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giving the city a damp, fresh feeling. The tall buildings cast
character and the city will soon gain its own distinct flavor
stark shadows and create vicious wind tunnels that funnel
and style that will be unlike any other city. It is,
the offshore breezes. New York has many slums and even
unfortunately, easy to generalize and say that Tokyo is
some of the nicer buildings look old and dilapidated on the
much like Los Angeles which is just like New York. All
outside, though their interiors are lavish. It snows in the
three are modern cities, with a great deal of wealth,
winter, and the hurrying of the pedestrians and cars about
population and influence over their respective regions.
the streets quickly turn the soft white snow into a grey
When one does not generalize, we begin to see that these
slush. The commuters can be seen standing in their blue
cities are very different in style and character. New York is
and black winter coats, blowing at their cold hands while
considered grimier and darker than the other two. Its
waiting for a bus or taxi.
problems with crime seem to be much greater, and in the
This is just an example of the differences between two
Gothic-Punk world it is largely controlled by the Sabbat.
cities in our world. Los Angeles and New York are both
Los Angeles is wilder than the other two, with a feeling of
extreme cities with rather extreme characters and are easy
youth and energy which can only be found in the youngest
to depict. Cities like St. Louis, Seattle, Atlanta, Orlando,
of cities (a city of Anarchs perhaps?). Tokyo is a shiny new
San Francisco, Tulsa, Boston, and Dallas may be a little
city of glitz and neon, but underneath it lie centuries of
harder to characterize, but with a little research you will
ancient tradition. All of these cities face the problems of
find that each city has its own flavor and character which
urban life that are becoming only too common in the 20th
you need to bring out and keep alive in your Chronicle.
century, yet each will choose different ways to deal with
them. Find your city's character and your saga will become In the Gothic-Punk world, your city may well be more
strong and very real. extreme. For instance, since New York is controlled by the
Sabbat, the buildings might be more rundown, their
Of course you may want to choose a city a little closer to
upkeep ignored by a Sabbat which does not care for human
home. You may even want to use the city you live in or one
suffering. The crime is more rampant and the city a little
nearby. Choosing a familiar city has its good points and
dirtier. All of these effects are brought about partially by
bad points. The advantages are that both you and your
the Vampire rulers. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is
players are likely to know what certain areas of the city
probably dominated by Anarchs who fled west from other
look like, and it will be easier for your players to envision
Princes who would not toler ate their indiscretions. The
the settings you describe. Information about the city will
Kindred who control this city have made it wilder than it
be readily available, and you will not have to research the
already is. The gang problems are much worse and the
city too thoroughly. Finally, everyone knows of mysterious
culture is much wilder, more exotic and more avant-garde
parts of their own city, and what better setting can there be
than it is in the real world.
than an area already imbued with mystery?
Once you have found your city 's character, you may wish to
The disadvantages are that your players will know the city
alter it to better reflect the effects that its Vampire
as well or better than you do. They may have certain
inhabitants would have on it. But you are not done with the
expectations as to what the city is really like and may argue
city's look there. You must decide how much "Gothic" you
with you over trivial facts. Furthermore, while the Gothic-
wish
Punk world is not entirely identical to our world, some
to add to your city and how much "Punk." These are the
changes you make to your city may be difficult for your
parts of the city that make a look uniquely Vampire.
players to swallow.
Without these qualities, your city is just a modern city with
Choosing a city far from where you live is always a safe bet,
some Vampires in it. It has no flair, no flash of style.
but it will require you to obtain maps and information on
To New York, one could add more Gothic than Punk. New
the city before you begin. Maps are easy and can be
York's tall brooding buildings suggest Gothic architecture.
obtained from a map store or from AAA. Other
Since New York in reality does have a very large group of
information can be obtained in the same places or you can
street people and is an intensely urban community, you
go to a library for more information. Most large cities also
might not want to build on these aspects. Too many
have tourist bureaus that you can call to receive pamphlets,
changes will make the city unrecognizable. Los Angeles, on
maps and other tourist information through the mail.
the other hand, has hardly any Gothic look to it at all. To
Once you have chosen a city you must find a "look" for it
make the city look more Gothic (tall buildings with
(or a "look" for each city which your Troupe will spend
elaborate architecture and many statues) would make the
time in). The look of a city is the element that makes it
city almost unrecognizable and goes completely against its
unique. A city with a distinctive feel and look could be
character in the real world. However, Los Angeles has
recognized as soon as you stepped into it. While many of
quite a street life which could well be expanded to give L.A.
our cities today in the real world seem to look very much
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