The statistics of a city summarize information about its environment; its population and their way of life; and its capabilities as an organization. The GM can expand these highlights with a detailed description or map.
A city’s population is its single most important statistic, not only in GURPS but also in the real world. It’s having a large number of people living in the same place that makes it a city in the first place.
A city’s population is the number of people or other sapient beings permanently resident within its boundaries. If this includes multiple sapient races, their proportions may be mentioned in the Notes (see p. 10). The same applies if different people have different legal statuses, such as free and slave.
Some kinds of entities may not have well-defined physical locations, including gods and sprits in supernaturally based settings, or artificial intelligences in cyberpunk and other science-fiction settings. Don’t include them in the population. If they live on their own alternate plane of existence, that location might have its own cities with their own population statistics.
For a city in the real world, use the population in reference books, or estimates in historical sources. If estimates conflict, pick one that suits the needs of the campaign.
The most important effect of population on game mechanics is as a modifier to search rolls. To determine this, use the following table.
| Population | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Less than 100 | -3 |
| 100-999 | -2 |
| 1,000-4,999 | -1 |
| 5,000-9,999 | 0 |
| 10,000-49,999 | +1 |
| 50,000-99,999 | +2 |
| 100,000 or more | +3 |
The Basic Set uses this modifier for two types of search: finding a hireling (pp. B517-518) and finding a job (p. B518). However, the same modifiers can be used for searching for any type of establishment. This includes both rolls to determine whether such an establishment is there at all (the usual application), and rolls to locate a specific establishment the GM has already decided is present. Ordinarily, the modifier applies to a basic IQ roll. For specialized establishments, it may be necessary to use a skill (or its default):
Additional modifiers: If a city specializes in a particular industry or other function (such as religious for a holy city or government for the capital of a larger region), bonuses of +1 to +3 for search rolls associated with this may be listed in the Notes (see p. 10).
Furthermore, for a particular establishment that the GM had decided was present, its characteristics affect search rolls to find it. The GM may also choose to say that some establishments can be found automatically without a search roll.
Modifiers: -1 for a one-man shop; no modifier for two to five workers, +1 for six to 20; +2 for 21-100; and +3 for larger businesses (establishment size cannot exceed 5% of population). A single man without a fixed location is searched for as a hireling (pp. B517-518). +1 to +5 for an establishment that actively seeks clients through advertising or public visibility. -1 to -5 for an establishment that makes systematic efforts to conceal itself.
The environment of a city has a big influence on what it’s like to live there. The city itself also modifies or even supersedes the natural conditions.
A city’s terrain is the natural environment of its site. On an Earthlike planet, this is normally one of the eight land terrain types defined for Survival skill (pp. B223-224): Arctic, Mountain, Desert, Plains, Island/Beach, Swampland, Jungle, or Woodlands.
For a city built on another planet, specify the planetary type as one of the options from p. B180: Gas Giant, Hostile Terrestrial, Ice Dwarf, Ice World, or Rock World. It’s not necessary to specify the planetary type for an Earthlike planet; just give the land terrain type. If the planetary type has more than one possible terrain, specify the terrain type as well as the planetary type: “Rock World, Mountain,” for example. In a campaign with a hard science-fiction orientation, the GM may substitute the subcategories from GURPS Space, pp. 75-77 (for Garden, just give the land terrain type): Ammonia, Ocean, Chthonian, Rock, Greenhouse, Sulfur, or Ice. The terrain type determines the Survival skill needed to live in the open land around the city. For an artificial location, use Urban Survival instead.
Some cities provide artificial environments of various kinds, as described below. For any of these, specify the surrounding terrain first and then the artificial environment: “Rock World, Mountain, Sealed,” for example.
Enclosed: A city under a roof or dome that shields it from most weather.
Sealed: Includes the benefits of Enclosed but is also gastight against vacuum, hostile atmosphere, or water. Airbreathing races can live under water in a Sealed city, in any of the aquatic terrain types listed for Survival skill (p. B224): Bank, Deep Ocean Vent, Fresh-Water Lake, Open Ocean, Reef, River/Stream, Salt-Water Sea, or Tropical Lagoon. Water-breathing races can build cities under water without needing them to be Sealed.
