Author Topic: Los Angeles City Ideas  (Read 1921 times)

Offline Synthesse

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Los Angeles City Ideas
« on: August 05, 2010, 01:35:14 PM »
So I was thinking of running this game, but was hoping to gather some ideas before city creation. I live in L.A. so that would probably be the city that my players know best.
Here are some of my preliminary ideas about how to incorporate the supernatural into LA:
- Hollywood: Showbiz is a huge part of LA culture (Wikipedia says 1/6 residents are working for it in some way or another). I figure that this would probably be the domain of the White Vampire Court (feeding off of the emotions of the viewers vicariously?) or perhaps the Summer Court of the Fae (Summer because I would think that the Winter fae prefer a colder climate? And there's never really "winter" in LA?).
- The two general disasters we have are the Earthquakes and the Wildfires. Maybe these could actually be the results of Earth/Fire mages practicing nearby?
- Gang violence: Currently unsure how to tie these in supernaturally. Maybe they are mortals who use supernatural items to try to build an arms race against the other gangs? Maybe they are some kind of were creatures/lycanthropes fighting for territorial dominance? Maybe, like the Earthquake/Wildfire things above, one gang is full of some Minor Talent/Focused Practicioner pyromancers while the other is earth mages?
- We have a lot of pollution. Its true. This could maybe be a work of the Winter Court (since they advocate decay) or perhaps vampires who just want to block out the sunlight over LA.
- Death Valley - not in LA, but nearbyish. Maybe this desert is some kind of leyline especially conducive to necromantic magics? Undeath valley, anyone? XD
- LA has a strong asian community, relative to the rest of the US, due to its proximity. Perhaps this could be an introduction of the Jade Court of Vampires?
EDIT:
- Los Angeles = The Angels. Clearly Angels should be involved on some level. But how?


Anyway, those are my random crazy ideas. Does anyone have any more? Or has anyone already made a city of LA in DFRPG and would like to share what they came up with? =)
« Last Edit: August 05, 2010, 03:27:48 PM by Synthesse »

Offline kihon

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Re: Los Angeles City Ideas
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2010, 03:02:12 PM »
My group is using LA as well for their base.

The gangs (Crips vs Bloods) can you say the Black Court vs the Red Court

The whole Porn industry is LA Based - white court

China Town, etc... Jade Court --- so all the Vamps are there in large numbers

Because of all the vamps I have a ton of shape shifters moving into the area to combat them - perhaps Hollywood, new stars come and go all the time.  Hollywood is also a stable of Summer court.

Winter court has to be there as well, cold money - beverly hills to stand against the modern yuppie Hollywood.

USC vs UCLA .... again summer vs winter courts

Tons of ideas for 'accord' neutral places - pick your favorite hang outs.
Tons of ideas for 'true lore' book shops - again pick your favorites

Clubbing is huge in LA -- so every supernatural creature type has at least one hot club

In comes my player group -- which only has One Wizard of the White Council in it... who happens to have been told that he's the eyes and ears of the council in LA, so deal with it.

Smog is a subtle attack on all of humanity - I'm linking it to an on-going "dark hallow" type ritual being done by a truly evil necromancer style character ---- the group will eventually have to face him.  (Historically smog was really bad, but eventually got better --- perhaps the necro was finally put down???)

LA is ripe for ideas.  Enjoy

Offline Synthesse

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Re: Los Angeles City Ideas
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2010, 11:10:33 PM »
Those ideas are great! How much interaction do you have with stuff outside LA? There are plenty of interesting places that aren't inside city limits (eg Disneyland, Joshua Tree) that are still ripe for ideas, but the Dresden Files RPG is mainly city based.

Offline Morgan

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Re: Los Angeles City Ideas
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2010, 12:23:44 AM »
My Group's Los Angeles game has a lot of the same ideas

City and Game Aspects:
A City Divided- LA sprawls and has countless neighborhoods, cities, and places. But there are also defined borders and locations that have very different feels.
Blood On The Streets- There is violence on the streets, old ghosts haunt the city, and war is brewing we've decided to start our game just after events at Archangel.
Out In The Cold- This is our Threat Aspect as we are playing two apprentice wizards who are betrayed by their master to the Red Court and are now on the run in LA.

As for Factions, Power Players, and Faces:
We've gone for Los Angeles being Red Court Territory in all but name and the White Council is faced with a loosing battle especially after the betrayal of our master. And because of that we've gone for an internal struggles between Red Court factions being a big part of the game, giving us our gang violence and warfare for LA. The local Avenue gangs are old school Red Court while the interlopers have mixed Christianity/Mesoamerican Myth/and Apocalyptic Cult madness and are seeking to end the world in 2012 on the orders of their Blood Madonna. (We played around with the canon timeline a bit to put events of Summer Knight in 2010)

For White Court activity the Valley is definitely their Territory, again we've got some power struggles going on between different members of the Raith clan. Then Hollywood is very much Faerie territory, with LA being a land of endless summer we went with a Silver Screen idol Seelie Lord known as the Lord of Silver Light. We've gone for parallels to Nuada of the Silver Hand but in this case he is crippled because he is missing his power rather then missing his hand. We've also got a pack of free roaming Werecoyotes, and El Hueso the El Pachuco God of Chaos who might well be the real Tezcatlipoca wandering the city just to make things interesting.

