Attending to the definition of hometown:
Hometown
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A characters hometown is the city in which he was born. This is chosen
during character creation and cannot be changed afterward. This hometown is the location to which that character may recall.
That does mean that when you create a character you already know most streets of the city and places in which you could look for jobs?
Hometown Question
I would imagine the main reason why we have home towns is spells that bring you back to your "home town".
Not to say that it isn't to help distinguish role play. A person's home town would aid in defining them culturally.
Yet, just because your home town is Waterdeep, it does not mean that you were born directly in Waterdeep or even grew up in the city. You home town is a region, an area where you are from. You could have lived outside the city in a small hamlet or farm, coming to the city only to sell your wares.
I would think it's a reasonable assumption that your character would "know" the layout of Waterdeep and surrounding areas, but that is entirely up to. You can decide how to play your character and what they know or do not know. If you rp that you know you're way around Waterdeep and know intricate details of the surrounding area, then OOCly, I would research it.
In my mind, I see the hometown as a roleplay guideline, a starting point to create the cultural background of your character.
Hope this helped.
Not to say that it isn't to help distinguish role play. A person's home town would aid in defining them culturally.
Yet, just because your home town is Waterdeep, it does not mean that you were born directly in Waterdeep or even grew up in the city. You home town is a region, an area where you are from. You could have lived outside the city in a small hamlet or farm, coming to the city only to sell your wares.
I would think it's a reasonable assumption that your character would "know" the layout of Waterdeep and surrounding areas, but that is entirely up to. You can decide how to play your character and what they know or do not know. If you rp that you know you're way around Waterdeep and know intricate details of the surrounding area, then OOCly, I would research it.
In my mind, I see the hometown as a roleplay guideline, a starting point to create the cultural background of your character.
Hope this helped.