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[Shoruke]

(( Previously known as Create the City of Adventure, but renamed and reworded so that stuff that isn't inside a city is included. No sense limiting ourselves  ))

The game is pretty simple: Come up with ideas for adventures, or cities or places for them to take place in. The good stuff gets used by someone else, perhaps even myself!

Invent places: gimmicky shops, the world's awesomest tavern, the noble's house that would put every combined thing that MTV has ever shown to shame.

Come up with interesting people who live in the city: bard's who've been on adventures and have lots of stories to tell, a commander in the military with a long story behind his scar, a hot girl who propositions people for sex and donates the money to charity in the vain hope that the world is made a better place for her efforts, the thief who doesn't dare leave the thieves' guild for fear of his life...

Think up festivals and events that happen in the city: fairs, holidays, religious ceremonies, coming-of-age rites, local customs...

Come up with adventures for our heroes to go on! A little girl's precious heirloom is dropped into the Batman-infested sewers, one of the nobles wants one of the other nobles to die "by accident", etc.

Think up the basis for a whole city! ...I can't think up any cool cities of my own for this example, so just imagine the interesting cities you've visited in video games if you need inspriation 

And, of course, dungeons. Nobody would go on adventurers if there weren't cool places to go adventuring to!

And don't be afraid to build off of someone else's previously-posted ideas, or discuss or critique or improve them!

The point of this thread is to come up with lots of ideas for the various games running on the forums, or even elsewhere. For instance, there are at least four D&D games running, right? Not to mention roll-to-dodge games, the Incomprehensible Game You've Never Played And Don't Care About, freeform RPGs... basically there are a lot of games that need ideas. Plus, everyone just wants to exercise their creativity muscles sometimes.

Also, for the GMs who want to use the ideas found here: remember that ideas can be adapted to suit your needs. Names can be changed, specifics can be fudged while retaining functionality (what's the difference between a crossbow and an assault rifle? The setting), descriptions can be made more or less flowery, and intellectual property rights are utterly forfeit here. And remember to thank people when you make use of their ideas!

[Araph]

Are we coming up with a single cohesive city? Or ideas for different cities, and locations that could be adapted to any city somebody is using in their campaign? I assume it's the latter.

Spoiler: Criminal Hideout Tavern w/ plot hooks (click to show/hide)

...the world's awesomest tavern...

The Mended Drum. The <adjective> <noun>, in the seediest district in all of <city>! Frequented by many unsavory characters, but a hotspot for adventurers of many (criminal, at least) stripes.

On the outside, it appears to be yet another nondescript establishment, but through the worn oaken doors lie a haven of crime and skullduggery, the covert base of the <unpleasant profession> guild.  Brutish <brutish creatures> gamble and fight with filthy <filthy creatures> within the smoke-stained walls in the dim light of lamps and candles. An obvious den of crime, the people 'in the know' are aware that the greasy-haired man in the brown cloak sitting at the bar can get you anything you need... for the right price, of course. They know that the bartender with the scarred hands can find out any piece of information you could possibly need. They know that a simple door in the backroom leads to the <euphemistic name>, the secluded hideout of the <aforementioned unpleasant profession>s.

Regular visitors know how the <opposing group of unpleasant professionals> tried to <raid/burn down/TP> the <adjective> <noun> two years ago, kicking off the underground war between <Don/Gentleman/other crime-lord title> <name> and <adjective> <noun>. Each vied for power and influence in the city, buying out officials and threatening those they couldn't pay off with blackmail, threats towards family, and unpleasant visits from <guild or whatever> bruisers.

What only those in <aforementioned crime-lord title> <aforementioned name>'s inner circle know is the cause behind the war...

(Choose your own adventure time!)

A) The city is positioned over...
A.1) the ruins of a long-gone civilization of unsurpassed <magical/technological> prowess, and each crime lord seeks to benefit from their untapped wealth of knowledge and secrets.
A.2) an ancient temple to long-forgotten <deities/fiends/supernatural entities>, possibly containing the secret to untold power. (Potentially fitting into some ancient prophecy or something.)
A.3) the fires of hell, and each crime lord fears that the others may unlock the gates enclosing the demonic realm; in their fight to gain control of (and subsequently protect) the <portals/gates/entry-based noun>, each reinforces the belief in the others minds that <he/she> is a threat to the world.

B) (I would put more stuff here, but I've run out of steam temporarily.)

Yep, I think I got a good chunk of the criminal establishment cliches in there! I also took the liberty of having Mad-Libs style fill-in-the-blank spots for names and such.

