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I'm working on a forum-based RPG set in an alternate modern Manhattan. Here's what I've got so far. (I'll be updating this post as new ideas come in and things get fleshed out.)
Background:
January 1, 2000, the Event occurred. No one is entirely certain what happened, though there's talk of something having been in the sky above New York. Possibly a meteor. Possibly something else. Whatever it was, since then, a small but significant minority of people have started to develop super powers. These powers can take almost any form, and scientists are still unable to explain how they work or why different people get such different powers.
New York City now is a very different place than what we know. The most obvious changes come from technologists - a super power which manifests as a superhuman ability to invent and develop advanced technology. In particular, Galahad Industries has emerged as the preeminent technological developer in the world. Flying cars and hoverbikes soar above the city streets. Just about everyone has a wrist communicator (AKA WristComm AKA Comm) - a miniature supercomputer with a touchable holographic display, natural language interface, realtime 3D communications, holographic portable gaming, and other advanced features. The subway has been replaced by a web of teleport gates - simply walk from one station to the next through a portal, and every station has a portal to Grand Central. Household appliances have been transformed, with smart kitchens, zero gravity beds, immersive holographic TV/computer/gaming console devices (basically giant versions of the WristComms), and so on. The police wear lightweight but incredibly strong armor, have smart glasses which provide them with instant information, use biometric scanners to identify everyone and their powers (if any), and carry a host of crowd control weaponry (some of it rather brutal, but they do have to be prepared for supervillains...).
But it's more than that. Hospitals now have healers on staff, as well as people with x-ray vision and other abilities. Johnny Quick messenger service uses a speedster (on a bike?) as a high-priced courier. Parades have become spectacles of fliers and flame creatures and bursting lights and more. Central Park has become a wilderness. Heroes battle villains in the streets by day. (Not often, but enough to make life interesting...) Newly empowered criminals rule by night.
That's what the players know. Their wrist comms (if queried) and a bit of exploration should fill in much of the neighborhood-specific stuff that's being filled in further down. But here's what they don't know:
Bigger picture:
What almost no one knows is that John Galahad is a fraud. He really is a pilot and a good guy, but he is not a technologist. He's happy to fly around the city as a superhero (and a great PR figurehead), but in reality just about everything the company produces (including his armor) was invented by Ginger Rhodes. Ginger initially portrayed herself as John's personal assistant, but has since moved on to become Mayor.
Ginger also leads a secret life as the mysterious Artificer. The Artificer is known throughout the criminal world as a purveyor of advanced technology of all sorts. (The weapons and equipment used by the Tong, Mafia, Toy Soldier, and others. Including the specialized equipment in The Sandman's den.) Everyone believes/assumes the Artificer is male, and anonymous sources in the Mayor's office and police department drop hints on a semi-regular basis that he's in Harlem. She is able to locate and contact criminals by tapping into their comms (which she designed and programmed). In fact, she's able to track and eavesdrop on anyone using a Galahad communicator. Only The Super realizes that she's set this up, which is why no one in Harlem uses Galahad technology.
Ginger is playing the gangs off each other. This is the reason the now well-equipped police have a surprisingly light presence at night. It's also why the East Harlem gangs are so well armed and so driven to attack West Harlem.
Ginger uses MAISIE (the Mainframe Artificial Intelligence Systems Interface Experiment) to control operations at all three of her jobs - Galahad Industries, the Mayor's office, and the Artificer's lair. MAISIE also controls the robots patrolling the Financial District. MAISIE primarily runs off a giant bank of computers taking up two entire floors of the World Trade Center.
This is the reason that the Knight was supposedly able to handle one plane while controlling the horse and giving guidance to the Iron Chef at the other plane. In reality, Ginger and MAISIE were directing all three.
So Ginger has almost total control of the city, and no one is aware of the real extent of her power. She has vast financial and manufacturing resources as the real power at Galahad Industries. She has local political power as the mayor. As the Artificer, she has the ability to (directly and indirectly) impact the balance of power between the various gangs. She also has access to miles of subway tunnels which are no longer in use. The only real opposition she has is The Super, and he's got his hands full keeping his own neighborhood safe and trying to improve the local quality of life.
