need help fleshing out a world

[KnotKnormal]

Hey every one. I need al little help fleshing out my world. I've named most of my cities so I don't need help there I need help giving them personality. So I'm asking you the players and DMs of the world to aid me.

I would like to know what are you favorite, and even most hated cities that you have experienced or come up with. (also looking for some war torn cities) Include as much detail as you feel comfortable with including people and locations in the city. To give you a little background on the campaign I'm running, it is a god slaying campaign where about 80-85% of the general population has renounce all connections with any god. So you're not going to see any major religious cities, or even minor ones for that matter.

Thanks every one.

[Callin]

A shanty town along the border between 2 warring nations. Its full of former camp followers and women of ill repute.

[KnotKnormal]

A shanty town along the border between 2 warring nations. Its full of former camp followers and women of ill repute.

nice... i might be able to make it out of an military encampment. mostly tents and jury rigged buildings.

[Bullet06320]

u could have a major city that's war torn, by mupltiple factions even. each sect controlling a few blocks, or a district, with the front lines being redrawn regularly as different groups attack neighborhoods, buildings etc
think areas like in the middle east, Syria, the battle of Stalingrad in WWII, or gang territories like in sum neighborhood in south central LA.

the docks are controled by pirates that took advantage of the situation. leading to the pirates taxing merchant vessels trying to dock or unload goods.
the local thieves guilds hires itself out as guides to the sewers playing different factions against each other.
the city guard and the rulers control the main castle or government building and not much more.
a group of adventurres controls an inn and the adjoining buildings as their little fiefdom. turning into a littlefortified castle in the middle of the city.
the local merchants guild decided to sieze the town square and market, and charge a toll to enter, and attacks any merchants trying to do business elsewhere in town
if theres a city of the dead, think vampire overlord or necromancer sending his minnions out to do his bidding
since everyone turned against the gods, im sure there would be temples, albeit burned out and looted mostlikely still around, could be a few temple gaurdians, constructs and watnot, still wandering doing the duties of the god they was dedicated to, but the buildings could make good refuges for one faction or another to use as base of operations
a group of city guards was cutoff from the main castle, holds a watchtower or smaller barracks, and decided to go their own way and started plundering and looting locally around them.
outlaying farms and settlements get over run by wandermonsters now that there is no regular city patrols, or by rival armies, or factions, cutting into the food supply into the city

[KnotKnormal]

This is really good. Thanks a lot. I actually like the idea of this as the capital then what I had. Decent into chaos is always more fun then ruins. This would also be the perfect place to put my clockwork constructs. Thanks again.

[Falcon X]

Obviously if you haven't studied it, study the old Planescape campaign setting.
The city of Sigil is a city that blocks all gods from entry. All people inside are effectively Atheists even if they aren't. It's also surrounded by cities that are based on certain allignments. Like Curst, where everyone in the city has the heart of a betrayer, so there is constant behind the scenes backstabbing going on everywhere.

[KnotKnormal]

Obviously if you haven't studied it, study the old Planescape campaign setting.
The city of Sigil is a city that blocks all gods from entry. All people inside are effectively Atheists even if they aren't. It's also surrounded by cities that are based on certain allignments. Like Curst, where everyone in the city has the heart of a betrayer, so there is constant behind the scenes backstabbing going on everywhere.

I'll have to read it. thanks for the tip.

[Crake]

You might want to look at the homebrew forum in the world building subforum, they might have some good suggestions for you

[KnotKnormal]

You might want to look at the homebrew forum in the world building subforum, they might have some good suggestions for you

I'll look at those... thanks for the tip.

[Winds of Nagual]

A war-torn city where clerics and necromancers raised too many dead to handle? Now the city is deserted with the exception of wandering undead. Most people fled without their precious belongings as well!

