Est.
1788  Population: About
350,000 Location: Somewhere
North of San Francisco
If Los Angeles is the City of
Angels, then Santa Marta is the city of the
Fallen -- damaged, dangerous and aching to return
to its former glory.
Founded in the late 18th
century, Santa Marta didn't really reach its
stride until the Gold Rush of the 1840s and by
1860, it was a rapidly growing, bustling
metropolis rivaling nearby San Francisco. Santa
Marta attracted all types -- artists, craftsmen,
lawmen, lawbreakers and treasures seekers... But
more than anything, Santa Marta attracted those
that live on the Other Side of the Veil -- by
1890, the city boasted what might have been the
largest population of Supernatural Creatures in
the United States...
But as metoeric as Santa
Marta's rise, it was nothing compared to its
fall. When the Big Quake of 1906 hit, the city
was utterly devestated and never quite recovered.
For whatever reason, whatever aid might've come
to Santa Marta was redircted elsewhere and the
very soul of the city seemed to change -- growing
darker and ever more violent.
Still, people find themselves
drawn to Santa Marta, most frequently, those who
have been touched by the Strange and
Misunderstood -- and they frequently find
themselves unable to leave the city once they've
set down roots in its tainted ground. Whispers
abount in the city of something that sleeps far
beneath the surface... And more recently, those
whispers suggest that it may be waking up.
The tech boom breathed fresh life into the
shambling corpse of Santa Marta -- which lead to
a sudden population boom and a desperate scramble
to revitlize the city's infrastructure. The arts
district of Vista Rosa boasts some of the most
beautiful buildings in the city and the
up-and-coming tourist district of Vista Del Mar
has a boardwalk rivaled only by Santa Cruz...
But no amount of fresh paint
can hide Santa Marta's rotting soul -- nor the
fact that it has the highest murder and missing
persons rate per capita of any city in the United
States. No tourist board spin can hide the
ever-growing presence of dangerous supernatural
factions or the increasing presence of organized
crime on the city streets... The slow, creeping
dread that suffuses the city is an inescapable
part of living in Santa Marta, even though
everyone tries to ignore it and no one seems
willing to address it... Something is deeply wrong
there.
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