city builder vol 1

By Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. VBy Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,arhola, Jim Clunie,

and the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Groupand the Skirmisher Game Development Group



City Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder Volume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:City Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder Volume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:City Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder VCity Builder Volume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:olume 1:

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Authors:Authors:Authors:Authors:Authors: Michael J. Varhola, Jim Clunie, and theSkirmisher Game Development Group

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Thanks TThanks TThanks TThanks TThanks To:o:o:o:o: Sharon Daugherty and Steve Lortz

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TTTTTable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contentsable of Contents

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction 55555About This Series..............................................................................................................................................5Viewing This Book..............................................................................................................................................6

Characteristics of CommunitiesCharacteristics of CommunitiesCharacteristics of CommunitiesCharacteristics of CommunitiesCharacteristics of Communities 99999Regional Influences...........................................................................................................................................9Types of Communities...........................................................................................................................................10

Small Communities..........................................................................................................................................11Towns......................................................................................................................................................12Cities........................................................................................................................................................13Special-Purpose Communities..........................................................................................................................14

BuildingsBuildingsBuildingsBuildingsBuildings 1717171717

Physical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of Cities 1919191919Fortifications..................................................................................................................................................20On, Above, and Below City Streets.........................................................................................................................22Lighting.........................................................................................................................................................23

DisastersDisastersDisastersDisastersDisasters 2525252525Dealing with Disasters...........................................................................................................................................26Impact of Disasters on Communities......................................................................................................................27Effects of Disasters on Places.................................................................................................................................28

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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

The various types of communities where adventurersperform these and other functions is the subject of thisbook and the series of which it is part. It has not beenwritten with any particular game system in mind andis intended to be useful for Game Masters building awide variety of ancient, medieval, and fantasy com-munities.

In many game campaigns, visits to such communi-ties and the essential places within them are often giv-en short shrift, and dispensed with in the most per-functory way. Not every visit to such non-adventuringvenues needs to be played out, of course, and it is per-fectly appropriate that many not be. Periodically role-playing visits to various essential places, however, canserve a number of useful functions.

Communities of various sorts often serve as the start-ing and ending points for all sorts of ventures, and un-counted parties of adventurers have begun and endedtheir quests in the marketplaces and taverns of the vil-lages, towns, and cities of the game world. Communi-ties themselves can also serve as locales for exploits ofall sorts, especially those involving skill use and role-playing rather than battle, with encounters and char-acters much different than those typical of the usually-more dangerous wilderness and dungeon environ-ments. Even campaigns encompassing long overlandtravels or voyages at sea will likely involve occasionalstops at settlements or ports to obtain supplies and ser-vices beyond what characters in a party can carry orprovide for themselves.

Indeed, one of the things that distinguishes a cam-paign from an unrelated series of dungeon crawls canbe the downtime between adventures. Many partieswill return again and again to a well-established baseof operations, a place where the adventurers can healup, resupply, and train. Providing a detailed commu-nity in which to perform these tasks establishes a senseof continuity, provides a stronger rationale for playercharacters’ progression in competence and ability, andhelps tie together adventures into a cohesive whole.Game-world communities are, unfortunately, often not

as interesting or unique as they could be, and the in-tent behind this book is to provide Game Masters witha resource for making the communities in their worldsmore plausible, memorable, and exciting.

Visits to places that have been given interesting de-tails and added dimensions can reinforce the feelingthat the characters live in a real, vital, interconnectedworld. This will seem especially true if various funda-mental places and the people associated with themare affected by the same sorts of factors present in themilieu as the player characters are.

Finally, Game Masters can often use communitiesand the relevant places within them both as localeswhere player characters might meet non-player char-acters who might be useful to them or otherwise influ-ence their fates, and as opportunities to insert adven-ture hooks of various sorts.

About This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesAbout This SeriesEach of the 11 volumes in this series begins with abrief overview of the sorts of places discussed in it andthen details a number of such places, as described be-low.

VVVVVolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communities discusses villages, towns,cities, and other locales and covers such things as typesof communities, regional and racial influences on them,and the sorts of calamities that can affect them andtheir inhabitants.

VVVVVolume 2: Craftsman Placesolume 2: Craftsman Placesolume 2: Craftsman Placesolume 2: Craftsman Placesolume 2: Craftsman Places explores the locationsassociated with people who make things and to whichcharacters must frequently go when they need to pur-chase or commission armor, weapons, clothing, andany other kinds of custom-made or special items. Plac-es it covers in detail include Armories, Arsenals, Black-smithies, Clothiers, and Jewelry Shops.

VVVVVolume 3: Enterolume 3: Enterolume 3: Enterolume 3: Enterolume 3: Entertainment Placestainment Placestainment Placestainment Placestainment Places visits the localesto which people in the game milieu may go for leisureand recreation. Specific places of this sort that it cov-ers include Carnivals, Menageries, Museums, Parks,and Theaters.

CCCCCharacters in a typical fantasy role-playing game setting spend much of their time trudging through teeming wilderness, exploring forgotten ruins, and risking the hazards of subterranean dungeon complexes.Before and after such adventures, however — and sometimes even during them — characters often visit

a wide variety of places to buy and sell weapons, armor, and other equipment; consult with or hire mercenaries,tradesmen, scholars, and various sorts of specialists; and participate in training and other activities related totheir vocations.

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VVVVVolume 4: Prolume 4: Prolume 4: Prolume 4: Prolume 4: Professional Placesofessional Placesofessional Placesofessional Placesofessional Places discusses institutionsthat characters might need to visit in order to advancein their vocations, or to which others might need to gofor information or various services. Specific places ofthis sort described in this chapter include Guildhous-es, Hospitals, and Training Halls.

VVVVVolume 5: Tolume 5: Tolume 5: Tolume 5: Tolume 5: Tradesman Placesradesman Placesradesman Placesradesman Placesradesman Places examines places oc-cupied by various sorts of specialized individuals thatplayer characters might periodically need to visit. Spe-cific places described in it include Apothecary Shops,Breweries, and Mills.

VVVVVolume 6: Merolume 6: Merolume 6: Merolume 6: Merolume 6: Mercantile Placescantile Placescantile Placescantile Placescantile Places deal with wealth inits various forms and are the locales where charactersgo to liquidate, spend, and safeguard the loot they ac-quire in the course of their adventures. They are, natu-rally, among some of the most visited places in manycampaign settings. Places of this sort described in thischapter include Banks, Brokerages, General Stores,Marketplaces, Pawnbrokerages, Trading Posts, andWarehouses.

VVVVVolume 7: Serolume 7: Serolume 7: Serolume 7: Serolume 7: Service Placesvice Placesvice Placesvice Placesvice Places are locales that charac-ters can visit to fulfill their needs for things like food,drink, sleep, and personal hygiene and include someof the most quintessential places associated with fan-tasy role-playing games. Such places described in thisbook include Inns, Taverns, Barbershops, Bathhouses,Hostels, Kitchens, Livery Stables, Restaurants, andRooming Houses.

VVVVVolume 8: Scholarly Placesolume 8: Scholarly Placesolume 8: Scholarly Placesolume 8: Scholarly Placesolume 8: Scholarly Places looks at places charac-ters go to ask questions of their knowledgeable inhabit-ants or purchase goods and services from them. Placesof this sort described here include Academies and Col-leges, Alchemists’ Workshops, Fortune Tellers, Librar-ies, Mages’ Guilds, Scriptoriums and Scrollshops, andWizards’ Towers.

VVVVVolume 9: Religious Placesolume 9: Religious Placesolume 9: Religious Placesolume 9: Religious Placesolume 9: Religious Places are locations charac-ters can visit to fulfill various spiritual needs, meet withthe people associated with them, or try to communewith the gods or their agents. Such places described inthis book include Cemeteries, Monasteries and Con-vents, Shrines, and Temples.

VVVVVolume 10: Goverolume 10: Goverolume 10: Goverolume 10: Goverolume 10: Governmental Placesnmental Placesnmental Placesnmental Placesnmental Places examines ven-ues associated with and controlled by the ruling pow-ers of a community or state. Characters might decideto visit such places for any number of reasons, but mightalso find themselves summoned or unwillingly takento some of them. Specific places of this sort describedin this book include Audience Chambers, Barracks,

Guardhouses, Harbors and Harbormasters’ Offices, Jail-houses, Manor Houses, Municipal Courthouses, Palac-es, Prisons, and Workhouses.

VVVVVolume 11: Underolume 11: Underolume 11: Underolume 11: Underolume 11: Underworld Placesworld Placesworld Placesworld Placesworld Places are those associat-ed with criminals and the seamy underside of society.Places of this sort that adventurers might visit for busi-ness or pleasure include Brothels, Pit-Fighting Rings,and Thieves’ Guilds.

