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The Dresden Files => DFRPG => Topic started by: kytanos on March 07, 2010, 10:26:49 PM

Title: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 07, 2010, 10:26:49 PM: Since Ive noticed a fair few of us hail from the city of boredom. Ive decided to start this thread so we can meetup. and perhaps start a gaming group.

So my fellow spokanians. speak out! ;D
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: Lanodantheon on March 07, 2010, 11:08:04 PM: I believe the official term is Spokanite.

I've done a bunch of work on it already. It is my personal belief that Merlyn's downtown is White Council sponsored Accorded Neutral Ground.

I'm in. ;D
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 07, 2010, 11:29:57 PM: I can only go saturdays and sundays, Perhaps 2 other days of the week are open after 17:30 but ill have to check my schedule.

Yay college.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 08, 2010, 04:21:10 AM: I have a Saturday Game already and a 2 year old so not sure what I can work out but I am interested at least in sharing location ideas.
The Merlyn's idea is interesting it is handy to have a public place where you can talk about vampires and wizards openly with out getting weird looks or a trip to Medical Lake hospital.

A friend and I have been working on a google map for our local game. it was original a D20 modern campaign that we retooled into a Dresden stetting. It includes locations that are considered haunted by local lore and some stuff I created.
-The dragon hill in Manito park is from a story my mom made up for me as a child that a Dragon lived on top of the hill at the NE corner of Manito park
-The Local Hell's Angels club house on Sprague is run by Ursiel and Opposed by a gang of Werewolves and Lycanthropes called the Wild Hunt Motorcycle club.
-The volcano marks are locations of supernatural power/activity that have not been fleshed out yet.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=110877311507005464871.00046a3383944a1a2812f&ll=47.652438,-117.401447&spn=0.086727,0.197239&z=13 (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=110877311507005464871.00046a3383944a1a2812f&ll=47.652438,-117.401447&spn=0.086727,0.197239&z=13)

If you have a Gmail account you can save the map to "My Maps" and edit it as much as you want. We are continuing to expand it in anticipation of the DFRPG release.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: mrsleep on March 08, 2010, 08:33:44 PM: Quote
I've done a bunch of work on it already. It is my personal belief that Merlyn's downtown is White Council sponsored Accorded Neutral Ground.

How do you explain the downtown parking garage debacle? There had to be something sinister involved.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 09, 2010, 12:11:46 AM: This should explain a lot of what goes on in spokane.

http://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/spokanes-gypsy-curse/ (http://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/spokanes-gypsy-curse/)
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 09, 2010, 12:35:38 AM: Quote from: srl51676 on March 09, 2010, 12:11:46 AM
This should explain a lot of what goes on in spokane.

http://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/spokanes-gypsy-curse/ (http://chawedrosin.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/spokanes-gypsy-curse/)

Nothing, and I mean nothing can explain this city. :-)

((Since their are four of us, we should start talking scheduling, anyone up to gm? etc)) 3+1 gm is a good gaming group.

I know dresden isnt out yet, but we can hold out with something fun to pass the time. Plus if you really want we can do dresden with a different system. It's the campaign that matters in the end. not which set of dice you toss or how is grappling handled.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 14, 2010, 02:27:18 AM: I was just thinking about setting up Spokane and realized that this city is the only provider of medical care for much of the inland NW as such I think one or all of the local hospitals should be accorded neutral ground. All were founded by the church as well and thus one or all might be holy ground to some extent. What do you guys think?
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 14, 2010, 09:31:14 PM: I think you got the wrong idea.

To me, with how often it's been seen in the book, and the behaviors of supernatural entities inside of it (gruff not killing harry when he was in the pub for example) It's not something you stumble across at every second block. A place has to be Special with a capital S to become accorded neutral ground. (the very fact mac's is accorded neutral ground. and harry's comments about it speak volumes. Mac did something big or pulled serious political strings to get it)

Just because their the only care providers doesn't mean they have to be neutral ground, As seen in the dresden files society usually ticks along quite fine. There is no reason the hospitals have to have any special protection.

Additionally, what your talking about is not something to take lightly. You throw it around and you cheapen it. You use a trope to much and it becomes a clique and loses it's value and impact. To have all the hospitals be accorded holy church ground. Sounds ridiculous.

