City Generation - The Lost District

Okay, folks, we've come to the end of our tour of the City's districts. Last, and least (at least, according to the City denizens), is the Lost District. The basic concept behind the Lost District is an old, abandoned junkyard of a district, almost completely cut off from the rest of the city.

Archetype: The Lost District is my bow to the "dungeon-crawl" that has been a part of fantasy gaming since the age-old days of the 1970s. The "dungeon" is traditionally not an actual dungeon, filled with prisoners and guards, but instead some kind of abandoned tomb, mine, mage's tower, or other forgotten area that has been taken over by animals and monsters. The "dungeon-crawling" party will usually explore the hazardous maze (it's always maze-like -- one inspiration for the dungeon archetype is the minotaur's labyrinth), searching for gold, valuable items, and (sometimes) trying to slay some kind of lord of the dungeon.

Now, none of this stuff is particularly in the mood of CoL -- filled with aristocrats rather than monsters (or both at the same time) -- but there is room for a "dungeon" in the ideological confines of the City. However, it needs a twist. Partly inspired by Planescape's central city Sigil's eternally shifting geography, I decided a kind of junkyard would work as a dungeon -- in a city filled with magic, people can throw away not only food garbage and scrap metal, but entire derelict buildings. Worldbuilders move the earth below the abandoned buildings, moving them across the streets; Realmshifters effortlessly teleport them; Forceshifters and Skyshapers pry them from their foundations and carry the wrecks above the city streets. All these buildings end up in one place, and after century upon century of edifices piling up, a maze of destroyed architecture has formed, filled with monsters, Bloodshifted mutants, and tribal scavenger societies.

Real-Life: I am inspired here by the Seattle Underground. For those that aren't Washingtonians, let me explicate. Back in the early days of Seattle, low tidelands and badly-designed indoor plumbing caused massive flooding -- and to fix it, the city designers decided to raise the street level between 12 and 30 feet. For a while, they lived like this, setting up ladders to go down the tremendous height between street-level and the building entrances. Eventually, they turned their second floors into first floors, paving over the old streets ten feet below and leaving a ghost city beneath their feet. While Seattle block off a relatively small part of their City (mostly part of downtown), and have nothing more exotic down there than rats and a few ghost stories, the City of Lives holds far more dangerous creatures looking for shadows to hide in.

Theme: The theme of the Lost District is abandonment. This is where the unwanted go, where things are forgotten... and Lost. Where else can we go with this -- beyond the monsters, who else will have fled to the enforced solitude of the Lost District? What about the Dead-Blooded? They have little place in the City. That is, of course, the whole point of the bloodline -- being outcast -- but their current status as hiding within the other bloodlines gives them little culture of their own, little distinction or reason to play one. Perhaps if we embrace the outcast nature of the Dead-Blooded, and of the Lost District, we can put them together into a richer whole. So -- a community of dead-blooded, embracing their connection to death and surrounding themselves with Blightbound servants -- and even co-citizens.

A short aside: The Blightbound are the City of Lives' version of the zombie. A soul torn from the afterlife and bound to its corpse, most live in eternal torment, aching to return to the peace of the next world, but completely incapable of ever resting. This zombie model gives a minor twist to the traditional archetype -- I like the idea that they are, by-and-large, evil, not "just because," but owing to the fact they have been forced into a pain-filled existence against their will. Also the same concept allows me to tie ghosts in as well -- a ghost is a Blightbound whose body has been destroyed, but whose soul is still attached to its leftover bits of remains, or who was bound to a place or object instead of a body.

Of course, here I have a problem -- the Blightbound "zombies" are angry, tortured beings, and I'm not sure they can live in peace with the Dead-Blooded. Maybe there's another technique that avoids the pain, or their pain is lessened or eliminated by proximity to their part-human descendants; or maybe it is a dark, angry society hidden there in the Lost District, preparing to inflict vengeance on the uncaring living in the rest of the City.

What else can we get out of this Theme? Well, a common aspect of dungeons is ancient, forgotten magic and/or technology, as most fantasy worlds are like Medieval Europe, fallen from a former height of culture and technology with some analogue of Rome. And "forgotten" is part of the Lost District's theme. the thing is, the City never had a bright, forgotten era -- the present is the best things have ever been. I made this decision to avoid the tired idea of forgotten heights, and to fit the notion of the City of Lives as more like the 18th century, when everyone saw themselves as rising to a glorious future rather an trying to recapture a faded past. On the other hand, there was a time in the City's past that was, if not better, then at least different. Before the Elder Trio came to the City, a Son of Light might have set up his own fortress, and now it is left behind, filled with forgotten Relics, or bits of lost history that might shed light on the nature of the Elder Trio.

So, there we have it. The last of the City's districts, and either the simplest or most complicated district of them all, depending on your viewpoint. Next time, we'll examine some of the denizens of the Lost District -- and elsewhere -- as you follow me brainstorming some Monsters!

How to Build a District: The ART method - Corhurst

Okay, so the trifecta of Archetype/Real-Life Inspiration/Theme (Hey, that can be abbreviated at ART! Should it be the ART method/system, or is that too pretentious-sounding?) worked well for creating our Bloodlines. Let’s try the same technique for creating districts.

Where we’re at now is Corhurst, the main middle-class residential district. We begin with the--

Fantasy Archetype: Well, this is tough. I already wasn’t sure if the “archetype” model would translate well from Bloodline to District -- from culture to geography -- and it’s mad that much harder for Corhurst, because the middle class has relatively little presence in most heroic fantasy, so we don’t have much to go on. But... the idea of a safe haven is part of fantasy fiction. The default D&D setting assumptions focus on a town or small city surrounded by wilderness -- it provides the PCs with a place to rest before heading out to explore the hazards outside.