But she's scared. Because no one understands The Event. Something came from space and changed the world. No one knows how or why. And she thinks it might be a warning of an impending alien invasion. She knows, though, that, even after The Event, most people would consider that a crazy idea. So she's using her power to get the city ready. She's arming the gangs. She's helping them make the most of their powers. She's getting them to fight each other. And, while everyone is distracted by all that, she's building things in the subway tunnels. Developing new weaponry. And trying to create a force field which could surround and protect the whole island. (Conveniently, this would keep the players on the existing map, and could be triggered anytime I want.) She's also developing a few other things there, like sun lamps and power generators and so on, because she wants the city to be self-sufficient.
Neighborhood by neighborhood. (I'm using this map of Manhattan, roughly. The Not For Tourists guide provides more info about each neighborhood, as well as a number of subdivisions within them.) Starting from the south:
The Financial District is dominated by Galahad Industries.
On September 11, 2001, the White Knight made his debut. Flying on a prototype hoverbike in the shape of a horse, the hero in powered armor intercepted a hijacked airplane. He jumped from the horse, entered the plane, battled the terrorists, and landed the plane at JFK airport. Meanwhile, the horse was sent to pick up famed hero Iron Chef, who, following instructions relayed through the horse, froze the engines of the second plane and (with the help of the horse's propulsion system) landed it in the Hudson river before entering the plane and fighting the terrorists.
The Knight (who had to take off his armor to operate the plane's controls) was revealed to be John Galahad, head of Galahad Industries. He now flies patrol over the city by day, fighting villains and helping emergency services. Galahad Industries occupies the upper floors of the World Trade Center, which now includes the Knight's armory and an array of defensive weaponry. Armored robot "squires" patrol the area day and night, keeping the peace.
The Stock Exchange is protected by day by The Duke (real name: Randolph Mortimer). He serves largely as a mascot and PR man. He has limited range TK, but hasn't really learned to control it that well. He puts on a good front, but is secretly scared that he won't actually be able to do the job when push comes to shove. Inside, telepaths, mystics, and technological scanners ensure that no one is cheating.
Heroes: The White Knight, The Duke
Villains: The Artificer, [need more]
Police: Fewer of them here, but still need a couple.
Others: MAISIE
Landmarks: WTC, Stock Exchange, City Hall
Need: A better list of what the Knight can and can't do. (His armor can't fly. He still uses the horse.) Description and powerset for The Duke. Villains who might, despite all the protections, attempt something in the area.
Little Italy (which in our world has shrunken to almost nonexistence) is a thriving neighborhood. Mostly because super powers have enabled the resurgence of the Mafia. (Or at least someone with super powers who has styled himself a Mafia don and built an organization around that.) By day, it's a charming and very safe tourist area with an abundance of quality restaurants. By night, illegal activities quietly take over.
Hero:
Villains: Mafia
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: The Mafia. Who are they? What are they doing? What powers do they have? Also, need a hero who is fighting a losing battle against them. Also need a better idea of what the neighborhood feels like and what the culture is like.
Chinatown (which in our world has grown and taken over most of Little Italy) is a bustling neighborhood filled, not surprisingly, with Chinese Americans. Restaurants, souvenir shops, exotic grocery stores, etc. Many speak English (as a third language, at least) but the streets are filled with the sounds of numerous Chinese dialects. Communications are facilitated by the wrist communicators, which provide realtime translations across just about any known language.
The area is dominated by the Tong. By day, it remains what it had been for years: a social club which provides classes, support, entertainment, and socialization opportunities. A chance for immigrants to adjust to American life, and for Americans to maintain their Chinese cultural heritage. By night, however, it has reverted to the criminal ways of generations gone by, thanks to the strong-arm tactics of super powered criminals. The Tong is locked in a power struggle and turf war with the Mafia.
The Tong is also opposed by the Lion. He was a lion dancer. When the Event happened, he merged with his costume. He now has enhanced agility, strength, and stamina. He is generally friendly and playful, but a fierce protector of the innocent.