This volume’s section on “Physical Characteristicsof Cities” contains a significant amount of materialderived from Wizards of the Coast’s v.3.5 System Ref-erence Document, which is used under the terms ofthe Open Gaming License. Content in each of the other10 volumes of this series is completely new and origi-nal.

Overall, the intent of this book and the others in thisseries is to provide Game Masters with concrete infor-mation about how to create communities and placeswithin them for use in their own fantasy roleplayingcampaigns and to inspire them to develop places thatare believable, colorful, and exciting for their players’characters to visit.

This book and the entire City Builder series havealso been written so as to be fully compatible with thevarious existing Skirmisher Publishing LLC d20 publi-cations, including Experts v.3.5, Warriors, and Tests ofSkill.

VVVVViewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This Bookiewing This BookThis book has been designed to be as user-friendly aspossible from both the perspectives of printing out foruse in hard copy and viewing on a computer screen. Ithas been laid out like a traditional print book with theidea that each even-numbered page complements theodd-numbered page that it should face (e.g., the FourHorsemen of the Apocalypse on page 24 are intendedto face and illustrate the beginning of the section on“Disasters” on page 25).

With the above in mind, the optimal way to viewand enjoy this book would be to print it out andorganize it in a binder so that the pages are arrangedas described above. This is by no means necessary,however, for using and fully benefiting from City BuilderVolume 1: Communities and its contents.

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IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

Populations in smaller communities tend to be raciallyhomogenous; generally have a relatively narrow gapbetween their richest and poorest members; are oftencomparatively egalitarian or democratic in nature; gen-erally enjoy limited privacy, probably no anonymity,and tend to know everyone else; and generally sufferor benefit fairly equally from conditions affecting thecommunity overall.

Populations in larger communities are much morelikely to be racially diverse; to have a distinct econom-ic gap between their richest and poorest members; tohave power concentrated in the hands of a few indi-viduals or families, to have a politically disenfranchisedunderclass, and to have the bulk of the residents fallsomewhere between these two extremes; tend to valuetheir privacy, to have many individuals about whomlittle is widely known, and who generally mind theirown business as much as possible; and to enjoy bene-fits or suffer detriments that are often not distributedequally.

A single major community — anywhere between alarge town and very large city in size — might com-pose a small nation-state. In addition to its main com-munity, such a small state might also include a num-ber of nearby villages or smaller towns, mostly dedi-cated to producing food for the capital. Despite theirrelatively small size, such countries that evolve fromsingle cities can often become quite influential andpowerful. Small states of this sort will likelymay wellbe the norm in ancient, medieval, or fantasy game mi-lieus.

A large nation-state might comprise many commu-nities — including scores of cities, hundreds of towns,and thousands of villages and smaller communities.Such larger countries may be divided into several ma-jor regions, each containing perhaps one to three citiesand numerous smaller communities. Although suchstates will likely have some form of central governmentand a unified foreign policy, individual communitiesmight have significant control over the administrationof local and regional affairs.

Even subject communities might operate with a greatdegree of independence, especially if they have suffi-

cient political clout or distance from their suzerain toinsist upon it, or if such semi-autonomy is to the ad-vantage of their ultimate overlords. Indeed, in certainlooser forms of government — such as confederations,leagues, and weak feudal states — the overall rulermay hold power only by the cooperation of a numberof lords or electors, or the central government bodymight only convene yearly or at longer intervals, or intimes of crisis.

In any event, communities tend to value whateverindependence they can obtain and many will engagein protracted negotiations or even military action toobtain charters granting them the rights they desire.Lords are often willing to grant such charters to mer-cantile and manufacturing communities, which cangenerate income far beyond that possible for rural es-tates, in exchange for cash payments (such cash-hun-gry aristocrats, of course, might seek to replace citygovernments that do not adequately serve their needs).

One way or another, individual community govern-ments might operate and be constituted much differ-ently than the national governments to which they areultimately subject. Local governments might be influ-enced by such things as a desire to preserve traditionsfrom the community’s history, a drive to experimentwith model forms of government proposed by variousphilosophers, and a need to adhere to unique local cir-cumstances.

Regional InfluencesRegional InfluencesRegional InfluencesRegional InfluencesRegional InfluencesWhere a particular community is located is one of themost critical factors in how it will develop. Indeed,major terrain features like rivers, lakes, seas, moun-tains, valleys, forests, hills, swamps, islands, anddeserts can be some of the most significant determin-ing factors in why a particular community was estab-lished, the form it takes, its economic basis, and howlarge and successful it does or does not become.

Communities established in areas of rich farmland,for example, may be able to produce food in surplus oftheir needs, allowing them to both maintain a well-fedpopulace and engage in trade with communities less

FFFFFeatures of Communitieseatures of Communitieseatures of Communitieseatures of Communitieseatures of Communities

MMMMMost communities in the game world are inhabited by a populace with similar or overlapping backgrounds, goals, interests, and concerns (there can, of course, be marked exceptions to this rule, aswith communities in the throes of division and crisis, or those in which there has been historic

isolation and oppression of a weaker group).

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fortunate. Communities without access to much or anysuperior farmland, on the other hand, very well maynot be able to support large populations and may nevergrow into more than villages or small towns. In theabsence of resources like mineral wealth or variousservice industries, the peoples of such communitieslikely become the political dependants of more power-ful neighbors.

One of the things that distinguishes some communi-ties from others and can provide them with immeasur-able political and mercantile benefits is their situationat some intrinsically valuable location, such as a landbridge between continents, the delta of a key river sys-tem, a deep-water harbor, or a strait connecting majorbodies of water. In a fantasy campaign setting, exploit-able natural phenomena might include volcanoes, ar-eas of high or low magical power, or gateways to otherworlds or planes of existence.

Just as a strategic location can make a communitythe envy of its neighbors, however, so, too can it be-come a liability by making it a perpetual target for sub-jugation. A city that has something worth taking con-

stantly has to protect it, and nation-states that fail to doso will lose vital portions of their lands, become occu-pied by foreign powers, or be annihilated.

Major terrain features like those noted above canalso limit how far a particular community has natural-ly expanded and determine any major lines of defenseagainst foreign invaders, such as a major river beyondwhich the community’s troops do not venture, or a stra-tegic pass controlled by a vital fortress that may havechanged hands many times. Areas that are beyond thecontrol of any of the surrounding civilized states willlikely remain debatable in legal status and a haven towhatever outlaws, monsters, and highly-skilled adven-turers choose to make their home there.

Racial InfluencesRacial InfluencesRacial InfluencesRacial InfluencesRacial InfluencesAnother factor that can affect the form or organizationof a community is the various peoples who live withinit. The presence of non-Human races and cultures, forexample, adds to the exotic nature of most fantasy cam-paign settings and influences the location, structure,appearance, and other key elements of communities.Indeed, communities in a fantasy milieu may consistpartly or entirely of such non-Human populations,which might range in size from individual aliens, topockets within large, predominantly Human commu-nities, to nation-states consisting almost entirely of non-Humans. The possibilities are only limited by the GameMaster’s imagination and concept for the fantasy mi-lieu that he wishes to create for the enjoyment of hisplayers.

In many ways, the influence of the non-Human com-munity is likely to resemble, in a somewhat modifiedfashion, the different relationships that foreign-derivedHuman communities have historically held with theirneighbors. Its members may be considered equal citi-zens of the parent community. On the other hand, thenon-Humans may be politically independent or semi-autonomous to some extent, perhaps governing them-selves differently than Humans, or the non-Human com-munity could be disenfranchised, either ignored by thecommunity’s rulers or viewed as a threat to be stampedout. Its members may contribute unique benefits to theparent community, possibly in the form of monetary,magical, or military aid. An interchange of technology,beliefs, and customs may alter both societies, perhapswith one culture introducing sweeping improvements

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in one or more areas.It is also possible that the populations of two or more

sentient communities could be largely unaware of eachother’s existence. A sequestered community of subma-rine Elves in the great bay adjoining a major city mightbe invisible to its Human inhabitants, and might them-selves be largely ignorant of the fact that other peoplehave settled the lands beyond their holdings, possiblycenturies before, gaining some inkling of this only whenviolence or the elements drive vessels and their con-tents beneath the waves and into the watery realm be-low.

