I'm making a city! - Winghorn City Index

[Bjarkmundur]

I have roughly 4 weeks to prepare my groups next main location, and I was having some trouble getting started. Posting things on the forums has saved me in this predicament before, so I think I'll use that technique again.

Over the next month I'll be designing a city using the first 2 posts of this thread. I'll be adding a little bit at a time, and you are all free to add suggestions, or use some of my work for your own games!

Winghorn City
Our adventurers left the new City of Menith to travel the Silver Path east towarfs the coast, were they intend to spend their winter. Like the two years before, they will stay in one of the capital cities of Faerun during the winter, and return to adventuring in the spring.
Winghorn City is our next main location.
The Silver Path is a long and hazardous stretch of wilderness and will take up most of our next session, with various interesting encounters, an optional ruins to explore, random encounters and trying to survive in a ledd-than-hospitable environment.
Before reaching the City they pass Dromadar Inn (https://worldbuilderblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/the-wererat-den1.pdf) and a small trading outpost. I'm even tempted to add Horror at Havel's Cross (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/191126/Horror-at-Havels-Cross--A-Basic-Rules-Adventure) somewhere before the party reaches the city, and maybe tie it into Dromadar Inn somehow.

In the city there will be three main adventures; The Wolves of Welton (https://winghornpress.com/adventures/wolves-of-welton/), Not a Creature was Stirring (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/196948/Not-a-Creature-Was-Stirring), and A Most Potent Brew (https://winghornpress.com/adventures/a-most-potent-brew/), alongside two classic monster-hunts; a Giant Scorpion and a Basilisk. I really enjoy stringing one-shots together like this, since each adventure is pretty self contained, easy to prepare, and gives me plenty of room to design the world around the modules as I see fit. I have not included THREE modules in a single city before, and I'm going to put in a lot of work to make sure everything I need is already in place
. This means going over these adventures and writing down all notable characters, locations, and setting details.

The main gimmick of this city will the the included flash cards. Instead of a map, I'll be printing out a playing-card sized infosheet for each location. On this infosheet will be all notable NPCs tied to that location, what services that location provides, what items it sell's etc.

So, now that I've created the thread, hopefully I'll feel committed and obligated to actually finish xD

[Bjarkmundur]

The Wizard's Tower Brewing Co.
The Freshest Pint in the Realm1
---------------------------------------------------
The Wizard's Tower Brewing Co., a craft brewery
known for its hoppy summer ales, is in dire need
of help from a band of reliable, affordable adventurers.

Notable NPCs

Glowkindle

Available Services

None

Quest

Pest Control: Giant Rats (1 reward roll)







Tavern-Talk Random Table
Once per session, the part can roll on the Tavern-Talk random table to discern what kind of conversations they might overhear during the day.



Dice Result
Conversation


1
Patron 1: Did you see, someone put up a new notice on the door. You can barely see the wood anymore from all the nails left over"

The flier reads: "Looking for affordable and reliable adventurers. Glowkindle, Wizard's Tower Brewing Co."


2
Innkeeper: "I'd guess by the 'stares up and down the 6ft tall hammer' equipment, that you're adventurers looking for work?" Check out my buddy Glowkindle at Wizard's Tower Brewing Co. He's been looking for help.


3
Patron 1: Did ya hear? Glowkindle's company is expanding! Maybe we'll get a new winter ale this season? Or at least the supplies will last more than half-way til Nickmas.
Patron 2: Drowdung ('bull****')! they've been working on that expansion from months, and nothing seems to be happening. I wonder what's delaying them? If it was my company, I'd have i done at least five tendays ago!
Patron 3: I heard someone they encountered a problem when digging out one of the tunnels.
Patron 2: Or maybe they are just a bunch of halflings trying to do a dwarf's job!


4
Patron 1: You did the supply run last week?
Patron 2: Yeah, goddam cart was so full I had to camp 4 nights on my way there, in gobling country of all places!
Patron 3: Supply run?
Patron 1: To Havel's cross!
Patron 3: The what?
Patron 1: you know, where the elves are doing their digging? They're supposed to have found something.
Patron 3: like gold?
Patron 2: since when did elves care about gold? Nah, they probably just found some musty tomes or pretty pictures
all: laugh


5
Patron 1: Did you hear about that new place, "Luna Guesthouse"
Patron 2: Yeah, I went in there to take a look the other day, have a pint, didn't like the vibe, honestly
Patron 1: How come?
Patron 2: Not sure, something just felt .... off
Patron 1: Bah with your superstitious hoo-haa, what, where the floorboards going east-to-west instead of north-to-south or some drowdung like that?
Patron 2: he he he, yeaah, something like that

and he looks back to his pint with a concerned look on his face




- Event Card: Nichmas
- Rumor Card
- Buy Magic Item Downtime Card
- We really need a wise-wizard NPC.

[Bjarkmundur]

Story Update:

I will update the first post later.
As the story stands now we have just travelled the Silver Path. Instead of doing some modules on the way, I will instead include them in the city itself.
Winghorn City is an elven city of spires, and you should be careful not to call it by its name while there, as the elves have a gross distaste for the common translation of the city's beautiful Sylvan name.

The party will stay there "until the first lake freezes over", which is when a known fey-crossing opens. They will the travel via the Feywild to the coast, where their can spend their winter in the group's headquarters .

[Bjarkmundur]

In order to keep their city "pure", the High-Elves tiered the city to a ridiculous degree when it transitioned from being a High-Elf haven to a Metropolis. I'm going to steal some of 40k's Hive city structure for this one. Moving between tiers is a daunting and expensive process, comparable to the move "In Time", you have to pay large amounts of money on a "tier passport". This allows me to "railroad" the characters in a little bit, and gatekeep some of the city's content behind a pay-wall. I feel good about this, I understand why video game companies do something similar.

I'm also stealing an idea from Waterdeep of having someone selling a Newcomer's Guide to Winghorn City at the gates, so I can dump some exposition on my party. If I'm feeling extra I'll instead have it be a young kid offering to take the party on a guided tour. We'll see

.After some war or another, many of the soldiers elected to settle in Winghorn and start a new life rather than going back to their home city. The culture of the least tier reflects that.