Scarcity - Hodgepocalypse Toronto - Part 6 -The Patchwork Quarter, Queen’s Park and University of Toronto

Chinatown, Kensington, and Little Italy: 

The Patchwork Quarter

The Patchwork Quarter, once a mosaic of vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, now stands as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of its people in the wake of the apocalypse. Amidst the ruins, cultures have fused and adapted to create a uniquely colorful yet fractured society. Resources are scarce, and alliances between factions within Chinatown, Kensington Market, and Little Italy are tenuous at best. Survival here is a mix of ingenuity, barter, and old-world traditions blended with post-apocalyptic grit. Markets thrive, tech-tinkers and artisans barter their crafts, and tensions bubble beneath the surface as groups vie for control of dwindling resources.

Key Locations

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

 The AGO has transformed into a refuge for creative minds, its grand halls now serving as galleries for apocalyptic art and workshops for crafting and tech development. The building is fortified, with its massive windows protected by mosaics of broken glass and metal plating. Inside, an uneasy coalition of artists and scavengers dictates the gallery’s rules.

Plot Hook: A recent influx of Fossilborn has led to the sudden disappearance of key community leaders. Investigate the mystery while navigating the fragile alliances within the gallery.

The Grange

 

Once the historic home of Toronto’s wealthy Boulton family and later the first home of the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Grange has transformed in the Hodgepocalypse into the clandestine headquarters of the Shadow Court—a secretive faction of rogues, spies, and information brokers. The stately mansion’s exterior retains much of its pre-apocalypse charm, its ivy-covered walls and wrought-iron gates evoking a bygone age of refinement. However, within its darkened halls lies a labyrinth of secret chambers, hidden passageways, and guarded vaults where deals are struck and betrayals plotted.

The Shadow Court sees itself as the keepers of the city’s secrets, controlling the flow of information across Old Toronto. They offer their services to the highest bidder, from uncovering buried truths to engineering espionage against rival enclaves. Their network extends into every corner of the city, with spies disguised as beggars, merchants, and even children feeding information back to the Grange.

Plot Hook: An ancient artifact, a gilded statue said to hold the key to unlocking a cache of pre-apocalypse supplies, has been stolen from a nearby enclave. Whispers in the streets implicate the Shadow Court, but their involvement is shrouded in mystery. The party is tasked with infiltrating the Grange to retrieve the artifact, but their mission is far from simple.

Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD)

 

Known simply as “The College,” this iconic structure, with its tabletop design suspended on colorful legs, has become a hub of creative ingenuity and technological experimentation. Once Toronto's premier art and design school, it now serves as a sanctuary for tinkerers, rogue engineers, and aspiring inventors. The College's history of fostering innovation has evolved into a chaotic battleground for rival factions, including the tech-savvy "Circuit Chiselers" and the Faustian Mechanics, who blend science with eldritch energies. Inside, labs bristle with salvaged tech, walls are adorned with art forged from ruins, and the air buzzes with the sounds of invention and danger. The College's precarious structure symbolizes its occupants’ daring ethos—bold, unstable, and always on the brink of something extraordinary or catastrophic.

Plot Hook: Rumors swirl about a faction inside the College crafting a device capable of purifying Toronto’s poisoned air, but its unstable nature threatens a catastrophic explosion. As word spreads, mercenaries, rival enclaves, and opportunists descend upon the College. Will you secure the device to protect its promise or destroy it to prevent disaster?

Spadina Avenue (The Red Panda Shrine) 

 

A vibrant settlement surrounds a towering temple structure, re-purposed from old Chinatown landmarks. The shrine is dedicated to a mythical guardian spirit—a colossal crimson panda—symbolizing protection and the balance of emotions. The locals believe it saved their ancestors during the apocalypse but left them with a powerful emotional curse. Emotional outbursts manifest in magical, often destructive, ways, forcing the affected to either master their feelings or risk exile.

Plot Hook: The party arrives as the village prepares for a sacred festival meant to control the emotional surges tied to their curse. However, cracks in the balance appear as younger villagers rebel, threatening the ceremony's success. When the crimson panda spirit begins to stir, the party must mediate between the generations and confront the true nature of the curse. Do they help maintain the tradition or break the cycle?

