Miami; the Makeshift Mermaid and other Yarns

[BumblingBear]

Bumble, to answer your question I think the power level will vary based on what everyone wants and agrees on, plus whoever ends up running the game since I may not actually end up running the game.

I'm thinking using the second level in for starters but have to play it by ear.

I think that will be fantastic.

My gf I think is going to want to play a weretiger.  She won't need a very high refresh.

I was thinking of starting out my character with a "submerged" refresh rate to begin with.  She is going to be very excited that it's Sunday instead of Saturday now.

[Ren]

by way of fyi, if I end up running it I am going to use Miami as the setting for a number of reasons. It's such a contradictory setting in so many ways with a city base don beaches and sunshine, but with so much crime as well as a high elderly population (at least in some parts of the area). Can you imagine the amount of lore sitting around? I can see a whole Elderly Care home full of aging and retired supernaturals of various stripes...heck now I have to write that up...I'll call it the "Silver Fox Society" or some such...
And as an added note I am planning to set it just after the end of "Changes" so there is going to be a massive power vacuum and subsequent struggle due to the sudden death of every Red Court Vampire in the city as well as the death or loss of power of their minions. The whole of the power struggle is likely to be one of the central themes of the campaign.

[BumblingBear]

by way of fyi, if I end up running it I am going to use Miami as the setting for a number of reasons. It's such a contradictory setting in so many ways with a city base don beaches and sunshine, but with so much crime as well as a high elderly population (at least in some parts of the area). Can you imagine the amount of lore sitting around? I can see a whole Elderly Care home full of aging and retired supernaturals of various stripes...heck now I have to write that up...I'll call it the "Silver Fox Society" or some such...
And as an added note I am planning to set it just after the end of "Changes" so there is going to be a massive power vacuum and subsequent struggle due to the sudden death of every Red Court Vampire in the city as well as the death or loss of power of their minions. The whole of the power struggle is likely to be one of the central themes of the campaign.

That sounds pretty cool

Luckily I am familiar with Florida as well.  I've traveled a lot.

If we end up with a long campaign, it'd also be cool to get some sort of travel going eventually to spice things up.

[fantazero]

I drove to Miami from Dallas this past summer, it was the trip from hell, but we got to see Miami, the good and the bad

[Ren]

Well I don't have a real long-term plan as of yet but I'm sure there may be the occasional spot of travel...whether voluntary or not...

I've never been to Miami much less Florida but the idea of it intrigues me. I have some general city-notes already written and some NPC's but there's plenty of room to add or alter as needed. I'll bring plenty of blank city-sheets and character sheets and maybe another Aide or two.

[fantazero]

Well I don't have a real long-term plan as of yet but I'm sure there may be the occasional spot of travel...whether voluntary or not...

I've never been to Miami much less Florida but the idea of it intrigues me. I have some general city-notes already written and some NPC's but there's plenty of room to add or alter as needed. I'll bring plenty of blank city-sheets and character sheets and maybe another Aide or two.

I suggest reading some of the Dexter Books, his description of the driving is spot on, as in it's freaking terrifying.

A lot of Miami looks like 35 in South Austin, and other parts look like the fancy parts of Houston and Dallas. Then throw in tropical weather, smog, Mosquitoes the size of small dogs, and random swamps.
Also really good Cuban, Venezuelan, and Brazilian food (but sadly no good Tex-Mex or Mexican food that I could find).  Also old people as far as the eye could see. 
It's an interesting place to visit, and its  an experience to drive there from Texas.
Oh, yeah, Also, if you look Hispanic expect to be spoken to in Spanish first English second. There is a very Miami attitude that is very Machismo/flashy.
Got 5 days? Spend 1.5 of the driving there, 1.5 there and the 1.5 driving back.
or just fly there its a 3 hours flight

[BumblingBear]

I suggest reading some of the Dexter Books, his description of the driving is spot on, as in it's freaking terrifying.

A lot of Miami looks like 35 in South Austin, and other parts look like the fancy parts of Houston and Dallas. Then throw in tropical weather, smog, Mosquitoes the size of small dogs, and random swamps.
Also really good Cuban, Venezuelan, and Brazilian food (but sadly no good Tex-Mex or Mexican food that I could find).  Also old people as far as the eye could see. 
It's an interesting place to visit, and its  an experience to drive there from Texas.
Oh, yeah, Also, if you look Hispanic expect to be spoken to in Spanish first English second. There is a very Miami attitude that is very Machismo/flashy.
Got 5 days? Spend 1.5 of the driving there, 1.5 there and the 1.5 driving back.
or just fly there its a 3 hours flight

I used to go to Tampa with my x wife for anime conventions.  Sadly, after going to a trip club in tampa, strip clubs in almost the rest of the country have been ruined for me for the rest of my life.