Be more subtle and precise when designing a city. Instead of having all the things lumped in one place, seperate them. and put them in a place where it both makes sense, and the element can shine. Also give it some flavor, make it special and unique, make it fit the location and city.

Holy ground? Why does it have to be the white god's holy ground? Spokane was named after an Indian tribe right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spokane_Falls_1888.jpg Why not have Spokane falls be Indian holy ground.

Want some neutral ground? Didnt spokane used to have major rail business a hundread years back? Have one of those old rail hubs be neutral ground. Made even more interesting by the fact that business is long gone, and the train station is now probably used for something else. Want to meet safety with the vampire? Okay, he will be in the gift shop. :-)
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 14, 2010, 10:29:56 PM: I'm not sure there is a ton of evidence for mac's being "Special" other than it is designed in such a way as to cater to and protect it self from its chosen clientele. He is an interesting character but I think people read way too much into him. (but on this we shall see)

"Mac did something big or pulled serious political strings to get it" I would think this is because the location itself is small and insignificant to the big picture. Neutral ground is more likely reserved for maintaining a low profile from the mortal community or protecting places of power important to more than one faction. a mortal example would be The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem which is a holy site to Jews, Christians, Muslims and is controlled by none of them in order to maintain peace.

"It's not something you stumble across at every second block." Well I'm not sure that is true either. In the Las Vegas game run in Beta the entire Las Vegas Strip was Neutral ground. The idea both there and with the hospital is different than Mac's. They are not a haven. They are protected because any supernatural disruption would cause wide spread harm and bring the attention of the Mortal Authorities.

"Holy ground? Why does it have to be the white god's holy ground?" I was thinking that it might be because Sacred Heart for example was founded and is still run by an order of nuns called the Sisters of Providence and has been on the site for exactly 100 years this year. True Faith I think would tend to rub off on a place so long established and home to so many prayers for the sick and dying. After some research I would limit the neutrality to Sacred Heart only as it is the only one that has both the history and the maintained connection to "The Church"

"Why not have Spokane falls be Indian holy ground." No reason it might not be there are a number of important sites for Native American religion in the area. As far as I can tell all Holy Ground does in the Dresdenverse I give a home field advantage to those that keep it holy and a disadvantage to their enemies. Kind of like a public version of a Threshold created by a family. The mutual reverence and affection for a location give it power. The Native American sites might have waned over time due to the near extermination of their people and the great degree to which they have assimilated. However these places were kept holy for thousands of years before Europeans came in the relatively recent past (1836). "The first humans to live in the Spokane area arrived between twelve to eight thousand years ago" Wikipedia. The falls would also poses other qualities as a place of great natural elemental force with an affinity for water and possibly earth and or a strong connection to the Nevernever.

Useful Links

Spokane Tribe History
http://www.wellpinit.wednet.edu/sal-cos/cos_toc.php (http://www.wellpinit.wednet.edu/sal-cos/cos_toc.php)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane_%28tribe%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane_%28tribe%29)

Spokane History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Washington#History (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Washington#History)

Sacred Hear Hospital
http://www.shmc.org/index.php/page/286 (http://www.shmc.org/index.php/page/286)
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 15, 2010, 02:17:53 AM: Well, I might have had abit of a strong reaction. but your hospital idea kind of sounded like ninja pirate cyborg. as it were. just too many things in 1 package. (I also will admit, I dont know much about spokane. It has never interested me so... >_>)

I will disagree with sacred heart being both holy and Accorded neutral ground though.

It simply doesn't make sense given the nature and members of the accords. It's holy ground, thus innately hostile or atleast disadvantages for certain members of the accords.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 15, 2010, 06:05:57 AM: "It simply doesn't make sense given the nature and members of the accords. It's holy ground, thus innately hostile or at least disadvantages for certain members of the accords."

All the more reason they would agree to neutrality. a place hostile to them were they can not be forced into a fight. but I can go either way.