Textile Museum of Canada

 

The Textile Museum, now known among survivors as "The Loom," is a vibrant hub of craft and culture. Under the stewardship of the Garter Folk, this sanctuary of threads has evolved into a bustling workshop where clothing is mended, protective gear woven, and scavenged materials transformed into functional art. The Garter Folk, with their distinctive flair for intricate patterns and bright adornments, are both the artisans and protectors of the museum, making it a coveted neutral ground for trade and diplomacy. The museum’s archives, filled with ancient weaving techniques and designs, are jealously guarded, rumored to hold secrets capable of turning the tide in an enclave war—or simply keeping one warm through the next bitter winter.

Plot Hook: A legendary pattern, said to enhance both stealth and durability, is rumored to be hidden deep in the museum’s archives. However, the pattern’s last known location is in a sealed vault that only opens during the spring solstice. As rival factions plot to claim the treasure, the Garter Folk must decide whether to risk their neutrality by enlisting outside help—or let chaos unravel their peaceful loom.

Neighborhood Highlights

Chinatown

 

Amid the neon glow of repurposed signs, Chinatown remains a hub of trade and survival. Its labyrinthine streets are lined with food stalls, herbalists, and tech traders, offering everything from rare ingredients to salvaged cybernetics. Factions within Chinatown often clash over territory and resources, but its core market is a lifeline for the region.

Plot Hook: A series of arson attacks threatens Chinatown’s main market. Track down the culprits before the community collapses under the weight of fear and suspicion.

Republic of Kensington: A Market of Chaos and Opportunity

 

Kensington Market has evolved into the Republic of Kensington, a vibrant and anarchic micro-nation governed by a loose coalition of traders, scavengers, and unlikely allies. The bustling market thrives on diversity, where old-world relics mingle with cutting-edge tech, and barter is the universal language. This hub of outcasts, innovators, and dreamers is united by a fragile peace maintained by Fate Fugitives—runaway misfits with an uncanny knack for luck—Little Bears, a collective of humanoid bearfolk adept at negotiation and protection, and eccentric humans with a penchant for invention. The market’s freedom is both its strength and vulnerability, creating fertile ground for intrigue and conflict.

Plot Hook: A charismatic vendor has recently emerged, offering pre-apocalypse technology that defies belief. Their presence stirs excitement and suspicion, especially as rumors spread that these advanced goods are sourced from a Marlarkoid infiltrator—a cunning shapeshifter with ties to factions that seek to destabilize the republic. The party must unravel the mystery behind the vendor and the Marlarkoid’s intentions while juggling the market’s chaotic politics. They’ll need to forge alliances between volatile factions, expose the infiltrator, and decide whether the newfound tech is a boon or a looming threat to Kensington’s fragile independence.

Little Italy

 

Little Italy has retained much of its cultural charm, now blended with a survivalist edge. Its narrow streets are patrolled by tight-knit families who manage gardens, distilleries, and forges. The area is famous for its hospitality, but outsiders are watched closely.  There are a frightening number of minotaur families that have been enculturated into the community.

Plot Hook: A trusted figure in Little Italy is accused of betrayal, fracturing the community. Find out the truth before infighting leaves the neighborhood vulnerable to outside threats.

Queen’s Park and University of Toronto: The Scholar’s Refuge

The Queen’s Park and University of Toronto area, once a bastion of higher learning and culture, now stands as a fractured yet enduring symbol of knowledge and innovation. The sprawling campus, with its Gothic Revival architecture and underground tunnel systems, has become a haven for intellectuals, scavengers, and those seeking enlightenment or power. Above ground, the remnants of academia strive to preserve knowledge and develop new technologies amidst the ruins. Below ground, the Mystery Tunnel Society operates in secrecy, controlling the labyrinthine pathways that connect the district to other parts of the city. This region blends hope and hubris, where the pursuit of knowledge can lead to salvation—or ruin.

University of Toronto (The Citadel of Lost Knowledge)

In the aftermath of civilization's collapse, the University of Toronto, once a prestigious institution of learning, has transformed into a refuge for those who seek to reclaim the remnants of knowledge and innovation. The campus, characterized by its Gothic Revival architecture and a network of shadowy tunnels, has become a battleground for competing factions—those who wish to safeguard the wisdom of the past and others who pursue power through experimentation and relics of a bygone era.

