Dresden Playtest
San Francisco
Is the fourth most populous city in California and the 14th most populous city in the United States, with a 2007 estimated population of 764,976. Among the most densely populated cities in the country, San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan area, which is home to more than 7.2 million people. The city is located at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Francisco Bay to the east, and the Golden Gate to the north.
In 1776, the Spanish settled the tip of the peninsula, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. After being devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the send-off point for many soldiers to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors gave rise to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a liberal bastion in the United States.
San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination famous for its landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, and Chinatown, its steep rolling hills, and its eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture. The city is also known for its diverse, cosmopolitan population, including large and long-established Asian American, and Gay and Lesbian communities.
Aspects:
Dreams of the Golden Mountain
The Blood of my ancestors flows through these streets
Come to me O’ my children
If you need it, I have it
Be sure to wear a flower in your hair
The colors on this Rainbow flag do not run
Hola Essay
Here have some stocks
Don’t come a knock’n when the ground starts a rock’n
The Wild West ain’t over yet
People:
“Slick” Willy Brown
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Uma
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Mr. HeeHaw
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Location: Colma
A California State Law was passed in the late 1800’s, State Penal Code 297 stated – prohibited any burials anywhere except an established cemetery such as one by a city or county, church, ethnic group or military. You could no longer bury a body on the homestead or along the wagon trail. San Francisco had many cemeteries established by the time gold was discovered. Hundreds of thousands arrived bringing diseases, followed by deaths and filled their cemeteries to capacity. Cemetery owners started looking for new locations to expand or relocate their burial grounds. They were frustrated in their attempt to buy San Francisco property. Land was too valuable for cemetery use said real estate promoters. The San Francisco City Fathers passed Bills stating that no further burials will be allowed in the City & County of San Francisco. With no further burials, they became a place of neglect and vandalism. They then became a health hazard. In August of 1912 the San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors declared intent to evict all cemeteries in their jurisdiction. On Jan. 14, 1914 Removal notices were sent to all cemeteries, branding them as “A public nuisance and a menace and detriment to the health and welfare of city dwellers. There were many delays to this order as the cemeteries and some citizens fought to have it revoked. By Nov. of 1937 the legal battles were over and bodies not removed were now ordered to be removed. Colma Cemeteries now inherited hundreds of thousands of additional bodies. This all led to the incorporation of the cemetery area that became known as Lawndale on August 5, 1924. The Associated Cemeteries, made up of supervisors from each were concerned that what happened in S.F. could happen again. To protect the cemeteries they became organized and incorporated. They wanted the name Memorial Park but there was already a Memorial Park in our county. They kept Lawndale until the United States Postal Service informed them there was a Lawndale in Southern Calif. They went back to the name of Colma on Nov. 17, 1941.
The Town of Colma is a unique, diverse community located on the San Francisco peninsula. It is truly a regional destination known for its cemeteries, shopping centers and auto sales district. In spite of its urban setting between the Cities of Daly City and South San Francisco, the Town maintains a “small town” feeling for its many visitors and resident population. Many famous individuals instrumental in the shaping of early California are buried in Colma’s cemeteries.
Aspects:
You will eventually end up here
Suburban Necropolis
Would not want to live here during a Zombie attack
All Faiths
People:
“Old Man” Tortelli
Owner of the Tortelli and Son’s florist shop on Mission Rd. (All the “Sons” are either married or buried), and he has seen the dead come and go up and down the road for the past 50 years. He runs the flower shop on his own, with the help of a random teenager who will come by to make a few dollars after school, and when the day is done, Vincenzo Tortelli holds up in a small apartment behind the shop. Old Man Tortelli claims the dead visit him in the night and tell him stories, and he will be more than happy to tell you the gossip from the mouths of the dead.
Samuel Dugan
One of the very wealth and well established Dugan Brothers who have ran funeral parlors since people have started dying in San Francisco. Samuel lives on premise of the Colma location with his wife, nephew, and his very venerable mother. He and his staff have embalmed the rich and poor of the greater Bay Area for decades. His mother Henrietta Dugan is said to be 100 years old, and cursed by the Wee Folk when she was a girl in Ireland. She lives in the attic room, and never comes down, even to eat.
Location: The Wave Organ
The Wave Organ is a wave-activated acoustic sculpture located on a jetty in the San Francisco Bay. The concept was developed by Peter Richards and was installed in collaboration with sculptor and master stone mason George Gonzales. Inspiration for the piece came from artist Bill Fontana’s recordings made of sounds emanating from a vent pipe of a floating concrete dock in Sydney, Australia.
