Player's Guide Part 2: Places

While it's usually not too large of a concern, PCs need a place to live. When you're doing hex crawls or exploring a meg-dungeon. A few coins represent your place to live, but in an urban setting more attention to the living situation helps anchor into the setting. To the degree of detail your game goes into of course varies. 

The above map is the 3-story tenement where Snickle lives. We're 4 sessions into the campaign and his home has played a major role in it so far. Plus, Joe, my player, loves this level of detail. And when I emailed it to him he asked for more details.

Where's the ladder to the 3rd floor?

That's not on the map? Damn it. At the end of the long hall way on the 3rd floor. A simple ladder climbs to a trapdoor that is padlocked. 

Who's the landlord?

Crap, I was gonna put that in there, but ran out of space. You know his name is Terrance and he's a member of the Guild of Arcane Lore. Mage's guild. But you've never met him. At the 1st of each month his apprentice Kritz collects the rent and writes down complaints and needed repairs. These are usually addressed quickly. He keeps the building in good condition. 

What's the rent?

I know this. Simple. You live on the second floor. Every square equals 2sp of rent per month. You've got a 2 x 2 room, so rent is 8sp. The first floor is 2.5sp per square. The 3rd floor is 1.5sp per square. 

Then there a few places he goes to visit fairly often.

Diggers is a place where everyone knows his name. Well, almost everyone. A lot of diggers hangout there after work. Then a local gang uses it as their gathering place also, The Vultures. When I say gang, I mean a small group of street folk who scrap for a living. Mostly they get along except for when they don't. 

Hazelton Market is a small market place that is open every 7th day. It is a non-guild market. So folks can sell some basic things there without getting into trouble. There are the regulars and enough room to rotate different vendors in. 

This is a quick glance of a few things I make for my players. There is no need to flesh out an entire city. Allow the players explore and decide what you develop. Then you can put that in your back pocket for next time. Or next campaign. You'll have a number of very nice developed areas that have some playing time attached to them. 

That's all for now.