Local History

Local History

This information is a duplication of the data stored in the +fh database. By and large, it is accessible to anyone who does Web searches or goes to the local library. (For more detailed information about specific questions, make a research request with +request and roll Intelligence+Academics.Research to it. If you have access to libraries with more extensive resources, note that in your job.)

Please bear in mind that this is PUBLIC information. Especially regarding NPCs and events, what is written here is not the full story. They do not, alas, post everything they do on Facebook.

General

These entries regard general topics or categories outside of the subcategories below.

Geography

The geography of the area is relatively simple, and very predictably full of rocks, trees and more rocks stacked on other rocks. Vermont is good at stacking rocks. It has a lot of practice.

Tucked away from the Green Mountains as they are, for our purposes, assume Mount Salvation (East and West peaks) and Mount Mischance are both monadnocks -- mountains separated from a range, thrusting up all on their lonesome. As mountains, neither quite passes that magical 4000 feet, but they are tall enough, and situated well enough, to provide a number of interesting crevasses in the granite, as well as mineral deposits and the spring which becomes the River Tam.

Bracketing a high valley (Tamarack Falls), the mountains break away into a sheer tumble of cliffside boulders, the granite of their bones slowing the river's efforts to cut deeper down into the rock on its way south. The river eventually plunges off to form the falls from which the small town takes its name, waters feeding Lake Brunsett below. The lake itself is ten miles long and just past three at its widest point, containing many small islands and following the lay of the land to form secluded coves amidst the forest surrounding its shores.

The River Tam provides the lake's primary outlet, too, water flowing south-southeast through the heart of the flatland city (Fort Brunsett) on its way toward joining rivers far in the distance. It is a useful shipping lane, though not a broad one, and sees regular traffic into and out of the city.

East and west of the Tamarack Falls/Fort Brunsett area, the land alternates between broad grassy hillsides and forests, remaining excellent hunting land and sparsely populated save for the areas directly along I-89 on its way west-northwest.

Native Americans

Unusual for such a fertile and lovely valley, there was no permanent native presence in the area when the white/European settlers came north in search of land and trade. This would be because the natives were smart cookies. Sure, there were places where the spirits were close to earth, but... Children going off into the Long Shadows of the Hedge, meeting queer strangers who knew too much... not good. The spirits of the land know better, too, and refer to the area as The Lost Valley (the irony unintended, but keenly felt by those who know how truly Lost a soul can be!). Stories about the Valley have spread, quietly, to any tribesmen near enough for them to be relevant. Local libraries contain enough history for persistent searchers to locate this information fairly easily.

The natives, largely Abenaki, have lived in the land now called Vermont for 10,000 years (true fact!), but their aversion to the River Tam's valley has not ebbed with time, and their population remains minimal at best. Those few who do choose to live in the valley are, by family standards, bloody lunatics and foolhardy risk-takers, however responsible or stable they might otherwise be.

If you intend to play an Abenaki, staff has taken no liberties with their culture aside from the above insertion of our fictional geography and nWoD themes into their midst.

Religion

According to 2014's Gallup poll, Vermont is the least religious state in the country, with under a quarter of the population identifying itself as "very religious" people. The largest religious affiliation is the Roman Catholic church. As a consequence, while there may be small gathering places for other religions, staff has not built them; the Church of St. Benedict Joseph Labre (a.k.a. The North Cathedral) in Fort Brunsett and the old town church up in Tamarack Falls are the only staff-built structures.

On the bright side, this means that you're not likely to have crosses burnt onto your lawn for being different! Take it as read that, by and large, where anybody believes anything, the NPCs are probably at least telling themselves that they're Catholic, whether or not they actually practice the religion.

The Eye

What non-psychic mortals might have heard:

...

What local Changelings might have heard:

The psychics here have a group of their own, their own Freehold of sorts.

What non-local Changelings might have heard:

...

What non-local Psychics might have heard:

The Eye is the name of a psychic group somewhere <this direction>.

What local Psychics know, once they are initiated:

The Eye is an organisation devoted to keeping track of, and training, anyone in the local area who displays hints of psychic talent. Founded back in the early 1900s, it does what it can to support the community while furthering its own goal: knowledge.

Above all things, the group collects the visions and experiences of its members, with over a hundred years' worth of recordings, written, tape and digital, in its secret repository.

Families

These entries relate to the seven Families.

Fort Brunsett

These entries relate to the city of Fort Brunsett and its surroundings.

Chicken Hill

The smallest and most southerly of the Four Hills from which the district takes its name, Chicken Hill has seen its share of drama, but it limps on and, albeit with decrepit dignity, still manages to boast its fair share of historic properties. The name originated from a rock formation toward the top of the hill, according to local folklore, though modern viewers question the sobriety of the settler who thought a lump of granite looked anything like a hen on eggs.

Among its most well-known properties, the Rose Court Tenement house remains a shabby-genteel housing area for those not quite wealthy, but not quite poor.

