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View Full Version : Stuff to have in a large medieval fantasy city



Khloros
2018-07-06, 01:00 PM
So I'm going to use a huge fantsy city in my setting and want ideas to what put in it.

It's very large and build using magic, it's people are diverse and very liberal.

What sorts of interesting places and districts would a city like that have?

Honest Tiefling
2018-07-06, 01:11 PM
1) Landmarks. Statues, fountains, memorials, things like that. You got magic, so why not spruce up your city a bit? Could also be various families/mage colleges/political groups showing off their power and wealth, as many people do.

2) Gardens/parks/zoos? This might be jarring for more primitive settings (since public areas like this wasn't common in much human history), but that can be solved by making them private. I could totally see a mage trying to impress all of their friends by keeping a pet behir or something in their private zoo. Also a wonderful plot hook if it gets loose, but be warned: The players will probably set it loose at some point. Plan for this.

3) Industry. What sort of artistry does this city specialize in? What sort of stuff would you need for that? Let's say this magical city full of awesome doesn't do something mundane like tannery, because that is stinky. But what sort of exciting features would a city have that say, makes magical jewelry? You'd need plenty of security for the gems/materials, mages competing to make the flashiest stuff as well as contact with gem mining cities.

4) Slums. A less industrial/factory based society won't likely have these, unless this magocracy isn't in the business of booting out bums. And if they are more benevolent and not kicking out anyone without a job, what are they doing with the unemployed?

5) Docks. How do people get here, what are the ships like, and how are the docks run? I assume the players will either be smuggling or catching smugglers, so it might be worthwhile to think how the harbor is run. Or whatever people use to get here.

6) Temples. What is the role of temples, and where do they get put in the city? In the center, or near a sacred site that might not be near the city center? Hovering over the city?

7) Rivers/lakes are always a nice touch, and do explain the size and varied nature of the city.

8) Libraries. Much like zoos and parks, having these be public can be a bit jarring to those expecting a medieval setting. However, most in history were private, meaning that players can't just waltz in and demand information.

9) Where the heck do you put criminals? How is the watch run, and what resources do they have?

10) How is a rich house laid out, and what sort of land demands would they have? I am just going to assume that the players are breaking into one of these at least once.

11) Where does 'society' meet? A forum, a promenade, a marketplace, or in clubs away from the plebs?

Mike Miller
2018-07-06, 05:50 PM
So I'm going to sue a huge fantsy city in my setting and want ideas to what put in it.

It's very large and build using magic, it's people are diverse and very liberal.

What sorts of interesting places and districts would a city like that have?

Fantsy cities have the best lawyers. Prepare your lawsuit well and dig in for the long haul.

Keltest
2018-07-06, 06:08 PM
1) Landmarks. Statues, fountains, memorials, things like that. You got magic, so why not spruce up your city a bit? Could also be various families/mage colleges/political groups showing off their power and wealth, as many people do.

2) Gardens/parks/zoos? This might be jarring for more primitive settings (since public areas like this wasn't common in much human history), but that can be solved by making them private. I could totally see a mage trying to impress all of their friends by keeping a pet behir or something in their private zoo. Also a wonderful plot hook if it gets loose, but be warned: The players will probably set it loose at some point. Plan for this.

3) Industry. What sort of artistry does this city specialize in? What sort of stuff would you need for that? Let's say this magical city full of awesome doesn't do something mundane like tannery, because that is stinky. But what sort of exciting features would a city have that say, makes magical jewelry? You'd need plenty of security for the gems/materials, mages competing to make the flashiest stuff as well as contact with gem mining cities.

4) Slums. A less industrial/factory based society won't likely have these, unless this magocracy isn't in the business of booting out bums. And if they are more benevolent and not kicking out anyone without a job, what are they doing with the unemployed?

5) Docks. How do people get here, what are the ships like, and how are the docks run? I assume the players will either be smuggling or catching smugglers, so it might be worthwhile to think how the harbor is run. Or whatever people use to get here.

6) Temples. What is the role of temples, and where do they get put in the city? In the center, or near a sacred site that might not be near the city center? Hovering over the city?

7) Rivers/lakes are always a nice touch, and do explain the size and varied nature of the city.

8) Libraries. Much like zoos and parks, having these be public can be a bit jarring to those expecting a medieval setting. However, most in history were private, meaning that players can't just waltz in and demand information.

9) Where the heck do you put criminals? How is the watch run, and what resources do they have?

10) How is a rich house laid out, and what sort of land demands would they have? I am just going to assume that the players are breaking into one of these at least once.

11) Where does 'society' meet? A forum, a promenade, a marketplace, or in clubs away from the plebs?

Adding to this list:

12) Academies. The magic presumably comes from somewhere, so people need to learn how to use it. And other educated people need a center of learning to, well, learn at. This may or may not overlap with the libraries and/or churches.

