Fantastic Idaho! (Mythras)

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

FeralToaster

Legendary Pubber
Joined
Jan 23, 2019
Messages
853
Reaction score
941
Intro

So about a week ago I mention doing a modern fantasy setting powered by Mythras. I spent the last week doing a leisurely research on the state and its history. Also I read the Mythras core book and 75% of AtVW, enough to get a feel for the rules but not yet gaining a firm mastery of the rules. After getting enough to get an idea of how to set the region and what the monster palette was I think I have enough to get started.

The broad setting is modern supernatural kitchen sink about five minutes till midnight, which can later be expanded to five minutes after midnight. I got a strong blue-collar feel from the state so I’m going with that as a theme for the setting with the pcs in addition to hunting up supernatural resources also have to be concerned about mundane concerns like rent.

Oh and since I doing this for the first time online (and using a new system) I’m adopting a Bob Ross approach and just being laid back about everything and just generally enjoying the experience of building a setting, feedback and assistance are of course welcome.
 
Week1

So my first problem was that my research was giving me a fairly limited monster palette. Not enough monsters but only three types. I had ghosts ghost towns ghost mines old west ghost towns for days, the state is almost the archetype for old west ghost stories. The problem was the rest of the palette was Bigfoots and Dogmen slightly different shades of the same color. I was afraid of having too repetitive monster encounters so I pulled out an old trick from years of doing this for east coast settings. Protip #1 I typed castles in Idaho into google and struck pay dirt. some land developers had started building new castle type homes for sale. so fanciful homes for sale would serve as a good hook to add fairies to the monster palette so I could get started.



State Overview

The state of Idaho can be broken into three sub regions that can work as their own campaign frames.

The chimney region (Boundary, Bonner, Kootnei, Shoshone, Benewah, Latah, Clearwater, Nez Perce, Lewis) will comprise the supernatural mining region( Cour D’Alene is too cool a name not too use) the region is famous for one of the largest silver mines in the US and indeed is the reason for the state nickname “Gem State” since silver is not a gem I don’t understand the connection but still. So I’m going with supernatural miners fiercely protecting their small claims.

This adds two things for me to work on a magic resource for me too stat out and a supernatural agency that will observe the claim rights for the supernatural. Going to stick a pin in the magic silver until I get a firmer handle on the Mythras magic systems and go with a powerful group of legal minded magicians that will enforce their decrees if someone tries claim jumping.



The Central region (Idaho, Adams, Washington, Valley, Boise, Custer, Lemhi, Payette, Gem, Butte, Clark, Jefferson, Fremont, Madison, Teton) will be the shadow war for the state specifically the war between the pacific northwest coalition of Bigfoots against the Packs of Dogmen from Montana and Wyoming. This adds a fast path to pcs that want combat and for a social group how they ally with both encroaching groups. Now I have to Stat up Bigfoots and Dogmen for Mythras and come up with a name for this region.



The southern Region ( Canyon, Ada, Elmore, Owyhee, Twinfalls, Gooding, Camas, Blaine, Lincoln, Jerome, Cassia, Minidoka, Oneida, Power, Bingham, Bonneville, Bannock, Caribou, Franklin, Bear Lake). Interesting my Research turned up that the Oregon Trail went through this part of the state. Now since the state is filled to the brim with ghost towns why not make that a subregion with the Oregon Trail now serving as a Ley line for ghosts from across the nation slowly making their way towards the endpoint of the Oregon trail (which is beyond the parameters of the setting). Also this lets me add the fairy land developers which are making use of the ghostly resources of the state and let me make a fairy prince of the state in Boise. This turns this subregion (I need a name) into a ghost hunters campaign frame with the pcs hunting ghosts to sell to the fairies. So I need to stat up a bunch ghosts and fairy lords and come up with some ghost busting equipment.



Outro

So I have rough framework to build up the state, a buncha stuff that needs starting up, going to have to tailor the splats to the setting (Need to finish the book first) tailor a bunch of magic systems and subsystems to the setting and work on conflicting power Hierarchies for the state. I’ll be updating about once a week. Oh by the way if you want to comment or add anything or even have some insight to Idaho please feel free to post, especially if you have a cool Idaho monster or location.
 
