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Huge City of Arches Update! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-11-21 17:00:06
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Hello Patron of Sly Flourish!

The City of Arches has been updated with about 20 more pages of awesome City of Arches material for you to use in your game. Here's an incomplete list of changes:

A new one-page intro scenario you can run in about an hour to introduce you and your players to the City of Arches.

Italicized flavor text for each location throughout the book.

Quick-reference location summary sections for all "biomes".

A new world generator.

A Gods, Demigods, and Factions summary page.

A new campaign arc called the Collision of Worlds.

GM advice all throughout the book.

New and reorganized artwork.

If, for some reason, the above link no longer works, you can always find this and all your rewards on your Sly Flourish Patreon Rewards Page.

I have ideas for where I want to take the city next, but I'm always eager to hear what you like, what you don't, and what you'd want to see more of. 

Comments

Trey

Looks wonderful.

Borius

Let's GO! City of Arches is freaking awesome. Thanks for the update, Mike!

Andrew Straight

Awesome updates, Mike! Love the updated trade dress, GM & Design notes, and I especially love the "Revealing Secrets" section on p. 10... super helpful, and one of the places I spend a lot of time prepping... thanks for keeping it 'Lazy' for us! Amazing work!

bob

Thank you!

James Kew

Awesome work mike

Micheal Rackintyre

I’m very excited to run with this for one of my next campaigns. Here’s some thoughts and notes I had going through it so far. Pg 4 - “All races are welcome” - to future proof it, consider in the text of this paragraph adding in the various other terms that 5e variants are replacing ‘race’ with. Pg 5 - Using Adventure Hooks - this idea is great. No notes! Pg 6 - Intro Scenario - I like this as a level 1 scenario AND intro to the city. The Arch Awakens - when I read the part about the stirges coming through and attacking, I immediately pondered “wait, what happens to beasts and other low Int creatures who come through the portals?”. I figure the players would ask that question too. You prompt that they are ‘in a frenzy’, but I’m curious how to explain this to the players as being “that’s just how these stirges act" or how most low Int creatures act? Golgoron Arrives - last paragraph - reference to “Kaluvon” on line four, probably should be Golgoron Aftermath - 2nd last paragraph - ends with typo “at the later in this book” Pg 8 - Adventure Hooks Everywhere - I really like this note/flag coming up early. For the actual Hook execution, I wish more sourcebooks would do something like this. I do think the ‘hook’ paragraphs need a visual marker to make them stand out from the rest of the content. Even just a space if the hook is followed by more text that isn't a new heading. Politics - Two “Golden orgs”, Golden Council and Golden Knights - I can tell them apart, but I know my players are going to spend a non-zero amount of time mixing them up. I’d rename one in my game just to keep them straight. Hook. Councilwoman Irva Mentra - consider replacing Councilman/woman with a gender-neutral term. My city just uses Councillor. Pg 9 - Simple Yet Manipulatable Politics - these two paragraphs do so much work to set the stage / tone. The Golden Knights versus the Black Hand - last line has a typo “out all-out war” The Golden Throne versus the Cult of the Nameless King - first line references ‘castes’. Only time that word is used in the book, I’m assuming you are using it as a synonym for economic class. Since it carries some cultural baggage, and isn’t used elsewhere, recommend using something else. Economics - I think you can push the decolonization and drop the “civilized” from “agrarian towns and cities”. Pg 10 - Your Keys to the Worlds Beyond - Again, really want to say these miniature advice block are doing good work. Pg 11 - Queen Karsara - Having the monarch as a quest-giver at potentially lower levels is an excellent idea. And the twist of having her unknowingly watched by her guards/spies is a great way to bail out Tier 1 characters who are about to get the Queen killed. Pg 12 - A Secret for Every Location - more praise, these opening italicized section are exactly what I’d want to use in my game. Pg 37 - Cult Fanatic - Is the Divine Shield in the Armour Class flavour or is an ability missing? Divine Blessing grants the fanatic advantage on spell attacks, but none of the spells they know use attacks, only saves.

Ken Sexe

This sounds great. One thing I would love to see if an area where people can share what they have made for City of Arches. For example, I have been running my campaign here for almost two years and I would love to share what I have created and also learn from others.

Michael Shea

Fantastic feedback! Thank you so much! This stuff will make its way into the next version. I've added it to my big change log.

Michael Shea

Ryan! Thanks again for these! I made a bunch of changes and fixes for the next drop but it won't be updated quite yet. On the last item, the cult fanatic's divine shield is just a descriptor for why it's AC is what it is – it's not a spell or effect or something like that. The fanatic's divine blade is a melee or ranged spell attack so the divine favor gives them advantage on it.

