Author Topic: Starting a new game in Hawaii and need some brainstorming help, please!  (Read 1531 times)

Offline JediDresden

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We are starting city creation for Honolulu, HI - the campaign will start in the city, but will spread o the other islands over the course of time. Two of the five of us have gotten into the rules and played enough understand it pretty well - we would be the 'experts' of the group - but still novices compared to you all on the boards here.  We have all read at least some of the books, all but one has read them all.  So I am asking for help and advice - how does this look and what would you change?

Here is what we have so far:

City Theme:An Island surrounded by 1,000's of miles of water... what could possibly go wrong? Aspect:Naturally Supernaturally Quarantined.
City Theme:'Just Relax - you're on Hawaiian time.  No Problems brother!'  Aspect:Aloha and Mahalo!
City Threat:The Old and the New are using the islands in their Machinations. Aspect:The Old and the New,like oil and water.

Supernatural Status Quo:  Since Hawaii became a territory of the US the old Gods and their ways have been eroded away due to the massive influx of outside influences.  This has brought the White Court to the islands in the midst of the Old Gods being forgotten and 2 Fae Courts that are unique to the region, a Water and Land Court.  Throw in a bunch of restless spirts and ghosts of the Human sacrifices and Wars that have been fought on the island and the fact that the White Council Warden has recently gone missing and is presumed dead and you have the current state of affairs on the islands.

Mundane Status Quo:  The new influx of science, technology, drugs, and tourism are quickly becoming the 'New Gods' of the islands, and in some areas they already are.  Tourism is everything and a mainstay for many living on the islands and they will do anything to maintain their way of life by polishing - or hiding the darker side of island life.  There is quite an Asian influence as well.

Some Locations we were thinking about:
Pearl Harbor - Restless Spirits
Pali Lookout - Ley Line Nexus?
Waimea Bay - Hangout for Weresharks
Wiakiki Beach - White Court Home Base
The Hawaiian Royal Palace - Base of Old Power
Mauna Kea Observatory - 'New Gods' of science and tech
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific - More Ghosts?
Polynesian Cultural Center - ANG for the islands

Instead of the traditional Fey courts of the seasons we were thinking of maybe a Water and Land court - or maybe four based on the four elements.

So what do you all think?

Offline benign

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First Post, so apologies if I unknowingly trespass any forum rules or mention things that have been discussed elsewhere.

It looks like you have a running start, I like what you have so far!

You mention that the White Court trying to establish itself as well as the strong Asian influences on the islands. Have you thought about including the Jade Court at all in the power struggle? We have very (very) little to go on for them canonically, but I'm sure there are people on the forums who have ideas about how to include them in the game (my GM has made stats for them in our current game, as well). The Jade Court could replace the White Court as a power group on your city sheet, or could even be competing with the White Court about who gets to control the island.

When thinking about ley lines, why not have a fire ley line of epic power running through all the islands? It is strongest on the big island, where it intercepts the active volcanoes, and slowly declines in strength as it runs its course through the older, dormant islands. Similarly, the place where the new island is being formed (underwater volcano gradually building up from the ocean floor) is a nexus of overwhelming magical power, given that it is literally the birth spot of a new landmass. Tapping into that much energy through so much ocean water may prove problematic, however . . .

The land and ocean fae courts sound great, and could also reflect the fact that summer and winter have very little interest in the islands - with a tropical climate and very little procession of the seasons, there is little to fight over. Alternatively, summer holds almost eternal sway there, but by ancient precedent is split into Land and Ocean and locked into eternal enmity with itself. The Land Court might be based on the big island, while the Ocean court has coral palaces among the reefs of the many islands, and their biggest one is located on the most recent island to have been eroded away by the sea.

Given that you are basing the game in Honolulu, Punahou should definitely be a location. Since our current president is an alumnus, and it has the (deserved) reputation for being a rich private school, it lends itself to hiding all manner of supernatural shenanigans and powerful cabals (think Sunnydale in paradise).

Sealife Park is another one I'd include, although I'm not sure how. Maybe as a place of power for the Ocean Court, a kind of redoubt for their activities on land? You could have a sorceror(s) intent on using dolphins and other sea creatures for their totemic significane, a la "Welcome to the Jungle".

You already listed the Polynesian Cultural Center, and that it is ANG (a great idea!). What about the BYU campus? How much does the LDS church know about the supernatural? They are certainly interested in changing the status quo, inasmuch as they have a prosletyzing mission, so they deserve mention on the city sheet. Do they have a group similar to the Knights of the Cross, to combat the darkness? Do they take a more neutral stance? What about the students they have from around the world, bringing with them a mixing pot of different cultures, beliefs, and supernatural creepy crawlies. What problems might that cause for your intrepid player characters?

MCBH (the Marine Corp base in Kaneohe Bay) is probably worth a mention, if only for the interesting set of challenges it could offer if it became the location of an investigation for your characters. For the more paranoid-minded, it provides an opportunity to house government experiments on the supernatural/units with a supernatural bent. As a purely mundane location, however, it offers plenty of room for interesting interactions, especially if one of your characters has ties to it.

