do anyone have ideas for adventures and dungeons in a urban setting? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

do anyone have ideas for adventures and dungeons in a urban setting?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
sithlore
May 27, 2009 20:40:33 So I decided to get my players involved in a urban setting, but this is something new for me, do anyone have suggestions for me?
#2
sigil_beguiler
May 27, 2009 20:50:51 Well, what style do you like? Diplomatic/Social games, dungeon crawls, etc. Since that can effect what ideas there will be.

A big part I find that is fun in urban games is social games. With being in a city there is such a large amount of NPCs that you can have the PCs come across, as such things with social skill challenges, mysteries, etc. It also means you are in the centre of lots of power so stuff dealing with guilds, kings, etc.

For specific adventures, I find it is good to focus on things that either hide within the city; cults hiding in the sewers, floors missing from towers, etc. Or have things that don't feel proper to a city; whole sections of the city abandoned, the buildings shift location, entrances and windows change location, etc.

Many of us live in cities or major towns so things that don't seem right make the weirdness shine more. As well as many of us here of stuff like gangs, urban legends, etc. in cities but remain somewhat hidden so exploring this element in games can make a bigger impact.
#3
auspex7
May 27, 2009 23:46:20 i agree entirely with the 'weirdness' angle. that's even more fun to latch onto when other people either don't seem to notice, or don't seem to acknowledge what is going on.

for an urban dungeon angle, this could be fun... inexplicably, certain residents of a town--notable retired adventurers, affiliated with each other or not as you prefer--have gone missing, and things have begun coming out of their homes. the towns have traditionally looked to the presence of these missing persons to help enforce the peace, and with them going missing, it's all the local powers-that-be can do to keep the things (undead? other creatures? vaporous emanations?) from spreading far beyond the residences, etc. this gives the party multiple dungeons to explore, and a reason why no one else has gone in ahead of them--or at least, no one who has proven capable of returning so far. what is going on in the homes is entirely up to you. could be hidden dungeons beneath the homes... could be that the homes were all built to guard entrances to a subterranean area or other place which they owners discovered in years past. it could be that the homes have been turned into dimensional gateways, and that the 'dungeons' inside are actually massive areas of wilderness, etc.
#4
gorice
May 28, 2009 8:50:11 I'm actually working on a phase of my campaign that is largely going to take place in a major city or just outside of it. It kind of depends on what class they are, of course, but cities are as said above places of intrigue and interest!

A few of the adventures for "Savage Tide" take place in an urban setting, as does "Age of Worms". If you have Dungeon backissues or want to order them check them out.

My own campaign involves a few different antagonists/problems. I think you need to figure out what's going on overall and what's interesting about it.

1. Is there a Thieves Guild, and what's it like? Are there conflicts within it? What rules govern criminal activity?

2. What kinds of unusual creatures or monsters might be in the city? Why are they there?

3. What tensions exist, politically, economically, etc?
#5
khirareq
May 28, 2009 9:25:14 I like urban settings because they are full of wonderful role-playing settings. It's hard to get a serious role-playing encounter in that ancient graveyard, but cities are fully of npcs that the characters can interact with in a non-lethal way. Hopefully.

One piece of advice I would give is to give some thought to the criminal justice system in the city. How common are the city watch? Are they alone, or do they travel in groups? Are they trained to seek out help when facing superior opponents? Are they Warrior 1's (most typical), or does the city field a stronger watch? If so, why and where do they get the warriors from? What kind of magical backup do they have access to? Local Wizard's guild, friendly temple? If someone is arrested, what happens next? Do they go to a prison, someone's house, a castle? Is questioning immediate or delayed? Is torture or divination magic involved? Is there a trial before a judge, jury or lord?

Have stats available for a common watchman, a sergant and any magical backup that might come along, along with any interrogators (at least a bluff/sense motive score, if they are an expert.) You may figure all this out, and then no one gets involved with the law. But I guarantee you if you DON'T think about it, they will!
#6
Vatras
May 28, 2009 15:53:54 I plan on having my players spend some time in one of the urban centers soon, and the big problem is the map. I know from experience that players take to places they can envision clearly, and a streetmap with names and associated NPCs works wonders to attach players to the surroundings. The best I had was the map of the CIty of Greyhawk (1st Edition campaign), but there are few in such detail around.
The next best thing is to have a general map of the city with its precincts, gates, public buildings and a legend listing points of interest (temple of Kord, library of the order of the staff, city watch jail, and so on).