Underground: Provides benefits equivalent to Enclosed or Sealed, but in a natural or excavated subterranean space.
It’s also possible for a city not to be attached to a solid surface. Here are three different methods for doing this.
Aerostat: Floats above the ground like a balloon or dirigible; no terrain need be specified.
Floating: Floats on the surface of the water. Optionally, if it’s anchored to a specific location, assign one of the aquatic terrain types on p. B224, other than Deep Ocean Vent.
Orbital: Located in outer space, not attached to a planet or other large body; no terrain need be specified, but define as Sealed (for a wholly artificial structure) or Underground (for a hollowed-out asteroid).
Cities, like people, have Appearance ratings, which affect how visitors react to them. This characteristic partly reflects the appeal of a city’s natural setting and partly its architecture.
Use the same ratings as for characters (p. B21); indicate both the level and the reaction roll modifier. Most cities are considered Androgynous and thus have a flat reaction modifier. Likewise, treat a Beautiful, Very Beautiful, or Transcendent city as Impressive. Reserve Horrific, Monstrous, or Transcendent appearance for cities of gods, demons, alien superraces, or similar beings; a city at any of these levels could unhinge the minds of visitors, requiring Fright Checks as for Terror (p. B93).
Cities affect the health of their inhabitants. Treat the value of the Hygiene characteristic as a modifier to contagion rolls (p. B443) and to the risk of infection (p. B444).
Hygiene depends primarily on technology. Low-tech cities are unhealthy places to live; it takes a constant influx of people from the country to maintain their populations. At TL1-5, give them a modifier of -1. Ultra-tech cities have advanced methods for detecting and controlling contagious diseases and environmental hazards; at TL9-12, give them a modifier of +1.
Other factors can influence a city’s Hygiene stat. The combined effect of the following modifiers can range from -2 to +2 to the basic stat above.
Healthy or Unhealthy Environment: +1 for a healthy environment; Arctic, Desert, or Mountain terrain is often healthy. -1 for an unhealthy environment; Jungle or Swampland terrain is often unhealthy. If the founders made a point of choosing the healthiest possible site available, as the ancient Greeks and Romans often did, treat this as a healthy environment.
Strict Public Health Enforcement: +1 (see Control Rating, p. 9).
Poverty: -1 for Wealth stat Poor or Dead Broke (see Wealth, p. 7).
Catastrophe: -2 for the effects of a recent famine, natural disaster, military conquest, or collapse of government.
In a fantasy or supernatural horror campaign, a city’s magical environment is as important as its physical environment. In a realistic present-day or historical campaign, and in most science-fiction campaigns, magic is nonexistent.
A city may have no, low, normal, high, or very high mana, as defined on p. B235. Normally the entire city has the same mana level for all forms of magic. More complicated situations (such as those suggested in GURPS Thaumatology, pp. 58-60) should be described in the Notes (see p. 10).
GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics (pp. 27-29) discusses some situations that can raise or lower a city’s mana level. Cities are rarely built in areas with very high mana; it causes too many dangerous accidents.
Sanctity level (p. B242 and Thaumatology, pp. 68-69) works somewhat like mana level. If the sanctity level is important, provide details under Notes (p. 10).
The availability of enchanted objects isn’t determined solely by mana level – except that a no-mana area won’t have any. GURPS Fantasy (p. 29) provides a system for defining the availability of enchantments:
No Enchantment: Objects with magical powers are nonexistent, because magic doesn’t work or because enchanted items require living spellcasters to function.
Rare Enchantment: Magical objects exist, but they can’t normally be bought or sold. Even minor magical objects have histories or legends. Those who carry them may have Destinies, be favored by the gods, or owe their souls to demons.
Common Enchantment: Magical objects are common and have customary market prices. Magical objects with unusual powers are still rare; this often applies to holy relics, for example. At the GM’s discretion, low-powered magical objects (see Buying Magic Items, p. B482) may sell very cheaply.
