The game will take place in moderately large (in the neighborhood of a million people) but fictitious city in the Midwest (along the Great Lakes), that has a variety of old manufacturing industries that have been on the downswing in recent years. There is also a fair assortment of high-tech companies also present, as well as a variety of service-oriented businesses. There is a very large public university, as well as two private universities, one community college and one industry funded technical college within the metro area as well. There are both a variety of upper-class areas that are controlled by wealthy families both those who founded the cities various industries as well as those who have been riding the high-tech and financial boom of the modern era. There are also several rough areas of the city, some worse than others, in addition to many middle class areas. A wide variety of retail and shopping is also available, as well as a wide variety of entertainment establishments that run the entire gambit of what pleasure seekers are looking for, from bars and night clubs, to strip clubs and casinos, to sporting and concert venues, amusement parks, city parks, golf clubs that run from low cost public courses to the posh private clubs of the cities elite and wealthy; as well as many of the typical family restaurants, cinemas, fitness clubs, shopping centers, malls, and similar establishments. The locals refer to the area as the ?Metro area? due to the fact that there are several moderate sized cities that comprise the area.
Maps are being created using a standard 72 pixels per inch. The web site will have a map page that shows only the expressways and cities/suburbs as well as extremely large features, from which viewers will be able to click to focus in on a smaller scale map showing the specifics of the area clicked on. This main map uses a 10 pixels per kilometer scale, with the higher resolution maps showing the scale on them (as they may vary somewhat from one to the next in scale). The area covered will be a generic city in the Midwest located on a lakeshore (similar to Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toledo, or Buffalo) of the great lakes. Here is an early version of the large map as well as an early map showing the districts of the two largest cities in the Metro area. Below the maps are brief descriptions of each of the cities or individual districts for the larger cities.
The Metro area is divided into several cities with the largest being Bayside, but also including Argyle Hills, Arvon Hills, Frampton Woods, Glendale, Lakeside, Lakeview, Southampton, Springfield, Thaircoill, Westfield, and Willowvale. Bayside is further divided into ?districts?, with the following names: Clearwater, Eastside, Finance, Foundry, Grand Isle, Grand River, Highlands, The Hub, Isleview, Riverbend, Southside, and Waterfront. Lakeview, being the largest of the suburbs of the Metro area is often thought of by the locals as being split up into 4 districts as follows: Bay View, The Islands, Riverside, and South Point. The plan is for this area to have a population in the ballpark of two to three-million or so people, with most of the Metro area being pretty spread out and not real densely populated despite the size of the cities.
The following are a brief description of each of the areas listed above, along with some of the places of interest within each area:
Argyle Hills- This small city is primarily a upper-middle class community with a fair amount of moderate to up-scale retail as well as some high-tech manufacturing and service based industries.
Arvon Hills- A common middle-class community with good schools and a variety of retail (including the largest and newest mall in the metro area), as well as some light and high-tech manufacturing and service based businesses as well as Lakeside Community College.
Bay View District (Lakeview)- Primarily a middle to upper-middle class area with a variety of light to medium manufacturing along with some high-tech manufacturing as well as a large auto assembly plant complex. There is also a wide variety of retail and service based industries here, along with some upper-class residential areas along the waterfront in some areas (primarily facing towards The Islands district).
Clearwater District (Bayside)- Residential areas ranging from lower class to upper-middle class, as well as a variety of retail and service based industries and some light to medium manufacturing. It is also home to ?State University?.
Eastside District (Bayside)- Residential areas ranging from lower-middle class to upper class, as well as a variety of retail and service based industries and some light to medium and high-tech manufacturing as well as one moderately sized pharmaceuticals plant and R&D facility.
Finance District (Bayside)- This is the business heart of the Metro area, with most of the large banks and businesses having their main offices located here among the small to modest sized high-rises. There are also a wide variety of service and retail businesses located in this area, along with a few higher end residential areas (primarily upper-middle class apartments and condos).
