Community Worldbuilding Project [Ishka: Urban and Urbane]

[Strawman]

You know a setting is good if you enjoy simply reading stories that take place in it. Nice work BRC.

I forgot about the tunnels and whatnot.

Number of tunnels and caves: Uncounted, but estimated in the tens of thousands.
Population of tunnels and caves: Estimated 300-600 million.

[Renrik]

Another possible district, albeit perhaps a small one.

Name: Ungul
Other Names: Hoofs Heights, The Donkey Path, Animal Farm
Government Type: Tribal federation of centaur tribes, in which other
Police Forces: Various tribal forces enforcing unwritten but commonly understood law.

This town, which borders heavily on one of the Grove areas, is constructed entirely to fit the needs of four-legged inhabitants, and is as such inhabited primarily by centaurs, bauriars, unicorn, and their ilk. It has a certain resemblance to the grove, albeit with less trees, in that it is not all cobblestones and houses. The centaurs founded the district and maintain control over it, though other races therein increasingly demand representation in their government. They don;t push too hard, though- they'd rather live here unrepresented than live elsewhere with a vote, and the centaurs aren't particularly oppressive.

Now, to flesh out another district that needs it:

Name: Gulliver's Heights
Other Names: Bigtown, the Tall Heights,
Government Type: Thranething, a council made of representatives of each of the giant races living in the district, with speaking, nonvoting places for ogres and other non-giant big guys. How the selection works is left to each race. The Thranething chooses its representative for the council, currently a wealthy merchant named Jonyrhing 'Little Jon' Rhutthym, a fire giant of great size.
Police Forces: Mountain Guard, a force made up of various giant races, but with a disproprotionate number of Stone Giants and Fire Giants. Answers to the Thranething.

The giants in Gulliver's Heights tend not to venture into the uncomfortably cramped areas of the rest of the city, instead allowing little folk who would seek their company to brave the broad streets of Bigtown. Different parts of the district are dominated by different races of giant, and the clouds above it are stationary- they're part of the district, too, and the home of cloud and storm giants. The district has a few guest rooms in cupboards, closets, and such, for medium and small visitors. One curious bylaw of the community is that it is illegal to cultivate beans within its limits.

Smallville needs to be fleshed out at some point, too.

By the way, we need to have a post to set summarize everything we've got so far- the organizations, places of interest, etc.

Now, I think the entertainment district would have a thriving shapechanger community. So would Hedon, now that I think about it.

I imagine flying creatures would live just about all over the place, particularly in the first couple of layers from the top and the cloud cover. I suggest one of the top layers includes a tower, not nearly as large as the ridiculously huge one, that contains a flock or several flocks of raptorans.

[BRC]

Oh snap.
Graveyard Shift pt 2

Spoiler

Show

Gordon Tordely consulted the address on the slip of paper and moved to put his glasses back on, only to remember he didn’t need them here. He was one of the lucky ones. He’d been found early, with a decent amount of cash on him, and by somebody who brought him straight to the Office of New Awakenings. As such, he’d been able to afford a tattoo of gentle repose that stopped the rotting before it began, which let him pass for human most of the time . But it couldn’t help his eyes. Nothing short of an illusion would make his eyes look anything but dead, and he didn’t feel like paying for something he could cover up with a pair of glasses. Besides, it was useful when he needed to unnerve a suspect. Still, he preferred to hide what he was.
But here, in the Necropolis that wasn’t a problem, so he left the glasses off and walked to the building, its “Work Zone” sign was covered up with one that read “Crime Scene”. A pair of Skeletons stood outside in black armor, wielding nasty looking maces and carrying shields of bone. He nodded to them and walked in. A Ghoul in a black cloak pinned with a clasp that looked like the shields outside was sniffing around.
“Hey there”, Gordon searched for a name, and made a guess “Chim?”
“It’s Chris, but nice try.”
“Alright Chris. Tell me what’s going on here.”
“A Streetbuilder team was in here, they knocked in the wall and found a secret room with a recently dead halfling”.
“Where’s the body?”
“Ran off as soon as they cracked it open. Knifed one of the Streetbuilders on the way out, we sent him to the Holy Hands, he should be fine.”
Gordon sighed. In a city where any fresh corpse could rise again, cases like this weren’t half as unusual as detectives would like, which brought up the question of why he had to handle it.
“Okay. Why did you call M.I. in. Why am I here”. It had been in the initial report, but Gordon had barely read it, and had forgotten pretty much everything about it on the way in.
“Suspected Alliance activity”
Oh boy, this was getting better and better wasn’t it. The Cutthroat alliance was the slipperiest band of criminals in a city full of them. Actually, being the most anything in a city like Iska was an achievement, considering it’s population was comparable to that of many nations. Either way, anytime the Cutthroat alliance was suspected to be involved with a crime, it instantly fell under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Investigators.
“All right. What makes you think ‘Alliance’”.
“The Streetbuilders said the corpse was fairly fresh, which means the murder happened recently, but their foreman said the brickwork is old, so the pillar wasn’t replaced recently. No signs of hidden doors or panels, which means magic. Big magic, which means Alliance”.
At this point Gordon accepted that this case did indeed fall under his jurisdiction, and was therefore his job to solve, unless he could pass it off to somebody else when he got back to headquarters. Either way, he was officially out of excuses to get out of here and go back to his book. Resigned to an investigation, Gordon looked around the scene.
The room was mostly barren, except for the stuff the Streetbuilders had brought in. A wheelbarrow stood to one side, it’s concrete now solidified past usefulness. A hole in the floor, some molds for the Concrete, a little bit of blood on the ground, and a scattering of bricks.
The hollowed out column itself proved even less useful at first sight. It seemed completely barren of everything except dust. Which is, in itself useful.
Gordon looked closely, there were two patches where the dust was lighter. One was definitely where the Halfling had been lying, but the other was been distinctly rectangular. Something, about a footacross either direction. He made a note of these things, then he reached and put on his glasses. Not the normal ones he used to hide his clearly dead eyes. The special ones with crystal lenses and silver frames that he’d bought from a fast-talking sorcerer in the Magic district. Technically, it was a business expense, but Gordon couldn’t find “Form 8b” or whatever the pencil pushers at Headquarters said he needed to fill out and then get approval from, at which point Gordon lost track. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the system was deliberately set up to be as difficult and confusing as possible.
Oh wait, he did think that.
He mumbled the words the sorcerer had taught him, then mumbled them again. Then he tried again, finally feeling the distinctive tingle as the magic on the glasses took effect.
A few seconds later, he began to see glows through the glasses. The faintest bit of necromancy from where the Halfling was. Some Abjuration on the square spot of less dust, and, ah, there it was. Conjuration on one of the walls. In a familiar pattern too.
“Yup, that’s an alliance door alright. I think this is everything I’ll get from this site, but send me your notes. You said they took the Streetbuilder to the Hands?”
“Yeah, Saint Radlen’s Mercy, on the outskirts of the Necropolis”.
Gordon Sighed. The Hands were okay, even though they always looked at him like some sort of sick freak, but they hung around with the Holy Swords, who always seemed about two inches away from chopping off your head and dumping holy water down your neck, but Gordon supposed it was unavoidable.
With a sigh Gordon took off the silver glasses and started for the door. He had a feeling that he should pull a flask out of his pocket and drink it, to fortify himself for what was to come. But then he remembered that M.I.’s were prohibited from drinking while on duty, and that he was physically incapable of getting drunk anyway. So instead Gordon just walked out into the unlit streets and tried to think of a way to get somebody else to handle this nightmare of a case.

