I am looking to create a ruined city for my players to explore. I am looking for sources to get some ideas from. What are the best sources you have seen. I am also looking for map programs I can buy to enhance the adventure.
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What kinds of city are you looking for? Lots of towers and stone buildings? How about more mud brick style structures, or even simple wooden construction? Each of these materials decays in a different manner and could affect the feel of the city. Also, how ruined do you want to make it? Mostly standing but with roofs and windows missing and brambles growing everywhere, or a sand covered scattering of stone with only a few walls and columns still standing? Or it is a battle scared ruin where great armies mostly burned it out trying to kill each other WWII style? Do you want people still living in it, or will only monsters live there? Or will it be abandoned completely save for the occasional wild dog?
Based on what you are looking for I should be able to offer a few ideas. Unfortunately, I have no experience with computer mapping programs. I still use pen and paper, with the ocasinal text based map when I play online over message boards.
Good suggestions there. One alternative as well is to simply take a developed city you have access to and call it ruined. For example take say Sasserine, Cauldron, the City of Clay, Spinecastle or whatever and just say that they lie in ruins. Places that are whole can be described as half collapsed; places that are inhabited are desolate. Have remnants of what was once there.
There's a good adventure for Arcana Evolved that involves a mysterious, ruined city. It's like a gold rush town. It's called Ruins of Intrigue and it's by Mike Mearls.
Also, it's long out of print, but there was Pavis: Big Rubble for Runequest I believe.
What kinds of city are you looking for? Lots of towers and stone buildings? How about more mud brick style structures, or even simple wooden construction? Each of these materials decays in a different manner and could affect the feel of the city. Also, how ruined do you want to make it? Mostly standing but with roofs and windows missing and brambles growing everywhere, or a sand covered scattering of stone with only a few walls and columns still standing? Or it is a battle scared ruin where great armies mostly burned it out trying to kill each other WWII style? Do you want people still living in it, or will only monsters live there? Or will it be abandoned completely save for the occasional wild dog?
Based on what you are looking for I should be able to offer a few ideas. Unfortunately, I have no experience with computer mapping programs. I still use pen and paper, with the ocasinal text based map when I play online over message boards.
I am looking for a range from battled scarred ruin to a mass exodus before a oncoming army. Some fellow adventurers will have taken up residence, mostly it will be monsters on the outer perimeter and more traps and information concerning its downfall on the interior. The ruins will range from 300-500 years in abandonment. How would nature have affected the structures, and interior items?
The tech/magic level would be typical of the current setting perhaps slightly higher. The size would be large city or metropolis.
I will check the sources everyone has provided, thank you. If anyone has additional ideas please help me out.
I am looking for a range from battled scarred ruin to a mass exodus before a oncoming army. Some fellow adventurers will have taken up residence, mostly it will be monsters on the outer perimeter and more traps and information concerning its downfall on the interior. The ruins will range from 300-500 years in abandonment. How would nature have affected the structures, and interior items?What kinds of city are you looking for? Lots of towers and stone buildings? How about more mud brick style structures, or even simple wooden construction? Each of these materials decays in a different manner and could affect the feel of the city. Also, how ruined do you want to make it? Mostly standing but with roofs and windows missing and brambles growing everywhere, or a sand covered scattering of stone with only a few walls and columns still standing? Or it is a battle scared ruin where great armies mostly burned it out trying to kill each other WWII style? Do you want people still living in it, or will only monsters live there? Or will it be abandoned completely save for the occasional wild dog?
Based on what you are looking for I should be able to offer a few ideas. Unfortunately, I have no experience with computer mapping programs. I still use pen and paper, with the ocasinal text based map when I play online over message boards.
well were did u put the ruins . in jungle or forest eara there wont be a whole lot left in that time fram. stone only look at runins in south america covered over with only the biggiest still around. roots can be very aggressive and nature tends to reclame fast. no wood would be left prob no roofs sence beams holding them up be long gone unless your useing magic or in a desert it would be ruins indeed. still lots of deep underground hidyholes and new made "caves" in witch bad things to hide.
and you would likely also run into one or two buildings where the magic has kept then in very good shape prob house the big bads, or maybe there kinda locked by there magic sealed off untouched sence the fall if only someone had a key hummm or be of the right bloodline then of corse there could be all kinds of things thats been laying dorment or controlling a small area. anchient undead, constructs, powerful magic, summoned demons, mutated animal life, wild magic areas, dead magic areas all kinds of things just forgotten in this dead place. mayhap there held in the ruins by some bandry or force what happns if the pcs mess with that and unless the trapt things? all in all you could make one hell of an adventer out of this or 3 or4 of em . hope that helps.oh u might whant to google ruined citys you can find some good pics like that.