There is some interesting stuff going on in Spokane history that can be very useful to a DFRPG game. Most of it can be found with very little effort on the net. I really like the idea of the city being a patchwork of different geographic influences. It creates a magical terrain that can be used to ones advantage in much the same way a solider would use physical terrain to provide cover or gain a tactical advantage. For example If I am a water mage I might try to lure my foe onto one of the bridges in order to invoke the locations aspect and gain the upper hand.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 15, 2010, 06:26:09 AM: Along with the Map I posted here is something else I am working on for my current group. it is a list of real and fictional NPCs or possible PCs for the Spokane area. Anything not underlined is true to the best of my knowledge. Much of the underlined text has been brought over from a D20 modern game based in the Dresden universe that I ran a few years back feel free to use some, all or none of this in your own games. I am a social studies teacher in real life so I enjoy doing the research and the sense of "realism" it brings to the game. Also if you add to it I would love to see what you are creating. Sorry the formatting of the list did not translate well.

Use of the list
1.   Underlined names, titles, organizations and information are fictional

City Government
•   Mayor: Mary Vernor
•   City Council
o   Joe Shogan
o   Amber Waldref
o   Jon Snyder
o   Bob Apple
o   Steve Corker
o   Nancy McLaughlin
o   Richard Rush
•   Spokane Police Dept.
o   Chief: Anne Kirkpatrick
o   Special Investigations
    Lieutenant: Raymond L. Harris (Chest Deep)
   Sergeant: Melissa G. Evans (Chest Deep)
   Detectives
•   Rodney N. Conner (Feet Wet)
•   John A. Perry (Waist Deep)
•   Spokane County Sheriff
o   Sheriff: Ozzie Knezovich
•

The Press
•   Sara Leaming (Feet Wet)
o   a reporter for The Spokesman-Review in the Local news department. She reports on breaking news at night, and general assignments.
•   Meghann Cuniff (Feet Wet)
o   a reporter for The Spokesman-Review in the Local news department. She covers police and fire agencies in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
•   Kristi Gorenson (Chest Deep)
o   a fill-in anchor and reporter for KREM 2 NEWS
o   Live in girlfriend of Kenneth Kaplan Raith
•

Wild Hunt Motorcycle Club: A Motorcycle Club made up of lycanthropes and classic werewolves
•   Alpha Male: Ulric "Ric" Hunter (Lycanthrope)
•   Priest of Diana Godess of the Hunt : Uday "Rabbit" Rashid (Classic Werewolf)

Hell's Angel's Motorcycle
•   Leader: Paul "Cain" Foster
o   Joined the Hell's Angels in 2001 by luring his brother Michael, who had fraudulently claimed to already be a member, into an ambush at a party.
o   Member of The Order of the Blackened Denarius and Barer of the Fallen Ursiel

The Marks family
•   Grover Marks (?-1997) Haunts City Hall
•   Jimmy Marks (Feb. 14, 1945- June 27, 2007)
•   Patriarch: Tommy Marks (Chest Deep)

Religion
•   Catholic Archdiocese
o   Bishop: Most Reverend William S. Skylstad
•   St. John's Cathedral (Episcopal Cathedral)
o   Right Reverend James E. Waggoner, Jr (Feet Wet)
o   Reverend John Hay (chest deep)
   very active retired priest
   leads the weekly Wednesday 10am Eucharist in All Saints Chapel, and the weekly Wednesday 10:45am Bible Study.
   served in the Pacific Theater of WWII where he faced the Jade Court vampires
   is active in the battle against the White Court in Spokane, advocates for the closure of Club Envy.
•   Mount St. Michael Compound: A schismatic "traditional" Catholic monastery separated from modern Catholic Church after changes made at the Second Vatican Council in 1965. When alterations were made to the dogma and practice of Catholicism including a quiet turning away from a literal belief in the supernatural.
•
Business Community