[Owrtho]

Lol, poor M.I. having to deal with those slippery alliance members. I'm rather looking forward to finding out what happens next. Also, I'm just curious, but is this going to be just a small story that just shows things in the city, or more of a city legend story? Either way, keep up the good work.

Owrtho

[50cr4t3s]

New Location
Name: The Hunting Ground
Other Names: The Jungle, The World in a Box
Government Type: None
Police Force: None (occasionally the Rangers try to reassert control over this district, with no success)

As the city grew, and began to incorporate more and more species into it's citizenry, it became apparent that many of these species had a physical or psychological need to hunt. These citizens obviously couldn't roam the streets for prey, and so a district was built. Backed by the combined wealth of many rich adventurers, The Hunting Ground was built as an enormous big-game park for citizens who wished to hunt and kill for food or sport. The park was originally populated with only mildly dangerous animals, but many adventurers who hunted for sport were not satisfied with easy prey. With the help of the Cut-throat alliance, highly dangerous animals were smuggled into the Hunting Ground. The first of these creatures were quickly hunted down and killed, but the hunters demanded even more challenging prey. Finally, the Alliance smuggled in creature too powerful for these hunters. The Hunting Ground soon became overrun with the most terrifying creatures imaginable. The owners of the district begged the Rangers of the Grove (the most experience and capable hunters in the city) to bring the Hunting Ground under control. The Rangers refused at first, but when the creatures started to escape the Jungle and spill into the city proper, they reluctantly agreed. After months of trying to cull the monsters of the Hunting Ground, the Rangers advised the City Council to have the street builders seal the Hunting Grounds forever. The Hunting grounds remain sealed to this day, The only exceptions to this are the occasional attempts by the Rangers to retake it, and the rumors that the Alliance will grant people access for the right price.

[Strawman]

I imagine breaking the seal on The Hunting Ground will be The Wild's highest priority. They may even have some of their own people trapped in The Hunting Ground from when it was sealed up. Those people would try to secretly kill off The Rangers who try to clear out The Hunting Ground.

I can't imagine The Wild would imprison beasts in the city, so it is a good idea that The Alliance originally built The Hunting Ground. Maybe back when it was made, The Wild didn't exist yet.

Also, The Hunting Ground will make for a great plot hook if the players are a nature-based party.

Graveyard Shift is great. It introduces so much of the city, and provides so much flavor. It's the kind of story that would be on page 10 of a hardcover DnD book, so that players get the feel of something before reading all the little details.

[Renrik]

Yeah, Graveyard shift is excellent.

[BRC]

The Hunting Ground looks great. It should probably be in what was once a grove district.

