The PCs are likely are going to try to get into a safehouse of the local thieves’ guild in the next two sessions. The setting is Ptolus, using the D&D 5E rules.
The safehouse in question is in a lower middle class region on the surface, but it has another entrance to the vast dungeon systems beneath the city. This, in itself, is not unusual - the bedrock on which the city stands is filled with tunnels and long-forgotten vaults. But while most house owners just try to brick those passages over, the thieves’ guild actually uses these passages for their business dealings.
And I need some ideas on both what might be inside the premises, and what kinds of systems they use to secure the safehouse. The PCs will likely be coming from the “dungeon” side, and this is the kind of city where criminals expect inconvenient adventurers to pop up in all sorts of places.
I’ve already determined that the location includes:
- a vampire ally of the guild
- some cells for prisoners who get interrogated for information
- a bunch of drugs for resale
Any other ideas? The party consists of four 8th level characters, if this helps.
@juergen_hubert It makes me wonder why there are so many tunnels to begin with. Of course, in a fantasy world they could just be a side effect of unusually large worms, or something.
But first thing that comes to mind is catacombs - if not the primary purpose, a secondary usage. So walls lined with bones is maybe something?
The city of Ptolus has a long and convoluted backstory, and is known across much of the continent as “that weird city with all the dungeons and adventurers”. Suffice to say, there are reasons why the region attracts all kinds of supernatural creatures, and there were many, many different groups of people and creatures who expanded these dungeons.
If you like the whole concept of “dungeon delving mixed with city adventures”, I can highly recommend Ptolus. Few do it better, or more exhaustively.
@juergen_hubert a training area to learn and teach thievery skills
Stolen goods that they thought were valuable, but aren’t actually.
Complete with exorbitant prices and backstory. Make it obvious that the seller is delusional and just steals random shit and tries to resell it with a made up backstory.
Make the other theives dislike the seller and if the PCs ask, they say the dude is probably off his rocker. “He ain’t good at theivin’, but he is the nephew of important person” or “he is a really good cook, so we keep him around”
Bonus points if you conceal an actually useful item within the midst of garbage
Consider what this place is to the thieves and how they use it.
Do they live here? If so there should be sleeping and dining areas. Do they frequently gather, perhaps to set out for work together, or do they tend to be dispersed, coming and going as jobs demand?
For the former, they most likely a barracks or common room and a dining hall. But if the latter, then something more like a series of tunnels and halls that occasionally have little apartments and safe zones. This is, to use your screenshot, basically the difference between the main guild area and the Ratways.
You say they expect adventurers? Do they set up a few rooms of traps and post a guard to catch them, or do they cleverly hide their entrances and then let monsters roam free outside safe areas as a deterrent, or do they welcome the (money and resources of) the adventurers and so the entrance is guarded but accessible, maybe almost like a lounge or casino?
There’s typically a tradeoff between utility and security in any physical space. If it’s easy to use the tunnels to get around the city quietly, then it’s also easy to lose your enemies, to get lost, and to be suddenly infiltrated. On the other hand, if movement is difficult or dangerous or restricted, then the hideout is more secure from random incursion and discovery.
