Elegant Fantasy

City Generator

Raphael Sadowski
Writing & layout

Font families used: Alegreya, GriffosFont, UglyQua

Badass skull on cover by PaperBat © 2021 Raphael Sadowski
Author’s portrait by Anna Helena Szymborska

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 Anna Helena Szymborska
Introduction
Let’s face it: if you want a city in your game, you can do it with some effort. Population, military and
economical position, imports and exports – it’s all relatively easy to note down. But to make a city
truly unique and memorable? This takes a lot of time and seemingly bottomless imagination.

This book, like all Elegant Fantasy Generators should serve as a spark that will ignite your creativity,
and will allow you to quickly come up with interesting cities that your players will remember. It won’t
leave you with a mess of boring, random statistics, but with ideas that you can use to build immersive
places and encounters for your players.

The rest lies in your capable hands.

Have fun,
Raphael Sadowski

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 How to Use

1 Take Your Time

This is not one of those on-the-fly, improvisational generators. If you
want to use it, do it at least few days before playing. Save some time to
polish your city.

2 Prepare
Get some paper sheets, pencil, eraser and a bunch of dice. You’ll need d8,
d10, d12, d20 and d100.

3 Roll until Satisfied

Roll and note. Roll again and note again. Use single words first. Write
down keywords. List the features. Every time you roll a feature that you
think you can easily combine with another - do it! Shorten the list as soon
as possible. Roll for as many features as you deem necessary and stop only
when you feel the city is done.

4 Fill Out the Gaps

Name the city. Fill it with people and objects. You can design your own or
use other random generators.

I’d propose my Elegant Fantasy Creature Generator to generate some

weird denizens of your city. A shop ran by a psychometric squid-woman
sounds like a cool feature.

If you like artifacts and magical items, consider using Elegant Fantasy
Artifact Generator. You’ll be surprised how easily you can spice up your
city by introducing a few truly strange items – maybe a specific tool used
by a privileged caste, or a strange weapon common amongst city guards?

Both are available at DriveThru RPG store as Pay What You Want, digital
products.

5 Ready to Play
Introduce the city to your players and have a lot of fun traversing its
streets.

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1. Core City Features
Decide what size you want your city to be: standard or a metropolis. First one will satisfy most of
your campaign needs, as a starting point or a safe haven for player characters between adventures.

Metropolis is a truly huge city that will serve as the main adventure location in your campaign.
Consider dividing your Metropolis into districts and roll separately for each one.

Hallmark
This is it - the first thing that comes to mind, when you hear the name of the city: it’s hallmark. This
one thing that’s specific to this city only. In our world it’s mostly buildings and monuments. New
York’s hallmark would be Statue of Liberty, Paris’ – Eiffel Tower, Rio De Janeiro’s – statue of Christ
the Redeemer. Sometimes it’s something more exotic, like Venetian Canals. In fantasy worlds these
hallmarks can be something truly strange or amazing.

Roll a d100 to randomly determine the specific Hallmark, or choose a basic type you like and roll
within, using the dice specified in type’s name. You can also just pick the one you like the most. And
don’t hesitate to roll again and combine the Hallmarks to create something truly unique.

d100 Type Hallmark Description

1-2 1 Crater City is either built inside a huge crater, or it was hit by something big.

3-4 2 Waterfall City was built around a remarkable waterfall.

Peculiar Location (d10)

5-6 3 Lake/Sea City stands on a bank of a lake or maybe it’s floating upon sea waves.
7-8 4 Underground City was built underground or carved into mountains.

9-10 5 Canyon City was built inside a canyon.

11-12 6 Tree Tops City is located among tree tops of an ancient forest, high above ground.

13-14 7 Swamp This city’s walls grew from mud and fuming swamp waters.
15-16 8 Wasteland City was built in a middle of a remote, deadly land.

17-18 9 Mountain Top City stands on the top of a huge mountain, way above the clouds.

19-20 10 Clouds Somehow this city is floating among the clouds.

21-22 1 Bridge A magnificent bridge leads into this city or connects its two parts.

