City¶

Cities are settlements of 6,000 souls or more. Each city has about four quarters (see the Town blueprint) plus city-wide infrastructure (walls, gates, sewers) and city institutions such as rulers and city watch. A city is about 1 to 2 miles across; quarters are roughly half a mile across.

Theme: Royal City¶

The domain's seat: the crown's own city. The Lord's Palace sits in the Court Quarter; the Temple presides from the Temple Quarter; Guild Halls line the Market and Guild Quarters. A Great Academy may be present in an Academy Quarter. Foreign Compounds cluster near the Palace. Some Royal Cities house a royal Mint under gaurd. The Court rules; the Watch enforces royal order across all quarters.

Scale	Quarters	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	Court, Temple, Market, Guild optional: 1 of Academy / Port / Industry	Court, Garrison, Guilds, Watch, Merchant Caravans, Underworld optional: Assassins' Guild, Foreign Compounds, Mint, Counting House	Walls, Sewers optional: Aqueduct	Gates optional: Amphitheatre, Arena, Baths, Grand Market, Great Inn, Library

Theme: Great Port¶

A coastal or river city built around extensive harbors and shipping. Multiple wharves crowd the waterfront; Foreign Compounds cluster near the docks and the Merchants' Guild Hall; ships arrive and depart with every tide. May be ruled by a monarch and Court, a Syndicate, or a Council of the wealthiest households. The Merchants' Guild is powerful.

Scale	Quarters	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	Port, Market, Guild; 1 of Court / Temple / Academy optional: a second of Court / Temple / Academy	Court or Syndicate or Council, Garrison, Guilds, Watch, Merchant Caravans, Merchant Ships, Underworld, Foreign Compounds optional: Assassins' Guild, Counting House, Mint	Walls, Sewers, Sea Gate optional: Aqueduct	Gates, Grand Harbor optional: Amphitheatre, Baths, Grand Market, Great Inn, Library

Theme: Bastion City¶

A great city built on a hill or mountain, rising in concentric walled tiers to a Citadel at the peak. Each tier has its own wall and gate. The city sits on a frontier facing a hostile realm.

Scale	Quarters	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	Citadel, Court, Temple, Market optional: 1 of Guild / Industry / Academy	Court or Council, Garrison, Guilds, Watch, Militia, Merchant Caravans, Underworld optional: Assassins' Guild, Foreign Compounds, Counting House, Mint	Great Walls, Sewers optional: Aqueduct	Great Gate, Inner Gates optional: Amphitheatre, Baths, Grand Market, Great Inn, Library

Theme: Scholar City¶

A city grown around a Great Academy, seat of learning for a continent. Multiple colleges spread across the Academy Quarter; scholars come from distant realms to study for years. Booksellers, stationers, apothecaries, and instrument makers do business near the Academy Quarter. The Grand Headmaster holds a Senate seat; the Great Academy's charter shapes the city's laws. Students carouse in the taverns, scholars debate in the amphitheatre, and rare volumes change hands in the market.

Scale	Quarters	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	Academy, Market, Temple; 1 of Court / Guild / Port optional: a second of Court / Guild / Port	Court or Council, Garrison, Grand Headmaster, Guilds, Watch, Merchant Caravans, Underworld optional: Assassins' Guild, Foreign Compounds, Counting House	Walls, Sewers optional: Aqueduct	Gates, Grand Library, Great Academy optional: Amphitheatre, Baths, Grand Market, Great Inn, Observatory

Theme: Temple City¶

A city grown around a Great Temple, seat of a Grand High Priest and a draw for pilgrims across the domain. Quarter roads run from the city gates to the temple square, with pilgrim hostels lining the way; chandlers, illuminators, and stonemasons cluster in the Temple Quarter. The Grand High Priest holds a Senate seat; the Great Temple's religion shapes the city's laws and its calendar. Pilgrims fill the taverns, preachers sermonize in the amphitheatre, and holy writings and antiquities are bought at the Grand Market.

