City Wishlist

[baelang]

EDIT:  for the purposes of this post, i am not referring to \"Rangers\" as in the guild name but \"Rangers\" as in the common Fantasy RPG Class/Job/Type of player.

OK, i\'ll take a stab at this.  I read the whole thread thinking about a forest outpost for the rangers, and it wasn\'t mentioned until the last few posts.  however, since their posts were thin, i will elaborate.

Possible names:  Sylvania, Sierra Station,  Lake Alta,  Walker\'s Roost, O\'Rourke\'s Camp, or Fort Courage.  (ok, those last two are a \"nod\" to F-troop.)

for the purposes of this post, i will referr to the city as \"Sierra Station\" and the genereal forest that it is in as \"Sylvania\".  the names can be changed later of course.

Landscape
\"Sierra Station\" Is located in a stragegic mountian pass, on the shores of a small, but deep lake.  the lake is in a glacial basin, and is kept full and clear by mountian runoff.  the water is icy cold year round.

(a similar place on earth is Lake Tahoe)

This area of the mountians contains a large forrested wilderness, comprised mostly of tall evergreens, and shorter hardwoods with the fir trees more along the line of the mountians (say southwest to northeast) and the forest thinnig out and becoming more hardwood and a drier, warmer climate as you travel away from the mountians toward the foothils in the southeast.  in the southeast, about a days walk from Sierra Station, the foothills support nut orchards and vinyards before giving way to more grassy fields of wheat and barley.

The forest itself supports a wide variaty of woodland creatures and plant life,.  the lake has few native species, but stocks have been recently introduced by Nolthrir travelers and tradesfolk.

Architecture
The buildings are almost excluseavely single-family log cabins or larger log \"lodges\"  there are also many large canvas tents and other temperary buildings (many of these are used year-round).  in good weather the rangers, trappers, prospectors, etc. all seem to dissapear into the woods, but when it gets cold and wet the tavern becomes full.

here and there you will see some signs of the culture of the owner of the house.  for example, a log house built in the odd style of the owner\'s hometown, or a stone building built by a dwarf.

The oldest buildings are in a kind of a compound, surrounded by a wooden picket (aka stockade) with a gate and  watch towers in the corners.  there is one large central well in the courtyard and a few smaller wells near the larger group homes (lodges)  The compount or \"old station\" is well built and quite defensable.  there is a constable\'s office with a holding cell that serves most of the administrative functions, a post office, and a one-room schoolhouse.

Outside of the picket, there is a large boathouse on the lake, several small docks, and a small boatwright/fishing shop.  

population
The outpost was founded by primarily Ylian and some Dermorian rangers.  Becouse of this, just about everyone was welcome to stay as they passed though the main part of town.  (the Ranger\'s Guild is \"out there\" somewhere and few non-rangers venture out to the glade.)

Like any outland waypoint and trading post, people of all races pass through
on a regular basis and some stay around for reasons of their own, be they profit, pleasure, or starting over, or whatever.  The rangers don\'t put up with any overt bigotry so anyone that can\'t get along, gets lost.

History
Sierra Station is a relatively new settlement, established origionally by guides and rangers as a camp along the road as a good place to wait out bad weather in the pass.  Eventually, rangers built a more permanent station here because it is out of the way but yet offered abundant natural resources and good lines of communication and trade.

Economy
Under the protection of the rangers,  traders began a brisk business supplying adventurers and travelers and a traders rondevouz or bazaar became a tradition, first twice a year, then once at the 4 major holidays, and  soon it was every 6 weeks.  Rare and exotic goods can always be found here, although the price is a premium and there isn\'t a huge inventory.

Of course the expected trappers, leatherworks, Animal trainers,  etc. have cabins here, and there are also facillities for armor and weapon repair.  one of the best weaponsmiths in world retired to a cabin on the far side of the lake and he can usually be persuaded to make a custom piece.  however, no where in the world are better bows made, due to the variaty of materials avaliable and many of the best bowyers and fletchers that are teaching over at the ranger\'s guild.

