So this is the city I wrote up a while back for a D&D game, this is all just fluff so it can be used in any fantasy setting or whatever.
The city of Crystalshore sits at the mouth of the River Crystal. It's a major shipping harbor for the kingdom it lies in. Along with also being a major overland trading route. This made it one of the richest cities in the kingdom. It's current population is 50,000. One of the major taverns is "Demon's Run". The city is ran by the Lord Mayor who acts upon advice given to him or her from a council made up of business members and members of the upper class. The city is also home to a number of different religious orders that also give advice to the Lord Mayor.
Crystalshore is dived into sections with the largest being the Trade district along the river and the Harbor, this is where Demon's Run is located and along with a number of drunk sailors. This is also the home of the shipping company Merakesh LTD. The company employs a large number of workers from officer workers to ship hands to warehouse workers.
North from the Trade district is the city center where the government offices are located along with a number of buildings belonging to foreign Governments . Then to the east and west are residential areas, and scattered around the city are the various churches and temples.
Along the outer edge of the city are also a number of farms that grow food and raise animals.
EDIT: I'll add more later
The Harbor
The Harbor is home to a number of warehouses that belong to a number of companies, but a large group of them belong to Merakesh LTD and is guarded by their own group of security forces. Along the harbor are also a number of taverns the most famous being "Demon's Run". It's always packed with sailors, travelers and locals. Some of the ships currently in port are : The Maru the largest cargo ship belonging to Merakesh LTD. The Golden Lilly a passenger ship. Rivers Dream a river boat that hauls both goods and people up and down the river. The Emissary an ambassadorial class ship from another city ( or kingdom) A number of other ships belonging to Merakesh LTD and fishing trawlers belong to private owners and a few other cargo haulers from other companies.
Trade district
The Trade district is a very cosmopolitan area. You can hear a number of different accents and languages from all over. One of the largest shops is called Moonflower International. They seem to have items from all over the place and always filled with shoppers. There are also a number of places to get food one of the more popular eatery is Kismet Cantina. It's famous for it's Purple Heaven which is a a drink that is colored violet with silver flecks and spices mixed in. The drink smells like licorice and tastes heavenly. Many deals have been made over glasses of it. There are also a number of smaller specialty shops and stalls lining the streets, that are paved to help with the transfer of goods and people from the harbor. The streets are also paved for the whole city.
The Civic district
The Civic district is home to government offices, the largest being City hall. It is here where the Lord Mayor has his personal office and his meeting room. The meeting room is where he meets with the Council of Elders, who are made up for members of the business community, the upper class,and some of the Churches. There are also a number of offices for the Lord Mayor's staff.
Aside from City hall the other government offices include:
The Exchequer which deals with the city's finances (rumors abound that the department is receiving kick backs from an unknown party)
The Justice Department deals with law enforcement ( bribes are said to be made to the Justice minister in order for him to turn a blind eye to anything happening in the Red Light District)
The Courts
Then there is Embassy Row which houses the offices that belong to Foreign Governments.
However in between both the Trade and Civic district is a narrow strip of the city that is the Red Light district. Inside of this area that is only a couple of blocks are a couple of brothels (one is rumored to be owned by Merakesh LTD) There are also a few pawn shops with good of dubious legality for sell. There are also a number of cheap flop houses willing to rent out sub par rooms to those willing to pay or provide a service depending on the owner's needs. This area is lightly patrolled by the city guard.
Demon's Run
Is the largest inn in the city, along with being the most popular. It's popularity is due it's signature drink The Covered Apple: medium brown with a syrupy texture and an apple slice on the edge of the glass. The drink smells great and tastes like caramel. It also features a wonderful menu :
Spicy Hellhound Claws Pork Knuckle Roasted in Beer Braised Oxtails with Mushrooms Smoked Salmon Salad Roast Goose strewn with Caraway seeds: Cockatrice Liver pate and Bread Cheese rolls with a filling of nuts, honey and vegetables Stuffed Mushrooms with Thyme & Creamcheese Basilisk Knuckle Roasted in Beer Honey Glazed Carrots and Parsnips Ettercap Claws with Melted Butter Braised Minotaurtail with Mushrooms Wyvern Tail in Ginger & Cinnamon Roasted and Smoked Pork Spareribs
Drinks: Finnell (pale) Ale Thanuk (heavy) Ale Invidian (pale) Ale Fallan (Wine) Whiskey Vodka Askarus (heavy) Ale: Shanshun Lager Khellanic Ale Yanusa (Wine ) Moonshine (Wine)
The Tavern also has a number of rooms on the second and third floors for rent for those traveling,along with 4 rooms for private parties, that ranges in the smallest for 8 and the largest for 15. The building itself is made from wood,stone and brick.