You should definitly look up local Native American Myths, in particular The Heart of the Monster from the Nez Perce.
 
Lots of natural type monsters there. The middle of the state has bears and cougars and hawks and eagles. Fish and elk for the non-predator set.

I think it’s interesting that you could easily run with nature spirits in the north and middle and various human ice trick ones in the south - revenge, curse, starvation, and so on.

The name Idaho comes from the Shoshone term for it, which means Gem of the Mountains. That’s why gem state.
 
huh, the article I read thought Idaho was a dubious translation, a patchwork of different dialect and languages but thank you for explaining the gem thing, it was bugging me.

Also thanks for the Nez perce "Heart of the Mountain" I'll look into it.
 
Dubious translation or no, sounds like a great thing to incorporate into the game!
 
is it a specific mountain or mountains in general, with the Gem thing? because mountains in general would work as generators of minor nexuses while a specific mountain would be a legendary nexus point .

also the heart of the monster story was very flavorful reminded me strongly of Perseus slaying the medusa and a buncha critters come out from the death blow. wondering if having after a successful boss battle the pcs roll on a random Idaho wildlife table might be thematic?
 
i think it's just mountains in general. I'm unaware of a specific one.
 
Don't forget "Famous Potatoes" one of the grandest State mottoes of all time. It is a moral imperative that you feature a potato monster of some sort.


According to this site Idaho was originally presented as a name for Colorado, but congress rejected it after finding out the native language connection was bogus. Common usage of the word Idaho for mining in the west led to it being used for the Idaho territory and later the state of Idaho.


Idaho has a rather interesting history, the narrow panhandle came about due to a political struggle in Washington state. Initially the panhandle would have been part of Washington, but those supporting Olympia (on the coast) as the new capital didn't want the influx of miners in the east shifting the balance of political power to those behind having the capital being located inland.
The result was a successful petition to Congress for the border to exclude the mountains and miners of Northern Idaho. A mountain range east of the panhandle formed a natural barrier and practical boundary line between Idaho and Montana when those states were created.
 
I say make them magical healing potatoes, but maybe if only fried up :smile: (in sacred elk fat?)
 
week 2

Okay, my weekend is going to me a little hectic so I’m going to post this early.

Did you know Idaho has it own Loch ness monster? I do, It’s called Sharlie or The Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake and even the locals describe it as log like. I can’t help but empathize with a state that feels that it has to add a folkloric monster because it shares a border with Oregon, the weird capital of the west coast, but has such an innate sense of honesty that they admit the evidence points to random log sightings. In a more productive vein I turned up Texas Jack Omohundro which turned up Buffalo Bill which lead to Buffalo “Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World”. which is perhaps the most awesome adventure party name I’ve ever heard of and the focus of this weeks post.



Intro

Found a cool research vein and decided to run with it to build both the x and y splat of one supernatural group. I’ll use this as the guiding tool for fleshing out the setting and npc in the Southern region (which I still need a name for).



Idaho Half Fae framework

Alright, I’ve looked over the AtVW framework of the Half Fae and thought it a good kitchen sink approach to the splat. The book seems to be doing a riff on the d20 modern campaign setting Urban Arcana (dnd monsters fall into a modern/buffy setting) which is cool but I’ll go for a more stable version of the dreamlands for my fae rather then Tolkien elves. Will switch out the super healing for a faerie mien for the setting. Give the shifter more niche protection as the more tanky build and let the weirder fae mutations still work as social builds in mundane society. since this is modern fantasy that means every supernatural group needs a polity to represent them which is where “Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World” comes in. A western theme theatre group that toured around the world seems like a good inspiration for a western themed Idaho fae polity. I particularly like that it isn’t European based folk lore for an american setting and the governing style is democratic rather then feudal.