Very Common Enchantment: Magical objects are in everyday use, because enchanter-level Magery is widespread, mass-production techniques work for magic (see Urban Magics, pp. 5-6), or because naturally magical objects and materials are prevalent. Nearly any generally known spell is available in a physical object; only cutting-edge magical research is rare.
The culture of a city is the way its people carry on their lives. In GURPS, it has two main aspects: language and technology.
The language of a city is normally the language spoken by the majority of its inhabitants. If there isn’t a majority language, list every language that is spoken by more than 20% of the inhabitants, and at least the top two in any case.
If a city’s official language is one that’s not commonly spoken, list it as well. Explain its special status in the Notes (see p. 10).
A city’s Literacy is defined as None, Broken, Accented, or Native (see pp. B24-25). This represents the ability of a typical inhabitant to read and write. Cities of illiterates don’t have written street signs, legal notices, or inscriptions; cities with Broken literacy may have these, but supplement them with regular oral proclamations and visual iconography.
A city's tech level can be anything from 0 to 12. Normally, TL0 societies don't build cities; the simplest way to deal with the exceptions is to say that they are advanced in a science (Split Tech Level, p. B511), with TL1 architecture. Any departures from the standard TL system can be discussed in the Notes (p. 10). In particular, if a city’s mana level (p. 6) is low or better, and especially if its enchantment level (p. 6) is rare or better, magical spells and devices may boost its TL above what it would be otherwise. Treat this as a divergent TL as discussed on p. B513.
A city’s economy affects the social position of its inhabitants as individuals: their Wealth, the lifestyles they can afford, and the Status they gain from them.
A city’s Wealth statistic is the typical Wealth of its inhabitants. Use the same categories for this as for personal Wealth, from Poor up to one or more levels of Multimillionaire (pp. B25-26). The overwhelming majority of cities are Struggling, Average, or Comfortable. A city above that range is either an enclave for the privileged, or a magnet for immigrants seeking to find places in its rapidly growing economy. A city below it is probably dying off as its people move elsewhere in search of work.
A city can be Dead Broke, but only temporarily, usually in the aftermath of war or natural disaster. (See LongTerm Fighting, p. 12, for some possible effects.) If it stays Dead Broke for more than a week or two, its population will crash, leaving it a deserted ruin.
A city’s Status characteristic expresses the range of Status levels among its inhabitants (pp. B28-29), from the lowest to the highest, rather than an average. The typical Status of people in a city can usually be predicted from its Wealth: 1 for Comfortable, 0 for Average, or -1 for Struggling.
Ordinarily, the lower limit for Status is -2. The upper limit is more variable: 8 for an emperor or a holy ruler; 7 for a typical king or the head of a powerful democracy or republic; 6 for a minor king or important noble or the head of a typical democracy or republic.
In a city that’s not a political capital or an independent citystate, Status doesn’t usually go so high. If the country has nobles, the highest Status nobles in a city might be Status 3-6. Other citizens get Status mainly from Rank and Wealth, plus or minus 2 for being well or poorly regarded. In a classless meritocracy (see p. B28), all Status fits this pattern. For example, the mayor of a city might have Administrative Rank 6, granting +2 Status; be Filthy Rich, granting +1 Status; and be personally loved by the citizens, granting base Status 2, for a total Status of 5.
A more egalitarian city might have only plus or minus 1 to Status. A stringently egalitarian city might eliminate all other sources of Status, dividing wealth equally among everyone, and rotating offices regularly among citizens by a lottery, in the style of ancient Athens (see pp. 13-15). Offices acquired in this way grant only temporary Rank, which has no point cost and doesn’t raise Status. Respected people would have Status 1; people who don’t fit in would have Status -1.
In high-tech societies, Status 0 and Average Wealth are typical – that is, more people are at this level than any other. Many societies at TL1-4 have a different pattern. The majority of people are peasant farmers living in small villages, with Struggling Wealth and Status -1. Feeding their families costs about 75% of their income, two-thirds of which (or 50%) goes for a staple grain or other starch. The remaining 25% pays for all their other expenses. They produce nearly all of this themselves, with no money changing hands, though possibly some bartering going on. They grow their own food, spin and weave their own cloth, and build their own huts or cottages with the help of a village carpenter.
