Friday, March 26, 2021

Things You Will Likely Need in a City

My previous post outlines the possibility (probability?) that even in a closed-matrix adventure, players will infer locations and NPCs that you may not have prepped and thus "escape" the matrix. This is more or less likely depending on the locale. The safety and beauty of the dungeon is there will be virtually none. But in the wilderness and especially urban environs the likelihood of players inferring an un-prepped entity becomes a near certainty.

Things players are likely to infer exist include

  1. Blacksmiths, armorers, and other skilled tradesmen
  2. Mundane and magical shops
  3. Libraries and sources of information
  4. Criminal, professional, noble/diplomatic, and familial contacts

If not prepared you will need to improvise the likelihood of a good or service being available, prices, and the time to fill orders (which possibly buys you time to resolve details off-screen).

Fortunately, if it isn't too immersion breaking, you can resolve much of this with a few rolls without inventing specific NPCs or places of business. You're welcome to invent them - but if your player asked if something exists, unless you're abundantly prepared or extraordinarily confident (try your best to at least be confident), they will know you're improvising so it's not so important that specific and colorful NPCs and their businesses exist.

Consider your party - Paladins and Clerics will likely seek a temple. Rogues and criminals will seek the underworld - seedy taverns, gambling dens, and illicit businesses. Wizard-types will want apothecaries and libraries for ingredients and information. Fighters are probably the easiest - while you can pleasantly surprise them with training grounds and fighting pits, unless they are part of a wide-spanning organization they won't expect such things tailored to them, even in large metropolises. Prepare one of each of these with an NPC and a small menu of goods or services available at each place.

In the end there's always a chance the players suggest something you haven't prepped. That's supposed to be part of the fun. But perhaps these strategies and items to prep will you avoid those anxious cold sweats when it happens.

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