Using the tables from 'Towers of Krshal' to generate a City

[scalydemon]

This is meant to be a workshop thread that hopefully some people will enjoy participating in. Adding to the base rolls on the tables found within 'Towers of Krshal' that I rolled up this eve. If you care to further flesh out an area or draw a map to help<?>

Roll results thus far (I am 25 pages into the book):

Rumours (rolled 2 so far): A strange deformed corpse was found in the Chapel of the Lost. It was huge and didn't look human.

Over a dozen people went insane after drinking potions sold by a Charlatan in the Northern Living District

Common Citizen names: Male Ebeneezer, Willbert Female: Casdith, Mathild

Towers (I rolled 3 thus far, some of the results below suggest other Towers), Brass Spire of Thinking Machinery, Seven Chimneys of Sickening Fumes, Spiral Palace of Thirty Four Mysteries.

Sinister Sorcerers of the City: Hungry Horb, L4 8HP Cannibal,    Israg the Imp L2, 2HP, Red Haired dwarf

Dangerous Pit: Mysterious Chimney of the Howling Nightmares

Thinking Difference Engine: 67-413 - Has tools to transform people into mindless, drooling automatons

Enchanted Six shooter: Silver Sentinel, master of riddles

Drunkards, Onthack 5HP, Shoplifter who exchanges stolen goods for alcohol, Gdig 4HP Lecherous, flirts with every woman, Hevik 1HP When drunk usually runs naked through the City

Ossuary Random Finds: Urn with ashes and large sapphire hidden inside it(worth 2300gp), Large Urn with ashes and bear trap hidden inside (2d6 dmg)

Scrap Yard Random Finds: Metal Can full of Ancient bronze coins (22gp), Old and battered plasma gun (no power cell but operational)

Trash Yard Random finds: Nice leather shoes with human feet still inside them, Partly rotten leather armor +1, covered with white mold

Ghoul Mother: Maria AC4, HP83, Can charm and control rodents

Chthonic Gods, Og-yat , dwelling in the sea of poison, Glarro, worms flow in his veins

Blind demon, Malefic statue. Cast in stone, but forces people to disembowel themselves in front of it.

Bizarre Pets & Animals from the goat market, Armored kiwi birds, Miniature rhinos (2 feet tall)

Magical lantern, Everyone within its light radius looks extremely disgusting for the members of the opposite sex

Lethal mold, Violet, glows faintly. Edible and very nutritious, also hallucinigen

Sacred oil, Blackened golden oil. If drunk it grants understanding of the clicking language of difference engine(s)

Magic keys, Spiked Key of Ankran, automatically jam or unjam any door, but not magically able to open locks. Black Needle key, Can be used to open electronic locks

Weird & unusual items, platinum keychain of the golden angels, Singing goblet of the cruel thought

Swarms, Infested with parasites cockroaches running away, Undead crows attacking randomly

House of the Dead, Tower of the white bones

Garden, Ligneous Cathedral of Qua'shan

Nasty Parasites, Black rage louse

[kesher]

Nice! I've had some fun with that supplement, too...

[scalydemon]

Dec 31, 2013 8:58:01 GMT -6 kesher said:

Nice! I've had some fun with that supplement, too...

Yeah, as I get further into it (its not very long) and roll more things it is seeming evident that the City being 'created' may be a dungeon in itself. I think if you wanted to have more of a semi-normal City that you could use as a base of sorts and explore you'd just want to use a few things you roll up. If you use all of them the City may devour you Not sure if this is really going to work out this way, but oh well fun experiment..

[monk]

Dec 31, 2013 9:09:19 GMT -6 scalydemon said:

Yeah, as I get further into it (its not very long) and roll more things it is seeming evident that the City being 'created' may be a dungeon in itself.

Funny you should mention that. I used a lot of the tables to help generate a massive "undercity" level below the regular city in my campaign--basically a huge Level One for players to run around in and gain their footing. As is the custom, my players totally decided to run in a different direction entirely--but that 1st level's a hummer.

