Town Creation

How about a salmon fishery that supports a few commercial boats based on the island, a fishing lodge (that’s mostly abandoned in the winter), and a controversial fish farm (that’s rumoured to be a front for a genetic experiment/secret weapons facility/paranormal research station)?

I do like the tourism idea as it can create a bit of tension/hostility between the residents and the tourists. And you never know what kinds of people come to visit the island...

Tourists

Fishing, with some traditional style fishermen but also fish farmers (maybe by some modern company)

And the growth of herbs like saffron

At the far end of the island there is a military (I would assume navy?) base


That sounds enough to support an island finacially, depending on size of course.
So overall I would feel it has a blooming economy.

1. Our adventure takes place in… (name of town and state/province/territory/region)
An island in the North Pacific, somewhere a good distance of the coast of Washington State
Named:...

2. The industry our town is best known for is…
Tourists
Fishing, with some traditional style fishermen but also fish farmers (maybe by some modern company)
And the growth of herbs like saffron
At the far end of the island there is a military (I would assume navy?) base

3. Our town is famous for…
4. Our town is infamous for...

5. Economically, our town is… (e.g., prospering, floundering, starting to stagnate) and one effect of that is...
Suggestion: Doing well

6a. A notable local organization is…
6b. A notable local organization is…
7a. A notable local landmark is…
7b. A notable local landmark is…
8. Our school is named..., our principal is..., our mascot is... and something notable about our school is...
9. The town closest to us is named… and our relationship with that town is…
(e.g., amicably competitive, unrestrainedly resentful, economically
envious, paternalistically helpful).
10. It is currently the month... of the year... (1990's)

Might be a bit cliche, but I think it works well as background in a mystery setting: A few years ago, there was a series of disappearances. Over the course of a few months, a large number of people (children?) disappeared. This was never solved, but the disappearances stopped eventually on their own. There are of course many rumors floating around about what happened, like a serial killer. The official story is that the children probably went out swimming and drowned.
A huge, modern lighthouse that is both functional but also a tourist destination. It gives an amazing view of the whole island from the top and it's on all the local tourist merchandise.
There is of course also the old, decrepit lighthouse that was replaced by it but never torn down, but nobody speaks of that...

Are we talking like a full-on barracks and capital ships navy base, or more like a few buildings, a big radar tower and maybe a couple of PT boats and a helipad?

Something cool about saffron is that the grownups make a big deal about it, but most kids don't see what the big deal is. It really is not special to us.
That seems most likely, but it could also be Airforce. Airforce might put too much stuff in the skies though.
Possibly 'recently booming' so only some areas are reaping the benefits and others are still poor and struggling. (Though we should take this to the Tone thread before deciding.)

Depending on when in the 90s we set this there could be interesting interactions with technology... and the internet and it could also be broadcasting something...

Knowing when in the 90s we are might help a lot with character concept. '93 is very different to '98, after all. If we are after '95 then we have 'the world wide web' (what many think of as 'the internet') if before that, then the internet is very niche and rare, and small.

Personally, I was thinking more the latter? A small base with some secret purpose?

What about if the internet is just starting to get know. The town has only a few computers with internet (Maybe thanks to the Military Base).


As for everything else I think it is a great idea. Modernish Lighthouse, Small Navy Base with a Secret Purpose, Kids went missing, and Saffron farms.

I think this would work great as a Landmark.
The Island being famous is more a non-physical thing.

Like:
- It attracts a lot of toursists because it is the best salomn fishing spot in the country.
- Or probably the legendary quality saffron farming.
I would figure it myself as a smaller base. A hand full of boats and maybe 2 helicopters.
We could make it like it houses aircraft carriers, but that would need such a crew that it would be very dominant on the island. I think smaller and more mysterious (why are they there anyway?) is more interesting.
Very true. I might remember it not entirely right, but I connect the whole internet thing to Windows 95 being released.
I like this idea. In the early days of internet you had to go places, in my town the library, to access a public computer which could access the internet/www.


With that in mind, how about we'd set it in 1995?

Yes, let's move it down to the landmark spot of the list.

Maybe they come for the fishing at one time of year, and come for the surfing at another? I would not mind being a surfer (if it fits the rest of my character).
True. There was not much 'www' in 95 and it really was not until '98 that Google brought us something like what we think of now. Though we don't need to be completely historically accurate, or even define the exact year, we could just say 'mid-to-late 90s'?

We could also rely on bulletin-boards instead of the web if we set it further back.
We may have parents that have special access for a reason, knowing that it exists means we can use that in our character creation ideas.

Yes! An island BBS seems great.

In terms of our closest neighbour city, how about the mainland city on the other end of our ferry route? We could have a bit of competition where they look down on us as backwards inside hicks, we look down in them as stuck up mainland city slickers, but we also generate a lot of traffic, jobs, and connections for each other (e.g. the island hospital is too small for most surgeries, mainland kids take the ferry over for the day and roam the island harassing local kids).

Not sure I have a great name. San Solano? Santa Playa? Arenas Doradas?

I like that town relationship a lot

Could be former military post and is now touristy, or both are active on opposite sides of the island.
A summer/seasonal festival.(?)
The military base, in the 50's, it's rumored to have housed a weapons research facility.

edit: i see a few chimed in on 3, 4 already.

I'll skip a few.
<whatever island> High
Principal Soaring - kids refer to him/her as Snoring Soaring, or simply Snoring.
Mascot is... The Oars. Cheers like "we're going to row you back, waaaaay back" and "either Oar, we're going to put the paddle to you!"

Just suggestions. 🙂

Maybe, in the past, the island has been a military base for a long time. There are old cannon forts dotted around and strange bunkers from more modern times. But since the deescalation of the Cold War (or was it after Nam?) the military base has shrunk to just one small installation?
It is a discussion, though, so we welcome your input and new suggestions. We can be famous for many things (though levels of fame can vary), and if we are touristy then there can be lots of reasons for the tourists to come at various times, so adding festivals seems like something we would do to fill in the gaps. :)
Good suggestions. And welcome.

I like that. Old bunkers and abandoned military installations means places to explore...

Or places for monsters to hide in! :)

I shall update the list in a few hours.

One thing that really seems to be missing is a name for the town/island.