Island City archive

[Khyron1144]

I think the Initial Idea was something like: what if there's a place that violates some of the more vehemently stressed fundamental ideas/ "rules"/ established tone/ "canonical" metaplot for The World of Darkness? What if there's a spot of brightness where the supernaturals are common, magical energy in its various forms is abundant, various supernatural critters get-along okay with each other, and things aren't necessarily going to Hell in a hand basket?

To create this place, I had to set up a few assumptions as kind of givens:

1) The Masquerade has been so effective that it's okay if it gets broken here and there, nobody believes in vampires unless they have direct personal experience of them.

2) The Masquerade is very vampire-specific. It is not a conspiracy to preserve ignorance of the supernatural in general. If Uri Geller really can telekinetically bend spoons and wants to go on the Tonight Show to prove it, the Ventrue who controls NBC encourages the televised demonstration rather than quashing it. Later on, when a Tremere gets sloppy with using Movement of the Mind in front of a mortal audience, they go: "Oh he must have TK, like Uri Geller" not: "Oh, he must be an undead bloodsucking fiend" and the Masquerade is preserved.



The Broad Overview

Island City is just that: a city on an island. The Island is about twenty miles across in any given direction and surprisingly close to perfectly circular. Island City is about ten miles from end to end in most directions and is mostly towards the middle parts of The Island. The rest of The Island is intentionally left as undeveloped wilderness.

Places of Power (caerns, nodes, freeholds) are relatively common. How many that is is intentionally left vague but nobody is starved for magical energy.

I suggest locating The Island off the coast from California someplace. That's just what I did, but you're welcome to move it from the Pacific to the Atlantic or make it a part of the Japanese island chain or put it somewhere in the neighborhood of Australia or anything else.

In revising this recently I had the following idea: Island City should be somewhat murky in its relationship to mortal government. For my version of Island City, near California, that means it's not clear whether it's part of the State of California or a United States Territorial Possession or an independent micro-nation extremely close to the United States.

Approximately sixty percent of the Population of Island City is some form of supernatural being, including lesser supernaturals like: ghouls, revenants, shapechanger kinfolk, kinain, mediums, and mortals with numina. In my original version back in high school, I think I made it something like ninety percent.

The government in Island City over both supernaturals and mortals Is Oberon, a changeling Duke. His title for mortal government purposes is Mayor. His wife Titania is a Duchess. Her say seems to be equal to Oberon's for both mortal and supernatural purposes.


The Back Story

Once there was an island rich in places of power. The natives had shamans (mages, along the lines of Dreamspeakers) and there were animal folk also on the island (shapechangers, probably Uktena a few of some kind of Bastet and the occasional Corax) and trickster folk (faeries, probably along the lines of Nunehi or Menehune and maybe a few Selkies just for fun).

One day a Witch (mage, possibly Verbena-like possibly gone Marauder or Nephandi) named Cycorax arrived on the island. She conquered the island and bent its spirits to her will except for one strong willed spirit of the air, which she shut up in a cloven pine. Cycorax impregnated herself with the aid of some sort of Water/ Earth/ Elemental/ Spirit/ Demon thing. The child she bore, she named Caliban.

One day, an exiled Wizard-King of a more civilized land (mage, something like a Hermetic) named Prospero arrives on The Island with his daughter Miranda. He frees Aerial from her cloven pine prison and with her aid defeats Cycorax. The grateful natives of The Island make Prospero the new king.

Prospero attains his revenge over those who exiled him and finds a husband for Miranda at the same time.

The official version is that after that Prospero returns to the home from which he had been exiled and gives up magick. This is a lie. The truth is he stays on The Island and starts apprenticing his daughter and newfound son-in-law in the arts Hermetic.

Some time after this, a boat of European-style fae arrive on The Island. By this time, Prospero is tired of ruling the natives and wants to spend more time working on his studies of The Art. He turns rulership of The Island over to the Duke and Duchess of the newly arrived Fae.

Now Oberon and Titania rule The Island. They manage to evade the ravages of time by residing mainly in a freehold. Eventually more people find The Island and a modern city grows up around the fae rulers.

[Khyron1144]

NPCs List
These are important NPCs. The people who will shape the world of Island City, if the PCs don't interfere. Some relevant character type information will appear in parentheses after the name, for instance Kith for Changelings.