Also, Graveyard Shift

Spoiler

Show

The Halfling huddled in an alleyway. He shouldn’t have stabbed the human, he realized that now. It was the outfit. The Face had been wearing that outfit. He didn’t know the Faces name. He felt he had known that name once, but did not now. All he knew was the Face, staring at him, that was the last thing he knew before the Hammer. He wished he knew The Face’s Name. He wished he knew his own name.
As his mind reached into the foggy, death-clouded memories, the word “Quick” floated up, and the Halfling decided that it was his name.
Quick stumbled through the streets of the necropolis, wondering why he knew, really knew, knew in the same way he knew he had hands. Why did he know that he could get through any of the locks on that street in less than five seconds.
__________________________________________________ ____________
Gordon made sure his glasses were on before he approached the hospital. He was still technically in the necropolis, but here on the outskirts the living were actually in the majority, and he didn’t feel like aggravating the Swords any more than necessary.
As he walked towards the engraved doors, an armored figure with a Red and White tabard stepped to block his path.
“You hide your nature, but I see you for what you are, Dead Thing. If things were as they should be, I would strike you down right now, for you are a-“
“Can it. You’re on guard duty, not a crusade, and I haven’t done anything aggressive, so if I see so much as an inch of steel, I’ll have you brought in for Assaulting a Municipal Authority”.
Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge. “Detective Gordon Tordley, Municipal Investigations, I’m on the job, so move it”.
The Sword grumbled and stepped aside, allowing Gordon entry to the Hospital.
__________________________________________________ ______________
The Grindly Arch (Fig 2), can only have a maximum width of 10 feet before it loses structural integrity. However, at a five foot width, it can support considerable weight depending on the materials used (Table 3).
Patrid was about to read table 3 when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up to see one of the clerics that had treated him standing in the doorframe. Behind her was a pale looking man in a rumpled leather coat, battered hat, dark glasses, and a grey shirt.
“Are you okay Patrid? This is Detective Tordley, he wants to ask you a few questions about what happened”.
There was something odd about the way the detective walked, but Patrid couldn’t quite put his finger on in. The detective looked down at the book he had been reading.
“Studying?”
“Yeah. I’m supposed to take my Apprentice Engineer exams in a month. Rattle lent me this book, he’s an engi-”
“Well good for you. I hope you pass. Now, I need to know what happened with the Halfling”.
“Um…”
“Start with a description. You got the best look at him”.
“He was…um…short, with dark hair, he had a knife in his chest, and then…”
“He stabbed you with it, I know that part. What’s next”.
“He ran really fast, I mean, I passed out, but I heard that he got away before the Civil Servants could grab him, and…um…”
“Do you remember what he was wearing?”
“No, not really, it all happened so fast.”
Internally, Gordon sighed. This wasn’t helping. It always happened “so fast”. A golem could stumble into a crowded room, stab somebody twenty times with a butter knife, then stick around to talk politics for twenty minutes, and everybody would say “it all happened so fast”.
“There were two people with you. Where are they now?”
“Well Tark couldn’t fit into the hospital, Kritlid stuck around for abit, but now they’re both back at the barracks probably”.
__________________________________________________ _______________
Tark is an ogre name, and Kritlid sounded like a kobold. Halflings didn’t get along well with either of them. Prejudices like that tend to survive the transition between life and undeath. So why did this Halfling stab the human, and where did this speed come from? Even accounting for the surprise, the civil servants at the door should have had time to block it. This also didn’t seem like blanket aggressiveness some undead feel towards the living. This Halfling had the presence of mind to pull a knife out of it’s own chest, use it, then flee. If he was mindless or semimindless, he probably would have just started trying to pummel the ogre with his fists. Something was definitely off here.
After confirming that the useless kid didn’t remember anything else, and would work with an M.I. sketch artist, Gordon left him to his studies. He doubted the other witnesses would be any more helpful, and the sketch artist would probably end up with something completely useless. He contemplated calling in sick, but then remembered that he couldn’t get sick, on account of the whole undead thing.
__________________________________________________ _______________
The Man who had been lurking in the building stepped out of a wall and approached the table.
“We’ve got a problem. The Streetbuilders found Quickfinger. It looks like M.I.’s involved”.
“Have they identified the body?”
“Not likely, it ran off on them”.
The room was silent for a minute.
“… Sometimes I hate this town.”

[Strawman]

Edited to make story more congruent with what was already established about The Wild.

I came up with a story involving the wild. Some people say this is how The Wild got started, while others say that it merely boosted their ranks.

Before the city was made, there was a large lake downstream of the river flowing through the canyon. As the city grew, it became a dam for the river. This caused the slow formation of a lake upstream of the city, and the slow draining of the lake downstream.

Many of the original lake's inhabitants moved to the new lake. In the process, they became accustomed to the city, and the new lake was assimilated into the city.

Eventually the old lake became a barren desert. The stubbon people who stayed at the old lake grew to hate the city. Many of them decided to infiltrate the city and destroy it from within, so that nature could reign supreme once more. They formed an organization, The Wild. Since then, The Wild has become an organization that has people from many different places, and from all walks of life. Their ideologies have also become more diverse.

Some people from the old lake stayed in the desert, strange people that survive as well in water as they do in a barren wasteland. The citizens of the city avoid the desert, and travellers coming to the city through the desert often go missing.

[jagadaishio]

Graveyard Shift is made of all kinds of sparkling (gritty) win.

I agree about the hunting ground being some kind of converted grove district. It would probably have been bought out from those living there by the original corporate sponsors with the promise that it wouldn't be converted into city or building materials or in any other way destroyed. I imagine that the rangers that they send in would face huge casualties but, in return, would not only see the equivalent of 'combat pay,' but would also be paid a certain amount if they bring back a piece of what they killed based in the danger it posed (CR squared times an integer?).

