Boston Campaign

[Brick]

I am planning on GMing a Champions Campaign in the new Champions Universe. However, I am playing with the idea of not starting it in Millenium City (although it is a sure thing that I will get the sourcebook as soon as it is available in my area), but in Boston. There is one problem, though: I can get enough information about the "normal" facts of the city, but I haven't got a clue where to get info on e. g. the crime situation of Boston (Is there organized crime? Which organizations are there? Which street gangs, if any?). Also, as a non-American, I don't know if New England has the death penalty. Can anybody give me some kind of help? Also, links to adventures (long and short) as well as campaign ideas are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Alibear]

Grüß aus München.

 

State Street Bank has its HQ in Boston with over 10,000 employees in the Boston area alone. I work in the München branch of the Bank and will ask a few questions for you.

 

Perhaps if you had a list of questions, a questionaire, I could get specific answers for you. have you considered a travel guide to Boston, a Rough Guide is usually jam-packed with interesting info about a city.

[dbsousa]

Death Penalty Laws vary from state to state for non-federal crimes. In New England, Massachussetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maine do not have the death penalty, while Connecticut and New Hampshire do.

 

Things you might want to include in a Boston based game.

• The Big Dig: This is the largest building project in history, designed to eliminate the interstates that divide Boston up into little fractious neigborhoods. It is also the most overbudget, over deadline project in history. What is under the city of Boston that man was not meant to dig up?
  
• The Curse of the Bambino: The Boston Red Sox have not won a world Series since they traded Babe Ruth, the Bambino, to the New York Yankees. Is the longest losing streak in baseball a coincidence, or something far more sinister...
  
• Universities: I don't have statistics in front of me, but there must be more college students per square mile in Boston than any other city in the country. Off the top of my head, I am thinking UMASS, Boston University, Boston College, Harvard, MIT, plus a half dozen others, all connected by the T (Boston's rail line.)
  

I will think of others...

[Beetle]

Did somebody say "organized crime?" Well, a former big shot in Irish organized crime just happened to be the brother of the president of the state senate (the most powerful political person in the state, usually with more clout than the governor). Also gangster Whitey Bulger began a cozy relationship with the FBI to avoid prosecution while sending his rivals to jail.

 

Whitey Bulger (the murdering gangster/FBI informant) is now on the run and brother Billy (former state senate president/current president of the University of Massachusetts) was just given immunity to testify before Congress.

 

Yeah, we have gangsters. Check out the book Black Mass if you're interested in more details. Or go to http://www.boston.com/globe/ they should have more stuff on the brothers Bulger as Billy goes to testify.

 

Oh, and Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.

[Smoot]

I went to college in Boston, live a short drive away, and have run two different kinds of campaign there. Glad to pitch in.

 

Boston Area street-gangs: http://www.state.ma.us/doc/GANG/othgang.htm

 

(In recent years, a notorious gang called themselves the X-Men. Play with expectations!)

 

If you can get a hold of the book "Black Mass", you'll get a good grip on what kinds of organized crime Boston has.

 

MA does not have the death penalty, and as I recall, NH's is seldom-used. (Definitely not on Texas-level.)

 

General weirdness: http://www.boston-online.com/bizarro.html

Can't beat that molasses flood!

 

I once had a low-powered NPC run afoul of a metahuman wrinkle on the state's "Samaritan Law". (Basically, if you can help, you HAVE to. The superhuman problem? This basically forces anyone with any superhuman ability into superheroing. Her take: "It's like saying, 'You have hands, go be a cop'!")

 

Anything else? There's a lot to recommend a Boston campaign. What sort of campaign were you thinking of?

[Super Squirrel]

Originally posted by Smoot

MA does not have the death penalty, and as I recall, NH's is seldom-used. (Definitely not on Texas-level.)

Boston, does in-fact, support the death penalty. It, however, does not use it often. Smoot has covered about everything else you asked for. Without specifics, I can't provide anything else. Cape Cod is about an hour drive from Boston and there are more things about there that I can tell you as well.

