Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EricKollman May 03, 2015 16:43:13	As a new Dungeon Master, I was wondering if anyone had advice about various non-combat activities and events to run in a big metropolitan city?  I have a series of wildnerness encounters designed, and then I'm playing for my players to head into a big city to recuperate.  (I am using the old "Bard's Gate" supplement from Necromancer Games, and it has a the city well-mapped and designed, but I'm still trying to find advice of non-combat activities that other DMs have done to create some fun sessions in a big city)
#2 iserith May 03, 2015 18:22:11	Ideally, your players should suggest some goals that they want to accomplish while in the city. If you know their goals, all you have to do is put fun, genre-appropriate obstacles that make sense in a city in between them and their goals. If they don't have any goals, see if you can offer quests before they make it to the city that will take place in the city. Some standard go-to's for a city adventure are ones involving a thieves' guild making a play for power, a sewer excursion that uncovers a dungeon, a murder mystery, or hijinx at a festival.   Once you've settled on a basic idea, post again to ask how to structure it and the posters here can give you some advice on that.   A general suggestion for cities: Don't feel like you have to play out every minute of the PCs' days. Skip over time as needed to get to the fun stuff.
#3 MechaPilot May 03, 2015 18:47:51	There's really no shortage of things that can be done.     FESTIVALS & GAMES Harvest festivals Religious festivals Partiotic festivals (such as celebrating the defeat or anniversary of the defeat of a rival nation) A modified version of the Olympic games Gladiatorial games     CIVIC & MERCANTILE EVENTS Hangings, burnings, and other executions Pronouncements of new laws (I recall one game where the party stumbled into town on the same day that non-divine magic was declared to be illegal) Protests Public auctions of the assets of an estate with no heir Slave auctions     TAVERN/GAMBLING EVENTS Drinking contests Table games (cards, dice, dominos, that thing where you try to avoid stabbing your hand with a knife that you stab into the table around your fingers, etc) Novelty games (racing or fighting of roaches, mice, and other small creatures; frog jumping; grasshopper spitting; etc) Arm wrestling
#4 EricKollman May 03, 2015 20:16:44	Those are some good ideas.  I do have one quest in mind that could perhaps get things going.  I like MechaPilot's list a lot to provide ideas.
#5 Ralif_Redhammer May 04, 2015 8:05:27	Oh nice, Bard’s Gate is awesome. I’m currently running an urban campaign, and in every adventure I always try to have something happen while they’re out and about. Whether it’s a merchant selling some recently discovered artwork, a magical experiment gone awry, or a festival of Avandra, there’s always something going on.     I also frequently dip into the DMG’s Framing Events table for inspiration.
#6 EricKollman May 18, 2015 22:21:01	Following up on some of the ideas above, does anyone have a good idea how to structure a murder mystery in a large urban area?
#7 MechaPilot May 18, 2015 22:33:07	EricKollman wrote:
#8 Ralif_Redhammer May 19, 2015 7:06:12	Some of the best mystery/investigation adventure advice I've seen was at the Blog of Holding:   http://blogofholding.com/?p=6649   I think my favorite takeaway is that even when the PCs are following a dead end or red herring, it still should be interesting.
#9 iserith May 19, 2015 7:18:08	It's a mystery that nobody posted this link yet: Mystery Machine.
#10 GrrHero May 19, 2015 10:48:54	MechaPilot's list is awesome; I'm going to use several of those ideas.   Another event is a fire. Think the Great Chicago Fire; it starts in one building, and if the players can't stop it or contain it within a handful of rounds(minutes if you like) it spreads to the next building, and contuines to do so until the players can stop it or you decide its burnt enough of the city. This also give way to events inside the scenario: NPCs trapped in buildings, buildings collapsing in the street, and maybe the culprit is chased down(or an adventure afterwards where the adventurers must hunt down the culprit). Then if the players succeed they are instant heroes in town, and will recieve high level and more dangerous quest.
#11 DSZ May 19, 2015 14:10:29	Fairs are allways nice, including games such as sack race, tug of war, limbo competitions, mud wresteling, drinking contests, horse races, triathlons and the like. On the other hand you may have oracles, fortune tellers, a circus (animals on the loose, manupulated trapezes,..), lots drawing (cursed items anyone) etc.
#12 elkaholic May 24, 2015 19:15:49	This is a great thread for ideas.