Being generally behind the power-curve, yet now having this blog to spur me creatively, I have started populating Skara Brae with a variety of people, places, and perhaps, plots. This, plus a few weeks off leave me with an end-of-year project.
For many NPCs, I hope for the players to take advantage of the 'I know a guy' rule, but failing that, some standard sorts and types are necessary to fill in the spaces. If nothing else, Garth and Roscoe will be around.
Happily, I recently purchased the d30 Sandbox Companion from New Big Dragon Games and I want to use it alongside my hard copies of Midkemia's Cities, Judges Guild's Ready Ref Sheets, Atlas Games' Crime and Punishment, and Mystic Eye Games' Foul Locales: Urban Blight and Behind the Gates. In addition are the pdfs of all the Catalyst Citybooks, to go with my hardcopy of Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker and Atlas Games' Backdrops.
This is all in addition to several fantasy city books of varying sizes, in both print and pdf (Hollowfaust is hands down my favorite): The Town of Kalas, the Citystate of the Invincible Overlord, Bluffside, Liberty from the City Quarters Series (a shame they never finished it), Waterdeep: City of Splendors, Raven's Bluff, Lankhmar, Mithril, Minas Tirith, Laketown, Freeport, Marchion, and the Free City of Greyhawk, among others.
Despite all of these resources (and more), I have yet to sit down and hammer out most details of my own Skara Brae.
No longer.
A city map, if only for a rough visual overview, will be a necessity. While in the end, I might just use a published map, I feel compelled to at least try and draw out a city on my own. Inkarnate lends itself to this, as does a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. But it doesn't need to be the first step.
And it certainly won't be in this post.
All I really know is that Skara Brae is a port city located in a temperate climate.
Dipping into the earlier-mentioned sources, I know that my city will include:
From the various Catalyst citybooks: Diamond Spider Tavern (I), The Grey Minstrel Inn (I), Skywhite's House of Lavation (I), Larkspur the Leech (I), Kolat's Emporium of Miracles (I), the House of Thelesha Moonscry (I), Bron Arvo's Armory (I), Blades by Tor (I), Trueshaft's Bowyery (I), Red Earth Leatherworks (I), Crunge's Clocktower (I), the Temple of Putrexia (I), Palace of Peaceful Repose (I), the Brass Orchid Tavern (II), the Longtooth Lounge (II), the Gateway (II), the Everpresent Journeywind (II), Ew's Wood and Bone Works (II), the Customs House (II), the Temple of Aroshnavaraparta (II), the Blue Light Gang (II), Artemus the Lucky Sea Captain (II), the Singing Frog Sanctuary (III), Karig the Stalker (III), the Bloodmoon School (III), the Well of Justice (III), the Undercity (III), the House of Infinite Dreams (III), Domdaniel's Gate (III), the Bottomless Keg (V), Amarathine's Rest (VI), Greenhargon's Museum (VI), the Reliquarium (VI), the Lost Inn (VI), the Gloriana Theater (VI), Cidryn's Aerial Palladium (VI), Exeter's Antiques Emporium (VI), Feats of Clay (VI), Jasmine's Fine Jewelry (VI), and maybe more, but my eyes hurt from skim-reading.
Of course, names will be changed, but the personalities, maps, and hooks can drive an entire campaign's worth of adventures, without ever leaving the city - so then again, maybe I need to watch how just how much I add or expose to the players. Having a solid depth of names and places allows for an easy(ish) rumor table; Citybook III even has a 'rumor price construction table' on p21 that boils down to how much a person's appearance gets them charged for rumors, but it can be easily ported to other charges.
As the series name suggests, Foul Locales are small set pieces of a sinister nature, which I can connect to the megadungeon and feed through the rumor table. There are quite a few options I look forward to sprinkling through the city's wards. Backdrops provides the same, with a less sinister bent. Between these books, I have adventure-ready locations and scenarios.
I am not a fan of magic item stores, certainly not one-stop-shops, like Wal-Marts for mages. Instead, in my world, there are item brokers that can both find items for interested parties, as well as gladly take unwanted items off PC hands. Ideally, some such brokers are revealed through players using the I Know a Guy houserule. The chief brokers are the Favarro family, but there are a variety of others that specialize in various types of items:
Kargreave the Armorer (p23), Dallo the Clothier (p31), Blaatchep the Cursemonger (p38), Berlow the Healer (p47), Renaida the Jeweler (p52), Zebulon (p59), Blind Bartolomeus the Fence (p70), Zyle the Transporter (p81), Arlon the Armsman (p87), and Eliaz the Necromancer (p102) from GURPS Magic Items I.
Wat Oakenson the Ranger (p12), Nangres Thornbeard the Armorer (p20), Tuneful Loquinon the Bard (p27), Hieronymous Bibliophilus the Bookseller (p34), Madame Fleuria d'Estille the Socialite (p43), Poponax the Vile Clown (p51), Lazy Nambo the Somnambulent (p58), Lianril Healthgiver (p67), Theron the Hierophant (p72), Somber Thul the Gaunt (p79), Lalonica the Huntress (p82), Holdarion the Sage (p88), Loughlin Keymaker the Locksmith (p94), Old Friedrich the Puppeteer (p99), Journeymaster Warnow the Wanderer (p106), Krolt the Swordsmith (p112), and Archimagus Ulrikh (p120) from GURPS Magic Items II.
Knowing these sorts of brokers are in Skara Brae helps dictates the city quarters, or wards, as there will assuredly be more than four themed areas. Just reading through the names makes me realize that Skara Brae will have at least a few humanoids dwelling among the mostly human population. I'm looking forward to my final city.
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