Now, in the City, these dangers are less likely to be rampaging orcs than backstabbing politicos -- but the premise remains the same. A place without double-dealing, where you can trust people, is a luxury in the City of Lives, and should be treasured.

Real Life: I see Corhurst as a bit like suburbia. While it’s inside the City, and thus won’t have the full “lawns and picket fences” vibe, it’s the home of the middle class -- those unprepossessing managers, merchants, and scribes to similar to office workers and retailers on Earth. Let’s take that suburbia concept and use it. Suburbia is associated with greenery -- not wild greenery, but well-manicured vegetation. So -- how ‘bout the City’s biggest park is in Corhurst? A few moments on a random name generator site, and now we’ve got Thywylde Park, a massive expanse of forests and paths, a cross between NYC’s Central Park, London’s Hyde Park, and a park that I lived near during middle school. We’ll go further into Thywylde Park in the Landmark section later.

Theme: An island of peace in a sea of chaos. Most of the City is filled with conflict -- between Houses, between gangs, between Bloodlines. In Corhurst, however, the nature of the middle class Bloodlines’ cultures -- the Leovites’ notion of service, the Iversdotters’ clannish honor, and the Pariahs’ quiet isolation -- tell me the district is unlikely to see a lot of fighting. And that’s not a problem -- on the one hand, Corhurst is likely to be less exciting, filled with fewer adventure seeds, than most other districts. On the other hand, it can be a safe haven, a resting place for PCs between their exciting adventures.

Let’s add in another foundation for the creation of districts -- a Landmark. Some place that helps define the nature of the district, that works with the central metaphor to flesh out the meaning and purposed of the locale. Now, the theme is order in a sea of chaos -- but chaos must occasionally burst through -- for realism, and more importantly, for drama. So how do we represent that in a landmark? Thywylde Park, introduced earlier. The park is manmade, cared-for nature -- order triumphant. But chaos comes in, danger intrudes. Perhaps a hidden wood deep in the park, filled with beasts and monsters... but that doesn’t match the metaphor, that’s more like danger hidden by false order (like The Stepford Wives) or danger contained by order (like a prison).

How can chaos come from outside the park when what’s just outside the park is the sleepy suburbia of Corhurst? From other Realms, of course. So there’s a Shiftgate (or Road, if we end up running with @pryllin’s City of Crossroads ideas) in the park. Now, an ordinary Shiftgate implies no danger -- but what about one that doesn’t work properly? An unstable ‘gate, a sort of tear in reality, that connects to various, random, Realms at random times, spilling out creatures from all across the Realms, both mundane and apocalyptically dangerous. This concept borrows from fiction like Torchwood, Primeval, Discworld’s Sourcery -- the idea that alien danger can show up abruptly at any time.

Well, we've got a nice little district here. Let's also look at a couple pieces of description:

Government: Corhurst is almost completely run by the Iversdotter gangs. Though they are always jockeying for position and territory, their shared cultural heritage (and the nature of that culture as honor-bound and clan-focused) means there is little conflict compared to Sylvennis, Council Heights, and Clovenmouthe. The Clouded Ghetto governs itself, according to ancestral Pariah principles, but the Leovites and those Pariahs who reside outside the Ghetto live under Iversdotter rule.

Religion: Corhurst is filled with small neighborhood churches. Its priests are, in general, more liberal and less picky about rules than Templedowns’ Lightspeakers. Their churches end up being more like community centers than hard-line places of worship.

What do you think of the ART method (and the name?) What do you think of Corhurst? Next time, let's take a look with a A Treatise on the Nature of Divinity.

Letter Column the 1st -- part two

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City Generation - The Factorium

Welcome back to our continuing series on creating city districts for the fantasy campaign The City of Lives. Today we examine The Factorium, manufacturing center for the City.

So, what do we know from our brief mention of the Factorium back in the "districts" post?

• It's the center of manufacturing
• It's the center for tradesmen and traditional crafts
• Mostly lower-classes live there.

Okay, so what logical conclusions can we come to from there?

• Kipmen, Grate-Scratchers, and Rurals will dominate the population, as tradesmen and, especially, workers in the factories. There will be some Dead-Blooded and some Iversdotters, but this, by and large, isn't their most comfortable area.
• In management positions will be Iversdotters and Pariahs, well-used to running things in their cultures.
• The factories will mostly be owned by the upper-class Sky-Carvers, Sons of Light, and Prometheans, but some will be owned by entrepreneurial Iversdotters and Pariahs.
• The atmosphere won't be filled with conventional smog, since they won't be using conventional manufacturing methods (more on that below) -- but the air/water/earth may be affected by the intense magic use.
• Do people have physical or mental reactions to a magical atmosphere? Allergies? Psychosis? Illness? Positive effects -- increases strength or intelligence? Do they gain mutations? Strange abilities? None of these questions are ready to be answered, but they're interesting to ask.
• There are few residents in the Factorium. It's mostly a commuters' district.

Religion: Due to the prevalence of lower-class workers, the Factorium's religion is much like Clovenmouthe's -- simple but devout belief in the Light.

Government: The Factorium is essentially an extension of the noble Houses' territories in Sylvennis and Council Heights. Each factory is owned by a noble House (or occasionally an Iversdotter gang or Pariah family), and they control the surrounding are with their own rules and enforcement (see Sylvennis). 

Culture: The Factorium is extremely stratified. There are the owners, the managers, and the workers -- and the independent craftsmen, who are completely removed from the industrial manufacturing system. None of these pieces interact much with each other -- managers deal a reasonable amount with both workers and owners, but the others are very isolated.

Though the City of Lives is at a fairly low technology level (approximately similar to 18th century Europe), their near-ubiquitous magic allows for industrialization, just in a different manner.

