The City/Hero Connection

[Trebuchet]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

After all' date=' Daredevil has Hell's Kitchen.[/quote']Yes, but Hell's Kitchen predates Daredevil by about 80 years. It was called that back in the 1880's. The Man Without Fear came along in... what, about 1965?

[phydaux]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

And right now the neighborhod that WAS Hell's Kitchen has been renovated and is all Starbucks and yuppie condos.

[Storn]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

Chicago is known as the Windy City... a wind elemental/manipulator is too easy and cliche though.

 

Chicago is known for its architecture. HOw about an architect with a powerset to match? Civil Engineer, the human block of cement with a heart of gold?

 

Many believe that Chicago is the analog for Supe's Metropolis anyhow.

[Hawksmoor]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

Many believe that Chicago is the analog for Supe's Metropolis anyhow.

 

Interesting. I have always gone with the New York City analog. It's Light is Metropolis and it's dark is Gotham.

 

However if you take the Smallville TV series route then Chicago it is for the ease of travel from eastern Kansas to the 'Big City!'.

 

Hawksmoor

-Wonder if the writers will realize that St. Louis is closer?

[Savinien]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

What about Houston? Being as large as it is, you rarely hear much about the vibe of the city. Many may mention NASA, but can anyone think of anything else concerning the flavor of Houston?

[Agent 13]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

Spoken like a true alumni of Zoo Mass Amherst.

No, just a former resident. I loved the Pioneer Valley, and if the job market hadn't gone to hell, we probably never would have left.

 

That said, a lot of the flolks in the People's Republic of Amherst can be a little... uptight.

[Rapier]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

RE: to original post

 

I never really put much thought to it, but I guess I do. While it's been a contiguous campaign for the past 14 years or so, we have switched around to different cities quite a bit.

 

Some of the cities have more of a Gotham feel, and while the original heroes for that city may not have been type-specific, the players very quickly created the appropriate "feel" of character.

 

When we were in Miami, the characters were all flashy and happenin.

 

When we were in Atlanta, the characters were either dignified and stately (antibellum) or a-hootin and a-hollerin.

 

When we were in DFW, the characters were all solid, proper heroes.

 

I just can't much imagine having it any other way. I'm actually so stumped that I just can't even picture having a SuperMan type boy scout running around a gothic spooksville like Gotham.

[Storn]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

Interesting. I have always gone with the New York City analog. It's Light is Metropolis and it's dark is Gotham.

 

However if you take the Smallville TV series route then Chicago it is for the ease of travel from eastern Kansas to the 'Big City!'.

 

Hawksmoor

-Wonder if the writers will realize that St. Louis is closer?

 

The creators of Superman were from Cleveland. Many feel that they looked towards Chicago,not NYC, for the inspiration for Metropolis... and setting it in Kansas is one of the primary reasonings. The earliest comics definitely have a very Chicago inspired feel to them, but NYC and Chicago share so much architecturally it is just plain nutty.

 

But Chicago or NYC, both work as Metropolis analogs. I've always felt that Gotham was really Boston done up real bad. And now Bludhaven is like Trenton or Baltimore/Pittsburgh circa 1972. But that is just me.

 

As a one time NY city boy and I love chicago, baltimore and pittsburgh, one of the things that DC comics does that really annoys me is make up cities. I just have always felt that real cities have SO much more to offer the reader. I'm probably in the minority, but that feeling carries over to super RPGs. I would much rather be a hero of Chicago or New Orleans or Santa Fe, even Scranton (for the right character type ) than be a hero in Freedom City or Vibora Bay or San Angelo. I understand that many GMs feel free'd up to have make believe cities... but I love the nuances of a city as a player. And as a GM, those nuances give me ideas. Running combat in NYC is heck a lot different if you just move 10 blocks. And it is really different compared to MIlan, Italy or Hong Kong or Prague.

[Houston GM]

Re: The City/Hero Connection

 

A team made for its city...

 

In my campaign I mentioned the Fabulous Five a couple times, the superhero team for San Francisco. Like San Francisco, they're flamboyant, campy, popular (at least in northern California), and completely effective.

 

 

Heck, the Archetypical Houstoner?

What about Houston? Being as large as it is, you rarely hear much about the vibe of the city. Many may mention NASA, but can anyone think of anything else concerning the flavor of Houston?

Houston is a bit of a mixed bag of the old and the new. Here are the key elements:

 

You're considered a native Texan if your family has lived here for 3 generations.

You're considered a native Houstonian if you've lived here for 6 years or more.

 

The Good Ol' Boy Network is alive and well in many sectors of Houston. One of my players capitalized on this by playing the ghost of a cop who'd been part of that network in the HPD.

 

Many people have a healthy dose of Texas pride. Texas is better than the other 49 states, and they can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else.

 

Most Houstonians display the courtesy that is common throughout the south, referring to people as "Sir" or "Ma'am". This strikes rude northerners (like me) as strange, particularly when I'm being called "Sir" by someone who is older than me and is my supervisor/manager.

 

Houston has a large Hispanic population. It's normal to hear Spanish spoken, and a large percentage of the population knows at least a smattering of useful Spanish words. One of the PCs in my campaign was a Columbian with a healthy dose of machismo.

 

Houston's economy used to be dominated by the oil industry (and the port, which is practically an extension of it). It has now diversified with a number of high-tech pursuits including computers, NASA, and medicine. Several of my players have demonstrated this aspect of Houston with their superheroes.

 

Houston is huge and sprawling. There are several business districts scattered around the city; downtown is merely the largest. Houston has no zoning laws, so it is possible to find an adult bookstore next to a church. Many photographers have taken photographs with the ramshackle slum of 4th Ward in the foreground and the glittering skyscrapers of downtown towering in the background.

 

Houston is hot and muggy about 9 months of the year. It dips below freezing for about 2 weeks during the winter. Heavy rains (4+ inches) are reasonably common.

 

Many native Texans (see above description) speak with a pronounced East Texas drawl (not to be confused with a West Texas twang). The majority of Houstonians do not have a drawl, but 90% of the English-speakers will use "y'all" in conversations (usable anywhere the phrase "all of you" would be gramatically appropriate).

 

Houston is not a cowtown. You'll have to go to Fort Worth for that.