the Dresden Files in a Government Town

[Ancalagon]

Hello

I'm going to talk about Ottawa here, but really what I'm about to say would apply to Washington DC as well (or London, Paris, any National capital).

The assumption in the Dresden files so far is that the government knows little, if any, about the supernatural.  This is made somewhat easy by the novels being located in Chicago - ie NOT the national capital.

However, I'm planning on running my game in Ottawa - Canada's capital.  If there is any sort of government agency, awareness or anything - even if it's pretty limited - it's going to have quite an impact in Ottawa itself, and therefore on how the game is run. 

If anyone has any advice on running the game in "Government Town", I'm all ears

[iago]

Your most important question is whether or not the government itself is in the dark about the supernatural.

Either possible answer will guide much of the rest.

[meh]

If anyone has any advice on running the game in "Government Town", I'm all ears

Spend all the money you get, or you'll get less next time.   

[srl51676]

Judging by the existance of thing like "Project Blue Book" and "The Star Gate project" (not the one from TV) I would think that the Gov. is aware of if not exactly competent to handle the supernatural. I figure when McCoy pulled that satellite out of orbit the guys at NORAD noticed that it came down in one piece on an isolated target at a trajectory not consistent with natural orbital degradation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Blue_Book

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project

[Ihadris]

-The head of the government section in the city is listed as a free holding lord under the accords with the emergency services gaining protection. Lawyers being used to argue the details of the accords in criminal cases involving supernatural beings.
-The government attempting to regulate the supernatural community, immigration, registration perhaps a supernatural department but a large and successful one in comparison to the one in the books
- Joint White Council and government training centers for developing mages.
   Perhaps members of the police force being trained in return for development of facilities.
-'Wizard' Council Flats. Magic users being put in old or run down accomodation so they dont blow the place up
- Negotiations between the Fae and the government over city expasion and green space
- Use of supernatural beings for research, such as experimentation of Red Court as an attempt to work on a cure for Red Court Infected
- Registration of Red Court Infected (perhaps access to 'Blood Donations?' as a benefit of registering?)

[srl51676]

-Gov. plans to weaponize magic creatures, casters, routs through the Nevernever etc
-Casters added to secret service details for key gov. officials
-white court controlling political figures with sex or blackmail
-Head of state binds nation to agreement with the fey then tries to back out due to very high cost (think Torchwood Children of Earth)
-Terrorist plot Involving Djinn
-"Night at the Museum"
-janitor at the PM's home is selling locks of hair or nail clippings to "collectors"

Any of these could lead to a major confrontation when the UN discovers that one nation has had contact/made deals with newly discovered supernatural beings to gain advantage. 

[Knave]

Some of the stuff that you folks are slinging about sounds more like X-Men than DF, but YMMV.

For my part I plan to run a game in London, where the (mortal) Queen still holds quite a bit of real power due to the faeries having signed onto the magna carta.  The Queen has a set number of favors to call in to deal with 'big problems'.  So Royalty stands between the mortal government and the faerie Parliament of Lords, but has to decide carefully whether or not to risk asking for aid. 

Tradition also holds that a member of the White Council make him or herself available to advise the monarch should she wish it.

The PM and his cabinet will be aware of 'unusual threats' and have a few special units available to deal with them - notably a squad of SAS werewolves.

Aside from that there will be a couple of clued in enforcement units in the firearms branch of the police, but that about sums it up.

[srl51676]

Your point about the X-men is valid but this is because the issues are very similar the only difference is the source of power not it effects, uses, or challenges.
Your game sounds great I love the idea of a historical connection between the Crown and the Fey as well as the White Council.  I can imagine similar pacts in other places Especially Asian rulers and Dragons for example the "divine Wind" that protected Japan from Mongol invasions twice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_of_Japan

[srl51676]

just read another thread about possible spin off books http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,15416.msg727864.html#msg727864 in the initial post butcher mentions the "Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.  (Do NOT screw with the Librarians.  Holy moly.  Just don't.)" this seem to solve our debate at least as far and Jim's version. As has been said in other threads your DF universe may differ.

[Sh33p]

just read another thread about possible spin off books http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,15416.msg727864.html#msg727864 in the initial post butcher mentions the "Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress.  (Do NOT screw with the Librarians.  Holy moly.  Just don't.)" this seem to solve our debate at least as far and Jim's version. As has been said in other threads your DF universe may differ.

...well, least now we know who confiscated the film from Fool Moon

Incidentally, the US and (probably) Russian governments at the least know about the White Council. IIRC, Jim mentioned somewhere that the Council helped broker nuclear treaties between the two world superpowers.

[Knave]

 

I do think that it's going to be inevitable that major governments are somewhat clued in.  If they aren't then the countries in which they operate are likely being vigorously policed by someone/thing else - in which case there is just a different authority - the local red prince, grand magus, dragon, baba yaga, whatever has sufficient force and authority to keep everything under wraps.

Mortal governments, I'm sure they'd want to build some sort of weapon-x security, but the question for me is more 'does it feel right for the setting?' and 'if they did that... what would the existing supernatural players do?'.  For me the answer is...'not so much' and 'stop it and make it bad for those who try.' 