I like the layout of Gulliver's Heights. I picture the stable clouds of the cloud and storm giants to be something of massive floating palaces (the sort of place where even the help is richer than the visitors). Is the Mountain Guard less of a police force and more of a paramilitary law force? It seems like it would be that way to me. Oh, and I found it fantastic when it was mentioned that guest rooms would be in cupboards and closets. Even a cupboard of a colossal creature would be massive, especially by the cramped apartment standards that most of the city faces. I feel like even if it isn't one of those most populous districts, it would be one of, if not the, largest district in terms of area covered. It would also have to have fewer, thicker layers with much heaver (adamantine?) supports.

Changelings, Doppelgangers, and the like would flock to Hedon and the Entertainment District, but most shapechangers I think would not.

I imagined that most aerial races, like the raptorans, would tend towards Mithral Heights. That's kind of the point of the place. Airmen from airships and the falcons, aerial races, and rich people would be the people who live there. Fliers that live elsewhere in the city would probably just try to be on the top layer or two of their respective district. Fliers too poor to live where there's open sky would probably have much higher rates of depression and erratic behaviours, and would likely be the poorest of the poor. Cure Mental Wounds, anyone? In all realism, though, they would probably go to the healing hands frequently for Calm Emotions, just so that they can relax every now and then even without soaring.

Districts
The Necropolis: A district of undead, policed by the Order of the Bone Shield, who are involved in capturing and punishing undead criminals and rogue mindless undead city-wide. Contains a gate to the Negative Energy plane, where rich undead build homes. Bodies from the rest of the city are sold to the Necropolis for labor and dietary needs of its citizenry.
Primordium: The seat of the city's ruling council, a pocket dimension in the original village from which the city was founded.
The Steamworks: A steam-powered industrial district. It is actually made up of a number of unconnected sites scattered throughout the city. Most of the city's technological advances, refined metals, and other manufactured objects come off of a Steamworks line. There is enormous conflict and strain between merchant managers and unions in the district. The steamworks hold gates to the elemental planes of both fire and water to allow for infinite steam power.
The Mage's District: A district set up by and for magic users. It has a gate to the astral plane, around which was constructed the Bazaar of the Bizarre. All manner of constructs and magical items come from this district. Those who need to commission a magical service need only come here to find it.
Customs and Immigration: A district that has a number of artificial gates which open to a variety of planar cities periodically to let in waves of new citizens. Potential citizens who aren't useful, who are impoverished, or who don't have a useful skill are turned away.
The Grove District: A district whose layers are made up of massive living trees. Rangers, druids, fey, treants, and other nature beings make their homes here. The Streetbuilders have to work almost constantly keeping the various groves navigable by walkways in the branches. The Groves export large amounts of fruit and edible fungi to the rest of the city.
The Draconic Heritage Collective: A district of beings with dragonic blood built around a temple dedicate to two ancient dragons (one red, one gold) within. The ancient dragons started a game of strategy against each other centuries ago. They have since become players of business and are the two richest individuals in the city.
The Commons: Not so much a true district as the place in between districts. Tends to house lots of housing with only a few shops or taverns. The suburbs of the city. Is policed by volunteer neighbourhood watches and the occasional M.I.
The Academy: A massive macro-school of all manner of higher learning. Mages, mechanists, and other scholars are trained here. Most move on to the district of their profession (the Mage's District and the Steamworks respectively for the listed examples) when they finish their training. Some, however, remain to study new concepts and make breakthroughs of their own. Such individuals lead a life of learning.
Lake District: A district of floating buildings with prime apartments and underwater communities for water-breathers. Is a massive source of fish and edible water-borne plants.
Stadel: A district which vanished suddenly and existed in a void for centuries. One day it returned as suddenly as it vanished, having apparently survived the void by the skill and guidance of the Stadel family. After returning, they fought a short battle with the rest of the city before being comforted. To this day they are largely isolationist and xenophobic.
The Vault: An extradimensional prison where convicted criminals serve their sentence. It is policed and wardoned by constructs. It is rumored that terribly magical experiments are perpetrated upon the people jailed for life.
Entertainment District: A district of theatres, musicians, artists, and performers. People go here for family-friendly and though provoking entertainment. They also go here to see people gutted by each other in gladiatorial fights. It's a very popular district.
Temple District: A district of temples, hospitals, and academies for paladins, clerics, and other clergy. People go here to worship and receive aid from their organizations. The temple district at large publicly denounces, and would have made war to if not for the law, the Necropolis. A portal to the positive energy plane exists here.
Mithral Heights: An elitist community of aerial races, airmen, and rich people built around a massive mithral tower. There are many floating islands and air docks that make up this community. They are policed by a privately hired force of magically-aided flying archers known as the Falcons.
Hedon: A red light district built in a spiral pattern in one of the larger cavern networks of the city. The deeper down the spiral that a person goes, the more perverse and disturbing the wares offered becomes. Most people can't even bring themselves to walk all the way to the bottom. There are technically no layers in this district, as it is a spiral. People found to be committing a crime are captured and sold into slavery in this district until they pay off their debt.
Ravenshome: A district full of raven statues. Those that break major laws disappear. Those that break minor laws have their offenses appear in a tattoo on their arm, listed in over 100 languages. Those that conceal their tattoo feel pain, and concealing their offence is added to the tattoo as a crime. Those whose tattoos get too large disappear. Anywhere you go in the district, there is always at least one raven visible. The crime rate in this district is incredibly low, and people who grow up here almost always end up with some sort of mental or emotional issues.
Collected College: A sub-community of the Academy, its purpose is as a lab and research ground for professors and other people who make their own education their life instead of a career.
Ungul: A small community attached to one of the groves designed around the needs of four-legged creatures of the city. It was designed and built by centaurs, and it is still administered by them to this day.
Gulliver's Heights: A district built by and for the creatures of size large and larger of the city. It has stable clouds above it for cloud and storm giants. They mostly keep to themselves, but tend to keep cupboards or closets converted to (massive) guest rooms for any miniscule, medium or smaller guests. It is the largest district, if not the most heavily populated.
The Hunting Ground: A corporately sponsored hunting grounds for big game hunters and creatures that have a biological or psychological need to hunt. The Alliance smuggled in more dangerous creatures for bored hunters. Some of the creatures were too dangerous to successfully take down, and the grounds grew overrun with dangerous creatures. It was sealed off from the public, and grove rangers frequently make raids to try to regain control, gaining combat pay and a bonus based on the danger of creatures they take down. The Alliance still smuggles in skilled or stupid hunters and the Wild seeks to release the seals, allowing the dangerous creatures to return the city to a natural state.