[Super Squirrel]

GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS

PART IV.

CRIMES, PUNISHMENTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

TITLE I.

CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

CHAPTER 274. FELONIES, ACCESSORIES AND ATTEMPTS TO COMMIT CRIMES.

 

Chapter 274: Section 1. Felonies and misdemeanors.

 

Section 1. A crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. All other crimes are misdemeanors.

 

and this:

 

PART IV.

CRIMES, PUNISHMENTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

TITLE II.

PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES.

CHAPTER 279. JUDGMENT AND EXECUTION.

 

Chapter 279: Section 71. Review of sentence of death.

 

Section 71. In addition to review of the entire case pursuant to section thirty-three E of chapter two hundred and seventy-eight, the supreme judicial court shall review the sentence of death imposed pursuant to sections sixty-eight, sixty-nine and seventy of chapter two hundred and seventy-nine. If the supreme judicial court determines that (1) the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor or (2) the evidence does not support the jury's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance or statutory aggravating circumstances as defined in section sixty-nine or (3) the evidence does not support the jury's finding that the statutory aggravating circumstance or statutory aggravating circumstances defined in section sixty-nine outweigh the statutory or other mitigating circumstance or statutory or other mitigating circumstances or (4) the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in other similar cases of one or more jurisdictions legally authorized to impose said penalty of death, with the greater weight of such comparison to be given to similar Massachusetts cases in which the death penalty will have been imposed, with due consideration of both those cases in which a sentence of life imprisonment was imposed and those cases in which a sentence of death was imposed, or in the event that the court determines any or all of the four factors as enumerated in this section exist, the court shall (1) reverse the sentence of death and remand for a new presentence hearing pursuant to section sixty-eight of chapter two hundred and seventy-nine, or (2) reverse the sentence of death and remand to the superior court department of the trial court for sentence of imprisonment in the state prison for life. The court shall also have the authority to affirm the sentence of death.

 

Can you tell I got bored one night and read the laws of the state?

[Brick]

Gruß aus Berlin.

First of all, thanks for the amazingly quick responses to all of you.

Yes, I already have travel guides, and for a tourist, they are (of course) quite handy. However, since tourists tend not to rough up the criminal underworld - at least, none that I know of...:-))) - there is only so much info that you can use from those.

Special questions? Well, you already started to answer some of them...

I was thinking of a quite complete summary of the criminal situation in Boston - statistics of what happens how often, what kind of crime syndicates rule there, who controls which criminal sector etc. Are there Columbians? Jamaicans? Etc.

Everything you would need to kick some gangsta tail in Boston - if I GM it, I want to be - at least a little bit - authentic.

My plans (if I have any) for that campaign - when I think of Boston, I also think of Victorian architecture - which means stone gargoyles etc., correct me if I'm wrong, so my thought was that I would throw in a good mix of mystical threats.

Since the new CU sourcebook doesn't say much about that area, apart from the dimensional nexus in (I think it was) Maine, I can work with whatever I want.

Okay, a little bit more precise...

First adventure:

http://trww.tripod.com/RolePlaying/ToStandTogether.htm

Characters take over the role of mystical protectors. In my campaign, the original Alliance would have been based in Boston. I think the area would offer a little bit of magical weirdness. Second adventure: Mob Rule, original scenario from Champions 4th Edition, gritty version with the Columbians trying to take over the town from the Mafia, if that is appropriate. Just love that one.

After that - a good mix of street-level scenarios, magical threats (Crowns of Crim, Takofanes etc.) and the "traditional" slugfests with "ordinary" supervillains. Why Boston in particular?

1. Nothing much is written about it, I can do whatever I want there.

2. New York is a classic, and maybe I'll start there instead, but every campaign I GMed was there, so maybe a change of place would be interesting. Boston has a unique blend of modern and old archtitecture which can be good for some interesting scenes, IMO.

