City Generation Tables

The city walls were as tall as four men and as thick as three, with guards and lookouts posted at intervals all along the top. The main entrance gate had two large doors covered with polished sheets of bronze, cast with the forms of the 12 tigers. Inside the walls the buildings seemed much like others of the area, tightly packed mud brick dwellings built in a continuous complex with only the occasional alley or street between them. But curiously none of them could be entered from the ground level, the only entrance being hatches on the roof. This meant that intruders could be delayed by pulling up the ladders that led to the top. Even the citadel of the elder council was accessible only by large wooden staircases that could be removed when necessary.

- An Account of Sundaland by Alom Takal 

Here are some tables to help generate the details of a city or for when you need a random location.

City Type

1. A decentralised urban jungle, garden city, communal areas with permanent structures
2. Walled city, individual residential units, separate districts
3. One continuous structure, built over a long time, carved into the side of hills and mountains
4. A city built over the water, houses on stilts, causeways connecting islands, floating gardens
5. Mostly underground, long tunnels, caverns, underground water reservoirs
6. Mounds and platforms, rising above the plains

City Areas

Common labourers, artisans, merchants and bureaucrats will account for the majority of the population and take up the largest area. The foreigners and slave areas might in some cases be located outside of the main city walls. Some cities will have inhabitants from different groups living amongst each other while others will have them strictly separated.

1. Foreigners travellers, merchants and mercenaries.
2. Common labourers and enslaved people.
3. Artisans, merchants and bureaucrats.
4. Warriors, soldiers, guards.
5. Religious caste.
6. Nobles or Elites.

City Features

Use this table to identify a particular location. Some cities will have all of these features, some will only have several, some will have multiples of a single type.

1. Fort or walls.
2. Market
3. Temple
4. Plaza
5. Storage building.
6. Residential building.
7. Workshop
8. Flower garden.
9. Palace
10. Aquaduct or fountain.
11. Harbour
12. Vegetable or fruit garden.
13. Animal enclosure.
14. Watch tower or lighthouse.
15. Public bath and sauna.
16. School, academy or training facility.
17. Open air theatre or arena.
18. Barracks
19. Prison
20. Catacombs, underground complex or tunnels.

Type of Residential Buildings

The typical residential buildings for commoners.

1. Wooden houses sometimes raised on earthworks or stilts.
2. Round or oval buildings with wooden or thatched roof and a low stone wall or base.
3. Tightly packed mud brick buildings.
4. Carved into the rock, either above or underground.
5. A single continuous interconnected complex made from stone or mud bricks.
6. On stilts along rivers or in the water.

Unusual Features

1. Extensive waterways.
2. Entry to buildings through the roof.
3. Causeways or raised walkways.
4. Necropolis within the city walls.
5. Terraced city.
6. Extensively planned city layout.

Features Outside the City

1. Nearby quarry or mine.
2. Farm or garden terraces.
3. Ancient megalith site.
4. Numerous or especially large cenotes.
5. Large waterfalls.
6. Independent religious community.

City Scenarios

1. Hidden tunnels are revealed.
2. A new cult is spreading.
3. A rebellious faction is growing in power and influence.
4. A slave or commoner revolt is on the verge of breaking out.
5. Critical infrastructure such as walls, roads, ditches or terraces are neglected and in disrepair.
6. A prominent person is assassinated.