Author Topic: City Creation - Miami  (Read 2193 times)

Offline The Codex

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City Creation - Miami
« on: December 06, 2010, 02:37:33 PM »
So looking for some help from people who live and know Miami Better than I as a Brit would :)

The reason we are using Miami is because we have other UK locations for our other RPG games, and have had previous games based in those locations that would be hard to displace.

Theme:
A Restless City

Theme:
The Point (Point of the bermuda triangle) where the Supernatural and Mundane Meet.

Threat:
A city under seige from all sides.

OK logic behind these.
The restless city is a reference to both the restlesss spirits (the dead and Loa, and other spirits)


With a little creative lisence the city is a point on the bermuda triangle, making the boarder between this world and the nevernever thin and liable frothings to pop through .


Finally a city under siege, this represents the natrual the city stuck on a thin strip of land between the evergaldes and the sea, the influxing immigration population, the spirits of the loa and other creatures (
(click to show/hide)
Andyway any thoughts. or guidence would be appreciated







Offline Buscadera

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Re: City Creation - Miami
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2010, 03:25:27 PM »
I'm a Miami resident and I'd be happy to help. I've had a few games fall through here, but I have managed to put together a city creation sheet that you might find useful. You can find it here.

If there's anything specific you want to know, feel free to ask.
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Offline The Codex

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Re: City Creation - Miami
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2010, 04:00:06 PM »
Hi Buscadera,

That is truely awesome.....

I will (if its ok) GMs writes to nick awesome Ideas from a fellow GM  ;D

One thing I would like some advise on is some basic geography/history. Obviously I have been doing some research on Miami but what do/how do locals divide up areas in Miami, want to make it easy for my group whos images of Miami are TV and Film inspired.

Also I have been looking at some of the history that could make awesome locations and the ones that have immediatly found interesting are, the bermuda triangle, the coral castle (moved the same way as the pyrimids by one man!!!) Stiltville (houses on stilits in the bay I believe, now a national park) and a Myan stone circle found under a development sight (ohh and alsa I read some where that they had been building in Miami along ley lines for good fortune!!)

could you give me advise (especially on the geography and how you as a local would define areas of Miami)

Thank you again for the cheat sheet its awesome , also and this is the final question for now, is the Mayor the real mayor of Miami???

Cheers again

Offline Buscadera

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Re: City Creation - Miami
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2010, 04:28:57 PM »
I wouldn't have posted the sheet for you if I didn't want you to use it. Feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy.  ;D

Most of what you see on TV and in movies about Miami isn't too far from the truth. When people come here, they tend to get caught up in the club scenes and the nightlife, which has lead some people I've known to refer to Miami as a City of Transition. There are some locals, but it seems like everyone is from someplace else and headed somewhere else.

Miami has lots of little neighborhoods which each have their own feel. If you're using TV shows as your guide, you might be familiar with Burn Notice. There's an episode where Michael tries to determine where a contact is staying based on her sunglasses and which neighborhood they would likely come from. It serves as a pretty neat guide to the sections of Miami. Here's a rundown:

- Coral Gables: An upper-class neighborhood where the University of Miami is located. A nice place, but fairly bland. Not many locals, mostly upper-class families and rowdy college students.
- Little Havana: A Cuban neighborhood near the Gables. A nicer neighborhood than college students tend to think, it's a good place to go for a quick bite to eat. Lots more locals with a much more community-focused vibe, with the occasional UM student looking for cheap housing.
- Little Haiti: A poor neighborhood with lots of Haitian immigrants. People give this area a bad name, but I like it personally. My favorite bar is there and everyone I've ever met has been nice. Some gang activity, but nothing major.
- Overtown: A poor primarily black neighborhood with a rich history. It used to be something like the Harlem of the South, with a famous jazz scene. Ever since the highway ran through it, it's gone downhill. UM is currently putting up a life sciences park that stands to put some 500+ families out of their homes. Lots of good plot hooks here.
- South Beach: This is what most people think of when they picture Miami. Glamorous clubs, beautiful people and drugs everywhere, South Beach is the celebrity lifestyle at it's most depraved.
- Coconut Grove: Like South Beach lite. A nice neighborhood with a row of bars and clubs (CocoWalk). Lots of UM students come here to do their drinking, although plenty of locals resent them for moving in. There are certain nights for townies and certain nights for UM students, anyone violating these rules can face some harsh consequences.

There are plenty of other parts of town, but these are the ones that I'm most familiar with and they should be enough to get you started. This plus what you've already got should have you set up.

The mayor character is basically Green Arrow from DC Comics with a bit of Skink from Carl Hiaasen's novels thrown in, just repackaged and repurposed to fit within my Dresdenverse vision of Miami. All of the local politicians are fairly corrupt and I just liked the idea of a pinnacle politician who's trying to take back the streets from the creatures of the night.
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"Doesn't that suck? I just hit you for no reason. I don't even know why." -Harry Lockhart

Offline devonapple

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Re: City Creation - Miami
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2010, 05:03:45 PM »
could you give me advise (especially on the geography and how you as a local would define areas of Miami)

Three ways I've found to keep track of neighborhoods are:

1) Tourism web sites - big cities like Miami or SF have many online maps available touting the various neighborhoods. These tend to focus on areas with the most tourism potential. Very useful for landmarks, but they can end up cluttered with callouts for retail stores and other businesses.

2) Real estate web sites - big cities also tend to have several competing real estate companies with web sites promoting the different neighborhoods, along with (diplomatic) descriptions of each neighborhood's character. I've cut and pasted these descriptions straight into my city location documents. Not so useful for landmarks, but great for an at-a-glance division of the city's neighborhoods.

3) Public transit sites - sometimes cities will have detailed PDF maps of the local public transit options, and these often have neighborhood indicators, as well as a more equal serving of landmarks, local interests, and official locations.
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