•   Merlyn's
o   Owner: John Waite (Feet Wet)
•   Club Envy: A night club owned and operated by the White Court of Vampires. Located beneath the Ridpath Hotel.
•   Owner/Manager: Margaret Raith
•   Secretary: Gwenneth Wright
•   HR/PR/Marketing: Kenneth Kaplan-Raith
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: mrsleep on March 15, 2010, 04:56:53 PM: Was thinking that the gay/transgender night club (can't remember the freaking name) would make a solid "real-world" setting for the WC instead of the fictional Club Envy.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 15, 2010, 05:35:58 PM: The name of the Place is Dempsey's Brass Rail. This would make a great real world location. Envy was created by my roommate for his up coming game and is designed to be a lot more underground than the very public Dempsey's. By total coincidence it turns out to be a real Tapas Lounge here in town as well. However at your sugestion I think we will add Dempsey's to the list. The WC is a large organization with its fingers in a lot of pies.

http://www.dempseysbrassrail.net/

http://envyspokane.com/

Again great idea

Another thought the WC might also be the new owners of the Davenport.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 16, 2010, 03:03:17 AM: I do like the idea of a white court vs church thing going on. It's a nasty battle, given that whites arent affected by faith.

I also like that you didnt fall into the trap of "Lets do it all". that some people seem to do when dresdenizing cities, they seem to want to add Everything and have every single political or supernatural faction have a presence. like the city is one giant embassy. :-)

though one idea I had, Denarians can be old, and clever. Maybe the Denarian in town is not a member of the hells angels club.

Maybe he's the leader of the schismatic church here in town, leading people away from the supernatural, making them more normal. more vulnerable. And eventually, when they are all staunch realists, he can turn reintroduce them to the supernatural. Turn them against it, make them think it's all evil and unholy. Before you know it you have the spokane witch hunt. and they all believe they are doing good work. So if you kill them, your killing misguided but good people.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 16, 2010, 06:40:49 AM: "Maybe he's the leader of the schismatic church here in town, leading people away from the supernatural"
that's not a bad idea but its the the reverse of the story. the Schismatic church has broken away because they want to keep to the pre 1950's traditions so they would be more likely to believe in the supernatural while the "Mainstream" church is "modernizing" treating the supernatural as a metaphor in order to keep up with the times and stay relevant.
This is only important if you want to maintain the realism as the above story is true. there is no reason one could not take artistic license and change it however. of course this would mean a mainstream catholic church that is arming its people against the supernatural. This would be a much more potent foe. I get the impression that Father Forthhill and Michael are the exception in "the Church" and not the rule. If you did make this change I would change the Denarian that is being used Ursiel is a thug not really predisposed to such a long term plan. for this I would select a new fallen angel from this very handy list I found.
http://www.angelsghosts.com/fallen_angel_names.html (http://www.angelsghosts.com/fallen_angel_names.html)

"I also like that you didn't fall into the trap of "Lets do it all"" Thanks I agree I figure the Reds are busy the Blacks are too rare and despite the interesting work being done by fans on this site I think I want to let Butcher handle the Jade. Fairies tend to come and go and I don't think Spokane is big enough to merit regular intervention buy the White or Black Councils. I was thinking about a local White Council for Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming that would meet in the Masonic Temple downtown on a seasonal basis perhaps with a yearly visit from Listens to Winds as an inspection tour. There should also be a local warden presence of one or two wardens ( all that can be spared) to cover the region and try and keep folks on the straight and narrow. I figure one lower power and semi retired and the other very young and green
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: mrsleep on March 19, 2010, 11:22:50 PM: What have you considered as far as incorporating Native American legends? I mean, it is Spokane. It could be as simple as animal spirits on tap for story elements or a group of traditional shamans not affiliated with the White Council.

On a side note, a story arc explaining why the homeless there seem to be so bat-shit crazy (yes, from personal experience Spokane vagrants seem a touch crazier than "regular" vagrants).
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 20, 2010, 02:11:42 AM: As far as Native Americans I am still doing research on the Spokane Salish Tribe and their legends/religion I found this site
http://www.wellpinit.wednet.edu/sal-hist/reading.php?iinclude=../sal-hist/timeline.txt (http://www.wellpinit.wednet.edu/sal-hist/reading.php?iinclude=../sal-hist/timeline.txt) but I have not had a chance to read much yet I may also try to read some of the books by Sherman Alexie, famous Spokane Indian author, or at least watch his movie Smoke Signals to get a feel for the modern community here.