Michael Shea

The Discord server is a great place to do it!

Robert

Love the work you’ve put into the City of Arches, Mike. And really enjoy finding all the little connections to Ruins of the Grendleroot.

Micheal Rackintyre

Thanks Mike, If the Cult Fanatic has no other spell attacks, would it simplify by referencing Divine Blade specifically instead of spell attacks generally? More comments below, having a great time reading through this: Map on page 13-14 - I think that somewhere a grey text box explaining the maps are presented as point crawls (maybe with stock wording on point crawls and a nod to the Lazy DM Companion) could help. A short table of prompts for routes / encounters while traveling the main locations in the Cliffs, Warrens, etc, would be useful I think, like several small the BlackClaw Encounter tables in Grendleroot Appendix B Pg 18 - Museum - hook - awkward phrasing “Thoryn was keeper to a glyphed tusk of his ancestor now stolen”, think there’s a missing punctuation or word near the end. Pg 19 - queens palace - is the Golden Senate referenced supposed to be the Golden Council? Pg 11-21 Notable Locations - I feel like there’s something missing to organize this. Maybe group the areas in the city proper map on page 7, and group the other delving areas. Some areas have a level range, while others don’t. Maybe add to those with no level range “suitable for any levels”, or even “lower tier parties might do x & y here, while higher tier parties may…”. Pg 22 - locations summary - this is totally worth the page use. Maybe consider, once closer to final draft, adding the page # reference of each location. locations by classes - great idea, I imagine printing this whole page for a location reference and highlighting the classes in my party Pg 23 - children - italicized text mentions the nameless king’s pact for the first time. May need a “see the nameless king pg 33” note. Pg 24 - seekers of the sun - I just want to say how unique I found this faction, a real standout to have them be archeologists who aren’t looking to plunder.

Michael Shea

Thanks so much for this! I added it to my bigass change log.

Micheal Rackintyre

More for you: Pg 25 - the Footloose Fangs - slow clap. Nice Pg 27 - locations in the lower reaches - this area is very well done as far balancing the number of places and their variety. I think that’s characters could spend a lot of time bouncing off the various factions and locations Pg 32 - lower reaches summary page - I’d love to see 3-4 prompts for Lower reaches adventures arcs. I like the location hooks, but a hook for the area would be fun. Like a prompt for a plot that could involve multiple areas or the whole Lower Reaches - eg: the mages seek to expand their laboratories, taking over more of the lower reaches, by unleashing magical catastrophes against the three other areas / factions. Pg 33 - Star - “missing word after “left” “…betrayed Star and left for dead in the Hanging Cages.“ Pg 33-4 - the five villains with their multipart plots, put into a campaign arc, is a great idea. The following subsections of “Villains and Monsters” have headings like Brother Cavel, but this first two pages doesn’t have a subsection heading. Pg 35 - Brother Cavel - Appearance and behaviour - “tattoo of pierced heart and bleeding vanes”, think it is missing an “a” before “pierced heart”. Also while I think a tattoo of weathervanes gushing blood is pretty metal, I think you mean “veins” :P

Micheal Rackintyre

Hekes pg 36 - last paragraph on Hekes should start with “Secretly” not “ Secret” Pg 38 - Exiled mage - excellent stat block. if there’s room, a d10 table to pick the “discipline of study” and prompt appropriate minions/allies could be useful. The text you provided does give great examples, I’m just excited for more. Pg 41 - Worlds beyond - in the blurb that suggests how to use these, suggest adding “to randomly choose the origin world of a creature that comes through an archway” Pg 42 - vynan adventure seed - starts with sentence fragment “Burning gloomy sewers.” Pg 45 - deathreach - while I found all of the worlds delightfully varied and interesting, this is the one I want your next project to be :) Pg 46 - Arkus - this section is missing an explanatory intro. Maybe in the pg 41 intro to the 10 worlds, add a note that then following is a detailed summary of Arkus Planet Killing Spires - “live-drawing crystals” probably life-drawing Pg 48 - shattered Archs - should be “Arches”. “Keys to these arches are highly protected and for a key in the wrong hand could”. I think the “and” or “for” needs to go. Sunken Revia locations - I like the alphabetical listed with map # cross references Pg 55 - the caverns above - I’d love to see d6 table of events based on the things that could fall out of the sky. Great “strong start material” to have half dead dragon covered in giant bats land on one of the PCs, or a swarm of vrocks dive bombing a fleeing beholder who tries to take cover behind the party

Michael Shea

Thank you for all of this! Each week I go through the feedback, make changes, or mark it for stuff to cover in my big rewrite.

Micheal Rackintyre

Thanks, that’s all I have for this version. Looking forward to the next drop! This is going to be a great book.