A random note: In Island City, the full five-point version of the Slipped Seeming Flaw is fairly common among changelings as are the Seeming's Blessing Merit and the Cleared Mists Flaw. This means that a lot of changelings always look kind of weird and people remember the magic they do. On the plus side, these changelings always have access to the special gifts of their fae side without need to call on the Wyrd.

Another one: Lots of these characters believe in the power of names and may be operating under a Shadow Name or alias. To put it more precisely, this is what the character allows him or herself to be called. It may or may not have some relation to a birth name, given name, or true name. Sometimes a good Shadow Name is handed down over the generations.

Oberon (Troll) The Duke/ Mayor of Island City. Wants simple continued peace and prosperity for Island City. Husband of Titania.

Titania (Sidhe) The Duchess/ Mayoress of Island City. Wants continued peace and prosperity for Island City and to make it clear that she is the one in charge. Wife of Oberon.

Robin Goodfellow/ Puck (Lemur Pooka) One of Oberon's best friends and a well-known wit.

Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, and Cobweb (Two Sidhe, one Butterfly Pooka, all with the Wings Merit) Attendants to the Duchess. They seem loyal enough, but they don't do a lot other than random gophering at Titania's bidding.

Sir Gavain (Troll) Oberon's other old buddy. They have fought shoulder to shoulder and back to back many times over the centuries.

Sir Parzifal (Sidhe) The name is re-used many times over. The latest one really is just old enough to be a Wilder, say about twenty. Loyal to the Duke and Duchess and eager to prove his mettle in combat.

Sauron (Sidhe) At least as ancient and powerful as Oberon and Titania. Slowly plotting some kind of overthrow. Ex-lover of Jadis.

Jadis (Sidhe) At least as ancient and powerful as Oberon and Titania. Bitter ex-lover of Sauron. Gathers magical knowledge to further her own power, while pretending to aid Sauron's plots.

Sir Caliban (Redcap) The bitter son of Cycorax. Believes The Island is his by right. Loyal to Sauron for now.

Gollum (Sluagh) Quite simply a born slave totally willing to serve Sauron.

Sir Modred (Redcap) The name is re-used many times over. The latest one really is just old enough to be a Wilder, say about seventeen. Thinks he's an anarchist and Satanist. He fell in with Sauron's lot pretty much by accident.

Aurawn (Sidhe) An ancient, insane, insanely powerful Sidhe who believes himself to be the Celtic Lord of the Underworld. Not really down with Sauron's lot. He's more of a nihilist than anything, quite eager to spread death.

Malice (Old Clan Tzimisce) He feels no emotion. He does not love anything. He is inhumane. He also has a good command of vampiric blood magics and is aiding Aurawn's plans.

Prospero (Order of Hermes) The happily retired king of the Island. His only obvious goal is study and perfection of The Art. Member of the Auld Pentangle.

Miranda (Order of Hermes) Daughter and apprentice of Prospero. She may have gone a little mad. Something to do with the magicks she's been around most here life has made her barren. Now, her major goal is to bend time to her will and undo that damage. Member of The Auld Pentangle.

Madame Mim (Verbena gone Marauder) She has three personalities each at a different level of Quiet. She can be a pretty functional modern Verbena witch (lowest Quiet), a bringer of blessings and curses to those deserving, much like an old-fashioned fairy godmother (medium Quiet); and a sort of cartoon caricature evil witch with a desire to commit cannibalism (higher Quiet). None of her personalities are named Mim, yet she answers just the same. Member of The Auld Pentangle.

Lola (Cult of Ecstasy): She is at least as old as Prospero, but currently chooses to look like a barely legal seductive schoolgirl. Member of the Auld Pentangle.

Absalom ibn Suleiman (Taftani): fifth member of the Auld Pentangle.

Agent Zero (Thousand Whispers): Agent of The Diggers. One of the active monster-hunting types.

Agent 13 (human psychic): One of a set of twins working for the Diggers.

Agent 31 (human hedge wizard): One of a set of twins working for the Diggers.

Victor (Sons of Ether): Founder of Prometheus tech. Over a hundred years old. Etherite equivalent to an archmage.

Petruchio (Order of Hermes- House Thig): Prometheus Tech. Working on AI and chaos theory. Also a very junior Digger and extremely minor apprentice to the Auld Pentangle.

