The World and the City of Easthaven
The technology present in Easthaven and the world mirrors modern technology in our world. It no less or more advanced than modern-day technology. Technology does not work well when mixed with magic, read more on the Modern Magic section.
The time of our roleplay advances in normal time. So when it's spring for us, it's spring for the characters, and so on. Ultimately, players manage their character timelines themselves.
The old city of Easthaven has butted up against the Atlantic since the establishment of colonies in New England. With this legacy comes an appropriately long and storied history to match of vibrant trade, industry, and dark tales. The Old World's ancient fears and folktales have established themselves, becoming a reality among the cobbled streets of a city straddling the Old World and the New, trapped between modern ingenuity and medieval superstition.
Located in Essex County, Massachusetts, Easthaven is a city in the Greater Boston Area, just behind Boston at 77 square miles. With a population of around 450,000, its supernatural community is moderately sized, far outstripped by cities like London and New York, and even the nearby city of Boston. Easthaven has a reputation for being just a little weird, framed as jealousy of Boston and other major cities in the US, along with a small rivalry with Salem among the New Age and Wiccan crowd.
There's just enough weird in Easthaven to keep it interesting. There are stories of witch burnings and unexplainable incidents, but essentially it flies under the radar. In contrast to the nearby Salem, Easthaven may as well be completely mundane if magic wasn't a global phenomenon.
There are multiple reasons why Easthaven is a place where magic thrives, from magical theorists pointing to leylines or the unique layout of their subway system, to mystical rituals done in years of yore. Still, despite being an unknown gem of supernatural tourism, they do get a steady trickle of tourists to boost the local businesses who take full advantage of it.
Although Easthaven is the setting of this RP, the whole world it inhabits is magical. Globally, attitudes towards magic differ, based on culture and history. In the West, particularly in North America and Europe, magic is superstition and conspiracy. In other cultures, magic may be broadly accepted as aspects of religions or nature. Easthaven is a drop in the ocean in a world of magic.
The city itself has four neighbourhoods: Old Town, Upper Fens, Lower Fens, and Newton. Each location has its charm and looks based on its inhabitants' socio-economic levels and the region's history. If you select the tabs, you'll see the details of each location as well as the points of interest and local businesses. Shared among the neighbourhoods and Greater Easthaven are seven police districts.
Players can own and operate many of the businesses on the map and potentially place their own.
After two months on-site and four threads in a business location, a player can have a character purchase it by submitting a request to the staff. Alternatively, if you want an established character, they can "own" it, but it will not become an official location before the requirements are fulfilled.
If it is a pre-existing location, staff will add a note to the location of who the owner is, and the player can advertise to hire employees. If it's a brand new location, the player must submit a write-up of the location, ensuring it matches the neighbourhood it is established in.
As might be expected, the Easthaven PD is the major lawkeeper in the city. With several precincts throughout the city, their presence is about as visible as any other standard police force, and they are competent and generally well-trained, with their own share of heroism and scandal. The police will be the first responders for every reported crime, magic or mundane, whether or not their officers are in the know. The Exchange is known to cooperate with the police should any magical crime catch the police's attention. There are those on the force who are aware of the Exchange's true nature and will reach out to the group when a case turns out to have supernatural influences.
Breaking the law or creating a disturbance in the city will catch their attention.
Although they are legally registered as private investigators, the Exchange works beyond the law and could easily be termed vigilantes if the police knew what they were up to. They have set themselves up as the sole adjudicators in matters of the supernatural and have the numbers and resources to maintain this position, even if the Easthaven cohort is smaller. Their methods are straightforward and often brutal, offering no quarter to those who may compromise the safety and security of both the supernatural community and the mundane community.
The Exchange does not involve itself in matters of mundane law enforcement, whether or not the perpetrator is supernatural. However, should they catch wind of a supernatural incident that endangers their stated goals, either through the police or their own channels, they are quick to get involved and often don't concern themselves with red tape.