TTTTTypes of Communitiesypes of Communitiesypes of Communitiesypes of Communitiesypes of CommunitiesMost communities can be broadly classified as villag-es, towns, or cities. There are also various sorts of spe-cial-purpose communities that can play a role in thegame, such as communes, prisons, plantations, andmilitary bases, and these are all described either inthis chapter or elsewhere in this book. The size of aparticular community will play a big role in determin-ing what sorts of essential places are present within it.In general, the larger the community, the more sorts ofspecialized craftsmen, goods, and services it can sup-port.

Size of most communities is also closely linked totheir proximity to natural resources or trade routes, sothe GM should have some plausible reason for why aparticular community has attained the size that it has.Communities with little to offer new residents will re-main at their current size, or possibly even shrink ifthe pickings are scarce — perhaps leaving amenitiesintended for a much larger population to fall into dis-use or to be adapted for different purposes. On the oth-er hand, events like establishment of a new trade routeor discovery of a previously unexploited resource mightcause a period of expansion. Being based in such a“boom town” can make for many exciting adventurehooks, as well as providing adventurers with a familiarbase of operations that could plausibly grow to meetsome of the more complex needs of higher-level char-acters.

Small CommunitiesSmall CommunitiesSmall CommunitiesSmall CommunitiesSmall CommunitiesMany sorts of communities smaller than true townsexist, and the vast majority of communities in worldsthat function largely like our own will likely be agricul-

tural in nature. Such communities will be the norm inthe relatively unorganized borderlands, marches, andwildernesses along the frontiers of many nations inwhich many adventures take place.

ThorpsThorpsThorpsThorpsThorps are the smallest sort of communities and aretypically home to just 20 to 80 inhabitants. Any partic-ular thorp is 50% likely to be non-permanent in natureand dedicated to seasonal activities — like hunting,fishing, or logging — or to governmental projects. It is30% likely that all the inhabitants of a permanent set-tlement will be somehow related; a thorp might haveone or several family heads, although such de factocommunity leaders are unlikely to have any formal ti-tles and typically hold an ill-defined equality of status.If not dedicated to some specific activity, the residentof thorps often subsist as beggars, bandits, hunter-gath-erers, scavengers, or the like, or are migrants or refu-gees from a neighboring nation. It is only 40% likelythat any particular permanent thorp will have a name.Buildings generally consist only of temporary or semi-permanent structures like lean-tos, tents, shanties, andhuts.



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HamletsHamletsHamletsHamletsHamlets are larger than thorps and are typicallyhome to as many as 400 residents, but depend on larg-er communities for amenities important to everydaylife, such as purchase of necessary tools and supplies,religious worship, or local government. It is 30% likelythat such a community is only temporary and occu-pied either seasonally or until completion of a specificproject, such as a section of road, a castle, or a temple.If permanent, a hamlet generally has no firm econom-ic base or organized government, and its inhabitantstypically work as subsistence farmers, hunter-gather-ers, or craftsmen. Residents of non-permanent ham-lets are typically laborers engaged in governmentalprojects; people engaged in exploiting some resource,such as seasonal harvesting of wild plants, hunting ofsaleable fur or meat animals, prospecting for preciousmetals or gems, or scavenging from ruins; or even ban-dits or equivalent lawless groups, including irregularmilitary forces like rebels or unemployed mercenaries.Prominent residents of a hamlet might hold some sortof outside authority — such as bosses of a work group,priests, or rebel officers — although typically no partic-ular post of leadership exists for the hamlet itself, whichis more often recognized as a locality than a communi-ty. Buildings in a hamlet might include permanent long-houses or huts, along with those found in thorps.

VVVVVillagesillagesillagesillagesillages are communities of up to about 1,000-or-soresidents that have some sort of organized governmentand a particular economic basis (e.g., farming). A typ-ical village might have up to a half-dozen industries,three of which will almost always be a blacksmith’sworkshop, a mill, and a brewery in a farming commu-nity (i.e., a miller to grind grain and a blacksmith toforge and repair agricultural tools, and a brewer to con-vert grain into beer).

Buildings in a village are mostly permanent in na-ture and consist largely of such things as longhousesand sunken huts. If constantly threatened, a villagemight also include some sort of simple defenseworks,such as a palisade, a fence of sturdy thorn bushes, awatchtower into which people can flee if the commu-nity is attacked, or even a fortified temple. The resi-dents of any particular village might also be organizedinto some sort of militia, especially in areas perpetual-ly menaced by various threats.

CommunesCommunesCommunesCommunesCommunes are inhabited by people who share a sim-ilar ethos and follow the same spiritual beliefs. Suchcommunities generally look and function much like

regular villages, albeit often with the addition of one ormore religious structures. A commune might be estab-lished for any number of reasons, such as devotion toan agricultural or wilderness deity, proximity to someholy site, or religious beliefs that differ enough fromthose of the general population enough that its wor-shippers need or prefer to live separately.

About half of all communes are led by priests of somesort, while the other half are led by non-ordained proph-ets of religious movements branded eccentric, hereti-cal, or forbidden by the outside world. A very smallcommune might consist of a leader and his extendedfamily or immediate followers, numbering up to a cou-ple of dozen people; a large one might include a highpriest, a clerical staff, and 500 or more members total,many of which would likely be common folk (e.g., farm-ers and possibly their families on an agricultural com-mune).

Many buildings on a commune will be substantialand permanent in nature, and might include a templeor other devotional structure; housing for clergy andother members, possibly segregated by gender; vari-ous huts, barns, granaries, and storage buildings on afarming commune; and appropriate workshops if it isdevoted to some sort of craftwork.

Other sorts of small communitiesOther sorts of small communitiesOther sorts of small communitiesOther sorts of small communitiesOther sorts of small communities might also existin the game world. Non-permanent communities con-sisting of tents, wagons, or boats might be used by no-madic bands of various sorts and resemble thorps orhamlets in their numbers of inhabitants and organiza-tion. Boom towns might spring up in formerly isolatedor unsettled areas where a particularly rich resourcehas been discovered or a region of desirable land hasbeen opened for acquisition; a rush of fortune-seekersmay flood in, erecting temporary structures on landthat they may or may not own legally. Such places mighthave organization and facilities comparable to a thorp,a hamlet, or even a village, but have a population inthe thousands. Such unstable conditions very oftenbreed disease, hardship, exploitation, crime, and vio-lence.

TTTTTownsownsownsownsownsTowns are substantial, permanent communities thatoften feature a wide variety of industries, quite possi-bly have some racial diversity, and are typically hometo at least 2,000 inhabitants and as many as 5,000.

Towns often have several recognized districts and

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even suburbs. They also generally require a more com-plex and organized system of governance than villagesand are often run by a permanent body, such as a citi-zens’ council headed by a mayor. In addition, townsalmost always have central markets that are used bypeople from surrounding villages and other small com-munities to sell and trade the produce of field and for-est, and as an outlet for local craftsmen and tradesmento provide their various goods and services. Unlike vil-lages, towns are typically not self-sufficient in food,making their populations dependent on the marketsthat have allowed their communities to prosper.

Industries associated with towns include fundamen-tal ones required by their inhabitants on a daily basis— such as greengrocers, bakeries, butcheries, fish-markets, mills, blacksmith shops, and breweries — andabout a third will also be noted for some other craft oractivity in particular, making them a destination forpeople hoping to either participate in those pursuits oracquire the products associated with them.

Structures associated with towns are generally sub-stantial, permanent, and diverse, and might include a

variety of public or governmental structures, such astown halls. Towns might also — depending on theirresources, configuration, and prevailing threats — havedefensive walls or fortifications large enough to holdall of the local residents for short periods of time, thelatter often situated on the highest point within the com-munity. Such defenseworks will typically be built andmaintained by a town’s civic government or feudal rul-er.

CitiesCitiesCitiesCitiesCitiesCities are large, complex, diverse communities that arealmost always located along the banks of navigable riv-ers, or on the shores of deep water bays, or major traderoutes, and which have ample access to resources likefood and fresh water for their populations. In a typicalancient, medieval, or fantasy game milieu, small citiesare home to as many as 12,000 residents (one moderndefinition of a city, in fact, is a settlement of at least10,000 residents); large cities as many as 25,000 resi-dents; and metropolises as many resident as can besupported by the economic basis of the campaign set-



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ting, possibly hundreds of thousands or even millions.Many cities have some sort of significant commodityexchange or industry associated with them (50% and25% likely, respectively).

A city’s head of government usually has at least thetitle of Lord Mayor (though often this personage willinstead be a high noble of the realm or the ruler of anindependent state, holding such titles as Duke, Prince,Doge, or Sultan) and presides over a council of repre-sentatives who each have a considerable constituencyin the city and without whose organizational skills theadministration of such a vast and complex system couldnot function.

