Help on a Campaign Setting

[theglennturner]

Hey, y'all. Somewhat new.

I am working up a campaign and I need some help on the larger context.

It will be 1849 San Francisco right before the Gold Rush. The players will be a conglomeration of Mexican, Peruvian, Chinese, Native American, maybe an Aussie, and English settlers.

I have decided that the Red Court are a New World power, and have not yet established formal diplomatic ties with the White Council. Stoker's Dracula has not yet been written. Many Native American Tribes have not made contact with the council either. Japan is still closed to the west, and China is mostly closed.

So a few things that will go on throughout the campaign is discovery of the Red Court, possible contact with the Jade Court through Chinese immigrants (they {will} feed off of people's knowledge), White Council trying to identify and assimilate American Indian practitioners, and Mab seeking to establish/write the Accords.

I have a couple of NPC's I may involve, including Ebenezer, Margaret, Luccio, maybe the original St. Giles founder, and others.

(1) I could use some thoughts on any of that. None of the group has read any significant amount of Dresden, so that will make the discoveries fun.

(2) Any good info on Luccio, Ebenezer, or Margaret? I don't even know when the latter was born. Probably not yet.

(3) Magicians v Tech probably isn't yet an issue, yet I think that the problems with curdling milk are probably long past. Any good ideas on what the Magician jinx is?

I may have other questions. I hope a few folks are lingering around who can help me out.

[gog]

Would be worth reading the short story “A Fistful of Warlocks” - which is in Straight Outta Tombstone, edited by David Boop, or Brief Cases. As it gives a take on Luccio in the wild west.

Also thinking there is a good 100 years before the Accords come in I think for you.

Would also take notes from Listens-to-Wind is history through the books

[Troy]

Hexing...
A flame that burns pure blue. (in a gaslight setting, that's pretty damning)
Milk that curdles too soon.
A horse that sweats in the morning.

Fresh vegetables that rot overnight.

Water that won't boil. (A really pain when it comes to steam engines).

Birds stop singing, insects stop chirping, leaves stop rustling.

Things that break too easily. Like clocks or locks or utensils and tools.

[Taran]

I like the hexing examples above.

Also, I think at this point, most of the population is wise in the ways of science.  It's pretty much common knowledge that a witch is mostly made of wood and, therefore floats - like a duck. 

Holy Grail

[Sanctaphrax]

You can probably get a lot of story mileage out of completely mundane stuff in that time and place. Colonizing a place is neither peaceful nor boring.

I'd be tempted to push the time period forward just a bit, into the Gold Rush proper. It seems like fertile plot fodder, and the massive influx of new people should give you a great excuse to introduce whatever kind of person or monster you want.

[g33k]

Hi!
Sorry for the thread-necromancy; but I wanted to catch your attention & ask how this (interesting!) campaign is going.  Also make a comment or two...

I have decided that the Red Court are a New World power, and have not yet established formal diplomatic ties with the White Council.
...
So a few things that will go on throughout the campaign is discovery of the Red Court

The Reds are pretty-clearly New-World in origin, rising with the mesoamerican powers; but their interactions with Europeans go all they way back to Cortes & the Conquistadors, so I find it really unlikely they are unknown to the White Council.  They may not be well known, however!  So having Reds as a foe -- that they don't have (and cannot reasonably acquire) a bunch of lore from travelling Ways to other wizards, or even Edinburgh -- works well.

... possible contact with the Jade Court through Chinese immigrants ...

You aren't required to follow "the canon" slavishly, of course!  But it's worth noting that "canonical" Dresdenverse Jade Court vamps are incredibly insular & secretive, and really really unlikely to migrate to the New World with the Chinese immigrants.

OTOH, I myself have posted a setting that is "totally the Dresden Files, except with all of the details changed" so I'm hardly one to be throwing canonical stones at other peoples plate-glass games!

Anyhow... mainly, I wanted to find out how the campaign went or is going or etc...?