So the Congress of Rough Riders (CORR) was once a global fae polity now it is giving group to stronger groups including Fae ones. Idaho is one of their strongholds in fact the Boise major nexus is theirs. They generate the purple sage domain which is the regional otherworld for Idaho. The group has changed from the lassies faire cowboy stance of nexus possession to the more defensive stance of the rancher as their form of entertainment has waned in the cultural zeitgeist driving them to build infrastructure and infrastructure in the otherwise pastoral domain. Additionally this factionally is a refreshing break from the tired cliche of selfie (good) vs unseelie (bad).The CORR is still strong enough that it can issue edicts from it strongholds and expect them to be obeyed at least within the state.

on the player level it makes an Idaho half fae claiming a nexus more significant, will it align it to the powerful but no longer expanding polity or will it give support to one of the newer polities in exchange for greater favors but risk the Ire of CORR. Also is the pc one of the cowboy faction (more free wheeling but lacking in support) or the rancher faction (has support but wants to exert control in exchange)?


Outro

okay, settled one x splat gave them a y splat (with subfactions). maybe add a variant type of mutations based on westerns? Still need to flesh out the nexus rules but definitely have major nexuses have control of how the domains appear. Sharlie is a wash but maybe have it be a story hook? a failed attempt by the fae to build a new legend? perhaps have old dime novel westerns function as grimoires? Idaho potato monster part of a failed seer project?(need to work more on it).
 
Week 3

Wow, I've just spent a week researching Idaho state and county level politics. One really gets a sense that Idaho is sorta of a secondary poltical player on the national level (reacting off the actions and policies of other states California, Oregon, Washington, etc) but on the county level their are the usual level of small town poltical intrigue. All of which doesn't make much for Idaho specific setting hooks but does mean it is fertile ground for a Wod Gary, Indiana style of local poltics hooks. Which admittedly is not everyone cup of tea but is a constructive path to pursue when building the setting that is in keeping with the sorce material.

Intro
Okay, yes their will be potato monsters. I was sold on the idea after reading how the agricultural commission tried to make Mister Potato Head their mascot. sadly I don't have an Urban folklore monster to tie it too, so my gut tells me 1950's mad science shenanigans. I checked out the Henry H spalding story but it follows the trend of "interesting things that happen adjacent to Idaho but not in Idaho". On the plus side I found about four anthologies of weird western short stories to mine for ideas.

State Overview Part 2
( was hoping to have more mechanical stuff ready but was too busy reading about Idaho elections stories)

Cour D'Alene region governed by impartial council of seers that protect everyone's property rights keeping the bigger landowners from jumping the claims of the smaller ones. I definitely have enough conty level poltics to make this viable with the supernatural forces arguing over resource allocation. This puts the chronicle into more of the Ars Magica tribunal style but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Central region (still need a name) I'm not getting any interesting folklore in my research. Hopefully the weird fiction will give me something but If not I'll continue with the war between the bigfoots and the Dog Men (some what old hat but definitely a playable concept.

Southern region (still need a name) we have the CORR governing from the stronghold of Boise. advancing in local power but facing a internal crisis between the cowboy and the rancher faction as too the future goals of the polity. There is a rather nice train museum that could work as the major nexus of the polity and thta does give me ghost trains to work with.

Outro

Sigh even with the time I spent researching I didn't achieve much beyond a slight refinement of the overview. Definitely need to work on the mechanics of the setting.
 
The central region of Idaho is a very low population area with lots of wilderness area. In particular there's the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, which if i recall correctly has one of the most isolated points(read farthest from people/roads) in the Lower 48. Perhaps you could call it the "Point of No Return"? or maybe "The Wilderlands"?

The south of Idaho is mostly arid and is home to the Idaho National Laboratory, which is involved in various Nuclear Energy projects for the US Department of Energy.
Just south of the INL is the appropriately named Atomic City.
Further south, there's the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, A vast extinct lava field and home to such sights as Lava tubes you can walk in and a cave with Ice at the bottom that was used as an ice skating rink in the past, despite being in the middle of a desert.
Perhaps you could call the Southern Region "The Desert"? or maybe "The Rad Lands" in reference to the various nuclear energy projects at the INL?

Anyway let me know it you need any more inspiration!
 
I like wilderlands but is it too gerneric sounding? but still a good placeholder for the central region. you Know what?, "Land of no return" is too good to pass up. Thanks for the name.

I found a ken hite article I could make a link with the department of energy and the Oregon ghost trail in the southern region so I was happy with that.

