Cyberpunk Realm (CP)
History:
It's the year 2060 in Kansas City, Missouri...and the surrounding metropolis area.
In the future war is not anything like it used to be. Sure countries have nukes... but no one will use them. Why you ask? ~points up~ There are orbitals all over space now, and the moon. Most of them are just flying Megacorp havens...R&D...shit like that.
But see..the Tyco base on the moon has this cute lil thing called a Mass Driver. Basically it's a cannon that launch's asteroids...the last time there was a possible war brewing up between America and Russia a 12 ton rock landed in the back yard of the White House and another on the front steps of the Kremlin. Needless to say it put a screeching halt to that feud! Wars are fought now by small armies of mercenaries or corp soldiers in lil third world dirt holes.
If the threat of the Mass Driver wasn't bad enough, a terrible economy made things worse....and then a nice Bio-plague broke out, killing millions of people. Of course the Corps got blamed for the plague...and then a huge civil riot broke out.. Even more millions died..and the Corps were left to pick up the pieces. During all the plagues and civil wars the threat of Mass Drivers drove many major cities all over the world to contain themselves in what became known as Domes.
Kansas City, however, in the spirit that it always had been a rough, gritty, taking no nonsense from anyone kind of city, declined to do that.. preferring to keep things 'au natural'.
Geography/Population:
The geography of Kansas City, and the surrounding countryside, never changed beyond what we would know now�other than here and there you'll find some huge craters in the Outlands where life developed with its own rules. Go there at your own risk!
Population:
10 million (in 2005 the entire urban population is at 2 million, and if you're not a city person it certainly feels crowded)
Districts:
The city is basically set up in an expanding concentric pattern. Starting with No Mans Land at the center and working out.
No Mans Land:
What was downtown Kansas City..is filled with warrens of every low life ever found. Underground worlds filled with high tech punk, drug dens, the criminal elements. down on their luck netrunners, gangs...people who'd rather not be found or even seen. etc. You need something bad enough, you can come here and find it..for a price that is. Plus if you want to get to the Missouri or Kansas River�it might be a good idea to access it AWAY from the city proper, since in the city you'd have to go through No Man's Land to get there.
As a matter of fact, if you want to get to No Man's Land - or get OUT, you need to travel strictly controlled walled corridors (more resembles walled off roads) heavily patrolled by guards
New Downtown: High cyberpunk.
Corporate headquarters can be found here. The high powered executives and the wealthy live here as well. Up beat stores, fashionable restaurants and lavish entertainment can be bought or watched...the world of the glitzy privileged. Entrance to this section is strictly controlled...in fact it's walled off from all the other districts and corporate guards are at every entrance and exit.
Nightlife:
Large casinos and clubs dominate this section...and it's all controlled by Organized Crime, which oddly enough is legal as long as it doesn't interfere with the Corporations....they're licensed by the government, such as it is, and must abide by the Cops law which will come in without notice for "inspections". This world and No Mans Land collide on a regular basis.
Suburbia.
This is where your everyday citizens live and maybe work...in small businesses and offices, that ultimately answers to the Corporations.
Out Lands:
Dangerous and who knows what lurks in the blasted hills and pockets. Obviously Organized Crime would be rampant and The Corporations would rule a great deal, if not all, of life in the realm.
Basic Characters one will find in this world: (but certainly not limited To just these!)
Solo:
They're mercenary muscle for the highest bidder that wants their services. Usually the first into a fight and usually the last to leave, sometimes dead but getting their job done. They are skilled in combat, firearms and yes they are heavily armed, armored and tweaked out to the nth degree.
Corporate:
Corp has the most money, the best of everything, very influential and THE power within the city..period. They're found at nearly every level in some form or another. The corps actually run the energy and finance world, along with cybernetics, medical Research, bombs and guns�the weapons of war and enforcing laws, Media and entertainments. And survelliance of everything, and we Do mean EVERYTHING�they're a Big Brother nightmare.
Techies:
Can fix anything, and create anything that is technology oriented. Corp techies naturally work for the Corporations, then there's the Underground techies...who're "sort of" legal and illegal usually in the same person! You name it, and can pay for it...they'll do it!
Med-Tech:
Like techies they're a marvel...but they specialize in people. usually a med tech is tweaked out with the latest...in cybernetics, nanotechnology....genetic modifications...and they can do this to other people as well. Depending upon where they work; they can either be high level top paid medics for the rich and famous (or infamous), work in the medical research field, in the underground..which means they're a ripperdoc (installing illegal or restricted cyberware), or they're a combat medic out on the streets.
Netrunner:
Pretty much says it all in just the name....you can plug your brain into the network of computers/internet and other technological worlds. Basically that dreaded ghost in the shell...is you! netrunners have their own virtual worlds, and entire communities reside hidden in the net. Drive the Corporation nuts with the security risk you present. A Netrunner is often referred to as a Codeslinger or Technomancer...and just think.....the world is your oyster and you can name any price for your work! Be careful how you ask though, there's more than one way to take down a netrunner!
Cops:
Oh the law still is around....except it's dictated by the Corporations...and enforced by those poor souls who seem to live in it all. The lucky ones work in cushy surroundings within the Corporate world...the truly unlucky are having to go into No Mans Land to deal with crime on a more gritty level. Fortunately a cop can deliver the coup de grais to someone who's been tweaked so much with cybernetics they're basically a nonhuman now. That helps when faced with a raving lunatic on the streets. Then you have those special cops, that make up their own rules and the hell with the Corps! They really truly love their job.
Rocker:
What you didn't think entertainment was around? Some say the entertainers are dictated by the politicians and the corporations...as if there's a difference. But as in the past, there are entertainers and bands who love to create anarchy whenever possible...and with the technology there ARE ways to influence people's minds. Damn you sure can get away with a lot!
Fixer:
You deliver the goods, you get paid...as to where it goes from there you could care less! A fixer is basically the middle man...they arrange the deals, listen to the word on the streets, and ALWAYS know what is going on anywhere in the world. If someone wants to pay you enough money, well of course you name your own price, then you'll find it...sell it...turn a profit...kill it. If you work for a Corporation...chances are you might wind up being in the import/export business (and not necessarily of the inanimate object variety....ever heard of smuggling people in and out?) Or in the No Mans Land you might be the one who can find the drugs, the weapons...sex. Some are on the take....some work both sides of the fence (and they're crafty!) Fixers are also Assassins....a problem occurs they can "fix" said problem. THAT kind of Fixer comes at a very high price, and they can blend into any world they wish to go.
Media:
Will you be on the take, covering up for the Corporations...or will you get down and dirty and expose all the filthy secrets? A spin artist or a beat journalist? TV...radio...newspaper? Either way ...you'd be considered dangerous by the Corporations.
game copyright�2002