Seacouver, Washington

[Mark Rand]

I've toyed with this for a while and decided to get help with Seacouver, Washington.

 

It's a port city, with a nearby lighthouse, on the Strait of Juan de Fuco. It also has an international airport, baseball stadium, domed arena, and various other things that big city's have.

 

It's also close to mountains and forests.

 

For the map, I'm using the unmarked map from Hermit's New Constantinople thread, with the river facing the top.

 

Advice is requested.

[Hermit]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

My first question would be what's the vibe or feel of the city you're going for? Is this city overall wealthy, clean, and pristine with a futuristic outlook sort of like Metropolis? was it once great but is now crumbling like Gotham? Are you looking for a Silver, Bronze, or Iron Age kind of setting?

[Mark Rand]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

My first question would be what's the vibe or feel of the city you're going for? Is this city overall wealthy' date=' clean, and pristine with a futuristic outlook sort of like Metropolis? was it once great but is now crumbling like Gotham? Are you looking for a Silver, Bronze, or Iron Age kind of setting?[/quote']

 

The feel I have in mind is Millennium City without the ultra high-tech look. There might be skywalks between some buildings, but there are no vehicle control chips.

 

Like Seattle, it rains, or snows, a lot in Seacouver. The city's athletic teams are farm clubs of other teams and amateur hockey is big.

 

The nearest PRIMUS base is in Seattle. The DEA, DOSPA, and Secret Service may have field offices in the city. The FBI does. UNTIL doesn't.

[Shaft]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

The feel I have in mind is Millennium City without the ultra high-tech look. There might be skywalks between some buildings, but there are no vehicle control chips.

 

Like Seattle, it rains, or snows, a lot in Seacouver. The city's athletic teams are farm clubs of other teams and amateur hockey is big.

 

The nearest PRIMUS base is in Seattle. The DEA, DOSPA, and Secret Service may have field offices in the city. The FBI does. UNTIL doesn't.

 

Not to shoot down your idea, but why not just use Seattle? Find the Seattle Sourcebook from Shadowrun and pilfer ideas from that (Arcologies, Urban Sprawls, etc...)

[Mark Rand]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Not to shoot down your idea' date=' but why not just use Seattle? Find the Seattle Sourcebook from Shadowrun and pilfer ideas from that (Arcologies, Urban Sprawls, etc...)[/quote']

 

I considered that, but decided instead to create Seacouver. Even though it's the American city from Highlander: the series, I think it'll work as a superhero campaign city.

[keithcurtis]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Well, seeing as that is pretty much exactly where I live, I can tell you a couple of things. The next closest metropolis would be Victoria BC. Since Seacouver would be a lot bigger than Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend combined, there would likely be ferry service to there, Seattle, and some of the San Juans.

Rainfall would be about 2/3 of Seattle. This area is in a slight rain shadow from Mount Olympus and associated peaks, primarily from Hurricane Ridge. Particularly good for a superhero campaign, the word "Olympus" and "Olympic" would be in a lot of names.

There would be a big interest in conservation and pollution control. The Olympic National Park is a World Heritage Site. That means federal tax dollars, if nothing else.

 

Keith "Glad there is no real Seacouver, or I'd have to move" Curtis

 

PS. Juan de Fuca

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Because of its proximity and similarity in name to Vancouver, Canada, I could see that city and Seacouver treating each other as "sister cities", with a relationship similar to that between Toronto and Buffalo. There would likely be quite a lot of trade and traffic between the two cities.

 

If Seacouver is supposed to be clean and modern like MC it's probably a fairly young city. Even though settlement might be a long time back, it's likely gone through a relatively recent surge of growth and construction. That would suggest the discovery of some natural resource or benefit to the location that would spur economic development. Such an economic advantage could be the identifying theme of the town, and perhaps underlie a Big Mystery about Seacouver that the PCs could discover.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Well, seeing as that is pretty much exactly where I live, I can tell you a couple of things. The next closest metropolis would be Victoria BC. Since Seacouver would be a lot bigger than Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend combined, there would likely be ferry service to there, Seattle, and some of the San Juans.

Rainfall would be about 2/3 of Seattle. This area is in a slight rain shadow from Mount Olympus and associated peaks, primarily from Hurricane Ridge. Particularly good for a superhero campaign, the word "Olympus" and "Olympic" would be in a lot of names.