Moon national monument is a new one to me. thank you I'll note that down
I have Atomic city noted to have some mad science hijinks

But isn't the southern region the main transit route in the state? I'm from the North East so over here that means such an area is livelier with commerce and residential communities for commuters than other areas. I get "the desert" works in geographical terms but when most of the infrastructure is there? I was working with "Oregon Ghost trail" but even that has obivous problems. "Rad lands" sounds nicely evocative but would only work if I ramped up Atomic city for the setting.
 
I take it you have never physically been to Idaho. It is an interesting place, and very hard to get the vibe of being there just by looking on a map.

The southern part of the state is located within the Great Basin so shares much in common with Nevada, Utah and Eastern Oregon. High desert, relatively flat, and sparsely populated. Boise, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls are the major population centers with small towns scattered about. It can be scenic but in the stark, brutal way most desert land is scenic. It is dry, but rocky with scrubby brush and trees, not sandy desert like the Mohave or Sahara. Craters of the Moon is well named, looking very much like a moonscape.

Numerous potato farms in the southern part of the state add green space to the otherwise brown landscape. Potatoes are stored in potato cellars which resemble large bunkers half burred in the ground.

As you move north into the Panhandle it gets much more mountainous and forested, with even less population. The Salmon river has cut a deep gorge into the mountains.

It is one of the least populated areas in the Nation, #39 by population, but the Boise metro area accounts for nearly 1/2 of the states population. The Twin Falls and Idaho Falls areas together account for another 1/4 which doesn't leave much to sprinkle about the rest of the area. As with other remote parts of the west and southwest you can find many places that have changed little since the days of the Old West (imagine Wyatt Earp with internet). Horses and mules are still used to do work in many parts of the state.


Idaho has rather long history with nuclear power. In 1961 an accident with experimental US Army nuclear power plant resulted in some fatalities. SL-1 That along with Atomic City and Arco (first US town powered by Atomic power) should offer some fodder for mischief or radioactive critters.
 
(sorry just popped out for an early dinner)
Thank you, since I started this project I've been reading local news over lunch and in the evening watching pbs documeteries about the pritchard silver rush and how it shaped the state. In addtion I've watched of youtube both realtor parade of homes and for some reason a somewhat large number of youtube regional personalities discussing who has the worst school system in the state. It has given a rough grasp of the ongoing concerns in the state but more input is always appreciated.
Idaho has rather long history with nuclear power. In 1961 an accident with experimental US Army nuclear power plant resulted in some fatalities. SL-1 That along with Atomic City and Arco (first US town powered by Atomic power) should offer some fodder for mischief or radioactive critters.
Thank you for this, I was not aware of these details and will include them.
As you move north into the Panhandle it gets much more mountainous and forested, with even less population. The Salmon river has cut a deep gorge into the mountains.

My research (mostly real estate stuff on youtube) is that the panhandle region recently has become more popular with the commuter residents. Cheap land and an easy commute to Washington or Montana has made it very attractive.


I had started making a list of the number of ghost towns but after I had gotten over fifty (and wasn't close to the end either) I've kinda decided I could put them wherever the plot needed them.
 
Not sure your location, you may very well live in a similar area. I just find people that haven't been to some of the really sparsely populated states lack an awareness of just how far apart things are. Nothing like driving all day and only seeing mostly deserted towns and little gas stops to really get that sense of aloneness. It can be very cool and eerie.

I grew up in the SF Bay Area where people are stacked on top of each other, so I really enjoy driving through the quiet empty spaces we have left, 395 North of Tahoe, most of Nevada, much of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. I've only been to Idaho twice, but it is on my list of great places to get lost.

That is all I was getting at, just trying to express how devoid of people much of Idaho is. That just doesn't come across looking on a map. It makes it very easy to believe that there could be things out there that haven't been discovered, or hidden away to avoid discovery (like radioactive mutant zombies from a government test that went very wrong). There are places where if your PCs call for help it means 1 maybe 2 deputies show up the next morning. It is quite possible that the reason there are so few Big Foot sightings in Idaho, is there is nobody to see him. :smile:
 
Another weird spot is Number Hill outside of Arco, ID. Since early in the 20th century the graduating class of the local high school has placed their class year on the mountainside, or that is the story the locals tell anyway... :ooh:

5100numberhill.jpg
 
Ah, okay this is important when you say"great places to get lost" do you mean that in a good way like when I go on a hiking trip I can get lost in the natural majesty of nature or is in the bad way like you have to get back to civilization now before the sun goes down and the coyotes come out?
 
