Once the new year begins, my group will re-start our super-hero Fate Accelerated campaign: #SuperZeroes. In true comic book form (especially following in the footsteps of DC comics) we decided to create a fictional city for the characters to inhabit. The city is Bearport, Oregon. As we close in on 2018 (and into the new year), I’m providing more details on each area and its neighborhoods for my players. My hope is that this also gives GMs and groups inspiration for creating areas in their games. This post details Market Central, the heart of the city.
In Fate and Fate Accelerated characters and scenes are granted Aspects which can be used to create advantages and disadvantages within the narrative. Larger areas, like districts and neighborhoods of a city have Themes and Threats instead of aspects; these provide the ideas and an overall “feel” for the area, but don’t incorporate any positive or negative impact to dice rolls. For each neighborhood I plan to provide two themes and one threat. Market Central brings the ideas of corporate greed and the reminder that darkness exists even where it seems like things are brightest.
Market Central encompasses downtown, Ursa Square, Sunstone, and the more touristy parts of Bearport’s river walk. This area of the city houses most of the trade and businesses. Corporations and technology centers thrive in downtown, and workers will often take their lunch breaks in Ursa Square to shop for custom art and kitsch items. Sunstone is home to the most independent micro-breweries and some of the finest dining in the city, as well as some of the highest rent and condo prices. Most of the Mosaic Labs buildings are found downtown, along with numerous other tech industry facilities. The Bearport Herald, the city’s primary newspaper, also makes its editorial stand downtown.
Sunstone
Theme: Beer & Politics
Theme: The First Grand Expanse
Threat: Political Corruption
In the 1920’s Bearport grew two directions, south and west. The southern neighborhood of Moya Glen (see the Easton write-up of Bearport) never became more than a quiet gathering of homes, but with Sunstone’s newly constructed city hall and courthouse buildings, the political growth led to a population growth for Bearport.
Sunstone has become the neighborhood for those who want to be close to downtown without living in downtown. It is a home to professionals and politicians; to peace-keeping and million-dollar houses. It also has the highest concentration of micro-breweries and independent restaurants. The city planners, were they alive today, would pat themselves on the back for a job well done.
Sunstone is where Mayor Vanessa Levesque both works and lives. For the most part, the city mayor is regarded as a good politician, though many see her as willing to put corporate interests ahead of the individuals. It was under her influence in the 90’s that helped shape Bearport from a small city into a thriving metropolis, inviting the then-growing software industry into the area with tax benefits and other opportunities. It’s also rumored that it’s partially “thanks” to Mayor Levesque that older corporate mainstays like Valkyrie Chemicals and Mosaic Laboratories were able to have some of their ecological and ethical sins pushed under the rug.
Bearport citizens (or Bearies) like to eat, drink, discuss the day, and complain. And their complaints about how much traffic there is or how corporations are “ruining” their city usually turn to complaints about their Mayor. Sunstone is the perfect neighborhood for them to practice all those favorite pastimes.
Notable Places and Landmarks
- City Hall – Seat of political power and dealings for Bearport. City Hall was built in the 1920’s but has been renovated and expanded multiple times. After a minor fire in the early 2000’s, the city took the opportunity to restructure and reinforce the oldest parts of the building and it’s now a fully modern structure, both inside and out.
- Bearport Courthouse -Unlike City Hall, the Bearport Courthouse retains much of its 1920’s art deco look. It’s one of the oldest buildings still standing in the Sunstone area and any renovations are careful to preserve as much of the look and feel of the building as possible.
- Pathbringer Brewery – Arguably, one of the most popular micro-breweries in Bearport, Pathbringer produces not only a range of tasty beers, but has also recently delved into the production of vodka and gluten free potato gin. Sunday brunch is a Bearport mainstay and from 10:30 until 1pm every Sunday a line can be seen outside the doors of Pathbringer Brewery as tourists and citizens alike gather to enjoy Chef Enrico Pagan’s special Sunday menu.
Downtown
Theme: Beacon of Industry
Theme: Shop ‘Til You Drop
Threat: Greed is Good for Bad People
Originally the western edge of Sunstone, downtown did not truly form until the 1940’s when Mosaic Labs moved their headquarters from Newberg to Bearport (angering many who lived in the closer Portland). The increase in jobs and population led to an overall increase in shops and other business developments. This then led to Bearport’s overall westward expansion. In the 1990’s Mayor Vanessa Levesque helped re-shape and re-grow the city, but the beginning of the downtown city center area began with Mosaic Labs.
Downtown is much like any other city’s downtown. Here, alongside corporate headquarters and companies, there are an abundance of shops, restaurants, bars, and strip clubs. High-priced apartments sit alongside creative agencies and multinational conglomerates. Commerce and greed reign supreme in downtown.
Notable Places and Landmarks
- Mosaic Labs Headquarters and R&D – Founded in 1901, the research laboratory migrated from Newberg to Bearport in 1941. While already an important company, it was not the diverse powerhouse it became over the next seventy-five years. While the company has buildings throughout the city, the headquarters building dominates the city skyline. The 42-floor and 3 sub-floor construct takes up two city blocks and houses the company’s lawyers and accountants as well as primary research and development structures. Mosaic Labs has multiple scientific focuses, including bioengineering, robotics, and weapons development.
- Vendrick Vision – Dr. Emil Vendrick’s research group formed Vendrick Vision in the 90’s thanks in part to recent tax breaks provided by the city. Vendrick Vision specializes in software, specifically A. I. development. As part of their contract with Bearport, it’s the Vendrick Vision code that runs many of the city’s automated processes.
- The Bearport Herald – Built in Sunstone as Bearport’s primary newspaper the Herald building became part of downtown as the landscape around it changed. The Bearport Herald paper edition still sells fairly well, but their main presence is now their website, where the citizens can quickly catch up on local news and events.
- Hunter Opera House – The Richard Hunter Opera Company was a professional opera company resident founded in 1953. In 1974, the company bought the Wilson Theater and transformed it into the Hunter Opera House. The theater does not limit itself to opera, the stage is used for ballet and theater. More recently, it has opened its stage for rock, pop, and comedy concerts for artists that are popular but not enough so for stadium shows. The Hunter Opera House has hosted artists like Morrissey, Tori Amos, and Lewis Black.
Ursa Square
Theme: Consignment Store Paradise
Theme: Shop Local, Drink Local, Pass Out Local
Threat: The Left Behind
In the heart of downtown is Ursa Square, a park surrounded by smaller buildings. The area was zoned in the early 70’s to ensure the city did not become a “clustered monstrosity like New York or Chicago,” as then Mayor Jim Haverford put it. Ursa Square Park features trees, walking paths, and benches. It’s a place for the workers of the day to relax and take in a bit of nature before returning to their cubicles or research stations.
Thanks to zoning and the more peaceful nature of Ursa Square, the buildings around it house a large percentage of Bearport’s consignment stores. While Sunstone may have the most micro-breweries, Ursa Square boasts the most bars per land. The popular phrase (that one can even find on T-shirts) for the area has been Shop Local, Drink Local, Relax Local. But most inhabitants joke that the phrase should be “Shop Local, Drink Local, Pass Out Local,” given the amount of people that stumble out of bars and sober up on park benches.
As business and bars close, the benches and other parts of the park become a haven for the homeless. The city’s growth and the overall temperate weather of the Pacific Northwest has drawn many homeless and runaways to its doorstep, much like the neighboring cities of Portland and Seattle. There aren’t enough shelters in the city for all the homeless and some choose not to rely on the charitable services. For them, at night and into the early morning, Ursa Square is where they lay their head.
Notable Places and Landmarks
- Club Sandwich – A bar and dance club, Club Sandwich doesn’t offer any food. This provides a laugh to the Bearport inhabitants as the logo and name of the discotheque constantly confuses tourists who enter looking for a bite, but stay for the best DJs in downtown.
- Thrifty – One of the larger and more popular consignment stores, Thrifty provides artists and tailors a place to sell their creations. Unlike many consignment stores, Thrifty hires sales staff that gets to know the artists on an individual level, allowing them to better sell the creator’s goods for the asking price the artist sets.
- Yum! – Originally established as a bar, Yum! changed its focus when they hired Janice Miller, a culinary student who took a job as a simple line cook but became the bar’s executive chef with her unique outlook on what bar food could be.
The Riverwalk
Theme: Downtown to the Ocean
Theme: The Daily Jog
Threat: Narcotics by Nightfall
The Riverwalk has thrived and expanded under the guidance of Mayor Vanessa Levesque. It transformed from a simple sidewalk along the river to a tourist location that runs from the western edge of Sunstone, across downtown, and to the docks and entertainment area of Opal Port.
The sidewalks along the river are laned so that cyclists, joggers, and walking tourists can each experience the area at their own pace, without interfering with each other. To the north, the Columbia River. To the south, stores (often featuring tourist goods), bars, eateries, and theaters.
Daughton may be more obviously crime-ridden, but the influence of the gangs does not end where Sunstone begins. While Ursa Square attracts the homeless, the riverwalk is where both the affluent and the impoverished often purchase their illicit recreational pharmaceuticals. The Bearport police have attempted to crack down on drugs here, but have been no more successful along the paths of the riverwalk than they are the docks of Daughton.
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