What's In A City?

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devlin1
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What's In A City?

Post by devlin1 »

I'm working on this thing for this fantasy game, and the specific thing I'm working on is a random city generator. So my question for you people is this: What would you want a random city generator to generate?

Here's the circumstance in which I see it being used. You're running a game and your players are out in the hinterlands somewhere, and at some point they say, "Okay, let's find a town around here and sell this shit/get this repaired/get hammered/etc." So the things I think the players would probably want to know, and the things the GM would need to quickly get a feel for the place, would be:
  • How big is it? Little hamlet, or big city?
  • What's this city all about? Is it a bunch of farmers, or a hub of trade, or the proverbial city of thieves, or what?
  • Is it a decent place, or is everyone covered in shit?
  • Is there anything special here, like a military academy or a mages' college?
  • Are there any important people here? ("Important" here mostly meaning "important to the immediate affairs of the players.")
  • Can I get a good price on this thing I want to sell? Do they have that thing I want to buy?
  • Who lives here? Is it a human town, an elven village, or what?
  • And are they cool, or assholes?
What else?
Mike Olson
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Skyman
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Post by Skyman »

Type of Law enforcement and attitude toward non locals...which probably fits 'are they an asshole?' catagory
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

type of culture. languages spoken. average temperament of citizens (friendly? courteous? xenophobic? hostile?). typical foods. level of technology. seasons and climes. type of government.
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Post by devlin1 »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]type of culture. languages spoken. average temperament of citizens (friendly? courteous? xenophobic? hostile?). typical foods. level of technology. seasons and climes. type of government.[/quote]

From the players' perspective, IMO, some of these things are pretty vital, like how receptive the citizens are to outsiders, whereas some others feel more like background details -- like the type of government. I'd think whether or not they'll let me in the front gate is of more immediate concern than the fact that they're a parliamentary democracy. Now, if their government [i]makes[/i] them assholes -- like if it's dictatorial rule or something -- that's something, but what's more important is the end-user experience: They're [i]assholes[/i].



Some stuff is too detailed to be suitable for the total-genericism of this, like what they eat. Either they eat whatever's typical for whatever race they are, or they eat something weird. Beyond that, it's up to you and your setting what constitutes "weird."



And environmental factors are assumed to be handled by a separate (but accompanying) random adventure generator. Besides, I'd think that the GM will know what kind of climate they're in when the whole let's-go-to-town thing comes up.

Mike Olson
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

that's cool. you asked for suggestions, and those were my paltry offerings. use whatever's useful to you and ignore the rest.
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Post by devlin1 »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]that's cool. you asked for suggestions, and those were my paltry offerings. use whatever's useful to you and ignore the rest.[/quote]

That's not good enough.



No, seriously, re-reading my reply, that sounded pretty curt. Sorry about that -- I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks for 'em.

Mike Olson
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

no worries. you're welcome. anymore specifics on this project you're working on? like, is it independent or something for cubicle 7 that i'd have to sign an n.d.a. to know about?
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Post by devlin1 »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]no worries. you're welcome. anymore specifics on this project you're working on? like, is it independent or something for cubicle 7 that i'd have to sign an n.d.a. to know about?[/quote]

All I can say is this: It's for a chapter on cities for the [i]Legends of Anglerre Companion[/i], theoretically scheduled for release at GenCon. Retail price: $24.95 for a 128-page softcover.



Beyond that, I can't reveal anything else! Don't ask for more, because seriously, I just can't spill the beans. Sorry for being so coy!

Mike Olson
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

coooooool... congrats dude!
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Post by Uber_snotling »

  • Who runs the place? Might they need assistance or dislike outsiders?
  • What events are going on in town? (Halfling pie week! Harvest festival! Jousting tournament! High holy day for the Death god!)
  • Why is this city/town/hamlet here? (trade route, good farming, gold mines, military outpost, etc.)
  • Any local taxes or levies? (Elven ear tax, fee to enter city, luxury taxes, avoiding conscription taxes, etc.)
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Post by Skyman »

Does the place have enemies or beasties that thump the place like Grindle. Are there sub cultures or a caste system?
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Post by devlin1 »


[quote="Uber_snotling"][list]
  • [*]Any local taxes or levies? ([b]Elven ear tax[/b], fee to enter city, luxury taxes, avoiding conscription taxes, etc.)
  • [/list]
    [/quote]

    I read this as "Eleven ear tax."



    "Consider yourself in debt for the other nine."

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    Post by Uber_snotling »


    [quote="devlin1"]I read this as "Eleven ear tax."



    "Consider yourself in debt for the other nine."[/quote]


    While a fun interpretation, I originally ripped off the Elven Ear Tax from the famous Warhammer FRP campaign "The Enemy Within". Elves are ridiculously overpowered in 1st Ed. Warhammer and the only real disadvantages were social ones like the Elven Ear Tax. In a similar vein, I would also recommend a Magic-User License to keep those pesky visiting wizards from chucking fireballs willy-nilly.



