Paradigm City. Part One

Paradigm City is the city in which heroes live, work, play, and fight evil. The city itself is massive, stretching 502 miles along the West Coast of California. When many tourists come to Paradigm City they expect one fantastic sprawl and are surprised to find that Paradigm City is actually a collection of many smaller cities all linked together. Each of the cities that make up the whole of Paradigm City have their own distinct flare and flavor:

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Millennium City is the largest city district and is the seat of Paradigm City's government. It is largely tourism oriented, attempting to draw in any and all to generate revenue. Millennium City has a lot to offer and because of it's wealth and power has also become ground zero in the war between heroes and villains. The Defenders League tower resides in Paradigm City, as does the throne of evil for The Advent. Millennium City is the central hub for the remaining districts that total Paradigm City with Darkness Falls to the north, the Greene to the northeast, Raven's Grove to the east, The Bucket to the southeast. the Tower District to the southwest, and Steel Beach to the west.

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WideView is the second largest district, found north of Darkness Falls. WideView is mostly agricultural, generating revenue with farming and farm sales. It is a beautiful slice of the Midwest in California and also receives a great deal of funds from tourism. WideView's location and spartan landscape makes it a good place for villains to establish lairs. It's most noted for the Defenders League hero Retribution, and well as the near-mythical villains called Heavyweight and Jack Nine. It is famous as the home of the admired Defenders league hero Brahma.

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The GreeneWay, most often simply referred top as The Greene, is Paradigm City's most lucrative district, positioned east of WideView and northeast of Darkness Falls. The Greene serves as the primary financial district of Paradigm City, drawing in substantial funds through cultural centers, seats of business, fine dining, and frequent use for motion picture entertainment. Despite the glitter of it's wealth, The Greene has one of the lowest crime rates in Paradigm City because of the vigilance of Defenders League member Broker. The Greene is well-known as the seat of power for The Circle Trinity, one of the most prestigious wealth firms. It has lately garnered more attention for being the area in which Defenders league hero Xin crash landed.

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Darkness Falls is Paradigm City's fantastic and famous historic district. The Falls lie just north of Millennium City, south of WideView, and northeast of The GreeneWay. Not only are The Falls famous for museums, art and cultural centers, and the oldest neighborhoods in Paradigm City it is also believed to be the most haunted area of the city. Ghosts, UFOs, and cryptids are reported from the Falls on a regular basis, and it has been featured on television many times. It was formerly the seat of power for the frightening Arcanus Malefactorum but has recently undergone a massive upheaval in the criminal underworld to determine a new illegal crime lord. The Falls is home to one of Paradigm City's most media-visible Defenders League heroes, Girl Wonder.

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Steel Beach is famous as the sight of an  unprecedented Japanese surprise attack on the morning of December 7, 1941; killing 2400 Americans and causing America to enter WWII. Steel Beach is mainly industrial, focusing its finances on the Naval industry. It has some of the most spectacularly beautiful beaches on the entire West Coast which ensures a massive influx of tourism during the spring and summer months. It is also known for piracy, most believe lead by a pirate "queen". Steel Beach is west of Millennium City and southwest of Darkness Falls.

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The Tower district, sadly nicknamed The Slums by most residents of Paradigm City, was designed to be a beautiful and wealthy section of the city but because of a stagnant economy and other considerations fell into disuse, and became populated by the disposed, the insane, and the destitute. Today, The Tower District is little less than Hell on Earth, a place where people go to disappear and be forgotten. Because of an unknown disease strain, The Tower District is under CDC quarantine. Despite it's horrendous reputation it does have a protector, the enigmatic  Defender League hero Archangel, whom never leaves the city and is so aloof over 90% of her team mates have never met her.

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Gold Coast City, affectionately called The Bucket, is Paradigm City's answer to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. It draws in so much tourism from its waterfront hotels, penny arcades, and casinos; as well as contracts from the motion picture and television companies; that The Bucket is almost entirely self-sustaining. It's said that any vice can be obtained in The Bucket, if the price is right.

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Raven's Grove is the smallest and southernmost district of Paradigm City, made up largely of pretty rolling hills and quiet suburban communities. It also has some of the most favored educational institutions in the country, including the famed School For Girls. It is very well known among the paranormal community as being a central hub for mystic and magical energies. It is also feared for the presence of Cadaver, the area's most despicable villain. The Defender League hero Cantrip keeps Raven Grove safe.

