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The Importance of Rivers

The daughterlings and wife won't stop passing along germs to me, so rather than playing Pathfinder tonight, I get to write to everyone in a blog post.  Anyway... so todays topic is rivers.  I'm sure that most people have had to sit through the hours of being taught over and over again about early civilizations and how important rivers were in establishing cities.  As a source of fresh water, food, and transportation, rivers have a major impact on determining where large cities could thrive.  They also provide a key piece in the overall character city.  After all, what would London be without the Thames, New Orleans without the Mississippi, Cambridge without the Charles?

In our fantasy settings, rivers play a major part in setting the tone and establish useful parameters in the game.  Here are some various aspects to keep in mind with rivers:


  • Rivers provide freshwater to allow large cities to exist.  Think about your favorite fantasy setting -- how many big cities are there with no rivers?
  • Rivers provide river ports.  Dock districts are a key setting for many fantasy cities.  The provide access to interesting transportation (both inland and sea-faring).  They bring in pirates and foreigners, giving the city a melting pot feel.
  • Rivers provide a natural division in a city.  Typically this division is reflected in changes in wealth and status.  In the ancient world, wrong side of the tracks, was more like wrong bank of the river.
  • Rivers provide a key location in the city during battles at the bridges across the river.  Enemies and allies both, whether individuals or armies, have to deal with getting across the river, most likely at a bridge.  Control or sabotage the bridge and things get interesting.
  • Rivers are a whole new habitat for monsters.  Need an interesting encounter while moving inland by boat?  How about a giant catfish?  Need to disrupt a voyage getting underway?  How about a river dragon?
  • Rivers connect places.  Need a way to adventurers from that small forest village up into the mountains?  Hmmm... it looks like the river is going dry.  Someone should follow it to its source and see what happened.  Oh no, that chest fell into the river with all our stuff in it.  Quick to the raft -- we have to follow it!
  • Rivers hide things.  The battle is going really well, until, wait... is that a ghost ship and a river dragon coming up out of the river to fight against us?  Is that a hidden portal at the bottom of the river?  Hmmm... I hear there is a sunken treasure ship in that river.
I think you get the point.  Rivers are an important element in cities and settings across the board for a variety reasons.  Next time you draw that overland map, don't forget to put the rivers in early... say right after the seas, oceans, and mountains, which we'll save as topics for another day.
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