[Smoot]

Glad to help, Brick. I'm always happy to help a fellow gamer, and I love my state, even when I'm complaining about it. (I'm sure others feel the same about where they live, too...)

 

-You might want to check out the Lonely Planet travel series. Their section called "Dangers and Annoyances" is always an education.

 

-Organized Crime: It's amazing what a moment on Google'll get you...

http://www.bostonmafia.com/

http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/police/ore.asp

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/states/massachusetts.html

 

Boston's had 'organized crime' back to pirate days. (Seriously- Cotton Mather used to go on about it). Moonshiners and bootleggers made a fortune in prohibition, and the trend kept on to the present.

 

There may well be Jamaican gangs in Boston, but I've never heard of them. I have heard of Asian gangs targeting families in their own community for home invasion. In the 70s and 80s, there was an arson wave that was pinned on men scheming to drive rents up, even.

 

I don't want to make it seem as if Boston's like a war zone or anything., It's actually pretty safe, as cities go. (BTW, Boston has a branch of the Guardian Angels- they're cool to toss in.)

 

Architecture: The only place I saw full-on gargoyles in Boston was in a specialty store on Newbury Street. (Still: http://www.stonecarver.com/gargoyles/backbay.html ). But, you know, I never saw any superheroes either. Go for broke.

 

Mystic Threats: Well, if you listen to Lovecraft, Arkham and Miskatonic are both a short drive away. Also, between all the museums, institutes, colleges and universities, there oughta be someone Tampering In Something Man Was Not Meant to Know about every fifteen minutes.

This is even leaving Salem alone.

 

A quick perusal of Boston's timeline and geography will give you more funky ideas than you can use: (Two examples: 1) An old estate called "World's End". 2) Some say Boston's sinking, ever so slowly.)

 

Oh, here's a link to a nonfiction study of New England's vampire folklore: http://www.foodforthedead.com/

 

If it helps you any, I have a book on fraternal orders and 'secret' societies around someplace. IIRC, the Boston-based ones were pretty colorful (eg, one had, as a 'centerpiece', a cube of stone taken from a ruin in Mexico City.) I'd be glad to quote the good bits...

 

Mob Rule: If it were me, I'd use the Russian Vory or a particularly ambitious Triad. As one of the links above'll tell you, the Colombians are more or less here. Besides, it seems kind of...tropical. Kind of Miami Vice. Remember, the Winter Hill Mob and what Mafiosi are left will be equally pissed.

 

Here's a few more things to "Bostonize":

 

-The New York Thing: Boston, traditionally, has a rivalry with New York. (Take the Yankees-Sox thing.) In my last Champions campaign, the impetus for a local team was, in part, that a NYC team trashed Faneuil Hall, then made fairly backhanded non-apologies.

 

New Yorkers, in turn, seem pretty ambivalent about the 'rivalry', which somehow makes it all the worse.

 

Alternately, (and more-seriously), if supervillains were 'tolerated' before 2001 in NYC, they'd surely be driven out of town soon after. Where to go? New England. The heroes could be dealing with a supervillain 'migration'.

 

-Weapons Laws: Guns are restricted- with recreational weapons (hunting/target shooting) in one category, guns with clips of 10+ in another, automatic weapons only allowed for collectors, and concealed weapons permits being extra. Most martial arts weapons (shurikens, katana, nunchaku, etc) are illegal. Seeker would be miserable. Mind you, actual criminals don't seem to mind the law.

 

-Society: Take a quick read about 'High' society in Boston. I could easily see the Waynes fitting in there. (Actually, Gotham templates on Boston nicely- I could see Tommy Monaghan in Southie easily, for example.)

 

-Neighborhoods: Ethnic neighborhoods are still very strong here. (Chinatown, Southie, etc).

 

-Don't forget MIT. A better place for a Mad Science Club to form, I couldn't wish you. Check out: http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/ and imagine what they could do with Supers level tech...

