Places of Interest in Fellhold

As I've mentioned in a few previous posts, I am in the process of pretty extensively overhauling my homebrew setting Fellhold. As a part of that, I've been drafting some tables to help with stocking the place, which is an enormous, largely ruined city where the dungeon and the urban run together pretty fluidly. Below are the tables for "Places of Interest", which are the handful of places within a district likely worth looking into in more detail, also usable to detail out something that catches the players' attention in play.

The debt owed to Yoon-Suin, Vornheim, and others like it should be pretty darn clear, but there will be a more extensive bibliography forthcoming.

Place of Interest Generation

These tables serve two primary purposes: stocking new districts as part of preparation before play, and creating interesting locations on the fly during play. They are not intended to represent every single building or place within Fellhold, but instead, only the interesting ones. As always, you may use as few or as many columns as needed in a given situation. For example, you might only roll on the column for type of business/housing if your players burst into a random building and wonder what type it is. Note that the results are tilted more towards “interesting and weird” than “verisimilitudinous” - if you desire random buildings of a more mundane sort, I direct you to the great many previous supplements that have covered this, including the author’s own hack of Middenheim.

When interpreting the results on these tables, as always, consider their physical context. What is the surrounding district? How does this place fit into that? How does it interact with any factions active there, if at all? 

Type

Places of interest come in three types. Numbers are provided to randomize if you know you need “a place of interest”, but not what sort of place. You may wish to reverse the chances of Lair and Business & Housing results in a ruined district.

1-2: Lair - something more dangerous than the average inhabitant lives here, and probably has treasure and defenses of some sort. 

3-5: Business & Housing - relatively “normal” buildings of the city, but with something to make them of interest to adventurers.

6: Landmark - An especially noteworthy place or thing by which inhabitants navigate their district.

Lairs

Lair inhabitants may be tied to a faction if desired, but generally represent more of a “wild card” outside of normal social context, or perhaps a faction of their own. Some will suggest ties to existing factions more than others (criminals, fleshcrafters), while others will stand out as candidates to be factions in their own right (Master Wizards, Bog Mummies). If a random faction is desired, use the same procedure as for any other NPC. For the number appearing, treasure, and other details, refer to the relevant entry in the bestiary. As always, it is left to the enterprising referee to ignore or reconcile any seemingly contradictory or nonsensical results in whichever way best serves their game.

Roll	Inhabitant(s)	Physical Space	Spice	Relationship with Surrounding District
1	Human Criminals	Hidden within an unremarkable mundane building (roll on the “nature/purpose” column of the Business and Housing table)	Addict of some kind	Feared and appeased
2	Ratmen Criminals	Beneath a mundane building (basement, sewer, lower level of ruins, etc.)	Actually kindly and well-meaning	Hidden and unknown
3	Crabmen Criminals	Above a mundane building (attic, higher level of a tower, closer to ground level, etc.)	Desperately wants something a random faction has	Accepted as part of the district’s “character"
4	Half Dwarf Criminals	Gaudy and obviously self-constructed dwelling	Ambitious and expansive, desires agents in the wider city	Actively loved or worshipped
5	Minor Demon	Opulent Home	Has a random job it wants accomplished	Hemmed in and oppressed by
6	Major Demon	A fortified compound	Actually crazy - different personality and goals every time visited	Pleased by the inhabitants
7	Troll	A storefront, with an accurate sign	Is also a sage in a very narrow field, in addition to anything else	Wants to clear out “the rabble"
8	Solitary Witch	A mobile home of some kind, temporarily stopped here (vardo, tents, etc)	Is also a fence for a highly specific good	An unsatisfactory temporary base
9	Three Witches	On stilts above boggy, brackish water	In the middle of performing a weeks-long ritual, to mysterious ends	Believes it has such potential, if only. . .
10	Vampire	A Library	Collects a highly specific good, and will pay well for examples of it	Despises their own dependence on it
11	Bog Mummy	A nest built from found objects, especially shiny ones	Has strange sexual proclivities, and will pay to satisfy them	Wants to make all of it more like their home
12	Wizard	A damp and mossy tunnel	Secretly not at all what they seem - roll again on table of your choice for real identity	Wants to make their home more like it
13	Master Wizard	Hasty camp every night, moves around, 1/6 chance of changing districts every week	Secretly an agent of a random faction	Actively hunted by
14	Beast	Hole burrowed into surrounding material	Terribly lonely - really just wants to talk to someone for awhile (but may still want to eat them after)	Somehow preys on
15	Ratmen Fleshcrafters	A ruined building	Requires subjects for bizarre experiments or decadent games	Demands payment for protection from other threats
16	Cell of a Conspiracy	A series of platforms suspended by ropes	Possesses a highly accurate map of surrounding districts, allowing movement at twice normal speed through this district and all connected to it	Fascinated by their strange behavior
17	Ghouls	The former shrine of a dead god	Always, always hungry	Spies on them and collects secrets
18	Freedmen Zombies	A cramped apartment	Believes in a radical political philosophy (may be part of an existing faction if one fits the bill)	Wants to make them all more like itself
19	Dangerous Fungus	Between the walls of local housing	Believe themselves to be a rising god, deserving worship	Wants to maintain the status quo
20	Dangerous Addicts	A shanty in an alley	Hoards something worthless and gross, the place is full of whatever it is	Wants to take as much as possible from them and move on