Organizations

Many of Paradigm City's organizations, both heroic and criminal, are world famous.

The Defenders League is the most powerful law enforcement agency operating within the city. The brain child of the hero Paragon, The Defenders League exists both to assist local and statewide law enforcement but also to provide housing, education, and training for up and coming superheroes. The Defenders League tower. which is the heart of Millennium City, is a five story X shaped structure known to have the latest technological, medical, and academic imports largely thanks to having brilliant minds such as Doctor Tesla, Doctor Sabre, and Yoiko Hibiki operating within it's walls. Since the unexplained disappearance of most of Earth's most powerful heroes and villains, operations of the League have been taken over by members Doctor Tesla and Breakdown. The Defenders League membership is what most heroes aspire to attain, for the reputation and respect that comes along with it. But...

Where the is good, there is evil. In Paradigm City, that evil rises to the forefront as The Advent. The Advent is the singularly greatest criminal empire in history. Just as the Defenders League aids and supports new heroes, The Advent trains and equips new villains. The Advent is made up of the greatest criminal threats in America, including Cadaver, Mastermind, and a great many others. It also bosoms a great many criminal empires including Mastermind's Overlords, Olympic Industries, The Serpent Society,  and Hammon International.

Part Two will continue the discussion of organizations within the game, and give an overview of some of the city's most famous residents.  

DISTRICTS

This is a reference sheet for all the collective cities which make up Paradigm City as a whole.

WIDEVIEW-Also known as the farming and agricultural district. Lulu's area.
DARKNESS FALLS-The Historical district and seat of magic and the supernatural. Essa's area.
GREENEWAY-The Financial district and seat of city economics. Riven's area.
STEEL BEACH-The Industrial district and powerhouse of naval commerce. Rodd's area.
RAVEN'S GROVE-A small district largely educational in nature. Mus took it. >:P
THE SLUMS-the sealed off, demilitarized district. Akemi's area.
THE BUCKET- The Entertainment district. Skyfire's area.
MILLENNIUM CITY-The Governmental district and seat of Paradigm City government. Mus' area.

Paradigm City Part Two: Profiles

The following individuals are should be considered to be publicly known by all characters.

1. Milennium City

Governor Melissa Cartwright
Melissa Cartwright is the rarest type of politician: One who does what she says she will do and listens to her constituents. Before entering politics, Cartwright was a family practitioner whom grew dissatisfied with the high level of crime in Paradigm City. She ran first for a seat on the city council, and from there was elected mayor of Millennium City. After serving out her eight year term as Mayor, Cartwright ran for state Governor and won by a landslide. She is the wife of the now missing hero Paragon, and since her husband has disappeared she has become a high profile target for villains and villain groups.

Doctor Raymond Shelgul, mastermind of the Advent
Raymond Shelgul is considered to be the greatest criminal mastermind in all of Paradigm City. He first came to public recognition by a bid to take over Raven's Grove, and was narrowly defeated by the Defenders League. Sent to Stronghold, he earned the respect of his fellow inmates and then engineered an escape which was successful. Returning to Millennium City with her new allies, he deposed Mister King as head of The Advent and now leads the organization with an iron fist.

Yoiko Hibiki
Japanese born Yoiko Hibiki is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of the 21 century. She made her first millions by inventing a fabric with the textile strength of titanium, called Yoicord, which she sold to the US military. Hibiki is the designer and founder of the island of Olympus, designed the Stronghold super-prison, and perfected the creation of the artificial life forms known as bioroids. Hibiki's genius is so great that Olympus is easily a hundred years ahead of the rest of the world in technology and medical science.

2. Wideview

Heavyweight
Tyrone Brooks grew up on the means streets of the inner city, almost inevitably joing a gang as soon as he was able. As he got older, he only got bigger and bigger, soon gaining a name through his inhuman strength and durability. His reputation soon drew the attention of the organized elements of the city, interested in making him more than a street thug. He embraced his new found..employers, soon becoming one of the mafias feared enforcers. They often fond him useful for eliminating rivals or even simply removing evidence..whatever it may be, his unending appetite will make it disappear. His illegal activities soon brought the attention of real powers to him, turning him from hit man to real super villain, under the name Heavyweight. Since then he's been in battles with half of the cites heroes, bringing his immense size and strength to crime after crime.