Organizations
Cut-Throat Alliance: An organization that makes crime a business. Comprised of 80% of the organized criminals and 50% of the disorganized criminals in the entire city. Potentially the most powerful single organization, they have hidden teleportative gates throughout the city for their agents to use for a variety of purposes.
The Streetbuilders: A municipal organizations of builders, their primary purpose is to make sure layers don't collapse down on each other, an almost constant task. When they finish repairing everything, they're given a public building task. Most such buildings are unfinished when the Streetbuilders are called back to their repair work, and sit unfinished forever.
The Eyes: A now illegal network of divination aided and amazingly skilled spies who keep track of everything going on in the city. Founded under a former regime, and since outlawed, they still report to the city's council, who do not publicly condone their actions. For the right price, they can provide amazing information.
The Holy Hands of Saint Merkiel: A coalition of healers who have set up hospitals in every district in the city. They publicly, vocally oppose the existence of the Necropolis and undead in general. They take no hostile actions, but offer euthanasia to any undead that enter, much to the dislike of the Necropolis's residents.
Humans First: Humans first is a speciest organization which exalts humans and wants all other races to get out. They hold that the original village was a human village, and therefore only humans deserve to be residents. They are often ignored, in spite of rumors that many policy-making officials are secretly members.
Civil Servants: A public bodyguard service for other public service organizations like the Streetbuilders. They are not a police force. Their sole task is to protect their charges.
Municipal Investigators: An organization to handle trans-district criminals, the Alliance, and other such criminals. They serve principally as investigators, and rarely perform arrests, but will do so if needed. They are called in on every Alliance-suspected crime.
The Collective: A communist pro-union organization in the Steamworks. The unions don't official endorse it. Its actions tend towards protest, sabotage, and even attack on the merchant managers.
The Wild: A neoprimitivist organization made up of druids, rangers, and other pro-nature organizations. Their long-term goal is to return the area covered by the city to a state of nature. They seek to break the seals around the Hunting Grounds and let nature do its work on the rest of the city.

Other
Random Gates: Random gates will sometimes appear throughout the city for random amounts of time. Magical devices which provide a countdown for the gate's disappearance and devices which hold open the gates are (relatively) common.
Gate Raiders: Occasionally, bizarre or random-looking humanoids will spill out of a random gates, stealing, killing, and retreating back into the gate just as it closes. Those that are captured die shortly after the gate closes and, as such, current policy is to just kill them outright. No two look alike. Sometimes a marauding monster will spill out instead of raiders. People looking to get on the good side of local police are well-advised to put down such monsters - if and only if they have sufficient skill to.
Crystal Observatory: An observatory built in the Mithral Heights by professors from the Collected College. They are always looking for new, better crystals to use as lenses, and are willing to pay exorbitantly for them.
Copper Junkyards: The various scrapyards of the Steamworks. Poor tinkers and mechanist will go here for raw materials, and it is seen as the ultimate sign of the waste and corruption of cities by the Wild. Rust monsters tend to live here, much to the chagrin of anyone walking past with a particularly delicious piece of metal on their person.
Holy Ground: The holy graveyard in the temple district. They refuse to sell their dead to the necropolis, and therefore maintain this expensive burial ground with the tithes of their congregations.
The City Forge: The single largest forge in the city. The truly massive machines that the rest of the Steamworks often need for their jobs are forged here. It is staffed almost exclusively by tough, old, skilled mechanist dwarves.

We still need Smallville and still need to flesh out the communities of the tunnels.

[Renrik]

I came up with an origin story for The Wild.

Before the city was made, there was a large lake downstream of the river flowing through the canyon. As the city grew, it became a dam for the river. This caused the slow formation of a lake upstream of the city, and the slow draining of the lake downstream.

Many of the original lake's inhabitants moved to the new lake. In the process, they became accustomed to the city, and the new lake was assimilated into the city.

Eventually the old lake became a barren desert. The stubbon people who stayed at the old lake grew to hate the city. Many of them decided to infiltrate the city and destroy it from within, so that nature could reign supreme once more. They formed an organization, The Wild.

Others stayed in the desert, strange people that survive as well in water as they do in a barren wasteland. The citizens of the city avoid the desert, and travellers coming to the city through the desert often go missing.

I was thinking of the Wild as less of an ethnic, homogeneous group and more of a loose, diverse ideological network, kind of anarcho-primitivist in nature, like the radical forest defenders in the pacific northwest. I mean, I like this story, but not as an origin. Maybe just as a group of people that bolstered the Wild's membership.

