The Campaign Builder's Guild

This was originally an idea for a CBGuide article, seeing as the suggested theme was cities.  As it stands, I don't know how I could make a single article out of it, but here is the idea anyway, for your thoughts and perusal.

[ic=The Sprawl]There is the City.  It is all-that-is, the only Truth of the universe.  Its iron edifice is spread whole across the flesh of Creation, and so it is called the Sprawl, the infinite and unconquerable Cosmopolis.  It has stood the test of countless ages, whole worlds of cityscape rising to glory and dwindling to destruction upon its face.

And it lives - not a single beast, but many.  Its tenements, towers and terraces are predatory constructs, touting steam and bleeding oil as they seek out their weaker siblings in an anarchic ecology of hungry urban fauna.  In the sky, too, which reaches upward endlessly in a bewildering  scarlet haze, airborne cities stalk fledgling hamlets while colossal metropolises drift languidly though space.

Men dwell in this place, in the chaos of the Sprawl or the comparatively tranquil expanse On High, and their existence is a wary symbiosis with the behemoths they call their homes.  In some places they have mastered their demesne and like coachmen guide the motions of the citybeasts.  In others, they are but witless passengers, and they move wherever the urbana wills them.[/ic]
That's the basic gist.  The idea was partly inspired by Steamboy (particularly the Walking steamcastle at the end) and Howl's moving castle, but mostly it was just me thinking "Wouldn't it be awesome if cities had appetites?"

I like it. Similar to Dragonmech. Have you heard of that series of sourcebooks?

Anyways, it's quite a neat idea. I might be able to use it for my own settings, if you're ok with that.

Never heard of Dragonmech, but I am forever curious.  If you like the idea, feel free to use it  - just remember where it came from.

I'm thinking of maybe cooking up a Pax Urbana campaign myself, but I don't even know what system to use... this thread might feature some new developments soon as I work things out.

Aye. It reminds me of the Mortal Engines series - certainly not a bad thing. They're considered childrens' books by a lot of people, but they're more like young adult.

Quote from: Salacious AngelNever heard of Dragonmech, but I am forever curious.  If you like the idea, feel free to use it  - just remember where it came from.

I'm thinking of maybe cooking up a Pax Urbana campaign myself, but I don't even know what system to use... this thread might feature some new developments soon as I work things out.

Here's the catalog from Goodman Games. (http://www.goodman-games.com/dragonmech.php) There's also a wikipedia article.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DragonMech)

Anyways, I don't plan on using all of it - just a few elements that happen to fit into other settings. There are a lot of cool features already. If that campaign turns out to be a play-by-post, that's be awesome to play in.

Way back in the heady days of RPG proliferation (early '90s), there came out a game called Kult.  It was another attempt to game Horror, and remarkably successful in that virtually any horror movie or story could be covered in its rules, but the pertinent detail was its cosmology.

[ic=Metropolis]First there was Metropolis, The Mighty City, virtually infinite in filled with happy and fulfilled humanity.  Then there arose the Demiurge, who drew humanity from Metropolis into the universe, scattering the souls of the human race throughout the history of Earth.  But the Demiurge didn't retain power forever; he is gone, the Mighty City locked in unending night, and where the tower of the Demiurge once stood there is a miles-wide infinitely deep pit.  The city is patrolled by the subhuman but potent servants of the Demiurge, who fulfil his final orders without reason or relent.

And in Earth, finally enough human souls have inhabited time to crack the dream in which they are locked.  Having shrugged off their enslavement to the alien 'nature', they have begun to build cities of their own, imperfect copies of Metropolis to be sure, but close enough in spirit to generate portals to the real city.

And as memories of the Mighty City stir in the hearts and minds of humanity, the inhabitants of the Metropolis begin to investigate this new realm...[/ic]

Your description reminded me of that.  So humans as symbiotes of the living edifi, mm?  I like that.  The character of Cosmopolis changes drastically depending on whether the buildings are 'biologically' alive, or alive in a subtler metaphysical sense.  The image of people living as a kind of 'mitochondria' to the buildings they live in attracts me.  I intend to keep up with this thread.