Millennium City
Millennium City was built in 1001 AD. A few months later an alien interdimensional craft crashed into the city. The survivours attempted to rebuild their phase engines but during their first test the machine exploded creating an interdimensional distortion and sucking the entire city somewhere else. It mysteriously rematerialised back in its original spot in 1672 AD, supposedly none the worst for wear. Not long after people began moving back in, some of which have been transformed by ley line energies which still exist throughout the city.
The modern day Millennium city is run by an unholy alliance of corrupt politicians, organized crime and corporate robber barons. Their control is absolute and omnipresent. Almost everyone from the police to the local media are bought and sold by this dark board of Directors. But it is also a city of heroes both flamboyant and mysterious, all preying on the wicked. Dark vigilantes are hunted by corrupt police and organized crime, agents of chaos in a well-ordered yet nonetheless corrupt society. In Millennium city true heroism is about the individual fighting back against institutional corruption, social indifference and moral decline. This is a world of shadow, danger and bloody retribution.
The left island of Millennium city is the American nightmare. A sprawling, polluted, waste of a district, Endsville miles after miles of bombed out, crumbling warehouses, abandoned factories and dingy storefronts surrounded by an infinite sprawl of cracker-box tract homes. A cluster of boxy skyscrapers lies surrounded by ghettos and barrios. Bars cover windows and chain-link fences topped with razor wire encircle homes and businesses alike. Endsville, Chinatown and the Gloweman districts are under siege from drugs, crime, pollution and gang warfare. Here rival gangs led by super powered thugs, vie for turf. Bounty Hunters patrol the streets and alleys. Those hardy few who are willing to fight to win back the streets are eagerly welcomed and desperately needed.
The right island on the other hand encompasses the Wealthy and Latte districts, both of which are a utopia. No crime, no poverty, no pollution. It is an exclusive community. But there is trouble in this paradise: dreamers, the homeless and the dying see the wealthy district as morally corrupt. Outside the area lies an increasingly restless population of people wanting to enter the district and partake of its dream.
| 1 | Noah's Arcology | 31 | Skatman Airport |
| 2 | The Forge | 32 | The Museum of Supernatural History |
| 3 | Hungry Monkey Movie | 33 | The Spoon |
| 4 | Chinatown Police Station | 34 | Wartz School |
| 5 | The Shock Shop | 35 | Legion HQ |
| 6 | The Living Tao | 36 | Pig Police Station |
| 7 | Bill's Comic Emporium | 37 | Crystal Cathedral |
| 8 | Matchbox Underground | 38 | Heroes Ltd |
| 9 | Shen Hsui-Chih Hospital | 39 | Whispering Creek Golf Course |
| 10 | Han's Chinese Diner | 40 | Millennium University |
| 11 | Our Lady of Perpetual Faith School | 41 | Royal Theatre |
| 12 | San Paulo Cemetery | 42 | The Ka'ge |
| 13 | Medical Mechanica | 43 | City Hall |
| 14 | Dodgy Brothers Pawn Shop | 44 | The Old Stomping Ground |
| 15 | Power Plant | 45 | Latte Police Station |
| 16 | Finestine Stadium | 46 | Viking Bob's Used and Rare Books |
| 17 | Beer Nuts | 47 | Library |
| 18 | Fresca College | 48 | Tobin Art Gallery |
| 19 | Hokey's Harem | 49 | Bizarre Bazaar |
| 20 | Body Works | 50 | Latte Hospital |
| 21 | Zellarus University | 51 | Roadbusters |
| 22 | Heromart | 52 | Metatech |
| 23 | The Dockyards | 53 | Club Synapse |
| 24 | Business District Hospital | 54 | Searchers Inc |
| 25 | Echo's of Valour | 55 | Foxville Asylum |
| 26 | Sky Casino | 56 | Games 'R Us |
| 27 | Sub Subway | 57 | Motorhead Autos |
| 28 | Gloweman Police Station | 58 | Hellsgate Jail |
| 29 | The Lighthouse | 59 | Swanky Hotel |
| 30 | Tiram Boats | 60 | No Mercy Hospital |
Locations in pink have not been done yet.
