One of the most exciting things as a player is visiting a captivating new place. These can take the form of amazing natural wonders, fascinating cities, and so much more. But building an interesting place from the ground up takes work. So I've created a list of interesting cities you can adapt to your game with just a bit of work. Please enjoy (and use) these cities!
1. Brewer's Dam
This city is situated at the end of a large lake partially created by the dam they built there. But rather than damming the river that runs through the lake and building nearby, the original settlers conserved wood by building the city into the dam itself. Over time, intricate loch systems have been built along the mouth of the river with floating neighborhoods connecting the halfway point of the lake to the city on the dam proper. On the ground at the dam's edge is a small outpost for travelers who find the floating inns to be unnerving, and the city's public office is located there for diplomatic matters, but aside from that, the entire city of Brewer's Dam lies on the foundation of the dam or on floating platforms connected to it. The woods nearby which had been cleared have mostly regrown now, and travelers who arrive in the dark often don't realize that there was a city there at all. Fish are cultivated, and foragers search the nearby woods for supplemental food. Rumors say that the scientists in Brewer's Dam are on the verge of harnessing water-power.
2. Sky Bridge
This city took nearly three centuries to build, consisting of four tall towers which extend high into the sky. Each tower is made of alternating living quarters/shop accommodations and strengthening brick layers, and every few floors is a bridge to the adjacent towers to upper and lower levels as well as direct links across. Spiraling walkways with safety walls along the outside have been built around the outsides of the towers, allowing more direct transportation up and down. Neighborhoods are formed by tower and floor allegiances. The higher the home or business, the higher the respect afforded to it, and in fact, the highest level is occupied by Sky Bridge governmental officers. Because there is little ability to sustain the city through agriculture, the citizens of Sky Bridge have a complex system of trade relationships that keep the city reliably supplied with enough food for its citizens. Denizens of the lowest levels of the towers have largely resorted to hunting and gathering outside the tower rather than pay the notably high food price.
3. Freedom Island
This city is a massive boat towing a series of smaller boats, each outfitted to carry the citizens and the necessary supplies to survive at sea. The main ship was to be the first of several like it to haul huge shipments around the continent, but when the first ship was quickly captured by pirates, the company producing the ships reconsidered, and the pirates' crew has managed to evade naval law for decades. Thus, the ship (renamed Freedom Island by its commanding crew) has remained a roving city on the sea, occasionally anchoring near land for personnel changes and supply trades. To sustain its people, Freedom Island has constructed mechanical improvements to standard fishing gear, allowing them to hook and land larger fish than conventional fishing allows for. The pirate crew in charge of Freedom Island maintains that it is an anarchic state with no governmental structure, but they also concede that all citizens of Freedom Island are considered liable for the defense of it against foreign powers.
4. Lanshire-Down-Below
There are ghostly stories of Lanshire-Up-Above, the town which appears to be perfectly preserved and yet is totally absent of any life. It's a place that children dare one another to go, and one where they frequently fright before the dare is complete. It would not be so if they knew of Lanshire-Down-Below, a perfectly identical city built exactly underneath its surface sister city. Some legends say that the cities were built together, and others claim that one of the cities came first, though they disagree about which one. All that is certain is that one specific closet door in Lanshire-Up-Above hides a trapdoor which leads to a long, winding tunnel that ends in that same closet, but in Lanshire-Down-Below. Through that passage, the people of Lanshire-Down-Below occasionally contact the outer world for emergencies, but mostly, they stick to themselves, paranoid of surface dwellers' motives. They harvest mushrooms and lichens in the caves where they reside, and they hunt the dire creatures who live there too.
5. The Failsafe
In the days of long-gone history, there was nearly world domination by [whoever you want, but let's say "elves" for this example], who at the height of their power built a series of forts. One was intended to endlessly defensible, a fortress that would never fall. It was called The Failsafe, and it was built at the center of the continent, where it would give the elves a permanent foothold away from their home territory. When eventually the period of war became a period of peace, the Failsafe's purpose was largely forgotten by its mostly new inhabitants. The fortress itself is a series of circles:
 |
| Failsafe as seen from above. |
As you can see, an assault on the central fort of the city would involve fighting through three more walls as well. The city that has sprung up around the old fortress is a series of neighborhoods which utilize the former defenses into housing and businessfronts. No special needs for food are required, as the Failsafe is surrounded by lovely farmland.