Oh yeah - that's another thing about FL... lots of good looking people.  Austin is not too dissimilar in that regard, but the folks in FL don't walk around as much in a constant drug induced stupor like a bunch of Austinites do. ;P

lol

[Ren]

Sadly I don't have the spare time or money to make a trip to Miami or I'd go in a heartbeat!
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Here's the basic of the Setup (I'll have to repeat this on the Meetup board)
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Blood in the Water

High Concept(s): The Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland, sunshine and good times!)
& Old News is Good News (Positive Influences of the elderly population)
Trouble(s): Blood in the Water (Chaos in the wake of the Red Court’s destruction)
& What Lies Beneath (Supernatural and Secular Corruption)
Overview: Miami is one of the wealthiest, cleanest, brightest and most colorful cities in America, full of the beautiful and wealthy as well as the poor and the old. The Miami lifestyle and day-to-day living has been broadly influenced by a wide variety of cultures from Caribbean to Cuban and Puerto Rican cultures as well as the wealth of experience available to the many elderly residents who have retired to the area. Underneath it all lays a continually shifting and changing criminal and supernatural scene ranging from drugs and porn to the White Court’s struggling for control against both the Fae courts and the Merfolk who have recently emerged from the deep waters of the Atlantic. Intermixed with these struggles lesser practitioners, Voudoun priests and various Men of Faith and Knowledge struggle to survive the tides of violence all around them.
Timeline: The events of this Campaign take place shortly after the end of “Changes” and deals in large part with the destruction of the Red Court and its associates.


Themes:
Power Vacuum:
The destruction of the Red Court Vampires has sent shock-waves throughout the supernatural and secular communities of Miami. With the deaths of the Vampires that controlled the businesses many of the local businesses have been sent into a tail-spin as the former allies and minions have started scrambling for control and the formerly tenuous balance between the various power structures has been spun out of control as they too scramble to pick up the reins of power that have been left behind. Many of the Red-Court controlled businesses have likewise suffered from a rash of fires and other random acts of destruction. These power struggles will form another major part of the campaign.

Missing Persons:
Along with the destruction of the Red Court power structure many other people in the secular and supernatural world alike have gone missing; many are suspected to have been suspected been at least semi-infected by the Red Court or were known allies that have been hunted down and killed by the former rivals of the Red Court. Amongst the missing is the Grey Warden, the only White Council representation in Miami. No Grey Wardens have come yet to investigate his disappearance, though any White Council wizards in town are free to investigate and if a Player Character wants to be a young Warden then the missing Warden is, or was, his Master and Teacher.

Martial Law:
In the wake of the Chaos that follows the destruction of the Red Court, Crime has seen a rapid and noticeable rise. This is not an unusual occurrence in major cities across the world, but given the suddenly increased influx of drugs, weapons and the sudden lack of control over the organized crime operations previously controlled by the Red Court has gotten severely out of hand. With the sudden and mysterious death of the Mayor the deputy mayor has stepped up to take his role and asked the Federal Government for assistance, which has been rendered in the form of activating Florida National Guard units to provide additional aid as needed and the Coast Guard has likewise seen an increase in activity.
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Yes there are 2 each of High Concept and Troubles...just too much going on to NOT have two each! Not to mention some Hidden Themes etc...
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I will have some Themes and Faces for the meeting, more should be made by the group to help flesh out the city some more.

[BumblingBear]

^^^ So far this looks excellent.

It also goes well (both the setting and the troubles) with my character concept.

My character (if we start with a submerged or greater refresh power level game...which would be nice) is an x soldier turned evocator turned emissary of power for Pele.

I'm going to do a lot of research into the myths of Hawaii, but I've already decided that Maui's Fishhook is going to be my item of power.

[fantazero]

if this works out we should all hit the gun range sometime. there's a good one in Leander/Jonestown, I assume none of us are convicted criminals.

[BumblingBear]

if this works out we should all hit the gun range sometime. there's a good one in Leander/Jonestown, I assume none of us are convicted criminals.

I'm down.

Shooting is one of my hobbies.

And even the x felons if we have any could shoot black powder.   I also LARP so I'm usually down for a few rounds of boffer practice too.

[fantazero]

I'm down.

Shooting is one of my hobbies.

And even the x felons if we have any could shoot black powder.   I also LARP so I'm usually down for a few rounds of boffer practice too.

you can use black powder as a felon? that seems...strange.
Boffer?

