Coastal City

[Mark Rand]

In the 4E book Atlas Unleashed, some of the action takes place in a generic Coastal City on the West Coast.  We're going to make it as real as possible.

 

Coastal City Bay is on the Pacific Ocean.  A factory-lined channel, probably a river, leads away from it.  Well-known features include the Coastal City Museum of Fine Arts, the swank Birdmore Hotel, and the Coastal Metro Power Company whose green vans are labeled in white.  Among the labels is the phrase "Clean Green Hybrid Electric".  Wayne Air Force Base is north of the city, NASA has a deep space tracking facility south of it, and their are mountains to the east, probably one of the Coastal Ranges.  There are a number of bridges over the river and a lighthouse on one side of the bay.

 

I think some of the people in it will be from Hermit's People of Campaign City.

[SteelCold]

I would add a more Asian and Pacific Islander influence. 

[Mark Rand]

In the 1890s, a Chinese-American business magnate gifted the city with a conservatory and botanical garden. 

 

One of the houses near Coastal City University's fraternity row is home to an all-female Japanese culture group that some wags call "The Daughters of the Dragon".  Within the group they take Japanese first names.  They host monthly tea ceremonies in the Student Union that the public's invited to.  The university area's also the location of the city's Shinto shrine.

 

More to come.

[Mark Rand]

Coastal City is north of the San Francisco Bay area in Humboldt County.

[archer]

If it is in Humboldt County, maybe just replace the small college town of Arcata with a larger Coastal City?

 

You’d have to add a river emptying into Humboldt Bay, I think, but a lot of what you’re going for is there already.

 

Maybe some sports rivalries with college, high school, and minor league baseball teams in Eureka and a little resentment that Eureka is still the county seat long after Coastal City has dwarfed it.

 

Or you could just ignore Eureka, Arcata, and the name “Humboldt Bay” and plop down Coastal City in its place.  You’d avoid having to deal with the real world and having people tell you that you got some details wrong.

 

In any case, think adding an older nuclear power plant to the city would add some interesting tension, considering the overwhelming majority of Democrats and the huge amount of environmental activism in the area today.

[Mark Rand]

13 hours ago, archer said:

Or you could just ignore Eureka, Arcata, and the name “Humboldt Bay” and plop down Coastal City in its place.  You’d avoid having to deal with the real world and having people tell you that you got some details wrong.

 

In any case, think adding an older nuclear power plant to the city would add some interesting tension, considering the overwhelming majority of Democrats and the huge amount of environmental activism in the area today.

This works for me.  According to the map of the bay I found through Google, the Elk River feeds the bay.  The nuclear power plant could be up the river from the city. 

 

We could also have three drawbridges over it near the city that are close together.   Two ladies operate the three of them from a building along the river.  One could be Melody Clifford from Hermit's People of Campaign City.

[CptPatriot]

On 7/6/2018 at 8:02 AM, Mark Rand said:

In the 4E book Atlas Unleashed, some of the action takes place in a generic Coastal City on the West Coast.  We're going to make it as real as possible.

 

 

Atlas Unleashed is pre-4th Edition.

[SteelCold]

You can incorporate some of the material from the San Angelo series of books like the Dragon's Gate. 

[Mark Rand]

Also Arroyo Verde (I have the PDF) and Denizens of San Angelo.  There's also probably someone like Benjamin Morgan, who needs to be in control and hates supers.

[Spence]

San Angelo is a great series of supplements.

 

[Mark Rand]

Along the Elk River in Coastal City are two major sections.  Closest to the city, we have the 18-square-block Cultural District with it's galleries, entertainment venues, apartment buildings, and stores on one side and the city's baseball and football stadiums, and some corporate offices on the other.  Three two-leaf bascule drawbridges cross the river here.  Melody Clifford and Catherine "Cat" Hart operate the bridges from their apartment.

 

 

[GM_Champion]

Don't forget to have a rivalry with Coast City, which is between SF and L.A., and is protected by one Hal Jordan... (The PCs are coincidentally active only when GL is off on a space mission...)