Scale	Quarters	Creatures	Features	Locations
City	Temple, Market, Guild; 1 of Court / Academy / Port optional: a second of Court / Academy / Port	Council or Court, Grand High Priest, Guilds, Watch, Merchant Caravans, Underworld optional: Assassins' Guild, Foreign Compounds, Counting House	Walls, Sewers optional: Aqueduct	Gates, Great Temple, Pilgrim Hostels optional: Amphitheatre, Baths, Grand Market, Great Inn, Great Monastery, Library

Details¶

Quarters¶

Academy Quarter. See Town: Academy Town (theme, quarter).

Citadel Quarter. See Town: Citadel Town (theme, quarter).

Court Quarter. See Town: Court Town (theme, quarter).

Guild Quarter. See Town: Guild Town (theme, quarter).

Industry Quarter. See Town: Industry Town (theme, quarter).

Market Quarter. See Town: Market Town (theme, quarter).

Port Quarter. See Town: Port Town (theme, quarter).

Temple Quarter. See Town: Temple Town (theme, quarter).

Creatures¶

Assassins' Guild. See Criminals: Assassins' Guild (theme, city).

Council. See Rulers: Council (theme, city). In a Scholar City, the Grand Headmaster holds a Senate seat; several College Heads may also hold seats. In a Temple City, the Grand High Priest holds a Senate seat with weight beyond his single vote; several Elder Priests may also hold seats.

Counting House. See Traders: Counting House (theme, city). In a wealthy commercial quarter. Count: 1 Counting House per city; up to 3 in a very large or wealthy city.

Court. See Rulers: Court (theme, city). In the Court Quarter.

Foreign Compounds. Foreign diplomats and organizations. See Fortifications: Foreign Compound (theme). Often in the Court Quarter or one related to commerce. Count: 1 Foreign Compound per allied or neutral realm on the continent. Realms in conflict may operate a cover (a merchant house, a trading post).

Garrison. See Military: Garrison (theme); based in the Stronghold of the Citadel Quarter.

Grand Headmaster. See Arcane: Great Academy (theme, city). Sits on the Senate.

Grand High Priest. See The Faithful: Great Temple (theme, city). Sits on the Senate with weight beyond his single vote.

Guilds. See Traders: Guild Hall (theme).

Merchant Caravans. Caravan companies based in the city. See Caravans: Merchant Caravan (theme, city). Count: sum of the city's quarter-level caravan companies (1 per commercial quarter district that ships by land). A city's total caravan count is the sum across its quarters, typically 6-12 companies.

Merchant Ships. Shipping companies based in the city. See Caravans: Merchant Ship (theme, city). Count: 4-8 shipping companies at a Great Port with a Grand Harbor; more only if the city is exceptionally maritime.

Militia. See Military: Militia (theme, city). One Muster Hall per quarter. Count: 1 Militia Lieutenant per quarter, commanding that quarter's companies and reporting to the Militia Commander.

Mint. See Traders: Counting House (theme), Mint variant. In the Court Quarter or a fortified area.

Underworld. Street gangs, smuggling networks using gates, docks, and sewers, and one or two Thieves' Guilds coordinating protection, vice, gambling, and forgery. Count: 1 Gang per quarter, 1-2 Thieves' Guilds per city; where two are present, they likely compete for territory. See Criminals: Smugglers (theme, city), Criminals: Gang (theme, city), and Criminals: Thieves' Guild (theme, city).

Watch. See Military: Watch (theme, city). Stations are located in each quarter. Count: 1 Watch Lieutenant per quarter, reporting to the Watch Commander.

Features¶

Aqueduct. See Civic Facilities: Aqueduct.

Great Walls. Concentric stone walls, one per quarter tier of a Bastion City. Each ring is 30 to 70 feet tall, thicker and taller at each successive tier. The outermost ring may enclose the farm fields below the city. Gates through each ring are offset from the ring above and below. A DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check to climb any wall; each requires heavy siege equipment to breach.

Sea Gate. See Civic Facilities: Sea Gate. Can be closed to protect the harbor mouth against hostile ships.

Sewers. See Civic Facilities: Sewers. Universal in cities, running under every quarter.

Walls. City walls: stone, 30 to 40 feet tall. Towers at intervals. A DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check to climb the exterior; the walls require heavy siege equipment to breach.