Business & Housing

Note that it is not required, or necessarily desirable, to give this full treatment to every single place of business or housing the players interact with. These tables are more appropriate when preparing a new district’s pre-defined places of interest, if a location is needed for a job, rumor, or conspiracy, when complications arise from the urbancrawl action, or a place is otherwise intended to be a source of ongoing adventure fuel. That being said, if the players are just poking around and have no clear aims in mind, these places can be starting points, suggesting further contacts, jobs, and factional intrigues. 

NPCs

Generally you will want to generate the owner/proprietor, or a major inhabitant for any place generated. If other NPCs become relevant, assume a number of people in the site consistent with its purpose and the time of day (a bar might have very few people in the middle of the afternoon and very many late at night, while a warehouse would be the opposite). If not obvious, assume 2d6 inhabitants/customers at any given time. If specific detail is needed, generate using the table for new contacts, but assume their career is tied to the place, unless it makes sense to have all sorts of careers there (like in a bar). 

Treasure

Location will have treasure in keeping with the owner/proprietor, multiplied by the appropriate wealth level. Some locations will suggest further treasure (like a bank) and should be stocked accordingly.

Roll	Nature/Purpose	Wealth Level	Spice	Faction Ties
1	Tenement/Apartments (run by a generic NPC)	Significantly Poorer than District	Unhappy about the protection money they pay the district’s controlling faction	Loyal to the faction whose turf this district is
2	Slaughterhouse (run by a Merchant)	Significantly Poorer than District	Actually a front for a criminal activity of some kind (run by a patron or fence instead of the usual type)	Loyal to the faction whose turf this district is
3	Tattoo Shop (run by a Sage)	Significantly Poorer than District	Employer, home, or gathering place of an underground fighting ring - everyone here likes to rumble and is good at it	Loyal to the faction whose turf this district is
4	Cunning Man/Woman (run by a Sage)	Significantly Poorer than District	Inhabitant/proprietor having an affair with a member of a rival faction	Loyal to the faction whose turf this district is
5	Tavern (run by 1-3 a Merchant, 4-6 a patron)	Poorer than District	Unusually good place to pick up rumors - roll an extra time on any rumor table when seeking rumors here	Loyal to the faction whose turf this district is
6	Inn (run by a Merchant)	Poorer than District	In addition to anything else, also a landmark	Member of a faction hostile to this district’s controlling faction
7	Warehouse (run by a Merchant)	Poorer than District	In addition to anything else, also a lair	Member of a faction hostile to this district’s controlling faction
8	Pawn Shop (run by a Fence)	Poorer than District	Inhabitants/proprietor know the location of a mighty treasure or evidence of a valuable secret, but not what it is or who owns it	Member of a faction hostile to this district’s controlling faction
9	Townhouse (run by a random NPC type)	Consistent with District	Remarkably friendly inhabitants/proprietor - offer help/service above and beyond what you’d expect	Member of a faction hostile to this district’s controlling faction
10	Marketplace (run by a Merchant)	Consistent with District	Remarkably antagonistic inhabitants/proprietor - will actively hinder player characters as much as possible, regardless of faction allegiance	Member of a faction hostile to this district’s controlling faction
11	Weapons Shop (1-2 Blades, 3-5 Mining Weapons, 6 Firearms) (run by a Merchant)	Consistent with District	Actually a front for a conspiracy of some kind (run by a patron rather than the usual type)	Random faction
12	Armorer (1-3 Cloth, 4-5 Leather, 6 Metal) (run by a Merchant)	Consistent with District	Inhabitants/proprietor extremely lonely - eager for extended social contact with new people	Random faction
13	Tobacconist (run by a Merchant)	Wealthier than District	Inhabitants/proprietor know the description of a mighty treasure or evidence of a valuable secret, but not where to find it or who owns it	Random faction
14	General Store (run by a Merchant)	Wealthier than District	Whatever is done here is extraordinarily flammable and/or explosive, and this place is entirely made of wood	Random faction
15	Artist’s Studio (run by a Sage)	Wealthier than District	Inhabitants/proprietor know the owner of a mighty treasure or evidence of a valuable secret, but not where or what it is	Random faction
16	Coffee House (run by 1-3 a Sage, 4-6 a patron)	Wealthier than District	Building is of an exotic type for the surrounding district	Surprisingly Neutral
17	Bookstore (generate as a library, but books are for sale) (run by a Sage)	Significantly Wealthier than District	Inhabitant/Proprietor is of an exotic type for the surrounding district (e.g. crabman in a ratman district, troll anywhere, etc)	Surprisingly Neutral
18	Library (run by a Sage)	Significantly Wealthier than District	Secret access to a method of easy movement to another district (tunnels, walkways, portals, etc)	Surprisingly Neutral
19	Brothel (run by a Patron)	Significantly Wealthier than District	Actually the exact opposite of apparent wealth level. If “average”, secretly wealthy.	Surprisingly Neutral
20	Bank (run by a Merchant)	Significantly Wealthier than District	Inhabitant/Proprietor owes a favor to a powerful patron, doesn’t especially want to pay it back	Surprisingly Neutral

