During a sidequest in Runelords my party suffered a TPK at the hands and teeth of an ettin werewolf barbarian, his witch crony and their ogre werewolf minions.
For the new game its an urban sandbox in a massive port city in a steampunk setting set against a backdrop of urban decay and political intrigue. The party is about to become indebted to a mysterious patron via a go between for saving their skins after they were unwittingly involved in an experiment/accident which took out half a city block.
The overarching plot is that this patron is pulling the PCs' strings and seeks to build a power base sufficient to allow the city to separate from the empire and declare sovereignty, with himself on top of the pile; or, failing that, to usurp the empress and take control of the whole nation.
So, any tips or advice for a Game of Thrones-esque urban sandbox in a steampunk industrial city rife with pollution and corruption?
For what its worth there's a bard, a cleric to a god of destruction, and a machine smith. And a rogue, I think; I can't remember the other one's class.
You'll want to have some skill points, sounds like investigating and social skills will be as important as combat.
Make a warforged, and reflavor as a clockwork automaton.
Oh, no, I'm the DM. Sorry, shoulda mentioned that, pretty important.
All my experience has been with APs and general wilderness/dungeon focused games.
On that note, skills HAVE been important; our first game went by without a single combat, all skills and roleplaying.