[BumblingBear]

you can use black powder as a felon? that seems...strange.

Indeed.  Black powder weapons are not considered to be firearms legally.  You can buy them online just like a bow.

This actually makes sense since they are probably less effective than a crossbow if a crazy person wanted to cause harm.

Boffer?

http://www.youtube.com/user/soldierfalcon#p/u/8/dWFYD2cUCAk

My gf shot this vid over the course of about 5 months.  It's funny because it is not in chronological order but you can see my rapid weight loss in it... lol

I got fat when I moved from WV to TX.  Boffer fighting is one of the things I do now to stay in somewhat decent shape.

[Ren]

I am WAY too out of shape for Boffer fighting...I get tired watching other people exercise...8P
Sadly, and for good reasons, I do not own a gun otherwise I'd be down for some target shooting.

Bear, you DO know that Hawaii is on the opposite side of the country form Florida right?
You might want to look into more of a Caribbean influence (Voudoun etc) or possibly Hispanic/old European (to Represent Cuban/Puerto Rican influences in the area). Part of the campaign will revolve around ancient Greek Mythology. The newest club in town is Called "Club Siren" and is run by a woman named "Kalliope Athenopolus"; There'll be more info on her come Sunday.
As a note you said your GG was thinking about a were-tiger, may want to make it a were-cougar as they are native to Florida and won't stick out quite so much, unless sticking out is her intention! I'm not going to say she can't do the tiger, but it's something to consider as police will be more likely to chase down a tiger on the loose than a cougar. But it could also make a fun catch as well...

[BumblingBear]

I am WAY too out of shape for Boffer fighting...I get tired watching other people exercise...8P
Sadly, and for good reasons, I do not own a gun otherwise I'd be down for some target shooting.

I understand.  No worries.

Bear, you DO know that Hawaii is on the opposite side of the country form Florida right?

Indeed!  My (perhaps somewhat sketchy) rationale is that Pele is one of the most powerful goddesses/demons/fae still walking the earth.  People still actually worship her, fear her, and even avoid construction to avoid angering her.  She has a lot of mojo....

And she is also a goddess of destruction - a jealous one at that.

I will be posting my character for peer review on this forum in another day or two, but the idea is that my character wants to help people, but he feels lost and while just a lowly evocator he was feeling vastly underpowered.  This was why he accepted power from such a questionable source.  The item of power he has will not only be a way to help mitigate his refresh (it contains all of his sponsored magice - /all/ of it.) but also provides a way for Pele to feed on the violence around him.

Pele is stuck on a little group of islands where not a lot happens anymore violence-wise, so she invests power in special individuals to experience it vicariously.  As a representative progresses, she invests more power into them.  This is my justification in-game for a character taking on more powers if/when he gets more refresh.

As such, he will be subtly compelled to seek out violence.  He does not know that the artifact does this... so it's a pretty insidious compel.  I was thinking that if the campaign lasts long enough, this could even become a plot point for something.

Anyway, the point is that heading to a hotspot while he is wandering to unknowingly jump into a fray created by other gods sounds like exactly the sort of thing he would be lead to do right now since he doesn't have much of a purpose or direction.

You might want to look into more of a Caribbean influence (Voudoun etc) or possibly Hispanic/old European (to Represent Cuban/Puerto Rican influences in the area). Part of the campaign will revolve around ancient Greek Mythology. The newest club in town is Called "Club Siren" and is run by a woman named "Kalliope Athenopolus"; There'll be more info on her come Sunday.

Cool!

As a note you said your GG was thinking about a were-tiger, may want to make it a were-cougar as they are native to Florida and won't stick out quite so much, unless sticking out is her intention! I'm not going to say she can't do the tiger, but it's something to consider as police will be more likely to chase down a tiger on the loose than a cougar. But it could also make a fun catch as well...

I will bring it up with her, but I think she wants to be a white tiger.  Being so out of place would be a great compel, though.  Her character concept is that she was a lonely girl who dabbled in magic but never actually did anything all that fantastic before... until she was almost raped and killed in an alley.  In the clarity before she was actually hurt, after her clothes were torn off, she transformed into a white tiger and killed the rapist.

Since then she has been compelled to patrol her campus and try to watch over other girls, but she is not very good at it because she is rubbish at violence.  She's also painfully shy and she knows next to nothing about the supernatural.

I really like the concept - that of a relatively powerful power in someone who knows so little about what is going on.  Not only that, she is new to roleplaying so keeping her role closer to her real personality may be easier for her to roleplay.

We shall see.