The owner and main bartender is a human female named Serena, she is usually there during the morning and late afternoon. She has a number of workers: 4 in the kitchen, 5 waiter/waitress, 3 who help clean the rooms,4 other bartenders. The tavern also has a stage for those who wish to entertain the masses.
Merakesh
Merakesh is owned by the Merakesh family who founded the shipping company a few years after the city was founded. Anyone is welcomed to work for the company in number of jobs from working in the warehouses to one of their many ships. The company is ran by a board of directors made of 12 of the family members. In order to be considered to join it, a family member must be either blood or by marriage and be of the age of 25. If the person is married into the family then the member they married must chose to hand over the seat to that person. The board of directors meets at the end of the year to vote in new members who have come of age during the year, at this time anyone currently on the board may give up their chair for an incoming member.
The current chairmen of the board is Marcos Merakesh, he also sits on the Council of Elders. He has been the chairmen for a little over two years. It was under his leadership that the company invested in the Maru. He is considering to put forth to a vote a plan to buy up a ship building firm or extending into the passenger hauling business.
Angelic Shadows
Angelic Shadows is the name of the local thieves guild. It's membership is said to be around 50 or 60 but no one other than it's own members know. The guild runs the red light district for the most part, handing out bribes to the city guard and other members of the justice ministry as needed. They also have a presence in the harbor with smuggling goods in and out of the city. It's also rumored that one of the board members of Merakesh LTD is either on the payroll or even a member of the thieves guild. The guild does have however a set code in which crimes and actives they par take in. Mainly no killing for money, only in self defense, this along with the bribes explains why the Justice department turns a blind eye to the thieves guild.
Politics and such
The politics of the city aren't very complicated. The mayor is both elected and appointed. That is to say that if a person wishes to run for mayor they must be of age (35) and be a resident of both the city and kingdom in good standing meaning no major crimes committed. Once a person is elected to be mayor they are brought before the emperor who then does an interview with the mayor-elect and if the emperor agrees with the mayor-elect he is then appointed mayor. The mayor serves a 6 year term with an optional 2 more if he chooses to run for re-election.
Laws of the city: Only light weapons and and light armor is allowed on the streets unless you a member of the city guard or have a special permit. No spells are allowed to be cast without special permits. And naturally other common sense stuff eg no murdering etc...
Breaking the law can earn punishment from warnings and fins all the way up to being executed depending on the severity of the crime.
Moonflower International
Moonflower International is owned by Lady Amelia Ridgeway. It's a large two story store that sells many goods from all over the world. It currently employees a little over 40 workers. It's also one of Merakesh LTD's clients for shipping. The store is also a very successful front for The Angelic Shadows. The only people who are aware of this fact are the Lady herself and her personal secretary
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Last edited by trappedslider on Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:47 am, edited 12 times in total.
Marcos Marakesh is currently the chairmen of Merakesh LTD and also sits on the Council of Elders. He is a human male age 35, before joining the board of directors he worked on the docks helping to unload cargo along with taking it either warehouses or making deliveries around Crystalshore. This allowed him to get the view from the street as it were as to how the family business ran. After reaching age 25 he joined the board and became in charge of overseeing the docks and the dock workers. While there, he increased wages and instituted other benefits. He then started to make deals with the other board members so that he could become chairman. Once he became chairmen at the age of 34 he increased wages company wide along with other benefits. His personality is kind and caring, he knows the names of his assistants along with some of their family details.
yes i know it's cheating but it's what i had in mind for him
this is what he looks like
Serena Moonbrook
Serena Moonkbrook is the current owner and head bartender of Demon's Run. She's a half-elf female. She was orphaned as a child due her parents dying in fire. She was taken in by a a member of the Angelic Shadows, where she quickly picked up the trade craft of a thief. During a card game at The Owl's Inn one of the other card players put down the deed to the inn. Serena barely won the hand. She was accused of cheating, but no evidence of it was found. After taking over the Inn she renamed it Demon's Run because she thought it sounded much better. She left the guild on friendly terms and agreed with the guild master that the tavern 's extensive basement could be used for guild business. Her personality is warm and friendly, she's also hard working and she's been known to crack a few jokes along with a few heads if folks get out of hand while drinking.