As to the homeless idea I have a PC/NPC idea for "The Duke of Undertown" he is a human taken as a child and raised in the summer court who gave up his wealth and position there to avoid participation in acts that would harm mortals and was cursed to live in madness and poverty. He would have the Spirited Away and Magical McGyver aspects from the aspect thread and act as a sort of homeless Godfather who lives in a pocket of the Nevernever that resembles Giaman's London Blow or Green's Nightside. depending on the power level her would also be a Council class wizard.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: mrsleep on March 22, 2010, 03:53:39 PM: Nifty. Some of Gaiman's Neverwhere could fit as well.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 23, 2010, 07:35:54 AM: London Blow is the name of the place in the book Neverwhere it has its own RPG but I have never played it. the web site for it has some great ideas for city creation though

check out this link

http://neverwhered6.tripod.com/Undercities.html (http://neverwhered6.tripod.com/Undercities.html)
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: Lanodantheon on March 24, 2010, 06:36:49 PM: When the game comes out I'd only have time on weekends as well. Up in Cheney I;m going to be running a few 1-shots as soon as the pdf becomes available.

But first, my thoughts on City Creation after reading the Batlimore Chapter.

Themes:

It seems a City requires like...3 themes to define the city in general. Here are 2 themes that have been rattling around. My names need work.

The New Invading A Lasting Old

Spokane's an old place. Sure there are older places, but the structures built here tend to endure. Even as business fall and properties change hands, the old structures and traditions remain for the most part. There are buildings, businesses and blocks of real estate that have gone unchanged (for the most part) for decades.

When a new business does come in, it sinks into the community and whatever is built lasts and remains unchanged for years. There are too many examples to name. Look at the fast-food places around town that have lasted or changed hands, 99% have the same layout and exterior today as they did when my family moved here in 1991. There's a Zip's location in the Valley that has been frozen in time for 20 years. Laser Quest downtown is in the Old Armory, and looks the same years later.

This all may be coincidence in real life but in the Dresdenverse this is Fracking metaphysical in origin.

This area is home to something the local Magic Users call "Spokane Thresholds"
That is to say that in the Spokane area(extending at least as far as Cheney because it's the same here) Thresholds can be make faster and stronger with less people. With the right magical know-how it is stupidly easy to build spells upon these fast and strong thresholds. The area doesn't have any of the ancient thresholds older cities have, but a lot of places that shouldn't have thresholds or strong ones do. Spokane Thresholds also tend to linger long after they should dissipate after a property changes hands.

Spokane Thresholds are an invaluable commodity to the magical community. It attracts a lot of people, causing them to stay. We have a few Nationally Registered Historic Districts in town that are thought of by many as "Holes". Hillyard is the poorest neighborhood in the state yet people stay and maintain a sense of pride.

This theme is also reflected in nature when in 1974, as part of The World Expo new salmon was introduced to the Spokane River(which is true) as well as new water sprites and river spirits that have begun to clash with the polluted spirits from before the river was cleaned up.

Also reflected in the Great Fire of 1889 which many think was engineered due to the failings of water. At least one of the banks that rebuilt downtown was owned by the White Court. Which means Spokanite White Court vamps in town may be Dutch. :D

The last reflection of this theme for me is the Local family of Wardens, The Balthazars. They are from The Old World of things and have a family trait(possibly inherited from the area) of having baby faces, literally. A common Aspect among them to reflect this is Old Man, Young Face. Some of the Oldest Balthazars in town are pushing a century or two and look like they are in their 20's. Being from the Old World of things, they follow a Laissez-faire attitude towards the Mortal world. Look but don't touch. No unnecessary interaction with Mortals. They make Harry Potter Wizards look down right friendly. They have a lot of Veils downtown built on the old thresholds to keep things under wraps.. Most of the Balthazars though came to Spokane to retire so most of them have have let their talent wither for the most part. It pisses the Wardens looking for recruits off something awful bacuse most of the Bathazars either don't join the Council or don't qualify for it.

Center of The Maelstrom

Spokane's weather is kinda wonky. Half the time over a period of years, it can't decide what season it is day-to-day. Other years, we get the extremes of the seasons coupled with major meteorological/geological activity. In my 19 years of living here I have seen no less than a Firestorm that has almost burned down my house and 2 major snowstorms that has left entire neighborhoods without power in addition to an uncharacteristic Earthquake and the fact we are in the shadow of Mount St. Helens.