23-24 2 Pyramid An ancient pyramid stands boldly at the heart of this city.
Building or Statue (d10)

25-26 3 Obelisk Tall, sky-piercing obelisk stands at the heart of this city.

27-28 4 Statue A great statue of a hero, king, scholar or some creature guards this city.

29-30 5 Petrified Threat A monster turned into stone, or froze in place looms over this city.
31-32 6 Temple City is famous for its beautiful temple.

33-34 7 Arena Gladiators from all around the world dream of fighting on this arena.
35-36 8 Amphitheater Artists from all over the world flock to try and perform here.

37-38 9 Ruins City was built atop the ruins of older civilization.

39-40 10 Tower Tall and ominous, this tower can belong to the ruler or some mage.

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d100 Type Hallmark Description

41-42 1 Bridges City is full of tall buildings and citizens travel via networks of hanging
walkways and bridges.

43-44 2 Canals There are multiple canals in this city and citizens often travel using
small boats.
Structure (d6)

45-46 3 Undercity There is a famous underground district in this city.

47-48 4 Labyrinth Streets of this city are labyrinthian – one can easily get lost here or find
a dead-end where they are sure a shop should be standing.

49-50 5 Roofs People use flat roofs of the city buildings as additional living space.
There are gardens, inns and stalls there.
51-52 6 Exotic District One of the districts of this city belongs to a very exotic nation or
mysterious race. Only there one can obtain their deep wisdom or
exquisite products.

53-54 1 Academy City is famous for its school – it hosts hundreds of students each year,
and the city’s life is ruled by the academic needs.

55-56 2 School of Magic A world famous school of magic is located in this city. Citizens are
either proud of the school, or openly angry about the destruction and
chaos brought upon them by the studying mages.
57-58 3 Garrison A powerful army is stationing in this city.
Prestige (d8)

59-60 4 Bank One of the richest banks in the world is located at the heart of this city.

61-62 5 Market On this colorful market you can find merchants and goods from all
around the world.
63-64 6 Impenetrable Wall City is famous for its defensive capabilities. Huge walls or other
ramparts can withstand any siege.

65-66 7 Precious The city is so rich, that some common elements of its architecture are
made of precious material: street signs incrusted with gold and silver,
lanterns made of gems or water fountains inlaid with mother of pearl.

67-68 8 Throne The city is famous for its seat of power – a magical or symbolic throne,
that gives great power to whomever sits in it (legally or not).

69-70 1 Portals City is ridden with magical portals that can either transport an
unwitting adventurer into distant realms, or just interconnect different
parts of the city.
71-72 2 Constructs It’s common to use magical, or mechanical constructs in this city. They
can perform common jobs, or they could be a remnant of an older
civilization, and their goals might be incomprehensible to the city folk.
Magic (d6)

73-74 3 Dome City is protected, locked or hidden under a huge dome. Is the weather
inside magically controlled? Is the dome translucent, or made of stone
or iron?

75-76 4 Floating Whole city or parts of it, like districts or single buildings, are floating
above the ground.
77-78 5 Sentient City is sentient. It has a way of communicating with its denizens, but
its origins and goals might be quite obscure.

79-80 6 Haunted City is known to be haunted – ghosts and specters abound, but the
citizens are quite used to them.

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 d100 Type Hallmark Description

81-82 1 Fauna City is famous for a species of an animal thriving on its streets. Maybe
cheeky, thieving monkeys live here, or some exotic birds sing, sitting
on its lanterns and rooftops.

83-84 2 Flora City is known for a specific type of plant that grows only here in
abundance, or a single, enormous plant that can be find here only.
85-86 3 Public Transport A specific form of public transport persists in this city. Rickshaws,
gondolas, palanquins, ponies or similar. Business owners form a
renowned society or a guild of their own.
87-88 4 Danger Everyone knows about a great danger dwelling somewhere in this. Only
madmen and desperate folk live there, and only fools ever visit.
Quirks (d10)

89-90 5 Form of Art A very popular form of new art was invented in this city. New style of
painting, new dance, social game, new style of stage play or new kind of
music originated here. Many citizens vie for perfection in this one
thing. Feuds and contests ensue.