Locations¶

Amphitheatre. See Civic Facilities: Amphitheatre. Often funded by the crown. In a Market Quarter or a Court Quarter.

Arena. See Civic Facilities: Arena. A wonder of the domain seating tens of thousands. In the Court Quarter for royal games and executions, or in a Market Quarter.

Baths. See Civic Facilities: Baths. In a Market Quarter or a Court Quarter.

Gates. Entry points at cardinal walls. Timber or iron-banded doors in stone gatehouses; toll collectors on market days; the Watch keeps a station at each gate. Walls at gatehouses are taller than the walls they are part of. Requires at least a DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check to climb; the doors require heavy siege equipment to breach. Loot: duty roster, gate keys, toll cashbox (5d100 gp on market days, less otherwise).

Grand Harbor. A deep-water port with multiple piers, quays for large ships, cargo warehouses on the waterfront. Sits inside the city walls, with a Sea Gate at the harbor mouth. Absorbs the Harbor in a Port Quarter. A grand harbor has:

Main piers: stone-and-timber piers stretching into the deep water. Large ships tie up along both sides.
Quays: paved waterfronts for loading and unloading cargo. Wagons queue at the quay edge.
Cargo warehouses: long stone buildings along the harbor's edge, holding goods in transit. Warehouses are locked; each shipping company keeps its own.
Shipyard: see Civic Facilities: Shipyard. The Grand Harbor absorbs a Shipyard in a Port Quarter.
Outer roadstead: deep-water anchorage for ships too large for the piers, and for ships awaiting a berth. Reached from shore by longboat.
Harbor Master's Hall: the Harbor Master's office and residence at the head of the main pier. Ledgers, harbor keys, docking-fee strongbox, records of every ship in port.
Customs offices: where cargo is inspected and duties paid before goods leave the harbor. Duty strongbox and inspection records.
Loot: cargo in transit (5d100 gp per warehouse); ships alongside; the Harbor Master's strongbox (5d100 gp docking fees); the Customs strongbox (5d100 gp on a busy trading day); the Shipyard's tools and timber stores (5d100 gp collective).

Grand Library. A massive collection, endowed by the crown, the Great Academy, or a wealthy patron. Multiple reading halls around a central rotunda, tens of thousands of volumes, private study cells, a scriptorium with dozens of copyists, book vaults behind strong locks, and subterranean archives holding the oldest manuscripts. A staff of Librarians (Professionals with proficiencies in History and calligrapher's supplies) manages the collection under a Head Librarian. Access by patron endorsement, letter of introduction, or membership fee; a Guard station at the entrance. Loot: rare manuscripts and books (5d10 gp for the visible collection; more for rare volumes in the vaults); the Head Librarian's regalia and records (academic gossip, blackmail material); archive vault contents.

Grand Market. A vast open square or enclosed bazaar with hundreds of permanent stalls, warehouses along the perimeter, dedicated buildings for currency exchange, foreign trade, and guild sales. Large enough to hold caravans and their pack animals. The Watch keeps a checkpoint at each entrance on market days. If part of a Market Quarter, takes the place of the Market Square. Loot: stallholders' takings; Watch checkpoint cashbox (5d100 gp on market days); guild trade office records; foreign merchants' warehoused stocks.

Great Academy. A grand educational complex. See Arcane: Great Academy (theme). In the Academy Quarter.

Great Gate. The main entry to the outermost tier. A monumental fortified gatehouse with a heavy portcullis, murder holes above the passage, a barbican forecourt, and a garrison detachment on watch. Ceremonial arrivals, foreign envoys, and treaty hostages are received here. Wall at the Great Gate is the outermost of the Great Walls; the Great Gate is at least 20 feet taller than its wall; the doors require heavy siege equipment to breach. Loot: duty roster, gate keys, toll cashbox on trading days (5d100 gp), signal horn, ceremonial banners of the crown.

Great Inn. See Hospitality: Great Inn. Often in the Court Quarter or a wealthy commercial quarter.

Great Monastery. See The Faithful: Hermitage (theme, city). In the Temple Quarter, or on quiet grounds at the edge of the city.