The minority who live in low-tech cities – generally 10% of total population – have a more “modern” pattern: Average Wealth and Status 0 are typical. This doesn’t buy a higher standard of living as far as material goods are concerned. The cost of hauling food, fuel, and fiber from villages to a city makes it more expensive, usually doubling its price. Low-tech cities are cramped within narrow defensive walls, and high land rents make housing expensive. Furthermore, low-tech cities are unhealthy places to live (see Hygiene, p. 6). Even so, their citizens lead more interesting lives than their country counterparts, with more novelty and often more freedom.
This measure of freedom, of course, makes it a lot easier to have adventures or go on journeys. This makes them privileged, relative to the average person in their societies, so it’s unusual for an adventurer to have less than Status 0 unless the society has a general distrust of strangers. An adventurer’s life story should account for how he got this social position.
A city’s political system represents its citizens collectively rather than individually, providing them with a means of acting together for a shared goal. The political environment illustrates the part of collective action that’s turned inward toward the city itself. GOVERNMENT The government of a city has a basic type, and it may have a special situation. First, select the society type (below). Then decide if it is special version (see table below). Finally, determine how it relates to other political entities (see below). Society Type Table Type Page Reference Anarchy p. B509 Athenian Democracy p. B509 Caste p. B509 Clan/Tribal p. B509 Corporate State p. B509 Dictatorship p. B509 Feudal p. B510 Hive Mind GURPS Space, pp. 199-200 Representative Democracy p. B509 Technocracy p. B509 Theocracy p. B509; GURPS Fantasy, p. 69 Special Situation Table Name Page Reference Bureaucracy p. B510 Charismatic Rule GURPS Fantasy, p. 69 Cybercracy/Machine p. B510; GURPS Space, Civilization pp. 200-201 Matriarchy p. B510 Meritocracy p. B510 Military Government p. B510 Oligarchy p. B510 Patriarchy p. B510 Sanctuary p. B510 Socialist p. B510 Teratocracy GURPS Fantasy, p. 69 Thanatocracy GURPS Fantasy, p. 69 Thaumatocracy GURPS Fantasy, p. 69 Utopia p. B510
Relationship to Other Political Entities
Cities often do not rule themselves (those that do are called city-states). Rather, they are part of larger political entities; most cities in the modern world are municipalities (p. 9), for example. This detail can be added to the Government characteristic. Four options are available: Colony: See p. B510.
Free City: A city that has been granted special legal status by a larger state, often through a charter. It has a direct say in its own government, and is at least partly exempt from the laws of the surrounding territory. In effect, its citizens have geographically limited Legal Immunity (p. B65). Unlike a city-state, which usually controls some of the surrounding rural areas, a free city’s legal authority ends sharply at the city limits.
Municipality: A city within a larger state that has been granted a measure of self-government. Like a free city, it has clearly defined city limits. It differs in that its citizens are not exempt from the laws of the larger state.
Subjugated: See p. B510.
A city-state can be the capital of a larger state by subjugating other states, often through military force. A larger state can also choose one of its cities as its capital, or even build a new city for that purpose (such as Brasilia, Canberra, St. Petersburg, or Washington). Such a capital is usually a municipality.
CONTROL RATING
Control ratings represent how strictly a city’s government regulates the behavior of its people, as defined on pp. B506- 507. Aspects of this include civil rights; economic freedom and taxation; information access and censorship; legal restrictions on personal conduct; public health and the environment; punishment severity; and reproductive choice. A city may have a CR higher or lower than its overall CR for one of these areas or for some other special sphere; if so, mention this in the Notes (see p. 10). For example, a city may gain +1 to its Hygiene statistic (p. 6) by public health measures at CR4 or higher.
Each government type has a typical range of CR scores (see pp. B509-510). However, the exceptions can be interesting! For example, an anarchy might have CR4 if informal social control based on public disapproval of certain activities were strong enough. Or a theocracy that taught nonviolence and trusting the inner light might have CR1.
CORRUPTION
People whose actions are restricted by the law will often try to find a way around the restrictions. The Corruption statistic measures how easy this is to do in a city. Corruption is a number from 0 to -6; apply this as a penalty to the official CR to determine the effective CR for people who have the right connections.