The people here are also wonky. We are the 2nd largest city in Washington with the 2nd worst job market in the country. We have an equal amount of people who take pride in their homes(represented by the previous theme) as well as people who just want to get out of Dodge.

Magically, this is represented by lots of energies flowing around. The Nevernever in this area is hectic. There are Ley-lines(minor and major) running through town and many flows of energy that pool. The positive effect are the afore-mentioned Spokane Thresholds but the negative effect are pools of dark energies that pop up in places around town. There are places in town that have never had lasting, successful businesses(there are places in the Valley Mall that are either still empty or have never had a business in them that has lasted more than a few months).

The mining in this area also stirred things up when Earth spirits were driven from their homes.

Rituals preformed around Expo '74 stabilized this maelstrom but did not get rid of it.

One possible point of interest for this theme aside from our hectic seasons is a rumored group of Wizards that made it big in the Mortal World. These Wizards and lesser magic-users supposedly pissed off Queen Mab when they figured out a way to create dimenses in the Nevernever using specially created books. These Books are Thaumaturically linked to dimenses in the Nevernever described in them, which coincidentally had been the worlds or Ages that had been dreamed about for years. As a result, Myst has become an recent invaluable tool to teach Mortals and aspiring Wizards about the Nevernever(when they can still use computers). This diatribe though is only half-serious, but it depends on how much Myst you want in your game.

In terms of Threats and individuals I got next to nothing.

I do propose though that Merlyn's is not owned by John (he's just a front man) but by a supernatural community member who is for some reason named "Gorilla" Bob. ;D

The only other organizations I can think about are the White Court who in my opinion have infiltrated the Mormon population and a group of Native American spirits that are recruiting and training Were-froms to take back down town.

That's what I have so far.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 25, 2010, 12:13:34 AM: Theme Ideas

The New Invading A Lasting Old Ok I don't want to nit pick you to death here but I have to say your time scale is a bit off. Spokane was Incorperated in 1881 as cities go that is brand spanking new even by American standards. That means this was not even a official city when telephone and light bulbs were invented. It wasn't much more than a trading post at the time of the civil war and Ebenezar McCoy was pushing 200 by then. This book deals in the supernatural with beings that are immortal to them Cairo, which has been a metropolis since more than 2000 years before Christ was born might qualify as old.
Of course things still look the same as they did in 1991 thats not even 20 years yet. I was in high school here then. buildings that are well built last for centuries not decades roads almost never move. Boston has bad traffic because its streets were designed for horse and buggy not cars. I have a friend in France who grew up in a castle that belonged to her family as the last holders of the local barony.
The rest of the ideas are good but you should find another reason. Spokane is not remarkable in the way you describe. Sorry if that sounded snarky but I'm 34 and have lived here all my life I went to Laser Quest the week it opened so calling it old is a bit of a stretch. I do like the bit about Expo my parents moved here in '74 2 years before I was born and my dad is a photographer so I have seen pics of what it looked like before when it was a dirty train yard.

Center of The Maelstrom-

I like this idea but I would leave out Mt. St. Helens it is on the other side of the state between Tacoma and Portland. Not that the sky did not go black in the middle of my 4th birthday party but "in the shadow" is stretching it.

If you look at the geography I think it might be fair to say that this area is a bastion of Summer caught between two strongholds of Winter ( the Rocks and the Cascades) Clashes between these two forces could well explain the weather which is a bit on the strange side in my life time you can add 2 tornadoes to the list. Riverfront Park Created with the help of the Summer Court in a deal that creates prosperity for the town by attracting EXPO 74 and increase the power of summer by allowing access to the ley line that that surfaces on the island. The clock tower structure focuses the power of the ley line while the Pavilion helps to ground out excess power into the river.

White Court & Mormons Why? a bunch of people who strive to suppress and repress their lust would be a poor place to feed. I think our discussions about Dempsey's and the davenport are a bit more on track for the WC.