Great Temple. The Grand High Priest's seat and the city's principal house of worship; a stone great temple whose bell tower dominates the Temple Quarter skyline. See The Faithful: Great Temple (theme, city) for details.

Inner Gates. The fortified gates through each inner ring of the concentric walls. Portcullis, murder holes above the passage, a guardroom off the passage, a garrison detachment on watch. Gates are typically taller than the walls they are part of. The doors require heavy siege equipment to breach. Loot: duty roster, gate keys, small cashbox (2d10 gp), signal horn.

Library. See Civic Facilities: Library. In an Academy Quarter or a Court Quarter.

Observatory. A stone tower with an open roof and dedicated astronomical instruments: astrolabes, quadrants, armillary spheres. Astronomers and alchemists work here, recording celestial events and predicting eclipses. The astrologer-royal or head astronomer resides here on orders from the crown or the Great Academy. Loot: brass instruments (500 gp); star charts and celestial records; the astronomer's personal effects and coin purse.

Pilgrim Hostels. See Hospitality: Pilgrim Hostels. Line the pilgrim road from the city gates to the Great Temple square.

Local Troubles¶

d100	Trouble
01-02	A Merchant Ship's cargo arrived with the seal broken. The manifest is wrong and the captain is missing.
03	An auction house is preparing to sell a Great House's heirloom collection, but some of the staff have gone missing.
04-05	A relic bound for the Temple was quietly diverted at the Harbor last night. The ledger has been altered and the crate is gone.
06	The Chancellor has not been seen for three days. His private study has been sealed.
07	A rider from the crown has arrived with a writ recalling the city's Constable to answer charges at Court. The Constable will not open the gates.
08	A Councilor has been found dead in the Baths.
09	There are rumors that the Assassins Guild has been given a contract for a sitting Councilor.
10	The Thieves' Guild was robbed. They say it was an inside job.
11	A Gang war has begun in one of the quarters. Bodies are turning up in alleys and inns.
12	A Ringleader of the Smugglers has turned informant. The Thieves' Guild has put a contract out on him.
13	A body was left on the steps of a building. Word is it's the Assassins' Guild and the body is one of their own.
14	Someone is trying to sell a stolen artifact, but no fence will touch it.
15-16	A Thieves' Guild lieutenant has been found in the Sewers alive but with his tongue removed.
17-18	A gang of children has begun thieving. They vanish into the Sewers.
19	The Grand High Priest has been struck ill. The lower priests have already begun a succession contest.
20-21	The Temple's holiest relic was quietly replaced with a copy. The High Priest knows and cannot say so publicly.
22	A rival sect raised its own shrine near the Temple. Fights have broken out at the shared well.
23	A Priest of the Temple is rumored to taking bribes to reveal what is confessed at the altar.
24	A famous heretic thought executed a decade ago has been seen preaching in an outer quarter.
25	The Temple's offerings have been stolen.
26-27	The Great Academy's Reliquary has been broken into. The Headmaster doesn't want to name what is missing.
28	A Master has died in his tower under strange circumstances. The Headmaster has assigned a novice to sort his effects.
29	An apprentice at the Great Academy has been speaking a language nobody has taught him. He recites in his sleep and cannot be woken.
30-31	A Master of the Great Academy has fled in the night, leaving his workroom sealed with three separate arcane protections.
32	A magical duel between two Masters damaged the Baths and killed three people. Both duelists are in hiding.
33-34	A cursed item confiscated by the Great Academy may be killing the guards posted around it.
35	A prominent Master will offer a public lecture that a rival has publicly sworn to prevent.
36	A visiting Master from a distant Academy has been assassinated in his room.
37	The head of one of the city's oldest Great Houses died. Three heirs have produced three different wills, each in the deceased's hand.
38	A Great House matron has been quietly arming her retainers. The house across the square has done the same.
39-40	A Great House's private cemetery has been disturbed. The keeper found a coffin opened. Possibly from the inside.
41	A specific bell tower has been ringing after midnight for a week. The bellrope was removed, but the ringing continues.
42	A statue in the Library reading hall has been found looking a different direction each morning for three days. Today its head is turned toward the Palace.