Foundry District (Bayside)- This is the center of the heavy manufacturing for the Metro area, along with some medium duty manufacturing, a variety of service based industries, and lower to middle level residential and retail areas. Much of this area is comprised of a few large industrial complexes, such as steel foundries and mills, an oil refinery, a couple of large chemical and plastics plants, and other manufacturing often thought of as heavy or dirty.
Frampton Woods- This community had started out as an outlying middle class town for those who wanted to work in the larger cities but wanted more of a small town residential area. As such it is primarily a middle class community with a wide variety of retail and service based industries, as well as being home to a small private Oakwood University. Due to the way that the community started, most of the properties here are large lots and thus large yards (often half-acre or larger)(as compared to many areas of the Metro area. However over the years the entire Metro area has grown to the point where Frampton Woods is now a suburb of the city at the very south-western edge of the Metro area.
Grand Isle District (Bayside)? This area has from middle class to upper class residencesl as well as a range of retail and service based industries, including a casino that is managed by a locam tribal council of Native Americans, and two small stidium type arenas. One is home to a(minor league baseball team and holds outdoor concerts through the summer months, while the otxer$is an indoor arena that is used by a semi-professional hockey team, as well as for a variety of events throughout the year. It is also home to the largest of the two private universities located within the Metro area, Masterson University (MU). This large island is linked to the mainland by two very busy bridges.
Grand River District (Bayside)- This is a primarily middle class residential area, although some areas away from the river area also have lower income residences. There is also a variety of retail and service based businesses located here as well as light and medium manufacturing.
Highlands District (Bayside)- This is predominantly a middle to upper class residential area with light to medium as well as high-tech manufacturing as well as a variety of service related industries.
The Hub District (Bayside)- This area tends to be primarily medium to heavy manufacturing as well as lower to middle class residential and retail, as home to a variety of service based industries. It is also the transportation center of the Metro area, being home to an international airport, a large rail and intermodal yard, several large trucking firms also operate out of this part of the city, as well as docks for shipping and great lakes ship maintenance.
The Islands District (Lakeview)- This area is where much of the Metro area?s elite and high-society lives, being predominantly upper class, with some upper-middle class residential areas as well. A variety of high-end retail as well as service based industries are also located here. There are two different country clubs offering high-end golfing and other entertainment, as well as several small yacht clubs and middle to upper class marinas located around the coast of the islands. All four of the islands that make up this district of the city of Lakeview are connected by a series of bridges linking them back to the mainland.
Isleview District (Bayside)- This area is primarily middle to upper class with a variety of retail and services as well as some light and medium manufacturing.
Lakeside- This area is primarily a middle class area with a variety of manufacturing and service as well as a fair amount of retail businesses. They are also home to one of the highest rated hospitals in the Midwest, which utilizes a lot of cutting edge technology and is often chosen as a test site for clinical trials for various pharmaceuticals.
Riverbend District (Bayside)- This district of Bayside is a primarily low to middle income area, and is centrally located next to the more heavily industrialized districts of Foundry District, Hub District, and the Waterfront District as well as the city of Thaircoill. As such it tends to be a bit of a run-down and dirty area, with very little attention paid to maintaining the appearances of this area, except for in a few neighborhoods. A fair portion of this district are regarded as slums (as are some of the residential areas of its neighboring districts and the city of Thaircoill), however it also boasts some of the lowest cost housing and retail space within the Metro area.
Riverside District (Lakeview)- This is a typical middle-income district, with a few lower and upper class areas, as well as a variety of manufacturing and service as well as retail businesses.
South Point District (Lakeview)- This area has nice middle-class residential areas as well as many nice parks and good schools. It is also home to a variety of light manufacturing and a lot of service based industries as well as a variety of retail and entertainment options.
Southampton- This area has a wide range of businesses and residential areas, ranging from some large industrial complexes (such as a large plastics plant, two large power plants (one coal fired and one nuclear), and a large automotive parts manufacturer) to light and specialty manufacturing. The residential areas range from lower income to upper income, as well as everything in between. There is also a variety of retail as well as one large mall and a small amusement park and historical park for entertainment.
