Ages of Darkness

[No One of Consequence]

The Edge of the World (Vinland, 1000 - 1100AD)
Something of a companion piece to the above (and I'm likely to do another about Kiev sooner or later), this is the failed colonization effort by explorers from Iceland and Greenland to establish a new colony in North America, likely what is now Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Actual details about the colony, including what happened to it, are sparse, but for game purposes, it just means more of a blank slate to play around with. This is very much a frontier wilderness setting, way beyond the reach of anything even the Norse would consider "civilization". On the flip side, this is the land of the Mi'kmaq in what they call Mi'kma'ki, and to the north in Labrador are the Innu (who refer to their territory as Nitassinan). Both are primarily hunter-gatherer cultures, and part of the over all Algonquin language/culture.
Primary Games:

• Werewolf (This is in someways a medieval version of certain parts of Werewolf: The Wild West, with the attempt to establish a new Fenrir sept and its caerns clashing with the Wendigo who are already established there. Given the temperament of both tribes, you can imagine how well this sort of first contact would go. It's also possible to include the occasional Bone Gnawer and Croatan around the fringes. It's entirely possible that the newcomers may inadvertently unleash some sort of previously bound Wyrm spirit, causing chaos and destruction. Another possible angle is to ignore the Fenrir altogether and focus entirely on the native side of things, with Wendigo and Croatan Garou working with neighboring Qualmi, Corax, and Gurahl to deal with something these weird boat-people have set loose.)
• Mage (Valdaermen among the colonists interacting with native Spirit-Talkers. You would probably have to go much further south, into the American Midwest where the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex culture is at its start, to find a totally new fellowship/Foundation & Pillars grouping.

Secondary Games:

• Hunters Hunted (Human colonists who find themselves facing the strange flesh eating spirit-monsters of this new land, in the vein of traditional horror fiction involving werewolves, wendigo, and the like; Also the flip side, with native people having to deal with these strangers who've brought with them their freakish cult devoted to some sort of demonic being or undead blood god. The latter could even work as a strange Stephen King homage, drawing certain inspiration from Salem's Lot's idea of a vampire plague overtaking a community.)
• Mummy (I mentioned the idea of adapting Mummy to include the idea of Einherjar sent back to wage war against the enemies of the gods and the forces of chaos, so this sort of setting would make an interesting chronicle about a group of said warriors sent on what is effectively a suicide mission against some sort of dangerous threat beyond the western seas.)
• Dark Ages: Fae (Norse inspired Changelings among the colonists and their encounters with the native Nunnehi.)

Tertiary Games:

• Vampire (While it's possible to do a game here with the Wolves of the Sea Einherjar, the logistics of being a vampire in such a setting would be extremely daunting.)
• Wraith (Members of the Dark Kingdoms of Flint encountering strange ghosts of unknown peoples - ie, dead colonists - and trying to figure out what to do with them.)

[Guest]

This is great!!!

[No One of Consequence]

Rodina (Kievan Rus, @950 - 1100AD)
This is effectively the Mythic Age of Russia and the Eastern Slavs. A time when countless creatures of folklore and fairy tail roam the land, and mighty heroes like the bogatyr go forth and perform amazing deeds. This is the sort of setting that would draw a lot on some of the Russian influenced stuff from the various Hellboy graphic novels and especially various stuff from Alexander Pushkin, as well as the Russian legends about the bogatyr. (BTW, the female counterpart to bogatyr are polianitsa.)
Primary Games:

• Dark Ages: Fae (This is a wonderful place to set a Fae chronicle, full of fun creatures to use as Firstborn and Inanimae, and easy hooks for changelings, in a place where the seasons are extremely important part of the mythology.)
• Mage (While there's a lot of interesting stuff to be done here with the Spirit-Talkers and even inheritors of the Valdaermen, its also a place where the Old Faith really have a chance to shine. While certain aspects of the Fellowship are kind of an anachronistic effort to adapt modern Wiccan concepts to the Middle Ages, their Foundation and Pillars fit really beautifully with a lot of the themes and tropes of Russian folklore and myth. The Messianic Voices set up also works well if you want to incorporate the Christian conversions that were happing in this period and the impact they had on regional folklore and culture.)
• Werewolf (This is the sort of setting that plays really well to a lot of Werewolf's strengths. Heroic - in the classical sense - warriors and adventurers going out and fighting deathless wizards, ancient hags, and dragons during a time when the Apocalypse seems very far away. A lot of good hooks here for Silver Fangs, Shadow Lords, Bone Gnawers, Fenrir, and Black Furies, as well as Corax. You could probably also do an interesting Gurahl center chronicle here.)

Secondary Games:

• Vampire (This is when we have the growth of what most vampires would consider "civilized" towns and cities. While this land has undoubtably been the stronghold of the Tzimisce, along with Gangrel and Nosferatu, and some Ravnos as well, the initial influx of Swedish traders and the later ties with Constantinople will undoubtably start bringing in outsiders, especially Ventrue and Toreador. One can imagine the Tzimisce reaction to this; even worse if certain younger clan members would rather hang around with these new comers.)
• Inquisitor (I think it would be really interesting to adapt Dark Ages: Inquisitor and its abilities to this setting, representing some of the more unusual abilities sometimes given to Christian Russian folk heroes and monster hunters.)

Tertiary Games:

• Wraith (I'm not really sure what the Shadowlands would be like here. It's a bit outside the realm of Stygia during this period, and I've no real idea what a native Dark Kingdom in Slavic Russia might be like.)
• Mummy (The idea of immortal travelers from the Mediterranean lands going into the north.)

