Vista City
Group Name: Vista City, CA
Created by: Jay P Hailey
Appearance: Jay's Vista City Game of 1994; Jay's Vista City Stories
Number of Members: as of 2000, about 80,000
Nature of Members: Humans who live in Northern California in the late 90s and 2000s
Organization: Vista City has a city council. In the 1980s the Shasta County government collapsed due to incompetence and corruption. The Shasta County Government was melded with the Vista City Government, which took over administration of the county. County residents can vote for Council members.
Vista City has sub-organizations to handle specific tasks - Fire fighting, emergency services, police and peace keeping.
Game Role: a Fictional place to have fictional things happen. because the city is fictional, the locations and layout of the city is not usually subject to argument.
World Role: A small city and stransportation junction in Northern California. It is on Interstate Highway 5 between San Fansisco, CA and Portland, Oregon.
Relative Influence: As an American City - Small - Vista city is a small, obscure city drowned out by nearby megopolises. Compared to an individual huge.
Public or Secret? Public.
Publicly Stated Goal: To create and maintain a good place to live, work and pay taxes.
Relative Wealth: Compared to other cities - small. Compared to other cities of it's on size, slightly above average. Compared to individuals Huge.
Group advantages: Vista city is large, has a lot of money and legal authority.
Special Abilities: Vista City can level taxes on properties inside city limits.
Group Disadvantages: Cities cannot move, dodge or hide.
Special disadvantages: Weirdness magnet.
Those who favor them:
Residents of the City
The state of California
The Federal Government
Those opposed to them:
Criminals, thugs, anarchists, and Libertarians
Area of Operation:
Vista City California, Shasta County, California
Headquarters Location:
City Hall, Vista City
Public Face:
A modern American town.
Notable Members:
Mayor John McKenna
Martin Bertinelli, Leading citizen
Junior Nogano, CEO of Nogano American Inc.
History of the Organization:
Founded in 1844 by Captain John Reading.
The city continues in existence until well past 2376
Vista City can hold several adventuring framing mechanisms - the Police, Fire Department, the Vista City General Hospital, There is a local FBI office. There is work for private security, private investigation companies and there are a few newspapers including old fashioned crusading social justice investigating newspapers.
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Group Name: The Vista City Police Department
Number of Members: Up to 700
Nature of Members: Human Individuals possibly a few others in secret..
Organization: Quasi Military
Game Role: A frame work to bring the Characters into Adventures.
World Role: To defend the Citizens of Vista from criminals and their actions
Relative Influence: Minor. The VCPD can arrest criminals and turn the case over to the Prosecutor's office, but they have little effect on policy
Public or Secret? Public
Publicly Stated Goal: To uphold the law and the public Safety of Vista City
Relative Wealth: To the Game world, minor. They can afford good standard equipment for their members. Compared to a real Police Depart of that size, extreme, they can fully equip their officers.
Group advantages: Law Enforcement Authority, No one asks questions when a Police Officer goes armed, back up available from other VCPD Officers
Contacts: The Mayor of Vista City, as well as various public officials. Leading citizens of Vista City. Criminals and scum who will give officers information.
Special Abilities: The VCPD has guns and cars with flashing lights.
Group disadvantages: The VCPD is limit by very strict interpretations of law and appropriate behavior, VCPD Members are expected to risk life and limb confronting criminals.
Special Disadvantages: The VCPD has larger, more powerful and more well organized enemies than a 700 person police force should really have.
Those who favor them: The Citizens of Vista City.
Those opposed to them: The Criminals of Vista City
Area of Operation: Vista City CA, and areas relevant to on going cases
Headquarters Location: Vista City Ca.
Public Face: Brave Defenders of Law and Order
Notable Members: Chief Arbuckle, political glory hound. Assistant Chief Alejandro Moody, a technocrat with a paladin streak. Captain Arnold, Chief of the Night Shift. Captain Guthrie, chief of Internal Affairs, Grandma with an Iron Fist. Captain Angelo Mancuso, chief of the Special Investigations Squad.
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Profile Vista City Police Department Special Investigations Squad
Group Name:
VCPD SIS
Number of Members:
Varies, rarely more than 12 people
Nature of Members:
Police Officers of the Vista City Police Department, who specialize in difficult,
sensitive or weird cases. Or people who are difficult or weird themselves.
Organization:
Paramilitary - Police
Game Role:
A framing mechanism for telling stories - gives the PCs a common set of goals.
A way to play "lower Key" B13 games - the SIS often gets difficult
or sensitive Mundane cases as well as the occasional supernatural event.
