No D&D campaign would be complete without a city, in which
thieves skulk, assassins ply their trade, and merchants pinch pennies
(with oft-surprising strength). Here in the scummy tavern, The Lost
Lunch, Stinking Ed and his 5 lowlife pals will slip you a knife ’twixt the
ribs more likely than not; there in that garbage-blocked alley Don the
Slimy will sell you foul, polluted drugs.

The rotten part of town, by contrast, has its denizens to make Ed
and Don resemble St. Francis and Grandma Moses. The thieves’
quarters and the South Slum of this city would make Boston’s Combat
Zone look nice. (Well, not nice, but better. )

Have you just been pickpocketed for the 4th time? Are those
murderers you spy up on the roof? Is this a dagger I see before me? Call
for the watch! And if they respond, and if they arrive before it’s too late,
the odds are even that they’ll shake you down, confiscate your property,
and haul you in for SHOUTING.

Perhaps, though, you are rich, and have a fortress for a townhouse,
a household GUARD of 100 strong fighters, and 2 trusted wizards.
Jealous merchants, angry at your success, have hired a saboteur, it
seems, and thieves have tunneled into your wine cellar. Count
Bombazine is considering treason charges, your guard has 15 spies and
2 assassins, and here comes the tax-man.

I wouldn’t play a merchant for all the gold in Utah! They are,
however, necessary. They are also too easy to kill. A merchant, in
D&D, gets 1-6 HP, and that’s that. A 10-year-old could kill one.
Therefore . . .

I propose that Merchants, and a number of other NPCs
be given opportunities for advancement. There should be
7th-level beggars, 4th-level tradesmen, and so on.

Below are the 4 charts of the City Encounter Table. Rolling on
this is a complex task, requiring 4 (at least) percentile rolls, but rolls
are not too frequent, and the situations can balloon easily into full-fledged
and ornate encounters.

1st, roll on the Encounter Probability Table. If an encounter is
specified, continue with the procedure. If a meeting with the watch is
specified, the situation may be handled easily on a “fight ’em/ignore
’em” basis.

2nd, roll on the Type of Person Encountered Table is made.
Explanations of the cryptic symbols used therein are given below. Note
that this table does not give the statistical breakdown of the city’s
populace; it is foolish to claim that the beggars outnumber the tradesmen.
Rather, this table gives a good sample of the types of people who
cause encounters. Beggars will always call for attention, while tradesmen
seldom will.

3rd, roll for the level of the NPC called for,
using the Level of the Encounter Table. Many NPC
types mentioned below have an upper-level limit: ignore results above
this.

4th, roll on the Type of Encounter Table. This will give a
situation, usually fraught with conflict. At this point, responsibility devolves
upon the referee to place the elements together to give a true
encounter.

Encounter Probability Table

Daytime: Roll every 30-60 minutes.

00-31	Encounter
32-47	The Watch
48-99	Nothing

Evening: Roll every 20-30 minutes.

00-34	Encounter
35-49	The Watch
50-99	Nothing

Night: Roll every 15-20 minutes.

00-38	Encounter
39-59	Nightwatch
60-99	Nothing

Treasure Table

-	copper	silver	electrum	gold	platinum	gems	jewelry	magic
C1	1-4	50% 1	-	-	-	-	-	-
C2	2-12	1-4	60% 1-2	-	-	-	-	-
C3	4-24	3-18	1-6	50% 1-2	-	-	-	-
C4	-	5-30	2-12	1-10	1-3	-	-	-
C5	-	6-36	4-24	3-18	1-8	1-3	-	-
C6	-	-	6-36	5-30	3-18	1-6	1-3	10%
C7	-	-	1-600	1-400	6-36	2-12	1-6	20%
C8	-	-	3-1800	2-1200	1-800	3-18	2-12	40%

Additional rolls may be made on the Type of Person Encountered
Table as desired. On the Type of Encounter Table, it must be noted that
many encounters are things seen, not things actually happening to the
players. A Chase, Fight, or Discovered Ambush need not directly
involve the players (although they might): These are often merely
things observed that might draw in the players.

It is important to note that the level of a NPC
represents the skill with which the person performs his or her jobs, not
the person’s rank. A 12th-level noble might be a lowly baronet—but a
good one. Since skill is (supposedly) rewarded, there should be a loose
correlation between Level and Rank—a 10th-level Merchant Prince has a
better chance of being the master of the shopkeeper’s guild than does a
Vendor—but this relation is not precise.

Examples: 3 encounters are rolled, none of which involve the
watch. 1st Encounter: On the Type of Person Encountered Table, a
16 is rolled: a Scud. This lowlife ruffian is of the 2nd level (roll on the
Level of the Encounter Table: 52—too high; scuds may only advance
to the 3rd level. Roll again: 93—too high. Once more: 24: the scud is of
the 2nd level, and has 2d4 HD). On the Type of
Encounter Table a 68: Overhear Plot is rolled. This may be handled in
many ways. Perhaps the scud hears someone plotting revenge and
asks to be let in, and the players hear this. Perhaps the scud is receiving
instructions from his master on when to waylay a merchant, and it is the
players who overhear.