Then you will most likely need a handful of NPCs for everyday use. These are the baker where the PCs gettheir breakfast, the innkeeper, the waitress, a local bard, and whatever adds to the background. It is a good idea to have a card for each one with his location, job, income, loyalties, beliefs and quirks. A portrait is great, but usually hard to manage unless you can draw yourself. These NPCs won't see much screen time, but they are always there in the sidewings.
You add to those a couple of routines - even some you do not need right now - like the guard patrol dropping into the inn always at 11am, the gates close at nightfall, the market closes an hour before dusk, and so on.
The routines, coupled with certain locations and NPCs create the canvas on which you can paint your story. Later on, when routines have actually become routine, changing one can send your players off to another adventure, or serve as clues in mystery/crime adventures.

All of this assumes you will play for a while in a city, because to play with the mind of the players takes some real time, which translates into many sessions. After four sessions I would mention for example, that a new man is accompanying Ivar the guard on his rounds. Depending on circumstances this is only a minor event which may (or may not, players are unpredictable) bring them into closer contact with the guards, or a link to an adventure.

On to other practical considerations...
Have a clear idea who lives in the city, who are the movers and shakers (and what is their class and level, what are their financial means). Decide upon a size and level of the city guard, what organisations are present in the city (what churches, what guilds, etc.) and what services do they provide to members or outsiders (if there is a special fencing school, what are the requirements of getting in, what is expected of a member, what are the benefits?).
What services can be purchased, up to what level, and from whom? After answering who lives in the city, this is more or less only the consequence. If there is a benevolent cleric 17 of Bahamuth, it is likely you can get raised from the dead in this temple (if you can interest the level 17 in helping out a low level fighter...). If there is a wizard guild with 12 members of level 8 to 12, you can likely get certain items enchanted or rituals performed (selling the knowledge is basically not within the interest of a ritualist, as it costs him his livelihood), but 13th + stuff would be out.

Once you have gotten that workload done, the actual adventuring becomes surprisingly easy. You could be thinking about a ploy to depose the ruler of the city, and you have already placed an illegal cult of an archdevil into the city. So you just pick a member of the cult as your main protagonist (does not have to be the high priest) and the plan is to induce madness into the ruler, so that the chosen NPC can step into his shoes once his henchmen are convinced he is unfit to rule. The PCs get involved as victims of one of the rulers new laws like "all beer must be given to horses from now on, all intelligent beings are to drink milk" (this is about the basis for the old D&D module "Xanathon's Curse").
#7
mellored
May 29, 2009 6:01:13 Rat hunt in the sewers. Probably not the MAIN objective, but would make a solid side dungeon.
#8
Jurgen_Hubert
May 29, 2009 8:37:47
So I decided to get my players involved in a urban setting, but this is something new for me, do anyone have suggestions for me?

*cough*

Urbis - A World of Cities

[/shameless plug]

