Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bg2soatob 09-03-04, 09:27 AM	Okay, so the DMG gives rules for the power center and the number of NPCs of different levels and classes. This is enough for most campaigns, and certainly sufficient for ones with a lot of travel. But my upcoming campaign* is an urban campaign taking place entirely in one city, and I need it to be completely fleshed out with guilds, loads of NPCs, etc. Anyone know how I should go about doing this? *Not that it really matters, but it's a spy campaign in which the PCs play harpers spying in Zhentil keep. Feedback on that idea will also be appreciated, although that's not the main topic.
The Shaman 09-03-04, 12:14 PM	There's a helpful download on the D&D website that provides details on districts (or buroughs or wards or quarters, whatever you choose to call them) within a city - the merchants' district, the noble ward, etc.
VirgilCaine 09-03-04, 12:49 PM	Okay, so the DMG gives rules for the power center and the number of NPCs of different levels and classes. This is enough for most campaigns, and certainly sufficient for ones with a lot of travel. But my upcoming campaign* is an urban campaign taking place entirely in one city, and I need it to be completely fleshed out with guilds, loads of NPCs, etc. Anyone know how I should go about doing this? Read the issues on www.roleplayingtips.com about cities. Know whats happening in, around and under the city--what products and who is coming in, what power groups exist or might arise, depeding on what happens, class or racial tensions, pertinent quirky and mundane laws and regulations, what the clerics of the town are doing...that kind of thing. Then you can use that to make the city have a more "lived-in" feel--the PCs and their enemies aren't the only ones doing something.
Glak 09-03-04, 01:44 PM	what does the city import (obvious 100% of its food), and what does it export? What is the level of technology? How much disease is there (only recently have cities been able to sustain their population, in the past cities had to constantly be replenished with new arrivals)? What kinds of education are available? What kinds of crime are common?
krichaiushii 09-03-04, 08:20 PM	Consider cheating and using parts (or entire books) from published cities and NPC "rogue galleries". There are even a handful of pdfs available (for niggling cost) for near-instant gratification. My latest favorite pdf is called Everyone Else and is packed with the stat blocks for all the common folk you might meet. All you need supply is the personality and possessions. If you need more specific titles of city or NPC books, let me know, and I'll post them.
Black Jack Davey 09-05-04, 11:57 AM	Everyone Else is a great book.