[Renrik]

We can probably put in another twenty or so districts before the city is full, with corresponding legions of organizations, places, and characters of interest.

[BRC]

I was thinking of the Wild as less of an ethnic, homogeneous group and more of a loose, diverse ideological network, kind of anarcho-primitivist in nature, like the radical forest defenders in the pacific northwest. I mean, I like this story, but not as an origin. Maybe just as a group of people that bolstered the Wild's membership.

It works as an origin story for the Wild, somthing that happened long long ago. Currently, it's as you described, a loose organization of people with similar opinions.

And maybe that's just the story the Wild tells of it's origins that nobody else believes.

Also, another 20 districts is kind of pushing it as complexity goes.

[Renrik]

I see your point. Good point.

[Strawman]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply with the story that it was a homogenous group. I'll edit the details.

Organization - Shadow Martyrs

This organization is basically a guild of thieves and sneaky types that are good aligned. They try to improve the city through stealing from bad people, giving to poor, and ambushing evil people. Paladins are not fans of them, and many people do not trust them. The Shadow Martyrs try to have a presence in every district. Many thieves who do not want to be spies for a government or a member of The Alliance decided to join the Shadow Martyrs. They enjoy etching their symbol in the wall of any place where they did a good deed. Their symbol is a balrog with a dagger in its back. The Shadow Martyrs typically wear a cloak designed to blend in with cobblestone roads.

Some members of the Shadow Martyrs claim that their actions are the only thing keeping The Alliance from ruling the city. No one knows enough about either organization to verify the claim.

Organization – Cave Knockers

This organization is mostly comprised of dwarves. The organization designs where a new tunnel goes, and makes sure it is safe. They also regularly do maintenance on older tunnels. This organization is required for two reasons. One is that the Street Builders have a different set of skills for maintaining a city. The other is that when making tunnels, the occasional ancient evil or burrowing monster is uncovered. The Cave Knockers are tough and well equipped for a surprise enemy.

Many groups try to build tunnels without the permission of the Cave Knockers. For this reason the Cave Knockers have to regularly map out the tunnel system to make sure there are not extra tunnels. The maps are available to buy, or steal, from important members of the Cave Knockers.

Oh, and for those that don’t know, knockers are mythological creatures from Northern Europe. They were said to warn miners of cave-ins by knocking on the wooden support beams. That’s where the organization’s name comes from.

[50cr4t3s]

1. I'm also not crazy about that origin for the Wild. I really like parts of it, but other parts kinda stick out. One example, a desert near the city would not remain one for long, as the city easily has the resources and tech to irrigate it and turn it into a highly developed area. Again I think parts of the origin are good, but it needs more work. Also, I too thought of them like the radical forest defenders in the pacific northwest.

2. In the interest of adding to our district count.
Name: The Dark City
Other Names: The City of Midnight, Underland, Downtown
Government Type: Aristocratic Republic
Police Force: The Dark Army (A standing army supported by the aristocrats who maintain martial law in this district.)

As the mines of the great city continued down into the earth, it was only a matter of time before the City came face to face with the elves of the Underdark. The first miners to encounter the Drow in these deep caverns never returned to the surface. The city sent M.I. agents to investigate the disappearances, and they quickly learned of the miners fate. A brutal war was fought between the Underdark and the surface. However, by this time the City was already so massive, its forces simply overwhelmed the unsuspecting Drow, until they were trapped in their own city with the enemy closing in. The Matriarch of the Drow refused to surrender. She planned to fortify herself within a fortress she had instructed her most powerful mages and skilled craftsmen to build at the city's center, where she was confident she could outlast the will of these invaders. It became clear to many nobles of the Drow, that the Matriarch had limited room in her fortress, and would take only a small number of nobles with her. Outraged by here strategy, a large number of Drow nobles defected to the City and attack the Matriarch's forces. The coup was quick and bloody, but the Matriarch did escape with a small circle of nobles to her fortress. To this very day, the Dark Army besieges this fortress in a never ending vigil.

The remainder of the Drow agreed to be annexed by the City. Most civilians have left the Dark City district in the many years since the siege began, and it is mostly inhabited by the Dark Army and their families, and the few Drow too stubborn to be uprooted. What used to be the civilian quarters of the city have been converted into employee housing used by mining corporations for their deepest expeditions, and much of there former merchant district has been converted into a large branch of the Steamworks.

[Renrik]

I imagine the Collective would be rather big fans of the Shadow Martyrs, even if not every Collective member is, strictly speaking, good aligned.

[Owrtho]

I think it would be fine to have 20 or so other districts. After all, this is a large city. Also many people likely won't travel to most districts. I'd also note that the most districts likely don't play a huge role in the most people's lives. While necropolis, the temple district, and the entertainment district (as well as maybe a few others) are important to the general running of the city, only a (relatively) small group will be likely to go to Primordium, the Lake District, Mithral Heights, Ungul, etc. Largely this is because these tend to be more residential districts (not that they don't have shops, businesses, etc. but they exist more to cater to a specific group). As such there could be around 20 more without too much complexity (then again 10 more could be enough with others left up to the individual DM).

Also, for two other district ideas:

Name: Everdark
Other Names: The lightless district, the dark place
Government Type: Council with members chosen by the main groups as they see fit
Police Force: The Lurkers

Everdark is a place mainly for nocturnal creatures. As such any form of light is not allowed in public. This tends to mean that people who lack the ability to see in the dark must usually get magical help or a guide. The Lurkers are a police force that focuses on stealth. Members are generally so good at hiding that even those who see easily in the dark are likely to miss them. As such it is no uncommon for newer criminals in the district to find they are attempting to commit a crime only a few feet from a Lurker.