Just remember that most of the powerful members in these groups are going to regard their own members as something like extended (or in the case of the white court, literal) family with pure mortal humanity a distant second.  I mean - imagine the mindset of a wizard who has seen nations rise and fall, seen a couple of his own families pass on and sworn off more for the pain of it all; where the only constants are The Council and the other long lived types.  And they're the most normal of the powerful.  Imagine the response to 'Merlin, the USA is trying to breed super wizards.'....    I suspect the answer would be something along the lines of, 'Really?  Do be a good chap and tell the president he is going to have to sit on the naughty step again...  Oh, and pass the salt won't you?'   

For me I think it's more fun when mortal governments try to use diplomacy with the groups and the minimum possible power to stomp on the unaligned troublemakers.

as I said though, ymmv

[svb1972]

There maybe small groups of clued in..
I think that Murphy and how SI works is a good fit for an overall feel.
And remember for every Murphy and Carmichael, you're going to have the FBI wackjobs.

Think Scully and Mulder.  You might have a small black ops group, or project trying to weaponize blah. But lets face it, you'll never get to speak to the President of the United States about your weaponized vampire plan.  You'll find yourself in a padded room the moment you suggest talking to him.

But, I think there are small groups.  The Library of Congress Special Division, A Small unloved FBI group.  I could see a Government group that was formed say in the late 1800's that is now a signatory of the Accords, that isn't REALLY a Government group anymore.  I could see the Library of Congress having that whole warehouse from the end of Indiana Jones.

[Ihadris]

Well for me I just tried to think what would happen if a government authority on a large scale found out about the supernatural. Two answers came to mind: Destory it or use it. My suggestions were coming from the persepective of use it and isnt the lust for power a recurring theme in Dresden? A government official trying to milk the newly discovered supernatural community in his city for all its worth and control it. Doenst sound too far from the setting to me. The only leap is a council that is largely clued up and more awareness then Chigcago's  council was part of Anclagon's original premise. If we accept that then:

-Harry already works with the Police Department. A white council wizard who obeys the laws of magic first but also is under the employ of a government agency. He is succesfull in helping the police department prevent further supernatural based crime, in my mind it is only the refusal of those in charge to admit to the existence of the supernatural that stops this from becoming a more common arrangement.

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Butters

is a medical proffessional helping to heal wounds from supernatural based incidents. Is it such a jump to a researcher clued up on the existence of the red-court trying to find a way to help the infected?

-Weve seen how the Fae guard their own and there is a history in the folklaw that the White and Summer courts are based from of Fae guarding 'fairy paths' and places they feel belong to them, grealy interfereing with the lives of mortals who built houses or their own paths in the way. It'd be difficult but im sure that somoene skilled at understanding the complexity of the accords would be able to negotiate with them over this and we all know how much cities love to expand at the expense of the nature in the area.  

-Im sure a clued in police force would be interested in the information being passed along

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paranet

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Macone

is a free holding lord and his people are protected under the accords. I dont see any issue with a government official singing up to protect his people and of course the flipside of having your people protected by the accords is negotiating through problems with other factions protected by the accords. Wouldnt you want someone already skilled at manipulating the law like a lawyer working to help find the (many) loopholes in supernatural law?

-The White Court already manipulate and infiltrate mortal positions of power to make things easier for themsevles. I could see a family appearing to comply with city council whilst trying to improve their own standing and swing the position of power in their favour.

[Knave]

- to each his own 

Just remember that once you have large scale govt knowledge it's also not much of a leap to ex-employees building private roads through the never-never to make a quick buck   

I'm not saying don't do it, or even that it's a stretch to get there.  I'm just suggesting that the feel of your game will change.

To me faeries that aren't fundamentally alien and by that I mean outside the scope of human understanding don't really feel like faeries, and for that matter DF doesn't feel like DF if the mayor just calls out Wizard Branch when he needs a tough case cracked.

It also means that your characters will more than likely be operating within the system (or possibly against it) rather than outside it - as is the case in the books.  Harry may be employed as a 'nutjob psychic' who gets results, but the adjective is important - it's the indication that whilst the city is prepared to 'believe in more' it is not prepared to BELIEVE in more.  If it were Harry would get real support rather than just tolerance, and you really can't have a hard boiled detective story where the hero gets real help when he asks for it - they just don't work like that.

You could argue that it's a case of degree, and that would be completely valid.  All I'm saying is just be careful you don't end up starting an avalanch

[Ancalagon]

The only leap is a council that is largely clued up and more awareness then Chigcago's  council was part of Anclagon's original premise.

Well, I'm not entirely sure what you are saying here - my premise was that IF the government knows about the supernatural, the effects and impact of that knowledge would be most keenly felt in the Nation's Capital.

Anyway, I must admit that this thread has given me a number of ideas, especially the Queen and Fairies part.  In Canada we have a Governor General, who is the Queen's Official Representative (we *are* a constitutional monarchy, after all).  The idea that the office of the Governor General - usually seen as purely ceremonial - is actually the one that is aware of supernatural issues is just too good not to use