Ah, okay this is important when you say"great places to get lost" do you mean that in a good way like when I go on a hiking trip I can get lost in the natural majesty of nature or is in the bad way like you have to get back to civilization now before the sun goes down and the coyotes come out?

Both actually. :evil:
 
Not that is is truly unsafe, but it can certainly feel that way. It is very easy to believe in Alien abduction cruising along Hwy 50 (the loneliest highway in America) through Nevada at night.
 
okay, I can work with that. writing down hwy 50 for later. the graduating class thing is kinda super common in small towns here on the East Coast. harmless way to vent youthful enthusiasm and all that.
 
okay, I can work with that. writing down hwy 50 for later. the graduating class thing is kinda super common in small towns here on the East Coast. harmless way to vent youthful enthusiasm and all that.
Or a secret government code telling you the proper numbers to write down while listening to one of the mysterious "Numbers Stations"!
 
If you really want to dig deep into the phenomena of engraving cliff faces you have a good shot at putting the blame on Roger Babson. Cool dude predicted the 1929 stock market crash endowed a research facility to defeat gravity or paraphrase his words slay the gravity dragon he thought of gravity as a dragon. Well he employed a huge number of stone masons from New york to Boston to wander the highways and carve inspirational messages on boulders and cliffs. Now he did this to employ craftmens who would have otherwise been broke if not for him but the practice sorta survived the depression.
 
The local Nez Pearce, Kalispell/Pend d'Oreilles and Flathead tribes have some good mythologies that you could probably use too.
My personal favorite is "The Stick People" which are volatile and angry nature spirits. Some tales describe them as great hairy giants (much to the delight of Bigfoot hunters), while others describe them as small dwarves. In most tales the Stick People/Indians are creatures who are easy to offend, and when offended will bring terrible misfortune and even death to those who've offended them. It is even said that to merely speak their name will draw their ire.
Unfortunately I don't have many online sources for the Stick People.
Here's one: http://www.native-languages.org/morelegends/stick-indians.htm
The rest I found were on Bigfoot sites and a reskinned Wendigo story on reddit.
I had originally heard about them my junior year from a friend familiar with the area's indigenous mythology.

I think I mentioned it before but "The Heart of the Monster" is another great legend from the area, that I could definitely see being used as a plot point or macguffin.
 
I remember stumbling onto to them with my ham radio as kid. Hooboy that and Art Bell and you could scare youself silly all night. Good Times:grin:
 
hmm the link lists the Lummi and the Salish. The Lummi does not include Idaho and the Salish link is broken but I don't recall them being connected to the Salish. I think this is another cool thing that is Idaho adjacent but not in Idaho
 
A couple of ideas

To emphasize the distances point out that driving to xyz town to run down a lead is going to take most of a day.

Make them spend the night in the middle of nowhere because the fuel truck is late and the gas station is out of gas. Sure they still have 1/2 a tank of gas, but that isn't enough to get to the next gas.

Occasionally make them find a pay phone (remember those) because there is no cell service.

Make them hire a mule skinner and his string of pack mules to move supplies or pack something out of an area.

Have a group of honest to goodness cowboys ride by in full western getup, optionally replace the Winchester rifles with a couple of AR-15s, to add to the anachronism. Modern cowboys look much the same as the did in the 1880s.


Your comment about Art Bell reminded me of this last one, have them find weird shit on the radio, religious fundamental stuff, random things (letters / number repeating, repeating station identification without content), Art Bell-esqe conspiracy theories etc.
I bought my first Satellite radio on an assignment through Idaho. Nothing but news, religious radio stations and gospel music for a couple hours, so when we finally pulled into a town with a Walmart, I bought a Satellite unit for the truck.
 
cool anytime I can getaway with including a random encounter table I do.