Taking advantage of a city’s Corruption usually requires a search roll based on a suitable skill: Savoir-Faire (High Society) for the elite, Politics for elected officials, Administration for the bureaucracy, or Savoir-Faire (Mafia) or Streetwise for organized or unorganized crime, for example. A Contact can be a continuing source of such favors. A suitable Patron may provide them routinely.
MILITARY CAPABILITIES A city’s military capabilities also reflect its ability to act collectively – but the action is turned outward, toward neighboring cities, rural communities, or more distant regions. MILITARY RESOURCES A city’s Military Resources stat represents its total monthly budget for combat forces and the logistic elements that support them. GURPS Mass Combat provides definitions for combat elements, each of which has a cost to maintain. Maintenance is delivered to combat elements by logistics troops, which also have a cost to maintain. This can be treated as an overhead cost of 50% of the base cost for land logistics; 100% for naval logistics; 200% for air, orbital, or submersible logistics; or 500% for interplanetary logistics. To determine Military Resources, look up the monthly income for the city’s Wealth and TL (see p. B517); multiply this by its Population; and multiply the resulting amount by its Military Budget Factor (MBF): MR = Monthly Income ¥ Population ¥ MBF. The MBF is normally based on its CR, as in the following table, but the GM is free to assign a city a higher or lower CR for use in determining military mobilization. In wartime, a city’s effective MBF normally increases by one step on this table. A high MBF can damage a city’s economy (see Long-Term Fighting, p. 12). Once the GM determines the Military Resource statistic, he can use that value to decide which combat elements the city can readily call to its aid. See Mass Combat for costs and options for various combat elements. Cities that aren’t self-governing don’t maintain their own military forces. A colony, municipality, or free city usually has CR1 and MBF 0.5%; this represents the combat capabilities of its local police force. A subjugated city has CR0 and no military forces. Cities in any of these special situations may have combat elements assigned to them by the imperial, national, or planetary government they answer to; these should be mentioned in the Notes (see p. 10).
A city’s military capabilities aren’t limited to its organized armed forces. During a siege, the entire population may come to its defense; during a rebellion or revolution, they may bring down a foreign occupation or their own government. In some societies, they routinely serve as a militia to keep order. To estimate the military capabilities of this kind of force (in Mass Combat terms), divide the total population by 50. The result is the number of combat elements the population can form when fully mobilized. Treat units as Medium Infantry at TL1-4, Skirmishers at TL5, or Riflemen at TL6-12. Troop quality will be Average (for citizens who do hard physical labor or train regularly) or Inferior otherwise. Equipment quality will be Basic (if the citizens are armed) or Poor (if they have only improvised weapons). Such forces are comparable to a Levy: They cost nothing to maintain for the first two months. Nor does it cost anything to raise them; like Mercenaries, they organize themselves. After two months’ service, they need to be paid – after all, most of them have families to support. If they’re not paid, and stop serving, they can’t return home, because they already are home; but they may stop showing up, turn against their rulers or leaders, or surrender to a besieging force.
DEFENSE BONUS An attack on a city (rather than on its forces in the field) is a siege. The city’s forces receive a Defense Bonus (DB), as discussed in Mass Combat (p. 39). Cities may have improvised fortifications (such as hastily dug trenches, sandbags, or piles of furniture and abandoned vehicles) or be permanently fortified. Geographic features may increase the defense bonus for either improvised or permanent fortifications. Select the highest relevant Defense Bonus from the first table below. Then include one or more modifiers from the second table below to get the total DB. DB City Features +4 Improvised fortifications +5 Many stone or concrete structures +5 Underground tunnels +6 Entirely underground +(TL+4) Permanent fortifications, as of date when last upgraded Modifier Geographic Features -1 to -2 Ruined permanent fortifications +1 On a hill or small island +2 On a high mountain
NOTES Use the Notes to give further information on any of the standard city stats, especially if it would affect the game-mechanical treatment of the city. This includes, for example: • The division of the population into different races, or different legal statuses, such as free and slave. • The city’s official language, if it’s not the one most commonly spoken. • Any unusual aspects of the TL. • Search roll bonuses for specialized functions. • Situations in which the CR is higher or lower than the overall rating. • The Military Resources of any forces assigned to the city by an external government. • Specific features of the city’s magic (see Urban Magics for ideas), including aspecting of the city’s mana, such as variable, wild, or twisted mana (see GURPS Thaumatology, pp. 58-60); and how visible it is (see Urban Magics, p. 50). • The city’s sanctity levels (functionally similar to mana, but defined in relation to a specific god or faith; see GURPS Fantasy, p. 101, or Thaumatology, pp. 68-69). • Terror due to extraordinary beauty or ugliness. • Unusual features of the city itself or the surrounding region. The GM may add other information at his discretion.
