Here's an idea... have you ever ran a long campaign, had new players join in... do you start them as low level with the established higher level characters? (personally I do as a new dynamic, after all they can level fast, and its a new added challenge for the group to keep the new players alive)... lets hear your take on this :)
Could you do one on underground adventures? Such as the underdark. Not really sure how you run the day to day of being underground for a whole adventure.
My party (5 players of 11th level) is heading from the mere of dead men to Waterdeep and I plan having something happen there, so the timing of this video is perfect!
a city is more than just the central part. around the city you can have fields and farming steads, perhaps interspaced by small forests and rivers and graveyards and crypts. in a dangerous setting small guardposts and towers will be in important location around the cities. Manors and villas of important people often are seperate and distant from the common rabble, and have their own guards and households. a city often has a wall, and outside that wall slums. guilds and crafts differentiate the inner districts. a harbor or airport is almost always important and can add allot. make it fantastical with a deep underground city, not just sewers, but crypts, magical expanded pathways, ruins and caves. a city has a lot of secrets, a lot of hiding spaces, don´t hesitate to bring in all kinds of monsters and beasts. perhaps an archdruid has claimed an entire district, and that district now is overgrown and full of animals and trees. a city could be partually collapsed or taken over by monsters with a tense cold war between the two halves of the city. a medusa pulls strings within the mages guild, the thieves guild has a goblin tribe under its influence. A blacksmith sells weapons to orcish pit fighting rings. not only illegal organisations can fight and be in conflict. the church thinks the guards are too lenient, the guards hate the mage guilds for being above the law. a Red dragon comes to Tax the city once a year and the nobles are getting desperate and scared because the dwarvish community organized a movement to instead kill the dragon, which has small chances of succeeding. a city is one of my favourite settings. lots of things going on. density of meaning and connections that often lacks in traditional countryside DND where a location only serves a singular purpose of the plot and is then discarded. sorry for that rambling thoughts.
Steve with proper paragraph format editing, it will read a lot easier to read. I love All the Points you made. In the past 15 years of playing D&D, none of the 50 or so players wanted anything to do with " Cities." Other than a town as a campaign base or a Drow city campaign.
Huh. Never really considered the idea of setting an entire campaign within a city...but now it just seems like a logical thing to do. There's so many opportunities for roleplay, combat, and such. Integrating the fantastical stuff to the city was fascinating to hear about as well - even for non-urban campaigns, it's just good advice for adding some flavor to the various cities and towns campaigns might pass through. Keep up the excellent work!
I think this is exactly why Eberron has such a loyal following. The themes of the setting lend emphasise urban and political themes in ways that the other WotC settings do not - even Neverwinter and Waterdeep tend to be used more as pit-stops between action than as primary foci.
The biggest strength I've found in an urban campaign is how easy it is to toss out an NPC whenever they're needed. The guy who drives your handsome cab? Maybe you get to know him. Gathering info on wererats? That crazy cat lady who yells at people always seems to know. You get to know her. There's an assumption that everyone has their own little dungoen ecology and there's stuff going on the PCs don't notice, so when you need to pull some random even out, you can really go into detail and PCs can bite on whatever they want.
YES Is it Wednesday yet? It is! It is! Rejoice! I love this channel so much. Thank you for being another source of Dungeons and Dragons and being such a positive impact in the community of D&D I can't wait for each Wednesday to come to see what Jim & Pruitt bring. Thank you Web DM
I’m slowly working on a city that’s kind of like 1820s-60s London, based on Gotham. Started trying to write some one shots and felt in over my head. Suggesting having some street and neighborhood names for each section of the city is a really good tip. Instantly makes it feel more realistic and gives the players a frame of reference
Anyone who's not an immortal supporter missed out on so much while trav was editing this episode Pruitt's gut busting laughter at the end cut still makes me grin every time I think about it
I like the idea of the city's surface levels being firmly under control by the city guard. Go down a level, though, and there is no law. The city guard won't venture too far down into the undercity, because it's full of monsters and gangs and cultists. Partly this is the result of a deal the city guard has with the thieves guilds and gangs; all the crime is done underground, so the normal folk on the surface don't have to worry about it. That's the arrangement and it basically works. Naturally, then, snags get hit whenever it's important that someone descend into that nightmare zone of horror-infested tunnels. Maybe the ooze population has grown large enough that they're starting to venture to the surface for more food (there's only so much waste people can produce), and their numbers need thinning. Maybe one criminal enterprise or another is smuggling particularly dangerous or unsavory product, like drugs, human chattel, and loads of weapons. While a certain level of black marketing is to be expected, some things just can't be ignored. Maybe there's cult activity, and it's starting to affect the city and its population in a noticeable way. Most of that is probably taking place underground. Whatever the case, there are problems below that need tending to. In those cases, it's time to start hiring adventurers. It's here where you start getting "Collect 10 Sewer Croc Tails" quests.