91-92 6 Language Citizens speak in a strange language, only ever used in this one place.
93-94 7 Sickness A strange sickness spreads here or originates from this city. Is it
sickness of the mind, or the body? Is it contagious? Dangerous, or just a
minor nuisance?

95-96 8 Etiquette Some really strange customs sprout from the city’s rich tradition, and
all social relations here must abide, or be shunned by the public.

97-98 9 Daily Routine Citizens developed a peculiar daily routine, maybe sleeping all day and
working all night, or there’s a three-hour long siesta at noon?
99-100 10 Clothing Citizens wear strange, striking clothing (or nothing at all).

History of the City

Roll a d12 for each column to learn about the city’s past, or just once, and read across.

d12 built by… …the city was once… …and now it is…
1 sophisticated nation cultural capital of the realms a nest of depravity

2 invaders from distant lands known for its wealth on the brink of bankruptcy
3 mysterious race, long extinct ransacked by barbarians local seat of power

4 ambitious military commander cursed by powerful being known for magical gimmicks
5 visionary architect razed to ruins slowly rebuilding its glory

6 noble family just a small dwelling overpopulated

7 giants discovered by an explorer an adventuring frontier

8 indigenous people taken over by other nation dealing with its shameful past

9 an alliance of guilds transported to another plane full of madmen

10 powerful faction decimated by a plague capital of a new nation

11 a god-like being a stage of bloody uprising vying for independence

12 powerful magic user famed for its beauty center of philosophy

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2. Law and Politics
Here we’ll determine who and how rules the city.

Ruling Body
Roll a d12 for each column to determine who and how rules the city. Or roll just once and read across.

d12 ruled by… to ensure obedience they… …and the citizens…

1 mysterious organization deftly manipulate the systems don’t know about their existence

2 mad king or queen invent many quirky laws grow more and more frustrated

3 warmonger or tyrant use henchmen to police people can only submit to survive
4 magical or monstrous being charm, tempt and beguile are all fanatics

5 factions or guilds
6 priests or shamans
7 a newly appointed governor
8 an oracle
manipulate the economy
use threats of divine
intervention
struggle against the system
claim omniscience
try to abuse the law for advantage
got used to the idea
adore them for that
believe that’s the only way

9 noble family pamper the wealthy couldn’t care less

10 figurehead for a foreign fill the dungeons with enemies openly show their disapprovement
power
11 enlightened man or people promote civility and logic are strongly divided about them

12 citizens themselves follow the whims of the people are eager to take matters into
their own hands

Weird Laws, Customs and Traditions

Roll a d12 for each column to create an interesting or problematic local laws. Take some time to
interpret odd and peculiar rolls. Make as many strange laws and customs as you want.

“Women will be punished for stealing until they wear specific clothes” sounds strange, but the law
may simply refer to an old tradition of young women wearing magpie masks, who can freely steal
anything they want, as long as they are not caught in the act. Remember: what can’t be easily
explained as a law can be explained as a weird tradition or an obscure custom from ages ago.

(Also, if the rolled rule makes no sense whatsoever, don’t hesitate to just roll again.)

d12 group the rule the deed the exception

1 everyone are forbidden to littering during the day
2 citizens are expected to dueling during the night

3 visitors will be punished for drinking alcohol every odd or even day
4 young will be rewarded for talking unless they perform specific penance

5 men can only praising if they convert

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 6 women must pay for having sex unless they mark their bodies
permanently
7 nobles are to be paid for reveling unless they prove their worthiness

8 commoners can’t be punished for stealing unless they do so in group of specific

number
9 merchants are considered guilty of eating unless they wear specific clothes

10 artists can’t publicly using magic unless they use specific phrase

11 scholars must register every trading unless they have/don’t have a license
12 elders will be ostracized and having children unless the specific age
ignored by citizens for

Policing
Each city should have at least a garrison of guards, generally loyal to the ruling body.