[No One of Consequence]

I Walk These Hills (Southern Appalachia, 1910 - 1940)
An adaption of an idea I originally had for Scion, with the rural culture of the foothills and mountains in West Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and neighboring parts of Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. If you're unfamiliar with the region, it is the setting for Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad novels, as well as Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer/Silver John stories, David Drake's Old Nathan stories, Cullen Bunn & Tylor Crook's Harrow County graphic novels, and Eric Powell's Hillbilly graphic novels. A lot of this region was settled by Scots-Irish stock and they brought a lot of the folklore and mystical traditions from the Scottish borderlands and Northern Ireland, while also learning and mixing in a number of stories and beliefs from the native Cherokee and Pentecostal Christianity. It was (and in some ways still is) also a region of extreme poverty and working poor. This is especially true in West Virginia's coal mining country, and this period saw a number of miner strikes, many of them violent. The biggest of these was the Battle of Blair Mountain, a five day armed conflict between around 10000 armed coal miners and 3000 strikebreakers that saw about a million rounds fired and left 100 people dead before the West Virginia National Guard and the US Army intervened.
Primary Games:

• Changeling (Appalachia was, weirdly, the only region in Concordia to get a duchy not based on state lines, partially owing to it appearing in Rage Across Appalachia, which details the region as it was in the late 90s. It's a great place for a Changeling setting, especially a commoner themed one, as the region still has a lot of Celtic derived folk beliefs and arts, including its music. The surviving Cherokee population in North Carolina also offers a Nennuhi stronghold. And, obviously, Nockers work beautifully in coal country. Also, as part of the game's setting, the eastern mountain regions were the site of a lot of Firstborn refugee settlements in the early days of the Shattering, so there's a lot of hidden stuff for PCs to seek out or stumble upon.)
• Twilight People (By this I mean Mediums, Shaman, Kinfolk, and certain Sorcerers, the sort of people who are mainly within the world of normal everyday people but because of gifts, circumstances, or other factors frequently find themselves wandering into the realms of the supernatural. They work well here as the heroes of traditional folklore and tall tales, keeping things grounded while also playing with the paranormal oddities of the setting.)
• Werewolf (In some ways this is almost a paradise for some Garou, especially ones like the Fianna, who can cultivate their Kinfolk in small towns and farms while still having vast wilderness for their own septs. The Bone Gnawer Hillfolk also play a prominent part in this area. The coal mining country and mining wars in West Virginia offer a lot of potential hooks with Harold & Harold Mining, while the establishment of resorts and vacation homes for the wealthy east coast elite also offers ideas for unwanted outside intrusion.)

Secondary Games:

• Mage (In the early 20th century, this can be something of a refuge from certain aspects of the modern world, at least until mine wars and labor issues rear their head. Verbena and Dreamspeakers likely thrive here, as do members of the Celestial Chorus. Hermetics may also have a chantry or three hidden away in the region. However, Prohibition offers Technocracy agents the cover of working as government revenue agents in order to conduct searches and sweeps of the region for reality deviants.)
• Vampire (While small towns and a lot of lupines make this an unfriendly place for Kindred, there's always some who survive. For certain types of Tzimisce, old clan or otherwise, this region bears certain similarities to the old country, especially for one who wants to rule over some forgotten valley and its inhabitants, or surround themselves with Bratovich revenants. In addition, the mine wars offer an excellent rallying point for certain types of Anarchs who may see the potential of creating some sort of Anarch Workers Free State in West Virginia.)
• Wraith (I like to think that the Shadowlands of Appalachia look a lot like Eric Powell's Hillbilly setting, with people armed with crossbows, swords and other medieval-esque weaponry rather than firearms, having to go out into the dark and scary woods - or worse, into ghost-mines that lead to the Labyrinth - to hunt assorted boogiemen and haints.)

[No One of Consequence]

The Dragon's Reign (Walachia, 1430 - 1477AD)
The violent and tumultuous reigns of Vlad II and Vlad III (The Impaler) on the frontier between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Besides the dangerous world of international politics and the internal politics of the Ottomans, Walachia is in a constant struggle between both the House of Draculesti and House of Danesti, as well as the Voivode and the boyar nobility. There's also ethnic conflicts involving Romanians and the German Saxons in neighboring Transylvania, as well as the recent influx of Roma from the south, most of them as slaves. Vlad III's often brutal methods of dealing with enemies, especially those that threatened his reign, became infamous (largely because of the popularity of accounts among German writings in Transylvania that spread to the rest of German speaking Europe).
Primary Games:

• Vampire (Obviously. This is right in the middle of the Anarch Revolt, in the regional chaos after the Tzimisce Antediluvian's alleged destruction and the beginnings of what would be the Sabbat. This is also the same time period when the Giovanni usurp the Cappadocians, and the influx of the Roma-originating Ravnos Jati into Europe and their efforts to purge non-Roma as heretics. Worse, the Inquisition is on the march. And, of course, Dracula's origins and his embrace. Incidentally, Dracula is supposed to be a member of a now-extinct Revenant lineage, the Basarab. The House of Basarab is actually a real noble House, named for its founder Basarab I who established Walachia as an independent realm in the early 1300s. Draculesti and Danesti were rival branches of the House of Basarab.)
• Werewolf (While the vampires are busy killing themselves, the Garou have their own problems. This is a violent time in a violent land, which puts both caerns and kinfolk at risk, as well as spawning the usual horde of Wyrm-creatures. This is, obviously, Shadow Lord country, but the presence of German Saxons in neighboring Transylvania means potential clashes with Fenrir. Meanwhile, the Danube River runs through Walachia, which means towns and trade, and that means Warders of Men. The recent influx of Roma may also bring Silent Striders with them. And because this area is so near the Black Sea, you've probably got native Black Furies as well.)

Secondary Games:

• Mage (This is very early in the Sorcerers' Crusade era, which makes this a potential battleground in the early Ascension War. It's very much a place where cultures are clashing: Ottoman vs Christian, Saxons vs Romanians, Roma vs their slave masters, and nobles vs the voivode. While the Carpathians were always a stronghold of House Tremere, many of their old mystical holdings have likely be seized by the other Houses, especially Tytalus, by this point. Certain factions of Verbena, Euthanatos, Dreamspeakers, and Celestial Chorus likely have long ties to the region. The Order of Reason may also take an interest in Walachia, even if its only Gabrialites seeking to reinforce the boundary between Christianity and the Islamic Turks and members of the High Guild determined to keep Danube trade flowing smoothly. )
• Dark Ages: Fae/Changeling (This is right in the middle of the Shattering, when we transition from Fae to Changeling; In addition to the region's assorted myths and legends that may be the basis for Firstborn and Inanimae, the reign of the Impaler is likely to inspire more than its share of dark chimera and nervosa as those who don't go to Arcadia and opt to undergo the Changeling Way have to adapt to this strange new and dangerous world.)
• Dark Ages: Inquisitor (Walachia is pretty much right on the borderlands of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, with some of this divide being a class issue between nobles and commoners. While the Shadow Inquisition can have a field day in this area full of vampires and werewolves, this is actually one of those settings where the often overlooked Akritai, the Eastern Orthodox witch-hunters with ties to the Byzantine Empire, can really shine.)