In the local supernatural community they are seen as a necessary line of defence against out of control supernatural entities. Opinions on them do vary, but the Easthaven Exchange has worked up a lot of goodwill and proven that they're on the side of the local supernaturals who want to exist unharassed. With the Lethe Hostel, they also do extensive social outreach to any supernaturals in trouble or in need of housing and support.
Please take note: Players who do things to catch the Exchange's attention will have to contend with the consequences of their actions, although the way those consequences manifest can be discussed. Carefully consider what you will or will not do in a plot where your character is in trouble and talk it out with staff and other Exchange players. Crossing the line can be anything from bothering the locals enough to get reported, attacking an agent, or causing a magical disaster that harms someone or threatens the secrecy that the Exchange work to maintain.
With a city comes politicians, administrative staff, and other support structures for basic safety and functions. Easthaven has a decorated fire department, emergency medical service, parks & recreation department, and a mayoral office that manage to do their job efficiently despite some bureaucratic meddling from various avenues.
Like any storyteller, sometimes we want to add our own mark on things! Three on a Match has the door open for people to create unique groups, organisations, or other elements that are appropriate to add. However, as we do have quite a lot of lore already established, both locally in Easthaven and worldwide, it means the lore must also be interally consistent between each storyteller.
To get the ball rolling for your bit of unique lore, go to the Lore Addition Request thread and fill out the requested information in the template. Feel free to discuss things in #❔questions in the Discord server if you're uncertain about how to implement something or if it will fit within the pre-established frame.
"A city with a dark past. Secrets abound on its labyrinthine streets, horrors and delights alike. Erasmus Cross is an English city full of magic and invention, romance and intrigue, horror and mystery. An eddy of the trade winds, it is a dark burgeoning sprawl of a metropolis with influences from all over the world, where the only limit is your grit and determination."
Easthaven's namesake. Erasmus Cross is a sprawling port city on the Isle of Sheppey, far to the east of London. Close to the sea, it is the crown of a large natural harbor which enjoys a steady stream of mercantile trade and tourism.
To the country at large, “the Cross” is simply known as a port city, with the usual menagerie of nobles and commoners, foreigners and locals, honest workers and criminals. The truth is a closely guarded secret. While visitors who don’t run afoul of the stranger things within the city limits will say it seems special or different, they could not guess at the city’s true nature. The Exchange works to keep outsiders from venturing too deeply into the city's secrets, for their own safety.
Like London, the Cross is a bustling metropolis, with shadowy buildings hunched together, shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately, long gone are the filthy standards of Victorian Era: the city is old, but it long ago joined the modern age and is as clean as any large city can be. On the Isle, it is often raining or about to rain. Various quarters and boroughs divide the city between upper and lower class, residential and industrial and a robust subway provides public transport between these areas. Roman influences can be seen in older architecture, as Erasmus Cross was once an entirely different city all together.
In some places, the influences of the Chinese and Indian cultures can be plainly seen, displaying the diverse population. For those in the know, there exist secret marketplaces, with businesses tailored to the interests of those seeking the supernatural.
A few places in the city open up to greenery, from small local parks and gardens to the green gem of the Promenade. Vast Roman ruins can be found in the older districts. The beaches on the waterside boast clean sand and clear water, though most would not wish to go for a dip in the frigid waves. Misty hills and dark forests surround the city on the inland side, broken by country estates, hamlets, and farmlands.
While a non-human population is not unique to Erasmus Cross, there are few other places in the country where creatures such as fey, woodland and water spirits, and other non-human entities choose to live openly. The rest of the population is comprised of humans and once-humans.
Historically, Erasmus Cross was the epicentre of the developing relationships between humans and supernaturals in the Western world. In the beginning any known Cursed or Possessed humans or Undying were segregated, those open about their status or those who could not hide their nature were shunted into the Ghost Quarter of the city and ostracised from the greater community.
Half-Bloods were not contained to one neighbourhood in such a way, but they were especially looked down on. Anyone with status revealed to be a half-blood were ostracised, their titles doing little to help them. Commoners had it marginally better, but still dealt with extreme distrust amongst humans. Shifters were feared for their rumoured ferocity and strength and treated like dangerous animals, but they formed groups and stuck to their own.