Hmm. I'm running out of material. Well, let's start brainstorming. Now, this district is inspired by the mood of factory districts in 19th and early 20th century London -- think The Jungle. However, the conditions and mood will obviously change to reflect the magical nature of the City's industrialization. There is no steam or coal power, or complex gearwork machinery. All of the power and "mechanization" will come from magical energy and techniques. So, let's take a look at some examples of other fiction that have examined fantasy industrialization.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura: A fairly obscure computer game, with a terrible, buggy gameplay, it is nonetheless an incredible, well-thought-out portrayal of a classic Tolkienian fantasy world going through an industrial revolution. However, it's not terribly useful for our purposes, because it paints a dichotomy between magic and science (one will not work in the presence of the other) that does not exist in City of Lives. Also, the industry in Arcanum is not magically based, but identical to that in our world -- steam trains, revolvers, coal power -- with the exception of fantasy details like the oppression of orcish factory workers instead of African-Americans or Irish. So let's look somewhere else.

Eberron: Word has it that the D&D setting Eberron features this idea, with advanced magic turning the city of Stormreach, among others, into an industrial-era city achieved without the actual use of science. However, I'm not really familiar with Eberron -- any readers want to let me know more about it?

Jade Empire: This video game features an Eastern take on the basic concept -- steam technology combines with magic a fair amount. However, besides golems, the actual social and industrial ramifications aren't explored in the game. Hmm. Golems -- fantasy robots, essentially, working tirelessly and helping the industrial revolution along -- I shall consider the possible place for golems in the City.

Perdido Street Station/The Scar/Iron Council: One of the initial inspirations for the City of Lives, the city of New Crobuzon and the world of Bas-Lag are aggressively non-Tolkienian and strange. Specifically for this topic, there are considered to be three main branches of science: physics, biology, and thaumaturgy (or magic). Seen as no different from other types of science, New Crobuzon melds steam technology with magic without seeing a difference between the two. Aside from the fact that Bas-Lag's pure technological level is higher than the one I want for The City of Lives, it's a pretty perfect model. However, I can't think of any specific inspirations to take from it for the moment.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: An extremely high-quality animated series about elemental magic, kung-fu, and reincarnation, this is probably going to be the single most useful source of inspiration for the City's industrialization. Avatar shows no high technology, and yet parts of the Earth Kingdom and almost all of the Fire Kingdom look very similar to Industrial Revolution-era Earth in certain ways. In the city of Omashu, Earthbenders capable of controlling dirt and stone created massive tracks, similar to those for a train or tram, and then magically move stone platforms along. In the Fire Kingdom, it goes even further -- ships apparently coal-fired and automated are, in fact, run by Firebenders creating flame magically instead of shoveling coal. This is a fair model of what the City of Lives will look like. The specifics are different, but...

I see an assembly line where the items move along by a Forceshifter levitating them through the air instead of using a conveyor belt; where Wildshifters carve wooden objects from tree trunks without a single seam; and where Relicshifters attach metal pieces with mystic energy instead of bolts or welds. Instead of moving crates with forklifts, Bloodshifters become inhumanly strong and simply carry them. To put a box on a shelf, Wildshifters command plants to wrap it in vines and carry it upwards; or Worldshapers lift the ground itself to reach; or Skyshapers lift the box in a miniature tornado; or Forceshifters levitate it, or Realmshifters teleport it.

Transporting goods or people across the City is a matter for horseless carriages with Relicshifted force moving the wheels; or drawn by horses modified by Bloodshifting to require only two hours of sleep and a handful of feed to work tirelessly 22 hours a day; boats travel the rivers propelled by Waveshapers acting as mystic gondoliers; Skyshapers and Forceshifters fly the rich through the air over the City; and the very rich can even be teleported across the City or even the Realm by Realmshifters.

Well, I seem to have gotten a wee bit off topic... and also gone over my word limit. For now, I shall leave you with these images of a city run on magic and yet eerily like our own history, and we shall come together again next time as I examine the middle-class residential area of Corhurst!

City Generation - The Crux

Last time, we took a look at Solura, the financial district that took some of the defunct Tradespoint's characteristics. Now we'll examine the Crux, the center of tourism and travel -- and now that Tradespoint is gone, trade. What do we know about the Crux?

• The center of Crossrealm travel.
• A lot of those operating, if not residing, in the Crux will be Outlanders, visitors bringing goods from other Realms.

Okay, what comes next?

• Crossrealm trade, travel, and tourism dominates the economy.

Let's lay out a few of the notable species of Outlanders that spend a lot of time, energy, or money in the Crux:

• Emerald Wavedancers: Non-humanoids from a water Realm, the Wavedancers communicate through chameleonic patterns on their skin.
• Fractal Elves: Beings from the Far Realms, who exist in multiple worlds at once in a complex, beautiful – and often deadly – state.
• Holoceners: Near-humans who have no civilization or technology to speak of, but whose raw Crafting talent is unparalleled.
• Ma’ar: Realmshifting six-legged sentient “big cat” marauders, in a cross-world conflict with the Shertasi.
• Memes: Sentient thoughtforms transmitted by speech and thought, infecting their hosts. With host bodies from dozens of Realms, Memes require a large variety of foodstuffs and other support, so the crossrealm trade of the City is perfect for them. 
• Nethermen: Claiming to come from the mythical space between the Realms, nethermen are perfectly human in their physique, but cannot understand a world as stable and immutable as ordinary reality. Their tendency to walk into walls is amusing, but casual murder (expecting the victim to get back up the next second) is less so.
• Niontians: Hailing from the lesser Chthonic worlds, Niontians are living shadows who live by a code of deceit.
• Notional Construct: Sometimes an idea takes physical form. Pure and elemental in their world-view, notional constructs have a tendency towards fighting.
• Scarcity Merchants: Far-Realm beings able to manipulate reality and give a customer exactly what they need -- but charge bizarre and arcane prices, like your sense of humor, one hour out of every week, or the gender of your first child.
• Shertasi: Realmshifting twelve-foot reptilian humanoid imperialists, in a cross-world conflict with the Ma’ar.