Church of St. Benedict

Colloquially known as 'The North Cathedral', the Church of St. Benedict Joseph Labre is, in all but that teensy smidge of maybe possibly slightly important papal decree, a cathedral. Which is to say, the building was certainly designed as such, and far more grandly than the small city deserves, but Burlington is the bishop's seat. Not Fort Brunsett.

In terms of architecture, the jewel box of a building has been crafted of native granite at the peak of Lewis Hill, located in the high-end Four Hills district. Small for its kind, it was nonetheless built to last, and it was the last thing the North family built, thanks to mistaken faith in their own (lack of) influence over the Roman Catholic selection of the see. Penniless, they left the city in disgrace shortly thereafter.

Ironically dedicated to the saint of homelessness, the church survives on the donations of its wealthier parishioners and the interest it earns in hefty bank accounts, fighting chronic battles with the local Historical Committee over such modernizations as ramps for the handicapped and, horror of horrors, whether or not they can coopt some of their grounds to add to their too-small parking area.

Hill List

Fort Brunsett is, more or less, a city with a dearth of flat land to expand on. Its hills are many, some fairly tall, but none tall enough to truly cause difficulties beyond the occasional lapse in parking brakes. The area nearest the river, once used for farming and smaller markets, is the modern day downtown largely because it is the flattest land in Fort Brunsett.

Hills by District:
Delwood	Little Maple, Stockford
Four Hills	Chicken, Dayton, Lewis, Pine
Historical	Blue, Connolly, Fort Brunsett, Key, Nag
Nelson	Greenbeck, Slink
Snake Creek	Flat Top, High
Sweetwater	Hawkeye, Juneberry

Lewis Hill

Northmost of the Four Hills from which the district takes its name, Lewis Hill is rather unremarkable in and of itself, and might well have been turned into a quarry for its granite roots if not for its proximity to wealthier portions of the burgeoning new city of Fort Brunsett. It is the second smallest of the four hills, only Chicken Hill below it.

In the end, the hill is known less for itself and more for the humourous history surrounding its crowning jewel: The Church of St. Benedict Joseph Labre, colloquially known as 'The North Cathedral'.

Little Maple Hill

Located toward the northwestern outskirts of the city, just northeast of Stockford Hill, the Little Maple Hill is nothing like as famous as its Tamarack Falls cousin. More often than not, its name is completely irrelevant, thanks to the fact that developer Devin Delwood chose its picturesque slopes for his family-friendly housing lots. When someone mentions living in Delwood, this is more than likely where they mean.

The name originated from the stands of maples which used to cover its peak, and while most of its original forest has long since been razed to clear land for homes, a few groves of old-growth sugar maples do remain.

North Cathedral

In the early 1800s, the North family came into money. Proponents of the Roman Catholic faith and determined to show the 'old money' that they could leave their mark on history just as well, thank you, they determined to persuade the church to settle the new bishop in young Fort Brunsett, rather than Burlington -- and failed. Resoundingly, in fact, but in the process of the years' long selection, the 'North Cathedral' was complete.

'Church' may be the correct term in strict doctrine, but in terms of architecture, the jewel box of a building is an exquisitely wrought cathedral. Small for its kind, constructed of native stone and built to last, the building is set high on Lewis Hill to catch and hold the light at all times of day, the addition of stained glass windows later in its history a donation from some far, far luckier patron.

In the end, not only was the Norths' piety unrewarded, but they also spent very nearly every penny they owned to get the building done in time. In despair, rather than its original, far grander title, the North patriarch declared the building dedicated to St. Benedict, the patron saint of homelessness, before leaving the city in disgrace.

Pine Hill

Tallest and most spacious of the Four Hills from which the district takes its name, Pine Hill was named after the prevalence of pines on its forested slopes, though the east side is largely devoted to expensive homes and a Vermonter's idea of luxury housing. It is a quiet place...when the Garreaus are not tinkering.

Inveterate scientists, teachers, doctors and more, the Garreau family claimed by and large the entire western side of the hill, straight on down into the rolling wilderness against its flank, and the wealthy lot continues to hold to that ancestral claim to this very day. Much to the city's amusement, the eccentric family's perpetually unsuccessful 'Moontide' vineyard is located just outside the family lands.

Stockford Hill

Located toward the northwestern outskirts of the city, Stockford Hill was named after a Joseph Stockford largely because no one could think of any other 'honour' to bestow upon him for the .. ah, monumental bravery of hiding in the lavatory of the then-growing city's bank while bandits stole citizens blind. As the only survivor, he did contribute to the bandits' capture, but only thanks to his keen eye for well-cobbled shoes. The bandit leader wore a particularly handsome pair, quite memorable, though lamentably too large.

These days, the broad and gently sloping hill provides access to the I-89 on-ramp and is home to the city's largest mall.

Tamarack Falls

These entries relate to the town of Tamarack Falls and its surroundings.

Changeling

These entries relate to the Changeling community.

NPCs

These entries relate to NPCs.