Hometown Tethers

[Rocket Man]

While I was in a between-sessions discussion with my GM, we began comparing notes on possible Tethers in our home areas. I thought I'd start this thread to see what other people might have in mind in their own stomping grounds. Feel free to throw in anything!

After some thought, I began to compile the following, far-from-complete list of Centennial State tethers and strongpoints, in no particular order:

Laurence: The U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, of course.

Zadkiel: NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain, charged with giving the U.S. and Canada early warning of an air or space attack, so as to defend both nations.

Michael: Curiously, one of War's strongest Tethers in the state is Barney Ford Hill near Breckenridge. Barney Ford was an escaped slave who fled west and became a prominent Colorado citizen after many trials, always rebuilding after repeated catastrophes. God's Champion still honors Barney's determined struggle.

Lilith: Though she lacks a major Tether here, the Princess of Freedom has always felt comfortable in Colorado, the first state to grant women's suffrage by popular vote.

Yves: At one time, Destiny's major Tether was the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, five floors of solid books with a restaurant and coffee shop added. Since the store reorganized and thinned its shelves somewhat, Norlin Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder has played a larger role.

Jean: Has a major Tether at NCAR (The National Center for Atmospheric Research) and a smaller one at CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, which has participated in a number of NASA projects. (Note: I haven't tracked down a Vapula tether yet, but there's too much high-tech on the Front Range not to attract him).

Kobal: His biggest Tether is at the former Rocky Flats site, which made triggers for nuclear weapons to protect its homeland ... and inadvertantly poisoned that homeland, contaminating the land and water over a large area, a joke the Prince of Mockery likes just fine. He keeps a smaller Tether at CU's Alferd Packer Grill, named for Colorado's most famous cannibal.

Marc: The Denver Mint, naturally, is the Colorado headquarters for Trade angels.

Malphas: Camp Amache, near Granada, where a Japanese relocation camp once stood during World War II. Malphas had hopes of getting an on-campus Tether during the Ward Churchill controversy at CU, but has had to settle for the chambers of the Boulder City Council, whose meetings used to be legendary for dragging until 2 a.m.

Nybbas: Skis, snow, celebrities -- what Prince of the Media could resist Aspen?

Saminga: Columbine High School, near Littleton, for sadly obvious reasons.

Belial: Storm King Mountain, the site of a major fire in 1994 that killed 14 firefighters.

Valefor: A hidden site of Theft near Fairplay, Colo. where an infamous gang of robbers known as the Reynolds Gang reportedly hid between $50,000 and $100,000.


Eli: Red Rocks Amphitheater, a combination of cool tunes and an even cooler natural setting.

Novalis: The Naropa Institute in Boulder, a private Buddhist-inspired college dedicated to mixing Eastern and Western educational traditions in a beautifully landscaped setting. Known as an advocate of peace, environmental issues, and a "holistic" approach to life.

Baal: Sand Creek, site of an infamous massacre of Indians by U.S. troops. (I had picked this site before realizing that Heaven & Hell did the same)

David: Stone loves the Rocky Mountain region, especially Mesa Verde (an ancient Anazasi stone city built into the cliff walls near the Four Corners region) and the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, a park containing huge, curiously shaped stone formations.

Janus: The Great Sand Dunes near Alamosa, where a long flat plain is suddenly interrupted by a series of gigantic sand dunes that look like they came off of Tatooine. The sand was carried to the area by the wind and trapped there; a wonderful symbol of the surprising and sudden changes The Wind can work.

Mammon: Various locations in Central City and Black Hawk. Early in their history, miners scraped the readily-available gold away all too quickly; these days, Greed's power is asserted through the hugely popular casino gambling that opened in 1991. Meant to bring in money to preserve the historic town, the effect has sometimes been quite the opposite, in order to make room for bigger casinos.

Haagenti: An unknown site in the Rocky Mountains where the Alferd Packer cannibalism event occurred. Sure it's obvious, but so is this Superior.