This just gave e a great inspiration! The campaign is set in a big city as you all describe. The players are opening a business in town. They are basically exterminators. Got wererats in the sewer, the characters will clean them out for you, for a price. Haunted, don't worry we got a cleric. Otyugh prowling your alleys, we got it. Tons of simple hack and slash for cash present themselves. Eventually they are hired to ride out of the city and clean out a local ruin. Then a the adventure goes on they end up saving the city from a Tarasque, an infestation of Drow, etc. Eventually the character are now involved deep in city politics.
I had a small theater ran by vampires who where tolerated as long as the blood they got was donated. So the rich could pay gold for good seats and the poor could donate and still see a show.
My players are venturing into a metropolis soon that they've been travelling to for a while and this was unbelievably helpful in getting the wheels rolling and neurons firing; thank you so much!
Definitely had to favorite this, as I am currently running my first campaign and it starts in an urban setting with plot hooks that have potential for wilderness exploration and an encouraged "sewer crawl" which would involve oozes, rat swarms, and in some areas deeper in, water elementals and arcane obstructions and traps. Watching this helped me refortify in my mind what I already have in my head and on map concerning City layout, and makes me feel a bit more confident about the setup I have and the work I put into it. Thank you so much for this video, for all of your videos, seriously!
Does anyone else remember "The Man Who Would Be King" with Sean Connery? The tribes closer to the headwaters of the river always peed into the river. Knowing that, my upper echelon society would always live closer to the headwater, everything else gets laid out from there. Tanners, just outside the city on the downwind side.Every other option can be decided on when you know how big the city is because of it's location. Another factor I use are the adventurers themselves. How common is it to find people walking around armed to kill everything? Using your environment as an enemy is always viable, it doesn't matter if the environment is a city.
ScarletSpartan when you think on it, writing a story and DMing a campaign are exactly the same, just with the story you choose the actions of the heroes too.
Glad to hear you mention the Vornhiem book. That is an amazingly concise book filled with great ideas and random tables for city play. I think every DM should own a copy.
Had an Urban campaign based off Faffard (sp) and the Grey mouser books . Was great fun, multiple different slow developed neighbourhoods, yes with Were Rats as well.
Dude, city campaigns are super fun, futuristic or typical fantasy. Also, this makes me wonder if someone's done a one-shot or a campaign involving a were-rat running a secret cell of four totally radical tortles.
I DM'ed a city based campaign once and it was my second favorite game I ever ran and really got into it as there was stuff for players to do for downtime and there was always a overhanging threat of getting kicked out of their apartment.
Started my first full campaign in a city, and we spent the entire first arc (~10 sessions) there. Other players/GMs were surprised when I told them about it. I think location-hopping is the norm in many groups, so I like this video and its intent. It's cool to sort of sink into a particular populated setting, and to give it more depth than a quick stop could ever accomplish. Still lots of prep, granted, but fun. Thanks for the additional food for thought. I'll be back in urban settings again, so the perspective helps.
I remember playing in Ruins of Adventure, and the idea that a city could be divided into human sections and monster sections and that there was a campaign to reconquer the city seemed like such a cool idea to me!
Check out the "City of Waterdeep" on DMSguild. Has some good city resourcing out there that I have adapted easily in my campaigns. I love the Lords of Waterdeep material as well. Dealing with the Council Quiet and the Lord's Alliance is pretty fun to add into an adventure hook for players. Just gotta know how to dangle that fruit of temptation around and see who bites!
Alefiend though I'd like much more of said beef in these episodes, maybe more top to bottom city creation and applications, so as to not miss any tiny detail. Not that you'd have to use every single thing, but most everything would be easily proffered to be perused and selected.
How would you handle a ranger or druid in an urban campaign? Would you let a ranger take city as a favored terrain? Would you make a new group of spells for an urban circle of the land druid?
draco argentum I could see urban druids tending to the stray animals and bringing balance to the ecosystem that exists in a city, especially a medieval one. An urban ranger would be someone who knows the city like the back of their hand. They could find food for free, stealthily move about the city faster than other characters, gather info by talking with the stray cat that lives down the street, etc
The Adventure's League had the "Murder in Baldur's Gate" campaign when they were switching from 4e over to 5e (so it contained stats and rules for both versions). Those were a good set of Urban Adventures.
Collateral damage and friendly fire should always be a factor. If you swing a sword in a crowd or loose an arrow, you could easily hit a bystander if they aren't creating a wide enough birth or the arrow misses. Especially in ancient cities with no public planning, they had narrow and confusing streets. I like the web idea. The more people in a smaller area means a higher percentage of the population of going to be rude or hostile than rural areas.