The surrounding mountians are rich in rare, but hard to extract ores.  prospectors often come to the station to trade their ores for supplies.  rumors persist that an ancient, secret, dwarven mine somewhere in the area, but no one has seen it.  (at least no one has seen it and lived to tell the tale)

up in the mountians about a days hike from the Station is a hot-springs/bath-house/health-club/house-of-ill-repute run by the Diaboli.  They seem to be doing quite well up there, despite a massive mutual-ownership (stock) fraud scandle a few years back.

links :
here are a couple of pictures of Lake Tahoe:

http://tahoe.usgs.gov/

[Syzerian]

Name: Malgorac

Level: 3

Race: Xacha and Dermorian

Landscape: In the center of a great forest and the trees have been cut away a few metres away from the town

Architecture: Everything in the town is made of stone from the nearby mines. You would never find a sharp edge on any of the buildings. most houses are towers where all the cooking and cleaning is done on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor

Features: The forests provide a great source of hunting for the Dermorians and provide the main source of income of selling furs and meat and bones of common animals. the nearbyy mines provide a secondary source of income although it would be crazy to enter the mines without a good Xachan warlock at your side

Shops: Smith, Clother, Chapel (doubles as magic shop)

a favourite town for mercenaries, hunters and traders trying to get rich with trias, if they can make it through the forest to get there (muahahahaha:evil: )

[Kraxton]

I\'ve got a concept for a city inhabited by a race of evil stonebreakers, called Skull\'s Deep. The city is inside and beneath a mountain of granite, which the stonebreakers carved into a massive, partially-buried statue of a humanoid skull.

Skull\'s Deep stands in the middle of a vast, barren desert, and its inhabitants survive on water from subterranean lakes and streams. A network of tunnels spokes outward from the subterranean portion of the city, leading to remote exits which the evil stonebreakers (commonly referred to as \"Devil Dwarves\" ) use to launch surprise raids on villages and cities up to two hundred miles away.

[Lucek The Great]

City name: Lost City of the Eldars

Population: Mainly consists of Critters and ghosts if there are any for the matter. There is of course a Xacha Blacksmith who is cursed to live there for all time.

Services: Blacksmith. Inn (Run by the Xacha Blacksmith) Library that documents the events leading up to and the aftermath of the cities demise.

level: The City Recides within the clouds, a giant floating island chain (whatever level hat may be)

History: Many Ages ago, A large City Which name has been forgotten in time recided upon the surface of this world. The City was a proserious one at that, a melting pot of races and critters, living in harmony with each other. That all ended  when a young and reckless Blacksmith was working on a new  material in which can move earth when lit on fire, of course he knew nothing of the danger he had just created until one day when testing his new material, he incinerated the city and all the surounding area for hundreds of miles nearly killing the blacksmith himself. When he came to he found himself in a world in a state of ruin and decay, but before he could end his own life in despair a cloaked figure in black sepped fourth from an outcrop of rock and stunned the poor fellow in his tracks, the figure spoke quickly but in a low growl \"Fool, messing with forces you cannot control! For this I banish you to liv in this hell you have created to the end of time!\" and with that the young blacksmith fell into a deep sleep only to awake and find himself trapped for all eternity in a city he destoyed ffloating far above our heads.

Architecture: The remains oif the city are charred from the firestorm that swept threw the once fair city, most of the structures are \"habitable\". Most of the buildings still have a roof but lack any doors, windows and structural support for they were made of wood. As for plant life, there is none left for was extinguished except for that which is grown by the blacksmith within the courtyard of his Inn.

Reach: To reach the city, you must travel by portal which is open to all within a great shrine on the surface. the shrine itself is surounded by death, when you enter a stong sent of decay sorounds you. Skulls of humans make up the base of the portal and are placed within the stone walls and rememberance of the loss of the fair population of the  the Forgotten City.

[Zethra]

Okay, I didn\'t feel like reading what everyone else said cause that would\'ve taken me a few hours, so I figure I\'ll just put whatever ideas I have.

City Name: Dyphlorea
Population: (Any) Your choice really
Architecture:

Maybe something along the lines of turn of the 20th Century New York (being that there were no skyscrapers or very few, this makes it easy for the Matrix and Engine of the game). Anyway, have about like as high as 10 story building with old brownstones. Along with that, remenants of goliaths should stand proud on top of these building. The streets should be filthy, like a regular city would be. The expanse of this place should be huge, tremendous I\'d say. The outskirts of the town should be like a suburbia (something like my home on Long Island). Small houses and business on the outskirts. The town should sit on the mouth of a River looking onto the ocean. Maybe there should be interesting architecture in contrast to the race.