In many campaigns, cities are only a small part of the setting. Adventurers use some of them as bases, from which they depart to go somewhere more interesting. In other cases, they encounter cities as destinations for their quests or as stops along the way. In other campaigns, the city itself is the setting, to be explored at length.
CITIES AS ENCOUNTERS
An encounter takes a limited span of time, too short for detailed exploration. The city can be treated as if it were a point on a map – as in Jerry Pournelle’s joke about writing science fiction, “It was raining on [Planet] Mongo that morning.” The city stats are all that’s needed for most encounters.
FIRST IMPRESSION
To start with, there’s the “first impression” that the city makes on visitors. What are the terrain and climate like? How many people does it have? Do they live inside fortifications, or spread out freely over the landscape? What’s the general appearance of the buildings? All these can be discerned on the initial approach to a city. Most players will want to decide for themselves how their adventurers react, but the GM should also let them know if the city is attractive or unattractive, transcendently beautiful or mind-shakingly horrific (in the latter two cases, a Fright Check is in order). If the city’s mana level is different from that surrounding it, mages will sense this on a roll of Perception+Magery-3; if they are consciously searching for the boundary, the roll is Perception+Magery.
EXPLORING THE CITY
Next comes dealing with the city’s people and organizations. This starts with finding establishments that can meet the adventurers’ needs. To do this, make a search roll (see p. 5). The existence of helpful signs is dictated by the city’s Literacy (p. 7). Whether the inhabitants can answer questions depends on language – finding someone who speaks a foreign language also requires a search roll, possibly at a penalty. Additionally, travelers’ Wealth and Status can influence how citizens react to them.
Looking for something outside the local law also takes a search roll based on a suitable skill, affected in the same was as seeking a legitimate establishment. The result of the quest (and the roll) depends on the city’s Corruption statistic (see p. 9).
Finally, the visitors’ actions can have consequences! If they try to cast spells, the amount of harm caused by a critical failure is contingent on the local mana level. Should they be wounded in a fight, the Hygiene statistic (p. 6) reveals the chance of infection, as well as the quality of medical care (which improves with higher TL). These factors likewise affect their chance of contracting an illness from contact with the citizens. If they break the law, the local CR (p. 9) determines how many actions are illegal and how severely they’ll be punished; the Corruption statistic (p. 9) reveals whether they have a chance of buying off the charges.
FIGHTING THE CITY
A siege or other military action against a city isn’t quite so simple. The city’s Military Resources (p. 9) and Defense Bonus (p. 10) don’t determine the outcome by themselves. Rather, they help the GM decide on the nature of the city’s forces, which can then be used to play out battles in the style defined in GURPS Mass Combat.
CITIES AS ENVIRONMENTS
At the other end of the spectrum, a campaign can treat a city as an environment to be explored at length. This takes more information than a set of city stats can provide. The stats become a basis for building a fully realized campaign setting. In addition to the ideas presented in Cities as Encounters, here are some other considerations for designing a location in which PCs will spend a lot of time.
