EndOfTheFifthAge

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Revision as of 11:10, 28 December 2020 by Enigmatic (talk | contribs) (The Circle)
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Intro

The world here is not our own; it is like peering through a colored or painted glass. The shadows are even longer, and if you look at it at the correct angle, you'll notice that some nasty things creep and and stare at you from those shadows. Hungry, evil things like vampires and angry, proud monsters like werewolves. The murder rate is higher here too; the crime rate in the average city in this world of darkness dwarfing the Wild West on it's worst day. The capitalists in charge there have even larger, more avaricious, cruel, menacing mega corporations with politicians in their pockets, schemes going down, and terrible consequences happening to the environment. The evils going on in this World of Darkness make the shadows here seem much, much paler in comparison. There are things going bump in the night here, the All Night Society, who make everything worse. Creatures, not always people, who want to drag the world down to it's muddy, filth covered grade.

But there are also brighter colors, and now brighter people. Men, women, and others who can take on these ancient conspiracies: run by humans, monsters, or both, and win. Always extraordinary, but always human. Heroes. Exalted! The only problem is they are the new kids on the black, with millennia and armies stacked against them.

Chicago is a city mired and marred by the World of Darkness more than most. It has one of the densest supernatural communities on Earth for certain; with the most vampires per mortal than any other for example, even after the recent thinning due to external (with Werewolves and some other vampire faction) and civil war (within the vampire faction that controls the city). They don't control all the gangs and organized crime in the city, but they at least have a finger or fang in most. They don't have every cop in their pocket, but with the thin blue line in effect and as many prosecutors, city, state, and the occasional federal official there as well, they might as well. The murder rate is skyrocketting, you know that from turning on the news. What you don't know however, because the mainstream press either doesn't mention it or buries the stories where only the cranks care is: the disappearance rate is in the stratosphere and what little monitors we have on human trafficking and homelessness is telling us both are getting just as high despite a high "turnover" rate that rarely ends positively.

Any attempt to reveal this truth is quickly dismissed at broad too. Youtube videos are flagged, brought down or dismissed by trolls as "fake and sus" Serious journalists who dig into the matter are either never heard from again, or dismissed as cranks and tabloid muckrakers, or committed to insane asylums Communities feeling abandoned, are taking matters into their hands, organizing and on the look out, but they don't know exactly to look for or trust the other ones quite enough to start sharing information. It's rumored the feds know more than they let on, but they aren't helping or even talking for that matter.

Likewise, it's clear the vampires due more than rule the streets and city hall, or that there are Others who do as well; business is good in Chicago, but only if you're rich. Otherwise congrats, they've managed to tear down labor and environmental protections down to the level of a third world nation. Pentex subsidiaries are setting up shop in town, now that corporate tax rates are down and after come countries or states sent them packing by asking for the barest of levels of accountability or paying their fair share. Herrick's and O'Tolley's have always been Chicago home brands, and continued to be whether they were bought out or extended to a national and then international level, but now each has almost squeezed out their respective competitors from the region: O'Tolley's being the premier grease splattered cheap as hell fast food burger place and Herrick's the cheap, lower middle class grocery and general store that now stands face to face with Jewels, Krogar, Walmart, and Cosco. Chain store after chain store replaced family owned, small, or worker run business even if in some cases it not only doesn't turn a profit, but looks like it never will. Almost like shoveling unhealthy processed foods and drinks into people's mouths is the point, or draining people's pockets and souls dry and replacing it with shelves and shelves of stuff is the point, and not actual profit motive. With moving Circinus Brands their headquarters here after the state Supreme Court ruled they could sell vaping pens to kids, and the South Carolina one saying their couldn't, maybe their skip the middle man finally and just poison people directly.

Though it hasn't been bad for local businesses, and for once Pentex has decided to play nice. Ballard Industries bought up the local firms and routes of Ardus Enterprises after the later was folded and shuttered by Pentex thanks to a combination of eco-terrorism, civil challenges, and local, state, federal, and international charges being brought against them. Turns out the waste management company buried tons of radioactive and oil based materials a little too close to rivers, to the point it blatantly violated contracts and legal statues, and it appeared they were doing it on purpose. Their original legal teams teams might have gotten them out of it, but between sudden unplanned destruction of their worksites and the material in question itself poisoning half of those firms by aforementioned eco terrorist groups, they've had a hard time finding representation that is immortal enough to defend them, and brave enough to do so. Rumors are though this was less a buyout and more a limited merger; to add to that, that Ballard is pulling the same crap, and rumored to help play out Pentex's unethical experiments, to add to the mix.

Things were really circling the drain around here...until The Exalted showed up.

The World

It's Chicago December 27th, 2008. The United States is in the largest economic depression since the Great Depression in the 30's. Tens of millions of people across the world have lost their jobs, and in America their healthcare and other safety measures. President Obama's relief efforts have been far more moderate and business friendly than was hoped. In the World of Darkness, homicides in Chicago have doubled, while disappearances have tripled. The police have responded to this rise of unrest and crime the only way they know how: inhumane and brutal crackdowns, helping no one but retail magents keep the streets near high end streets clean looking and with a facade of friendliness.

There is something supernatural afoot, but you don't know what!

Locations in WOD

Chicago, Illinois Gary, Indiana Joliet, Illinois

The Circle

Character Sheet Template (by drearyArchon)

Nate Graham, Chosen of Secrets (drearyArchon)

Juan Delavega, Dawn Caste (EnigmaticOne)

[Insert Players Here]

The Night People

The Supernatural of the World of Darkness

Vampires

Werewolfs

Wraiths

Banes

Mages