    We haven't mentioned religions here either, but that might be important for a town. Three aspects might be important/interesting:
    [list]
  • [*]Important temples/holy places/religious relics and artifacts

  • [*]Spectrum of tolerance/bigotry towards religions other than dominant town religion

  • [*]Cults or oddball/unknown local religions
  • [/list]

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    Post by devlin1 »


    [quote="Uber_snotling"]While a fun interpretation, I originally ripped off the Elven Ear Tax from the famous Warhammer FRP campaign "The Enemy Within". [/quote]
    Yeah, I kinda figured -- it sounds very Warhammer.


    [quote]We haven't mentioned religions here either, but that might be important for a town. Three aspects might be important/interesting:
    [list]
  • [*]Important temples/holy places/religious relics and artifacts

  • [*]Spectrum of tolerance/bigotry towards religions other than dominant town religion

  • [*]Cults or oddball/unknown local religions
  • [/list]
    [/quote]


    That's part of the city's Focus. Every city has one -- it's the thing the city's about. The bigger the city, the more Foci it can have. If a city has the Religion Focus, for example, it has other ramifications for the city, like a bonus to its Culture skill. Depending on its Culture, it could have anything from a small temple to a massive cathedral.



    Weirdo cults would be a function of a city's Weirdness, which is basically a general list of weird things to inspire ideas in the GM. So if I had a city with Religion as a Focus and the Weirdness table indicated oddball cults, it could mean a secret cult operating in opposition to the city's dominant religions, or that the cults [i]themselves[/i] are the Religion Focus, or whatever.



    Clearly, though, the city's openness to outsiders is going to be important; whether it takes the form of religious tolerance or intolerance, or any other vector of tolerance or intolerance, could probably be an aspect.

    Mike Olson
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    Count Zero
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    Post by Count Zero »

    This might provide a little help: http://www.rdinn.com/town_generator.php

    Obviously not a random chart but it might inspire some ideas.
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    Post by mordraine »

    Views on religion? I.e. ultra-fundamental, non-religious, hostile towards certain religions, etc...?

    edit: that's what I get for missing that there was a second page, with references to religion. rassinfrassin.
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    Post by Sven »

    Trade guilds, Merchant guilds

    Trade Guilds are the guilds that make things (usually) they are a combination of labor union/trade association. Historically could have tremendous sway within a city. Especially in matters that threaten cashflow/local monopoly of the given trade guild. for example: If the parties mage gets a little carried away with manufacturing continual light sticks the local candle makers guild could get..... annoyed, in the Corleone Family sense of the term. Additionally showing up in town with the dragon's horde worth of Jewels may cause some problems with the local jewelers fearing a sudden flood of jewels in town.

    Merchant houses differ from trade guilds in that they tend to be the middle men traders/ financiers rather than producers of goods. The Medicis in renaissance Italy were a bunch of bankers that ran Florence. In a Fantasy city context it could be there is a government (king privy council etc) that is actually quite powerless in the face of the mercantile houses. A small note on the power of a well run "Merchant guild" "the Prince" by Machiavelli was written for Lorenzo "the Magnificent" Medici... a banker.
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    Post by devlin1 »


    [quote="Sven"]Trade guilds, Merchant guilds



    Trade Guilds are the guilds that make things (usually) they are a combination of labor union/trade association. Historically could have tremendous sway within a city. Especially in matters that threaten cashflow/local monopoly of the given trade guild. for example: If the parties mage gets a little carried away with manufacturing continual light sticks the local candle makers guild could get..... annoyed, in the Corleone Family sense of the term. Additionally showing up in town with the dragon's horde worth of Jewels may cause some problems with the local jewelers fearing a sudden flood of jewels in town.



    Merchant houses differ from trade guilds in that they tend to be the middle men traders/ financiers rather than producers of goods. The Medicis in renaissance Italy were a bunch of bankers that ran Florence. In a Fantasy city context it could be there is a government (king privy council etc) that is actually quite powerless in the face of the mercantile houses. A small note on the power of a well run "Merchant guild" "the Prince" by Machiavelli was written for Lorenzo "the Magnificent" Medici... a banker.[/quote]


    In FATE terms, these are both Organizations within the city; we have existing but separate rules for those already. Currently, for every Focus a city has, there's an Organization to support it. So if a city had a Commercial Focus, it'd also have a powerful trade or merchant guild. I mean, it probably has other guilds in addition to that one, but one of them's important enough to stat out as an Organization (the others would just use the city's Resource skill).



    I'm starting to work up a list of Quirks for each Focus to represent the city's little oddities or distinctive features. A good Commercial one would be something like Guild Rivalry -- instead of just one important commercial Organization, there are two (or more, if you keep rolling that Quirk).

    Mike Olson
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    Post by Uber_snotling »

    Devlin,

    Initially, you said this was a random city generator for hinterdorfen towns. However, the way you are describing it, the tables sound more useful for world building then for spitting out a random city 20 minutes before the session starts. Can you tell us more about how you want the table to be used? The level of detail is strongly dependent on the intended use.
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