Key Locations

The Blood Gardens of Victory

 

Once known as the Mattamy Athletic Centre, this former sports arena has transformed into "The Blood Gardens of Victory," a sprawling battleground where disputes are settled with brutal combat and the masses gather to cheer for glory. Ancient lore tells of the arena's patron saints—non-human warriors like Gordos the Unbreakable, a Harrack with fists like stone, and Mauriss the Swift, a Verkahill who could outrun arrows—names adapted from the hallowed ice battles of old. The cracked ice of the rink now serves as a killing floor, surrounded by salvaged bleachers packed with frenzied onlookers, while banners fashioned from ancient jerseys hang as relics of a forgotten age. Here, champions rise not only for wealth and fame but to uphold the district's fragile balance of power.

Plot Hook: A legendary champion, Therrun "Ironjaw" Yzardek, a Dreh’gon known for never losing a match, has disappeared just before the annual "Clash of the Bloodied Blades." Without their star fighter, the Gardens risk falling into disrepute, unraveling the tenuous alliances holding the district together. Can the party uncover the champion’s fate before the fragile peace crumbles?

Flavelle House

     

Once a symbol of legal excellence and genteel refinement, now stands as the seat of power for the district’s tenuous peace. Its wood-paneled chambers and Gothic Revival architecture evoke a haunting grandeur, transformed into a hub for negotiations, dispute resolution, and treaty drafting. Lawyers-turned-mediators, known as the Black Robes, enforce agreements with the sharpness of their words and the edge of their blades. The Edward L. Donegan Conference Centre serves as a council chamber, while the Rowell Room is now an imposing courtroom. Beneath its polished floors, secret escape routes connect to the Mystery Tunnel Society’s labyrinthine pathways, used by those who seek either covert entrance or hasty retreat. Flavelle House embodies the delicate balance of diplomacy and danger, where alliances are forged as easily as they are broken.

Plot Hook: A high-profile treaty negotiation between two rival enclaves is set to take place in the Donegan Conference Centre, with the Black Robes mediating. However, whispers of an assassination plot spread panic among the negotiators. As tensions rise, the players must navigate the house's shadowed halls and hidden tunnels to uncover the assassin’s identity and prevent a diplomatic disaster. But in Flavelle House, trust is a fragile thing—how far can the mediators themselves be trusted?

Gardiner Museum

 

In a crumbling post-apocalyptic Toronto, the Gardiner Museum is a fortress of creativity and survival, repurposed as a workshop where artisans shape protective gear, traps, and weapons from salvaged ceramics. The museum’s curator, Minerva “Minnie” Torc, a fiery, leather-clad metalhead minotaur, oversees the operations with a sharp wit and a heavier hammer. Known as "The Bull in the China Shop," Minnie embodies raw strength and delicate craftsmanship, teaching others how to blend art and war to survive in the fractured remains of civilization. The museum is both a sanctuary for the desperate and a proving ground for the bold, where every shard of porcelain could mean salvation—or destruction.

Plot Hook: A shipment of rare clay has been uncovered beneath the ruins of the Distillery District, rumored to be indestructible once fired. Minnie needs it to perfect a new generation of ceramic armor, but scavenger gangs and mutant beasts also have their eyes on the prize. Can the party secure the clay and survive the chaos brewing in the district?

The Iron Spire of Hart House

 

Once a vibrant student center, Hart House now stands as "The Iron Spire," a fortified hub of knowledge and conflict in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Toronto. Its towering gothic architecture, scarred by battles and reinforced with scavenged steel, looms as both a haven and a battleground. The Great Hall, illuminated by flickering oil lamps and stained glass repurposed with salvaged materials, hosts debates that shape the future of the region. Legendary figures like Arcturus Hume, a Minotaur philosopher-warrior who penned the "Treatises of Survival," and Sylvara the Forge-Speaker, a Harlowe who once rallied the masses here, lend their mythic presence to the Spire's storied history.

Amid its cracked stone halls, academics, mercenaries, and mystics come together, forging alliances or trading blows under the watchful gaze of the Grey Knights, a mysterious order tasked with maintaining fragile peace. The building’s hidden tunnels and ancient catacombs, once student retreats, now house forbidden knowledge, arcane caches, and dangerous secrets that draw adventurers from far and wide.