 

-Music: When I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with keeping track of 'local music'. If you'd like, I can throw together a "soundtrack" list of appropriate songs & musicians. (Just to throw your players off a bit, one of my friend's friends is in a Kurt Weill-inspired punk cabaret band: http://www.dresdendolls.com/ - Freak 'em out. )

 

Now, in return: Why not Berlin? You've got Lola from Lola Rennt (Sonic EB, time manipulation, +" running), the angels from Wim Wenders' films...

 

Hope ya campaign's wicked pissah,

Smoot

[Manic Man]

Nice to know that New England is not ignored!

 

Some other things that nobody has mentioned about Boston and NE in general is the weather! We get our fair share of snow fall here and that is putting it mildly. A scenario possibility could deal with a horrible blizzard that the heroes must help people. This might be more fun than a slugfest with Dr. Dynamo. Or the blizzard could be part of the background. Read a great comic where the snow storm was just some background but the hero was still trying to stop the evil madman.

 

Also to note that There is a fair amount of good cities around: Manchester, NH; Worcester, MA; and of course the lovely and wonderful Portland, ME.

 

Good luck on your campaign. Keep in mind you are choosing a very American City with lots of Revolutionary War history to it (ghosts from Bunker Hill, Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre?). Enjoy it! I know I do.

[Trebuchet]

I ran a scenario there once dealing with witchcraft and an ancient evil living in the old sewer system. (Did you know Salem of witch trial fame is now a suburb of greater Boston?) Harvard and MIT are also just across the river. So it's a very rich environment for Champions scenarios.

[Beetle]

Let the fact that some of us who live here were confused about whether Mass. has the death penalty be a clue as to how often it gets used (ie - Never). Now that somebody found the law, I vaguely recall it getting passed in 1985 or 1986 (I was in high school). But the state doesn't have anybody of death row, and will never have use the death penalty unless there's a major change in the people in the legal system.

[dbsousa]

There is NO death penalty in MA

 

This is from

http://www.macathconf.org/death_penalty_hearing_at_state_h.htm

 

Death Penalty Hearing at State House 2003

 

An odd thing happened on March 27 at the State House during a committee hearing on bills to reinstate the death penalty in Massachusetts. No one, not even the bills' sponsors, showed up to argue for the death penalty. What a drastic change from just a few years ago when such a hearing would be standing room only and charged with tension and drama, anticipating votes on the floor of the House and Senate too close to call.

 

What happened? Maybe, as one speaker put it, "the death penalty is an idea whose time has gone". Perhaps, as evident when relatives of murder victims described to the committee their own journey from proponent to opponent, we as a society are discovering that killing the killer doesn't kill the pain. Bud Welch, whose daughter died in the Oklahoma City bombing, said his epiphany came when he realized that his daughter's death resulted from the very same emotions of revenge and hate on the part of the bombers that he harbored against them.

 

Could it be the emerging awareness of the death penalty's steep financial costs? Compelling testimony from criminologists and economists from across the country revealed that states with the death penalty ultimately end up using more tax dollars than those states without it. It's not as simple as measuring the relative costs of keeping murderers for years in prison as opposed to shortening their lives by the death penalty. Rather, death penalty cases up the ante as prosecutors and defense lawyers spend more of the state's money to pursue every legal avenue. Far more often than not, the state's request for the death penalty is denied and the convicted ends up spending life in prison anyway.

 

In the end, maybe the clamor for the death penalty has died because the legislative votes are not there anymore. Everyone knew before the hearing that the last two election cycles have brought in many more opponents than proponents, and some veteran legislators have recently changed their minds. The Joint Committee on Criminal Justice has not yet voted on H. 319, H. 3295, S. 193, or S. 194, although the committee is expected to recommend their defeat. Governor Mitt Romney plans to submit his own death penalty proposal later this term as part of a comprehensive package of crime-fighting proposals.

