The game is set long after the fall of an interstellar civilisation, no one knows how long ago the fall happened or why but what is clear is that as it fell apart life on this world almost ended and what was left went back to a very primitive level. Since then life has struggled to rebuild, barely clinging on until an order, now known as the Grey Faces, opened the crypt at Showa and roused Shodan, the city spirit from her ancient slumber.
Influences: Borderlands, BLAME!, Battle Angel Alita, HZD, Shadowrun, Fallout, Asimov foundation series, BioMega…
T14m-AT Heavy Flamer
Tokamak Heavy Industries signature, portable plasma flamer packs a hell
(pun intended) of a punch. It’s hydrogen fuel is fed into a state of the art magnetic containment chamber before being compressed into a plasma and ejected in a continuous stream of incendiary terror. Watch your enemies flee, then laugh so hard you fog your visor up as you make the most of the almost 400m effective range of this monster! You can run but you’ll just die tired. In our trigger-down test this unit managed to continuously erupt the hot stuff for over 30 seconds before the fuel pack depleted. Long enough to boil everyone in an armoured carrier?
Factoid 001
Peacekeepers are an armed faction tasked with keeping order in the Over City. Their mission is to protect the inhabited zones from Mechoid attacks, protect the key infrastructure, crush any signs of uprising and keep the peace. They are not charged with upholding the law so don’t care if Proles are killing each other in small numbers.
Updated guns list for session 1
You are authorised to use Legality Class (LC) 4 items, note this means guns are illegal for you to carry. But only if you get caught. Having LC3 stuff on you when you bump into some Peacekeepers will get you into serious trouble. Having LC2 gear will get you shot.
Mechoids
Machines that roam the ruins and occasionally rampage into the inhabited areas. Some say they had a purpose once but if that is so its lost now.
They generally ignore people or attack them, there is no in between and certainly no dialogue as they are not believed to have a means of verbal communication. That said the Grey Faces have some limited influence over them and can use their connection to Shodan to pacify a rampaging Mechoid although this is not always successful.
They vary greatly in construction from small and flimsy to huge and bullet proof.
PeaceKeeper detachments often carry specialist weaponry designed to incapacitate these mechanised monsters and thankfully anything larger than a motorcycle is rare.
Armed Mechoids are almost always hostile and almost always on a mission of destruction. On these occasions they tend to be armed with the kind of energy weapons we only ever hear about our beloved leaders having access to. We don’t know where they get them from…
Melee Weapons
We’ll get to Gun Fu and plasma fausts later if that floats your boat for now here are some smashy, stabby things. All standard medieval weapons can be added if you just want a big axe or a lump of concrete on a plasteel pole.
Armour
Can’t dodge fast enough? Get armour! PK = PeaceKeeper. This list needs more work but I wanted to let you see where it’s headed.
Guns! Guns! Guns!
Here you have the first draft of the firearms list, weapons from above your TL double in cost per TL but don’t worry, they all go BANG! and kill people (mileage may vary).
Social Hierarchy
Your position in the social hierarchy will affect freedom of movement, access to information and the availability of equipment. With the right contacts equipment from higher tiers can be found for the right price, just don’t get caught…
TL 6 is roughly equivalent to early 20th century technology, TL 8 is similar to the modern day and TL 10 is sentient robots, flying cars and reliable broadband.
Regions
The Over City
Once a great technological wonder it is now mostly hostile ruins. In scale it covers about 80000km^2 and is surrounded by a high an impenetrable wall. The city is home to the majority of the population of the world and is fought over by the political powers. As society re awakens the technological wonders that can be scavenged from the uninhabited zones are considered very valuable although the risks of lengthy exposure are high so only the most daring or desperate spend much time looking. Above are the twin flying cities of Scylla and Chabdis and beneath lie the tunnels and ducts of the Undercity. Outside of the walls is an endless wasteland of sand and salt. The people of the Over city are known as the Proles. Despite the prohibition on bearing arms there is a thriving black market for weapons in the city driven by the many prole gangs and quasi-legal expediters who do the dirty work that the bible houses don’t want to be traced back to them.
Flying Cities
Tiny compared to the ruin beneath them these are home to the ruling factions of the world, the Eleryians. The flying cities don’t really fly as much as float and have not moved a great deal over recent memory. These cities are both plush and abundant in rediscovered technological wonders.
UnderCity
Beneath the waste recycling plants and the hydroponic vats are the myriad passages of the Undercity. A dark, damp and unpleasant place inhabited by those to repulsive to be tolerated in the Overcity and the diminutive people commonly referred to as the scratchings. These are a nuisance, often trying to steal food and other goods from the Proles and dangerous when they have the advantage of numbers. There are many rumors about what might lurk in the Undercity.
Factions
Elyrians Houses
Are the rulers of the world and are split into two houses who compete for dominance, occasionally spilling over into outright war. Each has a number of Corporations aligned to them who do there bidding in the Overcity. Most notable is that many Elyrians exhibit psionic powers.
The Elyrian houses are Tokamak Heavy Industries and Data Discovery Foundation.
Grey Faces
Custodians of the ancients technology, this group maintain the core infrastructure that allows life to flourish including the power, food production and waste management. They also tend to Shodan and seek to raise her into full consciousness so that she can restore the city to its former glory. They recruit from the Proles taking apprentices as children.
Peace Keepers
Keeping law and order in the Overcity, they are closely aligned with the Grey-Faces but not answerable to them. Peace Keepers wield sophisticated weaponry and equipment and are allowed to bear arms. They are themselves divided into two castes, Core who are recruited from Prole and Elyrian populations at a young age and Pure Blood who are born into the faction. Pure Bloods are taller, stronger and faster than most Prole or Elyrians but lack social skills.
Peoples Revolution
A terrorist organisation bent on freeing the Prole population from the rule of the Eyrian nobles. They are outlawed and association with them is punishable by death.
Mechoids
Generally mindless robotic inhabitants of the uninhabited zone. They vary from the size of a small child to bigger than a house and although often hostile towards living creatures can equally behave as though they are totally oblivious to them.
Proles
The workers of the Overcity and the bulk of the worlds population. Proles are a diverse genetic mix but tend towards pale skinned and swarthy, more due to the physical nature of their work and time spent working rather than anything else. Proles are forbidden to bear arms unless specifically under the direction of peacekeeper or Elyrian forces.
the murder nerds 