Religion: All kinds of belief show up in the Crux -- monotheism, pantheism, atheism, humanism (or more properly, sapientism), and so on. No deity reigns supreme, not even the Light, and the Crux has a number of churches and temples second only to Templedowns. Religious tolerance is higher than anywhere else in the -- if a Crux trader or tavern-keeper turned away clientele based on religion, they would have no customers. In fact, it is from the Crux that some of the City's most popular "cults" have arisen: Kivian Taoism, Practical Theosophy, and the Church of Lies, to mention but a few.

Government: The City's official authority has little influence in the Crux. The Centrum Guild, who manage all inter-Realm travel, also police the district. Their job is unenviable, having to maintain different techniques, prison cells, etc., for Outlanders with inhuman abilities or psychology. For example, Fractal Elves may inadvertently kill dozens as their form shifts through the Realm, or a Netherman might cause gross vandalism, uncomprehending the permanent nature of their actions. Should these beings be prosecuted? If so, how would you imprison a creature who is only partially in our reality and could walk out of prison simply by shifting their weight, or punish someone who has no concept of regret? The Centrum Guild's enforcers must answer these questions, over and over and with innumerable variations.

Culture: The Crux is a melting-pot of innumerable cultures -- every bloodline in the City, along with travelers from Realms both near and far. Because of these mixes, nothing is taboo in the Crux -- it may not be to everyone's tastes, small fringe groups may actually protest or enact violence -- but in the main, anything from monogamy to group sex to ritual sacrifice is acceptable in the Crux (so long as all participants are willing). Food of all kinds appears on every street corner, including many things a human would not recognize as food -- or sometimes, even recognize as physically real, and the same can be said of music, and art forms. There is painting, and then there is Holocener Airbrushing, living sculptures of swirling wind; there is song, and then there is a Memetic Tonal Rondeau, capable of rewriting a listener's mind in whatever way the singer chooses; there is theater, and then there is Ma'aran Hunting Drama, in which the audience becomes part of the chase -- with a significant portion of the theatergoers doomed to be caught and eaten for the entertainment and edification of the others.

For the edification of the readers -- after all, this is meant to be a backstage look at something coming together -- the Outlanders came first. A couple -- the Shertasi, the Ma'ar, the name, at least, of the Niontians -- came from previous work of mine, adapted for this use. The Memes and Fractal Elves came from popular culture (Memes: Pontypool and others, Fractal Elves: drug culture and the idea of multidimensional beings a la Flatland). The Emerald Wavedancers, Holoceners, and Niontians came from wanting to create beings that didn't fit into the traditional "elf/dwarf/halfling" molds, while the Nethermen, Notional Constructs, and Scarcity Merchants came from a desire to go even further, into Realms (pun intended) seldom seen in fantasy roleplaying.

Then when working out the names and basic concepts behind their religions and art forms, I started from something real (Taoism, Theosophy, Rondeaus, audience participation theater), and gave it a twist -- from simply the name (I still don't know what makes Kivian Taoism different from regular Taoism), to the form (living wind sculptures) -- and tried to get inspiration from what little I know of the cultures I've just established (the Ma'ar are obsessed with hunting, and the Memes propagate through language).

And finally, I've always been intrigued by the idea of how law enforcement deals with things distinctly outside the norm, whether in comic book worlds filled with superheroes, to alien worlds, to fantasy worlds filled with magic -- hence the difficulties the Centrum Guild faces.

I have just discovered that Belltown is actually a real place -- a neighborhood in Seattle, that specializes in music and entertainment (but, unlike the City's Belltown, not prostitution). This is the last straw, that tells me I should reclassify my own Belltown as not a full district, but a smaller neighborhood (or neighborhoods) within other districts. Plus, it needs a new name. And thus, next time, join me as we venture into the neighborhood Formerly Named Belltown!

City Generation - Solura

Last time, we finished out examination of the slum Clovenmouthe. Today, we venture across town to Solura. What do we know about Solura?

• The center of business and commerce.
• Ruled by guilds and city and administration 

That's about it. Not much thought has gone into Solura yet. Let's flesh it out. 

• It'll be a business district, with little to no residences.
• It will be dominated by the middle class -- Leovites, Iversdotters, and especially Pariahs.

Religion: The Light has little purchase on Solura's citizenry -- they tend to worship the almighty solu (the citizen's unit of currency). With the large percentage of Leovites among the City bureaucracy would imply a strong belief in the Light. However, due to the status of profit and the influence of the heretical Pariahs and Iversdotters, most of the Leovites who work in Solura are unbelievers or attend church only occasionally. However, the precepts of Pariah philosophical thought are very influential, such as the following:

• Learn all you can, but only share it with your family. 
• Family first, profit second, all else a distant third.
• Enter into a contract cautiously, for no contract should ever be broken.

These ideas have been adopted (some say perverted) away from their original purpose, with most companies and guilds in Solura orienting themselves as a "family" and demanding traditional familial obedience from their employees.

Credit is a relatively new invention in the City (coming in over the last century or so), but it is extremely popular, with numerous guilds and companies offering lines of credit (at least, to the middle and upper classes). The City's official currency is the solu, named after Solura (and the sun), backed by the consortium of guilds, companies, and banks. The solu is roughly (and I emphasize roughly) equivalent to a dollar from about 1900 -- or about $10 currently. The solu is a silver coin with a stylized picture of the sun on it. A half-solu is a large copper piece, a 1/100 solu, or "penny" (plural pence) is a small copper piece. Solu also come in 10, 50, and 100 solu denominations.

