Editing M&M.EmeraldCityHeroes

[[File:MnM.EmeraldCity.jpg]]
==M&M Presents - Emerald City Adventure!==
Welcome to the Wiki for our RPG.Net Play-By-Post game of Mutants & Masterminds 3rd ed. the Heroes of Emerald City. 
===The HEROES===
:@PauloDeWalshio as '''Photon'''[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/M%26M.EmeraldCityHeroes.PauloDeWalshio], a paragon out of time trying to readjust to his new reality. 
:@t@nya as '''Paladin'''[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/M%26M.EmeraldCityHeroes.t@nya], a clone of the world's most famous son trying to make his own way in the world.
:@Unka Josh as '''Thrust'''[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/M%26M.EmeraldCityHeroes.Unka_Josh], a Stormer who powers allow her to explode!
:@GaoGaiGar as '''Bold text'''[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/M%26M.EmeraldCityHeroes.GaoGaiGar], another Stormer who has a cat like appearance and runs at super-speed!
:@Maya Qwan as '''Zero-G'''[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/M%26M.EmeraldCityHeroes,Maya_Qwan], a skilled gymnist who's mutant powers allow her control over how gravity affects her.

===Known Villains===
'''The Factor Four'''[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/442689838355156893/]: This group were rivals of the original Atom Family from Freedom City, criminal archeologists and “adventurers” known for
making a tidy profit off their finds, and caring very little about niceties like international treaties or other cultures. The Four later acquired powers using a set of mystical artifacts, becoming dangerous super-criminals. In the process, they lost their flesh-and-blood human forms, now made up of pure elemental forces. 
:They include their leader '''Professor Fathom''', whose body is made up of water under his mental control. He can reshape his watery form as desired, flow through any small opening, and blast water with the force of a geyser. '''Granite''' is a massive figure of solid stone. He’s tremendously strong and resistant to injury. He’s also immune to things like suffocation, doesn’t need to eat or sleep, and can ignore intense heat and cold. '''Pyre''' constantly radiates heat and flames flicker all around him, obscuring his features. He can damp down the heat he emits slightly and uses special heatproof gloves to handle things, but he can’t touch most things for long without burning or melting them. '''Sylph'''’s body has been transformed into a gaseous state. She can pass through any opening that is not airtight and is largely immune to physical harm. She can fly through the air and is capable of using her inert gaseous form to suffocate opponents by enveloping them, either to render them unconscious or to kill them by cutting off their oxygen for long enough. She can likewise whip up a cloud like a thick fog to obscure the activities of her associates.

==Welcome to Emerald City==
[[File:M-M.EC_Map.jpg]]

WELCOME TO EMERALD CITY, Storm City, the City of Destiny, City on the Red and White
Rivers, City of the Three Hills... a city in flux. Emerald City is a thriving Pacific Northwest metropolis, a port city known as a home to hardy pioneers for well over a century and a half.
The people of E.C. need their pioneer spirit, too, since the city has also become the focus of
world-changing events.

It has been almost one year since the '''Silver Storm Event''' -- an explosion on the city's famous Yellow Brick Row shopping district/farmers market. The explosion killed and injurdd hundreds of people but it also resulted in hundreds more gaining metahuman powers. The goernment determined that the Storm was somekind of alien experiment that released tiny nanabits into the air that altered the genetic make up of humans; changing many in strange ways and giving their targets metahuman powers! Some where driven mad by their body's mutations while others turned to crime as they felt it was there due or that they were owned. A few have tried to help but most seem to want to keep their heads down and return to their old lives. 

Now the City is in need of heroes like never before. Villains and secret societies have sprun up like weeds throughout the city. 
===Emerald City At A Glance===
Emerald City is centered on the sheltered inner peninsula jutting into the Albian River, with access to Malory Bay and the islands, built upon three main hills, modest in size compared to the mountainous terrain in the surrounding area, but still fairly steep. The city has since spread across the inlet to the western or outer peninsula and along the south of the riverbank eastward as well as pushing south towards the mountains.