Ok here is my attempt feel free to criticize

Capital of the Inland Empire

Spokane is the largest City between Seattle, WA and Minneapolis, MN this makes it the center of activity for both Mortal and Supernatural politics for the region. In the mortal realm this goes as far as an attempt to create a 51 st state from E. Wa, N ID, and W MT with Spokane as the capital. In the Supernatural realm Spokane is the place where the powerful fey of a sparsely populated region come in contact with mortals.

Striving to Grow

Spokane is a city on the brink of greatness constantly striving and competing for the attention of the more densely populated western half of the state. Spokane is the forgotten little brother that want to join the bigger kids in there games. This means that both mortal and supernatural powers here are driven and motivated to increase their power and reach. Some are willing to go to any lengths to achieve these goals.

Threats

The Curse For nearly 30 years the city of Spokane has been operating under a Gypsy curse that has caused many problems rising unemployment and homelessness, freak weather, serial killers and increased monster activity.

These are just from some quick notes I took and need to be developed but here they are.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: Lanodantheon on March 25, 2010, 01:23:35 AM: The takes on a City are based on interpretation and perspective. The themes I proposed (and will probably use in my own games unless my players come up with a better concensus) are based on my own perceptions of things.

I tried to make the setting interesting with some creative license, exaggerations of things that I and the people I play with have perceived. The main thing I have to mitigate is the fact that the general interpretation that my normal group of players has of Spokane is that the place is a hole and they just want to leave. I want to make my home town fun and I want people to play in it.

I say that some things are old and unchanged because that's how it appears to me. I will admit though that the theme of "The New invading the Lasting Old" needs another pass because less than 150 doesn't seem deserving of that moniker. I wasn't really thinking about the grand scheme of things. :-[

My other rational for the Theme was the amount of time the tribes in this area went before making contact with Americans. To me it seemed to fit but I may be mistaken and need to fix/replace the theme.

I admit that my knowledge of Spokane History absolutely, positively royally sucks and I've done the best research I can, but most of my first-hand knowledge is limited to parts of Downtown and the Spokane Valley. But my goal is to get the feel of Spokane rather than having 100% accuracy because it's The Dresdenverse and not real-life. I do my best but until I go over it with my players I have no way of knowing if my research holds water or is crap.

I admit the Mt. St, Helens thing may be a stretch.

I know there is a perfectly logical Meteorological explanation for Spokane's weather (Mountain shadow effect, distance from water, etc) but this is the Dresdenverse. I like your interpretation of how the Courts factor in. I'll take it. ;D

White Court & Mormons comes from (Only) the perception from my friends and I that there are wayyyy too many attractive Mormons in the parts of Spokane I frequent. I am exaggerating things, but the rest of my players have noticed the same thing.

The Wamps fit to me because they A) Feed on repressed urges and pent up frustrations (I had a lot of frustrated classmates who eventually broke or secretly indulged) and Wamps don't necessarily feed only on Lust (I had a lot of classmates who were also holding back fear and anger)
and B) Using the Church of Latter-Day Saints can make for some White Court good-guys. If they honestly converted and are a group looking for....salvation then that allows me to throw the occasional curve ball.

I will admit that placing the various threats in town need some more work and I will reread your take on it, but based on my experience that's my best guess.

The Gypsy Curse for me doesn't attract my take on things because it is impossible to give it a face and it is subsequently impossible to fight. If the Curse keeps coming back up and the PCs can't do anything about it then it just isn't fun.

Striving to grow is need but I personally like something tangible, something I can give a face to.

Of course, this was just my my second or third blush take on Magical Spokane. When I actually get the RPG, it will get a better fleshing out.

Thanks for the advice though. The only other thing to say is, "What other ideas do we have?" ;D
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: mrsleep on March 25, 2010, 01:48:17 AM: Quote
London Blow is the name of the place in the book Neverwhere it has its own RPG but I have never played it. the web site for it has some great ideas for city creation though

Freaking shoddy memory. I knew that last lobotomy was a mistake.

Quote
White Court & Mormons comes from (Only) the perception from my friends and I that there are wayyyy too many attractive Mormons in the parts of Spokane I frequent. I am exaggerating things, but the rest of my players have noticed the same thing.

