World of Darkness: Portland

12
dedicated to Native-American aspects of the World of
Darkness, but for now a simple overview is provided.
The Clatskanie, Kwalhioqua, Kalapulyan,
Chinook and Tillamook peoples were the major tribes
in the Portland area, and lived together with the land.
These tribes were good neighbors to each other, and
trade was plentiful, if simplistic. Until the whites began
invading the area, and other native refugees arrived to
escape the east, these peoples knew nothing of war as
we know it today. They were guarded by powerful spirits
(the Uratha protected this land and its inhabitants, which
at the time included these tribes; it wasn’t until the white
arrival that werewolves began to distinguished humankind
as separate from the land they watched over), and had
powerful and wise leaders. Awakened Indians were able
to keep in constant contact with the Shadow World and its
inhabitants; amiable communication between medicine men
and spirits kept the land healthy and vibrant. The Indians
lived a cyclical existence of the seasons, and stories tell
of their wealth and happiness. Awakened and Uratha
existed together, a fact which has been forgotten as the years
progress—clues still exist that could lead to a discovery of such
information, but to date werewolves and mages are unaware
of this time of harmony. But as happened throughout the
continent, new men arrived and everything changed.
From around 1690 until the time of Portland’s
founding, the northwest was a confusing time for native
peoples. Nomadic horse tribes, having been displaced
from their land in central America, began travels
through modern-day Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Many of these peoples were never permanent residence
of Oregon, but their presence was for a time dominant
enough that the mistake that they were indigenous to
the area is often made. By the time white travelers and
settlers began investigating these lands after the 1750s,
they found large populations of Indians scattered in
groups, families and tribes over the entire country
from the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean, and
The World of Darkness uses the real world for
its backdrop, but slightly tints it for the purpose of it
game. Cities are darker, more corrupt, the wilderness
more dangerous; so too is Portland in the World of
Darkness. To that end, this list contains locations that
have been modified to better serve the mood of these
games. Each site has a number that corresponds to the
map below. Every subsequent section will have its own
map devoted to more fictionalized locations that serve
those individual games.
1. Pearl District (Northwest)
West Burnside Street to Northwest Overton Street;
Chapter 1-Notable Sites
Notable Sites
from California up to the Alaska line. The first comers
detected no differences among these people of the
forest and plain. They were all simply Indians. By 1840,
there were 33,000 people from tribes that should have
spanned most of the country. In a population of this
size there must have been five or six thousand fighting
men. But there was no organization, no co-operation,
and scarcely sympathy of one tribe with another. One
tribe might rally a few hundred at one time for a single
battle to rob a party of white men or attack a ship. The
white traders and trappers ranged the vast county over
with scarcely a noticeable resistance; the massacre of
the Smith party on the Umpqua and of the crew of
the Tonquin at Clayoquot being the only example of
concerted action of the natives to destroy the white
men. Only after the Indian had learned the use of
firearms did tribes ally to resist the aggression of the
white man, but by then Europeans had such a presence
it was impossible to alter their domination.
By 1910, there were no Kwalhioqua and only three
Clatskanie people left alive. Some of these people
intermingled with other tribes, but most died from
smallpox and headhunting. Tillamook, Chinook and
Kalapulyan tribes suffered catastrophic losses but
survived and still exist to this day. Most of the First
Cabal is made up of these two tribes; immigrating natives
from other areas have joined the cabal in recent months.
The remainder of Indians now reside on reservations
in Oregon and Washington. Mortal Native Americans
were not the only ones effected by the changes in occupation:
though there are mages and werewolves both with strong
traditional ties, the two supernatural groups grew apart as
the fighting between Indian and white-man, and Indian and
Indian, became bitter and entrenched. Neither side has any
knowledge of their former coexistence, besides a few Uratha
songs of questionable authenticity and easily-interpretive
meaning.
Broadway to Northwest 14th Avenue
Historical industrial buildings have been
refurbished in this quarter, made into unique
storefront locations. Some of the trendiest restaurants,
galleries, lofts, townhouses exist here, and it is known
as Portland’s premier shopping location. The Pearl
District is the destination for creative cuisine, home
furnishings, art and one-of-a-kind boutiques. Awash
with sidewalk cafés, the fountains of Jamison Square,
and other delights that have the mortal population
milling about like cattle, Pearl District is the hotspot
for the elite vampire community (Daeva and Ventrue
are the most common here). They are careful about