Hero: The Lion
Villains: Tong
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: More info on the Tong. Who are they? What are they up to? What powers do they have? (Possibility: A group with elemental powers. Cliche, perhaps, but I could say that, like the Lion, they were taking part in a New Years celebration at the time of the Event.) Also, who is the Lion? What else does he do? Need more of a personality for him, too.
Lower East Side - Once heavily populated by Jewish immigrants, it has since attracted a diverse blend of immigrant populations. Mostly due to the relatively low rent.
Need: A better idea of what it looks like. Also, who's there? And what are they doing?
Tribeca hosts the famed annual Tribeca Film Festival. It's also home to many of the super rich people who work in Midtown and the Financial District. Including John Galahad. Galahad Industries robots and armored police keep the area safe.
Hero: White Knight
Villains: Thieves
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: A few more rich people. Maybe with powers. And at least one thief.
Soho is a thriving community of artists, made all the more so by those who have put their powers to creative use. It's one of the few neighborhoods that's safe to roam at night. Indeed, it's taken on almost a carnival atmosphere, with fire jugglers, light displays, live music, and more.
The Sandman (real name: Neil Straight) has a basement den here, where, with the help of advanced technological equipment, he can use his powers to put paying customers in a state of relaxed bliss. It's not technically illegal, but it's shady and underground. He has Mafia ties. Players will be introduced to the game when, as they roam through Soho, Sandman's building bursts into flames (thanks to a Tong agent with fire-based powers), destroying his den and the valuable equipment inside.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Sandman
Landmarks:
Need: Artist names, descriptions, and powers. A better picture of the neighborhood.
Greenwich Village, East Village, Chelsea, and Gramercy. I need to develop these. There are some strong LGBT neighborhoods here. I'd like to include some LGBT characters. Chelsea Piers skyrink (the only year round ice rink in the city) makes me want to include someone with frost powers. Have to give this more thought.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Midtown West includes Times Square. By day, the Iron Chef patrols. Sometimes he fights villains. Often, he can be found wandering the streets, signing autographs. Once he was celebrity chef Mario Brown, but when the Event occurred he merged with the powers of the kitchen. He now has a metal body (ironically, this means he no longer eats and does not have a sense of taste) and can project a freezer ray and a heat ray. He carries several knives (Galahad Industries blades capable of cutting through almost anything) as well as a variety of his signature Boom Meringues.
By night, The Ghost (Kevin Kenny) patrols Hell's Kitchen. Kevin is a grim loner. As the Ghost, he wears all black. His power is local gravity control. He can't really fly, but he can jump high, perform seemingly impossible aerial maneuvers, cling to walls, bend light around him to blur his outline (or even make himself nearly invisible), greatly increase his physical strength, alter the passage of time to give himself super speed, and bend space around him to become almost invulnerable. Unfortunately, he can only do one or two of these things at a time.
Hero: Iron Chef, The Ghost
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks: Times Square, Broadway, Flat Iron Building
Need: Villains, thugs, general citizenry, a better description of how technology has transformed Times Square, an idea of the shows on Broadway.
Midtown East was, for a few years after the Event, a quiet neighborhood. A few years ago, the toys in FAO Schwarz came to life. Then the mannequins along 5th Avenue. Then the statue of Atlas at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Eventually, the stores came to an agreement with the mysterious Toy Soldier. By day, the mannequins stay in their stores, modeling clothes and delighting customers. Most of the new toy stock at FAO remains inert. By night, the mannequins, toys, and statues patrol the streets armed with advanced technology.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the Toy Soldier is a 12 year old girl named Abbey Rhodes. Abbey has the (magical?) power to animate lifeless objects. The more she's used this ability, the greater her power has become. Though they have the ability to act on their own, Abbey can sense what they're doing and can sometimes see or talk through them. Abbey is the niece of Mayor Rhodes.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Toy Soldier
Landmarks: FAO, 30 Rock, Madison Ave, 5th Ave, Plaza Hotel, Saint Patrick's Cathedral
Need: A better idea of what Abbey wants. Villains for her army to fight. Other ideas.