The size of the city should be proportional to its population. A spread out city (such as most American cities) typically has 3,200-6,400 people per square mile; a dense city (such as New York, most modern European cities, and many ancient walled cities) has 6,400-32,000; a hyperdense city (such as Hong Kong, Singapore, or possible future cities) has even more. Divide total population by an appropriate “people per square mile” value to get approximate area. Identify the city’s neighborhoods and how they’re divided up: by wealth, occupation, religion, species, or other factors. Work out what the city’s main industries are, especially those that bring in money from long-distance trade. These should have search roll bonuses. Government, religion, or tourism can also be “exports,” ways for a city to make money from people who live elsewhere. Whatever a city’s industries are, decide what sort of transportation they rely on. One of the common types of urban location is the meeting of two different transportation systems: a harbor where ships load and unload cargoes, an upriver navigational terminus, a ford or bridge over a river, etc. The details of the city’s government can also be a source of plots and intrigues. Many governments are of mixed types or have different branches that can clash with each other. The details of a city’s CR are worth describing, especially if one part of its legal system is more or less restrictive than others. See p. 9 for some ideas. The city’s key organizations need to be identified, especially those that grant Rank of some kind. Mostly these have some kind of official political status. However, a private organization such as a religion, a mercantile association, a guild, or even an organized crime group may have Rank if it has major influence on the government. For an independent city-state, use GURPS Mass Combat to define the details of the military forces it maintains. See Military Resources (p. 9) for suggestions on how to do this and Long-Term Fighting (below) for the effects of long-term spending. The military can provide a career for adventurers or aristocrats, or determine the city’s fate in a war. A city map is a valuable resource for describing a city. If the campaign is set in a real city, maps of it are probably available. For a fictitious city, drawing a map can help. It doesn’t need to include every building or street, especially for a large city, but it should include important landmarks, neighborhoods and business districts, main streets, city walls or fortifications, and the main forms of transportation linking the city with the surrounding world, from bridges and docks to spaceports. Much of this information also can be presented in a text description, either in addition to a map or when drawing one isn’t convenient. Details of its climate, surrounding terrain, landmarks, and architectural style can help convey why it’s beautiful or ugly. Working all this out provides a basis for describing people who live in the city. Some of these can be given full-length character sheets, especially if they’ll be recurring supporting people in a campaign. Others can be given shorter descriptions: a Patron or a Contact doesn’t need a character sheet, and an Enemy may not. Minor characters can get by with a name, a location, and an occupation. Nonetheless, all these people will be more vivid if they have clearly defined motives as a basis for deciding what they say and do. It also helps to define their social position: their Wealth, their Rank in various organizations, their Status, and whether they have more specialized social traits such as Legal Enforcement Powers, Legal Immunity, a Secret, Social Regard, or a Social Stigma.
High levels of military expenditure can damage a city’s economy and its ability to support military forces. Once a month, roll vs. the Finance skill of the city’s head of government or his treasurer, at -8 for a Military Budget Factor (p. 9) of 50%; -4 for MBF 20%; unmodified for MBF 10%; or +4 for MBF 5%. No roll is needed for lower values of MBF. Failure decreases monthly income by 10% of the original. When monthly income drops to that for a lower Wealth level, decrease the city’s Wealth statistic and apply further decreases to the monthly income based its lower wealth. Military Resources falls in proportion to monthly income. If a city goes from Poor to Dead Broke, each further failure will decrease its population by 10%, causing further drops in Military Resources. See below for additional possible consequences. Example: Ferrier, the capital of a barony in Caithness, has Average Wealth; at TL3, its citizens’ monthly income is $700. Under siege in a civil war, it loses $70 of monthly income with each failed Finance roll. After five failures, it’s down to $350 a month; its wealth drops to Struggling, and further rolls reduce income by $35 a month. After six more failures, it reaches $140 a month, and becomes Poor. After 10 more failures, it’s Dead Broke. If it continues to hold out, it will lose 10% of its population for each further failure. A city whose Wealth level decreases because of excessive military expenditures (see above) may suffer other consequences. Roll against the skill of the senior responsible citizen to avoid each of the following effects: Skill Consequence of Failure Administration -1 to CR Architecture Appearance decreased one level, but not below Ugly Engineer (Civil) -1 to Hygiene, but not below -2 total Engineer (Combat) -1 to DB, but not below -2 total penalty Politics -3 to Loyalty rolls, cumulative Religious Ritual Sanctity decreased one level by neglected rites, but not below low sanctity Thaumatology Mana Level decreased one level by mana depletion