Government: While profit is the highest motive, it is meant to be profit for all -- the general wisdom is that if a monopoly develops, the economy will collapse. A consortium of guilds, known as the Free Association of Merchants and Businesspeoples, enforces the concept of free and fair trade, breaking monopolies and governing prices. Of course, the Free Association of Merchants and Businesspeoples  is not perfect, and powerful companies often get preferential treatment, while prices are universally set at a level more beneficial to companies than customers. Working against one's organization -- by helping another, providing information or such, is against the laws of Solura, and enforced by a private police and judiciary force known as the Contract-Keepers. The Contract-Keepers use fines as their primary punishment, with corporal punishment second, exile third, and imprisonment a distant fourth. Their first goal is always to discourage further crime, whether through fines or shame.

Culture: The culture of Solura is fragmented and cosmopolitan. People bring beliefs from all different backgrounds, with only one defining congruence: business. Profit is the watchword, and the most defining ethical concern. Loyalty is an important concept in Solura. Some hold loyalty to their guild, some to their company, some to their administrative department, and some to the City itself -- but all are expected to stay loyal, an expectation usually enforced by ironclad contracts.

Let's look at some interesting Locations:

Department of Levies 

Description: The center for the hard-working tax collectors, who never manage to get any taxes. 

Theme: Due to poor funding and public hatred, the tax collectors never collect any. 

Aspect: Underfunded and Underappreciated 

Face: Eliah lev-Behary – Embittered Leovite Tax Man

The Free Association of Merchants and Businesspeoples 

Description: The center of the main merchant guild of the City.

Threat: A tyrannical mercantile guild forces all traders to belong, with unreasonable fees and rules. 

Aspect: Tyrannical Officials Crack Down 

Face: Zebed lev-Shaluchel – Leovite Administrator With His Boot Coming Down

Guild of Alchemists and Artificers 

Description: Guild of non-Crafter philosophers. 

Theme: The non-Crafters are angry at their uselessness.

Aspect: Second-Class Scientists 

Face: Nari Rona-per – Pariah Philosopher Resentful That Brains Aren’t Enough

The Plentifer Club 

Description: One of the most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs in the City.

Threat: Class and debauchery mix – mostly cigars and bourbon, but they can set up with drugs or prostitutes.

Aspect: Exclusivity Means No Prying Eyes

Face: Michai lev-Cadron – Consummate Host Will Get You Anything

Seat of Judgment 

Description: The main official Court of the City. 

Theme: Very little actual power (as few crimes make it here), but they make up for it with huge egos. 

Aspect: Perceived Importance Much More Than Actual Power 

Face: Ornurius Rallius – Imperious Judge Who Cows No-One

Thanks for visiting the financial district with me. Next time, we'll visit the centerpiece of cross-Realms in The Crux.

City Generation - Thoughts

As we move through the various district that make up the City of Lives, I constantly wonder how much it veers away from what an actual city looks like. The City of Lives is a somewhat idealized and abstracted metropolis, but I want it to ring true for the players who enter it -- if the City doesn't breathe, the entire setting is dead. Thus, the question of separation. I like the idea of a spoked city, and of district defined by dominant function -- commerce, manufacturing, religion or housing. But if the districts become too narrowly defined, they lose their realism, becoming flat, 2-dimensional characters. Just as a fictional person needs multiple strengths and weaknesses to be believable as a real person, so too must a town, city -- or district.

The first step is to combine a couple districts with little personality of their own. Orhall was envisioned as "the guild district," but in reality, guilds formed around business and commerce. Thus, it has little reason to stand on its own, and should be folded into the likewise underdeveloped "financial district" Solura.

Similarly, Tradespoint, while having a wonderful name, has little character on its own, and even less verisimilitude. Where is trade gathered? Where do they put the stores? Historically, in one of two places -- near the goods or near the people. Suburban strip malls are out of character for the City, so trade should be centered where the goods enter the City -- on the river at Penelope's Wharf and by the shiftgates coming in from other Realms in the Crux. I may reappropriate the name Tradespoint for Penelope's Wharf -- I don't know which name I like better -- but the district as it stands is dead, dismembered.

The next question is if Belltown should exist as an independent district, if entertainment and prostitution should be spread out across the City, or if I should split the difference and call it a neighborhood within another, larger district. Similarly, is the university district of Sagelights big enough an idea to support 1/12 of the City? Or the manufacturing center known as the Factorium, in a society that is (mostly) pre-Industral Revolution?

Unfortunately, I don't have answers for these questions yet... more pondering must be done. I will return, with... Solura? Tradespoint? Only time and Fate will tell!

City Generation - Clovenmouthe Part 2

Welcome back to our section on the slums of Clovenmouthe. Let's just pick up right where we left off...

Government: The government of Clovenmouthe, such as it is, is made up of a loose confederation of Iversdotter gangs. Each gang is controlled by a single leader, a president/general known as a "Fyrste," elected by a combined vote (to winnow down the candidates to two or three possibilities) and trial by combat (to decide between the last contenders). The Fyrste periodically meet in a summit or "stevne," where they discuss the trade and political issues that affect the entire district. [Fyrste and Stevne are both Norwegian words, fyrste meaning "first" and is a term for political leader, and stevne meaning meeting].

Small portions of Clovenmouthe are outside Iversdotter control -- mostly small neighborhoods controlled by Kipmen gangs, autonomous underground Grate-Scratcher communities, or areas ruled by one or more guilds. These areas have their own laws and governmental systems (Kipmen often arrange their citizens into packs or herds, for example).

Culture: Most of Clovenmouthe's residents bunch together into bloodline groups, interacting with others primarily in business. Partly due to the Iversdotters' influence, Clovenmouthers value family and clan, loyalty, honesty, honor, and industriousness. Etiquette and social propriety are of a low priority -- as is hygiene. Music is popular, as is decorative pottery, jewelry, "low" comedy, street and religious theater. Clovenmouthers marry late but have a lot of children (especially Kipmen, who sometimes have litters).