Upper East Side is mainly upper middle class residential. I'm not sure what's going on here, if anything. (The area has always felt a little on the drab/boring side to me.) There are a couple of major hospitals here, anyway.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Johnny Quick
Landmarks: Hospitals
Upper West Side is also mainly upper middle class residential. It's a nice place to live precisely because there isn't the kind of stuff that makes it easy to imagine supervillains moving in. A century ago, it was the high class suburbs. But it's also home to Columbia University, which makes me want to include some kind of Spider-Man type. (Maybe a squid man?) Not sure what else, if anything. Probably some thieves.
Hero: Squid Woman (Allison Land)
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks: Columbia University
Central Park is a wilderness. The Green Collective took it over, using their nature-based powers to grow it into a forest, though they also have a large thriving garden/farm. The Kite (Angela Davis) is a woman who merged with a kind of small hawk. She's often seen flying overhead. Calendil (cameo appearance of my character from a D&D campaign on the same boards) thinks he's an elf now. He patrols the park like a ranger, protecting its denizens and looking out for the natural balance.
John and Jane Doe (The Anonymous Deer) are a husband and wife team. They appear to be deer wearing black masks (ninja turtle style). They communicate telepathically and also have limited telekinetic powers and camouflage abilities. If asked about the masks, they explain that it helps set them out as intelligent creatures rather than ordinary deer. (Even though there are no other deer in the park.) No one knows whether they're deer with human intelligence or humans who somehow turned into deer. They're not telling.
I might also want to include some other members of The Guys, such as Shrinking Violet, Peeping Tom, and Doubting Thomas. But I'm not sure they really fit in at the Park. Be a shame to split them up from the Deer, though. I'm not sure.
Green Collective so far: Johnny Appleseed has plant affinity. He's able to sense what's wrong with them and help them grow. Gaia is in tune with nature, able to sense things through the Earth.
Hero: Green Collective, John & Jane Doe, Kite
Villains:
Police: None
Others:
Landmarks: Belvedere Castle, Alice In Wonderland,
Need: The rest of the Green Collective. Who are they? What are their powers? What have they done with the park? Are there any villains here? What are they doing?
West Harlem is mainly populated by Blacks, though there's a growing population of Latinos. There's a lot of poverty here, but people are making the best of it. Children play in the streets in the afternoons. At night, contrary to popular belief, the streets are safe. They are patrolled by a strong neighborhood watch. Some have powers. Most are equipped with non-lethal weapons and strong armor which are obviously cobbled together from spare parts. There were gangs and villains and protection rackets here, but the watch, working together, stamped them out.
The watch are organized, inspired, and equipped by The Super, an idealistic technologist now in his early twenties. He freely helps anyone in the neighborhood, creating equipment for the watch, fixing whatever breaks down in the buildings (water heaters, elevators, appliances, etc.) and doing his best to improve the quality of life for everyone. His example has pulled people together.
Hero: Super, Watch
Villains:
Police: Few
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: Name and description of The Super. Better description of the neighborhood and its culture. At least one villain still quietly struggling against all this.
East Harlem (aka El Barrio) was a primarily Latino area. Many of the people driven out of West Harlem by The Super have moved here. Though there's unease and power struggles, they've formed a loose coalition with Latino gang lords. Armed by The Artificer, they hold dominion over the area. Many Latinos have fled to West Harlem. Most nights see border skirmishes between the gangs here and The Watch of West Harlem.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: Population. Heroes and villains. Culture.
The Subway tunnels are now a big empty space that goes on for miles underneath the city. But there's still electric power. And it's under the mayor's control. Something big is happening here. It could make everything else come into focus.
The sewers (and other tunnels) intersect with the Subway tunnels. Ninja alligators?
Police: Chief Gordon James. (What's he like? How does he feel about the mayor's orders?) Need officers and detectives for various neighborhoods. Some should have powers. (What are the laws about telepathy? In general, but also in the specific case of law enforcement? Or lawyers?) There should probably be some private detectives, as well. And some arrangement between emergency services and people like The White Knight. How many of the cops have super powers? How many of them are themselves corrupt?
Other needs: More citizens. Some heroes and villains with no powers. (A magician using stage effects to simulate powers?) With subway waits gone, where are all the buskers? Other ideas. More history. Brainstorming. What else am I missing?
