Dungeons & Dragons adventurers spent a lot of time in exotic locales. Deep dungeons and haunted towers are usually where the bad guys are. At some point the dragon is defeated and the players have magic weapons and big piles of loot to bring back to civilization.
Heroes have to come home sometime. It could just be to spend their hard-earned gold, sett the magic items they don’t want and spend some times picking up rumors of where the next big hoard of treasure is located. The cities and towns that characters call home serve an additional purpose as the connective thread between the stories of epic battles and clever exploration.
Kobold Press offers two gide that offer great advice to Dungeon Masters looking to make a memorable home base for their dungeon crawlers. Cities & Towns helps build anything from a small, quiet hamlet to a magical New York City. Castles & Crowns looks at the secure walls of a keep as well as what it takes to rule a kingdom.
Campaign Builder: Cities & Towns
This book starts out with a discussion on what purpose the settlement serves. All cities have some sort of trade, for example, but one built on a crossroads for that purpose and a city built on a religious site will look very different. From here, Dungeon Masters can start filling in the details.
Knowing who runs a city and why they have that power helps the Dungeon Master decide how the citizens might react to the main characters. Cities rarely are unified under a single power bloc and figuring out factions brings intrigue and adventure to visits home. If the rogue has made enemies of the local thieves guild, the players might be interested in allying with the city watch to take them down…or vice versa.
The way cities are affected by magic can also influence how they function. If everyone in town needs to be a registered spellcaster that adds a layer of bueaucracy the players might struggle against. A city where magic is commonplace can give the location a modern day feel with things ranging from clean water to magical public transportation.
Campaign Builder: Castles & Crowns
This book looks at many of the same questions from the side of those who have the power. Heroes bringing back wealth and ancient aritfacts are very likely to rub elbows with powerful people. Nobles and clergy could become patrons or they might see them as a threat.
Campaigns where a crown is a central element naturally bring in some popular big picture elements. When kingdoms are at war, players might find themselves recruited for battle or having to sue for peace. When kingdoms are at peace, they might get drawn into intrigues and rivalries that could prove just as deadly as a fire breathing dragon.
In addition to the books, there are map packs that the Dungeon Master can use to represent these locations. These double sided battlemaps are great for when a fight breaks out in the market place or when assassins come for our heroes. Having standing sets to use lets the Dungeon Master plan out set piece battles that can be the jewel of a session.
Beyond Dungeons & Dragons
Both of these books provide content compatible with the current Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. But the advice, tables and structure on how to build these elements of civilization are useful for any fantasy role-playing game. Castles & Crowns will be one of the first books to provide direct support for Tales Of The Valiant, the upcoming RPG from Kobold Press that allows fans to further customize their Fifth Edition experience.
Campaign Builder: Cities & Towns is available now from Kobold Press. Campaing Builder: Castles & Crowns is currently crowdfunding. The second book is currently due for a summer 2024 release.
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