[Shoruke]

We don't need to build a consistent city, we just need a bunch of ideas that can be put into one at will.

You could also suggest an entire city itself...

Spoiler: The Raven's Dive (click to show/hide)

This bar is infamous; everyone in town knows about it, and the civilized people avoid it like the plague. It's not far from the Assassin's guild entrance, and as such it's perpetually populated with unsavory types who would slit their mama's throat for a nickel. On top of that, it's next to a warehouse that's known to be full of adventurous rats, and the bartender can be "persuaded" to "accidentally" slip some "rat poison" into someone's drink if you don't like them. Or if they look at you funny. Or if you are the kind of person who just likes watching people writhe on the ground, dying.

On the other hand, it's the best place in the world to hire someone to do some wet work, or lose the local law enforcement agents, who don't dare step inside.

[Hubris Incalculable]

Spoiler: The Wires (click to show/hide)

What started as a bit of childish fun has evolved into a highly complex messenger system: clay pots strung tightly between buildings, crisscrossing back and forth across alleys and streets, which are spoken into. The messages are usually brief and to the point, and then they tell the listener on the other side where they want it to go, and they send it down the chain. it is for this reason that the messages rarely divulge any personal information: they are all completely public. But don't try to send the messages at night, 'cause no-one sane or safe will be there to take it...

[Draxis]

Spoiler: The Engineers (click to show/hide)

A mysterious organization of unknown origins and size, the Engineers work from their network of passages running under and through the city, keeping the
 <Select all that apply: Buildings, sewers, aqueducts, Wires, engines, power systems, roads, defenses, forges, mysterious constructs, ancient artifacts, other>
functioning.  They have links to the <mysterious organization of magic/science/money/other influence>, and this and their extreme, sometimes violent refusal
to part with their secrets, have  lead to many theories about them and their sinister motives.  Those (relatively) knowledgeable about them, though, have been unable
to find any such thing; it is believed that the city, or something in it is seen as a religious icon to them, that it is their duty to maintain for an unknown purpose.

[Shoruke]

From my Western Marches campaign.

Spoiler: The Caves under Eriden (click to show/hide)

Beneath the city is a large cave system. The entrance is perpetually under official guard; anyone can go underground to get water, but everyone who does is under the eye of the city guard.

A short ways into the tunnel system is a large, circular room, well-lit, with nice tiled floors. There are four wells around the room, to retrieve water from the underground lake. The water is always pure... which strikes scholars as odd, considering how many kinds of frogs, fish, and other creatures are known to dwell in the lake.

You can continue on into the cave system from here... but most people don't. The guards are under strict orders not to follow shouting or screams, and for good reason: the giant, poisonous, man-eating spiders are not the scariest thing in these caves.

[Skyrunner]

Neat. PTW

[Justiceface]

Mmmm, some very nice ideas in here.  I'm posting to watch for now, but perhaps when my brain is not paralysed by the digestion of tasty pasta I shall contribute.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Neat. PTW

+1

[Shoruke]

Spoiler: The Ziplines (click to show/hide)

The city is large and sprawling, and there are few ways to get around quickly. Well, that *used* to be the case...
Some genius recently came up with an idea, to attach really long wires between some of the city's tall buildings, so that people can take four flights of stairs upwards to get where they're going, rather than walk for four or five miles. There is a fee to use the system, of course, but it's quite cheap, and some people opt to buy a badge that allows you to use the ziplines for a week. The wires themselves do not get worn down much through use, and the system is used frequently enough that even a small payment from each customer brings in a lot of revenue. Naturally, the city guard jumped on this idea as soon as it came up, since it has so many applications for thieves and robbers to make their getaways, so some of the profit goes towards paying the zipline guards' paychecks.

The system is still reasonably new, so some people don't trust the harnesses yet, and others are just scared of heights.

Rumour has it that someone has come up with a mechanism that, when fired from the top of one of the zipline towers, can create a new temporary line to the top of almost any building within a certain range, allowing for versatile travel options. The engineer who designed the system has publicly discounted this as an impossibility...

Spoiler: The Breezehome Tavern, the very most culturally open pub ever (click to show/hide)

(this place works best in a fantasy setting where "monstrous" kinds of people are commonplace, like elves and mermaids etc.)
In a nigh-omniracial city, some of the more obscure species of traveller have trouble fitting in, or finding someone of their own kind to socialize with. The Breezehome Tavern is the kind of place that tries to cater to absolutely everyone with the dexterity to handle a coin and the ability to ask for a drink.