In 1980, Richards (now a Senior Artist at the Exploratorium) received a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Arts which enabled him to conduct an extensive period of investigation into the physicality of the Wave Organ phenomenon. The sculpture’s speaker horn and audio equipment were either built or acquired for use in some of the experiments of this period.
A prototype, built at the same location, was presented as part of the New Music ‘81 Festival. Though very rudimentary in nature, it generated enthusiasm and support for a permanent work. Permit acquisition and fundraising efforts by Frank Oppenheimer, founding director of the Exploratorium, began soon after, but actual construction did not start until September of 1985, seven months after Oppenheimer’s death. The Wave Organ was completed in May of 1986 and was dedicated in June to the memory of Frank Oppenheimer.
The Wave Organ is located on a jetty that forms the small Boat Harbor in the Marina district of San Francisco, walking distance from the Exploratorium. The jetty itself was constructed with material taken from a demolished cemetery, providing a wonderful assortment of carved granite and marble, which was used in the construction of this piece. The installation includes 25 organ pipes made of PVC and concrete located at various elevations within the site, allowing for the rise and fall of the tides. Sound is created by the impact of waves against the pipe ends and the subsequent movement of the water in and out of the pipes. The sound heard at the site is subtle, requiring visitors to become sensitized to its music, and at the same time to the music of the environment.
Aspects:
Tombstones make it creepy
The Haunted Bay makes music
No one can hear you scream
People:
Park Ranger Timmons
Jacob Timmons is a 5th generation San Franciscan who’s family has protected the city since it was nothing but a shady port town on the Barbary Coast.
The Timmons family dates back to the Spanish Settlers who helped build the fort at the Presidio. His gift is an odd one and one that he keeps secret, but the Timmons family has always been able to communicate with animals, and in most cases render them friendly or at least neutral. Jacob travels with his black German Shepard Kali (who he saved from an animal shelter 3 years ago), who assists him on the job.
Golden Gate Park –
Golden Gate Park was originally called “the outside lands”. It was converted from barren sand dunes into a lush park by John McLaren. Mr. McLaren hated statues and hid any statue donations in weird places around the park. Bison roam freely. It has everything the modern knight needs from equestrian fields to archery ranges.
You never know who you might meet in the park, especially after dark. The police are constantly cracking down on the homeless population, but there are still many who call this park their home. Not all of them are human.
Special Areas:
Conservatory of Flowers –
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“One man’s poison Ivy is another man’s spinach”
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Don’t touch that. It may look pretty, but it is deadly
Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill –
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It’s good to have a moat handy in case you ever need one
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All is not quiet and peaceful
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You can see a lot from this hilltop
Characters:
Norton Jr. – A homeless self-declared wizard who claims to be the great-grandson of the famous wizard Emperor Norton who once declared rule over the US. Norton Jr. (no one knows his first name) says that it is through his careful eye and valiant efforts that the gateway to the NeverNever located inside the park doesn’t open permanently. He says that if anything gets through he is the first and only line of defense for the city. Of course no one believes a crazy old man who lives in the park and talks to the statues hidden around in odd locations…
Scott Coriman – Works for Golden Gate Park Walking Tours and knows everything there is to know about the park. He also just so happens to be a werewolf. Luckily he is the wizard friendly kind and he and his pack also keep watch here for other things that go bump in the night.
Mrs. Emma Kring – Works at the conservatory of flowers. Naturalist and botanical expert. If there is ever a plant you can’t name, Emma will know. With a predisposition towards the odd and having worked at the conservatory for over 40 years, she has also seen some odd things appear in the area. While not a true believer (yet) Emma knows that there is more going on around her than meets the eye.
Chinatown
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It’s called the Dragon’s Gate for a reason
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It’s an ancient Chinese secret
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It gets very quiet here after dark
Step off of Grant St to Stockon to get the real taste of Chinatown
The Golden Monkey Tea Room -
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Don’t ask what’s in it
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Tea heals all ills
Neutral ground for the magical residents of SF to meet in. Presided over by the ancient and indomitable Mrs. Zhang, patrons have no choice but to behave themselves under her watchful and powerful gaze. Officially they only serve tea and some dim sum, but a heartfelt plea to Mrs. Zhang can occasionally solicit something stronger in the safety of one of the private back rooms.