Hey, you guys are awesome. I've used your videos to really help my adventures. You guys are really good at letting the leash off my imagination. You guys are looking good too! Have a happy new year!
This friday is our last session in our current campaign, then next week we're character building for a level 0 campaign taking place entirely in a city. All the PCs are orphaned children. This is a very timely video!
I’ve had an idea for a city that I’ve been working on for several months now. Pretty much it is a city that exists in several different realms/ realities/ plains at once. Like imagine New York, but when you went to Union Station, instead of subways, it would be seven more cities all folding in on each other, like dr. Strange. And the party could go to these other cities and then exit alternate city Union station and be on another plain/ realm/ reality.
Sigil is not in the Forgotten Realms, but on the Outer Planes and was the centerpiece of the Planescape setting for 2e. If you're curious, I'd recommend a quick look at a wiki to familiarize yourself with factions and how the portals work, then check out In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil.
I can only recommend the "Guildmaster's Guide To Ravnica" sourcebook. You know, the cross-over book with Magic The Gathering. I'm still relatively new to the game and I am prepping a second campaign and a friend gifted me the Ravnica-book since I am also into MTG and damn is it helpful. Like, obviously it is set out to offer Ravnica itself as a campaign setting, so you have the heavy leaning on the speration of the population into the 10 guilds, but you still can use the tips and tricks for every urban campaign. Youn don't have to go for the full on Hogwarts-approach of having 10 houses where the players are sorted into, but since each guild represents a certain office, you can just base these offices on that. For example, I know that my campaign will deal heavily with the local church and a conspiracy regarding the high priest. So, I can look into the chapters about the Orzhov guild and cherry pick the things I need to build my church-campaign. My party will meet the local police force? Quickly read up how the Boros work and implement that knowledge. I know that many D&D players don't like that sourcebook but I don't get it. Even if you don't give a crap about MTG, the book is full to the brim with helpful tips for urban campaigns. Plus it offers some neat new races and cool monsters and options for villains.
Very good video - covers all the main bases. A few other thoughts and variants: - A city, especially in a fantasy setting, is likely to have a particular feature that it is identified with. It might be the source of its urban pride, the thing that legitimates its power holders, and draws in pilgrims, supplicants, and traders. It might be a relic of a saint, a wondrous animal, or a magical fountain. Display and guardianship of this feature will be regarded with special seriousness by both the city's rulers, and other residents as well. It might be the first thing PCs hear about upon entry, and it can feature prominently in their adventuring activities - they may have to guard, recover, or steal it. - Thieves' organizations may take various forms. Guild structures occur in areas where crafts are already organized into guilds - and local criminals are drawn to this structure because they can argue that they are professionals, too. But more criminal organizations assume a familial character. Exiled nobles, merchants (especially recently arrived ones), heads of minority communities) employ groups of roughnecks to advance their goals. These "godfathers" or "atamans" act in loco parentis to criminals who often have no legal standing - they protect them legally and physically, in return for loyalty. They may establish control (protection rackets) over particular crafts, or particular parts of the city (e.g. the port). They will also use the criminal "brothers" (children of the same "father", after all) to lean on political opponents and influence processes of city governance. Some gangs may also form in particular neighborhoods, quarters, or ends, as local defense forces, or members of fighting organizations. Some - typically those who have gone through particularly harsh experiences like being galley slaves, exiles, or inmates of a particularly vicious prison, may be members of secret societies with particularly strict codes of conduct (these are among the toughest criminal organizations). - Last, the legal system. When we think of this, as Jim pointed out, we think of Western-type law codes (that were influenced by Roman law). Common law, however, goes back to a time when proof of guilt or innocence was not necessarily established by rational argument. Especially in environments where the gods are very real, legal determinations are left up to them. In practice, that can mean not only trials by combat, but also trials by ordeal. These practices might be savage, but they may appeal to adventurers, more than engagement in endless courtroom dramas for violating ordinances. Or at least you can mix things up.
The best part of Wednesday! Question: if you wanted to make a Machete/Bo Christmas/Bill the butcher style knife fighter who just chucks knives like it's going out of style, how would you do it?
I can't remember which video it was in, but they covered this in a tangent about how there should be a throwing weapon feat. In standard 5e rules you can only ever throw one knife (past the first turn where you could have one in each hand) no matter how many attacks you have, as you can only take one knife out via the object interaction rules. To make a throwing weapon user work you'd really need to talk to you DM about ignoring the object interaction rules for the purposes of throwing weapons, which should be agreeable since it's not some crazy damage build, plus rule of cool!
I was interested when Skaven came up but when the phrase Undercity popped up, I was REALLY paying attention! SO using this in the campaign I'm planning!
