Are you a busy GM? Does session prep take too long? Do you never have time to work on the cool little details that can bring your adventures to life? These focused lists give you, the time-crunched GM, the tools to effortlessly add verisimilitude and detail to your urban adventures.

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1: The Jewellers

The Keep: This shop fills an old wizard’s tower sold to pay off its previous owner’s gambling debts. The owner, Kurt Lalli (LG male human wizard 1), wears wizardly regalia and uses long, erudite words but has only a basic understanding of the magic arts.
Bands & Baubles: This low-class jeweller’s shop caters to commonfolk; not much here is of any real value. Its owner, Kylli Montaja (N female human), is a fence for the thieves’ guild.
All That Glimmers: Run by Erfael Scheppen (N male gnome), this large shop has an excellent reputation. He is a master jeweller and works on commissions for wealthy customers; he is always looking for gems and precious metals for his creations.
Shiny Shiny: Aimed at the poor, this jeweller sells low-quality silver, brass and copper trinkets. Lusia Paaso (NG female human) is popular in the community and is secretly wealthy—business is good!

2: Major Locale Features

The shop has a vault in the cellar wherein all its stock is held at night. At night, the jeweller’s three enormous hounds roam the shop floor and cellar.
An armed guard stands without the shop. The burly man sizes up potential customers and decides whether to admit them or not. Another (vigilant) guard stands within the shop.
The building is stoutly built of stone and has small, high windows to admit light into the ground floor. The building’s iron-banded front door is also suitably tough.
One part of the shop floor set behind a waist-high wooden railing is given over to work; here sits the jeweller during the day working on various commissions.

3: Minor Locale Features

A glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling; its numerous candles provide a pleasant light—and a bit of warmth—on the shop floor.
The shop has a subtle air of dilapidation about it; many of the fixtures and fittings are old and in need of repair or replacement.
Thick rugs of deep, warm colours cover the floor, and fine tapestries showing hunting scenes and the like hang from the walls.
Stout shutters protect the shop’s windows. During the day, they are thrown open, but at night they are securely closed and barred.

4: What’s Going On?

The shop is closed. Perhaps the owner is away, or they entertain an important client. Whatever the reasons, the characters will have to come back another day.
The shop has no other customers when the characters arrive, and the owner serves them.
The staff are cleaning and polishing some of the shop’s merchandise, and the outer door is locked. The characters must wait for someone to let them in—which only happens if they look reputable.
The shop has just been robbed, and the place is in an uproar. The owner can give a good description of the thieves, and they have only been gone a few minutes. Would the characters like to earn a reward?

5: What’s For Sale?

Gold Necklace (1,750 gp): Five golden spheres hang from this glimmering gold necklace. Four of the balls are small, while one is much larger. This necklace was originally crafted for a wizard who planned to enchant it; however, the wizard disappeared, and now the jeweller needs to recoup their expenses.
Old Gold Ring (25 gp): Of obviously old artifice, this chunky gold ring holds an opaque green gemstone—malachite—in its mount cut to represent the hideous head of a three-eyed toad-thing.
Holy Symbol (150 gp): This silver and gold holy symbol depicts a sun rising over the horizon. It is a chunky, ostentatious thing and hangs from a silver chain.
Silver Locket (20 gp): This hinged silver locket has a small compartment ready for the application of a tiny portrait. Alternatively, the locket could hold a tiny scrap of parchment or a small amount of powder.

Credit

This is a short system-neutral extract from Urban Locale #08: Jewellers by Robert Manson. The book is available from DriveThruRPG and Raging Swan Press’s own web store.

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Urban Locales: Jewellers