Fictional cities

[L.Craig]

Im just wondering from gms when you guys use a fictional city(that you created) for a campaign, do you guys create a history of the city, or do you guys create it as you play the camapign.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Re: Fictional citys

 

My usual tactic for Champions campaigns is to start by making the campaign city an analogue of a real-world city. (For example, my "Watchmen" Champions campaign (no relation to the comic book) was set in "Lakeside," which was basically their universe's version of Chicago.) Then I note any major ways the city's history differs from the history of the real-world city (including major supers-related events, of course). Beyond that, it's assumed that the city has basically the same history as the real-world version, until or unless something different is revealed during play.

[L.Craig]

Re: Fictional citys

 

Thats a great idea, im going to use Victoria Bc, but in the campaign world its a lot bigger than what it is. Im trying to think why it grew in size in the 1970's. Maybe a earthquake or something(Or sometype of dimensional shift increased the city size, maybe combined a city from a parrallel world).Made them rebuilt the city. Im just going to think of a new name for the city.

[Vondy]

Re: Fictional citys

 

I usually use a real world city I'm familiar with and note any campaign specific history or differences.

 

I have used Vibora Bay with some changes to the who's-who.

[WarriorKnight]

Re: Fictional citys

 

I created the city of Bay Reve,Org. for my campagin.I placed it in the Port Orford city area. I worked up a big background on Bay Reve;but left room to expand as play progressed.Its a 4 color campaign(mainly modern day) ,but I've got it set for my Golden Age game.

[Alverant]

Re: Fictional citys

 

I briefly GMed a Dark Champions campaign that took place in Chicago but with some historic differences. The FBI was never given field duties to assist law enforcement so the gangs during Prohibition were allowed to grow in influence until the present day. It let me use real world maps and places in Chicago for game events. I think it added to the campaign, but I'm not sure if the players agreed.

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: Fictional citys

 

With me, it depends. Sometimes I base a city off a real world location, sometimes I make one up from whole cloth, and sometimes I steal someone else's fictional city, change the name, and possibly even move it. I like to come up with at least an outline of the city's history, but leave room for player input and PC backgrounds to change things.

[Vondy]

Re: Fictional citys

 

I briefly GMed a Dark Champions campaign that took place in Chicago but with some historic differences. The FBI was never given field duties to assist law enforcement so the gangs during Prohibition were allowed to grow in influence until the present day. It let me use real world maps and places in Chicago for game events. I think it added to the campaign' date=' but I'm not sure if the players agreed.[/quote']

 

Just as an FYI, Hoover ignored organized crime during the Prohibition era. In fact, he refused to even admit the Mafia existed until the 1957 Appalachin Conference. Only then did he create the Top Hoodlum Program, which later became the Organized Crime Division, though his real motive was to compete for ink rather than convictions with the McClellan Committee headed by Bobby Kennedy.

 

What's more, the THP mandate was to gather "criminal intelligence" and not to build cases because he didn't believe organized crime could be successfully prosecuted and he wanted the FBI's public image to remain "perfect." It was only after Hoover died in 1972 (two years after RICO and the same year as the Knapp Commission) that the FBI became a noteworthy player in countering organized crime.

 

In the prohibition era it was the Treasury Department - first the IRS and then the Bureau of Prohibition Enforcement - who fought the gangs of the 1920's and 1930's. The idea that the FBI was fighting bootleggers and mobsters during prohibition is an unfounded myth. During that era the FBI's famous busts were big name bank robbers - Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly....

[Kap]

Re: Fictional citys

 

The closest I come nowadays to using fictional cities is taking a real city and making changes, kind of what Stan Lee did when he took New York and inserted the Baxter Building and Stark Mansion.

 

I find it's easier to use a real city because I've had players complain that their PCs live in the fictional city but don't know what's there until they're told, which takes away their sense of verisimilitude.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I like to make real city analogs, rather than use real cities. I just feel an obligation to be more authentic if I use San Francisco rather than Enterprise Bay.

[Agent 13]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I've experimented with tossing down the basics for a city, and then letting the players come up with the neighborhoods their characters initially patrol as part of character creation.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I do the same as it seems a majority of posters stated. I use a real city and change the name (and anything else that fits.) My two cities are River City (Harrisburg, PA) and Iroquois City (Erie, PA).

[Hermit]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I prefer fictional cities too. Less hassles if I get something "wrong" It also allows me to touch it up to fit the players characters more easily. If one of them is a dark and shadowy vigilante type, I know I'll want to develop a gritty 'bad part of town' complete with a dive they can go check out etc. If one is a 'Very Rich' CEO in his secret ID, then I can adjust some areas to reflect how much influence he and his company have in the town. Mystic types usually cause me to lay down a few ley lines and induldge in Masonic buildings from the city founding.

[quozaxx]

Re: Fictional cities

 

The first game I GM'd (for 5 years) was in the fictional city of Sentry City. Below is a snipped of it's history.

 

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1806[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1806, Lewis and Clark see strange lights over the future spot of Sentry City on their trip back to St. Louis from the Pacific Northwest. They agreed not to publicly share their findings.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1906[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1906. The small town of Sentry is officially renamed Sentry City. Many "strangers" arrived on the fateful day, and strange occurrences were reported continuously on and off for months later.