Here's some of our LA Locations:
The Bradbury Building is the location of the Warden's Office for LA.

Griffith Park is possessed by a Fire Thirsty Demon.

LA River is an Artificial Ley Line and home to many Bridge Trolls.

The La Brea Tar Pits is a place to bury and store ancient secrets.

The Crossroads of the World is a Natural Gateway to all of the Nevernever.

Watts Towers are there because its creator "Wanted to Do Something Big".

The Sprawling Hearst Beverly Compound is an Old School Hollywood/Seelie Court Playground.

The Ennis House is a Temple to the Blood Madonna.

Skid Row is the haunt of a Black Court Rukh and the End of the Line.

Offline Craftzero

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Re: Los Angeles City Ideas
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2010, 01:26:39 PM »
Hey!  My game is in Los Angeles as well.  I lived there for many years, so I figure 'go with what you know'.  I earlier posted my threats/themes/locations to a different thread (where I was looking for a good neutral ground), but I included my info below for consolidation purposes.

Some awesome ideas here.


City Name: Los Angeles, CA
Campaign Title: At Last, Babylon


Themes and Threats

Aspect: The Thick Green Line

Theme: The rich keep getting rich, the poor keep getting poor.
The divisions between the classes is growing. The middle class is disappearing. In Bel Air and Beverly Hills, the wealthy hold decadent parties where the cars are worth more than the average persons’ home. The poor cling to each other, fighting back the rising despair. Those who Have make the rules, those who Have Not try to avoid notice.

Aspect: The Walls Are Leaking
Theme: The walls between the worlds are becoming thinner.
There are places in Los Angeles where it’s easy to open portals to the NeverNever by those with the proper magics – that’s not unusual. But when portals open of their own accord, it’s time for the supernatural community to be worried…

Aspect: Breakin’ The Law
Threat: Not enough wardens, too many warlocks
The war with the Red Court vampires has taken a toll on the White Council, especially in LA. Word on the street (and among the Ordo Lebes) is that in the face of too few Wardens, the warlocks are reaching out to one another. And worse – organizing.

Locations

Name: Grauman’s Chinese Theater
Aspect: Pulse of Power
Theme: There’s a ley line of sorts that sits on Grauman’s Chinese Theater. But it’s not a line – it’s a node, with no apparent connections to it. The belief is that there’s something that sits underneath the theater, something powerful that can used by those with the knowledge to tap it. So why is everyone afraid to go near..?

Name: Griffith Observatory
Aspect: The Stars Are Right
Theme: There’s a strong threshold of sorts that covers most of the Griffith Observatory. While this may appear on the surface to be an excellent place for a Neutral Ground, those with supernatural awareness avoid this place like the plague. Something there sets their teeth on edge, and hidden things seem to lurk in the corners and lines of the observatory itself…

Name: Compton
Aspect: War In The Streets
Threat: There’s long been gang warfare in East/South-east LA. But only in the last 15 years has it really become truly serious – the gangs are now led by ghouls. They’ve found a home (or a purpose) in the gangs, and many ghouls see ‘gang related death’ as another way of saying ‘fast food’.

Name: Bel Air
Aspect: We Know About You
Threat: New Mason Security is known among the wealthy and elite of Bel Air as the company of choice when you need to secure your home (or mansion, in many cases). What makes them unique is that they are In The Know – and they secure homes against supernatural interlopers. Most of their customers aren’t even aware that they’re being protected against the Fae, Vampires and the like – they just know they’re paying for the best.

Name: Disney World
Aspect: It’s A Fae World, After All
It may appear simply be a place for children to visit their cartoon icons, but Disney World is very important to the Summer Fae Court. The least interesting stories tell of portals to the NeverNever, but darker rumors hint that the Fae want something from the children…

Name: Chinatown
Aspect: Jade Gilded Coffins
Threat: They are considered the most secretive of the vampire courts, but the Jade Court holds a well-known position of strength in Chinatown. Nothing goes in or out of the area without their knowledge. They are careful to avoid angering the well-entrenched White Court everywhere else in Los Angeles, but they have made no bones about it – Chinatown is theirs. Another item of note – young women with green eyes often disappear here, for reasons unknown…

Name: Location Unknown
Aspect: Pieces of the Dead
Threat: Something has haunted the streets of Los Angeles for the past few years, although their impact has been minimal. They have simply watched – until now. Those who have taken note of their passing call them The Stitched – men and women that have been sewn together from different body parts. But they don’t act like undead, possessing a sentience and purpose that is thus far unknown. What’s interesting is that there is no hint of necromantic energy in their aura – only a chaotic swirl of confusing colors and hues.

Name: Hollywood
Aspect: Lust Comes In Many Forms
Threat: The White Court holds sway over Hollywood. Not just the pornography films – that’s obvious, and considered by the elite of the White Court to be almost too easy. Instead, House Kirkuv drives the film industry towards a decadence that fulfills both their hungers as well as House Horvath (who feed on despair). Nothing is more satisfying than driving well-known movie stars from the top of the food chain to the bottom, worn down by drugs and sex.