The front doors are twenty feet high, but there are door handles at almost every height upon them, and they are very light and well-balanced; a creature of almost any size can open these doors. The doors are beautifully carved, but they are not varnished (the elves consider it disrespectful to the tree to varnish the wood), so they are replaced every year or so.

The main part of the Tavern is a large room, with tables for parties of anywhere between 2 and 80 people. There are waitresses of nearly every land-race; humans work together with Elves to serve the patrons' needs. There's a staircase near the entrance, which leads downstairs, for guests that want a different atmosphere; there is a small, complicated-looking but actually simple cave system for people who like the dark or raw earth. One room has a foot of (constantly purified) water on the ground, for semiaquatic creatures. There are areas that are kept extra warm or cool. There is an entire floor in the basement that is completely submerged; drinks are served in specially-made waterskins.
((if your setting allows it, some way of temporary polymorphism may be available as a service, for people who just want the novel experience of going to an underwater bar))

There are, of course, also areas aboveground; private rooms for general use, balconies with a view of the city, balconies with a view of the forest, balconies with a view of the main floor (for people who like to pretend they're lording it over everyone else)... there are even tables and access to the roof, which has a glass dome over it (to prevent nonintelligent birds from making a mess). The dome itself has hatches that can be opened and closed from inside by the staff. A flight-capable patron can request entrance by flying circles around the dome.

There's also a wilderness-y area in the back, with trained bunnies and even a few deer, who are trained to leave if someone makes a shooing motion, but will come towards you and let you pet them if you offer vegetables towards them.

Due to the sheer number of patrons and the 24-hour open door policy, the Breezehome Tavern offers very few rooms for people who want a room to sleep in. It's always loud almost everywhere in the building, and there's hardly any space left for beds anyway!

[adwarf]

Completely different, and entire city itself, but I've had theses ideas for a while now, so here they are.

Spoiler: Sylaris (click to show/hide)

Sylaris is a unique city that flies, its entirety is made up of houses, platforms, markets, mansions, forts, and more bolted, and wired together as its carried by the numerous balloons, engines, and magic that keep it afloat. Even being in the sky Sylaris has entire sections of its city devoted to farmland, forests, and lakes, there is even a lone mountain long since up-rooted from its home and set to fly the skies with the city. Because of this Sylaris rarely ever docks except to trade for anything their city may be lacking.

It flies through the sky laden with wonders, and horrors all its own, yet the people there live a mostly peaceful life except for the various raids by the 'Feather Flyers' Orc tribe that has plagued them for years with their warriors laden on giant eagles, and other flying beasts of burden each more fowl then the last.

Spoiler: Feather Flyers Tribe (click to show/hide)

The Feather Flyers are a large band of orcs who have managed to tame just as many flying beasts, and the wander the world following after the Flying Wonder, Sylaris. They rarely gather in numbers except to lay siege to Sylaris, the prefer to stay in their groups on the various makeshift flying barges they had made over the years after gaining the knowledge from so many raids on Sylaris. Despite what most think the Feather Flyers are actually a far more advanced tribe then their bestial neighbors, and they even trade and have diplomatic dealings with some of the less-reputable areas of numerous nations.

Spoiler: The Four Bulwarks (click to show/hide)

The Four Bulwarks are flying fortresses bristling with cannons, and manned by hundreds of skilled troops that stand ready to repel the Feather Flyers Tribe. These fortresses are kept afloat by powerful magic crystals housed deep within their shells, and if they are ever destroyed the forts will fall from the sky cursed never to reach the skies again. These crystals were made long-long ago by some of the greatest elven mages ever to walk the worlds, but now their names are forgotten and all that remains of their legacy is dust, and The Four Bulwarks.

[RedWarrior0]

I shall post here when my creative juices become less viscous.

[kingfisher1112]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Combat Engineers
These guys are the pinnacle of military service. Armed with crossbows, these guys go around destroying enemy fortifications.
They also have a brigadier hiding dark secrets.......

[LibidoMax]

The Embassy

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

High walls surround the foreigners compound. Its residents are mysterious beings, almost never seen by the general populace. The few times they are seen publicly they are robed in layers of leather and armor, wearing gas masks of steel. Groups of citizens, all chained and with sackcloth over there heads, are lead in through the gate on an unpredictable basis. There fate is unknown, but many say that they are taken away on the foreigners great black airships to whatever place they call home. The few times when the people have risen against the strangers, it ended with bodies piled in front of the gate. They carry rifles of incredible power, weapons that spread streams of fire, and canisters of a poisonous short lived gas. The central government seems to turn a blind eye to these public massacres, as if they are afraid to anger these powerful strangers...