Cities are often divided into multiple sections — of-ten referred to as districts, precincts, quarters, or wards— that are sometimes separated by walls or even withmovement between them controlled or interdicted byfortified gates. Each of these precincts typically has adifferent, specialized purpose and each might actuallybe similar in size to an independent town; possibilitiesinclude craft, trade, mercantile, academic, profession-

al, service, temple, entertainment, underworld, gov-ernment, residential, and military quarters, each ofwhich might be further subdivided. Another commonpattern is to allot one or more quarters primarily to par-ticular nationalities or races, or to foreigners and visi-tors generally (both for purposes of providing them withsuitable amenities and segregating them from the in-digenous population).

Various sections of a city might be set off with dis-tinctive boundary stones marked with specific sorts ofsymbols or sculptures. Respect for such official mark-ers and adherence to them is generally taken very seri-ously by the community that has expended the timeand effort to erect them. Such markers might also havesome sort of reputed or actual magical properties.

Cities will almost always have substantial defense-works and, whether independent communities or thosethat serve as strategic strongpoints for kingdoms or greatnobles, will generally be walled and include towersand fortified gates (see Fortifications, below, for moreinformation). Such defenseworks are frequently elabo-rate and imposing, are sometimes unique, distinctive,or aesthetically striking, and are often intended to in-timidate and impress as much as to defend.

Another feature common to cities — and to manytowns as well — is the presence of public fountains,which are often erected in prominent areas by civicleaders and organizations, both as public works intend-ed to impress and as practical sites for residents ortravelers to obtain water. Edifices of this sort are oftenreputed to have various magical properties, whetherinnately as a function of the spring water that flowsfrom them or somehow deliberately imbued throughthe actions of some being or agency.

Special-PSpecial-PSpecial-PSpecial-PSpecial-Purpose Communitiesurpose Communitiesurpose Communitiesurpose Communitiesurpose CommunitiesVarious sorts of special-purpose communities — includ-ing plantations and military bases, both of which aredescribed here — can play a role in the game and pro-vide an interesting change of venue from more tradi-tional sites of habitation.

PlantationsPlantationsPlantationsPlantationsPlantations are substantial commercial farmsworked by gangs of hired labor or slaves. Many com-munities of this sort have all of the characteristics of avillage and are frequently nearly or wholly self-suffi-cient. At least half and as much as three-quarters ofthe population of a plantation will consist of laborers,and to the extent that such a community exhibits any

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demographic diversity the members of different racialor ethnic group may variously own, run, or work theplace.

Structures on a plantation typically include a homefor the owner and his family if they reside at the site,barracks for overseers or guards, and quarters for la-borers, along with the workshops, granaries, and otherbuildings associated with villages. Conditions on plan-tations typically range from comfortable for the own-ers, to adequate for the overseers, to often execrable forthe laborers.

Communities like “company towns,” where the solelocal industry (e.g., a mine) and all associated resourc-es are controlled by a single entity, generally conformto the characteristics of plantations.

Military basesMilitary basesMilitary basesMilitary basesMilitary bases are fortified communities owned andoperated by standing armies, typically the armed forc-es of a state (although in a medieval setting other armedgroups such as knightly orders or pirate brotherhoodsmight support equivalent facilities). Such places gen-erally house one or more units of military personnel,store equipment, and facilitate activities like training,equipment testing, and field operations. Military basescan range from small outposts to military cities con-taining thousands of people. Most are dedicated to sup-porting a single military or paramilitary organization,such as an army, navy, marine corps, constabulary,militia, watch, or guard force.

Some military bases may belong to nations or statesother than those in which they are located, and suchfacilities are characteristic of imperial powers in par-ticular. Regardless of where they are located, militaryfacilities are often extra-legal jurisdictions not subjectto the prevailing civil laws of the land.

Names applied to particular sorts of military basesgenerally indicate their sizes, functions, or degrees offortification. Such terms might include armory, arse-nal, barracks, camp, depot, dock, facility, field, fort,fortress, garrison, installation, magazine, post, provingground, reservation, station, or yard. A strategic defen-sive line might contain numerous interconnected bases,or effectively constitute a single large military basealong its entire length (e.g., 70-mile-long Hadrian’s Wallin northern England).

Whatever they are called or used for, military baseswill generally employ stringent security measures,which might include walls, towers, fences, moats, buff-er zones (e.g., marches), free-fire zones, and armed

patrols. In campaign settings where magic is prolific,spellcasters might even serve as members of militarygarrisons and apply their abilities to securing militarybases or specific areas within them.

Other facilities within military bases may includecommand posts, barracks, armories, arsenals, work-shops, supply depots, training areas, dining facilities,and stables. Depending on the purpose of a base or theethos of its owners, such places might also includechapels, academies, gymnasiums, athletic fields, parks,baths, libraries, hospitals, and amenity vendors (e.g.,sutlers). While bases in friendly areas might dependon nearby communities for support, those in frontierareas will likely have adequate stocks of food, water,and other supplies to function indefinitely on their ownunder hostile conditions or siege.

Not all societies will have military bases, and suchspecial-purpose communities are likely to be main-tained only by nation-states that are fairly large, wellorganized, and have standing military forces. Indepen-dent communities like bandit redoubts and some mon-asteries, however, might essentially conform to thecharacteristics of military bases.


In rural areas, villages, and other small communities,many businesses and other commercial venues will belocated in one of two types of buildings: roundhousesand longhouses. Roundhouses, often also known assunken huts, are generally square or round, built ontop of a three-foot-deep excavated area, tend to be about10 to 15 feet across, and consist of a single room that isused as a living area, a workshop, or both. Longhousesare generally rectangular and typically made of plas-ter-covered wood, with a living space at one end, aworkshop in the middle, and an area for livestock orstorage at the other, and might be anywhere from 10 to30 feet wide and three or more times as long.

In towns, cities, and other urban areas, many of thevenues adventurers need to visit are located in town-houses that are two to five stories in height, built side-by-side to form long rows separated by streets. Typical-ly, the ground level of such a structure is used as aworkshop and to conduct any necessary sales or busi-ness. A basement or back room, if present, might beused for storage or as additional work space. A firstfloor usually consists of a large dining area toward thefront and a kitchen toward the rear of the house. Asecond floor is typically devoted to the master’s bedchambers and perhaps rooms for other family mem-bers or guests. A third floor is generally used for ser-vant and apprentice living quarters and a fourth flooror attic, if present, is typically used either for storage orextra living space.

Materials used for the construction of townhousesand other urban structures might include stone, brick,or plaster-covered timbers (with perhaps the former,heavier materials being used for the first few stories ofa building and the latter, lighter materials being usedfor the upper stories, interior walls, and floors). Roof-ing for such buildings might consist of thatch, woodboards or shingles, ceramic tiles, slate tiles, or evenlead sheeting, any of which might be sealed with pitchor similar substances. Doors tend to be simple but stur-dy wooden portals with adequate locks and bars ontheir insides, although main entry doors are often larg-er and more decorative. What materials are used for aparticular building will depend on the use for which itwas constructed or adapted, the financial resources of

its owner, and local availability of various building re-sources.

In some quarters of a city, especially industrial orpoorer residential districts, smaller, simpler, one-storybuildings — perhaps similar to those described as be-ing typical of rural areas and small communities —might be used variously for workshops, businesses,residences, or storage areas.

Likewise, many bigger and more substantial build-ings will also be present in urban areas, including largeinns and taverns, businesses that require extra spacefor machinery and equipment (e.g., mills, tanneries,shipyards), and the like. Many such buildings will sim-ply be larger, free-standing versions of the other sortsof buildings described here, up to five-or-so stories inheight, and constructed of the same sorts of materials.Others will be voluminous sheds framed in heavy tim-bers, or substantial vaulted or columned halls made ofstone.

Communities in any particular milieu might alsoinclude any number of unique, specialized, or purpose-built craft, trade, mercantile, scholarly, professional,service, religious, entertainment, underworld, or gov-ernment places.

BuildingsBuildingsBuildingsBuildingsBuildings

IIIIIn a traditional ancient, medieval, Renaissance, or fantasy campaign setting, many of the places charactersneed to visit before, during, and after their adventures will be located in the sorts of structures describedhere.

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Access to Resources:Access to Resources:Access to Resources:Access to Resources:Access to Resources: Adventurers have relativelyeasy access to a wide variety of resources in cities (as-suming, of course, that they can afford them). Amongother things, they can usually purchase and liquidategear and other goods quickly; can consult various spe-cialists or experts in obscure fields of knowledge foradvice or assistance; can retreat to the comfort of inns,taverns, public baths, and other service places whenexhausted; can avail themselves of hospitals or tem-ples when injured or suffering from disease or otherconditions; have ready access to marketplaces and theworkshops of craftsmen and tradesmen; and can easi-ly hire mercenaries or other sorts of non-player charac-ters.