Name: Shadowgate
Other Names: The place of shadows
Government Type: not sure, someone else decide
Police Force: The Shades

Bordering on Everdark, it is hard to say which is darker. Shadowgate is noted for its large number of gates to the plane of shadows. And due to the general populace and decor, it can often be hard to tell when you accidental step through one. The large number of gates are usually marked, though occasionally a new one appears or one closes. This is in part due to the citizens taking advantage of them to populate both the material plane version and the shadow plane version of the district. As such when trying to find a location it is often important to check which plane it is on. While light is allowed, unlike in Everdark, it is rare to see the inhabitants using it, and there are no streetlights. The Shades are a rather normal (if somewhat shady) police force, with the exception that all members much be able to freely cross between the material plane and the plane of shadows.

Owrtho

[jagadaishio]

I like the idea of the Shadow Martyrs, but I think that it should be taken in a different direction. It should be made up of people disenfranchised by the Alliance who seek to gain reparations from them with vigilante activities. They steal and break knees of Alliance members, keep a cut for themselves, and then distribute it to other victims. Most victims aren't willing to stand up and fight, though, so they make do with what they can, trying to take back the city, or at least resist, on a case by case basis. They would, of course, by hunted by the M.I. as a small but pervasive inter-district vigilante organization.

I cannot imagine Everdark and Shadowgate being two different places, and I cannot imagine them being placed anywhere other than in one of the underground areas. It's just too convenient for them to be there than anywhere else. I could see it being in some sort of massive cavern beneath or bordering on the Necropolis. That, or in one of the caverns connected to the Dark City.

The Cave Knockers I like. I imagine that they would be closely aligned with the Streetbuilders.

[Strawman]

I like the idea of the Shadow Martyrs, but I think that it should be taken in a different direction. It should be made up of people disenfranchised by the Alliance who seek to gain reparations from them with vigilante activities. They steal and break knees of Alliance members, keep a cut for themselves, and then distribute it to other victims. Most victims aren't willing to stand up and fight, though, so they make do with what they can, trying to take back the city, or at least resist, on a case by case basis. They would, of course, by hunted by the M.I. as a small but pervasive inter-district vigilante organization.

That's a cool way to go with it. It's a lot less generic than the original idea.

[50cr4t3s]

new organization
Name: The Gatekeepers

Ever since the first gate to unleashed the strange and mysterious raiders opened, the Gatekeepers have been looking for them. Although they keep a small presence in the city to assist local police in defense against the raiders, the majority of the Gatekeepers and not even in the city. Gatekeepers organize themselves into patrols, searching the multiverse for the origin of the plague that haunts their great city. Patrols leave the city for months, sometimes years, return to resupply and leave to continue their search.

Gatekeepers sign on for a certain number of patrols (depending on destination and length of the patrol overall), after which they are given the option to leave or sign up for a new patrol. It is considered a great community service to have gone on patrol with the Gatekeepers, and adventurers wearing a Gatekeeper membership ring rarely pay for their own drinks.

[Vadin]

new organization
Name: The Gatekeepers

Ever since the first gate to unleashed the strange and mysterious raiders opened, the Gatekeepers have been looking for them. Although they keep a small presence in the city to assist local police in defense against the raiders, the majority of the Gatekeepers and not even in the city. Gatekeepers organize themselves into patrols, searching the multiverse for the origin of the plague that haunts their great city. Patrols leave the city for months, sometimes years, return to resupply and leave to continue their search.

Gatekeepers sign on for a certain number of patrols (depending on destination and length of the patrol overall), after which they are given the option to leave or sign up for a new patrol. It is considered a great community service to have gone on patrol with the Gatekeepers, and adventurers wearing a Gatekeeper membership ring rarely pay for their own drinks.

So, they're out searching the multiverse for who/whatever it is that creates the spontaneous portals into the city? I like it. A great idea for a campaign: heroic tier- do errands for the big guys to appease informants, paragon tier- go out and find informants and search for new leads, epic tier- deal with eldricht horrors and ancient monsters that can offer new insight into how these gates can be stopped, tracked, and created.

[Owrtho]

I cannot imagine Everdark and Shadowgate being two different places, and I cannot imagine them being placed anywhere other than in one of the underground areas. It's just too convenient for them to be there than anywhere else. I could see it being in some sort of massive cavern beneath or bordering on the Necropolis. That, or in one of the caverns connected to the Dark City.

Well, they're adjacent because of their similarity. However, they are distinct districts in that the Everdark lacks all the gates to the plane of shadows, and as such lacks some of the other things resulting from them. The main reason it was set up as a separate district was due to the fact that while at first many nocturnal creatures were attracted to Shadowgate, most soon decided they'd rather not live there. Largely due to the fact that the plane of shadows tends to have some rather, less desirable side effects. As such those who didn't want to deal with said side effects just moved over to just outside they're influence and set up Everdark. Also, no reason they can't be in caves. There's already atleast one district in caves (I'm talking bout you Hedon).