Doctor Solar (Void Engineers) Prometheus Tech fuels and energy researcher.

Cornelius (Sons of Ether) Prometheus Tech primateologist.

Dexter (Virtual Adept) child prodigy robotics and AI consultant for Prometheus Tech.

Wiley (Nocker) Prometheus Tech weapons designer.

Sparkle (Nocker) Prometheus Tech holographic artist.

The Diggers (formerly called the Talamasca) (an alternative to The Arcanum)

Somewhere a ghoul and a garou kin-folk met without killing each other. It had to happen at least once. It's possible they even compared notes on living in the shadow of a supernaturally powerful entity and having just a little bit of that power for themselves.

That's what The Diggers are: an association of one-step-removed supernaturals, mortals with numina, armchair occultists, "weird shit" archaeologists, and monster hunters. A place for law enforcement officers who receive the nickname spooky to congregate in their off hours.

The Diggers have two main arms:
1)The Diggers who collect, study, and collate the lore of the supernatural.
2) The Burying Men who use this lore to kill monsters.

One way to think of The Diggers is that they combine traits of the official World of Darkness's Inquisition and Arcanum, add a little bit of the Watchers and Slayers from Buffy, the Watchers from Highlander the TV series, and the Dark Hold Redeemers from the Dark Hold comic book series that Marvel published back in the 90s, oh yeah, and The Talamasca from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches.

A typical Chapterhouse for The Diggers combines traits of a library and museum (parts of which may be open to the public) with a barracks or dormitory and possibly an armory. Only a small portion of The Diggers make a Chapterhouse a permanent residence. Most of them lead a semi-nomadic existence or are only part-time Diggers with a life outside the group that includes a family that is not necessarily clued in.

Most cities big enough to be worth calling cities have a Digger Chapterhouse. The most important ones are in Budapest, Hungary; London, England; Boston, Massachusetts; Verona, Washington; and Island City.


External Relations
The Society of Leopold: To the Inquisition, The Diggers are a living embodiment of the Florentine heresy. The Diggers are too willing to treat the monsters like humans, rather than kill on sight. In return the Diggers see the Inquisition as folks who had the right idea once but took it so far as to make it wrong.

Imbued Hunters: Except for not having the articulated concept of the Florentine Heresy, pretty much ditto.

The Camarilla: Technically, The Diggers break the Masquerade. The thing is, once they get hold of information like the existence of vampires, they don't disseminate it to the general public. They hang onto information for internal use. The Diggers also make a convenient pointy stick to point at rivals.

The Sabbat: How much do you care about what the cow you ate as steak knows about the human race?

The True Black Hand: The True Black Hand believes it is the true puppet masters behind the scenes of The Diggers. How true it is is questionable.

The Technocracy: The Technocracy believes it is the true puppet masters behind the scenes of The Diggers. How true it is is questionable. There are however Technocracy member actually within the ranks of the diggers here and there.

The Benandanti: To the extant that these two organizations know of each other, the attitude is generally one of wary friendliness.

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Power Groups

The Diggers: The Diggers in Island City are well-connected and respected. They are often granted police-like powers when dealing with rogue supernaturals on The Island.

The Auld Pentangle: A cabal of five archmages, including Prospero, the former king. Often treated as sort of cabinet-members by the Duke.

Household Mordor: Sauron's group plotting the overthrow of Oberon.

Prometheus Tech: A R&D company working on AI, nanotech, cryogenics, genetic engineering, and other cutting edge technologies. The guys at the top are tech-oriented mages (mostly Sons of Ether and Virtual Adepts with a few Void Engineers and Iteration Xers who aren't too hard-line against "reality deviants").

Church of the Blood of Bacchus: A blood cult that worships a gargoyle of great age and blood potency. As a religion of Island City with over a hundred members, they are technically entitled to a seat on the Council on Religious Affairs.

Council on Religious Affairs: An advisory body to the Duke composed of representatives of any church with over a hundred members on the Island.

Places

City Hall/ The Ducal Palace: The center of government for Island City. A freehold. Its mundane face is good solid sensible civic architecture. Its chimerical aspect looks fancier and sparklier but not too outlandish.

