Halcyon City
Much of the info here has been copied from the rulebook and isn't comprehensive. More will be established as we play and it'll be recorded here for reference.
Demographics
Halcyon has become a beacon of progress, attracting travelers and immigrants of this world and beyond, making it the most diverse known settlement on the planet. Many come to take advantage of the superhuman status of the city: reporting on the mayhem, attempting to control it, or applying to the many companies producing cutting edge technology or researcher organizations on the bleeding edge of great breakthroughs. Of course, many who come do so to be heroes or villains themselves, sustaining the perpetual chaos of the city. People from an endless panoply of cultures fill its streets, bringing their own beliefs, traditions, and practices into the city’s crucible. The city is far from perfect, with plenty of prejudice and bigotry even today, and a growing discord between it's more futurist and traditional citizens in the dawn of the city's independence.
Here aliens can be found marching along human citizens, immigrants and travelers from beyond the stars. While poverty remains a concern it is not what it once was, as the heroes and activists of Halcyon work to invent new ways to provide to their many people. Professions tend to both scientific and mechanical research of all kinds, experimental arts, and of course, "heroes" and "villains", alongside newsfolk dedicated to documenting their battles.
Government
The Advanced Expert Group for Intervention and Security is the primary governmental agency for the metahuman world. Its roots go way back to the Gold Generation, but it’s changed a great deal over the years. At this point, it has agents and strike teams, metahuman holding facilities, a tremendous intelligence network, and more. When metahuman law enforcement is necessary, it comes from A.E.G.I.S. That makes A.E.G.I.S. somewhere between a constant thorn in the side of the superheroes of Halcyon City, and one of their strongest allies. A.E.G.I.S. is always on the lookout for new talent, for those who can do what needs doing to keep the world safe from genuine superhuman threats. It’s found agents even among the young. A.E.G.I.S. keeps files on everyone, andfosters and recruits new talent wherever possible. But A.E.G.I.S. isn’t a place to be a superhero—it’s a place to be an agent, a servant of a greater purpose that pushes you to make hard decisions. Joining A.E.G.I.S. can change you, and not often for the better.
A.E.G.I.S. and many of its allies were responsible for establishing Halcyon's government after it's departure from the United States. It operates as a Capitalist Democracy, where every citizen of age can vote for their preferred representative. The funds once funneled into the police force are instead dedicated to institutions which hope to combat the roots of ordinary crime and societal corruption, which many heroes also partake in. This leads Halcyon to be a much kinder society despite it's recovering status. Laws are less punishing and prisons have been replaced with rehabilitative centers, doing away with the injustices of the prison system and hoping to tackle the root causes of crime and villainy, rather than simply punish those who offend. Many remain vigilant for corruption, while others still fight for further changes in the way Halcyon protects its people.
Industry & Trade
Halcyon is a veritable boomtown for all kinds of technological and scientific breakthroughs and advancements in multiple fields. The many scientists who flocked to the city in awe of the arrival of Metahumans have made good on that research, with amenities such as non polluting flying cars, steroids which pacen the healing of wounds, and much, much more. These are the jobs that are most populous next to, of course, hero work, which helps to protect and advance the city which changes the world by day.
Infrastructure
Halcyon City is a massive, bustling megalopolis. Gleaming silver skyscrapers adorn its business districts, and assorted streets, bridges, and rails crisscross its body. The burst in immigration has necessitated ever expanding districts, giving the city an almost patchwork aesthetic. Older districts resembling the city of old or falling into decrepitude and newer ones sporting futuristic or alien looks with the facilities to match. It’s a city of tremendous variety, from the large island of silver and glass skyscrapers to the waterfront neighborhoods of dark alleys to the strange architecture transposed onto our Halcyon from other worlds.
The city is well defended with various means of surveillance and protection from all kinds of attacks, the sewers below the city have expanded, and a high-grade propulsion system is responsible for keeping the city floating high in the sky, alongside many other features brought on by the tech boom of the Silver Age.
Districts
Halcyon has many distinct districts, almost too many to name. Some key to the cities function and culture will be listed below.
Shore Town: Once an important harbour town protected by the eldest Rocket, now fitted with airborne cargo ships and advanced yet retro machinery, befitting it's lineage of heroes.