| Districts |
| The new Citilan network uses high speed Wireless Local Area Networks, accessed from hot spots across the city. To use Citilan a computer or Personal Digital Assistant that has a wireless card is needed. The user then has to be within 200 metres of a Wlan access point to access the network. It includes voice communications, navigation and financial services. There are 20 hot spots in Chinatown, 50 in the Business district, 100 in the Wealthy area, 70 in the Latte district and NONE in Endsville. |
| Chinatown (A) |
| By Cherico Probably the greatest misnamed part of the city. Yes this does have a large Asian community but people of Chinese descent make up less than 1% of Chinatown's population. Most of the people in Chinatown are either of Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, or Thai descent. The highly inaccurate name has stuck much to the chagrin of the inhabitants. By Marco Ferraro Chinatown was a war zone for many years between the Yakuza and Vietnamese gangs, until the arrival of the Master a few months ago. Using his mystical powers he exterminated the warring gangs to the last (with some help from the metahumans in his Tong). Since then he has come to an arrangement with Dr Apocalypse, allowing his own goods to be smuggled in through her docks. The Tong; |
| The Gloweman Business District (C) |
| By MADMANMIKE The Gloweman (pronounced "gl-OW-man) Business District is a low rent area for start-ups and a fall-back for the faltering. The second oldest business district in the city, it was built in the 30's and was largely abandoned by business in the 60's. At that time it was filled with hippie squatters and criminal enterprises and continued to decay until the mid 80's when a wave of Yuppies tried to reclaim it. Fortunately for the city (these jerks had no taste) the mild stock market crash towards the end of that decade drove them out. Gloweman floundered again for most of the 90's, and a large portion of it's buildings were condemned and demolished. But the tide changed in 97, when The Cadre, a super group on the rise with good corporate endorsements bought the entire 10 block area from the city and announced renovations and the placement of several parks. To help the development along the team also set up a foundation giving grants to small businesses who would set up shop in the district. The area was divided into four equal parts; the north-west section is renovated 30's sky-scrapers, each divided evenly between office space and apartments, with the bottom two floors devoted to restaurants and public services. Business owners can live in the same building as their office, and are encouraged to do so with rent incentives. The north-east section, which faced the most demolition over the 90's, is now a residential district, with an odd mix of condominiums and economy apartments found in new low rise buildings surrounded by parks, restaurants and small groceries. The south-east section contains new government buildings, and a series of embassy's, many being leased to delegations from third-world countries (in an effort by the super- team to encourage economic aid to them); Also found in this section are lush garden parks and the teams mansion, The Cadre House, which is open to public tours Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The south-west section of the Gloweman Business District is cordoned off with a fifteen foot stone wall. Many of the buildings are condemned and were scheduled for demolition before the Cadre bought the district, but are still standing. The Cadre announced that the section would be left standing and implored all super-beings to take the fight to this abandoned area. This would reduce damage to the city (and in turn it's economy), and the city has agreed to reduce the sentences of any super being who made a clear effort to move their fights there. Since this announcement four super brawls have stopped right after starting long enough to move to this area. The super villains Black Dragoon, Bruiser Johnson and Rocket Randolph all saw their sentences cut by a third for taking their fights to the district. Doctor Muck, DeniZen, and Carla Carnage were not so fortunate because they disregarded which section of the G.B.D. they were to take their fights to, cutting a wide swath through the government district and tearing out quite a bit of Cadre House's extensively manicured lawn. Members of The Cadre are travelling to major metropolis's across the globe to franchise their urban development plan. |
| Latte District (F) |
| Still available |
| The Parklands (D) |
| By Marco Ferraro Covering a one mile square area within the heart of the city these former botanical gardens have become a centre of ley lines controlled by a mystical force calling itself the Parliament of Nature. A group of living trees, the Throne of Trees act as the Parliament’s voice and have taken to training Geomancers, Mystics, Shaman, Warlocks and Wicca. Officials once attempted to defoliate the area but after the first retaliatory earthquake was sent through the city they took a more conciliatory approach. The Metaphysical Studies Institute has established a small laboratory within the park with the sanction of the Parliament. It is headed by Dr Janice Kirby. The gardens also serve as a sanctuary for those trying to lay low, the only requirement being that no violence be perpetrated within otherwise the guilty party will be expelled. See here for more details about the Throne of Trees. |
