This easterly stretch of the city is heavily industrialised, containing one of the city’s power stations as well as the remnants of Norwich’s once sizeable manufacturing base. The area has taken a major hit over the last few decades as businesses have moved overseas, leaving the area an impoverished shadow of its former self. The Regency is governed by Nemo, a Mekhet of the Circle of the Crone.
Geography
Located in the eastern side of the city, it borders on the Great Yarmouth docks. The drained lands of what were once the Broads form the majority of this Regency, and it has expanded to include the towns of Acle and Reedham among others. To the north of the Regency is an area of wetland that is protected as a nature reserve by both the human and Kindred authorities.
History
Once the industrial heart and centre of much of the city’s wealth, the Acle Straight area has been in decline since the 1960s. The assorted chemical plants around Reedham give a high-tech first impression of the area, but urban decay has set in across the rest of the Regency. There’s been talk about projects to renew the area on and off for the last decade or so, but nothing has been done on that front to date.
Living in This Regency
Nemo has the Mask of the Faceless God, an identity which acts as a vessel for divinity, of whatever kind the cult of Circle they are working with worships. They are rumoured to have an extensive group of mortal, ghoul and Kindred followers who focus on the Cult of the Faceless God - a doctrine focused on mutability of the self. Nemo oversees and draws together the various small cults of the Circle within the Acle Straight Regency, making it the last remaining stronghold for the Circle of the Crone in Norwich.
Nemo’s relationship with their clan is strained, as the Mask of the Faceless God and its mutable identity are the antithesis of the kind of solid anchoring identity and sense of self most Mekhet desperately seek. However, Nemo is deeply respected by the Circle for the services they provide, and Mekhet Acolytes in particular know just how much Nemo gives up in service to the gods.
Nemo has a distant and hands-off style of governorship over their Regency. While they are often seen walking the streets, it’s rare that they will stop and interact with their tenants. However, the two laws they enforce without mercy are:
- Do not destroy, damage, deface or desecrate symbols of faith.
- Do not frenzy on holy ground.
These are met with swift punishments levied in the form of blood sacrifices, hefty fines or beatings.
Districts
Reedham Chemicals
The assorted Reedham chemical plants cover a sizeable area, producing a range of chemicals for the city and beyond. It’s one of the few well maintained parts of this area of the city, although far from picturesque. The assorted towers and chimneys of the plants dominate the skyline, towering over the plant worker’s homes and the few shops that serve them.
Baron Jack Snagsby rules the District, although he plays things quite fast and loose. Rumour has it that he’s not in one of the more favourable Nosferatu Regencies due to some dodgy dealings in the past. Whatever the truth, Jack has made a made himself at home in Reedham, and is happy to meet with his tenants in the faux-plush office he’s set up.
A lot of chemicals come out of Reedham, and not all of them are legitimate. If you want to buy meth or an assortment of party drugs in bulk, there are people who can hook you up...
Physical: Access 0, Safety +2. There are few commuters to the plant, with most of the workers living in the immediate area or the nearby Burgh Castle housing projects. As such, the main traffic on the roads and rails in the area are delivering raw materials to the plants, or shipping finished products away to the rest of the city and beyond. The area is well patrolled by security guards, and both the police and fire departments respond quickly to any disturbance given the highly volatile nature of the chemicals held on site.
Mental: Information –2, Awareness +3. The area isn’t set up with visitors in mind, so there’s little in the way of signposts beyond some stern warnings about trespassing when you get to the plants themselves. CCTV is pretty prevalent in the area, and the residents are quicker to call in any suspicious behaviour than in most part of the city.
Social: Prestige –1, Stability +3. No-one really wants to live here, but it’s a better option than Burgh Castle if you’ve got the choice. However, the residents form a close-knit community as workplace friendships carry over into the home.
Downtime Hunting Quality: Sparse (2 Vitae)
Available Feeding Ground dots: 2
Acle Industrial
Dozens of factory buildings fill this district, ranging from early 1900s construction to angular late 1960’s architecture. Most are now derelict, with broken windows and collapsing roofs. The few active factories churn out goods for the city day and night, with a steady traffic of shift workers flowing in and out of the area.
Acle Industrial is ruled by Baron Tarvos Smith, a Daeva of the Circle of the Crone. Baron Smith is known as a supporter of the Trade Unions that grew from the industry in this District and there are rumours that he has formed a cult that worships a divine Smith figure. He has a reputation for having ferocious strength, even for one of his clan, and a temper to match.
The desperate and poor can find homes here, although it’s a dangerous place to live. There’s little in the way of shops and services other than a few 24-hour diners to feed the workforce and more than its fair share of dive bars for those looking to drown their sorrows.
Physical: Access +1, Safety -3. It’s easy to get in and out of the area, with the stretch of the Acle Straight leading between the centre of Norwich and the Great Yarmouth docks. However, once you move away from the A47 it turns into a maze of minor streets leading to the factories, with the street lighting flickering dimly in the night. Street crime is rife here, and at least one of the bars will erupt into a brawl on any given night as tension rise.
Mental: Information -2, Awareness -4. If you work here, you know your way around. Otherwise, there’s little information to be had, with the city mostly trying to avoid paying any attention to the bedraggled remnants of its once great industrial heart. The workers and residents have been worn down by years of fear and neglect, and walk head down swiftly past any but the most serious disturbance.
