Random Fantasy City Magical Feature Generator

May 31, 2020
City of Fantasy

Wanting to add magical elements to the cities to my high fantasy Dungeons & Dragons campaign, since it’s difficult to just think of elements out of the blue, I came up with this list as an idea generator. Here’s how it works:

  1. Choose how many features to include. This will be determined by the level of magic in your world. For my high fantasy world, you can use the Number of Features formula below.
  2. Roll D100 on the Feature Type table. That will tell you which table of features to roll on.
  3. Roll on the corresponding Feature table (Natural, Man-made, or Supernatural)
  4. Then, roll D100 on the Phenomenon table to determine the type of phenomenon.
  5. If it tells you to roll again, combining, roll on the same table unless otherwise instructed, and figure out how to combine the two items.
  6. Use your imagination to combine feature & phenomenon to determine what fits best in your campaign world. Don’t forget the history of the feature and how it has affected the city and its residents.

Number of Features

For every 1000 people in a city, roll 1D6. Every 6 indicates one magical feature. (This can also be used for rural regions, but I suggest 1D6 for every 3000-5000, but note that the feature may be hidden and unknown to the populace, and the party could travel through the region and never know it’s there.)

Feature Type (D100)

01-35 Natural
36-80 Man-Made
81-95 Supernatural
96-00 Roll twice, combining

Feature

Natural (2D20)

  1. Stream
  2. Hill
  3. Falls
  4. Valley
  5. Tree
  6. Grove
  7. Sky
  8. Large stone / Obelisk
  9. Grass
  10. Weed/wildflower
  11. Dirt
  12. Cave
  13. Pond
  14. Mud/lava/geyser/tar
  15. Weather
  16. Vines
  17. Pit/chasm
  18. Footprint(s)
  19. Nest/Den
  20. Rock formation
  21. Dam
  22. Crater
  23. Ridge
  24. Orchard
  25. Dry bed (river/lake)
  26. Local flora
  27. Local fauna
  28. Spring
  29. Chain of ponds/lakes
  30. Underground tunnel network
  31. Local fungus
  32. Fossils
  33. Woods
  34. Dead Flora
  35. Dead Fauna
  36. A formerly prevalent local creature
  37. A plot of land
  38. Roll again, combining
  39. Roll again, 1 Man-Made & Roll again on Feature Type Table

Man-Made Feature (2D20)

  1. Shop Cart
  2. One building
  3. Wall
  4. Arboretum
  5. Garden
  6. Hanging garden
  7. Well
  8. District
  9. Road
  10. Sewer
  11. Monument
  12. Cemetery
  13. Field
  14. Dock
  15. Farm
  16. Mine
  17. Quarry
  18. Fountain
  19. Entire City
  20. Military/guard
  21. Dump/Junkyard
  22. Bridge
  23. Altar/shrine
  24. Aqueduct
  25. Zoo
  26. Statue/sculpture
  27. Museum
  28. Crossing
  29. Dam
  30. Path/trail
  31. Park
  32. A city block
  33. Tent
  34. Gazebo
  35. Every one of a certain kind of building in town
  36. The marketplace
  37. Dungeon
  38. Roll again, combining
  39. Roll again, 1 Man-Made & Roll again on Feature Type Table

Supernatural Feature (2D8)

  1. Meteor
  2. Portal
  3. Magical technology
  4. Undead
  5. Light
  6. Darkness
  7. A paired location (2 places magically connected)
  8. Magical inscription / circle
  9. Spacial / Dimensional anomaly
  10. Laboratory
  11. Ancient magical site
  12. Crash site
  13. Magical juncture
  14. Site of magical event with residual effects
  15. Supernatural Being

Phenomenon (D100)

  1. Has layers
  2. Glows
  3. Defies physics
  4. Wards off something
  5. Is higher than expected
  6. Is lower than expected
  7. Is in an odd part of town
  8. Is a source of conflict
  9. Is carnivorous
  10. The city depends on it
  11. Oppresses someone
  12. Associated with a curse
  13. Houses a special species
  14. Houses a celebrity
  15. Is ruins
  16. Burns
  17. Is wetter than expected
  18. Offers a unique resource
  19. Is built in the shape of something
  20. Roll twice
  21. Floats
  22. Is a location of a sport or game
  23. Is bigger on the inside
  24. Is the location of a tragedy
  25. Is a hive-like network
  26. Is a center of criminal activity
  27. Is not what it seems
  28. Is an unexpected color
  29. Has an unexpected odor
  30. Has an unexpected sound / music
  31. Is believed to be haunted
  32. Is shrouded in fog
  33. Splits the city
  34. Is an unexpected shape
  35. Is associated with a specific creature
  36. Is unexpectedly lacking/missing
  37. Is a source of transportation
  38. Is much larger than expected
  39. Is much smaller than expected
  40. Is a canopy
  41. Is an unexpected temperature
  42. Is difficult to access
  43. Is domed
  44. Is much more numerous than expected
  45. Disappears
  46. Is a source of knowledge
  47. Is alive/animate
  48. Explodes
  49. Has unique walls
  50. Is unexpectedly indoors/outdoors
  51. Transforms something
  52. Is made from a carcass/skeleton/shell/Carapace
  53. Inhibits some magic
  54. Augments some magic
  55. Is a holy site
  56. Used to be something else
  57. Is carved out of something
  58. Is guarded
  59. Is an impossible shape
  60. Has different gravity
  61. Is made of an unexpected material
  62. Is slowly being destroyed
  63. Is sideways or upside-down
  64. Has smaller parts coming from it
  65. Is crystalline
  66. Changes into something else
  67. Is longer than expected
  68. Is impassable
  69. Is unexpectedly flat
  70. Is burned
  71. Previously housed something else (hive, web, etc.)
  72. Is toxic
  73. Is held up by something
  74. Is associated with another plane (outer or inner)
  75. Is full of something
  76. Is frozen or petrified
  77. Is in something unexpected
  78. Is under something
  79. Is aware
  80. Is clockwork
  81. Is hollow
  82. Wild magic
  83. Unexpectedly controlled / uncontrolled
  84. Associated with a unique magical material
  85. Moves
  86. Corrosive
  87. Controls minds/emotions
  88. Mimics a spell
  89. Drains something
  90. Is invisible
  91. Changes size
  92. Something will come/hatch/spawn from it
  93. Affects one or more senses
  94. Causes disappearances
  95. Is unexpectedly tough
  96. Is unexpectedly vulnerable
  97. Is a location of a valuable resource
  98. Most people don’t know it’s there
  99. Is a treasured landmark
  100. Roll twice, combining