I'm working on a forum-based RPG set in an alternate modern Manhattan. Here's what I've got so far. (I'll be updating this post as new ideas come in and things get fleshed out.)
Background:
January 1, 2000, the Event occurred. No one is entirely certain what happened, though there's talk of something having been in the sky above New York. Possibly a meteor. Possibly something else. Whatever it was, since then, a small but significant minority of people have started to develop super powers. These powers can take almost any form, and scientists are still unable to explain how they work or why different people get such different powers.
New York City now is a very different place than what we know. The most obvious changes come from technologists - a super power which manifests as a superhuman ability to invent and develop advanced technology. In particular, Galahad Industries has emerged as the preeminent technological developer in the world. Flying cars and hoverbikes soar above the city streets. Just about everyone has a wrist communicator (AKA WristComm AKA Comm) - a miniature supercomputer with a touchable holographic display, natural language interface, realtime 3D communications, holographic portable gaming, and other advanced features. The subway has been replaced by a web of teleport gates - simply walk from one station to the next through a portal, and every station has a portal to Grand Central. Household appliances have been transformed, with smart kitchens, zero gravity beds, immersive holographic TV/computer/gaming console devices (basically giant versions of the WristComms), and so on. The police wear lightweight but incredibly strong armor, have smart glasses which provide them with instant information, use biometric scanners to identify everyone and their powers (if any), and carry a host of crowd control weaponry (some of it rather brutal, but they do have to be prepared for supervillains...).
But it's more than that. Hospitals now have healers on staff, as well as people with x-ray vision and other abilities. Johnny Quick messenger service uses a speedster (on a bike?) as a high-priced courier. Parades have become spectacles of fliers and flame creatures and bursting lights and more. Central Park has become a wilderness. Heroes battle villains in the streets by day. (Not often, but enough to make life interesting...) Newly empowered criminals rule by night.
That's what the players know. Their wrist comms (if queried) and a bit of exploration should fill in much of the neighborhood-specific stuff that's being filled in further down. But here's what they don't know:
Bigger picture:
What almost no one knows is that John Galahad is a fraud. He really is a pilot and a good guy, but he is not a technologist. He's happy to fly around the city as a superhero (and a great PR figurehead), but in reality just about everything the company produces (including his armor) was invented by Ginger Rhodes. Ginger initially portrayed herself as John's personal assistant, but has since moved on to become Mayor.
Ginger also leads a secret life as the mysterious Artificer. The Artificer is known throughout the criminal world as a purveyor of advanced technology of all sorts. (The weapons and equipment used by the Tong, Mafia, Toy Soldier, and others. Including the specialized equipment in The Sandman's den.) Everyone believes/assumes the Artificer is male, and anonymous sources in the Mayor's office and police department drop hints on a semi-regular basis that he's in Harlem. She is able to locate and contact criminals by tapping into their comms (which she designed and programmed). In fact, she's able to track and eavesdrop on anyone using a Galahad communicator. Only The Super realizes that she's set this up, which is why no one in Harlem uses Galahad technology.
Ginger is playing the gangs off each other. This is the reason the now well-equipped police have a surprisingly light presence at night. It's also why the East Harlem gangs are so well armed and so driven to attack West Harlem.
Ginger uses MAISIE (the Mainframe Artificial Intelligence Systems Interface Experiment) to control operations at all three of her jobs - Galahad Industries, the Mayor's office, and the Artificer's lair. MAISIE also controls the robots patrolling the Financial District. MAISIE primarily runs off a giant bank of computers taking up two entire floors of the World Trade Center.
This is the reason that the Knight was supposedly able to handle one plane while controlling the horse and giving guidance to the Iron Chef at the other plane. In reality, Ginger and MAISIE were directing all three.
So Ginger has almost total control of the city, and no one is aware of the real extent of her power. She has vast financial and manufacturing resources as the real power at Galahad Industries. She has local political power as the mayor. As the Artificer, she has the ability to (directly and indirectly) impact the balance of power between the various gangs. She also has access to miles of subway tunnels which are no longer in use. The only real opposition she has is The Super, and he's got his hands full keeping his own neighborhood safe and trying to improve the local quality of life.