| The Slums or Endsville (B) |
| By Cherico "Oh my god, Endsville is burning." These are the famous words that gave the worst area of town its name. Endsville is one of the most crime intensive places in the world. It all started 20 years ago. This part of the city was always poor but there were lots of factory jobs. Then all of the factories moved out in the same year. What followed was a complete economic collapse for Endsville. Things went from bad to worse as gangs were formed as the Endsville district entered economic chaos. The mayor of the city at the time cut all social services to the slums and called all of the inhabitants "bums". Crime soared. Then 10 years ago a neo nazi gang set fire to the largest Synagogue in town. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the city. The fire fighters and police officers refused to enter the slums due to the over whelming danger of the criminal element. The slums suffered the worst fire in its history as 80% of it burnt down. The fire was instead put out by its inhabitants. All of this was caught on tape by a brave reporter named Sam Carlson. Notably his footage showed children burning to death and screaming in vain for help. Thankfully after the second day of fire it started raining and the fires went out. The mayor blamed the inhabitants and ordered that a 30 foot wall be built around the slums so that it could be contained. No aid or relief money was sent, and the insurance companies were told that they didn't have to pay a single cent. In the next election year he lost in a landslide. The next mayor immediately set about to tear down the wall in an attempt to reunify the entire city. He succeeded in removing about 70% of it before the gangs made it too dangerous to finish the job. Thus parts of the wall still remain although the railway and arterial roads are clear. Today all of the buildings in Endsville look burnt and damaged as if it they were in a war zone. Places of note: Temple of Faith This is the site of the fire that started it all. This Synagogue was once the largest in the city, but now all that remains is a charred building and a sign that says "God looks after his children." The sign is the only undamaged part of the Synagogue. The Wall Created after the great fire, the wall once completely surrounded Endsville. Its a simple stone and concrete wall that stands 30 feet and has barb wire on top. Now only 30% of it remains. |
| Wealthy District (E) |
| By Cherico Monopoly Ave is where the city's elite like to live. Unfortunately while they have money they don't have any taste, the districts architecture is a clash of the weird and bizarre. Pyramids, Islamic domes, medieval castles, even gigantic igloos! Every architectural design imagined is represented in some form. Some of the buildings are so alien and strange that its rumoured that the architect was on acid! For cutting edge architects the district is a dream were they can design something truly weird and strange and have it built. Tourists come from around the world to see the buildings. |
| Places to see |
| Special locations of note. |
| Beer Nuts (17) |
| By Cherico This run down bar acts as the meting place for the city's urban mage community. This isn't a good place to do business but it is a good place to listen to some music, play rigged games of chance and have a good time. |
| Bill's Comics Emporium (7) |
| By Cherico One of the largest RPG, anime, comic book, and manga stores in the world, Bill's comic emporium stands in the worse section in town. All of the buildings around it looks like they've been hit with a bomb, yet Bill's store looks shiny and clean. The Emporium is far more than a general store for fan boys. It is the connecting hub of the city paranormal community. Everybody here uses Bill's as a place of business. With the right questions you can get magical training, magic potions, hire super humans for jobs and get other paranormal services. The local gangs fear Bill's and dare not try anything. Bill himself is rumoured to be a super human. Unbeknownst to anyone not only is this true but Bill has gone far beyond the limits of normal super beings and has become one of the Ascended.
Bill O'Riley |
| Bizarre Bazaar (49) |
| By Marco Ferraro A massive (500 square metres) indoor flea market where anyone can set up a stall (for a small fee) and trade their wares. The items most often sold includes stereos, TVs, VCRs and videos, DVD players and movies, computers and parts, white goods, confectionary, food, bottled and canned drinks, tattoo artists, pharmacy drugs, hand weapons (heavy weapons maybe available but not openly), stationery, books, comics, magazines, games, vehicles, legal pornography, toys, statues, bric a brac, clothes, furniture, etc. Payment is in cash, or via a credit transfer utilising the Wlan outlet located inside. The Bazaar operates from 7am-7pm, friday to sunday (although each vendor will turn up when they feel like it).