43-44	A door has appeared overnight in the wall of a well-known Baths chamber. It is locked. The attendants say the wall was smooth yesterday.
45-46	A Foreign Compound's gates have been locked and nobody has come in or out for three days. The smoke from its chimneys has not stopped.
47	A distant king's daughter has arrived unannounced, with her own household and no ambassador to receive her. She will not say why she has come.
48	A Foreign Compound's granary was searched. Weapons, not grain, were found beneath the sacks. The ambassador denies knowledge.
49-50	The Aqueduct has run dry for the first time in a generation. A crew sent up the line has not returned.
51-52	A section of street has collapsed to reveal the sewers below, but there are no record that the sewer was dug there. Something is rising through the break at night.
53	Rats have begun to infest the town. The wharf seems to be at the center.
54	A ship has arrived in the Harbor flying no colors but a yellow jack to show the crew is under quarantine.
55-56	The city's oldest well has begun rising. The water tastes of blood.
57-58	A Sewer worker returned to daylight after two days below with white hair and no memory of what he saw.
59	The Arena's sand has been turning red with blood on rainy nights when no combats were held.
60	Names have begun appearing scratched into the walls of the Baths. Some are recently dead. Some have died since. Others fear they are next.
61	A famous general dead a hundred years has been seen walking the parapets of the Palace at dawn.
62	Reflections in the Aqueduct's public fountain show a different city: same buildings, wrong signs, wrong flags. Only some can see it.
63	A district has aged in a single night, plaster crumbled, timbers grayed, ivy climbed to the second story.
64	A body was pulled from the Harbor with wounds from an unknown creature or weapon. The Harbor Master doesn't want the Priests to see.
65	A statue has moved on the Temple's roof. It has moved twice since. It is now facing a Councilor's townhouse.
66-67	Livestock at the outer market pens have been found drained of blood. Tracks lead to the Sewers.
68	Something has begun climbing the outside of the city Walls at night. The Watch has lit fires along the parapet and no one has slept there since.
69	A creature of a savage race was captured trying to enter the Great Academy. He carries a token bearing a Master's private seal.
70-71	The keepers at the Arena are missing. The gate is intact, but something inside seems to have gotten loose.
72-73	Every night at the same hour a scream comes from beneath the Amphitheatre.
74	An army is marching towards the city.
75	A convoy of exiled nobles has arrived. They ask sanctuary, but three separate powers demand their return.
76	A hooded traveler arrived at the Palace gate and was admitted without challenge. The Palace has been on lockdown since.
77-78	The crown has issued a call to arms against a distant power. The city's militia is being raised; the Great Houses are haggling over exemptions.
79-80	The crown's fleet has failed to return from an expedition.
81-82	A famous general out on the border has stopped answering the crown's dispatches. A trusted envoy is being prepared to ride out and confirm his loyalty.
83-84	The neighboring kingdom's heir has been assassinated on their own soil and rumor names a hand from this city.
85-86	A maritime trade route to a distant locale has been cut by a foreign navy. Half the city's merchants face ruin; they seek a captain willing to run the blockade.
87-88	A man of a foreign faith has begun preaching at the Temple's own gates. His followers grow by the day. Word is that his home realm is watching.
89-90	A treaty signed is about to lapse. Both sides are quietly moving troops; the Court wants eyes on the enemy.
91-92	A state prisoner held at the Palace has escaped or been freed. He knows secrets about some members of foreign courts and might use them.
93-94	A distant crown has sent a formal marriage offer to a Great House's daughter. Accepting draws the city to their next war; refusing insults them.
95-96	A cipher was stolen from the Chancellor's study. Every letter the crown sent this year may now be deciphered. The Chancellor needs it recovered.
97-98	A holy relic from a foreign shrine has appeared for sale in the city. The foreign realm has demanded its return, but the city's High Priest wants it enshrined here.
99-100	A foreign tyrant's famed magical artifact has been rumored moved to a fortress at his border. A cabal at the Great Academy is quietly seeking people willing to go and retrieve it.