But she's scared. Because no one understands The Event. Something came from space and changed the world. No one knows how or why. And she thinks it might be a warning of an impending alien invasion. She knows, though, that, even after The Event, most people would consider that a crazy idea. So she's using her power to get the city ready. She's arming the gangs. She's helping them make the most of their powers. She's getting them to fight each other. And, while everyone is distracted by all that, she's building things in the subway tunnels. Developing new weaponry. And trying to create a force field which could surround and protect the whole island. (Conveniently, this would keep the players on the existing map, and could be triggered anytime I want.) She's also developing a few other things there, like sun lamps and power generators and so on, because she wants the city to be self-sufficient.
Neighborhood by neighborhood. (I'm using this map of Manhattan, roughly. The Not For Tourists guide provides more info about each neighborhood, as well as a number of subdivisions within them.) Starting from the south:
The Financial District is dominated by Galahad Industries.
On September 11, 2001, the White Knight made his debut. Flying on a prototype hoverbike in the shape of a horse, the hero in powered armor intercepted a hijacked airplane. He jumped from the horse, entered the plane, battled the terrorists, and landed the plane at JFK airport. Meanwhile, the horse was sent to pick up famed hero Iron Chef, who, following instructions relayed through the horse, froze the engines of the second plane and (with the help of the horse's propulsion system) landed it in the Hudson river before entering the plane and fighting the terrorists.
The Knight (who had to take off his armor to operate the plane's controls) was revealed to be John Galahad, head of Galahad Industries. He now flies patrol over the city by day, fighting villains and helping emergency services. Galahad Industries occupies the upper floors of the World Trade Center, which now includes the Knight's armory and an array of defensive weaponry. Armored robot "squires" patrol the area day and night, keeping the peace.
The Stock Exchange is protected by day by The Duke (real name: Randolph Mortimer). He serves largely as a mascot and PR man. He has limited range TK, but hasn't really learned to control it that well. He puts on a good front, but is secretly scared that he won't actually be able to do the job when push comes to shove. Inside, telepaths, mystics, and technological scanners ensure that no one is cheating.
Heroes: The White Knight, The Duke
Villains: The Artificer, [need more]
Police: Fewer of them here, but still need a couple.
Others: MAISIE
Landmarks: WTC, Stock Exchange, City Hall
Need: A better list of what the Knight can and can't do. (His armor can't fly. He still uses the horse.) Description and powerset for The Duke. Villains who might, despite all the protections, attempt something in the area.
Little Italy (which in our world has shrunken to almost nonexistence) is a thriving neighborhood. Mostly because super powers have enabled the resurgence of the Mafia. (Or at least someone with super powers who has styled himself a Mafia don and built an organization around that.) By day, it's a charming and very safe tourist area with an abundance of quality restaurants. By night, illegal activities quietly take over.
Hero:
Villains: Mafia
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: The Mafia. Who are they? What are they doing? What powers do they have? Also, need a hero who is fighting a losing battle against them. Also need a better idea of what the neighborhood feels like and what the culture is like.
Chinatown (which in our world has grown and taken over most of Little Italy) is a bustling neighborhood filled, not surprisingly, with Chinese Americans. Restaurants, souvenir shops, exotic grocery stores, etc. Many speak English (as a third language, at least) but the streets are filled with the sounds of numerous Chinese dialects. Communications are facilitated by the wrist communicators, which provide realtime translations across just about any known language.
The area is dominated by the Tong. By day, it remains what it had been for years: a social club which provides classes, support, entertainment, and socialization opportunities. A chance for immigrants to adjust to American life, and for Americans to maintain their Chinese cultural heritage. By night, however, it has reverted to the criminal ways of generations gone by, thanks to the strong-arm tactics of super powered criminals. The Tong is locked in a power struggle and turf war with the Mafia.
The Tong is also opposed by the Lion. He was a lion dancer. When the Event happened, he merged with his costume. He now has enhanced agility, strength, and stamina. He is generally friendly and playful, but a fierce protector of the innocent.