WWWWWeapon and Spell Restrictions:eapon and Spell Restrictions:eapon and Spell Restrictions:eapon and Spell Restrictions:eapon and Spell Restrictions: Laws regardingsuch things as carrying weapons in public and whatsort of restrictions apply to spellcasting vary from com-munity-to-community and include specific restrictionsbased on their individual experiences, ethos, and con-cerns. Such laws may not affect all characters equally.A priest, for example, might be severely affected — orforced to undignified and illegal efforts to get aroundlocal restrictions — if holy symbols of foreign or forbid-den gods are confiscated at the city’s gates, while aspecialist in unarmed combat would not be hamperedby laws prohibiting or calling for the peace-bonding ofweapons.

Law Enforcement:Law Enforcement:Law Enforcement:Law Enforcement:Law Enforcement: Another key distinction betweenadventuring in an urban area and delving into a dun-geon is that the latter is, almost by definition, a placewhere the only law is “kill or be killed.” A community,on the other hand, is held together by a code of laws,many of which are explicitly designed to prevent kill-ing, looting, and the others sorts of behavior that ad-venturers typically engage in on a routine basis.

Evil humanoids like Orcs and Goblinoids, while un-popular with many adventurers, are typically protect-ed by the same laws that protect all the citizens of acity (unless they are prohibited from entering a partic-ular community in the first place). Simply being of evilalignment is quite probably not against the law — ex-cept, perhaps, in some severely theocratic societies thathave the magical power to back up their laws — and it

is only actual evil deeds — or, just as often, chaoticones — that can be treated as crimes. Even when ad-venturers encounter an evildoer in the act of perpetrat-ing some heinous crime upon the populace of the city,the law tends to frown on the sort of vigilante justicethat leaves the evildoer dead or otherwise unable toanswer for his crimes to the officials. Most municipallaws nonetheless recognize aberrations, demonic be-ings, and similar creatures as a threat to the stability ofthe community, and prohibitions against murder do notgenerally extend to killing such marauding monsters.

Laws are generally enforced in cities by a munici-pal guard composed of professional soldiers or police-men (equal to as much as 1% of the population if thisalso serves as the standing army), a city watch consist-ing of citizens who have other fulltime occupations(equal to as much as 5% of the population if this alsoserves as a military reserve force), or both. In conjunc-tion with a standing army — or instead of one, in manycases — such forces may also be responsible for pro-tecting a city from outside attack.

Most of the troops in a guard force will be warriorsby profession, with officers of the same backgroundwho generally have specialized or better training orare more experienced, or members of the local rulingelite who have other occupations appropriate to thecommunity (e.g., priests in a theocracy).

Most of the personnel in a watch force, on the otherhand, will be craftsmen, tradesmen, and the like. Thesepart-time soldiers will possibly be led by non-commis-sioned-officers (i.e., corporals and sergeants) and com-missioned officers (e.g., lieutenants and captains) whomight be part-timers drawn from the same range ofclasses as their troops, “player character” types whoserve in times of crises, or professional leaders of thesame sorts that lead full-time municipal troops.

A typical city guard force works on three eight-hourshifts, with a third of the force on a day shift (e.g., 8a.m. to 4 p.m.), a third on an evening shift (e.g., 4 p.m.to midnight), and a third on a night shift (e.g., mid-night to 8 a.m.). A city watch may keep a similar round-the-clock schedule or focus its efforts on evening pa-trols when it is most needed to deter crime.

Physical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of CitiesPhysical Characteristics of Cities

CCCCCities are in many ways similar to dungeons, made up of buildings, alleys, and courtyards rather thanwalls, doors, rooms, and corridors. Adventures that take place in urban areas differ from dungeon delvesin a number of significant ways, however, including much greater access to resources, restrictions on the

use of weapons and spells, and the presence of law-enforcement personnel.

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At any given time, 80% of the guards or watchmenon duty are on the streets patrolling, while the remain-ing 20% are stationed at various posts throughout thecity, where they can respond to nearby alarms. At leastone such guard post is generally present within eachprecinct or ward of a city.

FFFFFortificationsortificationsortificationsortificationsortificationsIn a traditional ancient, medieval, or fantasy milieu,most cities — and many smaller communities — willbe defended by structures like walls, gates, towers, andmoats. Factors that determine to what extent a com-munity might be protected in this way include whatthe local economy can support, the sorts of threatswhich they are intended to counter, whether thosethreats are recognized by community leaders, and thedegree to which various sorts of defenseworks wouldinhibit such threats. Rulers who distrust the populaceof a city (perhaps because of recent conflicts, whatever

the outcome) also may forbid the local council to erector extend its walls, or might even raze the defensesthat it previously had.

A city’s defenseworks might be as unique and dis-tinctive as the community itself, and its imposing gates,towers, and walls are often the first thing resident seeupon returning home from their travels, the last thingunfortunate enemies see when attacking them, and el-ements in innumerable travelers’ tales.

Urban defenseworks are typically manned by forcesof professional soldiers, which might be augmented —especially in times of crisis — by both the city guardand members of the citizenry organized into reserveunits, militias, and watches that are led by officersdrawn from among their numbers.

WWWWWalls:alls:alls:alls:alls: Typical fortified city defensive walls are fair-ly smooth and difficult to climb, crenellated on oneside to provide protection against missiles for the troopsstanding on them, and just wide enough for troops to

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walk along their tops.A typical small city wall is a fortified stone wall five

feet thick and 20 feet high.A typical large city wall is 10 feet thick and 30 feet

high. A large city might have one or several dividingfeatures, such as a natural cliff or waterway, suburbsbuilt outside the defensive wall, or interior walls up tothe extent of those of a small city that enclose precinctsreserved for particularly well-off citizens of some dom-inant class or another, or isolate a section of the popu-lation from which particular trouble is expected.

A typical metropolis wall is 15 feet thick and 40 feettall, and often has a tunnel and small rooms runningthrough its interior. Unlike those of smaller cities, inte-rior walls that divide metropolises — either old wallsthat the city has outgrown, or walls dividing individualdistricts from each other — can be as large and thickas the outer walls, but more often they have the char-acteristics of a large city’s or small city’s walls.

WWWWWatch Tatch Tatch Tatch Tatch Towers:owers:owers:owers:owers: Some city walls are adorned withwatch towers set at regular intervals. These towers pro-vide an enhanced view of the surrounding country-side, serve as redoubts against attackers, and some-times house heavy weapons like catapults or alarmdevices such as beacons, horns, or gongs.

Few cities have enough guards to keep someoneconstantly stationed at every tower, unless the city isexpecting attack from outside. More common practice,where the wall is guarded diligently, is for roving pa-trols of guards to pass periodically over all parts of thewalls and for ready-response forces to await any alarmin well-spaced guardhouses or barracks. Attitudes ofthe guards and their officers, weather conditions, andevents such as festivals taking place within the citycan markedly vary the frequency of patrols and likeli-hood of a guardhouse garrison responding to any signsof possible intrusion.

Watch towers are usually at least 10 feet higher thanthe walls they adjoin, jut out at least 10 feet from theface of the wall on one side so that troops in them canfire down on the flanks of enemies attempting to climbthe walls, and have a diameter five times the thicknessof the walls on average (e.g., a 25-foot-diameter toweradjoining a five-foot-thick wall). Particularly long walls,such as those of a large city or metropolis, fulfill someof the functions of watchtowers by including project-ing bastions or right-angled returns in the line of thewall instead, spaced at an easy bowshot or spear-throw

from each other. Arrow slits generally line the outersides of the upper stories of towers, and their tops arecrenellated like the surrounding walls. In small tow-ers, simple ladders typically connect the various sto-ries and the roof. In larger towers, stairs generally servethat purpose.

Heavy wooden doors, reinforced with iron and out-fitted with good locks, usually secure entry to towersfrom inside the city, unless they are in regular use. Asa rule, a designated officer of the guard or watch keepsthe keys to a particular tower secured on his person,with duplicate copies being kept in the city’s inner for-tress or barracks.

Gates:Gates:Gates:Gates:Gates: A typical city gate consists of a gatehouseequipped with a series of portcullises and murder holesabove the space between them. Gates leading into andout of large communities and dedicated military facil-ities are generally designed to be impressive, and suchportals are quite often dedicated to and named for thingssuch as kings, gods, battles, the directions or destina-tions they face, and the districts of the cities they guard(e.g., the Port Gate of Kos). In towns and some small


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cities, however, gates are often less impressive and theprimary entryways are simply through reinforced dou-ble-doors set right into the municipal walls.