Roll a d12 twice and see what you get.

d12 City is guarded by… …and those who run them are…
1 No one overwhelmed by the criminal activity

2 Loyal Guards currently a little short-handed

3 Corrupt Guards invisible (or just very good at hiding)

4 Fanatic Guards able to predict future crimes

5 Constructs secretly organizing a coup

6 Trained Beasts abusing their power

7 Magical Creatures equipped with strange/powerful artifacts/magic

8 Spells and Charms underpaid

9 Volunteers wise, hard-working and heroic

10 Vigilantes the only thing that stands in the way of the city’s downfall

11 Famous Mercenaries monsters in disguise

12 A very small group of powerful looking for new leaders

people (mages, heroes, etc.)

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3. Businesses of Renown
Below you’ll find a bunch of tables on specific Inns, Shops and Temples. Roll on as many as you want
and skip whatever seems redundant. Don’t over-clutter your city: remember, that most of the time
your city will still have plenty of “normal” or “typical” businesses. Roll only for a very specific, unique
places.

One peculiar inn, an interesting shop and maybe one temple should suffice for most cities. Unless
you’re creating a sprawling metropolis that will serve as the main adventure location in your
campaign – then you can really go crazy.

Inn
Every inn offers typical services: food and lodging. Roll a d10 only to determine what makes this
specific inn unique.

d10 What makes it unique? Description

1 A world-famous Drink This inn is serving famous spirits to its patrons. The drink may well be made
only here or it’s imported in abundance from somewhere else.
2 A world-famous Dish This inn is serving famous food to its patrons. It may well be made only here or
it’s imported in abundance from somewhere else.

3 Strange Lodging
4 Exquisite Entertainment
5 Artifact
Guests are expected to sleep in strange way – in huge, living leaves, inside a
coffin, suspended in the air or in hammocks.
In this inn a famous bard/troupe/dancer/illusionist/courtesan/poet is known to
perform.
This inn is known to contain a strange or powerful artifact. Owner may demand
payment for witnessing it, it can be displayed for everyone to see or the artifact
may be the source of Owners business, magically/mechanically producing food,
drinks or lodgings.

6 Hero Owner Owner of this inn is a retired adventurer and a known hero.
7 Peculiar Owner The owner of this inn isn’t an ordinary human. It’s a strange, sentient creature,
a civilized monster or monsters, who decided they wanted to run a business.
8 Exclusive The inn will serve only a specific caste/craft/guild/race. Everyone else is not
welcome there.

9 Gateway This inn serves also as an entrance to a famous dungeon or dangerous land.
10 Custom There is a customary dance/game/strange dish that takes place only here. It is
expected for every patron to participate.

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Shop
This shop offers any equipment you want it to offer. Roll a d10 only to determine what makes this
specific shop unique.

d10 What makes it unique? Description

1 Barter Only This shop won’t take money – you can only barter here.

2 Security This shop is famous for it’s seemingly impenetrable security system: deadly
creatures, strong mercenaries or powerful magic.

3 Displacing Either the owner(s) is moving constantly, and the shop is located on a cart or
something similar or the shop just magically appears and disappears all over
town.
4 Shady To trade here one has to find the shop first, and then share a secret password.

5 Exotic This shop offers good from a distant land, or maybe from another plane of
existence.
6 Hero Owner Owner of this shop is a retired adventurer and a known hero.

7 Peculiar Owner The owner of this shop isn’t an ordinary human. It’s a strange, sentient
creature, a civilized monster or monsters, who decided they wanted to run a
business.

8 Interdimensional The goods or the shop itself comes from an interdimensional pocket – the trader
or the entrance can not look like much, but in fact they have incredible choice of
all kinds of goods .

9 Franchise This shop is a part of bigger business sprawling the whole city, kingdom or even
the whole world.
10 Strange Currency Owner of this shop won’t take your money – they want something else,
something strange, like months of your life, childhood memories or ruby jewels
found only in ancient tombs.