[rudeboyscott]

For my Chicago campaign, I came up with the following:

Demonic Tethers:
McDonald's Corporate HQ (Haagenti) with a Balseraph Senschal who's a VP of marketing.

City Hall (Joint, Mammon & Malphas), overseen by a Calabite of Greed and an Elohite of Malphas (this makes sense if you're familiar with Chicago politics - "vote early, vote often" and the City Council Wars).

8213 Summerdale (Saminga), former site of serial killer John Wayne Gacy's house with an Impudite of Death as a Seneschal (took some liberty here, I believe after the house was razed, nothing was ever built on the site).

Chicago Fire Academy (Belial) with a Shedite of Fire as Seneschal. The Academy was built on the site of the point of origin of the Great Chicago Fire.

Angelic Tethers:
Citibank Building (Marc), constructed at the site of Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable's trading post, which eventually grew to be the city of Chicago. Overseen by a Seraph of Trade.

"The Wind" (Janus). Wherever the wind of the "Windy City" is at it's strongest, you'll find the mobile tether of Janus, overseen by one of his Ofanites with a pigeon vessel.

Fermilab (Marc), a U.S. Department of Energy lab focusing on high-energy particle physics and home to the second largest particle accelerator in the world. A Kyriotate of Lightning flits from employees to equipment, keeping the site in perfect working order.

Holy Family Catholic Church (Zadkiel). The church survived the Chicago Fire when, legend had it, the pastor prayed on the roof of the church for it to be saved, at which point the wind shifted direction sparing the church. The church was originally of service to the large immigrant population, and later to the urban occupants of the high rise projects across the street. The church was slated to close due to dwindling attendance until the community rallied to keep the church open. Elohite Seneschal.

St. Ignatius College Preparatory (Yves), next door to Holy Family, where several generations of students have found their destiny. The high school is one of the best in the nation, and sports an impressive lineage of graduates who have achieved in the areas of politics, business, sciences and the arts. The school was originally male only, but has been co-ed for over two decades. The Seneschal is a Malakite of Destiny who helps the young men and women who attend balance the physical with the intellectual. Go Wolfpack! (This one's a shout-out to my alma mater).

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by rudeboyscott

City Hall (Joint, Mammon & Malphas), overseen by a Calabite of Greed and an Elohite of Malphas (this makes sense if you're familiar with Chicago politics - "vote early, vote often" and the City Council Wars).

I think you mean A Habbablite?

Originally Posted by rudeboyscott

Fermilab (Marc), a U.S. Department of Energy lab focusing on high-energy particle physics and home to the second largest particle accelerator in the world. A Kyriotate of Lightning flits from employees to equipment, keeping the site in perfect working order.

This would be Jean, yes?

[robkelk]

I mentioned a few likely Tethers in Ottawa when I posted my In Nomine Ottawa notes; here are five more. (Mind you, Ottawa/Gatineau is home to only a million souls; adding all of these to what I already mentioned would push the frequency of Tethers past "common".)


Eli: A small storefront art school on Gladstone Avenue; it doesn't turn out well-known artists, but the students do know how to paint.

Michael: The "Diefenbunker", a nuclear-blast shelter for the government's top people (complete with communications facilities) built on orders from Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. Never actually used, but always kept ready for activation on a moment's notice; recently became a museum to the Cold War rather than being mothballed.

forked Kobal/Kronos/Saminga: The spot on Sparks Street near Metcalfe Street where Thomas D'Arcy McGee was shot; this was both the first murder in the country and the only assassination in Canada for over a century, and the man who was hanged for the crime may have been innocent.

Mammon: Either of the local casinos (the racetrack and slots near the airport, or the higher-class casino/live-house/hotel near Leamy Lake), for obvious reasons.

Vapula: The Nortel campus on Carling Avenue; home to many technological innovations, lately often at the cost of repeated rounds of layoffs and stock-value collapses.