Plot Hook: A ferocious debate between the Sons of the Void, nihilistic psionicists bent on tearing down society, and the Gilded Vanguard, a militant faction of survivalists, threatens to spiral into violence. Whispers hint of a relic hidden in the Spire—one that could tip the scales of the argument or ignite an all-out war. Can the players mediate and protect the Spire’s sanctity, or will they seize the artifact and play both sides for their own gain?

Ontario Legislative Building

 

Once the seat of provincial governance, the Ontario Legislative Building, known as “The Pink Palace” for its sandstone façade, has been reborn as the Citadel of Resolve. In the aftermath of the Hodgepocalypse, it became a stronghold for a coalition of scholars, tacticians, and mediators who work to maintain fragile truces among the city's warring factions. Its grand chambers now host high-stakes negotiations, while its lower halls store relics and records of a lost civilization. Flanked by Queen’s Park’s overgrown greenery, the Citadel’s spires are fortified with scavenged metal and glowing wards of protection, a symbol of fragile hope in a fractured world.

Plot Hook: A fragile alliance among key factions is set to be signed within the Citadel, but a sabotage plot threatens to plunge the city into open conflict. The players must uncover the saboteur and ensure the alliance’s survival—or exploit the chaos to shift the balance of power in their favor.

R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant

 

The Wasteland Water Plant, once the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant, now looms as a rusting relic of the old world, serving as a critical hub for survivors in the chaotic landscape of the Hodgepocalypse. Its once-grand Art Deco features are marred by grime and decay, with contaminated reservoirs harboring mutated aquatic life and flickering screens in the rusted control room hinting at lost blueprints for essential water filtration systems. 

Plot Hook: Haunted by the restless spirits of its former workers, the plant is home to Raiders. Adventurers are drawn to this dilapidated fortress to take on quests such as repairing purification systems, uncovering the tragic past of its ghostly inhabitants, and navigating dangerous confrontations, all while battling against the encroaching darkness of their world.

The Resonance Conservatory

 

Once the Royal Conservatory of Music, this historic institution now serves as the heart of Toronto's psychic music movement. Revered for its architecture and long-standing cultural significance, the Conservatory’s vaulted halls echo with melodies that resonate far beyond sound—here, music becomes a conduit for psychic power. Drawing on its storied past as a haven for musical excellence, the Conservatory trains performers known as "Resonants," who wield their instruments to inspire hope, transmit encoded messages, or even unleash sonic attacks. While the psychic music capital remains in distant Ed-town, the Conservatory is its philosophical and artistic paragon in Toronto, a place where history meets innovation in the fight for survival.

Plot Hook: A rival faction has stolen the Orphean Harp, an ancient instrument said to amplify sound into psychic devastation. The players must retrieve it before its power is weaponized to shatter both minds and alliances.

Royal Ontario Museum Ruins (Vault of the Ancients)

The crumbling Royal Ontario Museum (R.O.M. for short) hides a high-tech vault beneath its ruins, a relic of the pre-apocalypse world shrouded in mystery and danger. Flickering holograms illuminate ancient artifacts and advanced scientific data, while automated defenses and dormant robotic guardians ensure the vault remains nearly impenetrable. A coalition of rogue scavengers, rogue A.I. entities, and engineers from the Mechanized Liberation Front (M.L.F.) vie for control of its secrets. Above ground, the museum itself has been transformed into a fortress of traps and defenses by scholars and warriors, guarding the remnants of history.

Plot Hook: A cryptic map surfaces, promising access to a sealed exhibit deep within the vault rumored to hold a pre-apocalypse cure. The party must navigate deadly traps, outwit rival factions, and determine whether the map’s promise is salvation or a deadly ploy orchestrated by a rogue A.I. desperate to escape its confinement.

St. Michael’s College and St. Basil’s Church

 

Perched on sacred ground, St. Michael’s College and its adjoining St. Basil’s Church have become a bastion of spiritual resilience in the post-apocalypse. Cloaked in an aura of quiet strength, its crumbling spires hum faintly with the remnants of an ancient protective ward said to shield the faithful. The enclave offers refuge to travelers and healing to the injured, but whispers suggest their dwindling congregation guards secrets far older than the city itself—perhaps tied to the fabled Witches’ Road.

