Help me with this City

[ghendrickson]

I'm in the process of creating a desert metropolis for one of my campaigns, and I think it would be cool to get some ideas from you guys. So far I have that the culture resembles Arabian (think Aladdin), and the city is ruled by a group of Rakshasa nobles that use enslaved genies to enforce their rule. The genies are held to their master by the power of an item, most commonly a ring, that they are bound to when summoned. The city (henceforth known as Al Assid) is prominently a trading hub, but also deals in salts and spices that come from within their own borders. The main military force for Al Assid is the private armies of the nobles, who must be convinced to field their men whenever the need arises. The population of Al Assid is mainly made up of Humans, Halflings, the elemental races, such as Ifrit and sylph, and catfolk (the descendants of the Rakshasa nobles). So send me your adventure hooks, location ideas, and other stuff.

By the way, this is Pathfinder.

[Avaris]

Um, I did a thing. Possibly not quite what you were after, but I hope you enjoy it at least!

"Shall I tell you a tale of our city? There are many... perhaps that of the wise merchant, Ral-kir, who they say haggled with Death herself? Or that of the brave thief Badwen, who stole a kiss from the sun? No? Then I shall tell you one of the oldest tales... that of how glorious Al Assid came to be...

In ancient times the kingdoms of the East and West knew not of the other's prescence: the great desert was too far, impassable for all but the bravest, or perhaps the luckiest. Trade was impossible, yet had each known of the wealth of the other the people of those lands would surely have found a way to reach across the sands! Yet as you well know, there are those who see the world from afar, and it was they who stepped into the void.

The desert is a harsh landscape, and yet it pales in comparison to the realm of Fire which the Efreet call home. To the courts of the East and West they went, promising great wealth and exotic treasures in exchange for support in their endevours upon this plane. They established a fortress in the heart of the desert, a focus for the great caravans that soon began to force paths through the shifting sands. Wealth flowed then, from East to West and to the East again, and it seemed that all would prosper.

Yet the Efreet are greedy. And the Efreet are cunning. Who but one born of Fire could survive in the desert without their aid? Within their fortress they constructed a gate, a closely guarded portal to that which is anathema to them: the Realm of Water. They demanded a high price for access to this wellspring, and all who passed had no choice but to pay. They used the water to control the trade of East and West: to lose the favour of the Efreet was to lose access to the trade routes, and the petty kingdoms of either realm could not afford to do so, lest their neighbours use their wealth from across the desert against them. So it was for centuries.

The Rakshasa of old were wanderers, forever driven from wherever they made home. I do not know from where they first came, but I know that they crossed the desert many times, and drank the water of the Efreet. Where others came to the Fortress of the Sands to trade, they simply watched as they passed, for a wanderer has no wealth to barter. In watching they saw more than most, and they saw what was there to be taken.

Was it a single Rakshasa who conceived of that plan? Or had they met in secret, ploting in the darkness. Perhaps they will tell you if you ask nicely enough. Regardless, it was a Rakshasa who broke the Well-spring, who allowed the fury of the Realm of Water to flow into the fortress of the Efreet. And it was the Rakshasa who were ready to seize control of the paniced crowds. The Efreet were driven from this Realm, and in that chaos this city was born.

Al Assid is founded on water: it still flows from that shattered well spring, and here alone can you quench your thirst as you travel through the desert. The Rakshasa decreed that none should control the water, that it should be free to all those who come to this place. How then did they maintain control? They never left: all others had homes elsewhere, were simply passing through, and it was easier to sell to a Rakshasa than wait for a buyer from across the desert. Wealth brings power, and though the Rakshasa are generous with the greatest wealth of the desert, do not doubt that they hold the power.

You say you have heard another story of the city's birth? Pah, there are many. And I will say mine is true just as much as the next man. Who are you to say that I am wrong?"

[ghendrickson]

That was amazing... Teach me master

[Avaris]

Teach/share ideas: either works! This is likely to be a bit of a stream of conciousness: use whatever you want for your setting.

I think stories are going to be important to this setting: a trading metropolis will have a whole host of backgrounds for people passing through, and money is probably of little concern to the ruling Rakshasa, so in order to win their favour you need to give them something they can't normally buy. A good story does that.

For my story, I started with a few ideas and it sort of expanded from there. There are a lot of points that I think would be worth considering for your setting, as the answers will be an easy way to provide depth and expand the world. Some of these are sort of touched on above, but I'll list them out here along with my ideas.

1) How does the city survive?
This is key. Trade obviously, but water is quite scarce in the desert, so you need an answer for how it keeps citizens alive out there. I went for the magical approach, but it could just as easily be natural oasis's or something. It follows that water is a potential way to control the city, hence why I decided to make it freely available: if that supply dries up or changes you have a massive campaign hook.

2) Who is the trade between?
It's a trading hub, but who trades there? I described the traders as the kingdoms of East and West, but it could just as easily be North and South. Point is, they should have very different cultures and needs. A bit of work to flesh them out will really add to the setting, even if they are never visited.

My idea was for one side to be a fairly traditional feudal setting, where conflicts are won by armies (strength of the many), and for the other to be fairly resource poor, where conflicts are won by ingenuity and magic (strength of the few). The magic side would have need for the superior weapons and other resources of the feudal side, whereas the feudal side would benefit from trading for their superior learning and magical lore. Both sides meet in the city.

How does the city protect itself?
You mention private armies... I would personally envision these as personal guard used in petty local conflict, no more than a few thousand soldiers per noble (and mostly just a few hundred). This has the advantage of being realistically beaten by players and their allies, without affecting the entire city.

As for wider defence... I don't think the city has walls. It doesn't need them: it has the desert. No-one could feasibly march an army through that to attack by land. At a gut feeling the desert should take a week to cross from the city to the outside world, if you have a guide. With planning people could cross that, but the water at the city would be a welcome relief!

The big threat to the city then, is magic. What is to stop a mage opening a portal to march an army through? In my version of the city, I would tie this to the water portal: the spell the Rakshasa used to destroy the Efreet means that anyone trying to teleport to the city risks ending up in the plane of water!

Hopefully that will give you a starting point on ideas...

[dantiesilva]

A yuan ti brothel, hear me out now, cloaked dancer proc is not great, nor battle dancer however if you want information were would you go? Most of the wealthy would no doubt spend time there. And it fits the theme very well, belly dancing snake girls. Perhaps have a few look like Cobras

[jqavins]

The use of private armies for defense seems like only part of the answer. As has been suggested, the nobles could use them in small conflicts, both defensively and offensively; whom do you think they need defending against most of the time? Each other, of course. So intrigue between the nobles offers plenty of room for adventure hooks. Then against an outside threat, as you said the nobles have to be persuaded to send their own troops. And the reason they take some persuadig is that sending troops against the otside enemy means leaving themselves vulnerable to attack from inside and/or ceasing such attacks.

And, there'd be another aspect to defense, both for each noble and for the city: the djin. You've stated that djin are used as civil enforcers, but they would have to come into play in city defense and inter-noble squabbles as well. Who controls the djin? That is, who holds those rings? The nobles? Some sort of elite corps of djini handlers? This needs working out and, once worked out, will certainly yield story hooks.

Aren't efteet and djin mortal enemies? If you choose to go with the efreet backstory, and djin are a big part of the city structure today, there's got to be some interesting history in that.

Also, between The Well, the efteet (if you use that backstory) and the djin, you've got magical involvement from three of the elemental planes. It would seem a shame not to complete the set somehow.