[mannclay]

Just got this cool book and quickly rolled up a Tower:

Tower:
- Three Levels
- Ladders connect all levels
- Tower is round, so it means that it has only one outer wall
- This is a wooden tower
- Wooden Dome on top
- One level of dungeon-esque basement
- Inhabitants: Vile townsfolk (everybody knows about their evilness).


I think the Tower tables and the rumors are awesome. What would we call this approach to an RPG product? I would love to see more settings produced this way.

[hareton]

I don't understand what's the point of rumors that referee doesn't know what they are about. The logical approach is to first generate content, and then rumors based on it, that's what I do.

[mannclay]

Jan 15, 2014 1:12:04 GMT -6 hareton said:

I don't understand what's the point of rumors that referee doesn't know what they are about. The logical approach is to first generate content, and then rumors based on it, that's what I do.

For me, the rumors were inspiring...they also helped me visualize Krshal. I can just use the tables as i did to create a tower, then i can also write up my own rumors as you were explaining.

[scalydemon]

I am going to finish rolling stuff up from the remaining pages of the book and edit the initial thread post with the results. Then my plan is to keep/select a large handful of the results to flesh out - discarding the rest. This will make it more manageable and the City less of a dungeon and more of a useable City as a perhaps temporary adventuring base. If anyone is up for helping to flesh out an area that would be great.

I envision a Dead City. In a semi-hostile environment. The former citizens mostly fled and/or died off years ago, and the City is in a state of collapse, yet still with some transient squatters and eclectic tatters of a community

[scalydemon]

Random ideas, random art for the city

Ideas: Using elements from Vance's The Dragon Masters: bits copied/pasted;, From time to time, often after many years, a spaceship appears and abducts as many humans as can be caught. The settlements are also bombarded, ensuring that humanity will not rise above its present technological level. During one such raid, a charismatic leader named Kergan Banbeck captures a group of the alien raiders, who are accompanied by their human servants. Without their masters, the humans go mad and destroy the ship. The aliens, many-limbed lizard-like creatures known as "grephs", become prisoners of the humans they came to kidnap.group of humans, the "Sacerdotes", mysterious ascetics who walk naked in all weathers. They are characterized by very long hair, pale complexions, and the golden torc each wears around the neck. Only males are seen. They trade for what they need and seem to possess advanced technologies. They believe that they are beyond human, calling the rest of humankind "Utter Men", who will eventually disappear and leave the universe to them.grephs are led away by Kergan Banbeck, we gain some insight into their thought processes. They think of themselves as "The Revered". Their entire philosophy is predicated on a series of predestined events described in a way similar to the mathematics of quantum mechanics. Trackers. Bred for a highly developed sense of smell, they are used to find opponents who are hiding. They have enlarged noses and weak or nonexistent chins. They are agile and can climb quickly.
Mounts. These are humans bred to run on all fours


other ideas, owl statues as a night time wandering monster, jackals, ratmen scavengers, were jackals,beetles, cockroaches, a Church of Law hanging on amidst the temples.

influential art;

[scalydemon]

(rough) City outline (to be used)

Appearance outside/approach ruins of an outer wall, hovels shacks tent city outside former gates

Interior appearance: ruined state, grey pitted stone rubble. The Oast servitors keep the streets clean of most debris. open sewers, rats

History: periodic Alien abductors/assailants from Titan. Aeons past mighty city. overshadowed left to fall into ruin

Citizens:

Politics: and class system

Temples: temple district in City. Mostly choatic, with one last bastion of Law

Buildings: spires, baroque domes, shacks, taverns, crude industry, fish farms, algae cultivation

Areas: gardens, market place, dumps, use rolls etc, Ossuary Random Finds: Urn with ashes and large sapphire hidden inside it(worth 2300gp), Large Urn with ashes and bear trap hidden inside (2d6 dmg)

Scrap Yard Random Finds: Metal Can full of Ancient bronze coins (22gp), Old and battered plasma gun (no power cell but operational)

