With the release of Arcane Season 2 on Netflix, we are once again thrown into the streets of Piltover and Zaun as factions vie for power in the wake of a devastating attack. The conflict and intrigue in these cities is captivating and, ,crucially, provides wonderful inspiration for your own TTRPG designs.

Here are 5 interesting ideas you can steal from Piltover to inspire you when designing your next city or urban adventure.

1. Merchant Houses Rule the City

In a lot of fantasy settings, it can be automatic to default to a monarch ruling a nation with a prince or princess and some scheming dukes, etc. Nothing wrong with a classic, of course.

However, Piltover’s ruling government is a council headed by the leaders of the most powerful and influential merchant houses. As such, in order to get anywhere politically, you must make alliances among the merchant houses.

Each house has their own agenda, disposition, and built-in rivalries, which means that getting friendly with one often results in making a bitter enemy of another.

These merchant houses are also public facing institutions across the city. They fund research, production, stores, and even higher education. Their influence comes from making it clear to the citizens of Piltover who the resources and support are coming from.

What are the motivations behind the merchant houses in your city, and how can the players take advantage of them to accomplish their own tasks? What will the houses ask of the players in order to get their support?

2. Opulence is Obvious

Since merchant houses lead the city, displaying wealth is the easiest way to garner influence and authority over others. To reflect this, everything in Piltover is shining and gilded, from its buildings and inventions to even its people who adorn themselves in golden jewelry, makeup, and fine clothes.

Wealth plays a pivotal role in the society of Piltover, clearly defining different classes of people. Some of the wealthiest merchant houses, like House Medarda or House Kiramman, sponsor and control large aspects of city life, while lesser houses like House Talis merely work as artisans and craftsmen, looking for support from those above them.

Consider how the wealth of the city is put on display for its citizens—and for PCs. Does this make them feel privileged? Aspirational? Oppressed? Some combination? Use this opulence and the NPCs’ opinion of it to build a deeper societal atmosphere. And to give more larcenous PCs a target!

3. The City is the Trade Hub of the World

Thanks to the advent of the Hex Gates, Piltover is the largest and wealthiest trading hub in the entire world of Runeterra. Shipments from across the land travel to and from Piltover, making it a mercantile hot spot. While the city uses this access to profit off of other nations, it also allows other nations easier access to Piltover’s resources and leadership. The Noxian Empire is already taking advantage of this as its agents work to take positions of leadership and authority while simultaneously taking advantage of Piltover’s already rocky relationship with Zaun.

RPG campaigns thrive on shakeups. That’s where adventure happens. Use this element as an opportunity for outside forces to come into play in what might be an insulated setting. What threats and dangers from the outside world would shake up the lives of the people who live in your campaign?

4. Magic Weaponry is New

Hextech allows Piltover to boast an impressive arsenal of weapons courtesy of Councilor Jayce Talis. These designs take mundane armaments and supercharge them with magical hextech energy. Once a mundane enforcer’s rifle, Officer Kiramman’s new hextech rifle has increased accuracy and stopping power, allowing it to puncture even the toughest armor from a great distance. Vi’s gauntlets enhance her already impressive close combat skills with speed, force, and the ability to generate a defensive barrier.

In most fantasy settings, magic items are old. But what if magic items are brand new to the world? Instead of adventuring to find an ancient sword in a forgotten crypt, you delve for money or favors, so you can buy a new sword.

Common or uncommon magic items things can be purchasable in high-end shops. But PCs might need to jump through hoops or make deals to get their hands on the best stuff. The Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide comes with magic items in the book with prices, so players can go shopping.

Another side benefit for GMs is that you don’t have to plan treasure hauls if you don’t want to. Give them money and let players decide what items they get!

5. Everything Comes at a Cost

Nothing is ever free in Piltover. Despite the glamor and prestige of the city’s face, cracks and flaws lurk beneath the surface. And we’re not just talking money.

To accomplish anything, hands need to be shaked, palms need to be greased, and favor needs to be won. You’d be hard pressed to find someone in the city willing to help you with large favors simply out of the goodness of their heart or the want to do the right thing. The council and merchant houses complicate “doing the right thing” quite a bit, and what’s right for one house may be catastrophic for another.

Adventuring in Piltover’s streets is not a straightforward endeavor. Political relationships are complicated and helping one person or faction almost certainly buys the ire of another.

Taking a little time to create full-fledged factions using the faction rules in the Game Master’s Guide—say, one for each merchant house—can help you build out a fuller, more lively setting where the costs are more than coin.