Rock-Bottom: A smattering of infrastructure mostly left to the wayside, where the buildings rise low and the cars still run on gasoline. Always a poor area, the wars in the recent past have done it no favors, and many of Halcyon's poorer residents stew here, feeling neglected by their supposed protectors. The recent clamatous attack by the World Devourer has left them even worse off, with strange magics flowing through the area and beyond.
Starfall: A smattering of strange and alien architecture erected by extraterrestrial immigrants. Home to a plethora of amazing and unique technology, experiences, and people, as well as the base of Nox Corp, the Aerospace company which ushers in many advancements from beyond the stars.
Guilds and Factions
Superhero teams have been an important part of the city’s metahuman social scene since the Silver Generation, and even before. They’re viewed with thesame combination of celebrity awe and interest as a combination of Hollywood celebrities and up-and-coming tech companies. Some long-standing teams like the Exemplars have become part of the fabric of the city, while new ones are viewed as spunky newcomers trying to find their own niche. A team is far better equipped to actually deal with threats than individuals are, and forming a team is a great way for up-and-coming superheroes to get attention and a level of authority that individual members might not have on their own. But there’s no tried and true method here. Some teams are corporate sponsored, some are brought together by random happenstance, some are successors to existing teams. Halcyon City now has a large enough superhuman population that the turnover of teams is pretty high, and for every team you’ve heard of, there are probably five or more that you haven’t. Specific teams will be labeled as needed.
History
Halcyon City! Shining beacon of heroism and progress! The city of tomorrow! That’s the tagline, anyway. The truth is always a little more complex. Halcyon City has been around for several centuries, but it's real history begins in the 1930s, with the appearance of Maggie Macintyre, better known as Flying Freedom. Historians know now that there were superhumans before, scattered all throughout history. But Flying Freedom was the first public figure to whom the term “superhero” could reasonably be ascribed. She was cloaked in a pilot’s jacket, cap, and goggles, with the American flag emblazoned on her back, and she could fly. Newsreel footage of the era marveled at how she soared over Halcyon’s tallest towers. Maggie MacIntyre fought criminals and madmen with flair and heroism. But she wasn’t immortal, and she wasn’t invulnerable. She died saving Halcyon City from her mortal enemy, Captain Coldheart, and his aerial doomcraft, but she’d already inspired new heroes. Champion and the Haunt had taken up her struggle for heroism, and Halcyon City would never be the same. Superhumans gravitated toward the city, joining its ever-growing community of metahumans. Some immediately sought out criminal activity; others dove headfirst into heroics; still others just lived their lives. But with all of them together in one place, Halcyon became a hotbed of technological progress. Industries moved headquarters into Halcyon to be closer to the biggest developments in their fields. And with ever greater wealth and success came ever more superpowered insanity. Halcyon has seen countless superheroes rise and fall. It’s seen super criminals and aliens, warlords and mythical monsters. It’s seen parallel dimensions overlaid on its own streets, and it’s seen time travelers from an endless panoply of possible futures. It’s been invaded, conquered, defended, and freed. And through it all the city perseveres, changing and adjusting and adapting to face whatever threats or challenges come before it.
Halcyon has recently become an independent state of it's own after a series of internal and external wars. While it is currently regarded as the best it's ever been by many, others argue that more is still to be done to help it's people, and many suffer under the conditions imposed by the recent conflicts.
Architecture
A veritable patchwork of styles, Halcyon is composed of primarily art deco and second empire style designs, alongside many innovative looks inspired by the immigrants which populate the city's many districts. While varying greatly, Halcyon is often renown for its large panel windows, seafoam green roofs, and classic brick foundations.
Climate
Halcyon is considered a humid subtropical climate generally, though it's ascent into the sky has affected it despite environmentalists best efforts, such as tech failures exposing citizens to hail much larger than average.
Natural Resources
Halcyon has many woods, lakes, and worked fields, all with protected populations of various fauna, controlled to help sustain the citizen's way of life and the delicate balance of nature. A variety of metafauna or extraterrestrial fauna are also sustained in the city, often by alien migrants or biologists experimenting with the effects of "super animals".
Founding Date
1833
Alternative Name(s)
The City in The Sky, The Town of Tomorrow
Type
Megalopolis
Population
Over 10 Million
Location under
Included Locations
Characters in Location