Trash Yard Random finds: Nice leather shoes with human feet still inside them, Partly rotten leather armor +1, covered with white mold

Personalities/encounters: use rolls and add, Sinister Sorcerers of the City: Hungry Horb, L4 8HP Cannibal, Israg the Imp L2, 2HP, Red Haired dwarf
Drunkards, Onthack 5HP, Shoplifter who exchanges stolen goods for alcohol, Gdig 4HP Lecherous, flirts with every woman, Hevik 1HP When drunk usually runs naked through the City

Rumours: use rolls and add, A strange deformed corpse was found in the Chapel of the Lost. It was huge and didn't look human.

Over a dozen people went insane after drinking potions sold by a Charlatan in the Northern Living District

Items of the City:use rolls, Magic keys, Spiked Key of Ankran, automatically jam or unjam any door, but not magically able to open locks. Black Needle key, Can be used to open electronic locks

Wandering monsters, daytime, night: owl statues, lepers

Random tables to roll on periodically, day, night:

[monk]

Jan 15, 2014 1:12:04 GMT -6 hareton said:

I don't understand what's the point of rumors that referee doesn't know what they are about. The logical approach is to first generate content, and then rumors based on it, that's what I do.

I do the opposite, at least in this case. I roll on the tables and get weird rumors, then I try to explain them by inventing content. That's how it helps me imagine. Of course, I can do it the other way, as you mentioned, and imagine new things and then write rumors about them, but that's a different process in my brain. I like to switch it up sometimes...it makes for some outside of the box ideas.

[scalydemon]

Update: finished with the random rolls using the TOK book and edited 1st post in thread with results.

Next steps will be the choose some of the results off the list to use and to add in some ideas from the other post I put together and start fleshing out the City using the outline. A map will be necessary further down the line.

If anyone is drawn to any of the rolled results or other ideas from this thread and wants to join in and help flesh something out in a terse/concise manner that would be great. Otherwise I shall plug along in it as time allows here. I have never designed a City before so looking fwd to it

[Red Baron]

Jan 16, 2014 23:04:22 GMT -6 scalydemon said:

Mounts. These are humans bred to run on all fours

Vance indeed - Sounds like quadrepedial Oasts

[scalydemon]

Jan 17, 2014 21:07:54 GMT -6 Red Baron said:

Jan 16, 2014 23:04:22 GMT -6 scalydemon said:

Mounts. These are humans bred to run on all fours

Vance indeed - Sounds like quadrepedial Oasts

Yes, there will be a rudimentary class system and these beasts of burden servitors will sadly be at the bottom. Also definitely will use this From time to time, often after many years, a spaceship appears and abducts as many humans as can be caught. The settlements are also bombarded, ensuring that humanity will not rise above its present technological level. Many of the rolls from the book sound useable in some form. The taverns I envision as seedy working class Star wars bars with spies from the great Moon Titan.

[Red Baron]

I feel like this has to be done for metamorphasis alpha. A society develps on the spacecraft over ten thousand years with a complex structure from livestock humans of burden raised for meat all the way to huge brained "gods" with telepathic powers.

[hareton]

So what is the point of your city, a ruin to explore or adventurer's base? If the former, it would require a lot of work, and just encounter tables won't do it, it would have to have some keyed locations, either in style of CSIO or Vornheim. From what I've seen tables in this supplement are not enough to make any sort of complete city, the only thing you could build upon are these towers.

[scalydemon]

Jan 18, 2014 2:12:03 GMT -6 hareton said:

So what is the point of your city, a ruin to explore or adventurer's base? If the former, it would require a lot of work, and just encounter tables won't do it, it would have to have some keyed locations, either in style of CSIO or Vornheim. From what I've seen tables in this supplement are not enough to make any sort of complete city, the only thing you could build upon are these towers.