Social: Prestige -2, Stability -3. As the fortunes of the area have faded, so too has its reputation. Murals speaking of the once innovative and optimistic spirit of the area can still be faintly seen under the grime and neglect of the last thirty years. Any sense of community has faded with it, to the extent that the remaining residents eye each other with suspicion.
Downtime Hunting Quality: Abundant (4 Vitae)
Available Feeding Ground dots: 4
Broadland Power
The twin gas and coal Broadland Power Plants struggle to keep up with the demands of the city. The concrete towers were state of the art when they were built in the early 1960s to meet the city’s growing demand for electricity. Now they are stained with decades of pollution, and the rusty chain-link fences that surround the plants offer little in the way of a barrier to any intruder other than the risk of tetanus. While publically running smoothly, a lot of effort has been put into covering up the several accidents that have taken place over the last few years…
Baron Arianrhod, a Gangrel of the Circle of the Crone rules this area. She’s a fairly solitary Circle who worships Taranis, and seems to regard the power plants as a place closer to the gods. People generally give her a wide birth, although the few Kindred who live in the shadow of the power stations find her a fair if distant landlord.
Physical: Access –2, Safety -1. The narrow roads leading to the plant are barely adequate for the industrial traffic that rumbles along them. The security for the plans is outdated and the fences nearly rusted through, but a few particularly dedicated NMPS officers take time to patrol around the area. More than a few “Danger! High Voltage” signs have fallen into the marshy ground surrounding the plants, making trespassing a somewhat risky endeavour.
Mental: Information -2, Awareness –2. Outdated technology and management cover-ups are the order of the day here. The plants’ employees are focused on trying to keep the failing plants running and have little time to spare to pay attention to people who don’t belong.
Social: Prestige -1, Stability 0. No-one really cares about the plants, as long as they’re working, and there’s a lot of effort put in to keep the appearance that all is well.
Downtime Hunting Quality: Sparse (2 Vitae)
Available Feeding Ground dots: 1
Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is not a nice place to live. Anyone who can live somewhere else does, but it’s the cheapest part of the city to call your home. Boarded up shops sit next to crumbling tenement blocks, and at night the sounds of the docks and trains echo across the area. There’s little in the way of a police presence, and drug dealers openly do business on the street corners.
Burgh Castle is ruled by Evan Draper, a Nosferatu of the Carthian Movement. He owns a lot of property in the area, wringing rent out of his human tenants and offering Feeding Ground to the Kindred at a very reasonable rate. Feeding isn’t hard in the area, and you’re unlikely to be disturbed while preying on the residents.
Evan hosts a good number of Carthian meetings as this is fairly neutral ground (by virtue of its Circle Regent) and it’s a place where the higher ups are unlikely to have agents. Plus the local Kindred usually control their herds fairly well. For those in the know in the Movement, Evan’s seen as a slightly dodgy neutral party - no-one trusts him but his interests are divided enough between various interests that he can’t afford to take sides. As such, he’s often called on to settle disputes, although he always has an eye towards how he can profit from any such exchange.
Physical: Access 0, Safety –3. The buses stop running early out to this side of the city, but the trains are still there. That said, no-one visits if they can avoid it. Burgh Castle is a hot spot for burglaries, muggings and street crime, and those who can afford them have hefty locks on their doors and bars on their windows.
Mental: Information +2, Awareness –3. If you’re in with the right crowd, this is a good place to hear the word on the street. People tend to keep their head down and keep walking, pausing only for things that directly affect them.
Social: Prestige –4, Stability –3. No-one wants to live in Burgh Castle, and the number of boarded up shops and empty houses is testament to that fact. People who live here are too scared to pull together, and the gangs in the area exist in a state of near open warfare with each over over a street or two of turf.
Downtime Hunting Quality: Abundant (4 Vitae)
Available Feeding Ground dots: 5
The Encampments
The Encampments District is ruled by Janis, a Daeva of the Carthian Movement. The Encampments is an area on the very outskirts of the city, where homeless people and transients gather under bridges and beside train tracks. It is a scrubby area of industrial land that provides small shelter for the desperate, but it is their best chance of survival. The police periodically clear the Encampments but they always flock back when the police have gone, encouraged by Baron Janis. After all, they've got nowhere else to go...
Physical: Access -3, Safety -3. This District is not restricted, but finding your way around it is difficult. It has extremely limited transport, because no-one comes out here if they can avoid it. The police largely turn a blind eye to what happens here until they need to look like they’re doing something. If bad things happen here, they don’t get reported for weeks, if at all. The people here know nobody will listen. But for the most part the locals are not violent - they just want to get on with their lives, and are unlikely to bother you unless you bother them.
Mental: Information -2, Awareness +3. It’s difficult to get people round here to talk. They aren't forthcoming, because they've spent years being ignored or berated. However, there are some sources of information if you know who to ask - and you can compensate them appropriately. No-one wants to come a cropper for telling someone something they shouldn't have, but you can guarantee that whatever goes on in this District, it is witnessed.
Social: Prestige -4, Stability +2. It is not a good thing to live here: if you can, go somewhere else. You’re marred by association. However, people who live in such circumstances have a tendency to form groups, because someone to rely on and trust is important here. They will sometimes even step in to protect one another.
Downtime Hunting Quality: Abundant (4 Vitae)
Available Feeding Ground dots: 2
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