The downtown area of the city is towards the waterfront, the early center of Emerald City’s livelihood and activity. Royal Hill, the northernmost of the city’s three main hills, lives up to its name with some of the most expensive real estate in E.C.. To the south rise University Hill, home of Emerald City University (ECU), and Sunset Hill, bordering the Red River. As the hills level out into a broad valley, the neighborhoods give way to the Eastern District and Lakeside, curving around Lake Vallee.
===Neighborhood and Districts===
'''<u>Downtown Core</u>''': Emerald City’s downtown area runs from the riverfront and slopes up and around Royal Hill. A main highway runs along the waterfront, connecting up with the two main bridges, crossing the Albian and Red Rivers to the north and west, running along the Albian River towards the east.

The '''Riverfront''' is still quite active as a port; much of the shipping has shifted eastward along the river and westward towards the outer peninsula, leaving much of the downtown waterfront area to piers dedicated to shopping, pleasure craft, and tourism. Rumors abound that smugglers still ply their trade in some parts of the Riverfront.

Emerald City’s most famous shopping area; it is paved in yellow-painted brick, forming a large pedestrian mall along the north-facing slope of Royal Hill. The '''Yellow Brick Row''' is also the site of the infamous Silver Storm, which transformed Emerald City—along with a number of its residents.

Emerald City suffered early flooding problems, which led to the city administration literally covering over and building on top of the old central part of the city in the lowlands. This created an '''“Undercity”''' where buildings and even streets from the 1800s are preserved beneath the current downtown area. The Undercity is connected to various tunnels and underground structures now inhabited and used by “underdwellers” like Pack-Rat and his gang, Fomorians, Morlocks, and, via deeper connections, even to the denizens of Sub-Terra.

'''<u>Crown Heights</u>''': The summit of Royal Hill is known as the Crown Heights neighborhood, expensive real estate commanding a good view of Emerald City (although not quite so good as it was before the soaring towers of the downtown area were built). The Crown Tower hotel, a local landmark, is found in Crown Heights, along with some highclass condos.

'''<u>The Eastern District</u>''': Although southwest of downtown, the city’s Eastern District is so named because of its largely Asian population. It is located in the broad valley between and below Sunset and University Hills.

The Eastern District used to have a reputation as the “shady side” of Emerald City, tucked away
and hidden by the hills from Downtown, and a difficult walk from there, but in the present day, the District is a bustling tourist area with a thriving local culture.

The neighborhood known as '''Jadetown''' is primarily Chinese, and you can see a good deal of Chinese writing, art, and architecture there. Local schools teach students Chinese languages, culture, and history in addition to the lessons they learn in public school. Jadetown residents are quite proud of their heritage. Jadetown is home to the Jade Arch, its official “entrance” and a major tourist attraction.

'''Little Osaka''' is the Japanese area of the Eastern District. It has a more subdued style and character, featuring a renowned Japanese Tea Garden and some hotels that make it a popular
place for Japanese visitors to Emerald City to stay, as well as tourists to visit.

'''<u>Southern Shores</u>''': The southern shore of the Albian River, running westward from Downtown, goes from the urban structures and zoning of the center of the city to more suburban and residential areas. Southern Shore properties are prime real estate, centered around riverfront marinas, coves, and similar properties. The presence of the highway and rail line along the Southern Shore causes building to cluster around the transportation arteries, thinning southward towards the forest and mountains.

A broad western portion of Sunset Hill forms a pleasant park overlooking the Red River. The '''Overlook Park''' neighborhood extends into the area around the park, which includes a variety of homes and small businesses serving the largely residential community.

'''<u>The Islands</u>''': The islands of the Albian River are broadly considered part of the Southern Shore, although technically they’re a district unto themselves. Some of the islands are set aside as parks and nature preserves, while others are inhabited, connected by narrow bridges and ferry service. A home on the Islands is a sure sign of success in the area, as they feature some of the most expensive real estate in Emerald City.

'''<u>Sunset Hill</u>''': The south- and westernmost of the three hills occupied by Emerald City, Sunset Hill is named for the vista of the sun setting over it, seen from the other (eastern) parts of the city. It was once the site of stately turn-of-the-century homes a reasonable distance from both Crown and University Hills, affording residents a degree of privacy. More and more, as the city has expanded, Sunset Hill has become urbanized, and many of those stately homes are now businesses, apartments, or condos, although some have been restored to their original condition and remain private homes.

