Like reflections in the glass!
I'd say check out Metropolis and Superman for a comaprison point, though with some caveats
- the Golden and esp Silver Ages begin what they are
- the tendency for more heroes to emerge over time even there (Supergirl, Steel, etc)
- and of course the presence of actual cops.
I'd still say it makes a decent case story in what you're trying to attempt. Other more accurate examples include Coast City (guarded by Hal Jordan) and Central City (the Flash)
On the marvel side of things...I don't there are any helpful examples as all the superheroes usually wind up concentrated on New York and the Mutants recently having their own nation to themselves. Wakanda is the cloest example there but as a nation-state itself it is way too large for what you're trying to go for.
Edited by MorningStar1337 on Dec 3rd 2023 at 2:59:58 AM
I suppose that the question for me is this: what scale of issue is this guardian expected to work on, and how often do such issues crop up?
For the first, is he expected to save cats from trees? Resolve parking issues? Deal with muggers? Stop bank robberies? Face down supervillains?
My thinking is that there are a likely to be a lot of small issues that the police would normally handle, whether in a station or simply while out on patrol.
Hmm... Another thought: how does he learn of issues to which he's expected to attend?
My Games & Writing
Nostromo cat (he/they)
He deals with both small and big issues; he can save cats from trees and find out why your vegetables are going missing, but he also stops robberies and intervenes during nasty brawls and whatnot. Pretty much anything you'd call 911 or a detective for, outside of immediate medical treatment or firefighting, which falls under the jurisdiction of specialized magicians (he can take you to the magic-doctor, but the best aid he personally can provide is "wrap a bandage around it").
The setting is half Medieval European Fantasy and half Fantasy Kitchen Sink, so what I mean by civilians being able to deal with their own problems "to an extent" is that the general populace has access to weapons and magic, or if the problem is of a really specific/more legal nature they can call upon the specialized magicians/other professionals. The importance of the main character is that he's part of a family that's assumed this guardian position for generations so they're specially/"especially" trained for these things, and the guardian's services are completely free (save for getting income through taxes; the specialized magicians tend to ask for a fee, and it isn't always cheap).
He knows where he's needed through a small magical map of the city-state in his home base, or a little portable device for when he's out and about. They light up and make alert sounds, and touching the spot on the map/device teleports him to the relevant location. As for how people make reports, I've been imagining a system of poles using the same line of magic as the map/device scattered across the city-state, and you press a button on the pole to ask for the guardian's help.
I'm not sure how to describe the frequency of issues. Things are quiet enough that the protagonist has time to chat with his sister, walk his dog, get goods from the market, etc., but also "turbulent" enough that his job is an active source of stress, and one of his major flaws is a tendency to overwork himself.
"Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo, they're good!"
European cities were quite small in the Middle Ages. The question is why wouldn't he have help? In the past the only people who didn't have servants were servants.
Medieval cities often had a captain who was a professional in command of the militia and hired mercenaries. Town guards were usually male citizens that had to do guard duty.
The real issue though is how many incidents are there per capita per week?
Edited by ry4n on Jan 5th 2024 at 8:09:30 AM
I've been developing a fantasy story in my head for the past few years, and I'd like some input on what size the primary setting should be.
The main character is the "guardian" of a city-state, and this guardian role is roughly equivalent to a town having one cop. I feel that would work if this city-state was the size of a village, but I'd also like this city-state to be big enough to have varying geography: an urban area where the majority of the population and businesses are clustered, with sparsely-populated farmlands, forest(s), and swampy coast. What's a good "happy medium" reference for scale where the setting can believably have both of these attributes?
The protagonist also has resources that allow him to teleport around, and the civilians are capable of defending/working out problems themselves to an extent, which alleviates some of his strain (something which will be addressed in the work anyway).
"Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo, they're good!"