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View Full Version : 4e huge city campaign, evil party?



YPU
2009-02-17, 03:17 PM
The group I usually dm for quite often has somewhat of a problem acting entirely within the boundaries of good or even neutral behaviour. Now I know that most gamers have those tendencies and they generally do understand that a bid of goodness is required for the flow of the game. But I decided to cut them a break and start a ‘evil’ campaign. The whole adventures thing will still work the same, their still getting paid to kill stuff. And a lot of that stuff can still be evil. But instead of having to persuade a local for info they might just as well be torturing them. You know the kind of stuff players sometimes bring up, “cant I just kill/torture/burn/etz. him?” I’ll try and be prepared for those things.

The setting itself will be a huge city, as crime is easier to hide or get away with in a huge bustling town then when your travelling around the countryside killing as you go.

For the city itself I’m going for something along the lines of Sharn the city of towers form ebberon. The amount of towers will be fewer but there will almost always be levels of city atop each other. The city is build upon an old dwarven kingdom and thus the mid levels will be dwarven halls in origin and the bottom ones used to be caverns and mines. The top part will be fantasy style slum for most of it.

There will be patches of woodlands in between. At some point in history eladrin tried to invade the city by breaking the barrier between the martial plane and the feywild. Tough the attack was repelled some parts of the city are still overgrown by forest and jungle and its possible to travel to the feywild from these zones. This gives me a opportunity for forest adventures while keeping in the city itself.

The city is ruled by a complicated council led by a circle of metalic dragons, siblings of the ones that founded the city itself. Its is said that from below a circle of chromatic dragons try to destroy it.

Airships and hydro tubes will create for fast passage and transport between the biggest towers, but this is only available to richest. Hey its fantasy, why the heck not have these things?

One of the main points im working on is what the base races work as in the city, or what he stereotypes are.

Dragonborn by standard were created by the dragons as servants and guardians. Most dragonborn will be working as politicians or elite city guard. But they do have a free will so a change of paths is not uncommon.

Dwarves are mostly crafters on the mid levels and sewer workers on the lower levels. The lower levels of the city are now used as waste deposed and sewer system for the city. Dwarves being poison resistant tunellers who are always of for a scrap are perfect for the job of sewer maintenance.

Eladrin are still hated for their invasion of the city. Tough hardly any city dwellers survive to remember it the wildlands do remind them of it. The eladrins have ambassadors and eladrin owned buildings spread out throughout the city. Most eladrin travel in groups and are always heavely guarded. Once again its not unheard of for an eladrin to defect and look for a living in the city proper.
Elves are rare in the city. But not unheard of. Most of them live and patrol in the borders of the wild zones. A special part of the city watch its their job to keep dangerous fey and forest creatures in the wild zones and city people out. Elf however are nomadic and explorative in nature so they will often work different jobs in the city every now and then for the sake of it.

Half elves are relatively common in the city, fast talk will get you far in this place.

Halflings specialize in getting stuff from the place where it is to the place where it will fetch the best price. This includes a extensive package and postal service. Travelling from topside to the dwarven levels and keeping commerce going. But of course also theft. Its not uncommon to find an elf or two in an halfing business as their natural speed and grace work well with the Halfling line of work.

Humans as always are wide spread. They can be found anywhere doing anything.

Thieflings are somewhat rare as is normal, many of them are crime lords but highly dedicated crime hunting thieflings are out there as well.

Kobolt’s sometimes start claiming lightly populated parts of the lover levels for themselves.

Goblins are quite common and they often run criminal buisneses. They have a love hate relationship with Halflings, working together just as often as competing.

Drow have been starting to move in to the lover caverns and some say that a invasion is at hand.

I’ll keep it here for now, I would like to know what you guys thing and what the possibilities would be for a adventurer party of doubtable morale.