This article was inspired by ‘twenty quick questions for your campaign setting’ by Jeff Rients. I’ve been working on developing ‘the Smoke’ for my Swyvers campaign – a wretched, industrialized city. Think London, early 1800s. It’s a bit different from a typical pseudo-medieval fantasy campaign, so I’m adapting Rients’s article to suit the setting a bit more.

Swyvers already covers some more high-level questions in its own text. These questions will all involve topics that are immediately relatable to the PCs. To quote Rients: “Better to muse on these before your players ask you, rather than finding yourself on the spot.” You shouldn’t need more than two or three sentences to answer each.

1. Who is the absolute richest bastard in town?
2. What places or people should we best avoid, if we want to stay out of trouble?
3. Where do rich nobs tend to hang out?
4. Who is this District’s warden? What are they like?
5. If we get into trouble with the law, who is known to be bribable?
6. We need to lay low for a bit, where’s a good place?
7. Where can we go if we need some weapons or armour?
8. We need some speciality equipment made. Who’s a good artisan?
9. What’s a local political conflict we can get involved with?
10. Where can we go to get medical help?
11. What’s a pub where us thieves tend to hang out?
12. In which ways is the church present in this District?
13. Who around here has purported knowledge of witchcraft or magic?
14. Which other gang has a presence around here?
15. Are there any crime bosses that we owe fealty to?
16. I want to do something good for once. What are the common folk struggling with in this District, in particular?
17. Who is a good source of leads or work?
18. What is there to eat and drink around here? Any local delicacies?
19. I’d like to train a putterer, what’s a good place to find miscreant youths?
20. I’ve found a book/text/tome I can’t read, where I can find someone who’s literate?

You might want to answer some of these multiple times, for every district you generate (but maybe wait until your players actually go there). There are only a couple days left to back Swyvers on Kickstarter. Happy heisting!