[Bullet06320]

lol, zombie apocalypse is an idea
with very few clerics left, turning undead and killing them, they have multiplied
alternatively one of the gods that the people have turned away from decided to show the power of the gods
just need to change the zomies abit, make them infected, so that anything they kill reanimates as zombies, and bite cause a chance of infection that will kill u, im sure there are rules on diseases sumwhere, not sure off the top of my head.
think like the show walking dead style zombies, wouldn't be that hard to create
with the gods idea, it could be the god of the dead refusing to allow the dead to pass to heaven or the afterlife in your world, forcing the "soul" to act as the animating force, works good for fluff, and possible adventure ideas, forcing people to take up the worship of the gods again, or live with zombies everywhere, also could allow for a lot of ghosts or other incomporeal undead to start appearing

[AWiz_Abroad]

How . . .bleak is your setting (trying to calibrate my suggestions)

[KnotKnormal]

How . . .bleak is your setting (trying to calibrate my suggestions)

not bleak as in dark and twisted, more odds stacked heavily in favor of the opposition. David vs. Goliath except Goliath is god.

[AWiz_Abroad]

Ok. . . I'm going to provide two suggestions, one is very dark and twisted, the other less so

(Dark and Twisted, Appropo for a Horror Campaign) so what about a town named Soylent centered around a thriving meat market. The town is well kempt, everyone is polite, everything is great. Your party enters the inn, gets rooms for the night, eats the food provided (including some succuluent meat). The well versed among you get the punchline, but for everyone else, the meat is actually humanoid, namely the last outsiders to enter town. Fort saves vs. Nausea, and a running battle with the towns folk.


(Not so Dark and Twisted). A town who's castle/city hall is actually on a bridge over a river. The river is far too fast to ford effectively. The scenario is a band of pirates sailing down river seize the castle and start demanding exorbitant tolls (think the Rhine Robber Barons of the 18th Century).

[Drachasor]

A city of an ancient race that's now somewhat isolationist. They never leave the area which is protected by powerful magic (illusion, abjuration, and necromancy). They were dying out and their greatest wizards worked together to grant them all immortality as long as they stay in the city.

They still do some trading, but the natives never leave nor age. Unknown to all (including the natives) the natives were turned into undead by the ritual, cloaked in illusions so no one would notice, and the entire area protected with abjurations against divination effects (except by approved casters). Or, possibly they aren't all undead, but at death/middle-age they are turned into undead. So there is still a younger, living population. Anyhow, they aren't bad guys, but tend not to get involved (or maybe they do, up to you).

Lots of potential plot hooks there.

[hymer]

I prefer to let my cities grow naturally from their environment. When were they founded, and by what culture? What is the nature of the trade that keeps the city in existence? Is it a city on the way up or down?

A Viking-esque culture founded this town about 300 years ago on the shore of a lake and a river running from the lake. It was an easily defensible position (river + lake + hill) to protect it against giants and goblins, and a natural trading place for ships on the lake.
The current king is an old and blind but extremely wise man, who proved his chops in a war fifty years ago, when invaders from the south suffered a deeply humiliating defeat at his hands. Since then, his prestige has been sky high, and he has kept the peace among his human neighbours for years, attracting many fine warriors to serve as his housecarls. He has expanded the defensive works of the town in preparation for any trouble, knowing that the best way to keep the peace is to prepare for war.
The town is dominated by the hill fortress, where the king resides with his housecarls. A little further down the hill is a strong rampart, wide enough that the whole town can seek refuge there in a time of crisis. Around the town and the hill, down to the shore of the lake on one side and the river on the other (and with room for further expansion) is a strong rampart guarded by numerous turrets, to keep the raiding parties of evil beings out. The area outside the town was once forested, but there are no trees within bowshot of the town now (though there are several inside, some kept for fruit and nuts, some for religious or aesthetical purposes).
The town has plenty of places for ships to be drawn up, and the market is near the shores. The buildings are made of wood, widely spread (for a town), and there are plenty of stables of goats, poultry and the occasional horse or riding goat.
The feeling of the populace is one of confidence, as the king keeps the peace well, and the town is one of the safest from goblin/giant invasion in the region. Plenty of trade and a long period of peace has lead to great prosperity (for the region), with traders coming from afar up the river or over the lake.
Elves are viewed with unusual friendliness by the king and the populace in general, and any elf who visits is likely to be invited to the king's table for a meal, if any of his housecarls notice them (which is likely - they guard the entrances and patrol the perimeters). The same goes for any warrior of renown that is recognized. The king has had friendly relations with the local elves all his life, and they have an informal cooperation on keeping an eye on their mutual enemies.