The Bastard Child of Vice City and DND (World Builder)

[DiscipleofBob]

The idea started when I was playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and I guess I transitioned from the video game to roleplaying one too many times. I got the image in my head of a kobold wearing khakis, a hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and toting two uzis. Then I got the image of an Elven Mafia in my head. (Munchkin reference for those who get it.) Then it kind of spiraled down from there.

The idea is a modern Dungeons and Dragons setting (not necessarily D20 Modern but it could work like that) where most if not all the races are just out for themselves with few exceptions. Magic and magic items are still prevalent, and swords are just as commonly used as shotguns. The city lies on a warm, tropical coastline

Dwarves - Dwarves provided most of the labor in the construction of the city with few exceptions. Originally, they built the city to be their own, so they put all their pride in building it. Unfortunately, most of the funds for the construction came from Elven loan sharks, who, upon the completion of the construction, came to collect with more than enough interest to legally claim the entire city for their own, forcing the massive dwarven population into one of the less desirable parts of town. Today, dwarves comprise of most of the labor forces of the city, especially various construction crews, and the hate between the two races is as intense as ever.

Elves - Cunning, discreet, and ruthless, the elven mafia is feared throughout the city. Having stock in most of the various fronts and crime rings throughout the cities, almost nothing gets by without the elves' approval. Constantly having to place other would-be crimelords in their place is a challenge though, and while the elven mafia remains the most powerful, there are those who would challenge their authority.

The Small Races (To be divided up and explained individually at a later date) Most of the small races (Halflings, Gnomes, Goblins, Kobolds) come from islands or other far-off countries and came to the city to increase trade in drug-trafficking. Right now, all these races have formed a trust to make better profit out of the drugrunning business in the city, and have control over the better portion of the coastline and ports. However, although the leaders of each respective drug ring would never intentionally upset the trust, they are always looking for ways to gain a lead on their competitors.

Humans - Humans have no particular culture in the city. During its early years, humans migrated from all over along with bugbears, ogres, and orcs for work. However, humans' adaptability and numbers gave them a place in society and they ended up taking many of the available jobs, to the point where the current mayor is a human (although he still pays his "respects" to the other gangs.)

Drow and Duergar - Drow and Duergar used to be offset families of their respective races. When the two conspired together to form a coup that would give them the power, they were cast out into the deepest slums of the city, an area which makes the dwarves' homes look luxurious. Although they can still find occasional work, drow and duergar are deeply looked down upon and shunned as untouchables by the rest of society.

Outsider - There is some divine interest in the city. Angels, Archons, Devils, and Demons have all formed their own corporations as fronts within the city to carry out their plans, including hiring out the local gangs to do their dirty work for them. Most clerics in the city derrive their power from these corporations through a contract with either of the corporations. Aasimar and Tieflings have also been quite common since these organizations entered the society's structure.

Feel free to give suggestions or comments.

And yes, I realize how horrible and cheesy this idea is, and that's probably why it appeals to me so.

[DracoDei]

Undercover operations by celestials sound interesting... can you expand on that? I HOPE you ARE keeping them as representatives of pure Good...?

[Finerty]

I can't BELIEVE how much I like this idea. I have the perfect images in my head of the construction worker dwarf, with the same faroff clericy look in his eyes as the PHB but wearing a plaid shirt, overalls, and a yellow hard hat. Gnomes = tacky hawaiian-shirt-wearing drug dealers. Of course. Halflings in hooded sweat-shirts trying to rap. Cosmopolitan elves. Ethnic quarter drow. I love it.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

This works so well. It actually takes the races and their supposed role in DnD default society, and puts into real world... now im going have to re-write parts of my setting...

[DiscipleofBob]

DracoDei:

The way I had it was that the Archons and Angels would have merged their companies together to form "Arkan," while the Demons and the Devils would have merged their corporate fronts as well (though not necessarily trusting one another. Also still working on the name for theirs.) The Demon/Devil institution would have its own evil plans for the city and Arkan would have moved in simply to interfere on the behalf of good. So yes, still representatives of pure good, albeit such a force is very out-of-place in this setting.


Finerty:

Actually, I had the Kobolds as the tacky hawaiian-shirt-wearing drug dealers (dealing in Dragon's Blood or something of such.) The gnomes were the Yakuza and the halflings were the Triads. Just seemed right to me.


Gwyn_ap_Nud:

Wow, now I know I did something right. Thanks for all the comments thus far.


Let's see, what else had I thought of...

Orcs and Half-Orcs - Orcs migrated to the city with many of the other humanoid races (Humans, Ogres, Bugbears), but unlike the other culture-lacking races, Orcs came in style as a tough, leather-jacket wearing Harley Davidson motorcycle gang. They easily took over a part of town from the dwarves that they liked, earning their hatred ever since. Orcs were never picky when it comes to race and would mate with anything humanoid. Half-orcs gained a quick population until eventually one of the Orc leaders died naming his Half-Orc daughter as his heir.

Gnolls - Gnolls also migrated to the area, but with a different purpose in mind. Used to open nature, they had no intention of moving into a big, tight, scary city. Instead, they settled in their own community just outside the city, attempting to farm the land (even when the land wasn't really suitable for farming) and hunting game (even when there wasn't much game to hunt.) Extremely jealous and hateful of the more successful city slickers, they regularly conduct raids and such on the outskirts of the city, and fit the general redneck hillbilly stereotype.

[Weirdlet]

I would love to play in this- everything I like about the idea of Urban Arcana, and none of what gets my goat.

You going to develop it more?

Edit- that was an interesting image- some of the slummy areas where the drow are stuck, filmed over with spiderwebbing instead of garbage and loose newspapers, sometimes looking like that's all that's holding the buildings up.

[DiscipleofBob]

I would love to play in this- everything I like about the idea of Urban Arcana, and none of what gets my goat.

You going to develop it more?

Edit- that was an interesting image- some of the slummy areas where the drow are stuck, filmed over with spiderwebbing instead of garbage and loose newspapers, sometimes looking like that's all that's holding the buildings up.

Oh definitely, especially with the comments I'm getting on it. In fact, I'm thinking about running this setting in my next game.

[SurlySeraph]

I got the image in my head of a kobold wearing khakis, a hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and toting two uzis.

Say hello to my tiny friend!

Then I got the image of an Elven Mafia in my head. (Munchkin reference for those who get it.)

8-Bit Theatre.

This is a very, very perverse idea. It's also an awesome one.

[The Neoclassic]

I love the kobolds and orcs in particular. This is awesome.

[Paragon Badger]

I'm getting the distinct feeling that shambling zombies could easily be the senile and crabby inhabitants of Miami's numerous retirement homes.

Be warned- once the zombies start getting in their cars; only an episode of Matlock can stop them from killing us all!

[puppyavenger]

You had me at elven mafia.

[WillWolf]

This is awesomness to the extremity *nods*. I can actually see this in my mind, which makes it truly great, and you could have a lot of fun with this. Please expand upon it, it looks just plain awesome to me too.

[DiscipleofBob]

Names for Organizations still pending.

Classes:

Barbarian - Some of you may wonder what sort of place in society a disfunctional destructive machine of pure rage would have in a civilized city. Usually Barbarians are fresh immigrants from other lands looking to start a new life. Their combat prowess is definitely prized, especially by organizations looking for muscle or bodyguards, or even better just some dumb criminal lackeys to take the blame. Half-Orcs and Orcs of the Zugzug biker gang make very good barbarians, as do the humans, ogres and bugbears that migrate to the city. A good portion of the gnoll population outside the city.

Bard - The Elven Mafia in particular looks for show talent to perform at their various clubs, specifically the more attractive ones who might also make money in the local prostitution rings. Elves and half-elves make up most of the bards in the city, though human, aasimar, and tiefling bards are not unheard of.

Cleric - Religion has very little of a role in the big city, but there are other ways for Clerics to gain spells. The various outsider corporations are more than willing to enter into contracts with individuals to grant power in exchange for loyalties. In these cases, instead of preparing spells normally, a cleric meets with a representative from her benefactor, usually a lower-level outsider , who then negotiate for spells for the day. The benefactor is free to refuse any spells, as well as nullify the contract should the cleric take any "unfavorable" actions. While all races are welcome to make contracts and become clerics, tiefling and aasimar clerics are the most common. Kobold clerics who worship their foreign dragon masters are also not unheard of.

[DiscipleofBob]

Kobolds - Kobolds hail from southern island countries ruled by dragons of all kinds (chromatic and metallic) and inhabited by draconic races. Kobolds lived as peons among Lizardfolk, Troglodytes, and the elite chosen of the Dragonborn and Half-Dragons. Many kobolds in the society quickly tire of the oppression and have sailed to the city sailing various draconic items and chemicals as drugs and illegal goods, including the infamous Dragon's Blood (a drug whose name is suspected to be literal, but no one is sure). Not all the dragon rulers are oppressive, and some even allow the drug trade some freedom among their kind. Regardless, kobolds in the city often have to deal with other draconic races such as the Lizardfolk coming to the city to try and take over the kobolds of the city.

[Seeker]

This is great!

[DiscipleofBob]

The Parks - Several small parks exist throughout the city, large enough to hold entire forests and ecosystems, filled with wild, untamed beauty. When the dwarves built the city, they tapped into powerful divine magicks to build fully alive parks. At first the parks were meant as peaceful, controlled, natural environments where people could relax and enjoy themselves peacefully. When the elves took the majority of the city from the dwarves, its builders were not so kind, and let the magicks which controlled the parks loose, turning them into their own wild ecosystems which became wild forests and jungles, full of vicious and dangerous beasts.

Druids - Druids are rare in the city, but not unheard of. There are a few gnoll druids on the outskirts of the city, but most of the druids actually dwell in or near the local parks, deriving their power from the powerful magicks that make the miniature self-sufficient ecosystems possible. As the dwarves are most familiar with these magicks, since they are the ones who built them, they make the most common druids. Anyone who becomes attuned with nature can become a druid, though usually they need the approval of the dwarves. An elf could never become a druid. Druids whose spells and class features are modeled after stone or water themes are also not unheard of.

Psionics - There are no psionics. Period. **** Psionics. **** those **** Psionics **** in the **** ****.

[Reptilius]

Elves and half-elves make up most of the bards in the city, though human, aasimar, and tiefling bards are not unheard of.

Reading this, I get an image in my mind of a tiefling heavy metal guitarist.

[Combatant]

I was playing in a D20/urban arcana game, it was more like the gangs of new york then vice city. Dwarvs were the russian mafia. Goblinoids were the latino gangs. Vampires were the italian style mafia. Drow became the yakuza.

It was alot of fun, I enjoyed what we were doing. The GM came up with some things that I never thought he could come up with. (my pc was a latino human, working for the goblinoids, fell in with the italians, and was betrayed by the goblins to the russians after we sank there boat lol)

Not enough people give Modern/urban arcana enough credit.

The GTA idea would make for a great RPG setting. But 2 already exist. One being Modern, the other being Shawdow Run.

[CrazedGoblin]

Five star felony and a huge flying dragon comes after your V8 horse and cart

[Mewtarthio]

I think the Urban Ranger would enjoy this place. Anyways, yeah, now I'm picturing a bunch of Archmages relaxing in a lounge, smoking and discussing the oppression of the little people.

