Adventures (probably) don't exist in a void. They happen in a world, and that world should be logically consistent and directly affect the adventures that play out in it. On that note, I'm hoping to start writing posts about large-scale world building, starting at one of the "smallest" large-scale units: settlements.
These are ten different types of cities, each with different architectural layouts, personalities, and potential quest hooks. These ideas can help guide your city creation, hopefully inspiring you to implement some of these cities into your own world. I've included an example of each type of city from fiction, just to make sure the idea is clearly presented. (While most of these examples are pretty clearly Western fantasy influences, these city archetypes can work just as well for any campaign style I can imagine).
Before starting, it's important to note that these cities can be created as cross sections– a Seatown might have both a thriving economy and a shady part of town, or a Holytown might also be a nation's capital. One thing to always keep in mind, however, is that these cities do not generally stand alone: they are part of a larger, collective nation, and should reflect the beliefs and ideas you want to stress in that part of the world, be it racial, religious, or class conflict. And, of course, these are all just suggestions.
Without further ado, the archetypes:
The Town
King's Landing
This town has all the rooms where it happens: the capital, the shining jewel of the Commonwealth, the home of the head– or heads– of government. The entire nation is ruled from this city, and it can stand as a paragon to the themes you want to express in that nation. Those themes could be, to name a few, security, corruption, or democracy, but more on that in another post.
The Town is basically built around the central government building– either a domed, marble fortress, or a high wizard's tower that stands menacingly above the populace. When creating the layout of this settlement, it's important to keep in mind who is in charge, and how they would want their capital city to look and feel. Aristocratic nobles may have physically elevated homes, above the peasants who live in fear of flood and foreign invaders. Or perhaps the bureaucratic government has a strict and ordered layout, predetermined and incredibly organized. No matter what, the city's map should be emblematic of the structure of government, and demonstrate how and whether the government works.
The populace of this town are likely divided into the rulers and the ruled, and these two groups can have a mixed bag of attitudes towards one another. Maybe the democratically-elected government is hated by people who don't believe in the legitimacy of the process, or maybe the people see the dictator as a necessary evil to protect against invading foreign armies, while he sees them as a means to a greater end. One thing is probable: the common folk, who live so close to the political center of the nation, are going to feel its influence every day. This can be expressed with newspapers, town criers, and the presence of royal guards, which can all show that this city is one belonging to the powerful. And they exist on the flip side of the coin: the powerful, with a variety of differing opinions among them. Some seek to protect the people and uphold justice, while some are willing to do anything just for an extra taste of the good life.
These two groups can offer very different types of quest. Oftentimes, the peasantry offer any typical quest one would expect from any other town, though there may be some merchants and lobbyists trying to sell their wares to the nation with a government contract. The real quests come from higher up– there is opportunity for court drama, assassination attempts, policy changes affected by the PCs. This is also a great place to lay out and describe the geopolitics of the world, and to stress the ambitions of the most powerful people in the nation. Maybe the PCs need to prepare for war, or resolve a dispute between the City Patrol and the Royal Guard. No matter what, the politics are sure to come out in full force in The Town– and politics is a great source for both conflict and character development.
Schooltown
Arkham, Massachusetts
Built around a Bard's College, a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or another form of university, Schooltown is filled to the brim with students, alumni, and faculty from across the world. It may be a goal or destination to some, representing opportunity and success– to others, it may be a symbol of elitism and pseudo-intellectualism.
The university itself likely predates the rest of the town, which has been constructed as a result of the school. Because of this, it may even have a completely different architectural style, with gargoyles and stone towers juxtaposing the log cabins and dirt roads of the rest of the town. Perhaps a generous but suspicious donor has recently offered to renovate a wing of the school, so long as it's eventually named after them. The shops in this town will have merchants selling textbooks, spellbooks, components, and papyrus. In fact, many of the buildings in this town service the university, either directly or indirectly. One great example of this is the taverns, where various students may gather to get away from the hard work they've been doing.
The patrons of these taverns are often young students looking to shirk responsibility. They may be fascinated by a githzerai from the Outer Planes, or interested in an arm wrestling contest to prove their worth. Schooltown is also full of intelligent, occasionally eccentric professors. Some of them may actually perform secret, nefarious experiments, while others may simply shuffle from class to class, teaching and eating and sleeping. Still other members of the town may be alumni who chose to stick around (for whatever reason), and regular townsfolk who could be resentful about the university's unwanted effects on their lives, possibly including dropouts who have sought to go their own way, academically.
While students may turn to adventures for menial tasks (like finding a very rare, particular flower for a class crush), it's the professors that have the really high level quests. Who knows what such intelligent people would need from a group of bold adventurers? Professor Jean Swan may be suspicious of the research of his colleague, Aergol the Alchemist, who claims Swan is just trying to slander him. A team of archaeologists might seek protection as they excavate the Narwhal Catacombs, a week out from town, offering uncovered treasure to any adventurers that accompany them. And if your players are looking to gain more knowledge about the world at large, they can't complain when that knowledge is almost at their fingertips in the university's libraries.
Holytown
Val Royeaux
Remember the monks from Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Chanting runs through the streets as a wisp, reaching the ears of most of the citizens of Holytown. This city may house a large cathedral, or religion may play a central role in its functioning. My personal favorite conception of Holy Town is as a pilgrimage site– a place where one must travel to become a true believer in the faith.
The level of holiness here is really up to the discretion of the DM, and will affect the way the city is meant to be built. An all out holy city may be entirely constructed around the faith– every brick laid with care by devout priests, and the seat of the cardinal high above the rest, with many roads leading into the church. Maybe the city itself is the world's largest temple, a shining beacon dedicated to the Celestial Pantheon. Or maybe the city is just built around a cathedral, and the pastor has a lot of power in the town's local politics, with higher ambitions. The specific religion is important, but building religions is, again, an idea for another day. As usual, the effects of religion should be felt throughout the town.
Priests and nuns are common here, often interacting with the townsfolk. In turn, these townsfolk are often supportive of the clergy, either with offerings or simple conversation. Most citizens in town are members of the religion, and it's impossible to not be aware of it. Holy days are celebrations thrown almost weekly, and the town falls silent when it's time for mass, save the few foreigners and atheists who grumble about the iron grip of the religion over their town. These people provide the greatest source of conflict, though they may come off as a little bitter because of the place they've had to live in.
There are a few things members of the clergy particularly love asking adventurers to do. There's the purging of unholy creatures from nearby areas. The reclamation of holy artifacts from museums in foreign nations. Improving attendance of church, or converting those who still aren't convinced. This is a great time to work on the character's relationships with the gods, assuming they exist in some form in your world. Everyone is a politician, even Garl Glittergold, god of the gnomes, and Holytown is a great place to learn more about the gods, their relationships with one another, and your characters' relationships with them. Maybe the town is ruled by a manifestation of an evil god, who threatens dissidents with violence. Maybe the gods do not make their presence known to mortals, and the citizens of Holytown latch onto anything that they see as a sign of a deity's existence, leading to different factions and sects– think Life of Brian's shoe vs. gourd schism.
Funtown
Canto Bight
A site of vacation for the rich or gambling for the reckless, Funtown is a place for games and relaxation. It might be a traveling carnival village, with a variety of ~wacky~ characters. It might be famous for its casinos, which are well-known to be run by the halfling mafia. This is a place where adventurers can have a good time– though everything may not always be as it seems.
This is the layout I'm least certain about, honestly, mostly because of how varied Funtowns can be. There could be a large pavillion, surrounded on all sides by various music halls. The town may feel like a maze, almost impossible to escape– wanna try your luck at gambling for a map? Think about how people make money in this town– hopefully that informs further development. Merchants have jacked up prices, taking advantage of tourists, and the wares of some of the seedier shops may include loaded dice and stacked decks. You have to be careful with these kinds of goods, though– you don't want Four-Ear Fzordrin to hear you've been causing problems in his establishment. He's got four ears, you know. Allegedly.