[Smoot]

Originally posted by Trebuchet

(Did you know Salem of witch trial fame is now a suburb of greater Boston

 

Yep. "Salem Village" is now Danvers.

 

In an (unused) session for my Boston Champions campaign, a young Classic Elements mage (about 16) fled the earthquake at Port Royal, Jamaica (thinking he caused it), and settled with the only family he had, in Salem. [This is a twist on Aramis Merrow from Southern Knights, who was so cool I pretty much HAD to use him.]

 

Fleeing into the woods after an accusation, he prayed with all his might to be as far away from the Trials as possible. He didn't move an inch in space, but hundreds of years in time.

 

The PCs get involved when a driver in Danvers hits a kid kneeling in the middle of the street in an odd historical outfit. When he comes to in the hospital, he "Winds" the staff out of the room, and "Earths" the room shut (sealing the door-hole). Wackiness ensues.

 

Another supers-related thing related to Salem: the Witch Trials led to the formal principle of the inadmissability of "Spectral Evidence". That is, evidence given by spirits, second sight, um, Telepathy, etc. is not admissable as evidence in a court of law...

 

Hope some of that is useful?

[Smoot]

Brick: Just wondering how it's going- are you playing in the setting yet, or are you still tinkering with it?

[Mastermind]

Boston Campaign!

 

Hey guys,

 

I'm new to the discussion boards as of just now and I wanted to let all know esp on this thread that I and my gamers started a Champions campaign which I have based in Boston.

 

a summary of the first game (I'm using the intro adventure in the back of the Champions Universe book..heh, heh...but setting it in Boston instead of Millenium City):

 

Boston finally gets its first superhero team: Legion Extreme ("Hopefully they go an' lay the smack down on the Defendas of Justice and those other New York supas," said Joe-on-the-street Bostonian to reporters)

 

so far four heroes--Slipstream (speedster), Warwolf (a multiform brick), Dragon Fist (martial artist), and Grey Mage (mystic)...

 

Warwolf's non-wolf form is a private detective in Chinatown (Jae Son Lee) with a very long past...he regularly takes his daily brunch at Emperor's Garden on Washington St. (in Chinatown).

 

Slipstream--San Diego transplant moved to Boston to take care of Grandma Shannon. Official Spokesperson for Quicksilver surfing gear.

 

Dragon Fist--runs a martial arts school for low and middle income children in Chinatown

 

Gray Mage--self-styled Protector of Boston from the forces of EVIL (or DEMON)

 

Highlights:

 

--The first scene (a burned-out and robbed armored car) was of I-93 near/in Medford

--Slipstream had a "staged" power demonstration with the FBI's Stalwart in front of Faneuil Hall.

--Feds try to persuade detective Lee to stop investigation at the Emperor's Garden. Dragonfist helps Jason flee. Warwolf appears bounding across the rooftops.

--Grey Mage appears to make sure Slipstream does not cause trouble in Boston

--the 'team' decides to check out some high-tech facilities north of Boston.

--the team fights some nasty, flying, blaster-firing robots at a warehouse owned by Unitron, Inc..

--the feds, police, and reporters show up (including SNN!) and the group is christened Legion Extreme

 

A great time was had by all!

 

Hopefully, we can continue to share ideas on this thread!

 

(I may put this on ENWorlds's Storyhour boards if the Muse inspires me)

[Smoot]

Hi, Mastermind.

Looks like your campaign's off to a good start.

 

Originally posted by Mastermind

"Hopefully they go an' lay the smack down on the Defendas of Justice and those other New York supas," said Joe-on-the-street Bostonian to reporters)

 

Smackdown?

"Boston 3:16 says I just kicked ya ass wicked hahd!"

 

-While Boston's TV News programs are pretty staid compared to, say, Miami's, you could get some mileage out of their quirks. (A favorite: Channel 4 once did a story about a lack of things for teenagers to do. The caption under one of the interviewed kids read "[Name], Bored Teen". Like it's his title or job!)

