Game Setting

Phoenix Cove Overview

Overview / Joining Phoenix Cove

The safety of Phoenix Cove relies on keeping it's location secret from Therizo and Apocalypse's forces. Anyone stumbling upon the location would be impossible thanks to the displacement field around the island, which makes it invisible and prevents anyone from finding it. Anyone who tries to get to Phoenix Cove by flight, boat, parachute, or other mundane means will continue to 'miss' the island. Even if they know exactly where the coordinates are, they will end up somewhere else. The field does not prevent anyone from teleporting onto the island, however, and is the main mode of transportation on and off the island.

Housing

There is an abundance of empty houses and apartments all over the island. New citizens are asked to only claim as much room as they need – lone people should not claim a house for themselves, for instance. Exceptions are made for special circumstances.

Jobs at Phoenix Cove

The X-Men are accepting new members at all times. Anyone willing to put in time training is put on active duty and receives a small stipend. Pay is dependent on position, i.e. a team leader, medic, or teleporter will have a higher pay grade. Bonuses are given for going on missions.

Everyone is encouraged to find their own niche and way to contribute to the community. Those who contribute to the island, either in its defense or improving the community, will get paid accordingly. Others might work at the community farm or go on scavenging parties to find things to sell at the weekly market. Artists can display and sell their work at the Community Arts Center. Any form of entertainment is in high demand. Please see Casting Calls for possibilities.

Government

Phoenix Cove’s civilian world is run by a council that includes representation for the civilian population of Phoenix Cove, in addition to the leader of the X-Men. Each representative is the chair of a committee that oversees an aspect of Phoenix Cove. Anyone with the skills or willingness to volunteer are welcome to join any of the committees, and run in the upcoming elections.

The current council members are as follows, subject to change when elections are held in the fall:

Chairperson: Grace Farrow

X-Men Representative: Trent Piotrowski

Iwan Aurelio Bautista (Education)

Jenna Lagorio (Small Business)

Wilson Grub (Morlock Representative)

Ava Romanov

Erik Fernand

Please contact the mods with any questions. For more information on the island itself and the different defined locations on the map, please see below.

Downtown

Buchanon Bar

The Buchanon Bar owned and operated by Ava Romanov is located down town and used to be a bank. It is named after the X-Men's first base, located in New Orleans, that fell to a sentinel attack. It's two stories with a full basement, there is a cafe run by Tremaine attached to the bar. The basement is used as a distillery, while the top story is used as Ava's apartment.

Firefly Grill

The Firefly Grill cafe attached to the Buchanan Bar, run by Tremaine Harper. The kitchen supplies food for the bar as well as the diner. Typically the cafe has a standard menu, but on occasion Tremaine will

get the supplies for something out of the ordinary and have a 'one night only' special for items such as pizza, seafood, or gyros, depending on what he can get from the scavenging crews or the farm.

Evolution Tattoo Parlor

Evolution is a renovated storefront located in Phoenix Cove's downtown area between Buchanan Bar and Freak Alley. Though it only has one artist the building is equipped with three fully stocked work stations, a modernist sitting area, and a back room that stores an autoclave and Charlie’s personal work shop. Charlie lives in a small studio apartment behind the shop with his cat Rasputin.

Regal Cinemas 16

Located on the western coastline of the island next to the boardwalk, this movie theater has been re-opened and maintained by Dallas King. He hosts a weekly movie night, with provided snacks, drinks and popcorn, all free of charge.

The movie posters and standee displays have been replaced by classic and well loved movies. There are also dozens of decorations that have been 'liberated' from movie museums, including several wax figures, original costume and prop displays, and the Batmobile.

Community Arts CenterJuly 2020 saw the grand opening of the Phoenix Cove Community Arts Center, a downtown located building with a stage, gallery, and large studio area for artists to work in. Some space has been set aside for art classes and seminars, as well. The CAC was started by Leslie and Wen, and they welcome more volunteers and artists to make the arts center grow. The CAC staff has started a 'beautify Phoenix Cove' initiative that includes putting more durable art in public places, cleaning up public areas, and decorating the town center in the spirit of holidays.