[rudeboyscott]

Originally Posted by DAlillama

I think you mean A Habbablite?

This would be Jean, yes?

Yeppers on both counts...I was typing faster than I was thinking :)

[JCD]

Kobal's Columbus Tether

5 FIREMEN KILLED BY FALLING WALLS; Trapped on Fire Escape While Trying to Save Columbus, Ohio, Landmark.
February 20, 1936, Thursday

Page 3, 188 words

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 19 (AP). -Two walls of a three-story building collapsed today, killing five firemen who were fighting a blaze that destroyed the Odd Fellows Lodge Building, eighty-seven years old and a landmark in downtown Columbus. A dozen other firemen were injured, several seriously, in a fight of five hours in a temperature of 10 degrees below zero.

Here is a picture of the Old Building

[William]

For a brief game set in Houston Texas, I used the following angelic Tethers:

The San Jacinto Monument (the Sword, minor-to-moderate)
Johnson Space Center (Lightning, strong)
Theatre Under the Stars (Creation, minor)
Hershey Medical Center cancer center (Flowers, moderate).

For a campaign in Philadelphia, I used the following Tethers:

The Liberty Bell (Freedom, strong)
Independence Hall (Judgment, moderate) (it's across the street)
Bethlehem Steel, a bit further out of town. Once very strong (Stone), it is now dormant with its Seneschal seeking its revival as a planned museum of industrial history.
An unnamed statue of a fairytale maiden (Marches, very weak). This was disrupted by the players in the course of the campaign.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by William

For a brief game set in Houston Texas, I used the following angelic Tethers:

The San Jacinto Monument (the Sword, minor-to-moderate)
Johnson Space Center (Lightning, strong)
Theatre Under the Stars (Creation, minor)
Hershey Medical Center cancer center (Flowers, moderate).

For a campaign in Philadelphia, I used the following Tethers:

The Liberty Bell (Freedom, strong)
Independence Hall (Judgment, moderate) (it's across the street)
Bethlehem Steel, a bit further out of town. Once very strong (Stone), it is now dormant with its Seneschal seeking its revival as a planned museum of industrial history.
An unnamed statue of a fairytale maiden (Marches, very weak). This was disrupted by the players in the course of the campaign.

Nice touches, all of them. I would have added the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum as a Tether to either War or The Media (depending on whether you think the lasting association is with an underdog fighting the odds, or with a series of movies that never seemed to end).

[BlackKnight]

Since I've been canoodling in my file of IN stuff I've written over the years lately, I'll post what I have for the St. Louis metro area in my own "campaign":

(note that I obviously use a number of non-canon Superiors from around the web)

Divine
College Avenue Presbyterian Church
Tether of Destiny (Yves)
Power: "Average"
formed by the actions and, ultimately, martyrdom of abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy, who was Pastor here at one time
Forces: 5
Transit Capacity: 25 forces/rnd.
Essence Flow: 1 Essence/hour on average
the corporeal Locus encompasses the entire Church building
Emotional Influence: "Average"
Speed of Passage: 1 rnd.
Features: Celestial Harbor
Friendly to another Destiny Tether that terminates in a bookstore in the DuPont Circle area of Washington D.C.
Quiet
Inelastic
Rebound
Seneschal: Word-bound
Maxwell
Kyriotate of Destiny
Master of Divine Knowledge (Cherubim)

Twichell Memorial Fire Station
Tether of Protection (Zadkiel)
Power: "Average"
formed in reaction to the bravery of the firefighters and the sacrifices of those memorialized there
Forces: 8
Transit Capacity: 30 forces/rnd. somewhat narrow
Essence Flow: 1 Essence/minute on average
the locus is centered on the memorial statue next to the firehouse, and is large enough to encompass several rooms within the building as well
Emotional Influence: "Average"
Speed of Passage: 1 rnd. up/2 rnds. down
Features: Celestial Harbor
Transferrable has already been transferred once, from an older station
Noisy constant 2 Disturbance
Windy double descent time; Will roll at -2 to descend; +2 to ascend roll
Seneschal: Word-bound
Daniel
Kyriotate of Protection
Master of the Watch

