Fort Brunsett
Fort Brunsett
Founded in 1782, it is a small city, but a city nonetheless, and anonymity is a far easier thing to achieve and maintain. They are proud of their relative self-sufficiency and proud of their industry, but let's just say they're not going to end up on the cover of a magazine any time soon.
Contents
Attitudes
Unlike the small town attitude of Tamarack Falls, it takes a lot for something to be known by the entire city. Their attitudes reflect this.
Toward Outsiders
More often than not, the city regards outsiders as a resource. A great deal of its yearly income is seasonal, based on visitors to Lake Brunsett and the hiking trails up north in Tamarack Falls. Most visitors stay in the city, rather than the town, since the town is too small for "real" hotels, and doesn't have what most citified sorts regard as the staples of human life. No malls, no supermarkets. Just a lot of fresh air.
Toward Newcomers
The more the merrier! Unless it is a huge influx, the cityfolk just don't notice, or care, on the broad scale. The crime rate is fairly low, so there isn't a great deal of suspicion aimed newcomers' way unless they look like creeps, thugs, drug dealers etc.
Toward Changelings
Seriously? No, no. Wait. Don't tell me. You believe in Santa Claus, too, don't you?
Toward Psychics/Thaumaturges
What are you, one of those weirdos from up the falls? Maybe they exist, maybe they don't. The cop shows sure seem to put stock in them, but it's probably just good guessing.
Families
The following Families have a presence in Fort Brunsett:
Alexander
Based here in the city, the Alexanders are one of the newer Families, but they've certainly made a name for themselves. Some of them even manage to keep that name respectable. Not many, but some. By and large, despite their legitimate shipping business (The Stone & Crown - R06), they are the city's equivalent of the mob. Diet mob. It's hard to pin anything on them, but where there's trouble with the law, an Alexander was probably involved in it somewhere.
The Decrepit Farmhouse (FB10) is the site of the family home, though most kids leave early. Okay. Correction: most kids get kicked out on their arses early to make their own living.
Desrochers
While their home base is up in Tamarack Falls, the Desrochers family runs the very successful Desrochers (FB04) pub on the east side. The family also owns a carpentry shop, though it hasn't been open for business in twenty years. Officially. Plenty of old customers still leave requests, and plenty of old Desrochers still fill them. The family is the primary construction group for new work on the Garreaus' Merriweather Manor. They're good eggs, and the city is glad to have them.
Fry
Also based in Tamarack Falls, the Fry family maintains a presence in the city and elsewhere through the very popular ice creamery Dare (FB04) -- and being daring is a requirement. If you want plain chocolate and vanilla, go elsewhere! If the Frys are elsewhere, they are likely working with the rangers who handle the preserves and wilderness parks. Like the Desrochers, Frys tend to be good, reliable people.
Garreau
A very wealthy and long-standing member of the city, the Garreau family name is on many a school wing or science project. Widely regarded as very intelligent, but not all there, the family is respected for its dedication to education and, simultaneously, a source of occasional amusement and unease, depending upon just what members' tinkering is setting loose this time. The Moontide vineyard in the Four Hills district is a perennial failure, but a source of much laughter for cityfolk in the know.
The Merriweather Manor (FB12) is the site of the family home.
Utridge
Relatively wealthy, but not truly one of the elite, if there is an election, an Utridge will be running for it. The family very seldom WINS anything, but they try, every time. While no one can prove anything, there have been occasional whispers of contact with Alexanders, and deals with the family haven't always gone quite on the level. The city regards them as something of a necessary evil. Mosquitos are good for the ecosystem. So are Utridges.
The Red Clover Hotel (FB05) is the site of the family lodgings, for those who choose to occupy a hotel room instead of finding a real home elsewhere. Of all of the families, the Utridges are the loosest-knit and most likely to fight among themselves.
Geography
Tucked up against the cliffs below the waterfall which gives Tamarack Falls its name, Fort Brunsett is surrounded largely by hills, hills, more hills, and forest, with the occasional broad expanse of rolling hillside farms and meadowlands, wetlands, and swamps if one chooses to leave the far more urban areas around the River Tam. Ten-mile Lake Brunsett forms a very effective moat against the city's northern border, the property line for Tamarack Falls essentially beginning the instant the cliff touches the soil below. The shadows of Salvation and Mischance bring night early to those who choose to live closest to the cliffs, mountains quite solidly blocking the northern horizon. Most of the city's square mileage is, in fact, the lake itself, and its surrounding hills.
Population
The city has a bit over 5,000 inhabitants, most of which live in the core residential areas around the River Tam and Lake Brunsett. The rest of the population is spread out through the hilly woods and farmlands to the south/east/west.
Local Politics
The city's politics are a bit more complex than the town's, and players are unlikely to interact overmuch with the politicians unless they happen to run in famous circles.
For the time being, they are unnamed, as if there ever ARE political plots in game, if we get players who enjoy that sort of play, the city is where openings would be.
Roles
The following roles exist.
- Mayor
- Assessor
- Attorney
- Community Justice
- Board of Health
- Electric Department
- School Districts
- Telecom
- City Council
- Economic Development Office
- Clerk/Treasurer
- Fire Department
- Human Resources
- Parks, Recreation & Waterfront
- Planning & Zoning
- Police Department
- Public Works Department
- Retirement Administration
- Water & Wastewater
Supernaturals
Territorially, this is the realm of mortals. Psychics are headquartered here, Thaumaturges likewise, and Changelings must be far more careful with the Mask; people don't know they exist, largely don't want to know they exist, and have no awareness whatsoever of the danger they are in. The Fate's Harvest freehold's borders don't extend beyond the cliffs, so the city is an unclaimed land.
Travel Times
To give a rough idea of how long it would take to get from point A to point B in and around the city, see the table below.
Mind you, these are averages, and the foot speed is walking, not jogging/running. If you have high Athletics or other related stats, you can certainly get there faster on foot, and if you want to break all of the traffic laws, do some math and figure out how much you're speeding. Most speed limits on city streets are 30mph.
| South shore of Lake Brunsett to TamAir | ~30 minutes by car | ~2h 20m on foot |
| South end of the city to TamAir | ~10 minutes by car | ~45 minutes on foot |
| Hart Pond to Frog Haven Pond | ~40 minutes by car | ~3h 15m on foot |
| Delwood to Tamarack Falls | ~30 minutes by car | ~6 hours on foot |
| Delwood to Patterson Bridge | ~8 minutes by car | ~1.75 hours on foot |
| Lake Brunsett circumference (~25 miles) | ~1 hour (road's not directly on bank) | ~12 hours on foot |
| ~6.25 hours on a kayak @ 4mph | ~12.5 hours swimming inexpertly | |
| Crossing Lake Brunsett's broadest point (~3 miles) | ~45 minutes on a kayak @ 4mph | ~6 hours swimming inexpertly |
| Snake Creek Farms to Riverside Markets | ~25 minutes by car | ~5 hours on foot |
Facts of City Life
While more reliable than out in the countryside, internet and electricity are not a guarantee during the winter months. Snow is snow, and snow can start as early as October. A fireplace is not just a decorative statement, and all homes are likely to have one or more of them.
Don't expect to be out in your garden before May for more than the most cold-hardy of bulbs. Storms can, and will, continue up through Memorial Day.
The core city roads are paved, but once you get out into the hills around Lake Brunsett and the outer edges of the city, the forests, pavement gives way to hard-packed and graded dirt with unexpectedly high speed limits for such narrow lanes.
The price of housing is relatively high, with even a simple apartment rental in the $900-$1,200 per month range. Good housing is likely closer to $2,000.