Townsfolk here are generally just trying to live their lives, surrounded by annoying tourists who think that everybody speaks Common. Their attitude is one that likely ranges from ambivalence to hostility towards these out-of-towners. The tourists will also play an interesting role in Funtown, adding to the liveliness- or drunkenness– of the town. Additionally, the people in charge of the games are some of the town's more important members– whether they are simply trying to make some cash, or whether they have malicious intent behind their games, is up to you.
While this is a good place for adventurers to unwind and have a session of goofing around, Funtown should still feel like a real place that offers conflict to the PCs who come across it. There may be a competitive, covert operations, high-stakes poker tournament that can lead to more information on the mind flayer the sorcerer has been pursuing. One of the PCs may find themselves battling to the death in the town's gladiatorial arena. Maybe a tavern owner offers gold rewards to anyone who can work their way through his elaborate, trap-filled obstacle course. This should be a time for players to show off what their characters do when they finally get a change to have fun. What does a paladin even do with her break? And how wild can a dwarf really get?
Fort Town
Sparta
Every town needs some sort of police force, and every nation needs some sort of standing army. Sometimes, these two coincide in Fort Town. Originally built as a military base, the fort's favorable location has encouraged some local farmers to move closer and try their hand at smithing, selling weapons and tools to the soldiers for a small markup. Fort Town is a center of operations, a border patrol station, or a site for the construction of weapons of war, or any other function a fort may serve.
Ballistas line the thick stone walls of this hexagonal city, with hot oil prepped not too far away. Security is of the utmost importance, and this is reflected in the city's design. Roads are built for efficiency, as the army could be called upon to fight at any conceivable moment. There aren't many houses, as soldiers generally live together in the barracks, and the houses that do exist either belong to generals, veterans, or citizens who live outside Fort Town's carefully protected walls. All the standard military trappings are part of Fort Town's environment– stables, training grounds, and the constant sound of a drill sergeant barking commands at her bowman squad.
Military fervor varies at every level of command. Citizens are likely not too involved in the goings-on of Fort Town, except perhaps supplying the soldiers with moonshine, company, or games. The soldiers, accordingly, are really just pawns in a greater game. They're constantly aware of a looming threat of death, even if their nation has the strongest army in the Eastern Kingdoms. Despite that, however, these soldiers are very real people, with a range of ambitions, opinions, and mentalities. Higher up, however, and one realizes that there is a purpose to all this– generals know that they affect the politics of the entire world, and their operations must be kept closely under lock and key. Though, surely, someone would pay a pretty penny for those battle plans…
Adventurers don't just "end up" in Fort Town. Whether they've been conscripted or are following a lead, they will be looked at with a seemingly excessive amount of scrutiny by military commanders. The best way to gain their trust may be through helping carry out a small scouting mission to the north, or discovering whether or not the Rasskin Elves are planning an offensive in two weeks. Maybe the military is a closed group with very specific barriers for entry, such as winning a barefisted fight or being able to win a drinking contest with one of the more alcohol-driven members of the infantry. Some officers might be above paying mercenaries to do their dirty work, while others seek victory by any means necessary. Fort Town can emphasize and flesh out a character's relationship with authority, really pushing the idea of what words like "lawful" and "chaotic" mean.
Seatown
Port Sarim
Shanties strike up, oak planks creak, and seagulls and seals compete to be the loudest creatures for miles. Seatown is built right on the ocean, a port and point of access into the nation. It's home for pirate ships and sailor's guilds alike, a bustling hub where you might not even get the time of day from the often rude travelers you may encounter there.
Seatown, despite the name, does not inherently have to be on the water. Really, it should serve as a commuting hub, such as a roadhouse or airship port. It's not a final destination for most people, but a place to stop along the way. Seatown has plenty of taverns, some often filled with brawls, and may even have some seafood restaurants to attract the "just visiting" crowd. The docks themselves are key, and players should have an idea of what they're in for as soon as they step off their ships. Pirates curse and throw fish at each other, and merchants order the careful movement of crates onto their ships– "except that one. My people will take care of that one." The atmosphere of the docks should represent the atmosphere of the town, and here, everything is built around travel and the voyage.