Lord Mayor Alfonso del Reno
Alfsonso was elected mayor at the age of 43 . He lived much of his youth in the city before going to be educated in the schools of Calmarnock. He returned at the age of 30 and started working in the city clerks office. He quickly grasped the handle of the local politics and at age 36 he first ran for mayor. Sadly he lost, but he was able to make a number of contacts and keep them current so that he could try again in 6 years. Then when the time had come again, he made his second attempt at getting elected mayor, this time he won. He promised to clean up corruption in the government along with looking at the possibility of more autonomy from Calmarnock.
Council of Elders
The council of Elders is made up of a people from both the local business community and the upper class along with those who chose to attend meetings from the religious sects of the city. The CoE is chosen by the mayor so it usually ends up being filled with those who supported the current mayor's election. The Emperor also sends someone back with the mayor to act as his voice in issues that may have a wider range of effects than just the city. Those currently on the council are : Lady Amelia Ridgeway representing the Emperor Marcos Marakesh from the business community Conall Vulmar represents the churches and the lower classes Keraen Jalrva from the upper classes
Lady Amelia Ridgeway
Lady Amelia Ridgeway is the owner of Moonflower international. She is also the cousin of Emperor Ashex Papibo of the kingdom that Crystalshore is in. She left the capital Calmarnock as part of a trade cavern and as a means to see the world. Upon reaching Crystalshore she decided to stay and make it her home. She bought a trading stall and quickly grew it into the current store that it is today. Along the way she grew tired of simply being a business woman looked down upon by others and and used her connections with the emperor to gain a seat on the Council of Elders.
One day while closing up the store a group of thieves came in looking to rob her, After telling them that they would all be hanged for attacking her since she is the emperors cousin, they decided that it would be better to go and leaver her in peace. However, thinking that it could lead to new adventure and more money, she made them an offer to let her join them and she would funnel some of the stores money into the guild along with fence goods and other services that she could offer. They agreed with her, and she quickly moved up in the ranks of the guild and eventually became the guild master. As guild master she renamed the guild to Angelic Shadows,gave advice to Serena on running Demon's Run, something she still does to this day. She was also able to use her cover as the owner of Moonflower International to travel aboard and make contact with other thieves guild.
Kerean Jalrva
Kerean Jalrva was mainly a drifter who at the young age of 18 took his family inheritance and left Calmarnock to travel the world. Not much is known of his travels or how he came to Crystalshore. One thing is known is that upon buying a large section of land, he built a very large estate. He grows wine named Moonshine that he sells via Moonflower international along with shipping the wine back to the capital.He also sends a a case over to Demons Run He used some of his money to fund the mayor's election campaign and was given a seat on the Council of Elders.
Conall Vulmar
Conall Vulmar was educated in the college of Calmarnock in Theology and Religion. He moved to Crystal shore to see how he could help the poor. He manged to talk to the local faith leaders into creating a council of the poor. Which helps out those who in desperate need of food,clothing,shelter and other things. They operate a number of soup kitchens across the town. Conall takes no favor of any one single belief and chooses to go with the the thought whatever higher power you believe, he or she or it would like you to help those who can not help themselves. During CoE meetings he mainly seeks to get city funding for the soup kitchens and shelters, along with advocating the needs of those who have no other voice for them.
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Last edited by trappedslider on Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:48 am, edited 7 times in total.
Lol, that cracks me up. I developed a seaport named Southport that has a number of similarities, but is much larger. It boasts an army, the largest navy on the continent, and a magic academy (actually psions, but the PCs don't know that!) A guy I know let me use his idea for a special place called the Drunken Lemming, a "tavern" that might well spawn a number of adventures. I will definitely keep an eye on this thread. I like, no, LOVE, sea or other on-the-water adventures. A great d20 book I highly recommend is "Seafarer's Handbook", a Legends and Lairs guidebook from It gives you a wealth of information to use for sea campaigns. You can probably pick it up in a used book store.
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"Are you sure you want to do that?" - Most important question I can ask you as a DM. So pay attention!