What should be there:

Bank, Weapon Smithy, Library, 2 Temples (maybe for different purpose. Light and Dark possibly?), Academy where you can train, and I don\'t know, anything really. It\'s only an idea. Oh yes, and a tavern...!!!

Economy: Totally Capitalist like NYC! Everywhere you go, someone\'s trying to sell you something. There is a shop for about anything and prices are competitive.

History: The story behind the city is that it serves the mainland with supplies that come in from other places and the land was very good to build large buildings on.

This could be like a thing that comes early and later in the game. Like fights can\'t emerge from here for money or what not. I don\'t know, I think it\'s cool.

[Cyberchu]

City Name: The crevasse

Population: All

Level: 5th

Services:

There is a temple, a library, a tavern, several watch towers, acadamy\\barracks and several smiths.

Economy:

The city relies on traders who have to cross the crevase and to use the stairs to cross from one level to another

Architecture:

The city is actualy in two halves, one each side of a large crevasse with lots of bridges inbetween. There is a staircase on one side of the crevase which leads down into the story below. The city looks small from above but each side of the cliff is riddled with caves and passageways which have been converted into homes.

History:

This town has its origins way back in thw past and has long profited by being the only way across the chasm.

[Cyberchu]

City Name: Insolentia

Population: All

Level: top level

Services:

There is a temple, a library, a tavern, acadamies, alchamist labs, apothacaries, magic shops, weapns enchanter and various other magic related structures.

Economy:

Being the one of the centers or magical study and learning this city has long relied on teaching and selling magical items for mages.

Architecture:

Magicaly constructed buildings, all in late renaessance style.

History:

This town has a long and complicated history lost in time and the depths of the library

[rifft]

Just a small question, most of these \'cities\' wouldn\'t really pass for a village. I mean when I hear the word city, I imagine a grand city, huge, Rome is a good example, something like Alexsandria or other ancient cities. I don\'t mean to criticize, it\'s awsome that so many people have so many excellent ideas, I just think they aren\'t quite the appropriate scale of a city. In a city, it would be hard to list the amount of breweries in one district let alone in the entire city. In this way I think it would be far to difficult to list here, since so much has to go into developement of a single city. Though as a settlement, I think all those descriptions are credible. Especially if the cities that officially exist will be spread far enough apart that settlements would be common.

Anyway, excellent stuff here, there is a lot of creativity in these forums, some very inspiring ideas and concepts.

As for a city, I get a little daunted by the task of coming up with a city. So maybe later, I\'ll post something more appropriate.

[Lordbug]

Name: Aquanica  ?(

Population: Nolthrirs

Located underwater

Nolthrirs are an amphibious race, so they can live underwater.
The city is like any other, but the buildings are simply giant shells or huge rocks, so they are more dispersed, it has a nice view of the underwater life. The only way to get there is by a bubble-taxi: there\'s a NPC in land near the city selling tickets to the bubble taxi, it can take four persons at time and no driver! The Nolthrirs or people with maximum in swiming/dive just jump into the water and swim to the city, of course it\'ll take much longer than if you go by bubble-taxi.
The city is covered by a giant bubble that contains oxigen, so that way other races can come over, it could have some shops like an armour/weapon store, a gigantic (rock) public library where lots of inteligent people gather, maybe a medicine store, gift shops and a farm of algaes and magic corals with a store next to it to sell those things.

I would like to make a picture of it but I need one of those things to draw

[Enter_the_Xero]

NAME: Ixife

POPULATION: Elf (mostly)

JOBS: Fishing, Hunting, Demon Hunting, Healing, Baking and Cooking, Teaching, Potion Making, Blacksmithing

Description: A very large city, with a castle in the middle. It has a wall surrounding it with watch towers and guards all over. There is only one place where you can enter or leave the city and it is the grand gate which is highly guarded. The city has very many people living in it so you will encounter hundreds of houses all around. There you will find a lot of places to eat and buy basic items for everyday living. If you look hard enoth you will find Elfin Barracs, a few magic shops, many healer homes, a few libraries, schools, acadamie, fishery, a few blacksmiths as well as many other places to aid a pass-by warrior. There is also an arena where many watch as warriors fight to the death for large quatities of money.
The castle itself can not be entered by any common traveler, exept for a very powerfull wariors and messenger and alike. The security is tigh and dark loving players and monsters can not enter. There are also many druids becouse they are allies of the elf. There is no such thing as darkness becouse of powerfull magicall stones called crystalis that produce light from their powerfull magicall aura.