World Role:
To investigate crimes and present evidence to the Prosecutor, to contain and
resolve unusual situations
Relative Influence:
In Vista City, pretty large, although secret.
Public or secret?
Public although often down played.
Publicly Stated Goal:
To protect and serve the Citizens of Vista City, CA
Relative Wealth:
Compared to an individual - Large, has a large collection of automobiles and
equipment
Group advantages:
Law Enforcement Powers, member may go about openly armed.
Contacts:
Other Law Enforcement agencies.
Civil Government of Vista City
Criminals
Special Abilities:
Has some knowledge of the Secret History and how to cope with it.
Group disadvantages:
Restrained by civil rights, civil over sight
Special Disadvantages:
Has to handle B13 business under public scrutiny
Those who favor them:
Citizens who enjoy law and order, and a sane life style.
Those opposed to them:
Criminals and weird evil.
Area of Operation:
Vista City, California - a fictional city that roughly replaces Redding CA -
There was a second group set up in Vancouver WA, as well.
Headquarters Location:
Police Department HQ, Vista City, California.
The Building is actually three older building remodeled into one maze-like warren.
The VCPD-SIS uses the old Squad Room, built in 1914, and used as the central
Police HQ until 1982
Public Face:
Skillful and competent law enforcement professionals
Notable Members
Jennifer Ashby, retired B13 agent who returned to duty, trained the SIS and
established the operational parameters of the unit.
Angelo Mancuso, former LAPD Homicide and Narcotics Detective, Became a B13 agent and leader of the SIS after Ashby retired.
Sonja Traveller, a Gypsy woman who is an empath, left her people to live life on her own terms. Became a detective with the VCPD.
Alejandro Moody: VCPD Assistant Chief. Although he's been through Police Academy and has done a few cursory ride-alongs, his main skill is administrative. He was hired because of his degrees in business management and administration. He actually runs the VCPD day-to-day. It was his desire to have a politically insulated squad to sic on troubling cases, which allowed the Bureau, under cover as a federal agency to give the VCPD a grant to organize the Special Investigations Squad. Moody sold the concept to Chief Arbuckle as a ready made set of scapegoats.
Chief James Arbuckle: A political hack, he has minor actual police experience, and lots of experience in politics. He appears in a blue police uniform, with enough scrambled eggs to put a fleet admiral to shame. He packs pearl handled automatics. No one has ever seen him practice with these. He likes to be called "Chief". He is a very hands off manager, usually spending time networking and hob nobbing with political patrons, as well as resume building through various conventions, seminars and training courses outside of Vista City.
John McKenna, Mayor: A suave, charismatic man. He is part of a political and financial dynasty that has run Vista City since the 1870s (when the first generation of McKennas were rapacious cattle barons). Unknown to the public, McKenna continues the family tradition of ruthlessness and cold bloodedness in pursuit of political power. Murder, blackmail, coercion and preying on character weaknesses are the typical tools of the McKenna family. John McKenna is neutral on the subject of the SIS, unless they cross him. Then he will make every effort, both legitimate and criminal to put and end to the VCPD-SIS and ruin all members. McKenna is ruthless and self centered. The McKenna's consider Vista City their property and will defend it against all comers. As the Mayor of Vista City John McKenna controls the budget of the organization. He enjoys the Federal grants that come along with the SIS.
History of the Group:
In the 1980s and 1990s the Bureau experimented with installing teams undercover
in situations where their activities could be explained as other types of activities.
This lead to B13 sponsored CIA action teams, FBI squads, Military units, Rock/Country Bands, and Television Production crews.
In 1994, another such group was founded. Using the lure of a federal Funding Grant and the attractive option of having scapegoats the Vista City Police Department founded the "Special Investigations Squad"
This group of police officers was immediately used as a dumping ground for weird or unpopular officers.
The SIS is called in when an Investigation is difficult, politically sensitive, or weird. The SIS also acts as special victims' squad and a cold case squad.
The VCPD Chief of police immediately isolated the SIS to use as a political scapegoat - this came in handy when a State Senator was murdered while engaged in a kinky S and M scene during a Butlers Convention in Vista City, and solidified the SIS role.
The VCPD has other squads, Homicide, Narcotics, Internal Affairs, Major Crimes, etc.
Officers of the VCPD are expected to, when necessary don uniforms and take on street patrols in times of crises or needed crowd control.
The VCPD uses ranks one step higher than common in Police departments - a reaction to being a small town police department. So a Big City department head might be a Lieutenant, in the VCPD this same role is filled by a "Captain"
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After 12 years in operation, the VCPD SIS has out lived Police Chiefs, mayors, scandals and messes galore.
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Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.