Gates are usually open during the day and locked orbarred at night. Usually, a door sized for a single per-son set into one gate lets in travelers after sunset and isstaffed by guards who might open it for someone whoseems honest, presents proper papers, gives a pass-word or countersign, or offers a large enough bribe (de-pending on the ethos of the community in general andthe guards in particular).

On, Above, and Below City StreetsOn, Above, and Below City StreetsOn, Above, and Below City StreetsOn, Above, and Below City StreetsOn, Above, and Below City StreetsThe majority of streets in a typical city are narrow andtwisting. Most streets average 15 to 20 feet wide, whilealleys range from five to 10 feet wide. Those flaggedwith cobblestones or other material in good conditionallow normal movement, but ones in poor repair, aswell as heavily-rutted dirt streets, should be treated asareas full of light rubble.

Some municipalities, particularly those that gradu-ally grew from small settlements to larger cities, haveno larger thoroughfares. Cities that are planned, or per-haps have suffered major fires, sackings, or periods ofabandonment that allowed authorities to construct newroads through formerly inhabited areas, might have afew larger straight streets through town, known as ave-nues or boulevards. These main roads are often 25 feetwide or more — allowing room for wagons to pass eachother and perhaps for central rows of trees, statuary, orother embellishments by the local rulers who laid outthe street plan — and often have five-foot-wide side-walks on one or both sides. Because the majority of thecity’s residents pass along them, rulers typically choosesuch main roads as the locations for large monumentsto the state’s prestige, such as triumphal arches andgrand squares — and for reminders of the state’s ca-pacity to punish, such as execution-places and gibbets.

Rooftops: Rooftops: Rooftops: Rooftops: Rooftops: Getting to a roof usually requires ascend-ing to it from a building’s interior, climbing a wall, or

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jumping down from a higher location such as a win-dow, balcony, or bridge. Flat roofs, common only inwarm climates (i.e., accumulated snow can cause flatroofs to collapse), are easy to move across. Getting fromone roof to another or down to the ground typicallyrequires a jump across or downward. Distance to thenext closest roof is usually from five to 15 feet horizon-tally — slightly less than the width of the alley below— but the roof across the gap — even among buildingsof a more-or-less uniform number of stories — is equal-ly likely to be five feet higher, five feet lower, or thesame height due to differences in construction.

Subterranean Areas:Subterranean Areas:Subterranean Areas:Subterranean Areas:Subterranean Areas: Many sorts of subterranean ar-eas exist below typical cities, including storm drains,sewers, quarries, and natural caves, and many are var-iously employed as public works infrastructure, mili-tary access routes, criminal thoroughfares, and stor-age.

Main flow routes of sewers and storm drains are builtmuch like dungeons (for purposes of inspection andrepair), except that there is a greater chance that floorsare slippery, covered with water, or both; that tunnelsand chambers join in an open network or with grilles,rather than at doors, which if encountered will be firm-ly closing iron or stone hatches rather than wood; andthat tunnels drop off into high outfalls or deep pits.Long-neglected subterranean areas are also similar todungeons in terms of creatures liable to be encoun-tered in them. Some cities are built atop the ruins ofolder civilizations, so their subterranean areas mightsometimes lead to unknown treasures and dangers frombygone ages.

Accessing such areas might be possible from thebasements of some buildings, secret entrances built forsuch purposes, or, in the case of many sewers and stormdrains, by opening a grate or hatch in the street anddescending at least 10 feet (either by jumping, with arope, or by a ladder if available).

LightingLightingLightingLightingLightingCommunities may or may not light their streets at night,and whether they do or not depends on factors liketheir ethos, needs, and financial means. Whatever thecase, municipal lighting will generally be much lessreliable than in an industrialized milieu, and residentsventuring out after dark will have to address this insome way (e.g., hiring lantern-bearers).

Cities that do provide street lighting will typically

line main streets with lanterns spaced at intervals ofabout 60 feet (in order to provide continuous illumina-tion), hanging at a height greater than head level frombuilding awnings or posts, and serviced at dusk vari-ously by building owners or a corps of lamplighters(through the requirements of local ordinances in eithercase). Even communities that light main thoroughfares,however, almost never bother to illuminate secondarystreets and alleys, except perhaps directly at the en-trances to occupied buildings; such areas, surroundedby tall surrounding buildings, might remain darkenedeven in daytime (while such areas might not providefull concealment during hours of daylight, they mightmake it easier for those attempting to hide in the shad-ows).

Most hamlets, villages, smaller towns, and even somecities cannot or will not provide nighttime lighting atall. Cities where most residents can see in the dark,where the prevailing ethos maintains that decent peo-ple should not to be out at night anyway, or which donot have the organization or economic resources to keephundreds or thousands of lanterns burning throughoutthe night are unlikely to provide such a luxury.

Communities of any size that have a pressing needto keep the darkness at bay or can easily afford to do soare likely to keep many of their public areas well illu-minated. Those with access to sufficient magical re-sources, for example, might draw upon them for thesepurposes.

FireFireFireFireFire is a major threat in ancient and medieval com-munities, and is made much worse by conditions thattypically include closely packed buildings; features likewooden party walls between houses; widespread useof flammable materials like wood, wattle, and thatch;narrow, irregular streets; and a lack of effective fire-fighting equipment and infrastructure.

Measures for combating fire in traditional ancient ormedieval urban areas tend to be limited both in scopeand effect, and quite often consist of no more than buck-et brigades. Some municipalities might have public orprivate fire departments, but the latter type might ne-gotiate rates before actually fighting any fires.

FloodFloodFloodFloodFlood is a constant problem for many communities— especially those situated in low-lying areas or alongrivers or coasts — and often occurs during specific sea-sons, especially spring, when snow and ice begins tomelt and overflow waterways. Calamities of this sortmight also be the result of storms at any time of theyear. Small communities, such as thorps, hamlet, orvillages, might be completely swept away by a heavyinundation, and even those that survive are likely tosuffer a heavy toll in death and damage. Towns, cities,and other communities with relatively sturdy structuresare less likely to be completely destroyed but mightstill suffer immense damage and be paralyzed, withpeople trapped on rooftops or forced to employ make-shift watercraft to get from one place to another.

The easiest way to prevent flooding, of course, issimply to build communities on high ground. Commu-nities are situated in places prone to flooding for manyreasons, however (e.g., trade is made facilitated in cit-ies located along rivers or coasts, agricultural settle-ments thrive on flood plains with rich soil). Effectivedrainage systems can also be a means of dealing withflooding but, with some notable exceptions, were rarein most ancient and medieval communities.

FamineFamineFamineFamineFamine occurs when events like crop failure, de-struction of crops as the result of warfare, or depletionof food stocks through sieges reduces the amount offood that can distributed or sold within communities.While intensive agriculture can allow communities to

grow and become populous and powerful, it also makesthem especially vulnerable to this sort of calamity.

One remedy for short-term famine is the storage ofadequate food supplies, but communities do not alwayshave enough surplus foodstuffs to do this; historically,it was rare for ancient or medieval communities to ableto acquire surpluses adequate to support their citizen-ry over extended periods of time, a problem that wasexacerbated by a lack of effective food-preservationmethods. Magical or divine abilities to create largeamounts of food also might stave off famine if avail-able, and if spellcasters who command such abilitiesagree to exercise their magic in this way.

MonstersMonstersMonstersMonstersMonsters of various kinds can threaten communi-ties, and the danger they pose is affected by factorslike their motivations, how dangerous they are, andhow vulnerable a particular community is to them.Regardless of their size, most communities will be pre-pared to one extent or another for monstrous threatslike wild animals and bands of raiding humanoids, andit is threats that are unique, new, or difficult or impos-sible to anticipate or counter that can be truly disas-trous. At one extreme are solitary, very dangerous, pos-sibly gargantuan monsters, like the Balrog that slaugh-tered the Dwarves in the Mines of Moria, or creatureslike Godzilla, which can ravage even modern cities. Atthe other end of the spectrum are great hordes of tinycreatures, such as locust swarms or infestations of spi-ders or giant insects, which by their very numbers couldbe just as dangerous as colossal threats and overwhelmbelated or inadequate efforts to oppose them.

PlaguePlaguePlaguePlaguePlague is one of the most devastating disasters thatcan afflict communities and, unless countered, canpotentially kill every single person in particular areasand as many as half the people on entire continents.Factors like closely-packed populations, poor wastedisposal systems, and lack of understanding about dis-ease transmission can make some communities evenmore vulnerable to pestilence.

