Tall buildings scrape against the skies in a haze of smoke and sweet jazz. This city used to be a proud giant of Industry. It’s hard to say where the downward spiral began, but when the giants of Industry couldn’t grow bigger, they fell hard. And in a time when crime was the only honest work to be found, it was the criminals who took over. Each of the five boroughs has produced a mobster Boss the likes of which put the fat cats of Industry and Government to shame. Now the Bosses rule their territories with iron fists and snazzy suits, a grim and amoral order. But the chaos of the concrete jungle is not so easily tamed.
There’s a new kind of player in town. Whether a gumshoe catches the Lady’s eye by accident or seeks to woo her attention, those who wield the double-edged sword of Fortuna’s Moxie are no easy contenders. They indulge themselves in vice and ennoble themselves with deeds of bravery. If there’s one thing everybody in the City knows, it is that Fortuna favors the bold.
This city isn’t always what it seems. There are things down dark alleys and hidden places where the laws of nature and laws of mankind are bent, broken, or just scrambled sideways. Sometimes people go missing for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or for being in the right place at the right one. (If Lady Fortuna’s involved, who can tell?) But whether you come from Downtown, Uptown, Murderer’s Row, River District, or even Shantytown, one thing’s for sure: It’s a jungle out there. Are you willing to roll the dice?
The City Versus Itself is heavily drawn from prohibition-era America. It is a heavily urbanized setting where everyone’s got a hustle going on, served hot and sweet with a side of supernatural mystery. Those with the brass to take the risks rely on Fortuna’s Moxie, be they sinners or saints. It’s that little something-extra that gives them an edge on uneasy streets, or bestows it on another.
Types of Characters:
Citizens who make their way to the Garden can come from any stripe of society. One could be a bootlegger, a socialite, a right-hand man, a gambler, a femme fatale, a radio host, a gumshoe working the streets, a beat cop, a jazz singer, hired muscle, a gal friday, or even just a lousy rotten bum.
Read the full City Versus Itself setting packet here.
This world currently has a medium population of player characters.
