((OOC Reminder: There is a large difference between the truths of the world we live in as players and the World of Darkness. The human population is higher here, but also more concentrated. Many of the smaller towns that we might see driving Minnesota's Highways simply do not exist in the World of Darkness as humanity retreats to its larger bastions of civilizations, driven away from the dark, wild places of the world out of a subconscious fear of what might lurk there. This page exists to help highlight the differences between the real city, and the setting for the Main City of Twin Cities Garou: The Last Stand.))

Bemidji By Night 

Bemidji is one of the largest cities in the state of Minnesota, ranking in the top ten alongside Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Mankato and Rochester. First chartered in 1866, the township started as a small settlement surrounding a large Lumber Mill that supplied most of what would eventually be Beltami, Hubbard, Clearwater, Cass, Koochiching and Itasca counties. Bemidji rapidly expanded into a surprising economic powerhouse under the guidance of its first Mayor, who brought further businesses and shipping companies to the town, making it the gateway between the more prosperous and populous south of the state to the more wild northern reaches - eventually turning into a critical mercantile point between the Twin Cities and the Canadian Border. Through the early 1900s, Bemidji continued to grow as an economic cornerstone of the state, and was renowned across Minnesota for its financial fortunes. In the World of Darkness today, Bemidji is a city of glass and steel, with skyscrapers threatening to challenge the height of the tallest towers in Minneapolis, and boasts a population of just over 450,000. 

For all of its success, Bemidji also has a much darker accolade to its name: The Serial Killer Capital of the World. While the exact statistical truth of this claim could be challenged, there are few cities who would dare claim to morbidly embrace its moniker as Bemidji. While other forms of crime remain, if anything, below the national average for a city of its size and population - the number of Serial Killers within the city is far and beyond the normal. Indeed, historically Bemidji has averaged between 20-30 confirmed serial killers each year. This has left the people of Bemidji to adopt a unique culture of extreme Gallows Humor, with events such as an Annual Charity Marathon to "celebrate" the year's tenth confirmed new Serial Killer, and awards being given out every year and decade for their respective "most brutal murder". Bemidji's populace takes this in stride, ranging in responses of apathetic indifference to enthusiastic participation, with people looking to claim their 15 minutes of fame by being a part of the most shocking kills that the News might giddily report - either as Killer or Victim. Suffice to say, nothing really shocks its people anymore. 

Despite this grisly history, the city remains the home of many major corporations that keep its economic lifeblood flowing with pride and vigor. Some of the most notable companies include:

The Odyssey Initiative

Easily the largest and most influential company within Bemidji is also the newest. With the sudden purchase of King International, a weapons development company whose corporate headquarters lay just outside Bemidji City Limits, The Odyssey Initiative has recently begun a massive push for expansion within the region. They have restructured King International's significant assets towards its own goal of medical technology, and are currently working to open a cutting edge neuroscience campus in the city, designed to be both a premier center for both teaching and practical medical applications. 

Jump Industries

What doesn't Jump industries do?

Chem4All

Chem4All is a high end pharmaceutical company who, as the name implies, is dedicated to providing effective medication options for a fraction of the price of its competitors. This business model has proven exceptionally effective and profitable, with Chem4All developing a number of lucrative patents that have provided countless people with affordable life saving medication that would not have otherwise been available

The Phoenix Foundation

"Helping the People of the World Rise from The Ashes." The Phoenix Foundation is a Community Advocacy group dedicated to providing essential services to Bemidji's middle to lower class (though it does not discriminate should the city's social elite require its services). With its fingers in many pies, The Foundation can be found everywhere from building homeless shelters, sponsoring political events, funding industrial and housing projects, employment drives, and perhaps most notably providing top of the line mental health care. 