Jack Nine
 Jack Nine has been roaming the highways of Wideview as long as most can remember. Where he came from and when is hotly debated, mostly by hot babes. He is often said to appear out of seemingly thin air, bringing swift justice before disappearing again, much to his fans lament. Eye witness descriptions vary on what his abilities are exactly, ranging from tales of mighty warriors to blasts of ice. Accounts often mention him as a group of similiarlary uniformed men, working in unison as a team. Most agree on that he always has the same general appearance ./.././/..zzt....of a dashing rogue swooping in to rescue the damsels. Regardless, many of the districts inhabitants have praised his efforts, his courageous actions saving them from countless threats, darker than any other imaginable uh..villainy.

3. Darkness Falls

Chester A. Wainbridge
Father of the famous child progeny Victoria Wainbridge, the mayor of Paradigm City Steven Wainbridge, and the son of Paradigm By Gaslight founder Samantha Wainbridge, Chester A.Wainbridge is the wealthiest man in Darkness Falls, being a captain of industry in manufacturing and textiles. A good, honest, and decent man that has no idea his beloved daughter was the terrifying Hand of Glory Wainbridge has dedicated his millions to the betterment of humanity by funding the arts, sciences, and contributing heavily to charity.

Wainbridge is exceptionally hero friendly, and sometimes uses his political pull to assist superheroes in their efforts to make Darkness Falls livable again. 

Steven Wainbridge 
 The acting Mayor of Darkness Falls, a Conservative whom believes that it is up to each man to grasp his own destiny. To that end, Wainbridge has made sweeping reforms in how the city is run, including denying city benefits to individuals whom are in the country illegally; which has put him at odds with both Unions and Immigrant Rights Groups and, most importantly, his own father. Steven Wainbridge is a hard nosed by the book Mayor, a former police detective whom has a well documented dislike of meta humans. Wainbridge has tried to enact several article to make the use of super powers illegal within the city but has been defeated only by the narrowest of margins.


4. The Greenway


The Broker
The Broker is an enigmatic “hero” of the city, who never shows his face and talks either with voice masking, or indirectly through his lieutenants. When he calls on other heroes they are almost always brought to a location in Greene Way, which is one of the few clues to where he might actually be stationed. As mysterious and shady as he seems, Paragon himself vouches for the Broker's actions and backs him, which is usually enough for others. The Broker does not fight crime as other heroes do. Instead he funds super heroes He controls a small personal army which patrols Greene Way for criminal activity, and can be rented out to bolster the police forces of other districts within the city. He also funds, supplies, and often sets up entire super hero teams, providing bases and equipment, and access to his own personal market space. A market which side steps a lot of different laws regarding international trade and gun control policy in order to keep Heroes on the cutting edge. In emergency situations the Broker has often supplied heroes with advanced medical services, helicopter evacuations, and other such in the name of keeping the super villains at bay.

Sir Edward Woodsworth
 Edward Woodsworth is an English gentleman who comes form a long, aristocratic line, owning many different companies all over the world. His family had a hand in the financial founding of Paradigm city, but Edward himself had never been there until in his twenties he became infatuated with America. And since the family had this old manor house citing in one of the biggest cities, he decided to move in. Since then he has turned his considerable financial assets towards the betterment of the city, giving money to charities, schools, building up regions, and supporting the arts. He also built the lake which became named after him, originally he wanted to name it Millennium Lake. Woodsworth is a prominent figure in local government as well, though he holds no office in that government. His amount of money and clout as a Knight tends to be enough to help him sway some politics in his favor. Being THE richest person in a region tends to do that.

Anthony Haffington
Mr. Haffington lives in Highland Estates, which he takes great pride in. It was his initiative which fenced off the region from the riffraff after all, and put the restrictions on crossing over that keeps most of the common people out. Anthony was born in Paradigm city, his grandfather built up the estate he now lives in alone. The second wealthiest individual he is the constant rival of Edward Woodsworth, putting up competing businesses, though the other seems to not even notice. Haffington is also the head of the local District Council, and a preceding member of the city government. He is active in the arts as well, and is often found appearing to try and out do any other member of society at any time. He is well known for throwing large, and lavish balls and lesser parties at his estate. He is also known to be a member of the Masons, and it is rumored he has connections to other secret societies as well.