Temple
This temple offers any service you deem necessary. Roll a d10 only to determine what makes this
specific temple unique.

d10 What makes it unique? Description

1 Front This temple is fake – it serves as a front to some other kind of business or
organization, not necessarily benevolent.

2 Forbidden This obscure temple is worshipping a forbidden/taboo god, or its practices were
lately deemed unethical or politically improper.
3 Punishing To take part in the ceremonies and services penitents must perform a specific,
demeaning rite, like blood offering or other unpleasantness.

4 Martial Priests or monks residing here are known for their incredible martial skills or
their devastating battle magic.
5 Sensual Priests and vestals of this temple are known to use sexual rites to perform their
services.

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6 Gilded This temple is famous for its abundant riches.
7 Miracles The temple is known for miracles that happen through the hands of the priests.

8 Seat of God In this temple the god, demi-god or at least their very powerful representative is
often present in flesh.
9 Godless This temple worships human mind, the void, nature or peace instead of a god.

10 Abandoned Either ruined or simply empty, for some reason this temple is not run by any
priests. Citizens may ignore it completely, or gather to perform rituals
themselves.

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4. Additional Unique Business
If you want to have more of interesting locations in this city, consider adding one of these. Roll to
determine its nature and specifics, or choose freely.

Again, if you want to simply add a typical brothel or fighting school – just do it. Roll here only if you
want something unique.

d20 Type Feature Description

1 Masked This brothel is free to attend for all, but you must wear a mask all the time at the risk
of punishment. Masked, relaxed activities allow for the citizens to unwind and break
free from the constrains of their class, at least for some time.
Brothel

2 Exotic This brothel is proud to host a plethora of strange, humanoid (?) creatures of many
races. You decide, if the crew is willing or are they slaves forced into the business.
3 Hazy Whole place is engulfed in a narcotic fog or a spell, that makes visitors witness
strange visions during their activities, or enhance/change the features of the crew.

4 Taboo Whatever happens in this illegal place is probably too weird to describe here.

5 Assassins Run by the best assassins in the world, this small, secluded, secret school will make a
great killer out of you, if you succeed or… You’ll vanish with no trace, if you fail.
Training facility

6 Thespians A famous group of poets and writers dwell in the city, and they are known to take an
apprentice or a couple from time to time, to try and turn them into great masters of
the word.
7 Nobles Royal and noble children are sent here to learn proper manners and courtesy.

8 Architects Young architects learn their craft through observing and sketching the structure of
this very city.

9 Hall The market is placed inside a huge building, in a single hall.

10 Nomadic The market is only visiting the city periodically, or it’s in constant move, like a
Market

festival procession through the city streets.

11 Invisible The market is hard to find – one must know the location or secret passages guarded
by passwords to reach it.
12 Bartering It’s customary for the traders to only accept barter instead of payment.

13 Specific culture The museum is devoted to portray the history of one specific culture.

14 Of Modern Art This museum presents strange art that escapes traditional understanding of this
Museum

word. Expect performances, trick paintings and interactive sculptures.

15 Of Classic Art Ancient gobelins, antiques, huge, detailed paintings and other works of art.

16 Of Historic Event The museum is devoted to a single historic event, important to the city.

17 Inventor An inventor is taking commissions for creating helpful automatons, clockwork,

magical or other.
18 Jeweler Famous jeweler lives and practices in this city – his works decorate heads and bodies
Crafter

of the royalty, or are used as magical foci.

19 Tattooer A tattooer well known for his work may adorn your skin with his work, for a hefty
price. Some say that his ink is magical.

20 Fleshcrafter A secluded, old man is rumored to be able to change one’s features with foul magic.

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End Note
I hope you’ve ended up with a nice, interesting city for your game. If you liked it, tell your friends
about Elegant Fantasy City Generator.

And if you like how I handled the topic, you might want to check out other products from my Elegant
Fantasy series. You can already find three of them on DriveThru: An Elegant Fantasy Creature
Generator, Elegant Fantasy Artifact Generator (both are PWYW products) and an extensive Elegant
Fantasy Dungeon Generator (for 2$).

Thanks for getting my book and see you soon!

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