There are a few rules: |
| Body Works (20) |
| By Marco Ferraro One of the more controversial laws passed recently in Millennium city was to allow people to sell their own organs and limbs. The Body Works specialize in buying, harvesting and reselling limbs and organs to hospitals. There are rumours that the Body Works also retrieves what they need from the victims of gangland fights. Costs are: |
| City Hall (43) |
| By Cherico This is were the city's political decisions are made. The City is heavily gerrymandered to a degree that borders on criminality. One vote in the wealthy district is worth is worth 20 votes in Endsville! Some hot button topics include; 1. Magic - Legally you need a licenses to use magic in the city, but this is problematic as magic is a learned skill and not taught in any formal setting. Magic has been underground for centuries and has several defined cultures set around it. Trying to limit its growth by forcing mages to have a revocable license is pure idiocy. Then why does the city even bother with it at all? The answer is simply greed. Magical activity is slowly taking the place of economic activity in the Slums. Endsville's economy is slowly rebuilding itself into a paranormal service based one, heavily steeped in barter. After the great Endsville fire the landlords who formerly own parts of land there simply abandoned their property in order to avoid taxes. But the Slums have since become a tight nit community that is growing more and more dependent on magic. This irregular barter system that's keeping the people of Endsville alive is also depriving the city's corporations from potential profit. This conflict of interest places the poor magic supporters of Endsville against the rich anti magic forces of Monopoly Ave against one another which leads to hot button topic number 2. 2.Seccession - an idea that's gaining popularity in Endsville is the idea of separating completely from Millennium city. Initially this idea was simply based on pure hatred for the way Endsville gets treated. But slowly its gained other motivations; political, religious and cultural differences. City hall are against this idea because they fear it will lead Chinatown to do the same thing. While most of the city would say good riddance to the Slums, Chinatown is a integral part of the city's economy. 3. Drugs - most of Millennium city is for the war on drugs, but the people of Endsville are starting to feel that if drugs were legalized the worst gangs in that area would go bankrupt it would also give the Slums a way to rebuild. 4. Guns- The political left wants to make guns illegal because they think it will clean up Endsville, the political right wants to keep them legal because they receive a lot of political funds from the NRA. The people of the Slums who own most of the guns see this as yet another power grab by the city government, the city's superheroes want to see guns go as it would make their job easier. 5. Taxes - Due to the corporation's control the city's taxes are geared towards low taxes for businesses and high taxes for people. 6. Voting - The people who don't live in Monopoly Ave want the city's voting districts to be based on one person, one vote. In the last election the city used touch screen voting and a few weeks later it was discovered that the corporation in charge of the machines tampered with the votes to get their candidate elected. 7. Unions - The various unions are poorly organised with little stomach for taking on the corporations. The people of Endsville believe that if there had been more union power, then their economic collapse may never have happened. -On a another note- If the city's gerrymandering ends there will be a reckoning. The people of Endsville may kill, maim and commit horrific acts on one another but most agree on one thing. They all want revenge, especially on the chamber of commerce. |
| Club Synapse (53) |
| By the Deific NMI Size / Orientation: Secret Club / Society Outfits: None Equipment: Gimmicked [30] (this is really the gear and such that the employees use at the bar, not crime-fighting gear). Weapons: Ammunition [2] (these weapons are used by the security staff only). Bionics / Robotics: Basic System [10] (this knowledge comes from Janus and Lightshow). Vehicles: Fleet Vehicles [10] (Synapse has access to a limited amount of luxury vehicles including 3 limousines [one is a stretched Hummer], 1 Helicopter, 1 private jet [owned by Janus] and a couple of SUV’s). Communications: Computerized (bordering on Satellite Network) [15] (Synapse boasts a large `Net Café, complete with T1 access, all of this is secured with some of the best security features money can buy. Unknown to the patrons of Synapse, all activity is monitored. All attempts to crack / hack this security have failed). Offices / Hideouts / Distribution: Urban [5] (the houses in the city are used as relaxation points for Janus and occasionally the staff. City records show the suburb houses belonging to Janus). Military Power: Security Guards [5] (the security staff is run by "Harris", a tough as nails kind of guy but Harris has a heart of gold when it comes to the staff and especially to Janus. Harris has trained most of the security team himself as well as some of the normal staff). Super Powered Operatives: A few Regulars [20] (the main staff members are what one would