Tertiary Games:

• Wraith (This is really soon after the Great Maelstrom of the Black Death, and between the usual conflicts and Vlad the Impaler's terror campaigns, the Shadowlands are probably pretty turbulent. While not really involved with the mortal politics, this does make a cool place to do late medieval/early Renaissance dark fantasy tropes with heavily armored Legionnaires battling freakish monsters in the haunted foothills of the Carpathian Mountains.)
• WoD: Gypsies (No. Just no.)

[No One of Consequence]

California Dreamin' (Southern California, 1960 - 1970AD)
This is kind of a weird and turbulent decade in American history, and California was both a nexus for major parts of it as well as being it's own strange self contained and unique world. This isn't just the hippy and commune culture of the San Fransisco Bay Area that lasted into the 70s, but also the early decade's hot rod and motorcycle cultures, the surfing lifestyle, the dawn of what would be called "New Hollywood", New Journalism, the New Left, the aging Beat Generation, interests in Eastern religions as well as Wicca and the Church of Satan, psychedelic drugs, the Civil Rights movement, San Fransisco's Castro District's transformation into a gay neighborhood, the start of modern environmentalism, and music that ranged all over the place from the Beach Boys to the Grateful Dead. This is the world described by Tom Wolfe's The Pump House Gang and The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels, and Joan Didion's Slouching Toward Bethlehem, as well as the setting for things like Easy Rider, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Valley of the Dolls, The Graduate, The Exiles, Zodiac, and Bullitt. If there is an over arcing theme to this setting, it's that it starts out bright and strong and hopeful but ends with a dark and foreboding note with things like the Manson Family and the Zodiac Killer, and the RFK and MLK assassinations.
Primary Games:

• Changeling (This is one of those periods that seems almost tailor made for the game, to the point where it was often joked that this would be the line's historical setting back in 2000. For the Changelings of Southern California, this can almost seem like the new summer country, full of dreams and idealism as countless artists and young people try to create a new world. Satyr surfers at beach parties, Nocker hot-rodders and Redcap outlaw bikers racing the highways, Boggins overseeing back to earth communes, and Pooka merry pranksters. And then, in 1969, the Sidhe come back.)
• Mage (Again, this is almost tailor made for the game. After the dark days of the Depression and the War, its a brand new era, and one that feels like it could be a new Spring or Summer. This is especially true for the Cult of Ecstasy, whose various influences and styles thrive in this setting. The Verbena, Dreamspeakers, and Hermetics likewise thrive in this time of interest in Wicca, ritual magic, civil rights, and spiritualism. The influx of Asian spiritual ideas offers new avenues for the Akashic and Thanatoics as well. This is also a vital period for the Virtual Adepts, both as members of the Traditions and for a number of their ideals involving free speech and information. The Technocracy easily slots into the position of "The Man" and the darker aspects of various cults and movements offers hooks for the Fallen and the Mad. A lot of the Crafts work pretty well here as well.)

Secondary Games:

• Vampire (This should, in some ways, be a dark mirror of the above. Canonically, the area is divided between the Anarch Free States centered around LA and the Camarilla strongholds of the north centered around San Fransisco. Just speaking personally, I wish the Anarch uprising in LA had happened during this period, as I think it fits the era better and I think 1940s and 50s LA Noir, which I plan to get to at some point, fits the Camarilla political structure better. But this still offers a lot to play around with, as the Free States try to shore up their gains and the Camarilla tries to undermine them, and the Sabbat wants to take advantage. A lot of the commune and cult aspects of the setting work well with vampire blood cults or even fronts for the Sabbat, Lilith-ites, or Infernalists.)
• Werewolf (Also the darker side of the setting. While things like the growing environmental movement, civil rights movements, and spiritualism offer rays of hope and potential weapons against the Wyrm, it's still a savage time in many ways. The 1965 Watts riot reveals the rage simmering under the surface of a lot of cities. Various septs are probably still dealing with upheavals caused by the various water projects of the past few decades, and the new land development they brought. And various communes and spiritual movements can easily be hijacked or even started by Wyrm spirits and agents. Even things like the use of LSD and the psychedelic movements can attract things like Project: Odyssey. The Fera have a number of possible hooks here as well, be it Baghera spiritual gurus, Nuwisha prankster, or Rokea land walkers trying to understand what this surfing thing is.)
• Psychics (While this plays into some of the Mage stuff, and also drifts a little into the next decade, this period does make a really good place to do a game with all Psychic characters. Be it natural sensitives, devotees to Eastern beliefs, people whose psychic powers were awakened via LSD, or more strait laced parapsychology or Hollywood mentalist types, its a setting rife with potential. They may be targeted by shady groups looking to take advantage of them, be it the government, Odyssey, or some cult, attract the attention of strange beings or phenomenon, or just go about investigating haunted houses, Fortean events and other oddities.)

Tertiary Games:

• Project Twilight (This is the period when the Bureau was involved with COINTELPRO, a long list of covert - and frequently illegal - operations to infiltrate, disrupt and discredit various American political organizations they deemed "subversive". This included a number of civil rights leaders and organizations, radical groups like the Black Panthers and AIM, anti-Vietnam War activists, feminists, the KKK, and others. Director J. Edgar Hoover is believed to have kept massive files on various politicians and other powerful people in order to blackmail and otherwise threaten them to advance and preserve his own interests and personal power. They also kept files on alleged "sex deviants", which is ironic given that while Hoover was director, any and all pornographic material uncovered by the FBI during any investigation was to be seized and sent to Hoover personally, giving him probably the largest collection of porn in the world. So, this is a period when federal agents are largely asshats. However, it does offer an interesting angle where a handful of agents investigating any of the above end up stumbling across vampires or other supernatural threats and have to figure out what to do when everyone else, including the Director, is more interested in hippies and homosexuals than witches and werewolves.)
• Wraith (In many ways, this is business as usual for the local Restless Dead. However, as things go on, the region is likely to start seeing in influx of newly dead from the Vietnam War, and potential troublemakers - Renegade or otherwise - as various activists, pranksters, and other rebellious types meet untimely ends for one reason or another. The Watts Riot in 1965 is also likely to lead to a localized maelstrom in LA, and the rise in spiritualism means plenty of opportunities for wraiths to end up interacting with the living. Various communes and the like can also easily devote into Spectre cults.)