Religion: Clovenmouthe residents are, by and large, fervent believers in the Light. Their belief is simple, straightforward, based more on blind faith and trust in their local clergy than on knowledge of scripture. However, the ruling Iversdotters eschew the Light, instead practicing a form of ancestor worship, holding their own form and past as perfection, and asking assistance of their progenitor Sigurd.

And a few Locations:

Thewer’s Meet
Description: Grate-Scratcher Swap Meet
Theme: Though they have nothing, the Grate-Scratchers hang together
Aspect: Even in the Sewer, Life Flourishes
Face: Brezza Drasavanic – Grate-Scratcher Security Chief Looking To Keep Her People Safe

Eagle-Shield’s Barrio
Description: The neighborhood controlled by the Eagle-Shield Gang, controlled by Ingra Eagle-Shield Iversdotter.
Threat: (Blood Boils Over) Constant interblood skirmishes with Kipman Wolf Whales
Aspect: Sanctuary in the Storm of Gang Warfare
Face: Ingra Eagle-Shield Iversdotter – Good-hearted But Ruthless Gang Leader

The Shattered Ring
Description: A dark, seedy tavern.
Threat: This can be a friendly tavern or a death sentence, depending on who you are.
Aspect: Comforting But Dangerous Shadows
Face: Mirko Svijevic – Friendly But Imposing Grate-Scratcher Barkeep

Thanks for coming with me to the City's underbelly. Next time, we'll head downtown to City Generation - Tradespoint.

City Generation - Clovenmouthe Part 1

Welcome back to our series on district building. So far, we've covered Sylvennis, the seething stew of aristocratic scheming; Templedowns, the inspiring/asphyxiating religious center; and Council Heights, where idealistic politicians go head-to-head with the vilest schemers. Today we'll head the opposite direction, over to the lowest-class district -- the slum of Clovenmouthe.

Upon reviewing my posts, it looks like I have said nothing about Clovenmouthe - but a few ideas are in my head, so let's start with those:

• It is the residence of the lowest of the low -- those unfortunates who barely make enough to scrape by, if that -- and is filled with crime, violence, misery... and, oddly enough, in some places more contentment than the richest houses of Sylvennis.
• It is ruled by the Iversdotter street gangs, who keep safe those under their protection -- for a price.
• The main Bloodlines present are the Kipmen (mongrels of animal and man), Dead-Blooded (part man, part undead, and hated by everyone), Grate-Scratchers (underground-dwelling scavengers), Rurals (uneducated farmers who grow plants right on their bodies), and the ruling Iversdotters (magical clones of a single woman, living in a martial society).

So, with those pieces, what else can we derive? The first rich piece of setting I see is the idea of the ruling gangs. I see these as rather more positive than street gangs in our own world -- they have a code of honor, and honestly take care of the civilians they extort "protection money" from. But they're not saints, either -- the Iversdotters take much from their charges, sell them drugs, disrupt their lives with gang wars... It's a broken system, but the best the City has to offer these poor people. So -- since the City government must have little to no influence in Clovenmouthe, what responsibilities must the gang leaders take upon themselves?

• Police and courts: Whether they have their own actual police force or if it is more spread out and less official, the gangs must keep order in their holdings, which means catching those who break the rules and dispensing justice. Traditionally, gang justice is swift, efficient, harsh -- and not necessarily correct, with an accusation almost always leading to a conviction. "Better safe than sorry" and "Guilty until proven innocent" are the watchwords in Iversdotter police work.
• Public works: With no City workers coming in to fix the roads, pipes, or what-have-you, it's up to the gangs. They're unlikely to put this at a high priority, but they do need to make sure that the roads and such are up to a certain standard, or else their drugs won't get to their locations, their troop movement will slow, and their citizens will rise up in revolt.
• Taxation: Taxes or "protection money" -- it's pretty much a matter of labels, either way it's people paying money to a more powerful entity to take care of them. And the poor of Clovenmouthe need taking care of.
• Business and Trade: Much of this business is taken care of by the City's guilds (which I will address in the section on Orhall), but the gangs do need to ensure that their citizens are treated well enough by the guilds' businesses and factories to continue their responsibilities to the Iversdotters. Trade is highly regulated, if not in the way we might expect -- keeping an iron fist on their profit margins is the highest priority, especially when transporting drugs and weapons that might be illegal in other parts of the City or other Realms.
• Foreign Politics: "Foreign" in this case means other gang territories, other districts, seldom if ever venturing outside the City. The gang leaders need to ensure their areas of control will not be threatened, politically or militarily, so sit-downs and summits are common occurrences -- as are armed conflicts.

Now that we've figured out basically how the Iversdotter gangs will take care of Clovenmouthe, we'll stop here and wait until next time to cover religion and culture. See you next time, for City Generation - Clovenmouthe Part 2

City Generation - Council Heights

Before we get to today's topic, let's address a question. Anonymous asks "If the Leovites are the priest caste, why are they also servants in Sylvennis? Priests are usually at the top of the social ladder." Ah, good question. Traditionally in Earth culture, priests have either been at the top of the social ladder (as per the Hindu caste system) or outside of it completely (as in Medieval European and Chinese culture). However, the priests of the City of Lives have a unique relationship with the Sons of Light -- They see them as the chosen of the Light, so the Leovites' devotion for their deity requires them to serve the sons of Light, either as priests or directly as mundane servants. This is unusual compared to Earth history -- however, I find it exotic but plausible, reflecting an alien world rather than showing inconsistent behavior. However, Anonymous, you made me think of something important: the Leovites probably would find it offensive to work for Prometheans -- who are descended from the first who rebelled against their god -- or the Sky-Carvers -- who are constantly vying with the Sons of Light for control of the City. So having Leovite butlers and chefs would be an exclusive honor for the Sons of Light, while the Prometheans and Sky-Carvers would use Pariahs and Iversdotters -- and all would use the lower classes (Grate-Scratchers, Kipmen, Rurals, and Dead-Bloods) for the lowest positions in their households -- scullery maids, stable boys, etc.).