Hero: The Lion
Villains: Tong
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: More info on the Tong. Who are they? What are they up to? What powers do they have? (Possibility: A group with elemental powers. Cliche, perhaps, but I could say that, like the Lion, they were taking part in a New Years celebration at the time of the Event.) Also, who is the Lion? What else does he do? Need more of a personality for him, too.
Lower East Side - Once heavily populated by Jewish immigrants, it has since attracted a diverse blend of immigrant populations. Mostly due to the relatively low rent.
Need: A better idea of what it looks like. Also, who's there? And what are they doing?
Tribeca hosts the famed annual Tribeca Film Festival. It's also home to many of the super rich people who work in Midtown and the Financial District. Including John Galahad. Galahad Industries robots and armored police keep the area safe.
Hero: White Knight
Villains: Thieves
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: A few more rich people. Maybe with powers. And at least one thief.
Soho is a thriving community of artists, made all the more so by those who have put their powers to creative use. It's one of the few neighborhoods that's safe to roam at night. Indeed, it's taken on almost a carnival atmosphere, with fire jugglers, light displays, live music, and more.
The Sandman (real name: Neil Straight) has a basement den here, where, with the help of advanced technological equipment, he can use his powers to put paying customers in a state of relaxed bliss. It's not technically illegal, but it's shady and underground. He has Mafia ties. Players will be introduced to the game when, as they roam through Soho, Sandman's building bursts into flames (thanks to a Tong agent with fire-based powers), destroying his den and the valuable equipment inside.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Sandman
Landmarks:
Need: Artist names, descriptions, and powers. A better picture of the neighborhood.
Greenwich Village, East Village, Chelsea, and Gramercy. I need to develop these. There are some strong LGBT neighborhoods here. I'd like to include some LGBT characters. Chelsea Piers skyrink (the only year round ice rink in the city) makes me want to include someone with frost powers. Have to give this more thought.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Midtown West includes Times Square. By day, the Iron Chef patrols. Sometimes he fights villains. Often, he can be found wandering the streets, signing autographs. Once he was celebrity chef Mario Brown, but when the Event occurred he merged with the powers of the kitchen. He now has a metal body (ironically, this means he no longer eats and does not have a sense of taste) and can project a freezer ray and a heat ray. He carries several knives (Galahad Industries blades capable of cutting through almost anything) as well as a variety of his signature Boom Meringues.
By night, The Ghost (Kevin Kenny) patrols Hell's Kitchen. Kevin is a grim loner. As the Ghost, he wears all black. His power is local gravity control. He can't really fly, but he can jump high, perform seemingly impossible aerial maneuvers, cling to walls, bend light around him to blur his outline (or even make himself nearly invisible), greatly increase his physical strength, alter the passage of time to give himself super speed, and bend space around him to become almost invulnerable. Unfortunately, he can only do one or two of these things at a time.
Hero: Iron Chef, The Ghost
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks: Times Square, Broadway, Flat Iron Building
Need: Villains, thugs, general citizenry, a better description of how technology has transformed Times Square, an idea of the shows on Broadway.
Midtown East was, for a few years after the Event, a quiet neighborhood. A few years ago, the toys in FAO Schwarz came to life. Then the mannequins along 5th Avenue. Then the statue of Atlas at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Eventually, the stores came to an agreement with the mysterious Toy Soldier. By day, the mannequins stay in their stores, modeling clothes and delighting customers. Most of the new toy stock at FAO remains inert. By night, the mannequins, toys, and statues patrol the streets armed with advanced technology.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the Toy Soldier is a 12 year old girl named Abbey Rhodes. Abbey has the (magical?) power to animate lifeless objects. The more she's used this ability, the greater her power has become. Though they have the ability to act on their own, Abbey can sense what they're doing and can sometimes see or talk through them. Abbey is the niece of Mayor Rhodes.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Toy Soldier
Landmarks: FAO, 30 Rock, Madison Ave, 5th Ave, Plaza Hotel, Saint Patrick's Cathedral
Need: A better idea of what Abbey wants. Villains for her army to fight. Other ideas.