Trish n' Jerry's Super Excellent Entertainment Megaplex

Outside the city limits is a complex that can only be explained as "The Definition of being Over The Top". Trish n' Jerry's Super Excellent Entertainment Megaplex is a massive endeavor, equal parts casino, theme park, hotel, and shopping mall. Its attractions include dozens of restaurants, the state's largest water park, an indoor Amusement Park, an aquarium, three Movie Theaters, two auditoriums for live shows ranging from music to stage magic, a full casino, a VR Arcade, a zoo/safari zone, a horse track, and a massive underground nightclub - all presented in gaudy neon greens and blues. The Megaplex is run by the titular twins Trish and Jerry Rathbourne, a pair of entrepreneurs who have turned the location into THE go-to recreational destination in the region. 

Channel 6 Eyewitness News

The self-proclaimed Voice of Bemidji, Channel 6 Eyewitness News is an independent news media organization that dominates the news cycle in Bemidji and its surrounding townships. Though focused primarily on local news, the outlet has grown so overwhelmingly popular in the region that it has been forced to air international news as well simply because otherwise most residents would have no idea what is going on in the outside world. Despite the name of the company, Channel 6 is not limited to just television - distributing the news online, over the radio, and even in traditional paper distributions. It's tone is the embodiment of the macabre zeitgeist of Bemidji's populace, and is the organizer for many of the Serial-Killer linked charity events the city hosts. Its co-hosts Tiffany Holden and Greg Petersen stand as Bemidji's preeminent local celebrities. 

Inari Fox Village

A small startup Fox sanctuary that seems to be working to rehabilitate injured or orphaned foxes.  

Beyond The Veil

"Isn't that a large part of what we truly mean when we say a place is cursed, unquiet, spooked, festered up with ghosts? We say haunted, but what we really mean is that the house has gone insane." - Stephen King, Rose Red

Though it has come in many forms over the years, Bemidji has been a Stronghold of the Wyrm since the day it was chartered - and indeed, had been for many years prior - thanks to the machinations of a man named Reynard Dubois. Though his origin is a mystery, what is known for certain is that Reynard Dubois came to the land that would become Bemidji in the mid 1800s, and there found an ancient and dark power beyond true comprehension. He struck a bargain with that Dark Heart, and from there became the land's master. In exchange for the sacrifice of countless souls, Dubois gained immortality and absolute power over all those mortals who would reside within the land. It was through his work and manipulations that the city grew to such prominence, and all the while he soaked the ground with the blood of tens of thousands. 

The nature of Bemidji today is very much akin to the question of the Chicken and the Egg. At this point, it is impossible to tell for sure whether Reynard's actions tainted the land and made it wholly evil, or if the land's evil made Reynard's actions possible in the first place. In the end, the answer does not matter - even with Reynard and the Dark Heart dead and ashes, Bemidji is still a place of seemingly incurable evil. It is that evil that drives so many of its inhabitants to such acts of vicious slaughter. It is that evil that draws so many of the Wyrm's forces to take root in its soil. And it is that evil that the Garou of the Sept of Stone's Heart must fight so constantly to try to contain. Bemidji is a place so tainted by atrocity that the very earth seems to have gone mad - a reflection, perhaps, of the Wyrm's own madness born of pain and binding. Perhaps that madness can never be truly cleansed - but all who experience it know that it is imperative that it must not be allowed to spread.

It was only very recently that the city had any semblance of Gaian defenders. Bemidji was one of the state's most prominent Sabbat strongholds for many years. However, the sect suddenly abandoned the city without warning in 2017, seeming to move on to more opportune locales. Afterwards the city stood as a bastion of corruption that few could crack. A group of Shadow Lords founded a Sept in the region near the turn of the decade, but they were quickly and efficiently wiped out by Pentex-affiliated forces in the same year, after which Pentex reigned (unknowingly at Mayor Dubois' graces) for a year before a twist of fate changed the city's future. The Sept of Stone's Heart warped into existence, along with dozens of battle-hardened Garou from a now lost timeline, brought here through a tear in reality. 

Since then the region has been aflame with war, with the Sept of Stone's Heart fighting a savage battle on all fronts against innumerable foes. They were the ones who finally put an end to Dubois and the Dark Heart of the City, but even with those factors gone the City still draws all manner of corruption to it to keep the Sept and its defenders under constant siege.