All right, with that question answered, let's move on into Council Heights. Again, what do we know?

• A small but vital district, Council Heights is where the City's actual governing is done.
• Because the mysterious monarchs the Elder Trio run the City with a policy of lassez-faire, the politicos of Council Heights have relatively little actual power.

Okay, let's begin with that second point. How much power do the politicians have? What kinds of things do they actually do?

• The Elder Trio, an inscrutable triumvirate of supernatural beings far beyond the power and understanding of City citizens, acts as the Executive Branch. However, the Trio is reclusive and prefers a hands-off approach to the City -- (partly) because of this, the City has no standing army or police force.
• The High Council acts as the Legislative Branch of the City government, passing laws and raising taxes. However, I've established they have little actual authority. Due to the lack of police force, they have no way of enforcing their laws.
• The Courts are underfunded and undersupported -- and because there is no City police force, they deal with mainly civil cases. They act as the Judiciary Branch, though their ability to change the law is dependent entirely on the noble Houses and Iversdotter gangs accepting their judgment and enforcing these modified laws -- which is by no means guaranteed.

Religion: Faith and law are related in the City, in that its laws and foreign policy are influenced by the values and beliefs of the Light. However, there are many precepts set forth in the Light's religious writings that are not represented in City law, and vice versa. Many of the political elite are true believers, whether in the Light or simply in people -- but they always represent themselves as devout and mainstream church-goers (the minor religions have little presence in Council Heights).

Culture: There is a constant struggle between the idealists who want to change the City for the better, and the manipulators who want nothing but power. Political machinations are not quite as deceptive or morally dubious as is Sylvennis, but it grows close -- and the results affect more of the City. A large minority of Council Heights citizens are Outlanders -- foreign diplomats and their support structure.

And finally, a few interesting Locations:

House Trelius 
Description: Manor of one of the main council clans
Threat: Warring nobility make it unsafe
Aspect: Beautiful Surface Hides Ugly Wars
Face: Arcadipane Trelia – Weaselly Councilor

The Curia 
Description: The High Council’s meeting place
Theme: Politicians making laws and treaties
Aspect: Perceived Importance Outweighs Actual Influence
Faces: Arrulio Tralius Verimadis – Morally Questionable High Councilor
               and Truccio Iovennio -- Idealistic Young Councilor In Over His Head

House Solfidley

Description: The home of the only Rural rich enough to buy his way into politics.

Threat: Solfidley intends to destroy the Council and its "corruption."

Aspect: Secret Vendettas, Hated Wealth

Face: Arbron Solfidley -- Wrongly-Rich Revolutionary Working From Within

City Generation - Templedowns

Last time, we talked about the aristocratic district of Sylvennis, trying to flesh it out and make it playable. Today, we'll do the same for Templedowns, the religious district.

What we know about Templedowns:

• It holds most of the churches, including the central church authority for the City.
• The dominant population are Leovites, the leonine priest caste of the City.
• The dominant religion is known as "the Light." (Don't worry, I determined this between posts, you didn't miss anything. We'll go into this more later).

Hm. Not much more than Sylvennis. That's okay. Let's flesh it out.

Religion: Obviously, this is a big deal in Templedowns. The Light is the dominant religion - it's a monotheistic faith that worships the sun as the creator deity. The Church of the Light is mostly based on Christianity, but I want to ensure it's distinct and has a fantasy feel. Consider the Chantry from Dragon Age. Heavily, heavily based on Christianity, Dragon Age changes their prophet's gender and models her after Joan of Arc, makes their priests exclusively female instead of exclusively male, and makes the church in charge of utilizing mages (read: witches) instead of simply exterminating them. That's all that distinguishes the Chantry from medieval Christianity -- this made it immediately understandable and relatable, but kept it from feeling suitably alien for my tastes. So the Light needs some definitive differences -- let's start with borrowing from other religious traditions, to add verisimilitude (and to keep things easy):

• The priests of the Light, known as Lightspeakers, are expected to take a spouse and continue the Light in a procreative fashion as well as proselytizing -- in the fashion of Judaism, Islam, and most Protestant traditions.
• Lightspeakers are born, not made -- without special dispensation, any priest of the Light must be related to another. This borrows from the Judaic tradition of kohens and the Levite caste.
• There is no single divine book, instead there are a number, with commentary from religious leaders -- again, borrowing from Judaic tradition (hmm... I think we're seeing a pattern).
• Asceticism is seen as a sin. It is denying the wonderful world that the Light has provided -- but avarice is also punishable. The middle path, as in Buddhism, is encouraged.
• Non-violence is a big deal, beyond Christianity's take on it. There shall be no religious crusades in the City.
• Ambition is a virtue -- this is a notion borrowed not from any religion, but from modern secular American culture.
• Death is a major taboo for the light. There are no notions of afterlife rewards, only during-life rewards. The religion has no official stance on the afterlife (Judaism), and death rites are considered unclean and not honoring the Light, so are passed on to secular funerary arrangers.

A couple things I haven't seen specifically in any real-world religion (though they may exist and I'm just not aware) and want to include:

• The supernatural is not seen to be related to religion in any way, either positively or negatively.
• There is no separation of church and state, but nor is worship of the Light mandatory. Church leaders are encouraged, even expected, to hold important secular positions.