Seatown attracts a huge variety of people, from pirates to merchants to sailors, and these groups don't always get along. Citizens of Seatown tend to recognize frequent visitors, and may be excited or wary when they see the adventurers' fresh new faces. They are certainly a motley crew– the dragonborn barkeep with a peg leg, the blind rope merchant, the half-elf twins who claim they can make sea water drinkable– "really, here, just try it!" The people of Seatown have seen their fair share of outsiders, and very little can really surprise them any more.
Since Seatown is only a stop along the way, adventurers are unlikely to spend a lot of time there. However, there are always ship captains looking for odd jobs, or pirates who are trying to get into trouble, fighting the first formidable foes they see. These may even get out of hand, and the high seas may become a much more dangerous place for the adventurers after they anger the Princess of Pirates. Merchants may seek help in locating stolen goods or protecting their wares as they continue their journey. Seatown should serve as an entertaining stop along the road for the adventuring party, but, as with Funtown, should still function as a living, breathing environment completely outside of the adventurers.
Tradetown
Ankh-Morpork
Tradetown is a center of trade for individual merchants and guilds alike. Some very expensive things can be found here, and money is the dominating factor that drives the function of the town. In terms of your entire nation, it's important to understand why Tradetown is where it is– it should exist at a nexus of roads, with trade easily facilitated between neighboring cities. Tradetown is as rich as it is, at least in part, because of its accessibility.
A financial capital is a center for business, and that means plenty of stores and merchants selling wares. There might be stalls and markets all over the place, or a large trading building where stockbrokers exchange price points for eyes of newt and battleaxes. This is where the economy starts and ends, and that should be very apparent. Gold exchanges hands with frequent, well-heard clinks, and the hustle and bustle of the city is a result of the huge amounts of people that have moved there in search of wealth and power. Tradetowns are among the biggest cities in an empire– possibly even larger than The Town, mostly because more people are motivated by greed than a lust for power.
Guild bosses and small time merchants are both in pursuit of the same thing: wealth beyond their wildest imaginations. Some are certainly more lucky than others, and the apparent wealth disparities are felt in the conversations PCs have with citizens. There may even be different accents for different social classes, like in London or the dragonborn Finankal district. However, the people of Tradetown might not all be trying to turn silver into gold. Some of them are honest workers who, like in every other town, are just trying to live, oftentimes brought here by their parents seeking the Tradetown Dream, an idea which some of the citizens may view as fallacious.
Merchant's guilds are always competing with one another, and this can sometimes get brutal, with adventurers needed to step in to either mediate or pick a side. The government might be more prone to corruption here, and the adventurers might want to do something about it. Guild bosses might need goods delivered safely, or new markets investigated. And, of course, in a city filled with the richest of the rich, a heist isn't out of the question! Let your players know about the role money plays in your nation– maybe in some countries, it doesn't matter as much. But to other, greedier nations, money changes everything.
Worktown
The Valley of the Wind
Something has to make the world go 'round. Whether Worktown is an agricultural hamlet or a massive, steam driven city, it is a key cog in the machine of the nation, providing raw materials for the rest of the country's people. It is often more out of the way, not in a central location, and a nation should consist of a lot of Worktowns if it is to function properly. As such, these towns are often among the smallest in an empire, though they still have their fair share of interesting characters and neighborhoods.
In an industrial Worktown, towers of smoke from coal plants billow high into the sky. There are mineshaft openings every fifty feet. Escaped livestock runs through the streets. Worktown is not a clean town, nor is it an organized one. It's a very spread out region, without any real cohesion to it, unless it's an incredibly efficient smithing factory. Clangs of metal and brays of goats are often heard all around this town, creating a blue collar symphony. It's crucial to know the function of the Worktown– a town based around mining for copper is very different than one that grows carrots. These ideas can shake up the way residents act and the type of town a Worktown comes across as.
The people of Worktown are, more often than not, simple and humble. They have large families, and may be resentful of people from Schooltowns, Tradetowns, or The Town. They're the "don't take too kindly to strangers" types, mostly because strangers don't typically come to town without some ulterior motive. Some are incredibly friendly, of course, like Gran and Yollsworth Twindly, but these talkative types are probably few and far between. The person in charge of the town is likely a lord or noble whose family got the short end of the stick generations ago– she may try and spin her position to increase her power in the region.