Lol, that cracks me up. I developed a seaport named Southport that has a number of similarities, but is much larger. It boasts an army, the largest navy on the continent, and a magic academy (actually psions, but the PCs don't know that!) A guy I know let me use his idea for a special place called the Drunken Lemming, a "tavern" that might well spawn a number of adventures. I will definitely keep an eye on this thread. I like, no, LOVE, sea or other on-the-water adventures. A great d20 book I highly recommend is "Seafarer's Handbook", a Legends and Lairs guidebook from It gives you a wealth of information to use for sea campaigns. You can probably pick it up in a used book store.
I prefer Urban adventures,so I have Cityscape, and yeah i plan to add to it. I just need to find the rest of my notes
The Harbor is home to a number of warehouses that belong to a number of companies, but a large group of them belong to Merakesh LTD and is guarded by their own group of security forces. Along the harbor are also a number of taverns the most famous being "Demon's Run". It's always packed with sailors, travelers and locals.
EDIT: Some of the ships currently in port are : The Maru the largest cargo ship belonging to Merakesh LTD. The Golden Lilly a passenger ship. Rivers Dream a river boat that hauls both goods and people up and down the river. The Emissary an ambassadorial class ship from another city ( or kingdom) A number of other ships belonging to Merakesh LTD and fishing trawlers belong to private owners and a few other cargo haulers from other companies.
I really think the idea of a trade city as hub is smart. I know you said it could be used for any kind of game, but is there particular edition you run?
The Trade district is a very cosmopolitan area. You can hear a number of different accents and languages from all over. One of the largest shops is called Moonflower International. They seem to have items from all over the place and always filled with shoppers. There are also a number of places to get food one of the more popular eatery is Kismet Cantina. It's famous for it's Purple Heaven which is a a drink that is colored violet with silver flecks and spices mixed in. The drink smells like licorice and tastes heavenly. Many deals have been made over glasses of it. There are also a number of smaller specialty shops and stalls lining the streets, that are paved to help with the transfer of goods and people from the harbor. The streets are also paved for the whole city.
I really think the idea of a trade city as hub is smart. I know you said it could be used for any kind of game, but is there particular edition you run?
3.5 is what I run when i did/do run D&D, but it's generic enough to be used for any game really.
Joined: Sep 22, 2013 Posts: 11309 Location: Asleep at the wheel
Preferred Pronoun Set: SE / squinty / squints
trappedslider wrote:
3.5 is what I run when i did/do run D&D, but it's generic enough to be used for any game really.
See, that was my thinking. I just don't know that much about 4E or really, anything besides Pathfinder, but as long as the game revolves around a d20, aren't a lot of these world's fairly interchangeable? I just don't see all the major differences that make people scream: "Oh gods, why did you do this WotC? Why?"
See, that was my thinking. I just don't know that much about 4E or really, anything besides Pathfinder, but as long as the game revolves around a d20, aren't a lot of these world's fairly interchangeable? I just don't see all the major differences that make people scream: "Oh gods, why did you do this WotC? Why?"
~SE++
When it comes to building cities no matter what game i'm running I always end up using cityscape to help me make the city. It's a really good environment book. And the fluffy stuff cane be used with any system.
I'm going to have to look into Cityscape. I just started branching into DMing, and while I'm going to run some 4E easy modules to get used to it... I know in the back of my mind that I'll want to do a homebrew world and campaign. So I'm going to have to start a long ways out ahead of time.
I've played with a few ideas.... the first of which would have the party starting out in a city similar to Ravnica's guild system. My long term plan would to have two groups actually playing in the same world and have their events effecting each other. But we'll see.
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"Life is like a Dungeon Master, if it smiles at you something terrible is probably about to happen."
I'm going to have to look into Cityscape. I just started branching into DMing, and while I'm going to run some 4E easy modules to get used to it... I know in the back of my mind that I'll want to do a homebrew world and campaign. So I'm going to have to start a long ways out ahead of time.
I've played with a few ideas.... the first of which would have the party starting out in a city similar to Ravnica's guild system. My long term plan would to have two groups actually playing in the same world and have their events effecting each other. But we'll see.
Good luck finding a hard copy of it, the crunchy bits ofr the book are for 3.5, but like i said the fluffy stuff can be used for anything
The Civic district is home to government offices, the largest being City hall. It is here where the Lord Mayor has his personal office and his meeting room. The meeting room is where he meets with the Council of Elders, who are made up for members of the business community, the upper class,and some of the Churches. There are also a number of offices for the Lord Mayor's staff.