[Mark Rand]

2 hours ago, A.T.R.A. Mark II said:

Don't forget to have a rivalry with Coast City, which is between SF and L.A., and is protected by one Hal Jordan... (The PCs are coincidentally active only when GL is off on a space mission...)

Coast City doesn't exist in this universe.  However, the map of it, from the DC Universe Atlas, was going to be the basis for my map of Coastal City.

[Mark Rand]

Using the Coast City map as Coastal City's places it in Ventura County, on the Santa Clara River, replacing the cities of Ventura and Oxnard.  Wayne Air Force Base is on the edge of the city.  Edwards Air Force Base is northeast of it in Kern County.

[dsatow]

That's the general location of Sunnydale, home of Buffy the Vampire Slayer too.  30 min south of Santa Barbara.

[Mark Rand]

I thought Sunnydale was in Santa Barbara County.

[dsatow]

3 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

I thought Sunnydale was in Santa Barbara County.

 

In the one episode ("Amends" is the name I think) they showed a weather map with Sunnydale on it, it seemed to be in northern Ventura county based on the curve in the bay.  There are a lot of references using maps of Santa Barbara but I don't think Joss Whedon thought it would replace Santa Barbara.  He is quoted as saying its near Santa Barbara.  So my best guess is it could be Montecito or Carpinteria, but since my wife is from Ventura and she wins (at least for me )

[SteelCold]

You might add an hospital, food kitchens, homeless shelters and a community center in the city run by Prometheus, the front agency for Atlas. 

[Mark Rand]

8 hours ago, SteelCold said:

You might add an hospital, food kitchens, homeless shelters and a community center in the city run by Prometheus, the front agency for Atlas. 

Definitely going to add hospitals (the main one being the UC Coastal City Medical Center), food kitchens and homeless shelters (mostly run by religious groups), and city-run community centers.  However, Prometheus and Atlas will not be there.  Of course, some homeless shelters and food kitchens could be run by fronts for VIPER or some other evil organization.

[BoloOfEarth]

I'd advocate for including ARGENT somewhere in Coastal City, since (at least IMO) that organization seems to get a bit shorted on attention in the CU.  Maybe have a technology park in the city, many of whose companies are fronts for ARGENT.

[Mark Rand]

6 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

I'd advocate for including ARGENT somewhere in Coastal City, since (at least IMO) that organization seems to get a bit shorted on attention in the CU.  Maybe have a technology park in the city, many of whose companies are fronts for ARGENT.

Probably in the neighborhood of Danbury, the home of Coastal City's so-called "silicon belt".  If it sounds familiar, it should.  I'm taking a lot of information on Coastal City from Mayfair Games Atlas of the DC Universe article on Coast City.

[SteelCold]

2 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

Definitely going to add hospitals (the main one being the UC Coastal City Medical Center), food kitchens and homeless shelters (mostly run by religious groups), and city-run community centers.  However, Prometheus and Atlas will not be there.  Of course, some homeless shelters and food kitchens could be run by fronts for VIPER or some other evil organization.

 

Peacemonger: "CURSE YOU, COASTAL CITY!!! I HAVE TRIED TO DESTROY YOU WITH A NUCLEAR DEVICE AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!!! YOU SHALL SUFFER IN THE HANDS OF ATLAS!!!!"

[Mark Rand]

Wasn't your butt kicked the last time you tried something here?  As I recall, Prometheus was exposed as a front for a terrorist organization and all its funds and property were seized and all the property sold at government auction.

[Mark Rand]

I think the local team's going to be a group of magical girls who have inherited their abilities prom their mothers or grandmothers.  One may have a male civilian identity.  If so, he'll have an interesting life. 

[archer]

1 hour ago, Mark Rand said:

I think the local team's going to be a group of magical girls who have inherited their abilities prom their mothers or grandmothers.  One may have a male civilian identity.  If so, he'll have an interesting life. 

So they’re the Charmed Ones.

 

One of the girls could fall in love with their guardian angel and another could fall in love with a major demon.

 

But I’m not sure about the mother and grandmother giving them their powers on prom night.

 

It has possibilities but could get messy.