Plot Hook: A powerful relic, said to be a shard of a heavenly force, has vanished from the vault beneath St. Basil’s. As tensions rise between rival factions vying to claim it, the players must uncover its true purpose and decide its fate.

Trinity College

 

Once a prestigious center of learning, Trinity College has evolved into a haven for an enigmatic sect of Cyber-cultists. Its cloisters resonate with the hum of archaic machinery, as the monks labor to unite faith and invention into a singular path to salvation. The chapel’s stained-glass windows now glow with faint, otherworldly energy, rumored to be powered by divine relics. Tales of a lost archive buried deep beneath the college fuel the ambitions of rival factions eager to plunder its secrets.

Plot Hook: A visionary monk has received a prophetic dream of a divine artifact hidden in the ruins beneath Trinity College. Will the players aid their quest, sabotage it, or seize the artifact for themselves—all while evading rivals drawn to the same prize?

University College

 

In the heart of post-apocalyptic Toronto lies the remnants of University College, a crumbling yet majestic building that has transformed into the epicenter of a thriving wizard colony. Encased in ivy and surrounded by the hushed whispers of history, this sanctuary for historians, archivists, and spellcasters serves as a repository for arcane knowledge and forgotten lore. Its expansive library, filled with ancient texts and mystical scrolls, harbors secrets to both wondrous magic and dark curses, making it a vital place for those seeking power or protection in a world ravaged by chaos.

Plot Hook: An ancient tome embedded within the library's labyrinthine shelves has mysteriously vanished. Whispers among the wizards suggest that its pages hold the formula for a legendary spell capable of rewriting reality itself—either releasing a devastating curse upon the remnants of civilization or granting the ability to restore the world to its former glory. Race against time and treachery to recover the tome before its power falls into the wrong hands.

Victoria College (Mystic Grove College)

 

Victoria College, established in the early age of enlightenment, has long been a beacon of knowledge and experimentation. Renowned for its groundbreaking research in alchemy and potion-making, the college has attracted scholars from across the realms. Its lush gardens not only provide ingredients for its potions but also serve as a home for botanical wonders thought to possess both medicinal and mystical properties. However, the relentless pursuit of knowledge often leads to reckless experimentation, blurring the lines between triumph and catastrophe.

Plot Hook: When a renowned alchemist at Victoria College attempts to synthesize a powerful elixir meant to enhance cognitive abilities, her calculations go awry, resulting in a catastrophic release of a toxic cloud that blankets the campus. As panic ensues and residents scramble to escape, the once serene gardens teem with mutated flora, presenting both peril and opportunity. The players are thrust into the chaos, faced with the choice of either finding a solution to contain the threat or seizing the moment to harness the newfound powers unleashed in the college's wake.

The Witches' Walk

 

Once known as Philosopher’s Walk, this serene path connecting the landmarks of old Toronto has become "The Witches' Walk," a place of eerie beauty and dread. Overgrown with lush, bioluminescent foliage and tangled vines, the Walk is marked by decaying statues of scholars and guardians, their faces now worn smooth by time and the elements. Rumors suggest the path intersects with a remnant of the Witches’ Road, a mystical leyline used by ancient crones and arcane travelers to traverse the ruins. At night, strange lights dance among the trees, and whispers carry tales of power and peril.

The Walk serves as both a thoroughfare and a trap, luring scavengers and wanderers with rare resources: glowing herbs that heal or harm, shards of arcane crystal embedded in the ground, and artifacts left by those who vanished without a trace. Those brave enough to tread the path speak of sudden visions, impossible turns, and fleeting glimpses of shadowy figures lurking just beyond the trees.

Plot Hook: The strange lights and whispers that haunt the Walk have grown stronger, frightening away even seasoned scavengers. A prominent alchemist offers a hefty reward for a rare plant said to grow only under the unnatural glow. But as the players delve deeper into the Walk, they may find the true source of the phenomena—a tear in reality created by an ancient spell gone wrong, guarded by restless spirits seeking to finish the ritual and unleash what lies beyond.

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