The City-State of Furore is a large port on the coast of Taranda. It is bisected from the north-west to south-east by the River Truba.
It has a population of 200,000, and commands substantial territory in the nearby region, having suzerainty of the tributary cities of Clamora and Fass, as well as a substantial navy and trading empire. The City is seperated from the Kingdom of Shadab by only eighty miles of sea, and is constantly on alert for signs of foreign aggression. Various factions struggle for control of the Gilded City, for its wonders are many and its fruits are rich.

The "New Order" is a revolutionary cell formed around Frederick the Black, after he formally abandoned his University education to fight for the Revolution. Frederick's charismatic preaching drew in many of the angry and dispossessed, and his popularity grew steadily. It would seem the Frederick has a powerful backer of some kind, as most of the people he has publically railed against have swiftly met with untimely ends. This has earned him much support, as people start to believe he might be a power that can actually challenge the status quo.

This is the situation as of the time the PCs enter the equation: an all-out war between the New Order, the City, and the Mob.
The Mob is represented by two major families: The White Clan and the Lion Clan (or 'the Whites and the Lions'). The Clans divide the
city between them, with the Whites mostly concerning themselves with the West City and the Lions concerning themselves with the East City. The River Truba runs through the city from northwest to southeast, and neither Clan can afford to lose control over the shipping route it provides. Years of gang warfare have ended in an uneasy stalemate where both Clans vow not to interfere with each other's shipping, but scuffles and robberies are not uncommon.

The Lion Clan is the primary target of Guy's wrath, and they are on high alert. They primarily make their money through
the illegal arms trade, though they have their fingers in many pies. Their Master, Geraldo Tobatto, is currently in hiding, issuing orders through trusted subordinates. The Clan has been thrown into chaos by the sudden war declared on them, and they're fighting to survive. Private investigators and assassins have been hired to try and discover the source of the attacks, and the Clan's connections run deep. They are planning on drawing on their resources to hire an illegal, unregulated mage in an attempt to counteract the magical attacks upon them. Whether they survive or not is yet to be decided...

The White Clan is of mixed opinion. Their primary trade is through the smuggling of illegal narcotics from the nearby country of Shadab. They have no love for the Lions, and some members openly toast to the destruction of their old rivals.
The more foresighted, however, realise that whoever is attacking the Lions is likely to come after them next, and propose to work together to wipe the new kids out. This represents a considerable opportunity for the PCs to interact with. The current Master of the Whites supports quietly helping the Lions against the New Order, but a considerable number of his subordinates disagree. It's possible that if something...unfortunate...were to happen to the Master, a more apathetic or hostile man might take his place, and allow the Lions to be wiped out, or move to finish the job themselves.

The Council is the ruling body of Furore City. It is an elected body, but only property-owners are allowed to vote. Some of its members want to improve the lot of the people, while others are concerned primarily with personal power, and yet others are sympathetic to the poor in theory, but vigorously oppose the radical elements that generally propose change. There are seven members, and seats are up for election every seven years. Currently, their primary concern is the looming threat of the Revolutionary Civil War happening in Shadab, and their fear that it might spread to their city. In fact, in the early days, a major plot thread could be to investigate the Shadabian connection to the New Order. There's also considerable bickering over accusations that one member of the Council bought another's vote, which is causing rowdy sessions as accusations of corruption and counter-accusations are thrown back and forth. However, their attention will swiftly turn to more incendiary matters...

The Police of Furore City are a body mired in controversy. They have enjoyed a good reputation historically, and a high position among the Police is considered a role of honor. The force are generally competent, though some of their top brass earned their jobs through nepotism. In addition, a small but increasing number of officers are "on the take", overlooking crimes in exchange for bribes. This behavior is only getting worse, as the Council members tend either to be corrupt themselves, or to be far too busy with their own agendas to devote time to tackling Police corruption. They are armed with spears, crossbows, and primitive handguns (called 'Spitters'). These fire shot made from a material not found on our world. When fired, this material ignites, turning the shots into flaming attacks. There also exists the Special Contramagical Division, a unit devoted explicitly to the hunting of rogue mages. These are equipped with Amulets made of Orix. Orix is specially attuned to the Mortal Plane, and violently rejects anything that does not belong to it. Any mages within 10 feet of an Orix Amulet will feel woozy and experience mild headaches, even when not using their powers. Attempting to use their powers while within range of the Amulet will result in a backlash, as the Orix struggles against the extraplanar energy. Spellcasting is not impossible even under these circumstances, but will cause severe pain to anyone who attempts it, proportional to the amount of power attempting to be used. Elementals and other extraplanar beings will waver when close to an Orix Amulet, as they too are rejected. Most elementals are incapable of feeling pain, but the magic binding them to the Mortal Plane will be weakened. Most professional Elementalists can produce bindings that do not immediately unravel in the presence of Orix, but even the strongest elemental will be more easily destroyed in the presence of the stone. (In practical terms, it means that Elementals take bonus damage when affected by Orix. A sufficiently large quantity of Orix will instantly destroy (read: banish) any Elemental).

There also exist Orix-tipped bolts, which are extremely deadly against mages if used accurately. Having an Orix Bolt in your flesh effectively makes spellcasting impossible, as you are always in the presence of Orix until you remove the Bolt (easier said than done, especially in combat, and without using your magic). However, these are rare - Orix is so rare that it is considered an enormous waste of money to use it in a projectile, which is liable to be rendered useless after the first time it is fired. For this reason,
there are less than 100 such bolts in the entire city, and they are only deployed to experienced agents, who are sent to track down the most reclusive and dangerous rogue mages. However, they are ineffective against Elementals, since Earth elementals usually have skin too thick to pierce, and all other elementals are of such a constitution that crossbow bolts usually pass through them.