Living City was an organized play program run by the Role-Playing Group Association (RPGA) for the 2nd and 3rd editions of Dungeons & Dragons between 1987 and 2004. Its modules were chiefly set in the city of Ravens Bluff in the Vast.
Modules[]
History[]
Early Development[]
The Living City logo.
Living City began its life in 1986 as the RPGA's "City Project", a coordinated effort to "create a composite fantasy city out of submissions from the membership […] that we all can use, and we all will have contributed a little something to".[1] James Ward and Harold Johnson were the primary creative forces behind the project.[2] As of July of that year, few details had been nailed down except that the city should be "either a seaport or a river town to facilitate trade […] located in a temperate zone". A contest to name the city was announced in Polyhedron #30.[1] The contest received roughly 150 entries.[3] A shortlist of candidates was presented in Polyhedron #32,[4] and the final results were announced in Polyhedron #36. The winner was "Ravensgate", but this turned out to already be trademarked by another company. Rather than going with the second-place name—because they had already commissioned a raven-themed map for the city—the RPGA decided to come up with another, to-be-determined name containing the word "raven". It was also announced that the Living City was to be part of the Forgotten Realms, "a little south of the city of Tantras […] on The Dragon Reach".[5] The city's final name was settled on shortly after: Ravens Bluff.[6]
The very first Living City article, "On the Road to the Living City", was published in Polyhedron #34, written by Jean Rabe with contributions from Michael Lach. In addition to introducing the first two mini-adventures set in the Living City, the article announced a full campaign book was in the works alongside a "monthly newsletter which will feature current events within the city".[7] The first Living City tournament adventure, Caravan by James Ward, debuted at Gen Con '87, which ran from August 20–23, 1987.[5] The first Living City sourcebook, Gateway to Ravens Bluff, the Living City, was released at Gen Con '89. Featuring contributions from a plethora of RPGA members, it was only available for purchase at conventions[8] and through mail order.[9] Between 1989 and 1990, the Living City kept expanding through regular articles in Polyhedron and through the release of another sourcebook, Inside Ravens Bluff, the Living City, but the actual organized play aspect of the campaign was restricted to a single tournament adventure run each year at Gen Con. This changed in 1991 when, citing increased popularity, the RPGA opted to run two different adventures at Gen Con. The tournament was also opened for all RPGA members, not just those ranked as judges.[10]
This increased popularity came with some growing pains. The early Living City operated on an honor system, with players trusted to maintain their own characters without cheating by adding unwarranted magic items or gold to their sheets. In 1993, Jean Rabe noted that this had become a problem, and so the RPGA began tracking which characters received rewards from which adventure. A consortium was formed to oversee Living City specifically, headed by Wayne Straiton.[2]
Procampur Expansion[]
In 1997, the RPGA announced the Procampur Project: an expansion for Living City set in the city of Procampur, Jewel of the Vast, overseen by the Universe Construction Company (a group of Living City designers) led by Jay Fisher and Daniel Cooper. The initial plan was for a 10-part series of connected adventures set in the Jewel of the Vast—what would eventually be known as the Cracked Jewel Saga—but the team was also open to adventure submissions not related to the main storyline.[11]
Farewell to the Living City[]
The launch of 3rd-edition D&D heralded a major change for the Living City campaign. The RPGA struggled to convert the thousands of player characters (and their individual belongings) to the new edition, and ultimately ceased maintaining the campaign. Starting in 2002, the third-party company OrganizedPlay was given a contract to keep Living City running for 3rd edition.[12]
Near the end of 2002, OrganizedPlay announced that Living City would be split into two different campaigns: one for high-level characters and one for low-level characters. This was intended to help Living City compete with Living Greyhawk, whose "[p]articipation rates […] averaged roughly 10 times that garnered by Living City". The high-level campaign would retain "the characters and context that has been created by the thousands of players who have made Ravens Bluff their homes" while the low-level campaign would "concentrate on a new iteration of the Living City campaign that doesn't have to account for nearly a decade of campaign development".[13]
Organized Play kept this up until the end of 2003, when dwindling interest forced them to drop the Living City contract. In June 2004, the Living City program was formally discontinued, with the RPGA preferring to focus on the Legacy of the Green Regent and Living Greyhawk campaigns.[12]
Gameplay[]
Characters[]
In the Living City campaign, players created characters according to a set of guidelines. These could then be used to participate in official Living City tournaments at conventions, where they could gain experience and magic items just like any other Dungeons & Dragons characters. Characters were prohibited from participating in the same tournament adventure more than once.[2]
Trading[]
Player characters could trade gold and items for magic items in "Chemcheaux", a magic shop that existed both in-universe and out-of-universe at conventions.[2]
Notable Player Characters[]
- Alydar, an elf fighter and adventurer.