Freak Alley

The Community Arts center building is attached to what is now being called the 'Freak Alley' art gallery. The alley has different art pieces painted on the exterior of buildings - many of the paintings were there before the X-Men arrived on the island, but now have been expanded upon.

Residential

The residential area represents much of the North-Central part of the island, comprised of houses and apartments. The houses lining the cliffs of the northern coastal lines have the best views. Some of the best beaches on the island rest between downtown and the residential neighborhoods. Beach Pavilions and docks are common in this area.

Located on the edge of the Ash woods, the Revival Park features a distinctive spray fountain, a bandshell, two small lakes, and a picnic pavilion. There is also a playground across the street, closer to the houses.

Commercial

A bird's eye view of the Phoenix Cove Vista shopping complex. Many stores have recently opened - a hardware store, as well as a general store, and others offering clothing, grocery, and seamstress work. Many stores are still closed and abandoned. The biggest draw is the Saturday markets, bringing together everyone in the community to trade, barter or buy a wide variety of crafts, fruits and vegetables, as well as anything vendors have scavenged up.

There are also a pair of tennis courts, two fountains, and a couple manmade lakes, making the area very beautiful. Here are some of the stores established in the shopping complex:

Cora's Bakery

Cora's Bakery is owned and operated by Jenna Lagorio, who serves up staple breads and occasional sweet treats for all the citizens of Phoenix Cove. New baked delights are placed on the shelves every morning to sell throughout the day, all dependent upon what Jenna has to bake from. Sandwiches are available around lunch time, coffee and tea are also available throughout the day. The bakery is named for Jenna's sweet cousin Cora, and Jenna jokes that it is the third in the franchise--the first being in New Orleans (now closed) and the second in Black Hawk (still in operation).

Paradise Found

This boutique offers salvaged clothing, shoes and fashion items as well as original clothing designs from Clover Young. There is a beauty section that features makeup, hair dye, nail polish, lotions and perfume for the ladies of the island who don't want to leave vanity behind them in this new world.

Perhaps the biggest draw of the little shop is the impressive metal jewelry collection created by store owner Leslie McAllister.

A myriad of rings, necklaces and custom jewelry are on display and available for purchase. Leslie also offers commissions where she will design customer jewelry or art in mere seconds and work with the customer until the piece is just right. This can range from small pendants to towering statues.

An option to use the storefront to sell your handmade jewelry, clothing or beauty products is available. Sustainable natural and organic beauty supplies are in high demand.

Headquarters

The largest building on the island is the X-Men's official base of operations. It includes a large training area, fitness/weight room, indoor swimming pool, security/communications center, a War room and other conference rooms, as well as a secure weapons locker. There is also a X-Men communal kitchen, large dining room, den/rec room, and many storage and freezer units for food and supplies. There are no living quarters in the building, team members live in the residential areas of Phoenix Cove.

This area is restricted to members of the X-Men only, and refugees on the island are not allowed to enter. The base is protected by keycode entrance, alarms, and is monitored by the communications center.

Community Hospital Clinic

The Clinic is run and maintained by the Head Medic Rusti Piotrowski, as well as Mai Wen, and Olivia Mimieux. There are a few nurses and EMTs that have volunteered to assist, so the Clinic can be open twenty four seven in case of emergencies.

Phoenix Cove also has a veterinarian, Seth Matthews, who is available by appointment and has an office at the Clinic. He has a small house near the horse stables for pop-bys and emergencies.

White Wind Healing Center

The White Wind Healing Center is run by Mai Wen, and provides Eastern Medicine such as acupuncture, herbal treatments, aromatherapy, and deep tissue massage. Mai Wen also offers nutritional advice, along with meditation classes for those who are interested in their spiritual health. The WWHC is open on a walk in basis weekday mornings, and in the afternoon by appointment.