[DiscipleofBob]

For Paragon Badger:

Undead - Undead come in two flavors: intelligent and unintelligent. The intelligent undead (vampires, liches, etc.) either become undead of their own volition as a means of achieving immortality or are forced into servitude by a necromancer. Some independent liches and vampires become successful, respectable businessmen, and can even afford to live in condos and high-rise apartments with artificial darkness. The unintelligent undead (zombies, ghouls, and the like) while unable to function normally in society, so become service workers at D-Mart, local gas stations, or simply low-level employees in corporations.

Fighters - Fighters remain largely unchanged and are quite popular in this setting, as adventurers, mercenaries, or muscle.

Rogues - Rogues are also quite popular mercenary-types, but some can make it as independent criminals as long as they stay out of the affairs of the major crime families.

Rangers - Rangers use the Urban Ranger variant, and make great trackers that are in high demand for hire among the crime families, as well as the local police force. A lot of rangers make work as private detectives in the big city as well.

To Reptilius:
I was thinking Punk rocker, but that's pretty good too.

To Combatant:
While I do need to look at Shadowrun, from what I hear, it isn't the exact sort of flavor I'm going for, but it's close. D20 Modern I like the concept of, just not the execution. I never really liked its class system. I'd like it better if they just took the advanced classes and converted them into base classes. They have a lot of class features for new rules I probably wouldn't even use. I know I'm going to make the Bodyguard into a 20-level class for a separate project.

To Mewtarthio: Yea, Urban Ranger was perfect for what I was looking for, and makes more sense altogether. Now I have the image of the human ranger gumshoe detective.

[Mewtarthio]

The unintelligent undead (zombies, ghouls, and the like) while unable to function normally in society, so become service workers at D-Mart, local gas stations, or simply low-level employees in corporations.

Shaun of the Dead, anyone?

To Mewtarthio: Yea, Urban Ranger was perfect for what I was looking for, and makes more sense altogether. Now I have the image of the human ranger gumshoe detective.

Happy to help.

[Reptilius]

The way I had it was that the Archons and Angels would have merged their companies together to form "Arkan," while the Demons and the Devils would have merged their corporate fronts as well (though not necessarily trusting one another. Also still working on the name for theirs.) The Demon/Devil institution would have its own evil plans for the city and Arkan would have moved in simply to interfere on the behalf of good. So yes, still representatives of pure good, albeit such a force is very out-of-place in this setting.

Although it may smack of Wolfram and Hart, how about an evil law firm? Maybe Asmodeus, Demogorgon, and (Yugoloth master)?

[DiscipleofBob]

Although it may smack of Wolfram and Hart, how about an evil law firm? Maybe Asmodeus, Demogorgon, and (Yugoloth master)?

Well, I have no plans to publish this setting, so I have no qualms about ripping off other ideas for this. I needed some sort of front for the Outsider corporations anyway, so we'll say the Angels and Devils have opposing law firms, while the Demons specialty is merchandising.

[puppyavenger]

, while the Demons specialty is merchandising.

yah intimidate modifier for being a giant flaming avatar of evil incarnate

Also what about LN and CN outsider,
Ooh ooh inevitable swat teams and mordon bureaucracy

[DracoDei]

mordon bureaucracy

<Whimpers in Shear Terror at the very thought>

[DiscipleofBob]

yah intimidate modifier for being a giant flaming avatar of evil incarnate

Also what about LN and CN outsider,
Ooh ooh inevitable swat teams and mordon bureaucracy

I must ask before I continue... what is a mordon bureaucracy?

[DracoDei]

Actually spelled "Modron"... Anyway here you go for modrons.

[Ceiling009]

About the Advanced Classes being base classes... I'd rather make it as easy to get into prestige classes. Some do warrant being full base classes, a lot don't.

[puppyavenger]

I must ask before I continue... what is a mordon bureaucracy?

mordons are/were the LN outsiders from planescape, they are notorious for their organisation. Long lines of command and every member of each caste looking the exact same. The reason I say that is until the upper castes the creatures can only perform a number of tasks equal to their rank