Jefferson Barracks
Tether of War
country’s first “Infantry School of Practice,” served as a major military installation until 1946. post played an important role in westward expansion. first Army Air Corps basic training site.
It is now the site of two St. Louis County Parks (Jefferson Barracks County Park and Sylvan Springs County Park), a National Reserve Base, the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and a Veterans Administration hospital
Power: "Weak"
Tether has existed for a couple of centuries, but it's power has waned
Corporeal locus is the Powder Magazine Museum
Forces: 4
Transit Capacity: 20 forces/rnd.
Essence Flow: 1 Essence/ 10 minutes
Emotional Influence: "Average"
Speed of Passage: 1 rnd.
Features: Noisy constant 4 Disturbance
Seneschal: Word-bound
Timeus
Cherub of War
Master of Valor
has been Seneschal since Tether formed during the Civil War
current Role as a groundskeeper/caretaker

Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse
Tether of Judgment
the largest single courthouse in the country; is the second-tallest court/judicial building in the world, surpassed only by the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago
Power: "Weak"
still weak because it is one of the newest Tethers formed in the area (and one of the newest of Dominic's Tethers as well);
Corporeal locus is limited to the 14th floor at the moment
Forces: 3
Transit Capacity: 12 forces/rnd.
Essence Flow: 1 Essence/hour on average
Emotional Influence: "Slight"
Speed of Passage: 1 rnd.
Features: Inelastic Essence cost to stretch is doubled
Seneschal: Attuned
Zadok
Cherub of Judgment
Vassal of Conscience



City Museum
Tether of Creation/Children (Forked)
Power: "Average"



Hollywood Showclub
Tether of Erotica
Power: "Average"
currently in a vicious, long-running battle with a Tether of Lust in the same area
Features: Transferrable
has moved a number of times; attempts to stay at the most popular establishment; also attempts to stay one step ahead of Tether of Lust
Seneschal:
Amanda
Elohite of Erotica
also has Seraph, Ofanite, Kyriotate and Malakite of Erotica Attunements
the Seneschal is young, inexperienced and hopelessly outmatched by her Infernal counterpart


Mama Ribizi's Ristorante
Tether of Stone
Power: "Average"
formed from the unusually strong sense of community felt by the residents of "the Hill" Italian neighborhood


Missouri Botanical Gardens
Tether of Flowers
Power: "Strong"

Union Station
Tether of Cities
Power: "Average"





Defunct or decided not to use:

St. Louis Galleria
Tether of Trade
Power: "Weak"


St. Louis Walk of Fame
Tether of Destiny
Power: "Weak"


St. Louis Zoo
Tether of Animals
Power: "Average"


Fabulous Fox Theater
Tether of Creation
was unable to be maintained following Eli's "disappearance"
Power: "Weak"


housing project office
Tether of Stone
Power: "Weak"



Busch Stadium
Tether of Pride/Stone (forked)
Power: "Average"



Infernal
Monsanto Research Facility
Tether of Technology (Vapula)
Power: "Strong"



St. Louis City Hall
Tether of Factions
Power: "Strong"


Gateway Arch
Tether of Fate
Power: "Strong"


Television Station
Tether of the Media
whichever local station currently has the best ratings for local programming (primarily News)
Power: "Average"


Roxy's
Tether of Lust
currently in a vicious, long-running battle with a Tether of Erotica in the same area
Power: "Strong"
Features: Transferrable
has moved a number of times; attempts to stay at the most popular establishment; also attempts to stay one step ahead of Tether of Erotica
Seneschal: Monica
Impudite of Lust

[BlackKnight]

Note also that the first two are actually in Alton, IL, a small town on the outskirts of the St. Louis metro area.