There would be a big interest in conservation and pollution control. The Olympic National Park is a World Heritage Site. That means federal tax dollars, if nothing else.

 

Keith "Glad there is no real Seacouver, or I'd have to move" Curtis

 

PS. Juan de Fuca

 

Thanks for the information, Keith. Consider yourself repped.

 

I'm currently thinking of having it located somewhere between Port Angeles and Sekiu. Route 101 would, probably, be south of it.

[keithcurtis]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Once you've gotten that far west, you've lost the rain protection of the Olympics. Storms out by Neah Bay can be pretty fierce.

It might also be a bit hilly; but that's true of PA, too.

 

Keith "Mile and a half from the beach but 500 feet up" Curtis

[Mark Rand]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Once you've gotten that far west, you've lost the rain protection of the Olympics. Storms out by Neah Bay can be pretty fierce.

It might also be a bit hilly; but that's true of PA, too.

 

Keith "Mile and a half from the beach but 500 feet up" Curtis

 

Good point.

 

Other good locations would be between Port Angeles and Port Townsend and between Ferndale and Everest.

 

One other point of note, according to the Wikipedia, Basin City, aka Sin City, is located in Kitsap County. Might be very interesting to drop it into the campaign and have the Roark family make life interesting for the heroes.

[keithcurtis]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Sequim has a lot of flat land. It is currently undergoing a growth spurt and the city council is debating building up instead of out. There's a herd of elk in the area that area constant source of contention with farmers. An elk preserve might be nice.

 

Keith "just don't knock over my house" Curtis

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

To give this city a more distinctive flavor, how about playing up the region's early Spanish historical connection? In the late Eighteenth Century there was a lot of conflict between Spain and Britain over claims to the Pacific Northwest. Starting in 1775 the Spanish undertook a number of voyages of exploration to the region to assert their sovereignty, establishing a few settlements as well. The heritage of that period survives in a number of Spanish place names in Washington State and British Columbia. It would be easy to retcon Seacouver as a Spanish settlement from those early days, founded to strengthen Spain's claim. Its modern name could be an Anglicisation of its original Spanish one, e.g. Seco Verano ("dry summer"). This would make it one of the oldest European settlements in the area.

 

Since the Spanish did not cede their claims to the Pacific Northwest to the United States until 1819, Seacouver could have experienced ongoing settlement and growth for decades. There could be a number of Spanish place names surviving in the city, even Spanish colonial architecture.

 

However, the Pacific Northwest is also prone to destructive earthquakes and volcanoes. A major one of those in the post-WW II period could have damaged much of the city, resulting in a spurt of rebuilding that gave it its modern look. The mixture of modern American and Old World architecture would be quite distinctive IMHO.

[Cancer]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

That's a very intriguing idea; it might imply a tighter historical connection between Puget Sound and California (if the Spanish enclave here was under the save viceroy as California).

 

It might also imply some conflicts between the Russians and the Spanish in the late 1700's/early 1800's. The Russians were chiefly trappers on the coast, but if the Spaniards were present and the locals objected, the conflict might have raised the awareness and interest of both European powers.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

That's a very intriguing idea; it might imply a tighter historical connection between Puget Sound and California (if the Spanish enclave here was under the save viceroy as California).

 

It might also imply some conflicts between the Russians and the Spanish in the late 1700's/early 1800's. The Russians were chiefly trappers on the coast, but if the Spaniards were present and the locals objected, the conflict might have raised the awareness and interest of both European powers.

 

The Nootka Conventions, starting in 1790, negotiated the opening of the region to exploration and trade by the British and later the Russians. Seacouver would likely have been a center of sea traffic in the area. With an established colony and port having ties to the more "civilized" areas to the south, the Russians may have engaged in active trade with the Spaniards, spurring Seacouver's growth.

[Cancer]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Another point along those lines: the sea approaches to the Straits of Juan de Fuca are not as much fun as some places. I once had a sailing enthusiast (who had made the Hawaii <--> Seattle trip under sail) regale me with why it was more hazardous than most Hawaii <--> mainland runs; part of it was the large number of semi-submerged snags that accumulate in the approaches, part of it was long-term persistent fogs, part of it was stuff I've frankly forgotten.