Southside District (Bayside)- This area has a variety of middle class residential as well as some lower class residential areas in some of the northern neighborhoods and near some of the larger manufacturing sites. There is a variety of manufacturing including light, medium, and heavy industries. There is also a large brewery located along the lake shore at one point.
Springfield- This outlying community is largely middle class, but has a full range of income levels among its residents. There is a variety of retail, although it is primarily a residential community with a full assortment of service based industries to serve the residents. There is some light to medium manufacturing, although it is very limited.
Thaircoill- This was one of the early suburbs of the city of Bayside, and more than a century ago was home to many of the working class Irish immigrants who worked in the iron foundries and such that had been the mainstay of that portion of the larger Bayside city. It is now comprised primarily of low to middle income residences as well as several lower end apartment complexes, lower end retail establishments, and light to medium manufacturing that has spilled over into the rundown areas of the smaller city. This area, despite being one of the roughest areas of the entire Metro area is not the worst when it comes to crime (at least not reported crime), although this is largely attributed to the large Irish population which tend to look after their own, thus anything worse than public drunkenness or fights is unusual.
Waterfront District (Bayside)- The costal area here is predominantly medium to heavy manufacturing that relies heavily on water access for transportation or for manufacturing use. Thus there are a couple of paper mills, as well as a small chemical plant, and other similar businesses. Most of the residential areas are lower to middle class, interspersed with a variety of retail and service based businesses. However it is also home to a large and high-end marina close to the Finance District, which is used extensively by many of the wealthy who live within the Finance District.
Westfield- This tiny community, despite being up tight to Bayside (the largest city in the Metro area) has an almost rural feel to it. It is primarily a middle class area, with some agricultural related industries, including a large grain elevator complex and cereal processing plant along the Grand River.
Willowvale- This quiet community is largely residential, but has a moderate mix of retail, service, and small/light manufacturing businesses present also.
For those who have lived in the city for a while, there are certain things that will be widely known but which depend on the characters background and time or connections within the city. For mundane Mortals, much of this can be found above however for those who are part of Everlasting society a few more details will be provided below. For those who are interested in running characters that will make the transition into Everlasting society, you may not want to read the following as it will be a "spoiler" of sorts. Among these are the existance of various organizations and personalities that hold power within the Metro area:
One of the more powerful organizations within Everlasting society within most cities is the Court of Night. While the Court in the Metro Area is not as powerful from a relative standpoint as it is in many other large metropolitan areas (as only about 30% of the Unliving who inhabit the cities are affiliated in some way with the Court), due to the large population it is still a fairly large and powerful organization. It is still the largest organized (or semi-organized anyway) group within the Metro Area's Everlasting society. It's leader is an ancient Revenant named Gram Gorham. He is not really active among the mortals in the Metro Area, as he lives in a large and secluded estate in the Highlands District of Bayside. To the common/mundane observer appears to be an old mansion behind brick walls and is somewhat overgrown and in a state of disrepair, however it is kept up enough that it is never condemned and the taxes and utilities are always paid on time, so few questions are asked by mortals who live in the area. Other high-ranking members of the Court include several Everlasting who do put of a facade of a mortal life include Ginger Barglon(Bathora Vampire), Ramon Lendosa(Ghul), Tara Ogveidan (Dakinis vampire), and Samantha Carwright (Lilim Vampire). Other ranking members who tend to keep to themselves or minimize their interaction with mortals include Barry Thompson (Vampire), Victoria Barns (Ghul), and Vaneta Gestalt (Revenant). Each of these seven listed ranking members, often referred to as "Lord" or "Lady" when involved in formal and often informal Court of Night functions also has many others below them. These lesser members of the Court of Night are sometimes referred to as vassals, but there are typically 