This is a great place for low-level adventurers who need a townsperson to tell them to go clear the goblins out of the mines or find their lost cattle. Again, the type of Worktown is incredibly important– a lumbering operation may require the disbanding of a pack of wolves, while a mining operation may be crippled by the recent appearance of rust monsters in the mines. These quests can also serve to show adventurers what kind of people the common folk are– so often, high level adventurers find themselves so utterly separate from the average Joe, it's important to remind them that these people exist, are normal, and can be good, kind people. People worth protecting. What's the point in saving the world if you don't even care about the world being saved?
Crimetown
Gotham
Not a great place to be. The Thieve's Guild might rule this town, the police force might be corrupt, law and order might be a thing of the past. Oftentimes, Crimetowns are what happens when Worktowns take a turn for the worse. Whatever the situation, Crimetown is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, an oftentimes frightening and dangerous place to live.
The buildings of Crimetown are likely left in disrepair, with broken windows and derelict wood structures. The only people who have anything are the people with the best security or the people in charge of the criminal organizations– often one and the same. Not everything has to be all doom and gloom, of course– there may still be friendly faces to be found, and buildings don't have to all look like ancient ruins to create the desired aesthetic.
Anyone will tell you that the people of Crimetown are not to be trusted: everyone has their own motives and interests in mind, and you can get stabbed in the stomach over a few gold pieces. For the most part, they're right. Again, that's not to say everyone is chaotic evil here– the town still has to function in the overall society. People might not be overtly murdering each other on every street corner, but there are still plenty of shady drug dealers and scummy con men that can fill the role of a murderhobo NPC. Some citizens of Crimetown will complain about members of Tradetowns who came in, sucked up all the natural resources, and left Crimetown to rot. Others might call this a mindless conspiracy– it's really up to you, the DM, to decide how much of it is true.
Cleaning up the town is a noble goal, but a difficult one. Crimetown has been like this for a long time, and it's kind of foolish to pretend one adventuring party that came out of nowhere can fix everything. Still, maybe with the right allies, anything is possible. Alternatively, players might actually find themselves giving into temptation and joining in on the available selection of crimes, carrying out heists and assassinations at the behest of Bozzok, the half-orc leader of the Thieve's Guild . Maybe they skirt a line in between, looking to reform the guild from within– but how well can that work? Players can explore the darker side of their characters in Crimetown, and see what happens when they are thrust into a dangerous urban setting– one that still has good people in it, though they may be doing the wrong things.
Hometown
The Shire
A place worth fighting for. My inclusion of Hometown may feel like a cheat, but I'd say it's anything but. It's one of the most important towns in the world– at least for the characters in the story.
A character knows the layout of the town. Where he played as a kid, the Temple of Pelor Ma used to force him to go to. He recognizes Livry Ward, the neighborhood where his childhood friend, Salaa, lived with her warlock father. Characters were shaped by this town, and it might be wise to actually let them have a hand in making it. If you plan on taking characters to Hometown, ask them if there are any places they remember from childhood.
Additionally, ask about people they remember. How will the townsfolk react to hearing the deeds of one of their own? Will they be impressed by the blue dragon she slayed in the Leaf Mountains? Or will they be concerned about the tabaxi that always hangs around with her? These people shaped the character in question, and so their attitudes and beliefs should, at least vaguely, be similar to hers.
Hometown is a perfect place to dig into a character's backstory. It might represent everything they hold dear– or everything they're still bitter about. Either way, putting it in danger should evoke a strong reaction– maybe it turns out that a group of paladins have began enforcing martial law in town, and the townsfolk are scared of stepping even slightly out of line. The people here are important, even if they've never been seen before. Don't let just one character have the spotlight, though– this is a great place for dynamic interactions across the table. For example, a fling for one of the characters may be a longtime rival for another, or something may be discovered about one of the characters that had been kept secret for a long time…
TL;DR: Cities are very important please consider these archetypes next time you're having trouble making one