Zhou Medicinal Supplies
The shop of the family Zhou, a long line of wizards whose patriarch arrived from China in the 1940’s to set up shop in the states. He supplies the magical community of SF with many a hard to find required ingredient for spell casting and potion making. He is not neutral and refuses to sell to customers at his own discretion, sometimes inexplicably.
Characters:
Li Fong – Li seems to be everywhere at once, showing up wherever the action is. No one quite knows who he is or what he does, except that he has a remarkable knack for arriving just in time for trouble. He knows everyone and everything , but somehow when YOU want to find him he is never around.
Mrs. Zhang – Don’t tell her, because she doesn’t want to know. Mrs. Zhang runs the tea room and is very strict about keeping her place natural. She believes that all ills can be cured with good tea and the right foods. Always eat what you are served and never ask her what’s in it. She is easily offended and feels that everyone should respect their eldars. This puts her at quite an advantage seeing as she is now close to 200 years old.
Grandfather Zhou – The patriarch of the Zhou family shop, he presides over both his family and his corner of the wizarding realm with an iron fist. He left China under some mysterious circumstances and refuses to leave the Chinatown area of the city. People seem to think it has something to do with vampires because of his special hatred of them. If there is something special you need for a potion you are brewing he will know what it is. It is best to make sure you stay on his good side though.
Locations
Alcatraz: the Rock
Aspect 1: Nothing has ever escaped the Rock, really.
Aspect 2: No one knows where every passage goes
Lincoln Park:
Aspect 1: All the bodies were removed, right?
Aspect 2: Hot springs eternal
People 1: Officer Bob O’Malley, SFPD Park Patrol
Palace of the Legion of Honor: – 4,000 years of art
Aspect 1: Four thousand years of Art
People 1: Francois Gurin, Curator
Land’s End: – reached via foot trail
Aspect 1: The wildest area in San Francisco
People 1: Juan Sanchez, el Jefe of Los Lobos gang
North Beach:
Aspect 1: Don’t judge by just what is on the surface.
Aspect 2: This is no beach to swim at
People 1: Ned Drummond, lead singer of the Torrent, a goth band
National Shrine of Saint Francis: (est. 1860)
Aspect 1: The resting place of Saints has power
People 1: Brother Jerome Blake
Jackson Square: – former Barbary Coast red light district
Aspect 1: Historic buildings from the Barbary Coast
People 1: Elizabeth Sutton, freelance gossip reporter
Washington Square:
Aspect 1: A place of rest and serenity
People 1: Master Lao Tsu
Sea Cliff:
Aspect 1: Nothing like building over sinkholes
Aspect 2: Gated streets keep undesirables out
People 1: Jeremy Reynolds, City Commissioner & thrall
Telegraph Hill: 284 feet high
Aspect 1: If these homes could talk…
Aspect 2: Who knows what is under foot?
People 1: Fweep the wyldfae
Darrell Place:
Aspect 1:
People 1:
People 2:
Napier Lane:– last wooden street in SF
Aspect 1: What is with all these cats?
People 1: Antonio Giovanni, Italian vintner
100 Napier Lane:
Aspect 1: You never know what you’ll find in here
People 1: Nana Meghan Kelly
People 2: Crookshanks the “cat”
Greenwich Steps:
Aspect 1: Step down through a tunnel of green
Filbert Steps:
Aspect 1: Mind your step
Coit Tower: 210 ft high
Aspect 1: Lookout over the City
Aspect 2: Lighting makes it eerie at night
People 1: Norton the Prophet, homeless “seer”
People 2: Ghost of Lil Hitchcock Coit
Pacific Heights (Neighborhood)
Aspects:
I can’t believe they sell this
Is that a Famous Person over there?
This is a place with History
Location:
Browser Books on Filmore
Apects:
Popular
Cosy reading space
As you enter the Store Gary is either behind the counter on your left as you enter the doorway or approaching from the reading nook at the back of the builing, an uncanny ability as there’s no chime on the open door as you enter. If you need a book, he knows exactly what book it is from what little information you can give him. It’s suspected there’s magic at work, but he won’t admit it.
Location: Queen Anne Hotel
Aspects:
Don’t touch that you’ll break it
This place is haunted
This Victorian style hotel is rumored (Correctly) to have a Ghost within Room 410. People claim it is Miss Lake a teacher from the days when the Hotel was a school.
