Mortals
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So you're interested in playing a mortal? We need them. In fact, we need them so bad, we have an unlimited number of slots open for mortals. They are the real meat of the game world and just because they don’t have any weird powers does not make them powerless either! On Vienna by Night mortals are not second fiddle: they have the same support like any other sphere – more even as they are also key elements to the CCL Sphere (Civil, Crime and Law).
Desired Concepts
The great thing about the mortal sphere is that the sky's the limit. If you have a concept, we can help you work it into the game.
If you're not sure, you can consider these suggestions:
- Student/Faculty
- The University of Vienna (Universitaet Wien) was founded in 1365 by Duke Rudolf IV and is therefore one of the oldest universities in Europe. The University is proud of having been the home of several Nobel Prize Laureates. 63,000 students from 130 countries are currently enrolled at the University which offers more than 135 Bachelor, Master, Diploma and Doctoral programs in the fields of study covered by its Faculties. Research and education at the University of Vienna encompasses a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, ranging from theology, jurisprudence, economics, computer science, to the humanities and to the social and natural sciences. The University participates in the SOCRATES/ERASMUS program (more than 300 bilateral agreements), is a member of the UNICA network and has partnership agreements with 50 more universities all over the world.
- Hospital/Medical Staff
- In Vienna General Hospital patient care, teaching and research are regarded as inseparable and equal entities. The human dimension is the focal point of all tasks and objectives. Vienna General Hospital performs all services in accordance with the standard of a university hospital while observing ethical principles and due consideration for the economic environment.
- Media (Newspaper/TV/Radio)
- Austria's newspaper landscape is heavily dominated by the country’s largest daily paper, the "Kronen Zeitung". As almost everywhere else, the best-selling newspapers are not necessarily those of best quality. "Die Presse" (conservative) and "Der Standard" are two papers on the top-end of the market. The Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the European Journalism Academy (EJA) at the University of Vienna have announced a partnership that will bring Missouri and Central European faculty and students together in learning and research projects. However, if writing for a beat rag isn't your thing, how about a talk-radio show? The countries foremost radio (OE3, Radio Vienna, Radio Austria International, Radio Energy) and tv stations (ATVplus, ORF, TW-1) are operated from Vienna.
- General Services (The average Jane/Joe)
- If your interests lie in making contact with a lot of people, consider a taxi driver or a take-out delivery guy. Just want to go with the flow? Vienna is full of coffee-shops, restaurants, nightclubs, discos, and houses small and medium sized businesses alongside large, multinational corporations.
Crime, Civil and Law Spheres
This is a broad sphere which encompasses characters whose primary affiliations lie within a Criminal, Civil or Law enforcement organization.
Crime: Organized Crime
- "The city is divided into four zones, you know, each occupied by a power: the American, the British, the Russian and the French. But the center of the city that's international policed by an international patrol. One member of each of the four powers. Wonderful! What a hope they had! All strangers to the place and none of them could speak the same language. Except a sort of smattering of German."
- The Third Man
Things haven't really changed since then as far as the underworld is concerned, the city is still under occupation. Only the powers are different now: there are the Italian Mobsters, Viennese Strizzies, Turkish Fis and Russian Mafia bosses. The international police is still there too, except now it is called a joint operation of Austrian police, Interpol and American FBI. Meanwhile an ever growing Japanese Yakuza and Chinese Triads have arrived, staying allegedly neutral while offering their support to the highest bidder. Then again, recent findings of Turkish smugglers using Chinese equipment have further strained the situation.
Crime: Gangs
Gangs in one form or another have been around for hundreds of years. The so called 'Bandit Knights' that preyed on wealthy travelers or shipments along the Danube were probably some of the original bad gangs. These criminal groups have been apart of history and their roots run deep into Europe's past and culture. Gangs are not a new phenomenon nor are the problems associated with them; however, they have never touched a greater segment of society as they do now. The groups that traditionally come to mind when one thinks of modern day gangs are the Bloods and Skinheads. Origins and cause for the radical spread of gangs in the last years can be traced back to various reasons
Kids are being turned out on the streets at 16 and earlier -- products of a derelict school system, stymied by high unemployment, a prostitution economy and cutbacks in federally funded jobs programs. Only the gang is there to welcome them. Young people need to belong to something. They need a sense of pride and self-esteem. These youths were often called the ‘no-home’ generation as, by being raised by their traditional cultural values, they were foreigners in the country they live in while in the country of their origin they were not, or felt not at home either. When other institutions fail, the gang will fill these needs. The spread of gang culture throughout modern media also provided with more glorified myths and many of the quickly emerging gangs would start identify themselves with gangs that are similarly composed of ethnical minorities abroad – especially black and hispanic gangs.
Civil
Vienna's well-established status as an international metropolis with a world reputation is well-deserved. It derives from its history as capital of a world spanning Empire and the rather special, independent, federal position of Vienna within the framework of the Austrian constitution it has today. This enables the federal capital Vienna to pursue an active and vital self-administration whose effects extend far beyond the frontiers of Austria itself. The city utilizes its special situation and its geographical location in the heart of Europe to strengthen its position. Above all, Vienna seeks to establish itself as a research and scientific metropolis, especially vis-a-vis eastern Europe - so far successful; all in all 25 major international organization and more than one-hundred international projects have their seat in Vienna. Most importantly, Vienna is one of the three United Nations General Duty Headquarters city next to New York and Geneva.
Since the end of the Second World War bilateral and multilateral friendship societies have been established in Austria with the aim of creating as densely a network of international understanding and co-operation as possible. This spirit of joining forces and fostering friendship has been instrumental in making Austria a country firmly opposed to nationalism and xenophobia. City policies have many challenges to approach. Vienna is considered a center of quality work and business, of modern industries, such as electronics, micro-electronics and biotechnology. Competition for locations will not be won by dumping wages and social benefits, but by qualification and motivation, readiness for innovation, willingness to take risks, high productivity and quality products.
Vienna is to become a node between TEN (Trans-European network) and pan-European networks in the enlarged European Union. This means expanding rail infrastructure and the road network while maintaining high environmental and social standards. Vienna will continue to be a city of social security throughout the 21st century. The climate protection program is Vienna's contribution, as model environmental city, towards climate changes on a global scale. Outside University and Hospital, Civil includes United Nations, City Administration and Legal concepts such as lawyers, attorneys and public prosecutors.
Law: Law Enforcement
"Police tasks" in terms of the Austrian administration refers to all official activities which, by warning or by force, aim at preventing or avoiding threats to and disturbances of the peace. This includes all official functions where the state (the province, the municipality) acts as an agency of public power vis-a-vis its citizens to prevent or remove threats to or disturbances of orderly community life, resorting to measures of constraint if necessary. In Austria there are following law enforcement agencies:
- Bundespolizei: lit. Federal Police. The standard uniformed (beat cop) police force.
- Kriminalpolizei: the criminal investigations unit responsible for security and investigating crimes.
- Staatspolizei: lit. State Police, responsible for national security, intelligence and espionage.
- Administrative Police: responsible for the bulk of routine paperwork, criminal statistics, tolls, customs and immigration.
- NBC - Defense-Corps: not necessarily a law enforcement agency, but join venture and combination of CDC (Center of Disease control) and its military counterpart (nuclear, biological and chemical defense).
