General Theme:
Noir Haven MUCK is heavily based on a number of pop culture sources. These include such movies as 'Sin City' and 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow' as well as games like 'Bioshock', and more importantly, the 'Crimson Skies' series. The latter's background matching heavily with ours.
In short, the MUCK takes place in an alternate 1930's setting in which the United States has broken apart into various squabbling nation states. This being the direct result of numerous incidents soon after World War 1- which in fact lasted some years longer than it did in real life- such as the failure of Prohibition on a national level, the onset of the Great Depression, which was then further exacerbated by the financial and moral cost of the war, plus such events as the recent manifestation of magic, and the ravages of the 1918 Influenza pandemic. All of this, together with certain changes in the rest of the world, making for a distinctly different history than our own.
The MUCK itself is set in the fictional city of New Haven, a bustling metropolis situated near the ocean in what was once the state of Massachusetts, but which is since known together with the other eastern states as the Atlantic Union. Serving as the last bastion of the old US Government, which wields its scepter over the Union from its seat in Washington D.C, and continues to cling to old values such as Prohibition in a desperate bid to retain some of its old power. In New Haven itself however, these values are a sham. Police and local government are continually bought off to ignore the prevalence of speakeasies and the public consumption of alcohol in the slums, and seemingly willingly give up their power to the various criminal factions that operate in the city with near impunity, only the downtown areas held to any standard of law.
Such is life in New Haven... Do you want to live it?
Factions of New Haven:
- The Celtic Club
- Ebon Kings
- The Farm
- Horizon Industries
- Cosa Nostra
- Mile High Club
- New Haven Police Department
- The Syndicate
- Three Brothers Tong
Regions and Places of the World:
North America: While borders and even alliances regularly shift in what's left of North America, the continent can still be split into the relatively stable nations and so-far unclaimed regions below.
- Arizona Deadlands (Region)
- Atlantic Union (State)
- Appalachian Borderlands (Region)
- Combine Collective (State)
- Confederate States of America (State)
- Contested Alaskan Territory (Region)
- Disputed Territory of Wyoming (Region)
- Estados Unidos Mexicanos (State)
- Federation of American Industries (State)
- Free Navajo Territories (State)
- New Zion (State)
- Ontario Protectorate (State)
- Pacific Commonwealth (State)
- People's Republic of California (State)
- République du Québec (State)
- Republic of Texas (State)
- Sioux Nation (State}
- United Silver States (State)
Technology:
Technology in Noir Haven ranges from the mundane to the farfetched. While one can expect to see everything that was commonly available in the 1930's, there is also distinct advanced, retro-futuristic technology like that only commonly seen in Dieselpunk science-fiction. Things like the existence of energy weapons, Mechas, airships, hover bikes, and the like. Good examples of what we're going for can be found here: Dieselpunk and here: Dieselpunk2 - Or you can just google 'Dieselpunk' and see a lot more examples for yourself!
Also check out this video:
Dieselpunk Art
The Supernatural:
While it'll be somewhat rare to encounter evidence of the supernatural during normal roleplay (aside from 'mundane' magic), it does exist in the world at large, and staff-run plots will sometimes include it as flavor, or as a major part of the actual plot. Examples include Lovecraftian horror, Nazi Occultism, mysticism, and witchcraft. As such, players could expect to end up in the town of Innsmouth and fight Lovecraft's Deep Ones, or investigate a lost temple in the Amazon jungle to retrieve a mystical artifact.
As a sidenote: We have not yet decided on the existence of classical monsters such as vampires and werewolves, but these might come up eventually.
Magic:
Magic does exist in the world of New Haven, and is even becoming somewhat commonplace- the first cases of it having popped up around the start of the century, and with people and organizations having since then started to recognize its potential, as well as its dangers. The system itself and its exact details are still under development however, so should one wish to play a magic based character, be sure to poke staff for help!
Anthromorphs:
Yes, we feature them, alongside human characters. If you don't like it, tough. As for their origin? They're pretty much a direct reference to the classic 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau. Basically, anthros, and their more human-looking brethren (for you anime catgirls out there) showed up 40 odd years ago, created by the good Doctor, and have since spread around the world. Called 'Morros' in popular slang, they're a varied bunch, accommodating any style of anthro one might want to play (though we are limiting it to mostly vertebrates for now, and also barring mythical creatures like dragons). Beware that if you decide to play one, you might have to deal with some level of IC racism from the human population.
Slang:
The 1930's obviously had their own vernacular, so if you want to spice up your character's IC conversations and make it seem more authentic, you can check out our slang page!