City Damage

(Before I start, a follow-up from yesterday:  go check out the polls on my squidoo lens.  I cracked myself up writing them.  Of course, I crack myself up eating cheese, so take it for what it’s worth.)

So, there’s an interesting post over at Pens & Swords from Monday.  I am intrigued by his take on things.  I disagree, almost entirely, but I am intrigued.  Let me, then, answer the questions that he poses:

How many of us have started campaigns, as a DM or player, in the tavern of some small village, waiting for the hook that will send the adventurers to the nearby ruins/caves/catacombs?

You bet.  Too many times as a DM.  Still, it worked for Temple of Elemental Evil, right?  

But what about those who prefer urban adventures, or a more cosmopolitan setting?

That’s something that my group has grown into.  A decade ago?  No way.  These days?  Cities are the place to be.

Do they have to wait until their characters are higher level, as the article seems to imply.

Hope not.   I’m not sure that the “Points of Light” can’t exist as small parts (neighborhoods) in larger settings.  I bet we see some of that, even in the “heroic” level modules.  Beyond that, a large city that is in tatters (like Waterdeep after the Spellplague) could also be considered a Point of Light beseiged.  From the realms article:

“In Waterdeep the great walking statues hidden within the city arose for a single day and wrecked several wards, only to suddenly halt where they stood when the Spellplague’s influence retreated again. To this day the towering colossi remain standing where they were at that moment, while the city has been rebuilt around their stony waists. Waterdeep is still governed by its Lords, advised by the Blackstaff—the most powerful mage of Blackstaff Tower, heir to the lore of the mighty Khelben. The city remains a hub of trade and commerce; all roads lead to Waterdeep, or so it is said. ”

 Sure, DMs still have the power to create whatever they can imagine, but does this new design directive mean that official support–in the form of products and articles–will focus on the solitary settlement besieged by the forces of darkness?

 Doubt it highly.  Variety has always been the spice of life over at WotC.  And you’ve got quite a mix of designers and writers over there as well.

 Is the urban adventure market small enough that it doesn’t matter to the bottom line?

 I don’t know that it’s a market in and of itself;  in context, it’s a part of the bigger market.  But if urban adventures weren’t an integral part of that market, would there have been a Cityscape, or a City of Peril? Or City of Splendors for the old timers?

Or (last question, I promise) does the Points of Light philosophy not necessarily exclude an urban-based campaign?

Nope.  See above.  I think to assume POL is incompatible with an urban campaign is to connect dots that just aren’t there.  I think the Points of Light directive is, ultimately, all about a darker world -not necessarily a rural one.