Baltimore and Other Possible Dresdenverse Cities

[Sigma77]

Well, first thing is first - I'm stoked of the fact that a bit of this will be done with the setting of Baltimore. Why? It's my home town. There's really nothing better than having something like this being done in a place you love. So, what's this topic about?

Well, for those of you that know Baltimore, what parts of it do you think could be magically-connected. I've got a few in my mind, such as Chessie. Yes, the Chesapeake Bay has their own version of the Loch Ness monster, called Chessie. I'm not making this up.

The other thing is what other cities do you think could fit the bill? New York City, for example. Obvious, but rich in it's history. What if the Statue of Liberty was actually an Arcane Focus or a god imprisoned in stone? Huh, huh?

[SoulCatcher78]

New Orleans...just what got washed up/away when the hurricane moved through?  Years of good and bad magic washed away in one night so there's no telling what's now stalking the tourists.  And ZOMBIES!  you can't leave out the zombie action that New Orleans has.

Boston...lots of history and being one of the oldest cities in the country, it's got to have some interesting underground action happening (making the tunnels below Chicago look positively new and shiny in comparison).

Miami...a newer city with a strong carribean influence.  Lots of room for Voodoo (almost as much as New Orleans but with fewer ZOMBIES!).  No telling what folks are worshipping/whispering to out in the everglades.

Just some thoughts.

[beardOsaurus]

I've been thinking about this, preparing my Campaign and all.

And, Miami and New Orleans were literally two of the first that popped into my mind, for those very same reasons.

Though, I also was thinking about San Francisco. Think about it for a second, San Francisco was home of the Gold Rush,  bringing in thousands of people, and who knows what else with them? And, of course, Alcatraz is located off the shore of San Francisco. So, all sorts of Baddies were home there. I mean, if people leave an imprint when they die, think of all the lost souls wondering around on THAT island.

[Rel Fexive]

I'd either go New World with New York, or Old World with London.

[kwirk]

Charleston.

[TheMouse]

Depending on the game you want, I think you could pretty well Dresdenify anyplace. Big cities would have more supernaturals and each would likely have more divisions. Smaller communities would be likely to have  just one group of any given supernatural type.

Myself, I'm pretty likely to Dresdenify the town I'm living in, which is Amherst MA. The town has about 35 thousand natives, with almost as many students living in the dorms but claiming legal residence elsewhere. In the town, you have both some of the most densely populated areas you're likely to find in the States and open stretches of nothing.

[Matrix Refugee (formerly Morraeon)]

Boston...lots of history and being one of the oldest cities in the country, it's got to have some interesting underground action happening (making the tunnels below Chicago look positively new and shiny in comparison).

I'd have to double-check, but aside from the MTA tunnels ("Charlie on the MTA" anyone??), I don't think there's anything as extensive as what Chicago has. My understanding is, the area was marshy land until the colonists drained and filled it in.

And though I know WoD's Mage: The Awakening built a whole bunch of stuff around Salem, there's enough spooky stuff there to accommodate *two* urban fantasy RPGs. The White Council could hide in plain sight among all the modern-day witches there, though I don't think they'd take too kindly to the time Laurie Cabot (the town's most famous modern-day witch) threatened to put a curse on some Salem Police officers who knocked on her door to question her about a custody dispute involving her grandson. Hell, back during the Witch Trial hysteria in 1692, I don't doubt Justice John Hathorne had some connection with the White Council, but the whole thing blew up in their faces when he used his influence to take out people that Just Weren't Liked Very Much.

[Stephen]

Another possibility is Ipswich Massachusetts (42°40'47"N   70°50'24"W) not for any intrinsic reason but because its the setting of the Covenant.
The Covenant is a movie about a group of magic users (in DV terms they might be a group with an inherited ability to use magic fueled from soul energies (ala soulfire) rather than the normal magical energies).

[TheMouse]

I grew up a couple of towns over from Ipswich. It's a pretty empty place with lots of stretches of nothing but woods. It wouldn't support very many supernatural beings unless they were pretty subtle.

[Matrix Refugee (formerly Morraeon)]

Ipswich was probably chosen because of its proximity to Salem, but weren't there some H.P. Lovecraft stories set there as well?

[TheMouse]

Innsmouth is right near Ipswich. If I recall, it's got a road that leads to Ipswich and one to Arkham. As Arkham always struck me as being half in Beverly and half in Salem (situated about the river mouth), that makes Innsmouth sound like Gloucester, which has 127 and 133 which lead to Beverly and Ipswich respectively.

But, yeah. The whole area is Lovecraft country. There are several stories set in the general area of the North Shore.

[Matrix Refugee (formerly Morraeon)]

Mmm, the whole area *feels* like Lovecraft country, and I can see where the fellow got his inspiration. The whole North Shore area has a vast number of stories of ghost ships and stories about guys who were reported lost at sea but mysteriously came back, and stories of captains' widows who kept remarrying and then their new husbands would die under strange circumstances, to say nothing of the witch stories...

[TheMouse]

Some of the ghost ship stories, at least the ones in Gloucester harbour, come from when Mr. Hammond made a remote control fishing boat in an era in which remote control devices had yet to enter public perception. Strange, but true.

Before running a Call of Cthulhu game for my group, I took them for a walk by some isolated places in Gloucester. We walked the train tracks over the river and saw the then abandoned mill. It was a cold, quiet day, and it did a lot to set the mood.

A lot of the witch stories came about due to bread mold, scary stories told by slaves, and families wanting to gank each other for land. Really messed up situation. Still, it would add an interesting layer if there were some sort of actual supernatural influence causing the petty rivalry to flare as it did. I can imagine some lingering, evil force sitting and waiting, annoyed that the Salem witch trials took place in what is now Peabody, so none of the would be witches end up in the right city.

[Wolfhowls]

I'm hoping for some Eastern Eurpoean cities.

[kwirk]

I'm hoping for some Eastern Eurpoean cities.

I'm hoping for places like Balkh.