Three Secrets to Running Cities in D&D 

Time to roll on the Random Harlot table! 😆

nice! good practical tips. i run an urban centered campaign and have done so for 3 decades. agree a city is way more interesting than a dungeon or wilderness. factions, guilds, city guards, crime-lords, plots to overthrow the ruler, underground cults, spies, assassins, street gangs, con-men, sailors, muggers, sewers, mysterious priests, smugglers, prison breaks, crime-ridden districts... etc etc. I use Sanctuary Thieves World which is a city campaign with unlimited adventure hooks and unlimited potential for NPC social encounters. Hard to find now but highly recommended. Id buy a second copy of the Thieves World boxed set if i came across it for a good price, its that good.

This gives me a little more confidence regarding cities. Party loves doing things with down time with games, bartering, and finding dark dungeons. Good advice, Fumbl!

Great thoughts. I totally agree. I have my group based in Haven (Dragonlance setting) and have redesigned the map to add some more dangerous and unique locations. I have also fleshed out Tarsis where they will be headed next.

Like the thoughts. Generally speaking I start with regions and a few ideas for each. I try to start with a rumour table that can be picked up through social interaction. Depending what thread the players tug at decides what I'll build for them, within a general framework.

Just recently started dm-ing and this has definitely given me ideas for my cities. Thank you!

I divide my city into districts and give them names like Cheapside, harbor district, academic, etc. Then I give them district information that differs such as City Guard Reaction Time, Pickpocket table based on average wealth for a given district and a Encounter table for both day and night cycles. I further set up each district like a hex crawl where the more a player looks and stays, the more likely they will find something they haven't seen or noticed before. These usually include 3 or 5 room [room used loosely here], adventures. This does take some time to setup my city took about a week to make and then another three for the hex crawl part of it. The advantage is that I can run this city for years of gameplay if the players want to. thanks for sharing your ideas.

Something ive started doing is letting my players come up with a few of the locations or rumors of the town and then i flesh them out. Helps us all feel like we're making the story together.

Great video, thanks!

Definitely worth a re watch next city I build

Some of my best campaigns revolved around urban settings.

Great Video (I subscribed) 😁

My party's still midway through our first campaign about fetching gold from a dungeon, but I'm already planning city for them to visit either later on this campaign, or in a new one. It also helped me create the world where our campaign will happen. I'll go check, but do you have any videos on mind flayers?

I would of liked to hear specifically how you were able to save the party

Great video!

3:44 Deus, not Do