'''<u>University Hill</u>''': The southeastern hill of Emerald City is named for the placement of Emerald City University near its summit. It and the surrounding area are part of the city’s youth culture and more artistic neighborhoods. “U-Hill,” as it is sometimes known, is home to various cafés, trendy boutiques, thrift shops (equally trendy among the right crowd), theaters, and businesses serving the student community as well as local residents.

'''<u>Lakeside</u>''': The area bordering the lake to the south of the Eastern District, Lakeside is a relatively new district of the city and its character reflects a blending of Emerald City’s 19th and 20th century heritages with an eye towards life in the 21st century.

===Important Landmarks and Locations===
'''The Atlas Mountains''': The majestic Atlas Mountains surround the Emerald City region like a massive fence, stretching in a roughly northsouth range some distance eastward of the peninsulas
and the mouth of the Albian River. The Arcadian Peaks, forming the middle of the Outer Peninsula, are a spur of the Atlas Mountains, smaller than their eastern cousins.

The natural barrier of the mountains keeps clouds and weather formations moving in from the ocean trapped over the Emerald City area, contributing to its famous rainy and often overcast weather. On the eastern side of the mountains, precipitation drops off considerably, leaving miles of arid plain in the range’s “rain shadow”.

Native tribes thought the mountains where sacrade and home to a tribe of beast-man-spirits, something like bigfoot but more savage. They tended to avoid the range except to make offerings to settle and calm the spirits there.

'''Elysian Forest''': A broad swath of greenery stretching from the southeastern borders of Emerald City into the lowlands of the Atlas Mountains, the Elysian Forest helped to give the city its name and remains a local and national treasure. Large parts of the forest near the mountains are protected national parkland, safe from development to preserve wildlife habitats as well as their natural beauty.

While popular with local hikers and campers rumors persist that the forest is haunted by strange cryptiod creatures. A few campers and odd hiker have disappear over the years no traces of them have ever been found. 

'''The Red River Dam''' and '''Lake Vallee''': In the 1930s, the U.S. federal government developed a project to dam the Red River in the area known as the Red River Canyon, a plan to generate hydro-electric power for Emerald City and the region as well as put much-needed money into the local economy. The Red River Dam Project was complete in 1939, nearly a year ahead of schedule, and the dam formed present day Lake Vallee, covering the abandoned mining town of Maxey. The dam continues to provide a significant portion of Emerald City’s electricity and is a local tourist attraction, as well as an occasional target for those looking to threaten the city’s power supply or the area downriver from the dam. The man-made Lake Vallee is popular with both campers and boaters. 

'''Angel Island''': The small, lone Angel Island is set aside as a bird sanctuary by the National Audubon Society to protect various species that nest and live in the wooded areas and rocky beaches of the island, including a number of sheltering sea birds and inland raptors. Parts of the island are open to the public as parkland, accessible by ferry from the mainland and the other islands, although other areas are closed off to protect certain habitats and species.

===Businesses===
'''Atlas Mountain Sports''': The Stover family opened the first AMS store in Emerald City in 1948—a natural enterprise, being situated near some of the world’s best spots for outdoor activities. AMS’ owners parlayed the invaluable firsthand knowledge gained in Emerald into 
ecoming a national sportinggoods retail chain. Today, under third-generation owner Aiden Stover, the business thrives. In Emerald alone, the city’s scores of avid hunters, sport fishermen, campers, kayakers, skiers, climbers, and ball players have one thing in common regardless of their particular pastime: an AMS charge card in their wallets.

'''Brande Management''': In contrast to household name AMS, only those with strong business or political backgrounds have really heard of Brande Management, although chances are better of having heard of one of its many subsidiaries. Brande Management is a diversified holding company, specializing in acquiring and maintaining a portfolio of subsidiaries and corporate clients who make use of Brande’s management, support, and security services. Brande’s two largest areas of interest are in energy and security. They control a wide variety of mining, drilling, and refinery assets for the production of fossil fuels and petrochemicals but are also invested in alternative energies.