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sithlore May 27, 2009 20:40:33	So I decided to get my players involved in a urban setting, but this is something new for me, do anyone have suggestions for me?
#2 sigil_beguiler May 27, 2009 20:50:51	Well, what style do you like? Diplomatic/Social games, dungeon crawls, etc. Since that can effect what ideas there will be. A big part I find that is fun in urban games is social games. With being in a city there is such a large amount of NPCs that you can have the PCs come across, as such things with social skill challenges, mysteries, etc. It also means you are in the centre of lots of power so stuff dealing with guilds, kings, etc. For specific adventures, I find it is good to focus on things that either hide within the city; cults hiding in the sewers, floors missing from towers, etc. Or have things that don't feel proper to a city; whole sections of the city abandoned, the buildings shift location, entrances and windows change location, etc. Many of us live in cities or major towns so things that don't seem right make the weirdness shine more. As well as many of us here of stuff like gangs, urban legends, etc. in cities but remain somewhat hidden so exploring this element in games can make a bigger impact.
#3 auspex7 May 27, 2009 23:46:20	i agree entirely with the 'weirdness' angle. that's even more fun to latch onto when other people either don't seem to notice, or don't seem to acknowledge what is going on. for an urban dungeon angle, this could be fun... inexplicably, certain residents of a town--notable retired adventurers, affiliated with each other or not as you prefer--have gone missing, and things have begun coming out of their homes. the towns have traditionally looked to the presence of these missing persons to help enforce the peace, and with them going missing, it's all the local powers-that-be can do to keep the things (undead? other creatures? vaporous emanations?) from spreading far beyond the residences, etc. this gives the party multiple dungeons to explore, and a reason why no one else has gone in ahead of them--or at least, no one who has proven capable of returning so far. what is going on in the homes is entirely up to you. could be hidden dungeons beneath the homes... could be that the homes were all built to guard entrances to a subterranean area or other place which they owners discovered in years past. it could be that the homes have been turned into dimensional gateways, and that the 'dungeons' inside are actually massive areas of wilderness, etc.
#4 gorice May 28, 2009 8:50:11	I'm actually working on a phase of my campaign that is largely going to take place in a major city or just outside of it. It kind of depends on what class they are, of course, but cities are as said above places of intrigue and interest! A few of the adventures for "Savage Tide" take place in an urban setting, as does "Age of Worms". If you have Dungeon backissues or want to order them check them out. My own campaign involves a few different antagonists/problems. I think you need to figure out what's going on overall and what's interesting about it. 1. Is there a Thieves Guild, and what's it like? Are there conflicts within it? What rules govern criminal activity? 2. What kinds of unusual creatures or monsters might be in the city? Why are they there? 3. What tensions exist, politically, economically, etc?
#5 khirareq May 28, 2009 9:25:14	I like urban settings because they are full of wonderful role-playing settings. It's hard to get a serious role-playing encounter in that ancient graveyard, but cities are fully of npcs that the characters can interact with in a non-lethal way. Hopefully. One piece of advice I would give is to give some thought to the criminal justice system in the city. How common are the city watch? Are they alone, or do they travel in groups? Are they trained to seek out help when facing superior opponents? Are they Warrior 1's (most typical), or does the city field a stronger watch? If so, why and where do they get the warriors from? What kind of magical backup do they have access to? Local Wizard's guild, friendly temple? If someone is arrested, what happens next? Do they go to a prison, someone's house, a castle? Is questioning immediate or delayed? Is torture or divination magic involved? Is there a trial before a judge, jury or lord? Have stats available for a common watchman, a sergant and any magical backup that might come along, along with any interrogators (at least a bluff/sense motive score, if they are an expert.) You may figure all this out, and then no one gets involved with the law. But I guarantee you if you DON'T think about it, they will!
#6 Vatras May 28, 2009 15:53:54	I plan on having my players spend some time in one of the urban centers soon, and the big problem is the map. I know from experience that players take to places they can envision clearly, and a streetmap with names and associated NPCs works wonders to attach players to the surroundings. The best I had was the map of the CIty of Greyhawk (1st Edition campaign), but there are few in such detail around. The next best thing is to have a general map of the city with its precincts, gates, public buildings and a legend listing points of interest (temple of Kord, library of the order of the staff, city watch jail, and so on). Then you will most likely need a handful of NPCs for everyday use. These are the baker where the PCs gettheir breakfast, the innkeeper, the waitress, a local bard, and whatever adds to the background. It is a good idea to have a card for each one with his location, job, income, loyalties, beliefs and quirks. A portrait is great, but usually hard to manage unless you can draw yourself. These NPCs won't see much screen time, but they are always there in the sidewings. You add to those a couple of routines - even some you do not need right now - like the guard patrol dropping into the inn always at 11am, the gates close at nightfall, the market closes an hour before dusk, and so on. The routines, coupled with certain locations and NPCs create the canvas on which you can paint your story. Later on, when routines have actually become routine, changing one can send your players off to another adventure, or serve as clues in mystery/crime adventures. All of this assumes you will play for a while in a city, because to play with the mind of the players takes some real time, which translates into many sessions. After four sessions I would mention for example, that a new man is accompanying Ivar the guard on his rounds. Depending on circumstances this is only a minor event which may (or may not, players are unpredictable) bring them into closer contact with the guards, or a link to an adventure. On to other practical considerations... Have a clear idea who lives in the city, who are the movers and shakers (and what is their class and level, what are their financial means). Decide upon a size and level of the city guard, what organisations are present in the city (what churches, what guilds, etc.) and what services do they provide to members or outsiders (if there is a special fencing school, what are the requirements of getting in, what is expected of a member, what are the benefits?). What services can be purchased, up to what level, and from whom? After answering who lives in the city, this is more or less only the consequence. If there is a benevolent cleric 17 of Bahamuth, it is likely you can get raised from the dead in this temple (if you can interest the level 17 in helping out a low level fighter...). If there is a wizard guild with 12 members of level 8 to 12, you can likely get certain items enchanted or rituals performed (selling the knowledge is basically not within the interest of a ritualist, as it costs him his livelihood), but 13th + stuff would be out. Once you have gotten that workload done, the actual adventuring becomes surprisingly easy. You could be thinking about a ploy to depose the ruler of the city, and you have already placed an illegal cult of an archdevil into the city. So you just pick a member of the cult as your main protagonist (does not have to be the high priest) and the plan is to induce madness into the ruler, so that the chosen NPC can step into his shoes once his henchmen are convinced he is unfit to rule. The PCs get involved as victims of one of the rulers new laws like "all beer must be given to horses from now on, all intelligent beings are to drink milk" (this is about the basis for the old D&D module "Xanathon's Curse").
#7 mellored May 29, 2009 6:01:13	Rat hunt in the sewers. Probably not the MAIN objective, but would make a solid side dungeon.
#8 Jurgen_Hubert May 29, 2009 8:37:47	So I decided to get my players involved in a urban setting, but this is something new for me, do anyone have suggestions for me? cough Urbis - A World of Cities [/shameless plug]