consider "superhuman"… a couple of mutants, a Psi of mysterious origins and Janus; a Hardware Analytical. None of the staff is known to be part of any of the cities super (hero / villain) teams. Apparently no one has tried recruiting the super humans of Synapse. Another note worth mentioning, those staff members who do have powers of some nature do not make it known to the patrons of Club Synapse. Janus seems to have complete knowledge of the abilities of his staff. Sponsorship: Secret [0] (no one knows who is the true owner of club Synapse is.). Special Budget: Small Potatoes [15] (this money is used for remodeling expenses and the occasional special parties when celebrities visit the club). Administrative Control: Rigid Laws (because this is a legit business, all employees of Club Synapse must obey the law of the city. Janus will occasionally use his finances to assist an employee when they are in need of help). Internal Security: Tight [10] (this applies to the security inside the Club. All patrons are checked for ID’s. No weapons are allowed inside. All employees undergo a background / reference check. Harris having a background as a SWAT team member is able to get criminal background checks thru some of his old contacts). External Infiltration: None [0] Research / Information Gathering: Excellent Connections [20] (most of this feature is connected to the communications / computer network of Club Synapse. With dedicated T1 line for the network, Club Synapse has access to some of the best information sites. Club Synapse advertises in several newspapers, magazines, e-zines, and even has airtime on one of the local TV/ Cable stations on the Friday and Saturday evenings where it broadcasts events going on the dance floor. Music Radio stations often have their DJ’s or other radio personalities come to the Club). Agency Credentials: Known [10] (Club Synapse is known to be a top notch club, ranked along side clubs such as Crazyhorse, Bamboo Bernie’s, Club Nasty and even the Century Station Club "Cover Charge". Club Synapse always gets good press reviews). Agency Salary: Good [20] (due to the popularity of Synapse, the employees are paid handsomely by Janus. Harris receives approximately $1000.00 a week plus a percentage of that week’s profit. Bartenders typically make about $400 a night, although $800 is not unheard of. |
| Crystal Cathedral (37) |
| By Cherico This mall looks like its made completely out of crystal but in reality its made from a high grade plastic composite. People come from miles around to shop here and see the beauty of the mall. At sunset and sunrise the building acts like a giant prism and being in the mall becomes like being in a rainbow. |
| Derby Hot Dog Chef |
| By AJ Pickett Name: Derby Pender Age: mid 50's? Appearance: A heavy set man with moustache and large nose, pepper grey hair and blue eyes, always wearing suspenders, button up shirt, comfortable pants, canvas sneakers and a baseball cap. Usually wears a white apron with BBQ tongs and spatula tucked into waist cord. Alignment: Unprincipled. Character Traits: Nothing seems to phase Derby, he is always ready to sell someone one of his deluxe hot dogs or sloppy joes. He likes to keep his 'other business' to regular, trusted customers. He won't get involved in anything obviously illegal, aside from gambling and selling items at wholesale prices (as long as he thinks it's legit stuff, not obviously stolen goods). Location: Derby attends the City Plaza most days, on weekends he sets up on either Justice street (near Baxter's sports emporium) or outside the City Library on Main Street. Business Hours: 9am to 9pm, every day. Menu: Regular Hot Dog.... $1.25 Deluxe Hot Dog....$3.00 Sloppy Joe....$2.00 Yesterdays Chili....$2.50 Today's Chili....$3.50 Mexican Roll....$1.50 Ham and Cheese on Rye....$1.00 Coffee....$0.75 Deluxe Coffee....$1.00 Soda....$1.00 Extra's....$0.25 Special Menu: Today's Headline News....$1.00 Up to the minute police scanner Headline News....$5.00 Derby's Bookies Phone Number....$5.00 Derby's Friend at the DMV (put in a good word)....$10.00 Derby's Friend at the DMV (ask about a license plate number)....$20.00 Derby's buddy the Cop (ask about recent arrests)....$10.00 Misc Services....$20.00 (neg.) Criminal Record: A few misdemeanours when he was a kid, one felony charge, time served, but he says he was framed. Residential Address: Stark's City Apartments, 220-280 corner Justice and Clarion street. Apartment no. 226, ground floor. |
| Dockyards (23) |
| By Marco Ferraro The City's sea link to the rest of the globe. Ships usually dock around dawn. This is so that they're ready for offloading as soon as the stevedores come on soon after first light. The cargo is unloaded and put in a special storage area that has complete Customs control whether it be a warehouse, or in the case of cars, a parking lot. The cargo is not allowed out of that storage facility until it has been cleared by Customs. Then the cargo is moved to a storage facility owned by the shipping firm until they are to be shipped out to their final destinations. All road entry and exit points are manned by security with drop down road gates and cabins. All traffic is stopped before entering or leaving the docks, with cursory security checks. If the security guys are suspicious of any vehicle wanting entry, then it is refused. In the case of vehicles wanting exit off the docks, they are held there until Customs and on site police can get to them. The docks try to move stuff of the ships as quickly as possible (it's a simple equation, the faster they move cargo off the ships and onto trucks, the more business they do). The Stevedores work the cranes to unload the machines and they log every container in the port database. Containers are fitted with custom seals before they are offloaded. There are port police that patrol the area and look for broken seals and such, but they do little more than a cursory job. Especially when there's any cargo belonging to the Loa. The Loa