Measures like effective disposal of waste and refuse,quarantine, certain medicines and medical procedures,extermination of disease-bearing vermin, and various

DisastersDisastersDisastersDisastersDisasters

FFFFFire, flood, famine, plague, and war are among the major disasters that perpetually menaced historic ancient and medieval communities of all sizes, and to these can be added the threat of monsters in a fantasymilieu. Indeed, most of the misfortunes likely to befall a community as a whole are likely to be covered by

one of these broad categories. And all of them might both manifest themselves and be battled in unique andfascinating ways in a fantasy campaign setting.

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forms of magical protection are among the ways thatplague and other epidemic diseases can be combated.Such actions cannot necessarily be arrived at intuitive-ly, however, and typically require a relatively high lev-el of medical knowledge and organization to success-fully implement.

WWWWWararararar is one of the most extreme and potentially fatalcalamities that can befall a community, which mightend up being the target of anything from a raid-in-forceby marauding brigands to a prolonged siege by a com-plete enemy army.

Small communities, especially those of village sizeor smaller, might not actually be the objectives of mili-tary operations but might instead get incidentally over-run in the course of invasions, major battles, disasterstriggered by magical means, or foraging sweeps by oneor more opponents, despite the residents having noaffiliation with any of the combatant sides and — be-yond the effects on their own fates — quite possiblybeing indifferent to the outcome of the hostilities.

Larger communities, those of town size or larger,might constitute military objectives in and of themselves(e.g., for annexation, pillage, oversight of a strategiclocation, or a desire to harm or incite the nation theyare part of). Attacks on towns and cities that are notindependent but are instead subjects of larger states,of course, are considered equivalent to assaults on thosenations overall.

Fortifications are one of the best and most basicmeasures a community in a traditional milieu, if it canafford them, can employ for deterring or resisting con-ventional attacks. Various improvements can make sim-

ple city walls even more effective, and these mightinclude moats, towers, and strong gates — many ofwhich might be constructed, repaired, or improvedupon by the threatened populace in response to animpending crisis. Various sorts of military forces — in-cluding a militia, a standing army, mercenaries, or alevee en masse of the entire able-bodied population —are also critical factors in whether a community willbe able to withstand or even frighten off attackers. Like-wise, good military intelligence — which can rangefrom well-manned watchtowers and patrols along acommunity’s borders, to maintaining spies in potentialaggressor states, to magical divinations — can also playa big role in preparing to deal with the vicissitudes ofwarfare.

House-to-house fighting against a foe who intends tocontest or to hide within a settlement is a prospect thatmost military commanders do not relish, bearing manyof the difficulties of storming a dungeon complex (see“Physical Characteristics,” above).

Conflict can also place particular stress on the polit-ical allegiances of local residents, forcing them tochoose where their loyalties lie, and perhaps dividingcommunities into factions. Foreign agents, or the sus-picion of them, can sow divisions within a community.Requisitions and harsh measures can even bring civil-ians into conflict with military forces nominally on thesame side, breeding resentment, hatred, and possiblyrevolt. On the other hand, formation of defensive mili-tias and community efforts to withstand a siege mightbuild cohesion and loyalty to a community that resi-dents may have been ambivalent toward, or bring to-gether previously conflicting groups in a community.In these ways, wars can give rise to unexpected reor-ganizations in local politics.

Dealing with DisastersDealing with DisastersDealing with DisastersDealing with DisastersDealing with DisastersHistorically, there were many more-or-less effectiveways of preventing, combating, or remediating the var-ious sorts of major disasters that could affect commu-nities; whether these were employed, and how effec-tively, were a factor of the information and resourcesavailable to those afflicted by a particular calamity.

In a fantasy campaign setting, the various sorts ofmajor disasters could all potentially be addressed oreven prevented through the use of adequate magic.Fire, for example, might be combated in some commu-

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nities by spellcasters empowered to call rain, createwater, or summon water elementals, epidemics mightbe stopped cold by priests capable of detecting andtreating or curing disease, and famine might be fore-stalled by divinely-provided food (e.g., “manna fromheaven”).

Any of these kinds of calamities could also be creat-ed or made much worse by the presence of magic.Flooding is only more dangerous if it is encouraged bya vengeful druid capable of speeding the rise of watersor prolonging seasonal rains, magical fire could bemuch more lethal than normal flames to structures,areas otherwise free of plague might be contaminatedby a depraved spellcaster capable of creating pestilence,and warfare becomes more difficult to respond to whenenemy forces might include things like giants, elemen-tals, and supernatural beings.

It is also certainly possible for two or more of thesedisasters to strike a community at the same time, or forone calamity to trigger or make another worse. Faminediminishes people’s immune systems and makes themmore prone to disease, for example, and fire might breakout in a city even while it was being assaulted by ene-my forces, whether in some connection with the attackor by coincidence.

There are quite often also secondary problems asso-ciated with calamities that can provide the worst ele-ments in any particular community the chance to per-petrate crimes like looting, robbery, and murder, andGame Masters can customize such peripheral hazardsfor their fantasy campaign settings. Floods, for exam-ple, are only more unpleasant if they have washed outthe interred remains of local graveyards, dumping sog-gy undead creatures throughout a community, faminecan be even more horrific if some elements in the pop-ulation start resorting to cannibalism, and fire is onlymore unmanageable if it attracts elemental beings withan affinity to it.

Impact Impact Impact Impact Impact of Disasters on Communitiesof Disasters on Communitiesof Disasters on Communitiesof Disasters on Communitiesof Disasters on CommunitiesA concerted relief effort by a number of neighbors canoften alleviate or overcome relatively small-scale ca-lamities, and this is much more likely to occur whenthe people concerned know each other well and sharea certain degree of common interest and trust — char-acteristics of small towns, villages, or well-establishedold neighborhoods in a city. Individuals may rise to the

occasion and display unexpected talents, strengths, orleadership that will be remembered for many years tocome. The reverse can also be true, of course, and apreviously well-respected neighbor’s weakness, break-down, or corruption can led to lasting rifts and feuds ina community.

In the anonymity of a big city or a recently-foundedtown with little sense of community, it is more likelythat people will simply look out for themselves andmay descend into exploitation of the weak or fightingover scarce resources.

Major disasters can stress and break civic govern-ments that are already weak or internally divided, dead-locking relief efforts in jurisdictional disputes or set-tling of scores. If well forewarned, however, or duringthe aftermath of a disaster, city and regional govern-ments can typically bring to bear significant resourcesand skilled management for large-scale preventive orcleanup tasks.

Panic buying and hoarding is likely to exhaust thestocks of many items, as residents seek to buy supplies



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to last through a crisis — quite likely in much largerthan accustomed amounts, or of particular items andcommodities that are not in common use — from thosestores that have not yet closed so that their proprietorsthemselves can escape. The last available suppliesmight sell for grossly increased amounts — perhapsfrom profiteering individuals who have already boughtin bulk for speculative purposes — or lead to anguishedor even violent scenes. Even if the chain of supply isadequate over the following days or weeks for the on-going basic need, luxuries may run out, and even sim-ple items of other sorts may remain scarce and sell forinflated prices.

Entrepreneurs (whether those who already work asshopkeepers or other individuals who see an opportu-nity) may set up numerous ad-hoc points of sale forparticular goods, caches of supplies, or pre-packagedconvenience items for people in transit that are in de-mand due to the current emergency.

Any efforts undertaken by local government figuresto carry out necessary relief works and control the so-cial effects of a calamity are likely to lead to some formof emergency measures, such as decrees, requisitions,and on-the-spot or swift punishments to keep from add-ing to the burdens that the governing power bears byincarcerating arrested troublemakers.

It is also possible that local leaders who are incapa-ble of dealing with the problems — or are out of touchwith their people — will behave badly, leaving for safe-ty elsewhere or shutting themselves away and perhapsthrowing decadent revels, leading to a breakdown ofgovernment. If such behavior brings long-simmering

resentment to a head, the people could even attack ordepose the present rulers in a revolution.

In response to a calamity approaching or in progressthat threatens the lives of ordinary people or makestheir homes unlivable, their last resort is to flee theirsettlements for places where they expect or hope tofind greater safety.

The more fortunate, wealthy, or forewarned mightbe able to reach alternate homes they own or relativeswho have room available, or to rent or purchase ac-commodations in distant communities. Up to a point,a community might have also have traditional or pre-pared safe havens available, such as a nearby largertown, higher ground, or a fortified place. Many otherescapees, however, must simply set up unstructuredcamps wherever they can find space, or fall upon thecharity of the places where they end up. Eventually, ifthe disaster is large and long-lasting enough, such dis-placed populations might fill or overwhelm the resourc-es of temples, civic authorities, and helpful local busi-nesses at their destinations.