 

An unofficial treaty was reached with the strangers who called themselves "The Grays". Details of the treaty and the strange occurrences remain sketchy at best.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]March 6th, 1907[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]March 6th, 1907, James Sentry, son of founder Jebidiah Sentry is born[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th 1906[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1906, 9 year old James and his family are attacked by "living furniture". Jebidiah Sentry dies in the fight.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1936[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1936, 19 year old James temporarily quits his first year of college to search for a specific mystical item. He becomes obsessed with finding it. About a year later he rejoins the college scene graduating at the tops of his classes[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1936[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1936, 29year old James to wed sweetheart Victoria. The wedding area is soon turned into a prehistoric scene. He manages to close the time rift, but not before his fiance dies.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]August 12th, 1943[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]August 12th, 1943, James is drafted into WWII. He is soon nicknamed Dr. Bizarre.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1946.[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1946, Dr. Bizarre, his troop, and several Nazis are suddenly transported to Sentry City where most of all his troop is killed along with most of the Nazis. Dr. Bizarre's left foot is blown off in the process.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1956.[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1956, 49 year old Dr. Bizarre holds back an army of undead. At midnight the undead suddenly stop attacking and return to their proper graves.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1966[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1966, 59 year old Dr. Bizarre's secret ID is publicized. Nothing unusual happens, or at least nothing you know about.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1976[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1976, 69 year old Dr. Bizarre publicly announces retirement. The organization known as DEMON tries to take over the city. The town's heroes unite but most are killed. DEMON is run out of town by Dr. Bizarre, they haven't been back since.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1986[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1986, 79 year old Dr. Bizarre is attacked at a nursing home by a mechanical construct later to known as Mechanon. This was Mechanon's first public appearance, and most were hoping his last.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6th, 1996[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6th, 1996. The folks at Sunshine Assisted Living Center find Dr. Bizarre dead in his room from a self inflicted wound to the head. He was believed to have shot himself at 6 am that day.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6, 2006[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6, 2006 Krum officially declares war against VIPER

 

The Guardian Program is started.[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=class: TimelineDateLine]June 6, 2010[/TD]

[TD=class: TimelineEntry]June 6, 2010. The heroes arrive to rescue the Festival from another dimension.

 

The Guardian Program is stopped, and the group of heroes now call themselves "The Guardians"[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Bolon]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I use a campaign city map but populated with familiar places for the players like restaurants and bars they know. I also have a lot of things we are use to the city so I don't have to teach them everything. I change the name of things but also let them know what it is like. It is a shorthand for the storytelling. I do think all characters should have some free skills due to the fact they are people like KS:Campaign City for free if from that town. It makes things easier.

[Orion]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I don't bother with fictional cities in my supers campaign/storyline. I'll just say they are in Dallas, Chicago, or wherever I need them to be, but will rarely use whatever big city that is nearby. Frankly, I've never met a player that cared what city it was, or any details. As long as they are in a Big City, they just don't care. Crimes don't happen at the corner of Fourth and Main, they happen in the Generic Warehouse District, or the Generic Financial Center.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: Fictional cities

 

"The city. My... the city."

-The Tick

[megaplayboy]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I've done both. Real cities have the advantage of having pre-made history and maps, and the disadvantage of requiring the GM/players to be at least somewhat familiar with them. Fictional cities need a lot more prep work, but generally the GM and players can play in them without worrying about authenticity or familiarity.

[Kap]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I've done both. Real cities have the advantage of having pre-made history and maps' date=' and the disadvantage of requiring the GM/players to be at least somewhat familiar with them. Fictional cities need a lot more prep work, but generally the GM and players can play in them without worrying about authenticity or familiarity.[/quote']

 

You don't need to worry about authenticity or familiarity with a real city either if you either (A) use the one you live in, or ( use one neither you nor the players have been to. I use NYC and all I've ever needed was a nice map with landmarks on it and the occasional Google or Wikipedia search if I want any facts to insert. None of my players is from NYC so it doesn't matter if I stick a nonexistent fountain in Greenwich Village.

[Yansuf]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I have used real cities, but later made my own: Earle City, which is situated where Crescent City in Northern California is. The real city is quite small, I made a major metropolis there.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Fictional cities

 

Another thing you can do with fictional cities is make them a mosaic or mash-up of famous cities and cultural landmarks--you could combine the Vegas Strip, Hollywood, Broadway, Cambridge, Greenwich Village, Chinatown(SF), Detroit, Silicon Valley and the French Quarter of New Orleans to create a hyper-cosmopolitan, hyper-industrial megapolis with plenty of local flavor(plus you could pack it with movie stars, wealthy industrialists, crime lords and genius inventors and professors).

[Laundry Knight]

Re: Fictional cities

 

I prefer fictional cities. Mainly because, I live in a small city and don't know my way around big cities, but I like big cities for supers. I like to build some basics of a city and then expand and explore as a I come up with story ideas. Among things I try to keep in mind is what kind of heroes and villains I want to use. If I want aquatic characters, I had better employ and ocean front. If I want a desert or forest based character, I had better have those terrains nearby, but I don't write down every corner and district until I have a need for it.

[Ozymandias]

Re: Fictional cities

 

Never do fictional cities. I have more than enough travel books in my basement. I could do a campaign for 90% of the western hemisphere, and about 30% of the eastern Hemisphere.

[Kap]

Re: Fictional cities

 

Another thing you can do with fictional cities is make them a mosaic or mash-up of famous cities and cultural landmarks--you could combine the Vegas Strip' date=' Hollywood, Broadway, Cambridge, Greenwich Village, Chinatown(SF), Detroit, Silicon Valley and the French Quarter of New Orleans to create a hyper-cosmopolitan, hyper-industrial megapolis with plenty of local flavor(plus you could pack it with movie stars, wealthy industrialists, crime lords and genius inventors and professors).[/quote']

 

That could work great for some games depending on the style of play you enjoy. For the kind of games I like, cities like that just seem too fake.

[Vondy]

Re: Fictional cities

 

Never do fictional cities. I have more than enough travel books in my basement. I could do a campaign for 90% of the western hemisphere' date=' and about 30% of the eastern Hemisphere.[/quote']

 

Heck... Google Maps Street View.