them is refusing to honor the warranty. Vampires. Lots of Vampires. A gnome illusionist is cheating peasants at a game of chance. The PC's can see this with magic assistance. They can join him, expose him, or blackmail him. Horses are being stolen from the stables. Strangely enough, no one's taking any of the white horeses. Why? That's just a list of stuff that I've either used or just made up off the top of my head. What about an abandoned part of town (or even an abandoned city) where the streets can be used like corridors and the buildings (decayed remnants of some bygone era) would serve as "rooms"? That way the city could be like a dungeon itself. Now, this won't work in a populated city, but maybe there are some wards/districts no one goes to anymore because there's something there that makes it dangerous to venture through. Hence, a dungeon-like environ that still constitutes a city adventure. I like it. You might have to deal with questions from your players about why this area hasn't been torn down or cordoned off by city officials, but it's a definite start for a good "dungeon".
weasel fierce 10-09-05, 10:51 PM	Investigation based games tend to work okay, though you have to take various spells into account. Heavily character and interaction based games are an obvious choice, as cities are generally full of people :) Various assasination attempts, guilds warring (both clandestine and sometimes overt) and political ploys can make fun stories too. Be wary of massive or extensive combats though, as they will tend to attract a lot of attention, and the city guards / local knights / wandering paladin etc may not take kindly to fireballs going off in random skirmishes
spoogemonkey 10-10-05, 05:35 PM	The "horses are disappearing" storyline is just an old trick... a) summon mount b) sell horse at stables c) leave town quickly it also works for "disappearing groceries" .... as in "create food and water" To be honest.... any of the spellcasting classes should never go hungry in a town. THey should always be able to make a living.
Draco Strang 10-10-05, 05:41 PM	The "horses are disappearing" storyline is just an old trick... a) summon mount b) sell horse at stables c) leave town quickly Hm...never heard that one, pretty clever though. No, my hook would involve a certain group contracting thieves to steal horses for them to use in clandestine operations at night. Hence the reason no white horses are stolen. Too visible. Of course, there's a score of other ways you could run that hook too.
Sulaco 10-11-05, 05:36 PM	Here's something a lot of people have thought about: City based adventures. I guess the main purpose of this thread is to learn other peoples experience with city based adventures and/or campaigns. What they like and what they don't like. Some things to avoid or definitely include. What to do at higher levels? Etc, etc. The only thing that comes to mind for me are lots of taverns and sewers. I hope this brings up only good memories, but please share the bad ones too. Rather than delve into specifics I will relare a simple idea that should, hopefully, make city-based adventuring easier: a dungeon is a city with a roof on and a city is a dungeon with the roof off. There are just as many dangers, hazzards, beasts (though the monsters are usually much harder to spot in the city), power groups and treasures to be had in either, it is really a mindset issue. The problem arises in that most players - and DMs - think of cities as a sort of off-limits area while a dungeon is seen as a free-for-all slaughterhouse. There is, or at least there should not be, any diffeernce whatsoever between city adventuring and dungeon adventuring apart from the environmental details.
fatal error 10-11-05, 06:15 PM	Well one thing you should think about if you're running an entire campaign in a city is character prestige. Sure, at the low levels they're just another group of sellswords or what not, but as they get higher they should gain prestige (and I don't mean classes). You should also encourage them to have plans for their character's futures. In a normal D&D game most players probably just like to run around and do quests and such. In a city however, they will be staying in the same area for their entire careers, which gives a wonderful oppertunity to, say; take over guilds, or make their own. So make sure to throw in fame and influence as rewards along with the +2 longswords. Also, in a city, everyone should be connected. The thieves' guild master should have a contract with merchant guild A to only steal from merchant guild B. In exchange merchant guild A has arrangements with the town watch to not arrest the thieves' guild's thieves. While merchant guild B has an arrangement with the town watch to impose heavier restrictions on the types of merchandise merchant guild A delivers, but not those of merchant guild B.