Upper East Side is mainly upper middle class residential. I'm not sure what's going on here, if anything. (The area has always felt a little on the drab/boring side to me.) There are a couple of major hospitals here, anyway.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others: Johnny Quick
Landmarks: Hospitals
Upper West Side is also mainly upper middle class residential. It's a nice place to live precisely because there isn't the kind of stuff that makes it easy to imagine supervillains moving in. A century ago, it was the high class suburbs. But it's also home to Columbia University, which makes me want to include some kind of Spider-Man type. (Maybe a squid man?) Not sure what else, if anything. Probably some thieves.
Hero: Squid Woman (Allison Land)
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks: Columbia University
Central Park is a wilderness. The Green Collective took it over, using their nature-based powers to grow it into a forest, though they also have a large thriving garden/farm. The Kite (Angela Davis) is a woman who merged with a kind of small hawk. She's often seen flying overhead. Calendil (cameo appearance of my character from a D&D campaign on the same boards) thinks he's an elf now. He patrols the park like a ranger, protecting its denizens and looking out for the natural balance.
John and Jane Doe (The Anonymous Deer) are a husband and wife team. They appear to be deer wearing black masks (ninja turtle style). They communicate telepathically and also have limited telekinetic powers and camouflage abilities. If asked about the masks, they explain that it helps set them out as intelligent creatures rather than ordinary deer. (Even though there are no other deer in the park.) No one knows whether they're deer with human intelligence or humans who somehow turned into deer. They're not telling.
I might also want to include some other members of The Guys, such as Shrinking Violet, Peeping Tom, and Doubting Thomas. But I'm not sure they really fit in at the Park. Be a shame to split them up from the Deer, though. I'm not sure.
Green Collective so far: Johnny Appleseed has plant affinity. He's able to sense what's wrong with them and help them grow. Gaia is in tune with nature, able to sense things through the Earth.
Hero: Green Collective, John & Jane Doe, Kite
Villains:
Police: None
Others:
Landmarks: Belvedere Castle, Alice In Wonderland,
Need: The rest of the Green Collective. Who are they? What are their powers? What have they done with the park? Are there any villains here? What are they doing?
West Harlem is mainly populated by Blacks, though there's a growing population of Latinos. There's a lot of poverty here, but people are making the best of it. Children play in the streets in the afternoons. At night, contrary to popular belief, the streets are safe. They are patrolled by a strong neighborhood watch. Some have powers. Most are equipped with non-lethal weapons and strong armor which are obviously cobbled together from spare parts. There were gangs and villains and protection rackets here, but the watch, working together, stamped them out.
The watch are organized, inspired, and equipped by The Super, an idealistic technologist now in his early twenties. He freely helps anyone in the neighborhood, creating equipment for the watch, fixing whatever breaks down in the buildings (water heaters, elevators, appliances, etc.) and doing his best to improve the quality of life for everyone. His example has pulled people together.
Hero: Super, Watch
Villains:
Police: Few
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: Name and description of The Super. Better description of the neighborhood and its culture. At least one villain still quietly struggling against all this.
East Harlem (aka El Barrio) was a primarily Latino area. Many of the people driven out of West Harlem by The Super have moved here. Though there's unease and power struggles, they've formed a loose coalition with Latino gang lords. Armed by The Artificer, they hold dominion over the area. Many Latinos have fled to West Harlem. Most nights see border skirmishes between the gangs here and The Watch of West Harlem.
Hero:
Villains:
Police:
Others:
Landmarks:
Need: Population. Heroes and villains. Culture.
The Subway tunnels are now a big empty space that goes on for miles underneath the city. But there's still electric power. And it's under the mayor's control. Something big is happening here. It could make everything else come into focus.
The sewers (and other tunnels) intersect with the Subway tunnels. Ninja alligators?
Police: Chief Gordon James. (What's he like? How does he feel about the mayor's orders?) Need officers and detectives for various neighborhoods. Some should have powers. (What are the laws about telepathy? In general, but also in the specific case of law enforcement? Or lawyers?) There should probably be some private detectives, as well. And some arrangement between emergency services and people like The White Knight. How many of the cops have super powers? How many of them are themselves corrupt?
Other needs: More citizens. Some heroes and villains with no powers. (A magician using stage effects to simulate powers?) With subway waits gone, where are all the buskers? Other ideas. More history. Brainstorming. What else am I missing?