[No One of Consequence]

Beautiful Wicked Pearl (Shanghai, 1917 - 1937)
Shanghai is a rather unique city, especially during this period. One of the major trading ports effectively ceded to the British after the Opium Wars and later heavily occupied by numerous foreign interests, including Japanese and Americans, it has a massive International Settlement district. It's a modern and dynamic city, and at times seemingly lawless. It's a place people from around the world can come to outrun their past, try to find their fortune, or indulge their best and worst natures. There is a massive amount of gang activity, especially opium smuggling, and police corruption, and the city is perfect for Noir type stories.
Primary Games:

• Kindred of the East (Thrashing Dragons and Devil Tigers will thrive here, as will certain types of Thousand Whispers and Resplendent Cranes. This is, IMO, a place that works best with a focus on young "Running Monkeys", with the machinations of the elders of the Flesh Court only becoming a major focus later in a chronicle. However, it is almost impossible to ignore Chinese politics as a whole, with this being the period when the new Nationalist government is trying to bring various warlords to heal, stamp down on burgeoning Communism, and reassert China's independence from foreign control. But this is also a setting where eastern and western vampires do not necessarily have to be at odds with each other, at least no more so than rival vampires usually are. This is potentially one of those settings where a mixed game might actually work well.)
• Vampire (Shanghai is full of foreign expatriates, and more than a few of them are likely to be Kindred. Ventrue, Toreador, Tremere, Brujah, Setites, Ravnos, Lasombra, and Giovanni can all thrive here, and really the only ones who might have some trouble are Tzimisce. But even they can work, as among the expatriates are a lot of Russian refugees from the Soviet take over, which makes for a fairly interesting character concept IMO.)
• Mage (This is one of those settings where cultural clashes and interactions are front and center, which plays very well with Mage's setting and themes. One the one hand you've got the very traditional Wu Lung who are trying to deal with the upheavals of the past century, including the recent end of the Qing dynasty, and the regional Akashics, Dreamspeakers, and other Chinese mages they're accustomed to. One the other are this influx of Western wizards, including Hermetics, Chorusers, Ecstatics, Thanatoics, and Etherites. Aggravating things even further is that there are most certainly Technocrats, both Western and Japanese, in this mix as well. And this setting probably works pretty well for the Wu Keng too.)

Secondary Games:

• Werewolf (The divide between rich and poor in Shanghai makes an interesting place to have Boli Zousizhe Glass Walkers and Wang Tong Bone Gnawers butting heads while also dealing with new coming Japanese Hakken, various European or American Garou, or Silver Fang refugees from Russia. Naturally, its a perfect place for a Beast Courts chronicle, with the above werewolves working with Zhong Lung, Khan, Kitsune/Huli Jing, Nezumi/Shuren, and others.)
• Changeling (Most of the Western kiths play well in this setting, both as expatriates and those born there as second or in some cases third generation Shanghailanders. The glitz, glamour and even wickedness of the city offers a lot for them to do and to feed on. And then there are the Hsien. This makes a great setting for a them as well, with various individuals trying to record and answer the prayers of the city's denizens, encourage righteousness, revel in wickedness, and favor tradition or modernity as they see fit.)
• Wraith (The Yellow Kingdom goes on, as it always has. But this massive collection of foreigners, who die and sometimes become ghosts, is a logistical problem for the bureaucracy. Stygia undoubtably has an embassy here, probably within the International Settlement, and there's almost certainly a lot of Renegades on both sides doing brisk black market business with each other. It's a really great setting for inter-Kingdom diplomacy and intrigue.)
• Mummy (Do you want to play Western immortals in the International Settlement exploring China? Or would you rather be Wu T'ian carrying out quests from Heaven in this place that seems to be a harbinger of the Sixth Age? Or both together? Because all three sound like a lot of fun.)

Tertiary Games:

• The Arcanum (I can't recall if the Arcanum has an official chapter house in Shanghai, but they really should. This is an excellent gateway for Western occult scholars to investigate China's various mysteries and secrets in a sort of Film Noir version of Call of Cthulhu.)
• The Shih (Try to imagine Kung Fu Hustle - which is set in 1930s Shanghai - involving vampires, zombies and other monsters.)
• The Inquisition (The Boxer Rebellion was probably a hammer blow against Inquisition efforts to establish some sort of presence in China, but they probably exist in Shanghai's International Settlement and the French Concession area.)
• Mafia (While WoD: Mafia doesn't really deal with Chinese underworld stuff, it's not impossible to adapt it's themes and ideas about morality in a world of vice and crime to this setting.)

Note: I had to draw a largely arbitrary line here between Primary and Secondary games because, in all honestly, all of them work really well here. So I opted for the Vampire angle mainly because it presents one of those opportunities for western and Asian vampires to interact in a totally normal Vampire way rather than trying to destroy each other. And because of the, Mage, with its culture clash themes, fit in with that as well.

[No One of Consequence]

The Golden Century (Spain, 1492 - 1618)
This is the newly united Spain as it has finally ended the centuries long Reconquista and started its vast empire in the New World. The influx of massive amounts of silver and gold from the Americas flooded the empire with money, and this helped kick off a golden age of art, literature, architecture, and music, as well as a level of luxury for the nobility and upper classes. It also had a brief political union with Portugal and was part of the greater Habsburg dominion that included the Holy Roman Empire. And, as another result of the Reconquista, this is the time of the Spanish Inquisition and the efforts to force Castilian Jews and Muslims to either convert to Catholicism or leave. (I should note that a lot of the popular perception, especially in the English speaking work, of the Spanish Inquisition and Imperial Spain in general is the result of anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic propaganda from the English as a result of their hostile relationship. While the Inquisition and the Spanish nobility aren't saints by any stretch of the imagination, they aren't outright mustache twirling villains either.) A lot of the gains of this century are built on a somewhat unstable foundation. The early wealth generated by the American colonies through the looting of existing empires was unreliable, leading to financial problems (many of them born by the peasant class) and conflicts with England and France, the Dutch revolts, and eventually the Thirty Years War would see an end to this era.
Primary Games:

• Mage (This is part of the Sorcerers' Crusade setting, and is a wonderful location for both Tradition and Order of Reason chronicles. The Hermetics, Solificati, Choir Celeste, Ahl I Batin, and even Euthanatos all work beautifully here, as do Gabrialites, the High Guild, Explorers, and Celestial Masters. The Swashbuckler's Handbook is almost a must have sourcebook for this.)
• Vampire (Spain was a center of the Anarch Revolts, especially those by the Brujah, and with the Convention of Thorns in 1493, this is a period of recovery, restructuring, and reestablishing control, especially by the newly formed Camarilla. It's a period of opportunity for younger vampires who want to try to establish themselves in the new order, as well as a time of dangerous political intrigue. The influx of money from the New World and the exiting new trends in the arts offers a lot of the traditional hooks for Kindred to play around with, as does the disgruntled peasantry and religious persecution. One can also use this setting to play around with the recently formed Sabbat.)

Secondary Games:

• Wraith (This is a tumultuous time in the Underworld. This period begins with a Renegade uprising against Stygia and the first organized Heretic sects, and ends with the destruction of the Flayed Lands, the Breaking of the Guilds after their failed coup, and the Third Great Maelstrom. Spain very likely has a lot of newly formed restless dead, both from the Reconquista and the exploration of the New World. While a lot of the action is taking place in Stygia, the idea of a game about Spanish wraiths who prefer to lurk about the Shadowlands of their living homes in a period full of faith, artistic inspiration and political intrigue has a lot of appeal.)
• Changeling (This is during the Shattering and the start of the Interregnum, when those who aren't fleeing for Arcadia have first undergone the Changeling Way and are trying to adjust to life without the Sidhe. Spain is a double edged sword for them, as on the one hand it has a number of mortals focused on their faiths that the Fae have always found hostile, but on the other hand is undergoing this renaissance of art that generates the Glamour they desperately need to survive this strange new world. I think there's a lot of fun to be had here.)
• The Inquisition (The Spanish Inquisition is, in many ways, a servant of the Crown before the Pope, preserving the power and rule of His Most Catholic Majesty. While heretics, especially lapsed Jews or Muslims, need to be corrected, panics about witches and other monsters are seen as potential threat to both the authority of the Crown and of the Inquisition itself. This puts members of the Shadow Inquisition in a weird position. They know monsters exist, and are a threat to the faithful, but at the same time they can't openly espouse such a position without themselves being targets. I think this makes for a very interesting set up for Inquisitor characters, as they try to continue battling vampires, demons, and the like while not being able to call upon the level of support and resources their predecessors were accustomed to.)

Tertiary Games:

• Werewolf (In some ways, this is business as usual for the Garou Nation. In my personal head canon, the Reconquista is when the Shadow Lords cemented their dominance over the Iberian Peninsula and used it as a jumping off point to establish themselves in the New World. This is also when the Bone Gnawers institute their Ban of Man at a massive tribal moot outside Barcelona. And at this time the Glass Walkers are known as the Tetrasomians - though most other Garou are likely still calling them Warders - and fit in well here.)
• Demon (This is the period of the final downfall of the Earthbound, when the last of them are weak and eventually forced into their reliquaries and have to rely entirely on their mortal cults.)

[No One of Consequence]

A Little Night Music (Vienna, 1781 - 1791)
The capital of the Archduchy of Austria and center of the Hapsburg monarchy, this is Vienna in the decade when Mozart lived and worked there. The city has been undergoing an renaissance over the past few decades, with a population boom, massive construction that includes sewers, early factories, and numerous suburban garden palaces, most of it in the Baroque style, and a modernization of city administration. It's also the home to the court of Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire. This is a city of wealth and intrigue, as well as art and change. If you've never seen the 1984 film Amadeus, it's a beautiful work, and highlights this setting.
Primary Games:

• Changeling (This is, again, one of those settings full of really beautiful art and music that makes it a font of glamour for the fey. And it's also one of those settings where it can be very easy to see the local Changelings taking certain cues from the Imperial Court and setting up their own ranks of nobility and peerage, complete with all the pomp and etiquette - and intrigue - they remember from the old days. At the same time, the beginnings of the industrial revolution in Vienna may be a source of worry for those fearing an even worse event than the Shattering and its exodus.)
• Wraith (The necropolis of Vienna has a rather unique set up, being ruled by a number of noble blooded families whose male members traditionally provide the various Anacreons of each Legion. The female members of these families, meanwhile, exercise near total control over the city's social and artistic arenas, as well as the influence over their male counterparts that powerful women almost always wield. While the Guilds are technically outlawed, it's almost certain that the Chanteurs and Sandmen receive protection and patronage, as do members of the high guilds. I think this has the potential to be a fun and somewhat different setting, with a heavier focus on courtly intrigue, social interaction, and artistic endeavors than usual.)

Secondary Games:

• Vampire (The biggest obstacle to a Vampire game in Vienna is the almost overbearing presence of the the Tremere, including most likely their slumbering founder, and Etrius. Which is a shame, because the city in this period is a cool place for various Toreador, Brujah, Ventrue, Lasombra, and even the occasional Old Clan Tzimisce to do a lot of fun Elysium plotting and shenanigans. Really every Clan fits in here to some degree or another. You just have to scale back how paranoid the Tremere are. )
• Mage (An interesting setting for more artistically inclined Hermetics, Chorusers and Thanatoics, as well as upper class Ecstatics. )

Tertiary Games:

• Werewolf (Again, the Tremere issue, as it's apparently a point of canon that almost all Garou who enter Vienna tend to die fairly quickly.)

[No One of Consequence]

Lost Kingdom (The Kingdom of Hawaii, 1793 - 1893)
This is the Hawaiian Islands and its peoples beginning with their unification under the rule of King Kamehameha I until the over through of the royal house by American and European business interests. Kamehameha was, essentially, a client monarch of the British Crown, trading with the British navy to get firearms to aide in his conquest/unification of the Islands, adapting a number of European ways including his Brick Palace. Under his son's reign, the traditional Hawaiian religion, including many of its systems of taboos were abandoned or ignored by the royal family. Sugar became a huge export, and a large number of foreigners settled in the Kingdom, including Americans, Mexicans, Filipinos, Chinese and Japanese. This eventually caused the Kingdom's downfall, as foreign business interests gradually took over influence of the government and eventually seized power all together in an armed coup.
Primary Games:

• Mage (This is the home - well, one of the homes - of the Kopa Loei craft, and this is a major period of upheaval for them. Until now, they Kopa Loei of Hawaii have been isolated from the Ascension War, and now it's landed on their door step. This new king, something they really haven't had before, is all too eagerly adapting outsider ways, and later the whole system of their religion and taboos is getting disrupted. This gets even worse as the century progresses with more and more of these foreign wizards showing up. Some, like the Hermetics, Askashics, and Celestial Chorus are just rude and full of themselves, but others, like the Lightbringers and Invisible Exchequer seem to want to get rid of them all together. While it's entirely possible to play any of these three sides, this is a setting that's a key part of the Kopa Loei's history and even if you are running a Tradition centered game here, the Craft is going to play a sizable role.)
• Changeling (The native Menehune are in the same boat as the Kopa Loei. Their close relationship with the islands' people and their relative isolation has protected them from the worst impacts of the Shattering, and now this is rapidly changing in a way that's not good for them. The disruption of the traditional taboo system, as well as the importing of the outsiders' metal based technology, runs a very real risk of wiping them out. Encounters with Western Kiths teach them how to undergo the Changeling Way, but they are now having to butt heads with the newcomers for territory and trying to preserve ancient sacred places of power. Once again, you can focus a game on one or the other, or possibly both, but I think the Menehune have some of the stronger overall hooks for basing chronicles around, especially during the first half of the century. And it's also the sort of setting where it's really easy to run a mixed Menehune/Kopa Loei game.)

Secondary Games:

• Werewolf (This is not a place that has any sort of native Garou. The only truly native Fera are Ratkin and Ananasi, with the Ratkin arriving with the native Polynesians and the Ananasi likely predating that. While some Garou and various Asian Fera may have come with the immigrations in the 19th century, the main thing everyone thinks of when they consider Hawaii is the Rokea. Rokea here probably aren't much different than most other places or times you'd have a Rokea centered game. However, given how heavily shark people and the like play into Polynesian folklore, it's always been my head canon that places like Hawaii are one of those areas that have an established population of Kadugo/human kinfolk that aren't automatically hunted down and killed.)
• Vampire (You probably don't see much in the way of vampires - save maybe the odd Gangrel mariner or the like - until the second half of the century, when Honolulu was established as the new capital and efforts were made to turn it into a modern city. At that point, you've probably got the handful of younger vampires trying to make their fortune somewhere new, or sent out somewhat unwillingly by elders. At least there are no Lupines, you think, until you see the giant walking shark.)
• Kindred of the East (A number of immigrants from China, Japan and the Philippines came to Hawaii at this time, and by the time the Kingdom ended, Japanese made up about 20% of the islands' population. This can make an interesting place for Asian vampires, especially ones who have left the old world by choice or by necessity.)
• Wraith (This is the realm of the Sea Which Knows No Sun, the Polynesian underworld. The disruption of the taboo system has probably had repercussions in the Shadowlands, possibly even a maelstrom among the islands. The influx of foreigners means that representatives of Stygia and later the Yellow Springs won't be very far behind.)

[No One of Consequence]

The Seminole Wars (Florida, 1816 - 1858)
I couldn't really think of a good name for this one. But this is Florida during the long and drawn out conflict between the native Seminole people and the US government and Army, which lasted off and on for four decades, with a few interbellum periods. These conflicts started as part of the War of 1812 and the so-called Creek Wars in the southeastern United States. At the very beginning, Florida was technically Spanish territory, but was effectively lawless, and among other things, this made it a haven for runaway slaves from Georgia. British traders were also perfectly happy to sell the native Seminoles guns, mainly because it helped facilitate the trade in deer hide and other goods, which also raised problems. This initial invasion left the Seminole to have a less than pleasant view of the incoming American settlers and military personal, and inevitably war started again, and then again, finally ending just before the start of the Civil War with the Seminole largely driven into the Everglades or forced to move west to Indian Territory, and all of the known free black towns destroyed. It's basically several decades of bitter conflict interspersed with periods of uneasy peace. So it's a setting that can alternate between war stories, frontier-noir political intrigue, efforts of actual reconciliation, and sad tragedy.
Primary Games:

• Werewolf (This is in many ways Werewolf: The Wild West just several decades earlier and in a different climate. As Seminole and other Native Uktena are slowly driven south, some of this driving is going to be supported by or exploited by the usual bunch of Fianna and Fenrir, among others. However, Garou who came there as part of the initial Spanish incursions - Shadow Lords, Black Furies, Silent Striders - are likely to be far more sympathetic to the Uktena, having already carved out a small niche in the territory and established boundaries that these newcomers are screwing up. In addition, it's very easy to have Uktena working with the local Mokole, Pumonica, and other Fera, making it a place were mixed Breed games work.)
• Mage (This is during the period when a large number of Dreamspeakers effectively broke with the other Traditions over events like these, and obviously makes an excellent focus for a Mage game set here. While the Dreamspeakers are the most obvious group in the area, this actually makes a potentially interesting chronicle focus where most the PCs are either non-Seminole locals or outsiders who are sympathetic to the people's side and are hoping to rebuild bridges with the Dreamspeakers. Thanatoic African legacies among runaway slaves, Spanish Catholic Chorusers, and Ecstatics influenced by the Romantic movement would all work here, as would types of Hermetics and Verbena. The other option is to have Seminole Dreamspeakers who have aligned with various were creatures.)
• Changeling (If Werewolf: The Wild West and Mage are about clashing cultures, this is about clashing dreams. The Nunnehi among the Seminole are trying to hold on to their way of life, as might Eshu and other African kiths among the freemen. Kithain may be sympathetic to this, seeing fairly uninhabited rural Florida as a wonderful place to establish little freeholds and kingdoms away from the industrializing world, or they may get caught up in the dreams and desires of the new comers. Either way, there's a lot of interesting stuff to play around with in the realms of interpersonal and political drama, meetings between different types of Changelings, stories about heroism and tragedy, and certain Southern Gothic tropes. And, again, it offers one of those places where having a mixed party of Nunnehi, Dreamspeakers and Garou/Fera actually makes sense.)