Community

The community area is densely populated with buildings - there is a police station, jail, library, fire department, City Hall / Capitol building as well as small elementary and high schools. Many buildings in this area remain abandoned.

City Hall has come to life as the City Council began to work to make Phoenix Cove as "normal" a town as they could. Members of the council oversee the influx of refugees, getting public works into place, and work with the X-Men's representative on the council to make sure the town and team can coexist in harmony. Citizens can come to City Hall to find a job working for the city, if they aren't able to find work on their own, and volunteers are always welcome to help Phoenix Cove run smoothly.

Personal vehicles are discouraged, but there are two public buses that run from one end of town to the other, in a loop.

Phoenix Cove Peacekeepers Station + County Jail

Peacekeepers are the town's police that get called on for emergencies and help maintain order in Phoenix Cove. They are specifically kept separate from the X-Men and the two rosters are not allowed to mix. As he maintains the shield that protects the island, Tremaine Harper has been appointed Head Peacekeeper.

All Peacekeepers are are expected to put in a set number of hours in training, and take classes on the laws of Phoenix Cove and how to enforce them.

Peacekeepers have a unique badge to identify them. Like the island's teleporters, they carry communicators at all times, and are on call even when they aren't on duty. Peacekeepers oversee the county jail and any prisoners currently housed there, as well as patrol specific areas of Phoenix Cove.

The First United Bank building (right) has been taken over as the financial heart of Phoenix Cove. This building houses the computers that track the account balances for all residents, which is backed up and verified daily by a small team to prevent dataloss.

Everyone on the island had been issued a card with a barcode associated with their account, which gives them access to the island's economy. Refugees are issued the cards once they've gone through processing. Their account comes with a sum of money to let them get by until they get on their feet.

Businesses / entrepreneurs are given scanners/tablets to make transactions.

Calvary Chapel

The Calvary Chapel is located on the North Eastern side of Phoenix Cove. It had once been an Evangelical church, though at it's re-opening it was set as completely nondenominational. It was renovated by Rusti Piotrowski, who still kept the name, as Calvary seemed fitting, considering all the suffering they been through to get this far.

The Chapel is open to the public twenty four seven, and while there is no official Pastor, Rusti often runs a prayer or discussion on Sundays for those who are interested.

The exterior of the building has a large gazebo, and there is a garden in the back with stone walkways and areas for sitting.

Agricultural

The communal farm is located on the east end of town. Most of its property is taken up by crops, mostly wheat and corn fields and a grove of fruit trees, but there are areas for livestock and a water treatment facility as well. Gardens for herbs, fruits and vegetables are abound.

Meat is usually caught by hunters on or off the island, as livestock (mostly chickens) are kept for eggs. Dairy is uncommon on the island, and is usually brought in by scavengers who brave Therizo territory.

Many of the refugees looking for work are directed to the farm, which takes people on a first come, first served basis to fill in farm hand positions, but a few experienced farmers are on the permanent staff.

Near the farm is the Sunrise Garage, is a mechanics' shop run by Odin Chavez and Leda Avery. Since vehicles are at a minimum on the island, they mostly assist with tractors and farm equipment, but are working on restoring some classic cars.

Central / Southern Area

Ash Woods

The Ash Woods take up much of the central part of the island, and are dominated by several species of pine as well as hardwoods including hickory and oak. There are bike and hiking trails leftover from the previous inhabitants, though many trails are now overgrown. Many cats and dogs that were pets are now wild in the forest, and there is a bit of an overpopulation problem.

About half a mile south of Revival Park, there is a hidden gem - a tree house.

Wasteland

Much of the Southern part of the island is ruins, covered in damaged or demolished houses. It appeared to be hit by some natural disaster before the X-Men arrived, and as much of the ground is now marsh, most areas are not livable. Many volunteers have been working to clear the debris in dryer areas, so there may be an option to rebuild someday.

At the southern tip of the cove, there is an old light house.

