Time for something a little different

One of the things I really want to do this year is to get back into some roleplaying games. I have played a few short ones recently but the plan is to run something that lasts a little longer. The usual go to system for my group, with me as the Story Teller at least, is Hunter: the Vigil. I recently picked up the newest edition and that has got the creativity working again.

I have been thinking about this chronicle for a while but I have to start making notes soon so that I can get everything compiled in a fashion that will make some sense. Having everything bubbling in my mind doesn't really make for a coherent game. The basic setting is a mid-sized town located in Green County, Wisconsin. The city is completely finctional and the county is very much an approximation of reality. I am calling the city Deliverance Falls. It was designed and built in the early 60's as a shining beacon of progress in the mid-west.

Deliverance Falls:
A plan was developed in Chicago in the late fifties to build a high speed railway between the city and Madison, Wisconsin with an eventual connection to the twin cities of St.Paul/Minnesota. This was hoped to alleviate urban crowding in the big cities and facilitate commerce between the three State Capitals. The plan was finished and a budget assigned. The first phase was the laying of the railway line and building of the commuter towns along the route. It was decided that the first city should be the one located at the centre of the route, a symbol to the cooperation between Wisconsin and Illinois. A few small farmsteads were already in the area and went by the name of Deliverance. These were bought up quickly but the name was used in the early stages of the development. When the new town was finally planned theplanners had incorporated a small waterfall into the city as part of the city park. The urban planners thereafter renamed the city to Deliverance Falls.

Deliverance Falls was initially planned to be more than twice as large as it currently is. The infrastructure for the town was built first. The area was subject to flooding so a large network of storm drains and sewers were built. Once this task was completed work began on the town itself. The first half of the town, that surrounding the train station was rapidly built by investors in the project. The buildings were designed to form the heart of a new community and were subsequently designed to be taller than would be standard for such a city. Areas along the outskirts of the town were not developped extensively as the return on investment wasn't deemed by most of the investors to be currently worth it. The land was purchased however with hopes that rises in property value in the area over time would yield a healthy profit.

The train-line was built in record time connecting downtown Chicago to Deliverance Falls. The Wisconsin Government had collapsed after a scandal was revealed whereby Republican candidates were accepting monies from development lobbyists who wanted the train corridor moved to incorporate lands owned by them. As a result construction firms hired for the job hadn't yet begun heavy construction works but the railway corridor had been purchased and upgrades to Madisons railway station were underway albeit delayed. Delays also hampered the building of the high speed train.

Families eagerly moved into Deliverance Falls, the houses and apartments were cheap and while the connection to Chicago was still only served by slower commuter trains everyone was assured that very soon the first high speed Metroliner service would commence.

By 2015 Deliverance Falls is still not connected to Madison by train-line. The high speed connection still hasn't been delivered and talks are that the train-line itself would need extensive modification if indeed it was to be finally used. The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative has included the line connecting Chicago and Madison. Some hope exists that finally after sixty years in the planning that the original plan may come to fruition. Deliverance Falls has grown slowly with a number of small industries moving into the west of the city over the years. The population remains steady with sizable minorities living in the area. A large percentage of the workforce endure the long commute into Chicago every day while the rest work locally. Crime is low in the area and in general the city is peaceful and prosperous.

Just in case you are interested here is a link to my older Hunter: the Vigil chronicle on this blog: