[@HeySeuss]

Alright, I'll make a contribution.

In regards to venue, considering your notes on urban and suburban, if the plot will allow for or require movement of characters from one place to another in order to achieve a purpose, then there would be grounds for including many different locales. If a certain described area is enjoyed by the players, then the group can linger and overcome whatever challenges that such area offers. I suppose this goes hand in hand with the notion of political conspiracy, and particularly the different layers of such conspiracy.

I clearly remember how government or corporate involvement was depicted in the film District 9. It was almost solely based on the interest in alien weaponry, which was ironically 'bio-locked' (not sure if this is a word) to the aliens themselves. If the initial reaction to magic is similar to the initial reaction of an outbreak, which it seems to somewhat be, then the next question, once the thread is contained, would be how to put this new power to use. So, maybe the overarching conspiracy would be how to weaponize magic in order for non-Emergents to use it? However, if this was the case, you would have to determine the source of magic, and how it manifests in the body of Emergents.

If there is a conspiracy of some sort, hints or knowledge of it could be a motivating factor for our coven to break down 'freakvilles' and prevent individuals therein to be taken away for experiments, deconstruction, or whatever it might be.