'''Grant Conglomeates''': Grant Conglomerates is a multinational holding company overseeing a number of high-tech interests, and has long maintained a sizable division in Emerald City.

'''Kesskorp''': Kessler Industrial Technology (K.I.T.), which does business as, and is more commonly known as, KessKorp, is one of the anchors of Emerald City’s “Silicon Circle” of tech company nies. It was founded in the late 1990s by Dr. Arwin Kessler, a former AEGIS R&D section chief who left the agency a step ahead of charges for numerous ethics violations. Since its
founding, the company has swiftly grown into a powerful multinational, with facilities in over three dozen countries and cutting-edge interests ranging from computerized microelectronics and exotic metallurgy to pharmacology and biochemical engineering. KessKorp is one of MarsTech’s largest rival.

'''Majestic Industries''': Majestic is a large international corporation with interests in chemicals and heavy industry. Though its headquarters is in Freedom City, the company maintains a large manufacturing plant in Emerald City.

'''Marsteck, Inc.''': Emerald City came out of its late-’80s and early-’90s economic slump by successfully transitioning to a high-technology center. Spurring this growth was the establishment of MarsTech, Inc. (MSTI on the New York Stock Exchange) by the flamboyant plutocrat and techno-wizard Maximillian Mars. After MarsTech set up shop in Emerald and flourished, other high-tech companies followed it there, transforming the once-sleepy burgh into a leading center for information technology and other cutting edge businesses. MarsTech specializes in computers, computer software, and various kinds of mobile and Internet technologies. What sets the company apart in a crowded field is how quickly its tech gadgets “learn” and adapt to its users’ needs.

'''MarsTech Industrial''': MarsTech specializes in computers, computer software, and various kinds of mobile and Internet technologies. What sets the company apart in a crowded field is how quickly its tech gadgets “learn” and adapt to its users’ needs. Customers have to come to rely on MarsTech products lasting through several upgrades, remaining state of the art for modest cost. Typically, a MarsTech device remains technologically viable three times longer than its competitors, and the company has built up a tremendous customer brand loyalty because of it. 

Recognizing that Emerald City needs heroes, local philanthropist Maximillian Mars, billionaire CEO of MarsTech, has put his wealth, resources, and influence behind an effort to cultivate and support superheroes in the City of Destiny. For those willing to take up the challenge awaits a hightech headquarters, online information, and the grateful assistance of the Emerald City Police Department and the American Elite Government Intervention Service (AEGIS). Emerald City needs heroes! Will you answer the call?

'''Morgenstern Labs''': Morgenstern Labs is an Emerald City biotech research concern, and a Grant Conglomerates subsidiary. It has offices and research facilities in thcity and has close ties to ECU, especially with regards to internships and recruiting.

'''Nolan Aircraft''': Using a veteran’s stipend from the Spanish-American War, Major Matthew Nolan secured ownership of a failing Emerald City boatyard in 1909, and then and there a dreamer at last met his dream. With great determination and ingenuity, Nolan converted the facility over to producing new-fangled “aeroplanes.”

'''Nova Communications''': Nova Comm (for short), headquartered in Freedom City, but with offices in Emerald City, possesses one of the country’s largest cellular communication networks. Stores and kiosks with its familiar sunburst symbol are common throughout Emerald City and sell many different models of cellular phones sporting nearly every imaginable feature. The company’s digital network already extends nationwide and continues to expand—part of the “Nova Communications explosion,” as the ads say.

'''Redshift Energies''': Redshift Energies is a local research company looking into new and alternative sources of power. In recent years, Redshift had been quite successful, most notably selling its designs for use in some of the newer-model hybrid vehicles. Unlike other concerns primarily engaged in research, Redshift Energies enjoyed a safety net as a wholly owned subsidiary of Paladyne Industries—a shell company owned by MarsTech, Inc. With the firm backing of Emerald’s resident plutocrat, Redshift’s future appeared bright.