You're not the first to notice the disproportion of attractive Mormons. My favorite explanation is (warning possibly offensive)
(click to show/hide)
that the husbands only breed with their pretty wives
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: kytanos on March 25, 2010, 02:46:35 AM: I liked the striving grow idea, It fits spokane well. Let's face it, We live in a crappy place. Spokane is not an important city, and could probably vanish and nobody would notice. I like the idea of supernatural power's striving and trying to grow in it, and being held back/setback. We get the trash of the supernatural community. :-)

I also like the idea of it being a summer area sandwiched between two winter, but let's start to be carefull. I think adding faries in weve reached our sanity limit for Spokane. Adding more supernatural factions would start to give us the lets cram it all in effect.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 25, 2010, 04:32:43 AM: The idea with striving to grow is not a value judgment. Its just on the wrong side of a mountain range it is an afterthought to the rest of the state much like the NW is an afterthought to the rest of the nation. The point is that it is a city that is trying to be more trying to grow. The mortals are trying to attract money and power to be the leader that pushes the city in to the spotlight and the one to claim the spoils when they do. The supernaturals that end up here are more than likely the same Not big enough or bad enough to be important in Seattle or Portland but ambitious enough to strike out for unexploited territory to make a name for themselves. Both of these groups would be willing to go to any lengths to succeed. They will lie, cheat, steal, or kill to get what they want. I also have to say anyone who thinks Spokane is a hole needs to travel more because you have never seen a real hole there are places in Chicago, Detroit, and LA that make the worst parts of Spokane look like Beverly Hills. Spokane unlike many other places is growing I remember when Riverfront park was the closest thing to an amusement park for 600 miles, when Northtown Mall was a single one story building and the valley mall was at Sprague and University and was just a strip mall with a roof. when the city ended on the west side of Sullivan street, there was nothing past the Y at N. Division. and the entry way to riverpark square was a through street. If you want more history info on Spokane try Wikipedia all the info I used I found there.

Also the Face of the curse would be Jimmy Marks son Tommy. The face of Growth could be someone like Duane Hagadone who owns the CdA Resort and a bunch of other stuff or the Mayor or the city council.

As to not including every faction I think you are right. the faeries should be included since the Nevernever is basically everywhere so even if they are not brought to the forefront of the game it should be established what their goals and motivations are especially if you are going to use the weather as a Theme.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: Lanodantheon on March 27, 2010, 07:44:05 AM: After another slow night of liberation and watching of bad kungfu movies, my group and I made some decisions on our take on Magical Spokane and our decisions were a bit surprising in the end.

We managed to merge old ideas with others and ended up with a good sense of Spokane on Paper.

Themes:
In the Middle of The Maelstrom

Spokane is stuck between the fighting of the Fairy Courts. We have areas of positive energy next to old lingering Thresholds dating back Centuries(Spokane Tribe times). We have Leylines conflicting with the River(needs clarification and research). We have a lot of conflicting elements that we are right smack in the middle of. Individually, these problems are insignificant compared to how bad they are in other cities, but added together, it makes a Maelstrom of crap.

Otherwise it is identical to what has been proposed before by Me and other posters. This theme seems to work.

Striving to Grow

Spokane is always trying to get bigger. New things come in and as a Crossroads, we have influence of change everywhere. The Maelstrom symbolises the city's chaos, but this repesents the city's desire to go beyond its limits, to Change.

As natives know, Spokane has 2 seasons: Winter and Construction.

This simple Theme seems to work, especially when coupled with our choice of threat:

Threat
Resistance to Change

We may like to build new things, but change anything in Spokane and people will complain about it, even if people know the change is for the better.

After revising these themes and threat and clarifying them, we need to give them Faces via NPCs.
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: srl51676 on March 30, 2010, 06:35:36 AM: Something to consider for NPCs I'm thinking major villains

The Cowls Family Owners of the Spokesman Review and KHQ (nice coincidence with the name. see Dead Beat)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/thefalls/archive/?postID=274 (http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/thefalls/archive/?postID=274)9
Title: Re: Spokane Game.
Post by: Lanodantheon on March 30, 2010, 02:24:29 PM: My group also considered the Cowls family because of their influence in town and I find it deeply ironic that their name is a letter away from One of TDF's BBEG.