Probably been asked before, but how does building the city work in the game for those not using a city guide? Is it something like city creation in the Dresden Files RPG?
Probably been asked before, but how does building the city work in the game for those not using a city guide?
Probably been asked before, but how does building the city work in the game for those not using a city guide?
Hello Robert! Great question. We don’t have a formal structure to city creation, it’s more free form than that. We will have aids in the core book for MC’s to create their various Fronts however, which will help flush out the various factions and threats within the city.
I suggest a map for the first session with neighbourhoods and districts on it. This will really help players focus on turfs and territory control/disputes. Then just ask lots of loaded questions. “Who controls the riverside, and how much blood did they have to spill to gain it?” “There’s a new group in town making themselves known in Uptown, what do they call themselves and what’s with their tattoos?” Stuff like that.
If you get stumped at all, come on back and ask more questions. We have an awesome group of knowledgeable players/MC’s here. 🙂
The important bit with that is to ask these questions to the characters – not to the players.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Players and characters have different perspectives and both can be valuable.
I am not up to date, does US have the “address characters, not the players” principle?
Sure it does, but there are logical points to suspend that.
Cool! My hope is that my local group will be up for a Glasgow centred campaign once the game’s available, so I’ll need to see if I can find a decent street map to use for that purpose.
I think letting players weave the ropes to hang their characters with is totally valid/awesome.
have a few ideas:
1) There’s a PbtA hack called the ‘Hood, which uses neighborhood creation as a setup mechanic for the players. You go around the table and each player draws a street on a piece of paper. Then you do the same for a business for each player (or more, but still make it fair by giving everyone those extra shots too), then you do player homes and homes of those the character’s might know. In the end you have this well designed and fleshed out neighborhood. The same idea can work with cities, just with a lot more open space to add in details during game.
2) Similar to the above, map out some streets and put in things like the following: a nightclub, a library, a graveyard, the mall, city hall, a school, a park, a pub, etc. Add in player homes and haunts and you’ve got your city.\
3) Use google maps and create your own custom map using a real city. I love this method as you can map out territories, and custom business/buildings, but already have a city layout. In a plain ol’ nWoD hunter game, I even added points of interest for things that would be found in the news or on social media of possible supernatural happenings.
4) I once saw someone in this community build the power struggles between various factions. It’s a good approach and gives more than just the background of the game, but also fodder for future games.
Doing it more from a player perspective is definetly valIid, I am not saying you shouldn’t do that. I just wonder what the advantages are. I guess it works best if you create big parts of the city before you create characters and then slot the characters into that setting. I personally feel that creating characters and then creating the world around them, from their point of view, is more fulfilling for me.
If we do that from an out of character perspective it keeps me out of the character. I tend to play from the director stance a lot and I am not always happy with that. Everything that keeps me out of my characters head is just further pushing that.
I also enjoy the “GM has a conversation directly with e character” thing a lot.
The only big advantage I can think of is that doing it from the player perspective lets you say cool things about the city that your character doesn’t know about. This is especially cool if you want to play a character who’s fresh off the docks and doesn’t know all the city’s ins and outs yet.
Answering the setup questions in character is awesome, too, I just like the extra freedom that an out of character perspective brings. The Start of Session move gives you plenty of in-character mileage to find trouble, not to mention all the implicit and explicit questions your playbook brings to the table.
Probably like one round of out of character questions and then however many rounds of in character questions would be the way to do it?