Landmarks

Landmarks provide the baseline for navigation within a district. They are known and obvious to anyone who spends any amount of time in or near the district. Assume that all landmarks are known by all Fellhold residents unless the district is especially far underground and out of contact with the city near the surface. When crawling within a district, landmarks should be placed on the map, or at least their direction indicated as known points of reference. If a landmark is the target of intentional movement (for example “meet me at the Statue of Akatziroi’s ascension to lichdom”) then there is no chance of getting lost (but still check for encounters as usual). There’s usually one to three per district, but not every district necessarily has landmarks.

Roll	Type	Why is it Noteworthy?	How is it Regarded by the District?
1	Business	Remarkably intricate and beautiful architecture or carving	A sort of emblem or mascot
2	Housing	Especially well-preserved example of dwarven pre-invasion style	Something to boast about and feel ownership of
3	Fountain or Well	It unusual or unexpected for it to be located where it is	Feared and hated
4	Bridge	Remarkably shoddy and unstable	A perverse sense of pride
5	Plinth or Column	Conveys a detailed history of the reign of a Famous Witch King	The source of their prosperity (or lack thereof)
6	Statue	Its enormous size	Slight embarrassment for being associated with it
7	Canal or Dock	Popular destination for tourists from other districts	A necessary source of annoyance
8	Shrine	Kept in immaculate condition by unknown benefactors	Kind of creepy, but probably harmless
9	Rare Uncarved Rock	A folk hero of a random faction was killed here	Useful for navigation, that’s all
10	Original Growth Tree	Is the locus of a powerful demon	Neutral ground for important meetings
11	Intersection	It is physically impossible not to pass it if you go any distance in the district	The cultural and spiritual center of not only their district, but all of Fellhold
12	Mural	An especially tasteful example of crabman style	A kind of sanctuary, won’t prosecute violence there
13	Frieze	Noteworthy example of pre-invasion Witch Kingdom style	Kitschy and tasteless, but with a certain charm
14	Stairway	Surprisingly tiny for what it is	Superstitious - requires ritual every time passed
15	Open Space	A random faction regards it as their territory, posts guards	Shunned and avoided as much as possible
16	Marketplace	Plays host to an exotic gathering once a month	A source of trouble and a bad influence on the youth
17	Grafitti	A breathtakingly modern expression of daring style	An eyesore, better gotten rid of, but no one is willing to
18	Park	On top of or beneath a building or chamber	A bizarre fluke
19	Sign Board or Post	The most ancient thing known in the district	Source of unwanted responsibility or stewardship
20	Alley	No one can tell who or what made it, bizarre and alien	Almost definitely cursed somehow