 

Warwolf's non-wolf form is a private detective in Chinatown (Jae Son Lee) with a very long past...he regularly takes his daily brunch at Emperor's Garden on Washington St. (in Chinatown).

 

Loads to work with there- I love when a player has a PC w/lots of hooks. Just the PI and Chinatown things could keep a few sessions going by themselves. (Try SJ Rozan's mystery "A Bitter Feast" for more) Hell, have him skunked out of a job by Spenser, if you're feeling mischievious!

 

Oh, and just for trivia's sake: AFAIK, MA's not wolf-country. Foxes and coyotes, though. Any of the above, of course, would raise attention in Boston. (I had a Bear Guy in my Boston team. Same deal.)

 

Gray Mage--self-styled Protector of Boston from the forces of EVIL (or DEMON)

 

Does he have an HQ, like Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum?

& I always thought of the 'old' DEMON as being big in NE. Good'n.

 

-Remember the Martial-arts Weapons Laws when the team & the authorities butt heads. (Eventually they will, natch- it's inevitable, like the scene in the cop movies where the chief demands the badge back. It needn't be permanent, or anything...)

 

Glad your group's doing well. By all means, let's keep this going!

[RevHooligan]

I hope none of the PCs have spikes on their costumes. Mass outlawed decorative spikes, as they can be used as a weapon (but only if you pay points for them).

 

Have your heros head over to foxboro and hava talk with my NE Revolution. They're dreadful this year and it breaks my heart.

[Smoot]

Originally posted by RevHooligan

I hope none of the PCs have spikes on their costumes. Mass outlawed decorative spikes, as they can be used as a weapon (but only if you pay points for them).

 

Hah!

"But, officer! I didn't pay any points for them!"

"Tell it to the judge, kid!"

 

(New meaning to "rules lawyering"...)

[Haerandir]

Re: Boston Campaign!

 

Originally posted by Mastermind

--The first scene (a burned-out and robbed armored car) was of I-93 near/in Medford

 

If you get involved in any super-battles in this neighborhood, please try avoid blowing up my house. All of my stuff is there.

[DeadlyBulb]

This is kind of off topic, but I am trying to find a player in the Boston area. His name is Chris and a few years back he used to manage a comic shop. I gamed with him many moons ago down in Jacksonville, Florida. If you think you might know him please let me know. Some of the other players in the game were Bill, Woody, Gary, Scott, and John (me). His character in that game was a mentalist named Lord Protector/Warp. I recently moved to NYC and was just wondering if he was still around and gaming.

[Brick]

Holy Moley, you guys are just awesome... And I only said that I was playing with the idea... As for the question how my campaign is going, I'm still brainstorming. Hope nobody will get mad at me if I don't use your great suggestions.

[Super Squirrel]

Just as a side note. The Boston Strangler is one of the biggest and most notorious serial killers out there. There are also a ton of questions about the killer and many people doubt that real killer was caught.

 

Just food for though.

[Mastermind]

Wow!

 

Originally posted by Super Squirrel

Just as a side note. The Boston Strangler is one of the biggest and most notorious serial killers out there. There are also a ton of questions about the killer and many people doubt that real killer was caught.

 

Just food for though.

 

Sounds like a scary plot hook for using the Monster in CKC.

 

Thanks for starting this thread Brick and thanks for all the postive vibes.

 

After this entry adventure (cause it will be done in probably one more session, but we probably won't be playing for a couple weeks since I have MCAT on Sat and we play on Fridays) I was planning on running Champions Presents (an old 4th ed set of three interwoven adventures..)

[don]

Also of note for you, is the fact that Burlington (as you said, just north of Boston) is a major high-tech corridor for Mass. Along with the colleges everyone has come to know and love.

 

Burlington also has an incredibly busy turnpike and highway area, and a major mall, across from a lengthy strip mall, a cinema and a huge Barnes and Noble. SO when the fight in the northern area breaks out, plenty of collateral damage and innocents all around.

 

Don