Columns of such refugees slow traffic on roads to acrawl with heavily-loaded carts, beasts of burden, peo-ple on foot, and straggling, sick, or wounded depen-dents. Such exoduses can come to a standstill — formany hours or even days — when routes are blockedby broken-down conveyances or obstacles like dam-aged bridges, narrow sections of road, or problems likefire or flooding along the route. Refugees escaping byboat pose similar problems to ports and waterwaysalong their routes.

Organization of refugee camps, such as it is, oftendepends on the relationship between the majority ofrefugees and those who were leaders of the communi-ties that they have departed (e.g., with individuals as-sociated with regimes from which they may have fledor which they blame for a failure to secure their liveli-hoods and property).

Refugees might also not have the understanding orinclination to place themselves under local authorityor to follow established procedures for entry, potential-ly causing substantial political problems. On the otherhand, if immigrants have desirable skills, one or sever-al local rulers might wish to bring them without delayinto feudal service or under the local regime of taxa-tion. Local religious organizations might also combinewith charity work among refugees the no-less impor-tant task — in the clerics’ minds, anyway — of secur-

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ing their devotion to local deities.Small communities with significant differences from

their neighbors may not be able to rely on any outsidehelp or local refuge and may descend into ruin, mis-ery, and desperate compromises alone, perhaps little-known to the outside world.

Breakdown of normal law and order in partially-aban-doned settlements likely will lead to formation of ad-hoc gangs by those who have no role in combating thecalamity but have motives of their own not to leave,contributing to looting, victimization of vulnerable in-dividuals, and fires started by accident or arson thatproceed to spread unchecked.

Long after a disaster has passed, memory of it anddecisions made in haste during the bad times will af-fect the community. Examples might include homesabandoned or sold to speculators, individuals or groupswho retain disgrace or honor in a community stem-ming from their actions in the crisis, depressed trade,and widespread emigration. Evacuated thorps and ham-lets might not be rebuilt, or might be re-sited. Elsewhere,a wave of expatriates from a beleaguered city couldbecome well-known influences — for better or worse— on one or many neighboring lands.

Effects of Disasters on PlacesEffects of Disasters on PlacesEffects of Disasters on PlacesEffects of Disasters on PlacesEffects of Disasters on PlacesWithin any particular community beset by one or morecalamities, the various places upon which residentsand adventurers alike depend will like be affected indifferent ways.

Craftsmen andCraftsmen andCraftsmen andCraftsmen andCraftsmen and tradesmen tradesmen tradesmen tradesmen tradesmen will probably have to closeand secure their shops — unless they stay open to sellgoods for emergency use, as noted above. It is verylikely that such people will be involved in efforts todeal with the calamity, such as work parties or mili-tias, as skilled artisans typically have a great deal in-vested in a community and are unwilling to abandon itlightly.

EntertainersEntertainersEntertainersEntertainersEntertainers are likely to close their establishments— or perhaps move them to better prospects if they aremobile in nature — unless they choose to continue withscheduled productions in a spirit of defiance. Perfor-mances that do go ahead will probably be very popularand most likely will contain oblique references to thesurrounding events.

Professional organizations and guilds Professional organizations and guilds Professional organizations and guilds Professional organizations and guilds Professional organizations and guilds might post-pone events or hold extraordinary meetings if the ca-

lamity directly affects their business. Guild leadershipmight also be involved in trying to resolve the crisis aspart of the civic leadership.

Merchants Merchants Merchants Merchants Merchants will likely close their establishments andretreat to secure locations if they can, perhaps in com-mand of significant private armed forces. Experiencedmerchants may be well-used to crisis situations andrespond in a calculated and planned fashion — al-though such plans might not enhance the welfare ofanyone other than themselves.

Service Service Service Service Service places very likely will be needed to provideshelter and food to displaced people, perhaps in a dif-ferent volume and quality than they usually provide totheir guests. The proprietors of such places are gener-ally experienced in organizing supplies, accommoda-tions, and work groups, and may hold significant re-spect in the local community, so they can be very ef-fective as leaders of efforts to cope with disasters. Tav-erns may do a roaring trade, especially with an influxof soldiers.

Scholars Scholars Scholars Scholars Scholars will probably be primarily concerned about


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keeping their books, collections, and fragile items safeand may undertake considerable efforts or risks to doso. Civic leaders may call upon those scholars whohave relevant knowledge or abilities to help find solu-tions to the crisis.

ReligionsReligionsReligionsReligionsReligions may feel the need to offer comfort to theiradherents with special services or to arrange practicalhelp, such as shelter, food and medical assistance.Nonetheless, their establishments could be targeted bythose who blame a particular deity or sect for a calam-ity, or attacked by looters or others seeking to take ad-vantage of the situation.

Doomsday cults may also arise or reveal their pres-ence, occasionally proving helpful by stocking up andbenefiting from organization beforehand as a conse-quence of survivalist beliefs. Ultimately, however, suchgroups will largely prove to be a menace in various

unpredictable ways, such as instigating acts that pro-mote and fuel the disaster, refusing to obey civil au-thorities, or inciting generalized panic.

Governmental Governmental Governmental Governmental Governmental office-holders are likely to be eitherthe busiest people in a calamity or the first to flee fromit.

The first parts of an effective response are likely toinclude declaring or signaling a formal state of emer-gency in some pre-arranged way (e.g., making a de-cree, ringing temple bells), convening an emergencymeeting of community leaders, setting up a commandcenter for the duration of the crisis, mandating the call-up of emergency reserves such as local militia, andmaking appeals for specific forms of help that mightvariously be answered by adventurers, mercenaries,and the like.

The municipal government might have to enter dip-lomatic negotiations with the community’s neighbors(or with a threatening army or intelligent monster),whether for help, a suspension of hostilities or finan-cial demands, or the formation of a league or allianceagainst a common threat. These might be achieved byconcessions that the city would normally be unwillingto make. The government — or rulers personally — mighthave to borrow money or sell treasured items to fundresponse to, and reconstruction after, the calamity.

This is likely to invoke, whether formally or infor-mally, more wide-reaching and centralized powers thanthe civic government and particularly its leader nor-mally would exercise. Such measures may even in-volve setting aside of constitutional or relatively liberalgovernment and the investiture of a supreme leaderwith a formal position such as Tyrant, Lord Protector,or Warlord.

Prisoners of the local regime at the time of the ca-lamity might be neglected or even abandoned — andperhaps even be offered an opportunity to escape —but might also be protected to a great extent by theirsturdy enclosure from events going on around them.

UnderworldUnderworldUnderworldUnderworldUnderworld figures are likely to do better than aver-age or even well in unsettled times. Brothels and gam-bling dens, like taverns, are likely to prosper with thepresence of soldiers and may even spring up in re-sponse to their arrival. Underworld figures can some-times also show a surprising level of patriotism at times,just as craftsmen, tradesmen, and the proprietors ofservice places do, but perhaps with greater and unex-pected effect.

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Open Game License VOpen Game License VOpen Game License VOpen Game License VOpen Game License Version 1.0aersion 1.0aersion 1.0aersion 1.0aersion 1.0aThe following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast,Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wiz-ards”). All Rights Reserved.

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2. The License: This License applies to any Open GameContent that contains a notice indicating that the Open GameContent may only be Used under and in terms of this License.You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content thatyou Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from thisLicense except as described by the License itself. No otherterms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Con-tent distributed using this License.

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14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held tobe unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only tothe extent necessary to make it enforceable.

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Open Game License v 1.0a Copy-right 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Doc-ument Copyright 2000–2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Au-thors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Bak-er, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cord-ell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based onoriginal material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. CityBuilder Volume 1: Communities Copyright 2008 by MichaelJ. Varhola, Jim Clunie, and Skirmisher Publishing LLC.

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CCCCCity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Vity Builder Volume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communitiesolume 1: Communities is the first in a series of at least 11complementary books that will help guide Game Masters through theprocess of designing exciting and compelling urban areas and places

within them for their campaigns. It is not specific to any particular gamesetting and is designed to be compatible with the needs of any ancient, DarkAges, Middle Ages, Renaissance, or fantasy milieu.

Contents of this book include:

* An Introduction that describes the scope of the series and the contents of theupcoming volumes;

* A section on the Characteristics of Communities that examines regionalinfluences and small communities, towns, cities, and special-purposecommunities like military bases and plantations;

* A section on Buildings;

* A section on the Physical Characteristics of Cities that includesdiscussion of fortifications, lighting, and conditions on, above,and below city streets; and

* A section on Disasters.

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