Bone Hill/ Annuvin: An old Indian burial mound that someone built a shack on top of. Home of Aurawn. Freehold. Its chimerical aspect always looks as if its a twilit late autumn scene with lots of skeletal bare trees casting long shadows.

The Pit: A natural cave some distance outside the city. Strangely enough not a place of power (Caern, freehold, Node, etc.) although it might be a Haunt with a low Shroud. It is definitely a neutral ground meeting place for information brokers (Nosferatu, Sluagh, and Malkavians mostly) and outcasts (Bone Gnawers, Metis, Hollow Ones).

Mordor: Sauron's place. A mansion, built in a slightly elegant Victorian style, painted black, and then left to rot. A freehold. Its chimerical aspect feels sinister, but doesn't look a lot different other than the black paint is not mostly peeled off.


Island City For Tourists


Eating Out on the Island
The first thing a tourist will notice about the wide selection of dining options in Island City, is that there are no national chains present. Mayor Oberon has told McDonald's, Burger King, and Pizza Hut they are unwelcome on his island. Instead, there is a wide variety of locally-owned, independent restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, pubs, and bars. Some favorites include:

The Tipsy Minotaur: A sports bar with an excellent pub grub menu. Owner-operator Fred McFlintoff is there six days a week, still doing most of the cooking himself.

Drake's Steaks: A fine steak-house with a well-stocked bar.

Uncle Ernie's: A family restaurant, specializing in pizza. They've even got a play land and video games for the kiddies.

The Fretful Porpentine: Another pub. Ye olde Englande atmosphere.

[Khyron1144]

Since White Wolf is all about theme and mood here are some of mine:

Mood
There should be three moods to Island City:
1) Whimsy, wonder, and awe. The fusion of these three can crop up quite a bit. The World of Darkness is a place where magic (and magick) works and Island City is more magical (and magickal) than most. It's also lighter on the grimness of the rest of the World of Darkness.

2) Fear and Horror. It's still World of Darkness. At some point something bad always happens. Werewolves will disembowel people and vampires will drain them dry and unseely fae will ravage the creativity right out of people. All of these can evoke fear or horror.

3) Uncertainty. Things will shift back and forth between two ends of the emotional spectrum almost at random. The end result will be a dominating mood of uncertainty as to which part we'll be at in the next five minutes.

Imagine for a second a movie that has on its soundtrack both Kenny Loggins's "Never Never Land" (You'll have a treasure if you stay there/ More precious far than gold/ For once you have found your way there you need never never grow old) and Nine Inch Nails's "Head Like A Hole" (Head like a hole/ Black as your Soul/ I'd rather die than give you control). It would be jarring.

Or remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. That scene where everything is brightly lit and colorful and he's singing "Pure Imagination" and then almost immediately afterward there's that bad acid trip cave sequence.


Theme
The main theme for Island City can be summed up as: "What is Reality Anyway?"

At about the same time as I was writing the first draft of this, I was reading a recently acquired back issue of White Wolf Magazine that contained a feature review of the Planescape Campaign Setting, which included a quote form David "Zeb" Cook, the designer of the Planescape setting that sounded relevant to my ideas:
"Imagine a bunch of seminary students arguing philosophy in a bar."

That was his description of Planescape's Factions, but it also matches up with Island City's central theme. Each kind of supernatural being has absolute certain knowledge of how the world works and they are all contradictory and mutually exclusive and probably all simultaneously right too.

[Khyron1144]

The setting is the modern world, yes, but it's a different piece of the modern world. The best example, I can think of right now is Sunnydale from Buffy. On the surface, it looks like any other modern-era suburb, but there's something coming through the Hell Mouth every so often to make life fun.


Illegal immigration is a major "problem". Island City does not have any check points on its borders and does not operate any equivalent to an INS department.

There probably is a sharp trade deficit. The Island does have natural resources, but those resources amount to an abundance of magical energy and a thinner barrier to the Other Worlds. These things are not easily exported for a variety of reasons. Food and mundane energy resources probably come mainly from America. There is a bustling tourist trade, especially among heads because a week on The Island is reputed to be better than acid and have a lower occurrence of bummers.

I do not know why the United States has not successfully annexed The Island, or even if they have tried. I think it's not worth it. One nuke can take out the whole thing, but conventional warfare probably has no chance of working, simply due to the power level at the top of the supernatural food chain resident here.