13) Inns, taverns, and other dwellings for travelers. If youre a trade city, you get traders and their entourages. Presumably, these people like to sleep, and thus need somewhere to do so. Likewise, they probably like to eat and drink.

14) Guard posts and fortifications. While fully state funded police forces like we have in modern times were basically unheard of, volunteer militias were totally a thing, and there would at the very least be some minimally armed force hanging around town to deal with robbers and bandits, break up fights, etc...

15) A castle or palace. Presumably this city has a lord, and that lord in turn probably operates out of somewhere. Depending on the nature of the city, there could be either a proper fortress type castle or a luxurious but less defensible palace, or even both if the city is rich and the lord is super vain.

Nifft
2018-07-06, 07:26 PM
Fantsy cities have the best lawyers. Prepare your lawsuit well and dig in for the long haul.

Okay, so he's dug in for a long (legal) battle against a city. The city is surrounded and prepping defenses.

What if the city tries to bribe him by rolling on the wandering prostitutes table (https://www.therobotsvoice.com/2008/06/the_12_harlots_of_the_dungeons_dragons_random_harl .php)

"In urban fantasy, siege lays you!"

Resileaf
2018-07-07, 12:59 PM
15) A castle or palace. Presumably this city has a lord, and that lord in turn probably operates out of somewhere. Depending on the nature of the city, there could be either a proper fortress type castle or a luxurious but less defensible palace, or even both if the city is rich and the lord is super vain.

If the city is magic, the lord is probably a mage himself, so that would affect his style of governing and the style of his palace. The archetypical archmage dwelling is a tower, for instance.
Perhaps since the city is built using magic, every new lord build themselves a brand new palace, or the palace itself can even be reshaped at will.

Honest Tiefling
2018-07-07, 01:05 PM
Perhaps since the city is built using magic, every new lord build themselves a brand new palace, or the palace itself can even be reshaped at will.

If the palace is reshaped, it might deter would-be assassins, including the party itself.

Andor13
2018-07-07, 07:29 PM
An aquatic district. Like Venice, but the buildings continue down under the water where the water breathing races live. Above are Lizardmen and other soggy climate lovers, like Florida Man.

Cespenar
2018-07-09, 04:24 AM
Some kind of big magical art piece in the city square, and/or a magical art gallery, holding the works of the most esteemed illusionists of the country.

Eldan
2018-07-09, 04:54 AM
Bath houses. So much fantasy fiction forgets the bath houses, which should be everywhere.

BreaktheStatue
2018-07-09, 08:00 AM
Some sort of sewer/waste disposal system. Apart from being the go-to area for covert nastiness, unless everyone has some sort of poo-annihilating toilet-portal (cuz magic)...well, it's got to go somewhere.

MrSandman
2018-07-09, 10:39 AM
A cementery or some other way to dispose of the dead.

King of Nowhere
2018-07-09, 10:33 PM
Regular teleportations for other large cities, provided by a handful of mid-high level wizard doing a roundabout trip daily for an appropriate fee. In my world I spoofed this into a parody of real world airlines, with brands like teleportour and ryanether

other fantasy means of trasportation, like griffon taxies and whatever else fits your world.

if it fits your setting, golems and/or undead used for labor.

ChamHasNoRoom
2018-07-09, 10:50 PM
What's your goal? If this is for a D&D campaign (as seems likely), do your players care? Figuring out the city's magnificent hanging gardens is only useful if your players have some reason to actually go there. Otherwise, it'll never make it out of your notes.

PiperThePaladin
2018-07-09, 11:23 PM
I love putting my cities in an interesting landscape to help make them distinctive from each other. Some ideas off the top of my head:

In the shadow of a gigantic Yosemite Half-dome cliff
On top of and around seven hills in a ring
At the bottom of a dried-up salt lake
Constructed around a place where the Feywild, Sigil, the ethereal plane, or another dimension touches unusually close to ours
On the shore of an ocean that is only two feet deep for a mile out from the coast
Around the exposed, fossilized skeleton of an earth elemental that was ten miles long

AceOfFools
2018-07-10, 12:51 PM
Why does this city exist? Unless you use magically mass produced food or a very different definition of "city" than most people expect, it's importing a lot of food to feed it's population who have to be doing something to pay for it.

Are they a manufacturing hub of some or multiple sorts? Do they provide protection from raiders, demonic incursion, or cruel zealotous crusaders to the (perhaps dubiously willing) countryside? Is it a center of learning with people coming from distant lands to study magic, history, science, and law? Are the a medical or religious center that grows fat on people on life-saving or life-affirming pilgrimages? Several of the above?

Once you have the answer to "Why does this city exist" you can start asking "What does this city need to do that" and get quite an impressive list.

Also law enforcement and an entertainment industry (bars, theators, concert halls, art studios). People love to have fun and big cities let economies of scale kick in so performers and artists of all stripes flock to the city in hopes of making a living at that which they love.