- Arroc, a mag member of the Wizards Guild.
- Benzoate Glycol, a rather dimwitted and extremely handsome adventurer.
- Denzil Lassar, or Lady D, the owner and the founder of the Inferno Hall, a temple to Sharess of Ravens Bluff.
- Dinsul, the bard proprietor of The Golden Flute Tavern.
- Dominique Thorin, a boisterous elf commoner.
- Don Juan Montery, an infamous adventuring knight of the Golden Rooster.
- Drakkar Von Damm, an adventuring paladin.
- Farendrell, an adventurer from Ravens Bluff.
- Glithander Ej-lahona, a mage member of the Wizards Guild of Ravens Bluff.
- Harker Sorrel, a Knight of the Phoenix.
- Jandar Stargazer, a Mystran adventuring comrade of Briar Oldhill.
- Jean-Dorial Encarthan, an elvish Knight Commander of the Griffon Guard cavalry.
- Jenilynn Leyland, a cleric of Tyr, and a Knight of the Right Hand of Tyr.
- Ladyhawke, an adventuring knight of the Golden Rooster.
- Opal Starlight, a half-elven scout of Ravens Bluff.
- PomFritte Fromage, an eccentric hin adventuring knight of the Golden Rooster.
- Rafim Cinder, a mage member of the Wizards Guild.
- Rebekkah Darklyte, a drow priestess of Eilistraee.
- Sally Elvenstar, an adventurer of Ravens Bluff.
- Sarren Nightstalker, a Knight of the Griffon and husband of Jenilynn Leyland.
- Selphiras Elvenstar, a squire from the city of Ravens Bluff.
- Tatyanna Elfsdottir, a cleric adventurer.
- Tief of Selûne, one of the very few tieflings in the Vast and a prominent Selûnite adventurer.
- Vedina Stareye, a woman with a "face of a pock-marked road and a voice of like fingernails on slate."
- Yvonne Chantel, a paladin of Tyr.
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Penny Petticord (July 1986). “Notes from HQ”. In Penny Petticord ed. Polyhedron #30 (TSR, Inc.), p. 5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jean Rabe (October 1993). “Notes From HQ: Living City Growing Pains”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #88 (TSR, Inc.), p. 4.
- ↑ Penny Petticord (September 1986). “Notes from HQ”. In Penny Petticord ed. Polyhedron #31 (TSR, Inc.), p. 5.
- ↑ Barbara G. Young ed. (November 1986). “Name-the-Living-City-Contest”. Polyhedron #32 (TSR, Inc.), p. 8.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jean Rabe ed. (July 1987). “Notes from HQ”. Polyhedron #36 (TSR, Inc.), p. 5.
- ↑ Jean Rabe (September 1987). “Notes from HQ”. In Skip Williams ed. Polyhedron #37 (TSR, Inc.), p. 3.
- ↑ Jean Rabe, Michael Lach (March 1987). “On the Road to the Living City”. In Skip Williams ed. Polyhedron #34 (TSR, Inc.), p. 6.
- ↑ Jean Rabe (September 1989). “Notes from HQ”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #49 (TSR, Inc.), p. 4.
- ↑ Jean Rabe (November 1989). “Notes from HQ”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #50 (TSR, Inc.), p. 5.
- ↑ Jean Rabe (March 1991). “Notes from HQ”. In Jean Rabe ed. Polyhedron #58 (TSR, Inc.), p. 4.
- ↑ Jay Fisher, Daniel Cooper (1997-10-02). Procampur, Shining Jewel of the Vast. RPGA. Archived from the original on 1998-07-17. Retrieved on 2023-09-03.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ian Richards (June 2004). “Farewell to the Living City”. In Erik Mona ed. Polyhedron #170 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 76.
- ↑ Ryan Dancey (2002-11-02). Living City 2003 Plans. OrganizedPlay. Archived from the original on 2002-12-14. Retrieved on 2023-09-10.