 

Add to that: if there's a lot of sea traffic, both the San Juan Islands and the inner coast of Vancouver Island is full of places suitable for concealed anchorage. And, given a steady rich commercial flow through there ... that means you've got a niche where pirates could develop and flourish. Historically, Seattle/Vancouver developed so late as world-class ports that pirates had been exterminated before there was enough traffic for them to live on, but if you develop a port here a century earlier that could have been very different.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Congratulations for finding a way to bring pirates into this! (Since Seacouver is on the west coast, it should not be too difficult to import ninjas.)

 

Seriously, we now have precedent for buried or sunken treasure and old pirate hideouts in the vicinity. As these suggestions are for a Champions campaign, some of those pirate hideouts could be adapted to modern supervillain bases. Also, since the early Spanish explorers to the Pacific Northwest often started their voyages from Mexico, some of those treasures might include artifacts of mystic significance from the Meso-American civilizations.

[Cancer]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Actually, I have to give credit to my wife for the pirate idea. Her family sailed in the San Juans and up the inner passage a lot when she was in high school, and has mentioned the concept in terms of alternate history lines long before this thread.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Hey, many gamers marry because their wives come up with cool ideas.

 

Going back to Russian involvement for a moment, Seacouver could have developed an enclave of Russian fur traders, giving a portion of the modern city a Russian heritage and flavor. It might very well have attracted a significant number of Russian immigrants over the years.

[Cancer]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Actually, there's a large Russian immigrant population here now, though I think most of it is post-USSR breakup.

 

It's very weird giving your order at a pizza take-out counter and realize the woman taking your order is filling out the slip in Cyrillic script (which I can recognize, but not read).

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Actually, there's a large Russian immigrant population here now, though I think most of it is post-USSR breakup.

 

It's very weird giving your order at a pizza take-out counter and realize the woman taking your order is filling out the slip in Cyrillic script (which I can recognize, but not read).

 

I wasn't aware of that. Interesting tidbit. You know, a Russian presence and connection in a West Coast port city much earlier in history raises all sorts of possibilities, like Czarist refugees after the Bolshevik Revolution, or Cold War intrigues, perhaps resulting in prejudice against the Russian minority.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Hey, Mark, how about letting us know how we're doing? Is this stuff going in a satisfactory direction for you?

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Also, some hints about the rest of the world would be helpful. How close is it to mainstream super-Earths (i.e. real-world history and politics with supers for flavor)? Who are the major super players in the world?

[keithcurtis]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Here's a Port Angeles tidbit for you that might well tie in with placing a major city in this area.

 

From Wikipedia

Port Angeles was the second town site (after Washington, D.C.) to be planned by the federal government; President Lincoln called it the "second National City," in case Washington, D.C. fell to the Confederate Army, even though the town's population at the time was only 10. The real reason for creating a national city was to provide money from land sales to support the war effort, but that effort was a decided failure. With all the free land in surrounding areas, the government finally gave up in 1891, opening the town for settlement.

 

What if the plan had succeeded? This would be a good start time for the founding of the city, and could possibly work it into the federal government system in some way. Good for superhero-in' stuff.

 

Keith "National city with Pop. 10. Heh." Curtis

[Mark Rand]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Hey' date=' Mark, how about letting us know how we're doing? Is this stuff going in a satisfactory direction for you?[/quote']

 

Yeah. Great stuff. Sometimes I have trouble keeping up with the cool ideas.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Seacouver, Washington

 

Here's a Port Angeles tidbit for you that might well tie in with placing a major city in this area.

 

From Wikipedia

 

 

What if the plan had succeeded? This would be a good start time for the founding of the city, and could possibly work it into the federal government system in some way. Good for superhero-in' stuff.

 

Keith "National city with Pop. 10. Heh." Curtis

 

Excellent notion. There's no real reason why this concept and that of earlier settlement in the area couldn't go together. An established but not overly populous town might have been even more appealing as a site for land sales and planned development. That would also support the city's modern look. And if the government had its fingers in the Seacouver pie early on, that could have resulted in intriguing government activities in the city and environs, such as a military naval base or secret research projects.

 

Along those lines: the Hanford Site elsewhere in the state was the location for decades of nuclear research. Some of that, particularly naval applications for nuclear technology, could have spilled over into Seacouver. That could easily have led to project-related scientists settling in the area, starting their own companies, and turning Seacouver into a hub of high-tech industry.

 

Of course, wherever you have nuclear research in a comic-book universe, you're bound to find superhero and supervillain origins...