2-5 levels of allegiance below these seven "Nobles", as well as a few that are not directly under their control (such as Min Kwon and a couple of others who are vying for gaining a "noble" high-ranking position within the Court of Night). Ginger Barglon is one of the partners in the well known and respected Ieto, Gevier, Barglon, & Associates law firm, with both of the other founding members Kwan Ieto (Kuni-Tzu-Kami Daeva ) and George Gevier (Vanir Daeva) also being members of Everlasting society. While the name Ramon Lendosa is well known by mortals, since he owns Lendosa Aviation as well as being partial-owner/investor of several other businesses in the Metro area, he is rarely seen in public and on the rare occasions when he is he is usually dressed in a long trench coat with the collar turned up and wears a wide brimmed hat and large mirrored sun glasses to hide his features. Samantha Carwright spends most of her time at her place of business, which it just so happens is one of the most public places in the Metro area, the Midnight Call Resort and Club in the heart of the Finance District; which is a very large upscale hotel with a night club that many of the cities public figures go out to, as well as a very high-class restaurant. Meanwhile Tara Ogveidan operates a somewhat similar type of very public business called Valley Entertainment in ARvon Hills, which has a wide variety of things available to entertain the Metro Areas mundane mortals, such as both a huge multi-screen movie theatre and performance theatre (for plays and small concerts), a roller rink as well as several ice rinks (with 3 amature hockey leagues that play in them as well as having year round open ice skating), one of the Metro areas largest fitness centers (including a cardio, weights, gymnasiums, indoor tracks, indoor tennis, racquetball, and other similar sports), also included in the complex are three different restaurants, a large and very popular sports bar, arcade, bowling alley, and what entertainment complex would be complete without miniature golf.
While the Metro area has a moderately large number of Everlasting present, it tends to be a very splintered society. However Erin Rource (Daeva of the Tuatha Dé Danann household) has created a place that is considered neutral ground among nearly all the Everlasting of the Metro Area. This establishment is called An Tábhairne ("The Pub" in Gaelic), and is a large Celtic Restaurant and bar located along the outer edge of the Metro area just outside Willowvale on a large wooded piece of land (about one square mile in size) that is surrounded on three sides by a large state owned and protected nature preserve. Thus this is often one of the best places to meet other Everlasting in a public place. While it is rare for any problems or altercations to develop there, it does happen on occasion, however the normally quiet and reserved personality that Erin usually presents disappears and a much more outspoken and downright fiery and fearless side comes out. Although the most common altercations that occur are between two other Daevas who simply do not get along. These are semi-common yelling and shouting matches that occur between Roger Zarkopf and Aleria Hallecet, probably the two oldest Daevas in the entire Metro area. Roger is a renown history professor at State University in the Clearwater District of Bayside, while Aleria is owner of Hallecet Antiques in the Highland District. Both are Independent Daevas (not associated with any of the large Daevan households), and ancient by the standards of most other Everlasting. Both of them are considered authorities on history and ancient artifacts among the Metro Area's Everlasting, and both frequent An Tábhairne pretty regularly. These altercations have never (as of yet anyway) developed into anything physical, but they do get verbally nasty at times and shows that Roger is very opinionated and strong willed, while Aleria is probably the most fearless and second only to Lenca O'Riely (also a Daeva) in her spiteful and distrustful attitude towards others.
Most of the larger and more common Daevan households have a presence within the Metro area. However there are also a modest number of independants as well. None of the households is in a position nor has the numbers to be able to claim that they rule the city or play a major enough role within the behind the scenes politics or economics of the Metro area to be able to hold substantial sway over the mundane and mortal inhabitants, nor those who are members of Everlasting society. Thus with Daevas being one of the largest in numbers of Everlasting within the Metro area (followed closely behind by Vampires and Wer), they are fairly fractured in their loyalties and power structure.
There are also rumors among many of the Everlasting of a group of Demons who have been working to undermine both Everlasting society and mortal society locally, called the "Ring of Nine".