Example Two: Type of Person Encountered , a 28:
Magic User is rolled. On the Level of the Encounter Table a 68 comes
up; the Enchanter is of the 7th level. The Type of Encounter is 88:
Mugging. Possibly the mugger is unaware that he’s trying to alleybash a
Wizard; if so, he’s in for a well deserved surprise. Or (less likely),
possibly THE WIZARD is out to make a few groschen by Sleeping a
passerby or two, to take their coins.

Third Example: On the Type of Person Encountered, a 10: Tradesman.
On the Level of the Encounter a 93 (too high), 97 (too high), 27
indicates that the tradesman is of the 2nd level, with 2d3 HD. 
The Type of the Encounter is a 08; Pickpocket. Since this almost
always involves a thief, this could mean many things. A: Maybe the thief
is pickpocketing the tradesman, and the players see. B: Maybe the thief
is pickpocketing the players, and the tradesman sees. C: Maybe the
thief and the tradesman are acting as a team, pickpocketing either the
players or someone else entirely, while the players either see or don‘t
see.

These tables put the raw data into your hands in a random fashion.
The detailed structure is up to the referee. Imagination and the skill of
ad-libbing are essential—just as they are in all facets of D&D. Once I
rolled 00—referee’s choice-3 times consecutively on the Type of
Encounter Chart (I only later found out that Chet’s programmable
calculator was misprogrammed). 
The 1st was a 3-alarm funeral, with the masses whooping and wailing for a departed minor official. 
The 2nd was a pack of wild dogs leaving the sewers to avoid a wizard’s Cloudkill. 
The 3rd, a diamond thief with a hole in his loot-bag, dropping diamonds to the delight of the crowded streetful of peasants.

My players never dreamed that I was making it up as I went along,
and assumed it was a pre-plotted series of adventures.

Type of Person Encountered Table
 

-	-	Freq.	No. App	Type of H.D.	Lair	Treas.	Align.	Char.	Max. Level
00-01	Noble	R	1-3	4	95	C8	-	+5	12
02	Farmer	V	1-2	2	0	C1	LN	-	2
03-06	Merchant	C	1-6	3	40	C4-C7	N	-	12
07-09	Street Seller	C	1	3	0	C3-C4	N	-	5
10-11	Tradesman	C	1-4	3	60	C5	N	-	8
12-13	Specialist	C	1-4	3	60	C5	N	-	8
14-15	Street Urchin	U	1-10	2	0	-	N	-1	5
16-18	Scud	C	1-12	4	40	C2	CN	-1	3
19-20	Beggar	U	1	2	100	C1	N	-4	8
21-25	Fighter	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
26-30	MagicUser	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
31-35	Cleric	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
36-40	Thief	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
41-43	Druid	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
44-48	Monk	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
49-53	Illusionist	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
54-58	Paladin	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
59-61	Ranger	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
62-66	Assassin	C	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
67-69	Bandit	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
70-72	Brigand	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
73-75	Pilgrim	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
76	Psionic Character:  Roll Again
77-79	Bard	U	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
80-82	Hooker	U	1-3	3	40	C2-C5	N	+2	10
83-85	Bully	U	1	5	50	C3	NE	-1	6
86-87	Panderer	U	1	3	30	C4	N	+1	7
88-89	Dealer	U	1	3	30	C5	CE	-1	8
90-91	TownCrier	R	1	3	0	C2	LN	+2	4
92	"Untouchable"	V	1	3	0	-	N	-7	2
93-95	Porter	U	1-6	3	30	C2	n	+1	3
96	Messenger	R	1	3	10	C1	N	-	3
97	StreetPerformer	R	1-3	3	0	C1-C2	N	+4	8
98	Madman	V	1	2	0	-	N	-3	2
99	Monster	V	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Explanations
Frequency: V = Very Rare, R = Rare, U = Uncommon, C =
Common.

Type of hit dice: This-many-sided-dice for each level, e.g., a 4th
level Hooker would have 4-12 hit points.

Treasures: C1-C8 are explained on the Treasure Table.

Alignment: N = Neutral, LN = Lawful Neutral, CN = Chaotic
Neutral, NE = Neutral Evil, CE = Chaotic Evil. (Most of the city lowlife
care only for themselves).

Charisma: This is the effect of the occupation upon the charisma of
the NPC, only with respect to other NPCs;
the players, as always, may make up their own minds.

Level of the Encounter Table

00-22	Level 1
23-31	Level 2
32-40	Level 3
41-48	Level 4
49-56	Level 5
57-63	Level 6
64-70	Level 7
71-76	Level 8
77-82	Level 9
83-88	Level 10
89-92	Level 11
93-95	Level 12
96-99	Level 13 or higher

Type of Encounter Table

00	Referee's Choice
99	Assassination attempt, player
98	Kidnap attempt, player
95-97	Mugging ” ”
95-96	Major Riot
93-94	Assassination attempt, other
90-92	Kidnap attempt, other
84-89	Mugging * *
77-83	Discover Ambush
72-75	False Accusation, player
67-71	Overhear a plot
60-66	Catch Thief (35%) has loot)
58-59	Find Corpse
55-57	Find Body (Alive)
52-54	Illegal Business offer
42-51	Fight
37-41	Chase
42-51	Fight
37-41	Chase
32-26	Hooker
29-31	Drug Deal, player
26-28	Drug Deal, other
23-25	Minor Riot
20-22	Business offer
14-19	Insult
01-13	Pickpocket