The Dresden Files > DFRPG
the Dresden Files in a Government Town
Knave:
:)
I do think that it's going to be inevitable that major governments are somewhat clued in. If they aren't then the countries in which they operate are likely being vigorously policed by someone/thing else - in which case there is just a different authority - the local red prince, grand magus, dragon, baba yaga, whatever has sufficient force and authority to keep everything under wraps.
Mortal governments, I'm sure they'd want to build some sort of weapon-x security, but the question for me is more 'does it feel right for the setting?' and 'if they did that... what would the existing supernatural players do?'. For me the answer is...'not so much' and 'stop it and make it bad for those who try.'
Just remember that most of the powerful members in these groups are going to regard their own members as something like extended (or in the case of the white court, literal) family with pure mortal humanity a distant second. I mean - imagine the mindset of a wizard who has seen nations rise and fall, seen a couple of his own families pass on and sworn off more for the pain of it all; where the only constants are The Council and the other long lived types. And they're the most normal of the powerful. Imagine the response to 'Merlin, the USA is trying to breed super wizards.'.... I suspect the answer would be something along the lines of, 'Really? Do be a good chap and tell the president he is going to have to sit on the naughty step again... Oh, and pass the salt won't you?' :P
For me I think it's more fun when mortal governments try to use diplomacy with the groups and the minimum possible power to stomp on the unaligned troublemakers.
as I said though, ymmv
svb1972:
There maybe small groups of clued in..
I think that Murphy and how SI works is a good fit for an overall feel.
And remember for every Murphy and Carmichael, you're going to have the FBI wackjobs.
Think Scully and Mulder. You might have a small black ops group, or project trying to weaponize blah. But lets face it, you'll never get to speak to the President of the United States about your weaponized vampire plan. You'll find yourself in a padded room the moment you suggest talking to him.
But, I think there are small groups. The Library of Congress Special Division, A Small unloved FBI group. I could see a Government group that was formed say in the late 1800's that is now a signatory of the Accords, that isn't REALLY a Government group anymore. I could see the Library of Congress having that whole warehouse from the end of Indiana Jones.
Ihadris:
Well for me I just tried to think what would happen if a government authority on a large scale found out about the supernatural. Two answers came to mind: Destory it or use it. My suggestions were coming from the persepective of use it and isnt the lust for power a recurring theme in Dresden? A government official trying to milk the newly discovered supernatural community in his city for all its worth and control it. Doenst sound too far from the setting to me. The only leap is a council that is largely clued up and more awareness then Chigcago's council was part of Anclagon's original premise. If we accept that then:
-Harry already works with the Police Department. A white council wizard who obeys the laws of magic first but also is under the employ of a government agency. He is succesfull in helping the police department prevent further supernatural based crime, in my mind it is only the refusal of those in charge to admit to the existence of the supernatural that stops this from becoming a more common arrangement.
- (click to show/hide)Butters is a medical proffessional helping to heal wounds from supernatural based incidents. Is it such a jump to a researcher clued up on the existence of the red-court trying to find a way to help the infected?
-Weve seen how the Fae guard their own and there is a history in the folklaw that the White and Summer courts are based from of Fae guarding 'fairy paths' and places they feel belong to them, grealy interfereing with the lives of mortals who built houses or their own paths in the way. It'd be difficult but im sure that somoene skilled at understanding the complexity of the accords would be able to negotiate with them over this and we all know how much cities love to expand at the expense of the nature in the area.
-Im sure a clued in police force would be interested in the information being passed along (click to show/hide)paranet
- (click to show/hide)Macone is a free holding lord and his people are protected under the accords. I dont see any issue with a government official singing up to protect his people and of course the flipside of having your people protected by the accords is negotiating through problems with other factions protected by the accords. Wouldnt you want someone already skilled at manipulating the law like a lawyer working to help find the (many) loopholes in supernatural law?
-The White Court already manipulate and infiltrate mortal positions of power to make things easier for themsevles. I could see a family appearing to comply with city council whilst trying to improve their own standing and swing the position of power in their favour.
Knave:
- to each his own :P
Just remember that once you have large scale govt knowledge it's also not much of a leap to ex-employees building private roads through the never-never to make a quick buck :P
I'm not saying don't do it, or even that it's a stretch to get there. I'm just suggesting that the feel of your game will change.
To me faeries that aren't fundamentally alien and by that I mean outside the scope of human understanding don't really feel like faeries, and for that matter DF doesn't feel like DF if the mayor just calls out Wizard Branch when he needs a tough case cracked.
It also means that your characters will more than likely be operating within the system (or possibly against it) rather than outside it - as is the case in the books. Harry may be employed as a 'nutjob psychic' who gets results, but the adjective is important - it's the indication that whilst the city is prepared to 'believe in more' it is not prepared to BELIEVE in more. If it were Harry would get real support rather than just tolerance, and you really can't have a hard boiled detective story where the hero gets real help when he asks for it - they just don't work like that.
You could argue that it's a case of degree, and that would be completely valid. All I'm saying is just be careful you don't end up starting an avalanch :P
Ancalagon:
--- Quote ---The only leap is a council that is largely clued up and more awareness then Chigcago's council was part of Anclagon's original premise.
--- End quote ---
Well, I'm not entirely sure what you are saying here - my premise was that IF the government knows about the supernatural, the effects and impact of that knowledge would be most keenly felt in the Nation's Capital.
Anyway, I must admit that this thread has given me a number of ideas, especially the Queen and Fairies part. In Canada we have a Governor General, who is the Queen's Official Representative (we *are* a constitutional monarchy, after all). The idea that the office of the Governor General - usually seen as purely ceremonial - is actually the one that is aware of supernatural issues is just too good not to use :)
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