The city is located deep in a peacefull forest.

[Lordbug]

Name: Leaftown  (might need another name, any idea?)

Population: Elves were the race who built it, but it got populed by many other races because of the merchant and life quality.

Description: A big city is suported by 4 or 5 giant fruit trees connected by great wooden briges (think of the tower in the end of the dungeons, remember? Yeah they\'re that or  bigger and it\'s trunk has like 1 or 2 km2).
It\'s architecture is very simple, the houses are digged in the hard fruits after they dry (witch makes the fruits stronger than rock or steel), the Elves make a special and strong glue with the trees\' resin so in that way the dry fruits never fall.
It\'s a prosperous city, rich merchant place, has great schools and libraries.
Some of the trees are digged and have buildings inside, one of the trees is like a giant shopping center, the whole inside has space for lots of shops and has elevators (4 or 6 m2) suspended by large ropes and pulleys, to make the elevators function some DR monsters -  Tesk\'ders that are forced to pull the ropes with their amazing streight.
The city has everything you can imagine less facturies or other things that release smoke or other things that might  make the trees die.
It has a great river passing between two trees and the elves made a lower brige with a big fishing-net that goes to one tree to the other but has some spaces to let some of the fishes pass, to catch fishes and sell them.
It\'s a great place for guilds\' homes, but only the oldest or the most respectable ones.
The city is protected by Kijutsos (monsters) and Elves, they made an alliance - elves let them establish their kingdom in the base of the trees and they help them to protect Leaftown.

Hope to see you there!

Tesk\'ders
 Kijutsos

[Lordbug]

Name: Opatsi

Desert

Population: Enkis, but we may encounter some other races.

Description: A city near a Kijutso Kingdom, and they are conncted by an under ground tunel that goes for almost 6 km, in rect line. In that tunel there are many monsters.
This city was built near an oasis the houses are disposed in a circular way, and the oasis is in the middle.
Enkis built this city near a Kijutso Kingdom, because they are felines too, and they could help each other.
The city is covered by a pyramid to protect it fom possible attacks and to keep the city fresh. The ones that want to get in have to figure a way in the pyramids (maybe a secret door) once persons are in, they have to cross a very big and complicated labyrinth (it has some walls that move like every 10 minutes to block the way, and you have to figure another way). Enkis have an entrace only for them, and all the other races are blocked if they try to get in. Another way in is to pass through the Kijutso\'s guards in their kingdom and find a way to the underground tunnel, if you don\'t get killed in this, you\'ll get to the underground tunnel, where there are many monsters waiting for you.
This city is a place where things are sold very cheap so it\'s worth to get through all the defences.
The desert where Opatsi is located has lots of sandtraps, be carefull!

[Moogie]

Not sure if this has been suggested before, but I\'ll post it down anyway.

City name: (Havn\'t thought of one, that would be Darkmoon\'s job )

Population: Mixed, but mostly Klyros and Ylian.

Description: This is a city supported by ancient magics and great stone obelisks pretruding from the inner perimeter rock faces of the level on which it is situated. The city itself floats in the center of the level, above the gaping space that reaches all the way from the Azure Sun to the watery depths. It is held in place by ethereal chains locked onto the obelisks. Within the central palace of the city, in locked and shielded stone chambers, slave spirits are bound to artifacts that drain their powers in order to keep the massive object in the air.

The city is accessable only by a few means, the most obvious being Pterosaur flight. However, there are also man-made structures, built by the first Ylians to explore this abandoned city, which carry groups of visitors back and forth between the floating island and the mainland. Currently, only 1/4 of the city is enhabited by the Yliakum populace. The city was abandoned long ago by an unknown race with immense magical and spiritual powers, who sealed many doors with a certain Glyph magic which has since become rare and valuable.

The city is mostly considered an exploration site for scientists, wizards, and treasure hunters. There are a few local merchants, selling basic supplies, aswell as Glyphs, Pterosaur food/accessories, mining tools.