This is awesome. You guys may find value out of the old Iron Kingdoms book, five fingers: port of deceit. It’s a book packed full of ideas that are easily transferable to any setting.
Find the old novel series Hawk and Fisher. Guard Captains in a typical fantasy city. Sometimes loaned out to the city's SWAT (special wizardry and tactics) unit. Good stuff that colored the way I run fantasy cities for decades now.
Love the idea of "relational maps". Yeah, you don't need to plan out every street, house and shop. Just have your major sites fleshed out(Magic Library, Main Temple, Royal Palace, Grand Bazaar, etc.), a general idea of what goes on in each district as well as where the districts lie in relation to each other, and have a couple stock locations up your sleeve for when the players go off script (when, not if). Allows your city to develop organically. You yourself might not even know that your city has an entire street full of ethnic cuisine until one of your players asks where they can get some Tiefling street food. Because of course it does, and the Tiefling vendor pays "protection" (along with everyone else in that district) to the Thieves Guild.
- I like having general map of the city. Only districts, maybe main roads and significant building for city and adventure (like town hall or house in which you found a dead body). - It is good to have a general description of each district (general architecture, types of civilians, security and so on). - Fantasy cities usually have one or more fancy objects or buildings (like millenia old oak in the middle of the city, or giant chasm spliting city in two halves with some flying islands in the middle and lots of bridgies). - Wererats or other secret societies need more thinking over (why are they here? how they stay hidden or safe? how they operate? do the have everything they need to survive - food, shelter?). - If you as a GM have some plot prepared, always think "how the plot would advance without player characters interaction?" - Remember that cities are not islotated from the world. They have trade connections, trieaties and animosities with other cities/nations.
This is a great resource for DMs to take a look at and I am definitely adding this into my DM Tool Kit. I have one that I keep on hand concerning shops and whatnot. I reference the material from David Dias' "Dungeons & Dragons Shops." I run a lot of my campaigns out of Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep so I use a lot of those referenced city guides as well.
A super hero inspired campaign would work perfectly in a city Campaign. The characters are a group of vigilantes who band together to fight crime, and powerful threats to the city.
For those struggling with "how to run Urban fantasy", consider how Shadowrun is done. Consider how Cyberpunk is done. Now, change the cybernetics for magic and go. Build a city organically like any campaign map, building as you go or need. Players only care about places that they need at that time. "Does this city have a ___?" for instance. Set up city sectors, with scattered locations they might interact with. Otherwise, buildlings are ubiquitous. I have a walled town called Willowdale. It has all of four locations somewhat detailed out. Do they care about the warehouses int he merchants sector? The school attached off the back of the library? The carefully laid out barracks? No. So they don't get detailed. I'll do that when they actually care. One thing I do is always have a busy mercantile area. It might be right of a downs dockyards, in the town centre, or close to the gates of a town. Players will spend the vast majority of their time here. Wererats? I've used them all of once. Heck, I've had a character become one. But not all communities have sewers. Many had open troughs that issued the waste outward. If you desire such a thing, instead of a sewer, consider an "undercity" which is made of the ruins of the old city upon which the new one is built. This undercity might be where kobold or goblin PCs come from, and it's an unspoken secret about the town. The small humanoids are part of the garbage recycling/disposal system, and control vermin like rats and larger-than-normal insects. I developed a "junk goblin" subrace, and it had great success in both RP and mechanics. DMGInfo built an entire adventure called "Under the Tavern" that one might consider.
20:00 Or does the nightwatch take over the watch as the sun sets, the city's own corps of gloomstalker rangers. And before you think I'm referring to game of thrones, the real nightwatch was a citizen militia which kept the peace on the streets of Amsterdam in the Renaissance era.
It recently struck me that you could base a series of adventures, or even whole campaign, around a city under siege, especially a city with a mega-dungeon beneath it. Your characters are lowish level citizens drafted into the defending army. The high level NPCs are too busy defending the walls to do various tasks, so your party gets sent on various missions - often into or through the dungeon below. Perhaps the very low levels are before the seige, when tensions are rising as the army approaches.
I’m running a campaign where the players are criminals in the capital city called underground of andagrad and this has been a huge help for it, it’s given me a few ideas for what I might do
I thought this would be more like a "DnD but in the modern world" type deal. That is an interesting world idea although other systems might work better.
Man, flicking through these videos to try and get me as a fledgling newbie DM up to scratch, and Jim just casually dropping the "I love skaven in my sewers". Having just dropped Skaven into my campaign, I feel personally attacked and called out. But no really, who doesn't love verminous creatures who have no regard for self preservation throwing out extremely advanced but temperamental magical / technology hybrid weapons and chatter among themselves in double speak?