Black Hawk, Colorado

This small town in Colorado once boasted the smallest population in Colorado, but had many times that in tourist traffic passing through its casinos and hotels. This historic city was founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, and has doggedly clung to life since then.

During the turmoil of the last few years, two of the casino owners bought out the other casinos through umbrella corporations. They allied with each other because they were both mutants, and could guess at the trouble that was coming to their country. Both of them used their contacts, influence, and wealth to either buy out their neighbors or bring them into the alliance that was quietly taking over the town. Gradually, they replaced their employees with mutants, some openly mutates, until most humans were forced to go elsewhere for employment. They assisted other mutants with loan-sharkish loans to help buy other small businesses and real estate in the little town. Any mutant that needed living space could rent a hotel room for a reasonable price, and soon humans were very much in the minority. They never made an official announcement, but not long before Apocalyopse and Therizo went to war, rumors started circulating about this mutant haven, and they soon had an influx of citizens.

Gates have been built at every road leading into the town. They have natural defenses from the mountains, as well as mutant enforcers that keep the peace in exchange for room and board. 8 out of 10 people in town are mutants, and humans are very much second class citizens that mostly have menial jobs, but they feel safer in Black Hawk than they would trying to get out of the country.

The leadership does everything possible to keep things running normally - there is power, people can game at the casinos or go to restaurants, etc., there are only a couple of differences. One, regular money is worthless here. They use special casino chips everywhere, which can be gotten in exchange for goods (The casino chips are made of a unique substance and are very distinct to any chips you can get anywhere else, they can't be counterfeited easily). You can trade currency for chips at any casino, but the exchange rate is very bad. Two, the streets and businesses are thoroughly patrolled by the Enforcers.

Black Hawk is an allied town to Phoenix Cove, and is the only city that Phoenix Cove and the X-Men openly trade with. The citizens of Black Hawk are still not allowed to know the location of Phoenix Cove, and all transactions are handled via the X-Men teleporters. The X-Men have come to the town's aid when they were attacked by Apocalypse's forces, and so Black Hawk has cut all ties with the Horsemen and Apocalypse supporters lurking in near-by areas.

The Graveyard

Along a ridge overlooking Black Hawk, an area of disrupted ground is referred to by the locals as the Graveyard. The area was warped by the Horseman Conquest's powers during a devastating attack on Black Hawk that left many dead. Those lost were buried here among the columns and unnatural rock formations, and it came tradition that anyone who died would be buried here.

Laws of Black Hawk

Humans must have a mutant sponsor to stay within town limits. That mutant is responsible for all of the human's actions.
Public discussion of the war is forbidden.
There is a strict curfew of 9:00 p.m., that is when everything shuts down and you need permission to be out anywhere. Curfew ends at 6:00 a.m. This is meant to conserve power.
No hoarding. Every resource is shared and controlled by the Circle. Anyone found with more than a few days' worth of food and supplies in their home will be reprimanded, potentially imprisoned.
There are areas that are marked for authorized personnel only, such as the power plant, which is very strictly enforced. Instant exile (or worse) if anyone is caught out-of-bounds.
Orders from Enforcers must be obeyed immediately, without question. This is for the sake of keeping the peace and public safety. Failure to comply with an Enforcer order will result in an arrest, possibly a fine, possibly exile, depending on the situation.

Troublemakers tend to disappear. Generally the feeling is, blend in, avoid the Enforcers, and you'll be fine.

NPCs of Note

Gideon Shaw (owner of the Gold Rush Casino) - The mastermind behind the mutant takeover of the town.

Carly Brighton (owner of the Seven Sisters Casino) - Gideon's partner. She is the 'face' of the organization that runs the town. Gideon and the rest of the circle are mostly silent partners. She has the mutant ability to generate incredibly powerful static force fields, and is considered an integral part of Black Hawk's defenses, should the city come under attack.

Harrison Ritter: Member of the Circle and head of the Enforcers. Pyrokinetic. Styles himself as the local police chief, acts bumbling to get people to let their guard down.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse