Rosebriar: Heywood

This week I present another district in my setting for You Can't Go Home Again. Rosebriar's growth was fueled by the steel industry. Those steel workers prospered and declined in the neighborhood of Heywood.

Rosebriar: Heywood

Things have moved on.

Description

Rows of crumbling brick faced housing face cracked asphalt roads once shielded by a green canopy. The remaining sickly trees churn the concrete, turning sidewalks into a series of frozen waves. Nearby the front of an old grocery store remains tagged with graffiti, new paint on top of a faded sign.

A group of kids play in garbage strewn lot. Their dark faces turn solemn as a lone police car passes by. Nearby old eyes look out from between yellowed curtains.

Heywood exists and prospers in the shadow of the Works, Rosebriar's industrial district. In the 50s, when the majority of the neighborhood was built, factory jobs were plentiful and paid well. Now most of the foundries rust in silence and so does Heywood. Those with money and better prospects moved to Appleton or elsewhere while the poor, mostly African-Americans, remain.

Six decades of development has removed the architectural homogeneity that Appleton suffers under but the change has generally been one of decline. A few elderly holdouts recall the community it once was. To them it has fallen into crime and poverty. To the newcomers this ghetto is the only place they can afford to live. Declining opportunities and a legacy of racism helps fuel the gangs. A third group of dislocated people complete the picture: veterans of America's recent wars. Looking for a way out they signed up to serve their nation. They returned damaged to a nation that doesn't need or want them.

Local Hedge

Heywood's Hedge is typical of decaying neighborhoods. The thorns and greenery press in when given the chance but regular paths make navigation reasonable. Broken glass mixes with the sickly foliage and candy wrappers, plastic bags, and spray paint decorate the undergrowth.

Throughout one can find graffiti by Hobs, Changelings and worse. A few common meanings include the number 7 for anything Goblin related and threes for dangers (or completion of a fairy tale). In Heywood some of the common marks can be found below. Recognizing them is an Intelligence + Streetwise roll. Possible modifiers include: a crib sheet (+1 to +3), membership in a Court or Guild (+1), Allies or Contacts in the local Hedge or Freehold (+1 to +2).

Looking too close at the graffiti can be dangerous however. The Hedge works its magic even on acts of vandalism.

Tager

Description: A creature of vibrant greens and reds, stylized tags and swirls cover the tager's liquid skin. This mass of symbols and paint moves astonishingly quickly. those it slays become incorporated into the artwork it hides in.

Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 3, Resolve 2, Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 1
Skills: Athletics 2, Stealth 4, Brawl 2

Initiative 4, Speed 12 (though it can't move more than 6 yards from a surface vandalized by spray paint)
Defense 6, Health 6, Size 4

Wyrd: 1
Contracts: Darkness 1, Fleeting Autumn 1

Damnation City Stats:

Physical: Access +1, Safety -1
Mental: Information -1, Awareness +0
Social: Prestige -2, Stability -1

Heywood suffers from gang related violence and poor infrastructure. Its regular grid however allows easy access into and through the neighborhood, an asset most people use to bypass the area on their way the big box stores on the edge of Rosebriar. The locals suffer from substandard schools and little access to information outside of the mainstream media. They do however keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The crime, frayed social network, and declining infrastructure make living here undesirable. Racial tensions simmer beneath the surface.

Vice: Wrath, when the indignities forced upon them get too much the citizens take to the streets violently.
Virtue: Fortitude. Those who remain here are survivors. They have to be.

Story Seeds

The Rabid Beasts: a new gang moved into town last summer, a rough company led by a core of four tough bastards. Rumor has it they have the best drugs, the hottest girls, and the best digs. The truth is that this motley of Beasts and Ogres use lopsided pledges to make their mundane lives better at the expense of those around them. For the price of a perfect high, they extract life savings. For protection they demand servitude. Their price for beauty amounts to date rape. They recently began expanding the gang, unifying small groups in Heywood and beyond. Some say they've seen signs of their Keeper, a feral creature more animal than fae, nearby.

The Blue Lady: the children of Heywood pass stories about a beautiful woman in blue who wanders the streets on moonless nights. They say she protects children from gang violence, nightmares, and abusive parents. If you pray to her for seven nights in a row she will take you away to a land of endless summers and candy trees. Some Changelings have claimed to see her. Is she one of them or a Keeper? What do they do when children start vanishing?

NPCs

Here are a trio of monster hunters to harry Changelings and other supernatural creatures.

George Stark

Concept: Bookish Survivor

Background: George knows the darkness that lives in Rosebriar. As a child, he and his friends attempted to stop a bogeyman who hunted children in their dreams. They tracked the monster to a set of tunnels on the far side of town near Bishopsgate. Three of his friends chickened out, one died, and two never were right after that. He knows they never left the tunnels...not that way. To this day the nightmares of that night plague him.

Now almost thirty, George works at a convenience store by day, scribbling notes for a novel he hopes to write one day, a horror novel fueled by his nightmares.By night he plots revenge on the thing that stole his friends, working with a pair of other 'monster-hunters'.

Description: A bespectacled man suffering from severe acne. The clerk tends to stare at potential targets as he fumbles with a cigarette. Despite his nerdish appearance, he trains regularly, hoping to get his shot at revenge.

Storyteller Notes: George is less stable than he thinks. He is one good jolt from a flashback. Unfortunately with him holding the group's rifle things could get ugly.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 2
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 2

Mental Skills: Academics 2, Investigation 2, Occult (Rosebriar) 2, Science 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Firearms 2, Larceny 3, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weaponry (baseball bat) 2
Social Skills: Expression (writing) 3, Persuasion 1

Merits: Eye for the Strange 2, Fleet of Foot 2, Safe Place 2

Willpower: 4 Integrity: 5
Virtue: Faith Vice: Pride
Initiative: 5   Defense: 4
Speed: 13      Health: 7

Gear: rifle (pool 5, 4 Lethal, 6 shots, -5 Initiative), baseball bat (pool 6, 1 Lethal, -1 Initiative)

Shanah Green

Concept: Ruined Woman

Background: Three years ago, Shanah enjoyed the club scene by night while working a shift at the local pound by day. Then she ran into a gang known as the Rabid Beasts.

Offered a deal that seemed impossible, she soon discovered it was a nightmare. Shanah saw through their Masks in the terror of her violation. Afterwards she sought help. The authorities called her insane. Her friends and family shunned her.

George listened. The awkward clerk told her he had seen them too, that he wanted to hunt the monsters down for what they had done. She joined his crusade. She will destroy these monsters.

Description: This thick-set woman keeps her dark hair tightly braided. When on the hunt, she pairs dark sweaters with rugged denim.

Storyteller Notes: Shanah wants payback. If she sees monsters, she will attack to kill. And with the derringer hidden in her pocketbook, she might succeed.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 3

Mental Skills: Crafts 3, Medicine (veterinary) 1
Physical Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl (judo) 2, Drive 1, Firearms (revolver) 2, Stealth 2
Social Skills: Animal Ken (dogs) 2, Empathy 1, Persuasion 2, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 2

Merits: Defensive Combat: Brawl 1, Firefight 1, Quick Draw (revolver), Resources 1, Unarmed Defense 2, Unseen Sense: Fairies 2

Willpower: 5 Integrity: 7
Virtue: Hope Vice: Wrath
Initiative: 5   Defense: 5
Speed: 10      Health: 8

Gear: light revolver (pool 6, 1 Lethal, 6 shots, +2 Initiative)

Sam Dodgeson

Concept: Broken Ex-Wage Slave

Background: Seven years ago, Sam worked a nice white collared job at the steel plant. Six years ago, his wife became unnaturally anemic. He watched as she grew weaker, stranger and distant.

Five years ago, his wife died. The authorities called it death by natural causes. He knows the truth.

Four years ago, he nearly caught it. The vampire that killed his wife. It escaped through a door into a strange realm of thorns. Everyday he curses that he didn't follow it.

Three years ago, he lost his job due to too many late nights and mysterious injuries. Two years ago, George Stark found him on the street, nearly frozen to death. His fellow monster hunter patched him up. Now they work together to hunt the monster and others like it.

Description: This balding man has lost a lot of weight in recent years. His skin hangs loose on his wide frame and what little hair he has is gray. He moves slowly and methodically, squinting to compensate for missing glasses.

In social situations he fades into the background, responding in flat monosyllables.

Storyteller Notes: Though he desires revenge, when push come to shove, Sam can't kill a man in cold blood. His hate keeps him moving forward but slowly his depression is consuming him.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 1
Social Attributes: Presence 2, Manipulation 2, Composure 3

Mental Skills: Academics (research) 2, Computer 2, Crafts 2, Investigation 2, Politics 1, Science 2
Physical Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 3, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Weaponry (stakes) 2
Social Skills: Expression (reports) 2, Persuasion 1, Socialize 2, Subterfuge 2

Merits: Anonymity 2, Brawling Dodge 1, Indomitable 2, Patient 1, Professional Training 2 (Professional)

Willpower: 6       Integrity: 6
Virtue: Fortitude Vice: Depression
Initiative: 5         Defense: 5
Speed: 10            Health: 6

Gear: stake (pool 6, 0 Lethal, -4 Initiative)