11 Tips to Create UNFORGETTABLE D&D Cities...

if your players are yawning their way through your DND City leaving you feeling like it lacks depth and excitement today I'm going to share 11 tips to help you build a complete and engaging DND City that your players will never forget tip one start with a strong concept as a dungeon master creating a world is an incredibly daunting task but starting with a strong concept can help to focus your creativity and bring your vision to life a strong concept serves as the foundation for the city and it helps to create a cohesive experience for your players think about what kind of City you want to create what kind of environment do you want your players to experience is your city going to be a bustling Metropolis filled with political Intrigue or a quiet town with a secret cult this is where you'll set the tone for the rest of the city once you have a concept in mind start to brainstorm the details what kind of architecture will you use to build the city or more importantly what materials would they make the city out of based on the skills trade or resources they have available to them a city by the forest will use that abundant resource where they can so would buildings might be the norm for them what kind of customs and traditions will the people of the city follow what kind of economy and government does it have all of these elements contribute to the immersive experience your players have in your city but if that's too much a great concept can start simply with I want a city in the sky or I want a City built into a waterfall and then from there you can focus on thinking about how these locations and geographies affect the city and following the next 10 tips you can really bring your City to life tip two is to think about the beginning of the city one of the best ways to create a fully realized city is to think about how it was founded understanding the history of your city gives breath and life to the world your players are inhabiting and not only gives the city more personality but makes it feel more real to your players was it established by a group of settlers looking for a new home or was it built on the ruins of an ancient civilization what was the driving force behind the establishment of the city and how has this influenced the development of the city over time answering these questions can help to inform the architecture culture and economy of the city making it feel more authentic in my own world I have a vast Shoreline of new colonies that have sprung up on a new continent to become a trade Hub this means the architecture and design of the colonies is a mishmash of different cultures and peoples making it stand out from other areas in the world tip three is to think about the economy economy is an essential element of any City it provides rules for the lives of the NPCs a scale of quests that your players will Undertake and also controls the opportunities available to them when considering the economy of your city think about the industries that drives the city's success does the city have a thriving trade industry or does it rely on agriculture to support its people how does the city make its money does it have powerful stores of magic substances it sells to others or is it a stopping City with lots of trade and Merchants or perhaps it's a forgotten Town struggling to remain on the map think about the economy in the real world think about how little things can create a domino effect that trickles into the economy how would past Wars location and abundant resources or lack thereof affect the city in addition to Industries think about the social classes in your city are there wealthy Nobles who hold power over the lower classes or is the city more egalitarian understanding the social structure of your city can help you create more realistic and engaging Quests for your players tip 4 who rules the city in addition to the economy understanding the power structure of your city is essential and I don't mean just the social classes who holds power in your city and how do they exercise it this is a crucial question that will shape the politics of your city consider what kind of government your city has is it a monarchy a council a democracy understanding the power structure of the city can help you to create engaging quests and NPCs for your players to interact with that feel like they're part of the city and not just a quest to hunt ex-animals or why Bandits you could have a quest where the players must overthrow a corrupt politician or they could find themselves caught up in the Intrigue of a Royal Court when you use the city's concept economy government all of that all these things work to to complement the other elements of the city that you have already put in so much time and effort into building and put thought into tip five is what is the religion like religion is an essential aspect to any DND world and it plays an important role in the culture of your city if you've read the dungeon Masters Guide you'll see that on page nine there are some core assumptions that are made in order for the game to work as written though these can be tweaked but will affect your game style one of those assumptions is simply people worship Gods however if you don't want gods in your world or maybe they are extinct even a lack of gods is in a way affecting the religion of the city without gods do people still worship them and if they don't worship them what kinds of effects might that have on the world or its Legends what kind of gods or goddesses do the people of your city worship if any and how do they worship them do different factions in the city have different beliefs and do these beliefs create tension between them considering the religion of your city can help you to create Quests for example the players must solve a murder in a temple or they could find themselves caught up in the conflict between two rival religious factions or if you want to go even bigger religious tensions between countries could spill into all-out war that the players must now either fight in or try to stop tip six what organizations and guilds are there organizations and guilds are a great way to add depth to your DND City they can provide your players with special opportunities for quests as well as add flavor and character to your city but beyond that it makes them feel like they are part of a club or like they've stumbled into a secret area of the game in a way organizations and guilds can almost feel like an Easter egg think about the different organizations and guilds that could exist in your city maybe there's a powerful Thieves Guild that controls the city's underworld or a powerful Wizards Guild that controls access to Arcane knowledge each of these organizations will have its own motivations and goals which can be used to create engaging Quests for your players or to pull on backstory or even main storylines that you can weave into the narrative as the sessions unfold tip 7 is to think about the city's fences and Military understanding the defenses and Military of your city is another important aspect of building a complete DND City think about this what if the city that you're building was to suddenly come under attack what would they do would volunteers rise up and help does the city have guards in ancient times in our world only the most wealthy cities had guards on payroll most cities had a volunteer system that rotated through people much like military reservists today a sort of I'm on watch this month kind of attitude but if your city has a system of Lords perhaps its mandatory service and not volunteer think of it this way if the city falls under attack how would the different guard types change the course of the battle well a well-paid guard might be less willing to abandon their post because if they survive they wouldn't want to lose their job but a volunteer or mandatory Service Guard might not care as much since they aren't getting anything out of the job guards who are paid well will probably have armor and training whereas volunteers will probably have a spear and whatever armor they might already own if any these are the little details that change the structure of the defense of the city beyond that does the city have walls or is it protected by a moat or other natural barriers do they have trebuchets or catapults or other defensive systems are there guards posted at key points throughout the city and how do they respond to threats thinking about the city's defenses and Military can really help you create exciting battles and other encounters for your players and adds a level of depth that let's be honest a lot of video games and ttrpg worlds just don't think about tip 8 is to focus on the details details are what bring a city to life in your players Minds consider adding small details to your city that help to make it feel more real for example what kind of Street vendors and shops exist in the city are there street performers entertaining passerby what kind of smells and sounds are present in different parts of the city how are neighborhoods structured where would someone want to live in the city and where might someone avoid in the late hours by focusing on these little details the city really starts to to fill itself in tip 9 is to create plot hooks now creating plot hooks is a great way to make your city feel alive and full of Adventure think about what kind of quests or missions your players could undertake while in the city you could have them investigate a string of murders stop a gang of Thieves or uncover a corrupt politician but more than that you want to add these plot hooks in the local murmurings and the gossip or by walking into a shop and accidentally overhearing a conversation this goes back to what I always say about NPCs they need to be doing things when your players aren't around otherwise you give the impression that they never go home and just t-pose when you leave the room by adding plot hooks you'll give your players a reason to explore the city and engage with its inhabitants and see what other areas there are to explore and discover tip 10 is to use maps and visual aids now I know that this is a little harder with online games but creating a map of your city is a great way to keep track of all the details you've added it can also help your players visualize the city and its layout you can use online map making tools like incarnate or even draw a map by hand like Tolkien Beyond just the map consider other visual aids that can help bring your City to life creating sketches or illustrations of important buildings or NPCs can help players visualize what they're encountering you can also create detailed floor plans of significant buildings to help players navigate them adding visual aids can help set the tone and mood of your City used color palettes typography and other Design Elements to create a consistent aesthetic that reflects the character of your city or even your world now I know some of you are thinking right now I'm not an artist well this is where tools like mid-journey and incarnate can really help with these ideas and execution no they're not paying me to say this but I use them in all of my games tip 11 is to create believable NPCs no city is complete without a cast of believable NPCs think about the different kinds of people that would live in your city from merchants and Artisans to Nobles and beggars give each NPC their own personality and backstory so that they feel like real people with their own motivations and desires now this doesn't mean you need to make a list of 2 000 NPCs but have a few on hand that you can reference or create a list of personalities and voice styles that you would play out as well as a list of names so that you're never unprepared make sure that you think about the goals and desires of the NPCs within the context of the city what do they want what are they afraid of what kind of relationships do they have with other NPCs in the city what places do they frequent do they like the government do they like the guards NPCs with strong personalities and clear goals can serve as potential Quest givers allies or adversaries for your players and can help make your city feel more vibrant and on top of that NPCs can be a very very useful resource for giving storyline or Exposition in a way that doesn't feel like you're just giving them the information I hope these 11 tips help you create a more believable City let me know in the comments down below what you do to make your cities come to life I'm very very curious thank you so much for watching for John my friends and we'll see you next time adventurers

Channel: The Fantasy Forge

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Keywords: dungeons and dragons, dnd, d&d, tabletop roleplaying, dice, dm tips, d&d tips, beginner d&d, how to play dungeons and dragons, displacer treats, dungeons and dragons gameplay, gary gygax, dungeon master for beginners, d&d for beginners, tips and tricks, dungeon master tips and tricks, d&d tips and tricks, critical role, dimension 20, nat 20, dnd beyond, roll20, onednd, how to be a dungeon master, how to dm, how to be a dm, how to gm, game master, pathfinder, how to game master

Id: 07Zzd27h4E0

Length: 11min 14sec (674 seconds)

Published: Sun May 28 2023