6. Kettleford Range
There are certainly cities along the mountain range, and even a few that make homes of plateaus along the range. But none have made use of the range itself like Kettleford Range. This city is built upon terraced foundations cut into the mountain range with great ramps stretching from the ground up the mountainside. The buildings (and the terraces they rest on are perfectly level, an achievement by the builders that cut the city into the mountainside. While many buildings are constructed of brick or wood atop the terraces, a great many that lie closer to the back walls of the terraces are cut directly from the mountain itself--that is to say, the buildings there are actually connected to and made of the same stuff as the ground. Kettleford Range stretches along over a mile and a half of the mountain range, and careful efforts at growing crops on newly terraced areas is proving effective enough that the city can reduce its reliance on hunting the native animals.
7. Dijum
[Note: This city is taken directly from
my homebrew setting.] Deep in the grasslands lies a massive rainforest, complete with humid, warm climate, exotic plants and animals, and towering trees. This rainforest is home to a great proportion of the unique wildlife in the world and is known as treacherous to travel through. In the center of this rainforest is a great lake, Lake Chalba. And in the center of Lake Chalba is an island, most of which is covered by the city of Dijum. Lake Chalba is considered to be a holy site of the beginning of sentient life, and Dijum has become the center for the pilgrims who go there. These pilgrims must first face the dangerous rainforest, but the city of Dijum within is calm, accepting to strangers, and idyllic. And yet threats from outside, from those who would threaten the peace and prosperity of Dijum do exist, and a collective of concerned citizens patrol the rainforest to tend to wounded travelers and keep an eye out for those who may jeopardize the city. Foraging provides all the city needs for food.
8. Valcora
Off the coast are the volcanoes. Some say that their eruptions formed the continent we live on, but across the water lives a city unafraid of the volcanic activity. The city of Valcora rests on a plateau halfway up the highest of the volcanic peaks. The newly-built city was warned against by many, but a mass of headstrong builders and adventurers made their way across the sea in great boats carrying supplies, and though it took a generation, the city was built. It's rested there for a while--long enough for people to become complacent. They've become a trade powerhouse to accommodate for their diets, as nothing grows on the volcanic ground, and have adopted a fairly public system of distributing food fairly. A Valcora scientist says that the volcano may erupt in the near future and needs help investigating how to prevent it--your party can help.
9. Desert Rose
The desert stretches for miles and miles in every direction, and practically no life grows anywhere in it. Anywhere except the Desert Rose, a sprawling city founded in the middle of a great oasis. Enormous farms span out from the city, a scattered collection of wooden, stone, and canvas buildings. Despite the hardness to come by certain materials, the city has gotten by on a sense of ingenuity and persistence. Many common items which have been difficult to get in the middle of a desert have been approximated with makeshift inventions and substitutions, such as the use of bone as a structuring material in place of wooden beams. And though the physical structure of the city may be modest, it provides a great many social amenities that other communities aspire to, such as a public playhouse, a library, and full school. The only real difficulty in Desert Rose is that the desert lies between two warring factions, which puts it between enemies in a lot of situations.
10. Hapsfield
Most cities in this region tend to show off their use of nature in building their cities, but Hapsfield had different plans. The eccentric and very rich founder of Hapsfield absolutely detested the presence of plant matter on streets or horse droppings in public, so he insisted that all non-humanoid life in the city limits must be artificial only. At first glance, Hapsfield is a beautiful city with trees and flowers planted everywhere. But closer inspection reveals that each tree is a preserved tree cut off at the roots, each flower and leaf made of cloth. But even closer inspection shows that there indeed are animals in Hapsfield--birds in nests in trees, rabbits peeking out of bushes--only to see that even these are taxidermied and posed to look natural. Everything else about Hapsfield seems fairly normal, but the eerieness of the lack of life is hard to ignore for many visitors. Accordingly, the people who stay in Hapsfield tend to be the ones who have been there a while, where visitors seem to shy away pretty quickly. As a result, the population in Hapsfield has slowly declined, and there is considerable speculation in nearby towns on what will happen with its founder passes away.
That's ten unique cities you can use in almost any context in your games. We've all done the same few "cool ideas" before, so why not try these twists? You never know what these ideas might add to your game or how your players will enjoy exploring a new place.
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