[No One of Consequence]

Dark Skies (Western and Midwestern United States, 1945 - 1970)
This will be a slightly odd one. During WW2, a number of pilots claimed to have seen unusual objects or possible aircraft, usually described as flying lights or balls of fire. In 1947, an unusual object apparently crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. Other odd sightings occurred in Alabama, Kentucky, and North Dakota a year later. In the interests of national security, the US Air Force started Project: Sign to collect and evaluate all information about UFO sightings. This was succeeded a year later by Project: Grudge, and from 1952 to 1970 by Project: Blue Book. Ultimately each of these projects concluded that while these unidentified flying objects existed, the could find no conclusive evidence that they were a threat to national security, were the work of the Soviet Union, represented technology beyond current scientific knowledge, or were extraterrestrial in origin. Of course, in the World of Darkness, that is unlikely to be true. Besides various extra-dimensional beings that conform to our myths about aliens, there's no shortage of earth-bound supernatural denizens who can also create unnatural flying machines or cryptozoological creatures that might be mistaken for UFOs. This is a setting that would delve into modern mythology about aliens and government conspiracies, as well as the ways the world is changing in this new post-WW2 era of Cold Wars, space races, interstates and televisions, and the anxieties that can create.
Primary Games:

• Project: Twilight (One of the most basic ideas for this setting is that of the PCs being government agents - with the Air Force, FBI, or some other agency - or having some sort of special skills - aerospace engineering, photography analysis, etc. - that gets them recruited by such to help in the investigation. And, ideally, its the sort of thing that should start out almost normal only to get progressively stranger and stranger the further down the rabbit hole they go, encountering MiB, usual pieces of technology, small towns of cliquish and surly denizens who don't like outsiders and are clearly hiding something, corporations that are doing strange things, and all the other fun bits of conspiracy fiction. If you're familiar with the ins and outs of the WoD, then you might know what some of those things "really" are, but if you're a 1950s G-Man or Airman, then it's really easy - and fun - to draw the wrong conclusions and make connections that aren't really there. And if this eventually lands you a job at SAD as the guy who thinks all your co-workers are crazy for thinking the aliens are "vampires", all the better.)
• The Technocracy (And then we peal back the onion a layer or three. Now the PCs are part of the Conspiracy, out to cover up these extra-dimensional incursions and Reality Deviant experiments - especially the ones by those traitorous Etherite commies - and protect Earth from from potential harm and invasion. This is one of those places were the Void Engineers, in their role as policers of the Gauntlet, really shine, as do the NWO. Depending on your tastes, you can be as morally questionable and dark grey as you like, with the characters doing unpleasant things in the name of "The Greater Good", or you can do the more pulp SciFi thing of heroic agents battling covert aliens invaders.)
• Changeling (I've always been disappointed that Changeling never played more with the modern mythology of UFOs and alien abductions. It always seemed like a no-brainer for a Changeling focused witch-hunter faction who were so convinced that the Kithain were secret alien invaders that they were Banal about it. Meanwhile, if there are not Nockers in post-WW2 America racing around in homemade aircraft that just happen to look like fireballs, flying saucers, silver cigar tubes, or black triangles, then clearly the Reds have won. There's also the angle of some Changelings wondering if these UFOs are signs that the Sidhe may be coming back, or if they are a new type of fey, or if they are some sort of sign of doom. As well as the idea of Freeholds in certain small downs and rural areas coming under unwanted government scrutiny as a result of said UFOs or Nocker toys.)

Secondary Games:

• Mage (As a counterpart to the Technocracy angle, there's also the idea of Etherite experiments and Virtual Adepts as parts of mundane investigations. UFO folklore has also often trying to work in things like angelic visitations, the Fair Folk, dragons, and other oddities, all of which could be assorted spirits or Bygones with ties to groups of Hermetics, Chorusers, Verbena, and the like.)
• Werewolf (As with Changelings, having government agents snooping around various rural areas and small towns is going to put Kinfolk communities and Septs on edge as this might threaten the safety of Caerns and other important things. There's also the idea that this could be the last hurrah of the Umbral Flyers, a Glass Walker camp that was big on aviation and experimental aircraft in the Pulp Era before deciding the world had passed them by and devoting themselves to umbral exploration. Some of these UFOS could easily be some of their experimental fetish aircraft.)

[No One of Consequence]

In the Valley of Shadow (LA and the San Fernando Valley, 1945 - 1960)
This is first and foremost a Film Noir type setting, drawing heavily on things like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels and film adaptions, James Ellroy's LA Quartet novels (including LA Confidential), and Walter Mosley's Easy Rollins novels. Also the original Dragnet. This is a world of political corruption, various forms of strife bubbling under the post War desire for normalcy and prosperity, antiheroes, complicated criminal plots, femme fatals, and nice hats. It's the sort of world that the early World of Darkness drew heavily on for inspiration, before involving itself with global metaplots and armageddon.
Primary Games:

• Vampire (This is one of those genres that are perfect for the game line. The only major issue here is that LA by Night decided to have the Anarch revolt and take over happen during WW2, which is a damn shame because this setting is perfect for the Camarilla and their complicated political games that neonates seems to get caught up in. I really wish the Anarch Free States had been established in the 60s, as the hints of simmering rebellion on the horizon would really add to this type of setting.)
• Wraith (In the 50s, the Fifth Great Maelstrom is over, but the lord of Stygia is missing. Wraiths, especially those killed in the war, would like to just go about their business, but political intrigue is afoot as Legions and Guilds try to find an edge in this new political set up. Meanwhile, the idea of soul forging, slavery, and ever harsher laws are in vogue with many of the people in charge. One has to walk a fine line to keep from falling into the abyss, but you can make a lot of profit if you pull it off.)

Secondary Games:

• Hunters Hunted/Tales of the 13th Precinct (OK, this is technically a CoD title, but I lack one that focuses on the police. This is a really interesting setting to run a "mortal cops in the WoD" campaign, be it straight laced Joe Friday types or your more typical LA Confidential style antiheroes. Various crimes and corruption are bound to eventually lead back to one of the Secret Masters, and sometimes even being told to back off by one's superiors isn't going to stop a doggedly determined cop.)
• Werewolf (This is actually kind of a fun setting for Glass Walkers, as well as certain types of Bone Gnawers, Shadow Lords and others. The rapid post war growth and industrialization, especially in the Valley with its quintupling population, is likely to be of concern for certain Garou, possibly even threatening one or more Caerns.)
• Mage (This period of LA has more than its fair share of weird occult groups and goings on. Jack Parsons, a rocket scientist, Bohemian, and Crowley influenced occultist ran his own group in Pasadena, which included L Ron Hubbard and avant guard filmmaker Kenneth Anger. The entire greater LA area is this weird mix of advanced science and engineering, strange occultism, and Bohemian hedonism that plays very well with a number of Traditions. It's also an interesting Sorcerer setting as well.)