Architecture: The walls and floor of the city appears to be made of stone, but the material is suprisingly light and unlike anything seen on the mainland. It is enchanted in such a way as to let certain light pass straight through it, meaning the natural light from the Azure Sun is not blocked from the lower levels by a massive city-shaped shadow.

Some theorise that the city itself was created even earlier by ancient Klyros living in the underwater levels of Yliakum, only to be later raised by unthinkable powers to it\'s current position today. Perhaps it was a side-effect of all that power which enchanted the stone?

Most of the structures are tall and sturdy, with arch-shaped doors and almost chinese style rooftops. Most corners end in a sharp curve resembling a claw, and many buildings have strange gargoyle statues guarding the doors. The streets are grey cobblestone, and there are lamps lining the paths emitting a purple-blue colour flame. A light mist covers the entire city.

It is theorised that records of the city\'s past and creators may be locked away deep in the inner reaches of the city, but important structures are located underneath the ground, and sealed with the rare Glyphs. During heavy rainfall, these areas are prone to flooding, which poses the question of how the ancient peoples stopped this happening when they lived here.

Monsters: Some explorers have reported stumbling across great metal guardians locked inside Glyph-sealed rooms. They do not attack unless they witness someone trying to gain access to other sealed doors within their sight, leading experts to believe they are security guards for valuable treasures and knowledge. Wild pterosaurs are also known to have made roosts in abandoned structures.  Apart from this, there is no known native wildlife, although much is yet to be learned about the rest of the city.

Jobs: Miners can dig from specially selected locations to harvest the enchanted stone material. It was decided almost immediately that, although the material has great value, the main city should be kept as preserved as possible from excavation. Treasure hunters can explore ruined buildings and Glyph rooms for valuable artifacts. Animal tamers can scout for pterosaur roosts.

[Lordbug]

Name: Inibria
mixed races

Description: Known as the city of knowledge too.
If you don\'t know a thing, go there and learn it.
The first building in this frozen land was an University, but then the teachers started to build homes arround it, and it started to look like a village.
The buildings are similar to the ones in Hydlaa
Now great walls are protecting the city from attacks of pirates and monsters.
The city is located in a frozen land, so every building is warmed by lots of Lavatugas in the city\'s undergrounds the heat is directioned to every building with out defrost the ice.
Sometimes there are snow storms that put the city under meters of snow, and so the city gets unaccecible at those times.
Inside the University there\'s a great library, that contains all knowledge.
It has a blacksmith shop and an entrance to the Inibria\'s undergrounds.

[Mkt2015]

Name: Clock Town

Population: Mainly magic users and people who craft and tinker with things.

Location: This could possibly be in another dimension, but it depends on how the place would turn out.

Shops: Any shop that has to do with magic or tinkering with weapons/armor/other gadgets.

Architecture: It would be really awesome if the town or village was on a world of its own. It\'s the kind of town where the whole thing rotates as you move around it.

Here\'s some ASCII art:

H = Houses
G = the ground

             HHHHHH
          HGGGGGGGH
         HGGGGGGGGH
         HGGGGGGGGH
         HGGGGGGGGH
         HGGGGGGGGH
          HGGGGGGGH
             HHHHHH

If it couldn\'t be like the art shows, then instead of it being on a world, the roads would be incredibly steep and crooked/twisted...the houses are twisted/crooked as well. Houses are always completely parralel with the roads they are on so if a road is 50 degree incline, the house is at an angle as well. Again, I don\'t know what\'s possible because I\'m not a programmer / developer / modeler.

All of the buildings are not tall at all...just standard two-level houses. The biggest building in the town is a Clock Tower that would be about 3 to 4 times large than the largest house.

NPCs would all be mechanical and all monsters in the town and/or nearby the town are mechanical as well.

History/the way it works: It\'s the kind of town where the only thing that is real is time itself. Everybody moves according to the flow of time. When the clock reaches 1 PM, 2 PM, etc., every person stops for a second and then continues onward. It doesn\'t necessarily coexist with other places...it\'s the town that is of its own accord.

It could be only a myth at first and that you have to combine several different magical items to get there. Either that or a place between life and death that some people go to based on religion/guild/race, etc.