Honolulu has a Chinatown, and with it the chance to throw Chinese mythology into your game. It could also be a base for any Jade Court presence. If you wanted to flip the ethnocentricity around, however, you could have Chinatown be the center of the only organized and clued-in resistance to the supernatural world, thanks to Chinese knowledge of the supernatural world. They fill the function of vanilla mortals' best defense against the darkness, but their activities are usually misinterpreted by the rest of the city as ridiculous superstition.

I'll ask my girlfriend if she has any thoughts (she was born and raised in Kaneohe Bay) when she wakes up, until then I hope something I wrote helps!

Offline JediDresden

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Thanks for the ideas, they are great. 

The PCC and the LDS church was just something we were probably going to gloss over in the begining, but who knows how the game will develop.  We just really did not want the heavy religious connection to confuse the  new players right off the bat, however we could probably use the Faith based powers to represent alot of that though - we will just have to see how it develops.

The Marine base was awesome and we actually had mentioned something like that.  We probably will have the SI unit on the island be military instead of local police, clued in soldiers in stead of cops - but we also toyed with the idea of having them be more sinister and try to use magic for military purposes.  Just imagine one operative who could worldwalk behind enemy lines, hex all the tech on the enemy base, and defend themselves with magic as powerful - or more so - than the most mundane weapons available.  I think any military would love something like that.

Offline benign

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You're very welcome. If you have that SI military unit based at MCBH, however, remember that they would likely be clued-in Marines or sailors, not "soldiers". It's every Marine's pet peeve that civilians call him a "soldier" when he technically is not one ;).

Nit-picking about military terminology aside, there are a lot of potential problems a military spellslinger would face. One is lack of access to expertise. The White Council seems to have a near monopoly on arcane knowledge, and as such the military would have a hard time training a potential sorcerer. That is not insurmountable, but he would likely have some pretty big gaps in his mystical education. A bigger problem is the first law. In any military application you are likely to face some pretty sincere enemy resistance, which means you are likely to have to defend yourself. Lethally. Do so with magic, and you are now a law-breaker, and have taken one step down the slippery slope to becoming a true monster. On top of that, your enemy will likely have access to some pretty heavy firepower, while you are limited in what you can carry of mortal weaponry because it tends to foul up around you all the time. So have fun limiting yourself to not employing your most decisive asset in a firefight where your enemy has the advantage. And the White Council might just nip any military sorcerer programs in the bud, so that they don't have to deal with what happens when one goes AWOL.

This is not to say that a military spellslinger wouldn't be useful; it clearly would. But such a person would also be extremely prone to law-breaking, and as such could become a huge threat in a short amount of time. A full-fledged battle caster who mentally dominates a few other Marines into being his thugs and has intimate knowledge of battlefield tactics would . . . be a nightmare. Even the Wardens might be given pause by such an enemy, especially if the local Warden has gone missing.

I have another idea for you. The old line of kings founded by King Kamehameha and ended by Queen Liliuokalani has not ruled in Hawaii since it was conquered by the United States in 1893. Queen Liliuokalani said in her parting speech:

"I, Lili'uokalani, by the Grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom. That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional Government. Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps loss of life, I do, under this protest, and impelled by said forces, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands."

The US Congress never reinstated the monarchy, but that does not mean it was forgotten. Two branches of the royal family, the House of Kawananakoa and House of Laanui, remain to claim that ancient office. Legally they may not have much standing, but in the Dresden verse the King and his land are one, and as long as some of the natives of Hawaii remember their claim there is power in the blood of these houses. For their part, they consider the monarchy their birthright and the birthright of all Hawaiians. Denied an arena to act in legitimate mortal affairs, they have turned to the supernatural and have extensive contacts and interests in that world. Unfortunately, they also bicker constantly over who has the stronger claim to the throne, expending more energy fighting each other than they do against their shared foe, the occupational government of the United States.

Offline admiralducksauce

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But such a person would also be extremely prone to law-breaking, and as such could become a huge threat in a short amount of time. A full-fledged battle caster who mentally dominates a few other Marines into being his thugs and has intimate knowledge of battlefield tactics would . . . be a nightmare. Even the Wardens might be given pause by such an enemy, especially if the local Warden has gone missing.

This is a superb idea for a Dresdenesque Apocalypse Now.  Kurtz as a warlock who decides to take over (insert appropriate PC's stomping grounds).

Offline JediDresden

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I apollogize for the mix up in military terminology.  We had not decided on where the 'SI' unit would be based, or which branch it would in, it could even be a joint operation between several branches, which is why I went with the generic soldier.

And yes, we had thought about the lawbreaker situation with the military using spellcasters.  When their experiments get out of hand because they do not listen to the WC and their Wardens, bad things will happen and the wardens then say ' see I told you this would happen', as they wade in to clean up the mess.

I could totally see a potential story/ adventure in that.

The Royal Line idea is something I would like to work in if we can.  Thanks again.

We did not think the Red Court would be to involved on the islands, but in one of the marginal noted in OW it mentions a concentration of them in Hawaii.  Do you think ther is room for the Red Court in HI?

Offline fantazero

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was in a game where someone was getting sponsored magic from Pele. made things interesting