Prep for a Big City

[Wampyr]

So basically I’m running a game for a party of five new players and they’re starting next session in a large city.

I always flounder with preparation for a city so if any experienced DM’s have some general tips or tidbits about how they handle big cities I would greatly appreciate hearing them.

[Laserlight]

Decide what the city is notable for, whether it's internal walls that divide the city into 40 fortified neighborhoods, or that it's floating or flying, or that the whole city is built into the skull of a dead god or a 2000-foot-high cliff, whatever.

Figure out the main source of food (typically "the local countryside" unless if you put it in a desert) and water ("the river", normally) and main transportation arteries (cities were normally on a river or harbor because it's a lot cheaper to send freight by ship rather than by wagon).

I generated a map (https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator), added labels for a few markets (Slave, Fish, Sheep), three or four inns and taverns (high class, medium, and scum), a few notable places (Twisted Tower, the High Temple, the Barracks, Clocktower Square, the Boneyard) and major roads (Garrison Road, for example).

Thumbnail description (http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/37916/roleplaying-games/universal-npc-roleplaying-template) of about twenty NPCs, including People That PCs Tend to Run Into (tavernkeeper, madame, swordsmith, healer, watchman) and People Whose Actions Affect The City (the rabble rousing priestess and her co conspirator the fiery poet, for example).

Figuring out the government structure and how elections are held, and the rivalry between sporting teams, or competing theater troupes, or the mage factions...well, I might do it if I get inspired. but I know my players are likely to get themselves outlawed within a week, so there's really not much point in getting too much in depth.

[Vogie]

If you have (or want to purchase) a copy of the Dominion card game, you can use the cards to quickly generate a grid of a town or city of various sizes, depending on the number of cards you use.

There's a merchant over here, the smithy over there, here is the residential area (a couple of estates), and over by the chapel is a festival ground and a couple of artisans over there.

You can use it to visualize a city concept you have in your head, then take a picture to 'save' it, or if the characters are exploring an urban area that you hadn't expected (due to teleportation issue, a series of bad rolls, et cetera), you can literally deal out the cards in a way that you can reveal an area street by street.