Owrtho

[Strawman]

Well, they're adjacent because of their similarity. However, they are distinct districts in that the Everdark lacks all the gates to the plane of shadows, and as such lacks some of the other things resulting from them. The main reason it was set up as a separate district was due to the fact that while at first many nocturnal creatures were attracted to Shadowgate, most soon decided they'd rather not live there. Largely due to the fact that the plane of shadows tends to have some rather, less desirable side effects. As such those who didn't want to deal with said side effects just moved over to just outside they're influence and set up Everdark. Also, no reason they can't be in caves. There's already atleast one district in caves (I'm talking bout you Hedon).

Perhaps the district should be Everdark, and Shadowgate is a place of interest inside Everdark.

[Renrik]

I'm not sure that Everdark is needed, but could instead have its roll filled by the Shadowgate district, the lower areas of the city, etc., unless we choose to have Everdark be a specifically upper class district for darksighted creatures (I think specifically nocturnal creatures could live anywhere, and simply move about at night).

I am reminded, however, of a district I had intended to create.


Name: Ether. (Poe's Hollow, Phantom Reach, Claud's Hamlet, 2 others)
Other Names: Ghost Town, The Haunting, Casper's Booville.
Government Type: Minimalist government of elected officials, who run the Wraithwatch, collect a small tax for infrastructure repair, and
Police Force: Wraithwatch, a force of elite already-dead guards utilizing ghost touch weapons.

The Aether does not take up any space in the city, instead being a confederation of small, spread-out districts that borders transistively on the Necropolis, the Commons, and other regions. The district is home to the ghost and ethereal population of the city. The districts are mostly around permanent gates to the ethereal plane, and have long-distance portals between them on a hub-spoke system centering on Poe's Hollow.

Notable inhabitants include:
Bloody Marian, the ghost of a Merkielite sister who ironically became an undead after her death (by murder), apparently as punishment for failing to guard the children in her charge from a marauding ghost. She cannot rest until she avenges their death personally. Unfortunately, their death has already been avenged. Hence, Bloody Marian is stuck forever in undeath, She is deeply depressed by this, especilly given her religious convictions. She attempts whenever possible to care for children. Whether to play her as the kind suffering mother of ghost children (whose parents are restfully dead), or as a malignant crazed threat to living children, is up to the DM.
Commodore Vleigenhoek- The ghost of an interplanar skyship captain. Whoever gets the joke first gets to flesh him out.

Does anybody want to take care of Smallville?

[Strawman]

I think the Wraithwatch should be an elite division of The Order of the Bone Shield.

Name: Smallville
Other Names: The Mansion, The Hive, Littltetopia
Government Type: Council of Elders
Police Force: Splinter Squad, a force made of small and tiny members. Getting into the higher ranks of Splinter Squad typically requires the ability to fly.

In Gulliver's Height, an evil giant had a huge amazing mansion. He kept many small and tiny creatures as prisoners, often eating them. One day the prisoners staged a revolt. They killed the giant, and turned the huge mansion into a district capable of holding millions of small and tiny people.

Since then, other Smallvilles have opened up in various parts of the city. The preferred method is still to turn an existing building into accomadations for huge populations.

The Spintler Squad has vowed never to let the giants of the world take advantage of the little people.

[50cr4t3s]

Everdark needs to be a location in Shadowgate, or vice-versa. Districts in the city should be completely unique, and these two areas are just too similar. They would work much better as one district.

Here's an idea for a new location, not a district, just a place of interest.

Name: The Sleeping Army

During a forgotten war between the City and a now dead nation, a vast army was constructed for the city. An army of calm, emotionless constructs that cut across the battlefield impervious to the weapons of the enemy. They were better soldiers than the best estimates of their creators. The war ended with these soulless warriors burning this rival nation to the ground. Every man, woman, and child dead so that they may never pose a threat to the City ever again. After the war, there was a cry to destroy the army, but the City rulers at the time believed that one day there may be an enemy so terrible, that they would be forced to call upon this army again. A deep cave was selected, a vast and yet uncolonized cavern, and the army was placed there to sleep until called upon to defend the city again.

Today, the warriors stand in rank and file, motionless, sleeping the eons away. A man can walk up to one and curse at it all day, and it will not stir.

But they are still vigilant.

If any weapon is brought into the cave of these soldiers, thousands of eyes turn to the carrier of the weapon and speak the one word they know: EXTERMINATE!!

For this reason, the only people to come to this cave are those on the run. Whether one is trying to hide from the law, or the lawless, the Sleeping Army offers protection for the defenseless, without judgment.

There has been a cry from criminals and law enforcement alike to have the army permanently disassembled, but the City Council fears the army's wrath should they consider this a threat. And so the Army remains, never leaving the cave, waiting for the day when they are needed. But most hope it will never come.

[jagadaishio]

I would imagine that bulettes would be a very real problem that the Streetbuilders and Cave Knockers would often have to deal with. Rust monsters too. What other monsters do you think would be similar plagues of the city?

[AgentPaper]

Wow, once again you guys have made a truly spectacular setting. Reminds me a lot of Ravinca, but different enough to be interesting in it's own right, for sure. For a name, Isvar (or Ishvar or Isavir or whatever) isn't bad, but it kinda reminds me of Istar. A lot. Enough that I'd probably end up just calling it that if I had a campaign around this.

I'd recommend having the name be something simple, perhaps even the same name that it had when it was first made. Maybe even something misleading and simple like "Fisherton" or "Riversend". Most of the residents probably don't even bother calling it anything but "the city", but in official documents and when interacting with other cities and such, they call it by it's old name.

[Strawman]

Name: The Sleeping Army

I like it. Is it a reference to Hellboy 2, or is the similarity in plot a coincidence?