There are also a few minor religions in Templedowns, mostly relegated to Cult Circle, an unpleasant little cul-de-sac that shows how the Light considers other religions in its very name. A few cults that spring to mind: 

• The Promethean Heresy: If you'll recall, Prometheans are descended from Prometheus, who is, let's say, not a Titan in this mythology, but the half-mortal son of the Light. He rebelled against the Light and gave the arts and sciences to humanity, and the Light chained him up for his insolence. The Promethean Heresy paints him as the hero. It's mostly Prometheans, artists, and philosophers.
• Kivian Taoism: I have no idea what this is, but it sounds cool. Presumably a variant on the Taoism we know on Earth, but as practiced by the Kivians, whoever and whatever they are.
• Practical Theosophy: Theosophy in our world was an attempt to pull religions together and combine religion and science into a coherent whole, using each to understand the other. The "practical" implies a more hands-on approach to the concept -- perhaps these folks attempt to find gods and, well, interview them?

Government: Let's create an opposite to Sylvennis here, and have Templedowns actually respect the City government's proper authority. Templedowns follows the laws laid out by the High Council and the Elder Trio, enforced by a police force funded by the Church. Leovites, the biggest population in Templedowns, are an honorable Bloodline, and so they are likely to be mostly law-abiding and uncorrupt -- but as the Sons of Light are seen as Chosen by the Leovites, their population gets a lot of special treatment which leads to plenty of corruption on that end. The small areas of the district that aren't associated with the Light, such as Cult Circle, are, unfortunately unprotected and undesired.

Culture: As the district is dominated by religion, that faith permeates every facet of Templedowns culture. Church is a daily, not weekly, ritual. Prayers ring in the streets. Those who aren't priests are church caretakers, or church clerks, or have a family member who is a priest... 

Okay, let's round off the discussion with a couple interesting Locations:

Church of the Blinding Light
Description: Church of the central religion
Threat: The place of religion for the City
Aspect: Beloved But Constricting Faith
Face: Zias lev-Phimeon – Leovite of Great Faith and Passion
and Theodocrita – Crackpot Who’s Right

Cult Circle
Description: Where the tiny religions of the City live.
Theme: The place for the small, alternative faiths.
Aspect: Not Too Small To Matter
Faces: The Heliolate – Son of Light Helior Cultist Intent on Destroying the World
and Stegdan Korcena-per – Eminently Practical Theosophist

Next time, let's venture into the Council's territory in City Generation - Council Heights.

City Generation - Sylvennis

Welcome to Sylvennis, the first district we're going to flesh out and make playable. Let's list off what we know about Sylvennis so far:

• It's the main residential district for the upper classes.
• It's filled with Noble Houses vying for control.

...is that it? Whew, we've got our work cut out for us. Let's see what logical conclusions we can come to. Since it is the domain of the nobility, it is logically rich. From there, we can assume it has a large population of servants as well as noblemen. From the fact that the Noble Houses are constantly in conflict, we can assume that the City government has little influence in Sylvennis, being corrupt or absent. In addition to ordinary servants, the Noble Houses must also hire spies, assassins, mudrakers and spin doctors to increase their own political cachet and decrease that of their enemies. Ethical conduct is probably not highly valued, instead decorum and courtesy are held in high regard. 

There's a start. Next, let's go back -- what is the history of Sylvennis? How do rich and noble districts start in the real world? I have no idea. To the internet! Hmm. Nothing relevant. Internet, you have failed me! If any readers want to enlighten me on how cities really come together, how a particular neighborhood becomes associated with a specific social class or interest, I'd be glad to hear. Comment or e-mail me at realmcrafting (at) gmail.com

Until then, let's cover some other topics.

Religion: Religion would be pretty big in Sylvennis, given that a large proportion of its populace are Sons of Light, considered chosen by the City's primary deity -- and many of Sylvennis's servants are Leovites, the City's priest caste. However, given that the nobility are, by and large, a deceitful and manipulative bunch, they would probably give the church lip service and go about their daily lives without considering its ethical precepts.

Government: Well, we've determined that the formal City government has little influence in Sylvennis. It is then a question of how is it governed? Given that the aristocracy is constantly vying for control in the City, and given they have little oversight, there is only one logical result: a mess of small neighborhoods, constantly varying in size and power as the Noble Houses push back and forth much like street gangs or tiny kingdoms. In each neighborhood, the laws, customs, and priorities will vary, perhaps radically. Conflict will be a way of life, whether social game-playing at parties or physical conflicts on the streets (between the nobles' servants, of course).

Culture: The defining adjective describing Sylvennis is "scheming." Nothing is simple in the aristocracy, whether in London or the City of Lives, and constant games of oneupmanship are daily concerns. Social status, fashion, and etiquette are life-and-death problems. Aside from that, culture changes from House to House, depending on Bloodline and the patriarch or matriarch's personal taste.

And let's round off this post with a few interesting Locations in Sylvennis:

House Idoletta

Description: Seat of the Sky-Carver Idoletta family's power

Threat: Failing house will do anything to restore their power

Aspect: Beware of Cornered Nobility

Face: Suliana Idoletta - Desperate Sky-Carver Matriarch Will Do Anything to Restore Her Status

House Daceas

Description: Seat of the Promethean Daceas family's power

Theme: The single biggest supporter of the arts, but they don't protect themselves well enough from political machinations.

Aspect: An Artist's Eye Can't See Behind Her

Face: Oritryta Daceas - The Perfect Patron of the Arts

House Gwaioth

Description: House of the powerful Son of Light Gwaioth family

Theme: The Gwaioth family hides an shameful secret - they're Dead-Bloods

Aspect: A Powerful Family Protects Their Dark Secret

Face: Aliavera Gwaioth - Blood-Denying Avant-Garde Matriarch

Join me next time for another district with City Generation - Templedowns.