[Koronus]

Some of the stuff I'm mulling over and poking at for this (in no particular order): [LIST=1][*]Constantinople during the reign of Justinian[*]France during the reign of Charlemagne

Oh I would be so with this. And as a Suggestion, how about Austria during the reign of Maria Theresia in the 18th century?

[Nail Eater]

Rust Never Sleeps (American Midwest, 1974 - 1984)
This is a setting that probably needs a little bit of context. After WW2, America experienced an unprecedented economic boom period that lasted at least 25+ years. As a result, you had the Silent Generation (those too young for to have fought in WW2, but pre-Babyboom) having known only economic prosperity and stability for their entire adult lives, and the Babyboomers having known such for their entire lives period. Then it ended. The Vietnam War and Watergate left a lot of mental scars, including a significant lack of trust in authority, government or otherwise. An Arab oil embargo in 1973 caused a major hit to the US economy, and the Iranian revolution in 1979 caused a disruption of the world oil supply. 73 - 75 saw a major economic recession, including massive inflation, a stock market crash, the "steel crisis", and other economic problems. Many of these hit the American Midwest - Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as neighboring areas of Pennsylvania, Detroit and Wisconsin - extremely hard, with the industrial economies essentially collapsing. Urban areas saw already rising crime rates only get worse, and urban blight was a wide spread phenomenon. Adding to this list of stress causers were international terrorism and the rising public recognition of the existence of serial killers (especially with the publicity surrounding the likes of John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy), as well as the dawn of what would later be called The Satanic Panic. So, for our purposes, we have a swath of small and midsized towns spread across the region, dealing with economic hammer blows at the same time as a world that seems to be spiraling out of control and full of potential danger to ones family, especially children.
Primary Games:

• Changeling (There are two aspects at play here. One is the recently ended war against the returned Sidhe. The Midwest, especially with its working class overtones, has always struck me as a place that would be a stronghold of Commoner/anti-Noble sentiment. The other aspect is one that works especially well with Wilder and Childling characters, that of the rising slasher genre. The original Halloween is set in small town Illinois, and the original Nightmare on Elm Street is set in small down Ohio. The sort of social anxieties and fears of this period can spawn countless dark chimera and even nervosa that reflect ideas about serial killers, violent criminals, Satanic cults, drug addicts, the dreaded homosexuals, and other terrible things people are paranoid or fearful about. The idea of playing child and teenaged Changeling characters forced to confront such monsters and try to save their homes strikes me as a very strong concept for a chronicle, playing well with the game's themes of a possible light of hope in the darkness. It also can make for some interesting political implications of the PCs find themselves as commoners having to ally with their hated noble overlords for the greater good of their home town.)
• Werewolf (This sort of economic downturn in a former heavily industrialized region leaves a lot of scars, both physical and mental, for the Wyrm - and Weaver - to exploit. Various shuttered plants and warehouses can make excellent layers for all kinds of monsters, as well as leftover industrial chemicals and other wastes. And all that angst, fear, and anger make excellent entry points for banes. Fomori are likely crawling out of the woodwork, and while the economy is doing poorly, it provides opportunity for PENTEX and other financial predators to swoop in and gather up potential future resources for the inevitable 80s comeback. The Bonegnawers will no doubt thrive in this environment, while other tribes and septs may decide that this massive blow to the human economy is a good thing from their perspective, even while some point out the negative effects it is having with the forces of the Wyrm corrupting more and more innocent bystanders. This setting also works really well for a Ratkin centered game.)

Secondary Games:

• Vampire (If you want to play around the area of Gary and the other towns of northern Indiana and Illinois, then this period plays heavily into Prince Lodin's ongoing feud with Modius. In the rest of the region, the general mix of idealism and anger of the 60s with the anger and cynicism of the 70s - especially the punk movement - undoubtably makes this region a hotbed for Anarch activities and potential uprisings, and a perfect setting for a historical Anarch game. Also, the Sabbat can play into the period fears about serial killers, crazy vagrants, and Satanists.)
• Psychics (This was a time when public interest in psychic phenomenon and other strangeness associated with parapsychology was at an high point. The small town setting and general mood of paranoia toward aspects of the government and business means that stories similar to Stephen King's Carrie and Firestarter work well here, as do various Amityville Horror/Conjuring style haunting investigations.)

Tertiary Games:

• Wraith (The general sense of gloom and anxiety makes for potent - if potentially dark and even corruptive - pathos, as well as a potential upswing in deaths from suicides and other tragic ends. Wraiths who have passion or fetter ties to certain businesses or factories may be in a panic over their potential loss.)
• Hunters Hunter vs Demon (The Satanic Panic angel can be exploited for stories involving Earthbound cults and their thralls, as well as the the various types of mortal demon hunters who may face off against them in stories reminiscent of The Exorcist, The Evil Dead, or Sinister.)

I would like to know more about your vision of these times. Currently I try to run a campaign set in this region. It's basically Changeling/Werewolf crossover. I set it in Ashcroft (yup, the same that was the stage of H:tR video games) in mid 1982 with some of my personal additions. I just love the story of this s**thole: established in 1827. In 1865 one hundred of workers were trapped and died in the coalmine. In 1912 35 children dissapeared and only partial remains of 5 of them was ever discovered. In 1946 vampires move to the local prison (so I assume that execution of Arkady was in 1996-98, and the first game is set during Week of Nightmares). But back to the 80's. This is what I assume also: Cornelius Boothe (the one stabbed by Deuce over the body of his mother) is a vampire, possibly Lasombra. Warden Degenhardt and maybe dr. Hadrian are also vampires, possibly Tzimisce. Nathaniel Arkady (and that's where I got a problem) is a werewolf, some sources claim that he is Carpenter, former mafia hitman, the others (I believe more reliable) that he is not. If the former are right I have some ideas about him except Tribe (I believe that Carpenter is Dennis Maxwell, and in the 80's he could be a Wraith wandering in the prison and city streets). Werewolves from H:tR Redeemer have glyphs of Uktena (in Chicago they have their sept), the environement suggests rather northern states. According to the maps there was some coal mining in this area (which is also backed up by drowned miners). Also in the first H:tR video game trailer Daily Herald (a Chicago newspaper) is used and models of trains also suggests Chicago. And if Ashcroft lies elsewhere I didn't find any informations about it. But I'm from Poland and I don't know the history of this area very well so I look for some back up.