Aside from City hall the other government offices include:
The Exchequer which deals with the city's finances (rumors abound that the department is receiving kick backs from an unknown party)
The Justice Department deals with law enforcement ( bribes are said to be made to the Justice minister in order for him to trun a blind eye to anything happening in the Red Light District)
The Courts
Then there is Embassy Row which houses the offices that belong to Foreign Governments.
However in between both the Trade and Civic district is a narrow strip of the city that is the Red Light district. Inside of this area that is only a couple of blocks are a couple of brothels (one is rumored to be owned by Merakesh LTD) There are also a few pawn shops with good of dubious legality for sell. There are also a number of cheap flop houses willing to rent out sub par rooms to those willing to pay or provide a service depending on the owner's needs. This area is lightly patrolled by the city guard.
So this is the city I wrote up a while back for a D&D game, this is all just fluff so it can be used in any fantasy setting or whatever.
The city of Crystalshore sits at the mouth of the River crystal. It's a major shipping harbor for the kingdom it lies in. Along with also being a major overland trading route. This made it one of the richest cities in the kingdom. It's current population is 20,000. One of the major taverns is "Demon's Run". The city is ran by the Lord Mayor who acts upon advice given to him or her from a council made up of business members and members of the upper class. The city is also home to a number of different religious orders that also give advice to the Lord Mayor.
Crystalshore is dived into sections with the largest being the Trade district along the river and the Harbor, this is where Demon's Run is located and along with a number of drunk sailors. This is also the home of the shipping company Merakesh LTD. The company employs a large number of works from officer works to ship hands to warehouse workers.
North from the Trade district is the city center where the government offices are located along with a number of buildings belonging to foreign Governments . Then to the east and west are residential areas, and scattered around the city are the various churches and temples.
Joined: Sep 19, 2013 Posts: 384 Location: Bensalem, PA
trappedslider wrote:
I prefer Urban adventures,so I have Cityscape, and yeah i plan to add to it. I just need to find the rest of my notes
Since you prefer urban adventures, allow me to drop in a plug for The Great City Campaign Setting from 0one Games. (And I'd link you directly to the product on the Publisher's website, but my employer blocks it. And if you want more info about the setting, let me know and I'll start a thread about it so as not to completely hijack yours.)
A bit of quick advice for your city: make sure you include conflict. Groups that have subtle wars (financial or actual hit-and-run murders etc), political opponents of the Lord Mayor, churches that have opposing beliefs and want to eliminate each other, etc. Those conflicts are what allow GMs to build out hooks for their campaign and give something for a player to latch onto - even if they don't know they're latching onto a specific political inrigue conflict at the beginning.
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John Ling Lead Pathfinder Developer, Frog God Games
Note: unless specified otherwise, the opinions and ideas in my posts are my own and not those of Frog God Games.
Since you prefer urban adventures, allow me to drop in a plug for The Great City Campaign Setting from 0one Games. (And I'd link you directly to the product on the Publisher's website, but my employer blocks it. And if you want more info about the setting, let me know and I'll start a thread about it so as not to completely hijack yours.)
I have monte cook's Ptolus
Quote:
A bit of quick advice for your city: make sure you include conflict. Groups that have subtle wars (financial or actual hit-and-run murders etc), political opponents of the Lord Mayor, churches that have opposing beliefs and want to eliminate each other, etc. Those conflicts are what allow GMs to build out hooks for their campaign and give something for a player to latch onto - even if they don't know they're latching onto a specific political inrigue conflict at the beginning.
I have notes somewhere on whos who and guilds and such i'm still looking for them lol once i find them I can add to this thread.
Yoink? So it's that good huh? I think i have more notes somewhere...
I plan to build a world around the area laid out in Red Hand of Doom. I already have a replacement for Dwellin's Ferry (starting town); you just gave me a replacement for Bridgeport (ending town).
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A guy I know let me use his idea for a special place called the Drunken Lemming, a "tavern" that might well spawn a number of adventures. I will definitely keep an eye on this thread. I like, no, LOVE, sea or other on-the-water adventures. A great d20 book I highly recommend is "Seafarer's Handbook", a Legends and Lairs guidebook from It gives you a wealth of information to use for sea campaigns. You can probably pick it up in a used book store.
(And I'd link you directly to the product on the Publisher's website, but my employer blocks it. And if you want more info about the setting, let me know and I'll start a thread about it so as not to completely hijack yours.)