'''USNET''': Emerald City’s leading Internet service provider is USNet, “the online company for US,” thanks in no small part to an aggressive marketing strategy few other major ISP’s can match. It offers online services and Internet access to millions of customers, having poured millions of dollars into improving their extensive network of servers across the country, smoothing out many prior complaints about the reliability of the company’s online services. USNet offers web-page hosting as part of its standard membership package, making it a booming business among the many start-up high-tech companies in Emerald.

===Agencies===
x
===Entertainment & Nightlife===
'''Arcadia Coffee Roasters''': As Starbase Coffee’s main regional rivals, Arcadia is in an unenviable market position. It survived where Starbase’s other competitors fell by carving out its own niche in the socially and environmentally conscious demographic, which occupies a healthy percentage of Emerald’s coffeeconsuming population.

'''Goldman's Good Starts Diners''': first opened in 1922 there are a string of over dozen now in the city and one of the most popular dinning establishments in town. There most popular dish is the “Lumberjack Breakfast” which is serve 24 hours a day within every chain restraunt.

'''Joy's Nightclub''': located in western Downtown is a long time hot-spot of the city that includes a dance club, bar and five-star restaurant. There are also rumors of private rooms in which anything goes. 

'''Nguyen's''': Located in Royal Heights, Nguyen’s is on the bleeding edge of the “new Emerald” nightlife. Nguyen’s neo-Asian decor and fusion cuisine is truly trendsetting, as other area clubs and would-be upscale restaurants race to copy its style and menu in the never-ending battle to stay hip.

'''Oz''': Emerald City’s hottest nightclub wholeheartedly embraces the local ties to ''The Wizard of Oz'' to a wonderful, campy, and somewhat creepy excess. Scarecrow and Tin Man bartenders, a Munchkin wait staff, and “Pay no attention to the DJ behind the curtain!” are all on the regular bill of fare. OZ also reflects the city’s mosaic-like populace, as it caters to the area’s large lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender population

'''Starbase Coffee''': A local chain of coffee shops that survived fierce competition from a series of other cyber-cafés during its earlymillennium expansion to the east coast. As one of the Last Java Chains Standing in the aftermath, it has become one of the most successful of its kind with locations throughout the United States.

'''Storm Chasers''': a new night club that caters especially to 'Stormers' but also normals and the curious frequent the place (encouraged by the owner who advertises it as such a place to be seen and see). It is located on the north side of the Emerald City University and popular with some of the local college attendents. The club does have a side back dance room and bar that is strictly 'members only' which are mostly Stormers who wish to have some privacy. The owner, a Stormer himself, called '''
'''''Kraken'''''[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/183099541078867007/]. He employees a number of Stormers for various rolls. The lead bouncer and partial owner in a Stormer called '''''Magma'''''[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/305048574744382389/].

===Science and Technology===
'''ASTRO Labs''': The Applied Scientific and Technical Research Organization (ASTRO) was founded in Freedom City back in 1942 by Dr. Allan Grant. Through friends and contacts in the scientific
community and the government, Grant secured the support and financing to start his own research company. Now ASTRO Labs is the largest scientific research company in the world. The company’s Emerald City branch occupies its own office park, quite near the ECU campus.

The Emerald City branch, under the direction of Dr. Eric Vornoff, has made public overtures about assisting the area’s new costumed heroes in a similar fashion. Vornoff knows well from the experiences of the Freedom City lab such assistance is an incomparable opportunity to study
extraterrestrial and other advanced technologies, as well as being a public relations boon.

'''Bulloch Oceanographic Center''': Located on Emerald City’s Riverfront district, the Bulloch Center has been one of the west coast’s leading centers of sea-related research since its establishment in 1961, producing solid research and offering support for some of the field’s brightest minds. The Center’s major claim to fame is the exploits of its founder, Emerald City native Captain James “Jimmy” Bulloch.

'''Danger International''': This foundation, started by 1930s explorer and adventurer Johnny Danger, got its start-up capital from diamonds collected from a secret mine in Africa. DI began around the nucleus of Johnny’s old organization, the Jungle Patrol, and has always kept a strong interest in environmental protection issues and preserving peace in Africa. The foundation has worked with the government of Dakana many times in the past, and serves as an NGO (non-governmental organization) go-between for Dakana and the U.S. government at times. This duty includes interceding for the Dakanan consulate in Emerald City as well. Danger International has offices in the Downtown district of Emerald City, headed up by his grandson, Jake Danger.