I don't think you 'get it'. Maybe you could move along to another thread? Thanks

[scalydemon]

Jan 16, 2014 23:22:48 GMT -6 scalydemon said:

(rough) City outline (to be used)

Appearance outside/approach ruins of an outer wall, hovels shacks tent city outside former gates

Interior appearance: ruined state, grey pitted stone rubble. The Oast servitors keep the streets clean of most debris. open sewers, rats

History: periodic Alien abductors/assailants from Titan. Aeons past mighty city. overshadowed left to fall into ruin

Citizens:working class, Common Citizen names: Male Ebeneezer, Willbert Female: Casdith, Mathild

Politics: and class system

Temples: temple district in City. Mostly choatic, with one last bastion of Law , Chthonic Gods, Og-yat , dwelling in the sea of poison, Glarro, worms flow in his veins

Buildings: spires, baroque domes, shacks, taverns, crude industry, fish farms, algae cultivation,
Towers (I rolled 3 thus far, some of the results below suggest other Towers), Brass Spire of Thinking Machinery, Seven Chimneys of Sickening Fumes, Spiral Palace of Thirty Four Mysteries.

Areas: gardens, market place, dumps, use rolls etc, Ossuary Random Finds: Urn with ashes and large sapphire hidden inside it(worth 2300gp), Large Urn with ashes and bear trap hidden inside (2d6 dmg)

Scrap Yard Random Finds: Metal Can full of Ancient bronze coins (22gp), Old and battered plasma gun (no power cell but operational)

Trash Yard Random finds: Nice leather shoes with human feet still inside them, Partly rotten leather armor +1, covered with white mold

Personalities/encounters: use rolls and add, Sinister Sorcerers of the City: Hungry Horb, L4 8HP Cannibal, Israg the Imp L2, 2HP, Red Haired dwarf
Drunkards, Onthack 5HP, Shoplifter who exchanges stolen goods for alcohol, Gdig 4HP Lecherous, flirts with every woman, Hevik 1HP When drunk usually runs naked through the City

Rumours: use rolls and add, A strange deformed corpse was found in the Chapel of the Lost. It was huge and didn't look human.

Over a dozen people went insane after drinking potions sold by a Charlatan in the Northern Living District

Items of the City:use rolls, Magic keys, Spiked Key of Ankran, automatically jam or unjam any door, but not magically able to open locks. Black Needle key, Can be used to open electronic locks

Wandering monsters, daytime, night: owl statues, lepers

Random tables to roll on periodically, day, night, thieves, assassins, mountebanks, scoundrels:

Did a little work on this

[scalydemon]

Thoughts & ideas to add:

Add an Intro/GM'S advice for running the City section

The Oasts are an ancient species mainly gone extinct in other sections of the world not having basic self survivability etc. Here they have been bred for labor.

The original human citizens of the City (Kron?) form the middle class. Implement elements of P.K Dicks short story Dr. Bloodmoney, radio towers, astrology, seers that try and predict the next raid from the Stars.

The Raiders from Titan that periodically arrive to abduct mass quantities of Citizens here have brainwashed mind controlled spies that are running the City via a puppet government, led by a Titan alien in a brain canister who resides in a prominent Tower.(Earth's atmosphere not sustainable long term for Titanians. Have to wear gravity belts, bubble helmets, etc.)

Add Event Table, (event cards?), including a signaled return of the ship from Titan(?)

[mannclay]

I have been thinking of ideas based on one of my rolls...

Rumor #3 - There is no other place than Krshal – the city covers the entire world:

- agriculture surrounded by grids of buildings
- wilderness perpetuated in Myth
- most wild animals domesticated
- Alleyways considered as the new wilderness (although most do not know what a wilderness implies)
- many overpasses (called "Cloud Crossing" when done) connect varied tall buildings
- no one Overlord resides over the city - On average no one recognizes an Overlord of anything
- in essence the city runs itself
- wild animals and monsters not domesticated have acclimated to the city landscape creating interesting lairs

I know that this may not be what you are asking for in this thread but i just wanted to share.