Malawain 10-11-05, 11:10 PM	I always wondered about how PC's could fight monsters in cities (outside of massive sewers) and not draw the eye of the citizenry. That's why I thought of an abandoned part of a city. Why it's shut off, I haven't figured out yet. What I wanted with this was a "dungeon" that was close enough to a city to be a city adventure, but still capable of holding characters attention with dungeon-like elements. I mean, there's no reason large cities could not just quit using a portion of the city. Maybe the land is tied up in legal stuff or it is somehow cursed/haunted/uninhabitable. Don't get me wrong, I like a dungeon crawl out in the middle of nowhere like anyone else (I hope), but it gets repetitive after a while. So does "political intrigue" and run ins with the thieves guild when in a city. My next question is: What could be buried within a cities past for someone (either PC or NPC) to discover or learn about? I know there is plenty of room for graveyards, mausoleums, and long stretches of sewers, but what else?
autophage 10-12-05, 12:02 AM	I've been considering running a city adventure set in a large city on a small island that's been used in the manner of Australia during the British Colonial period - as a penal colony. The PC's take over the ship, but during the battle it is damaged beyond repair, and they swim ashore. The local government is none too happy with the disruption of their labor source, but the PC's might be able to convince them that they were on their side. Or they might side with the local labor force and attempt to lead a revolution. Because of the nature of this campaign, there'll probably be not much focus on monsters, magic, or combat (not that those elements won't be present, just not the focal point) - much more on interpersonal roleplaying. Lots of charisma checks, that sort of thing. All this should (I hope) help avoid being cliched (no thieve's guilds, and the sewers are more likely to be infested with political dissenters than with were-rats). If you have any interest, drop me a line and I'll keep you informed.
Lore333 10-12-05, 12:29 AM	My next question is: What could be buried within a cities past for someone (either PC or NPC) to discover or learn about? I know there is plenty of room for graveyards, mausoleums, and long stretches of sewers, but what else? The thing about graveyards, mausoleums, and sewers is, once your players enter them they leave the city environment and enter a dungeon. I don't think its proximity makes it a "city" adventure...? But there's all kinds of ideas. Maybe clues could have been built into the cities most ancient structure (some temple, museum, shrine, or some such thing)... or maybe a scavenger hunt... a cryptic inscription scratched onto a section of old wall leads them to an old fountain where another clue leads them to the temple which leads them to...? Or, given current events, imagine a humanitarian crisis. Ancient Rome had 1,000,000 people at one time. Imagine if a natural (or unnatural...) catastrophe killed 50% of the population. Imagine the anarchy that would follow, and how difficult it would be to maintain and restore order... all kinds of ideas for conflict (roving bands of thugs, monstrous shapeshifters coming in to prey on the sick and wounded, etc.) And let's not forget tournaments. Every great ancient nation had tournaments. The Olympics, the Circus Maximus, jousting, etc. Good way to introduce NPCs and plot hooks, and give the players a chance to earn some cash and fame. What about a riot? Riots are always fun. A lot of fantasy writers throw in the "slum" area; why not have them rebel? Maybe the players begin on the nobles' side, only to learn that the conditions that the people were forced to live in were so inhumane that they join their side? Or what about a great fire? As the players are helping put out the flames they spot fiery specters dancing among the ashes... what are they? Were they the cause of the fire? If so, why? A string of violent murders are being committed by random people- people who up to that point were model citizens. After the players investigate they realize that each person was connected to the Lady Myra, a cargo vessel that recently returned from a long voyage to a foreign land... The players are sent to find someone who always stays in the bad parts of town. The players have to remain diplomatic if they hope to find their prey. They need to bribe, threaten, or otherwise coerce several NPCs to get the information. Sometimes they encounter dead ends and sometimes NPCs try to stop them, but they must find this person before time runs out...
Sulaco 10-12-05, 10:40 AM	I always wondered about how PC's could fight monsters in cities (outside of massive sewers) and not draw the eye of the citizenry. Simple, you make the monsters more subtle. Not every encounter needs to be against some slavering, green-skinned beast. Far more dangerous are the monsters who like just like you and me.