As Seen in Baltimore: Unidentified Man Catches Fire
So, we’re developing a chapter on a Dresdenized Baltimore, as an example of a non-Chicago city folks can base their own games in, or use as inspiration for bringing another city of their choice into the world of the Dresden Files. Right now we have it positioned as the last one in the book (before the appendices, etc).
Every now and again I poke around and see what news events from Baltimore have enough open questions surrounding them that they seem to be straight out of the newsroom of our Dresdenified Baltimore. Today, we have an unidentified man burned to death in Fell’s Point (news link here).
I certainly don’t wish to make light of this — it’s gruesome and awful, after all — but I still can’t keep myself from asking, what’s the Dresdenverse version of events, here? (A lot of our takes on Baltimore have often involved Fell’s Point as a place of mystic significance, which only adds to the mystery here.)
Well? What do you think happened here?
(For those of you interested in a more ongoing look at the deep-dark side of Baltimore, check out the Baltimore Crime Blog.)
I’ve never been in Baltimore… in fact I’ve never been in the USA so… can somebody explain what Fell’s Point is? I’m curious about it.
Selenio.
I’ve never been to Baltimore either, but I’m assuming its a neighborhood within the metropolitan Baltimore area, Selenio.
What do I think happened…
The Baltimore mob has its own magician on retainer. After one of their own turns rat to both the FBI and the White Council some magic is worked and the man spontaneously combusts, just another in a series of gruesome murders to which there is no reasonable evidence.
Yeah, but as Fred said they considered Fell’s Point as a place of mystic significance, I assumed there would be something else at that place.
Selenio.
To answer the question in the article about potential Dresdenverse ties:
1. Nasty demon with a fire fetish.
2. Nasty wizard with a fire fetish.
3. Nasty wizard who give young and inexperienced practitioners the true name of a rather nasty demon to see them die.
4. Said nasty wizard and demon are in a pack to feed souls to the underworld in order to power some scheme of the wizard.
Hey here is a link guys
http://www.fellspoint.us/
Ok, thanks a lot Matt, now I can say I know what Fell’s Point is. It reminds me about a district of my city known as Barceloneta (the city is Barcelona).
Selenio.
Ludo,
#3 is mildly problematic. Possessing the true name of something gives you power over them. It would be very difficult for the nasty demon to turn the tides.
From a purely psychopathic view, it would be awesome to give a fledgling wizard an immensely powerful spell that you know they can’t handle, then watch as they slip up and destroy themselves.
Also, It could be a result of Hellfire gone bad… Of course, hellfire is always bad (pfft… I’d rock that like a hurricane).
Actually, being that it was a homeless man, I think it’s far more likely that some sort of demon or faerie laid there young inside his body. As the parasite grew hotter and hotter, he broke out into a fever, and eventually, set on fire as the newborn evil escaped from his body and into another dimension!
Perhaps the poor sod was driven to gruesome suicide out of self-loathing and abject despair, a despair created, nurtured, and enhanced by resident predators who feed on such emotions…
Well, the place is suppose to be mystically important right. Then it could be argued that the place maybe a leyline crossroad. He tried something stupid or crazy and either botched it or some hero guy F’d up his plans and the power backlash set him ablaze.
Fells Point is a pub crawl/antique shop/counter culture area. If you have ever seen ‘Homicide: Life on the Streets’, you’ve seen glimpses of it. Its compact, off the water, with a huge open square in the middle of the place. Now, if you want to look up a creepy area, look into the Mt Royal district. The train area alone can put you into a good scene set up.
Actually, the true name establishes a connection. To have power over someone, you have to have power, period. A minor demon in the book can’t do bupkiss to Dresden with three of his four names, but a dragon floors him with just one or two.
If a wizard handed out a true name, a relatively powerless mortal would pretty much be toast.