===Prisons===
'''Fortress Island State Penitentiary''': A small, rocky island in the middle of the Albian River,
between Council and Angel Islands, it is off-limits to the public and is home to the Fortress Island State Penitentiary. The only legal way to access the island is to take one of the prison ferries, which make frequent runs from the ferry port in South Shore.

'''Deep Six Federal MetaHuman Prison and Holding Facility''': built on an old abondened oil rig eight miles offshore, the Deep Six facility is broken into two parts. First on the rig itself is a metahuman holding facility for metahumans awaiting trail that cannot be housed in normal holding facilities. It can house about twenty total prisoners and is home to over a hundred security personal and staff. Then some 1,000 feet below the waves and on the oceans surface, accable only by an heavily shielded and advanced elevator is the Deep Six Fedearl Prison. This is where metahumans serve out their sentences. It is unknown how many prisoners do and can serve here but its rumored to be close to a hundred.

===Health Care Centers===
'''Emerald Cit Univserity Medical Center''': The largest, most modern facility in Emerald City is synonymous with the very best quality care available and research breakthroughs. Its name is also verbal shorthand for serious health issues, as word that a loved one “has been sent to ECU” indicates such advanced care is required. ECU Medical Center is overseen by Dr. Richard Vollin, a gifted physician and true visionary. While his primary focus is on keeping the Center at the forefront of new medicine, he is also careful to ensure the facility never loses sight of the needs of the people who come there seeking aid.

'''St. Helen of the  Blessed Shroud Hospital''': Established in the Downtown area during the mid-1800s for the benefit of the city’s immigrant poor, this formerly Catholic Church-run facility still serves the people of Emerald. Though small and geared toward providing basic care, the current administrator Dr. Felix Bennet works diligently to see the services provided are the best possible. Importantly, Dr. Bennet and his staff are well aware of their facility’s limitations, and do not hesitate to transfer patients who require advanced services to ECU Medical Center.

'''Bethlehem Heights Psychiatric Hospital''': As with all such facilities, Bethlehem Heights is popularly believed to be a chamber of horrors and was nicknamed “Bedlam Heights” early in its existence. To be sure, it is a place no one would choose to be confined inside, but the facility fulfills an inescapable societal need, and does so to the best of its means. Unfortunately for the hospital, powers and factors far greater than it are aligned against it. To add to its problems, the facility itself is ill-equipped to deal with the influx of mentally unbalanced stormers, who are dangerously deranged even under the provisions of Emerald City’s strict standards.
===Important People===
EDDIE POLLARD, THE EMERALD CITY COURIER-EXPRESS: Pollard’s been uncovering truths the rich and powerful of Emerald City would rather keep buried since he first caught on with the Courier-Express as a cub reporter back in ’75. He has few friends as a result, but has the respect of everyone who still values the public’s right to know, even when it would rather remain blissfully ignorant.

COLIN HOKE, HOST OF KSKY’S THE NIGHTWATCHMAN: The volatile Colin Hoke fills the radio airwaves with all the bombast they can carry seven nights a week during his top-rated nighttime call-in show. Like most of its kind, Hoke’s show prospers because of its host’s unpredictability.

CALEB GARDNER, ANCHORMAN FOR KLEC CHANNEL 12 EYEWITNESS NEWS: The eternally forty-year-old looking Gardner hosts Emerald City’s most-watched news program, and his face (in person, on screens, and on billboards) is as ubiquitous as rain.

“THE GRAY GHOST” OWNER AND AUTHOR OF THE “GHOST SIGHTINGS” BLOG: No one knows who she is or how she comes by her information, but observers of the outré in Emerald City swear by the irregular but seemingly always accurate blog posts made by the mysterious “Gray Ghost.” The “Ghost Sightings” blog reports on many of the weird and unexplained happenings in and around the city, and while its information is rarely complete and detailed, it is more than enough to keep readers riveted.