Mule skinners are still a thing I thought they were phased out with the introduction of the national highway system?

cool weird conspiracy radio shows, creepy religious radio shows and number stations that does give me a lot to work with.
 
okay this may be sleep overtaking me but hear me out Idaho is granted statehood in 1890 Thomas Edison is still alive till the 1930's. what is Edison known for? well many things including executing elephants, but specifically radio and building telephones to talk to ghosts. Idaho has a surplus of ghost towns. Why not have him be hired by the US dept of energy to contact ghosts and establish an embassy for ghosts in Idaho? The number stations being crucial to maintaining the ghostphone lines? cool or too forced?
 
okay this may be sleep overtaking me but hear me out Idaho is granted statehood in 1890 Thomas Edison is still alive till the 1930's. what is Edison known for? well many things including executing elephants, but specifically radio and building telephones to talk to ghosts. Idaho has a surplus of ghost towns. Why not have him be hired by the US dept of energy to contact ghosts and establish an embassy for ghosts in Idaho? The number stations being crucial to maintaining the ghostphone lines? cool or too forced?

:thumbsup:

Although the ghost towns might be taking it a step too far, don't need to slap them in the face with a halibut.

Maybe the ghost phone has a connection to the later nuclear power development. Nevada and new Mexico were adequately remote for testing nuclear weapons, why go all the way to Idaho to test nuclear power?
 
Mule skinners are still a thing I thought they were phased out with the introduction of the national highway system?


Mules are still used in the back country, and wilderness areas. This was in Yosemite National Park in 2011, it is a working mule string, not there for the entertainment of the tourists. There are quite a few private pack mule providers still out there working. I lived in the house just peaking over the fence so these mules were my neighbors for 5 years.

mule train.jpg

I have a book "Where did all the Horses Go?" In 1920 there were 20 million domestic horses in the United States and 5 million mules. By 1950 there were only 4 million horses (1/5), but still 2 million mules (1/2).

In more recent times Llamas have become popular back country pack animals if you really want to mess with your players. :hehe:
 
Not sure your location, you may very well live in a similar area. I just find people that haven't been to some of the really sparsely populated states lack an awareness of just how far apart things are. Nothing like driving all day and only seeing mostly deserted towns and little gas stops to really get that sense of aloneness. It can be very cool and eerie.
Being from Australia, that's something I get. When you drive into the Outback, you can't even count on their even being a little town a gas station ahead. On top of that, I lived in Kuwait as well. When I moved to the American Midwest, people would talk about places like Indiana and say "there was nothing there", but even in the more rural parts, there were farms everywhere, and towns about every 10 minutes or so. "Nothing" was just a euphemism for saying they thought it was boring.
 
Grew up in the Midwest and Montana. Nothing like driving 3 hours for clothes shopping. I drove 9 hours each way to pick up my girlfriend (now my wife) when I was a teen.
 
hmm the link lists the Lummi and the Salish. The Lummi does not include Idaho and the Salish link is broken but I don't recall them being connected to the Salish. I think this is another cool thing that is Idaho adjacent but not in Idaho
Salish is a language/ethnic group that lived in the northern areas of the Pacific Northwest, stretching from the Puget Sound to Western Montana, including Northern Idaho.
I don't really know if the Stick People myths were from the Coastal or Interior Salish mythos, so use at your own discretion.
I think that websites link was broken, because this is what came up when I put Salish in the old search engine:
 
:thumbsup:

Although the ghost towns might be taking it a step too far, don't need to slap them in the face with a halibut.

Maybe the ghost phone has a connection to the later nuclear power development. Nevada and new Mexico were adequately remote for testing nuclear weapons, why go all the way to Idaho to test nuclear power?

Idaho has an abundance of ghost towns, haunted mines, abandoned building that are now haunted, ghosts on the highways, cowboy ghosts, I could go on it actually continues in this vein for quite a while. In my research for other states (new york, new jersey, delaware, conneticut) the "weird" folklore is spread over a couple of different themes. Not Idaho, Idaho happily goes into great detail of the ghostly occurences of any manmade structure left idle for time.
I'm just using the state's natural resources and tying it to Edison's ghost phone. As to why have mad science in Idaho? cheap land plus a lot of privacy are very attractive selling points for a long term research facility.
 
Salish is a language/ethnic group that lived in the northern areas of the Pacific Northwest, stretching from the Puget Sound to Western Montana, including Northern Idaho.
I don't really know if the Stick People myths were from the Coastal or Interior Salish mythos, so use at your own discretion.
hah okay noted need to research stick people myths. thank you
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top