The Loa includes Behemoth, Black Raven, Clamour, Coldsnap, Death Commando, Dr Apocalypse, Dr Death, Dr DNA, Electrocutioner, FIST, Hardware, Hornet, Marionette, Mercury Mercenary, Microwave, Nightside, Nightstrike, the Rat, Scatterbrain, Shadowqueen and Shapeshifter. |
| Dodgy Brothers Pawn Shop (14) |
| By Marco Ferraro This is a small pawn shop run by 2 friendly brothers who aren't too concerned about where their stock comes from. Their stock includes everything from the common to the unusual, from Atari cartridge games to M60s. Above the shop is their apartment which is sometimes used for somewhat less legal transactions. Despite being normal humans the Dodgy brothers are always well armed and well skilled in the use of their weapons. |
| Echo's of Valour (25) |
| By Ghurshog Tavern: Echo's of Valour Proprietor: Joseph Amble Alias: Bishop Staff: 6 Waitresses, 4 Bartenders (Joseph also tends the bar) and 3 Short order cooks This moderate sized tavern is located on the edges of the middle class business district and the seedier side of town. The tavern has a capacity of 1200 people and is a few thousand square feet of floor space to work with. Like any business owner Joseph is try to make a living by all appearances. The truth of the matter is that this is Joseph's retirement/front. The tavern caters to professionals looking to get a bite to eat, watch a sports game, or just relax with associates. These professionals usually do odd jobs for those who have enough money to pay the bill for a little mayhem in someone else's back yard. Mercenaries, assassins, and the like come to this place to talk business without prying eyes and ears. The tavern itself look plain and simple if decorated in war paraphernalia. If any of the employees are asked they always direct question about the decor to Joseph. Who says much of what is seen are just small mementos of jobs well done. The truth of the matter however is that Joseph with his extensive contacts has installed many anti listening/ eavesdropping devices along with next generation security systems. If for some reason he were to be attacked in his establishment and he felt he could not subdue the attacker(s) or his position was truly unattainable his demolition option would be set off. This is a Fuel Air Explosion designed to demolish the establishment and kill everyone inside of it. This is how he covers his tracks. (Note: for those who don't know what a Fuel Air Explosive is, you should look it up. This is one of the most destructive explosive instruments outside of Nuclear Weapons ever devised. but unlike those weapons a FAE can be controlled in size and area of effect. It still leaves a nice crater!) People come to Joseph for information or gear, he can get it all through his contacts. He's not particularly interested the why and where of each transaction but he has one rule that he has no exception for. Regardless of the detail, anyone coming to him for information or merchandise had best not be planning anything in his backyard. He has on occasion had to enforce this rule. And his reputation for enforcement is ruthless. After all this is his retirement and he has been known, unbeknownst to others, to arrange the incarceration or accidents for individuals so despicable that oozes and slimes would run in fear of them, anonymously of course. While he doesn't mind people making a living through militant means wanton destruction or killings of innocents he lost his callousness to a long time ago. Joseph has had a very long and very prosperous career in the military/mercenary line of work. While serving his country in the special forces he volunteered for a special program, though he didn't know the exact nature of it, to create super soldiers. The program was a success if incredibly torturous to the subjects. Hence was born Bishop. He served many years of distinction in the service, taking part in several "Black Ops" around the world. Over time he simply had had enough. So while on a mission, while succeeding in his objective, he faked his death. From this he went to seek work as a mercenary under the alias Bishop. And over the next 2 decades made associates, friends, enemies (most ended up dead), and made several contacts all over the world in militaries, Corporations, and Governments. When he had gotten enough he went home and tried to make a life for himself.
Joseph Amble (Bishop) |
| Finestine Stadium (16) |
| By Cherico This is the city's baseball stadium. Its teams is world famous not for its wins, but for its 80 year losing streak. In all that time the City Rough Riders have not won a single game. This is attributed to a curse which says that the manager of the Rough Riders ran over an old gypsy woman who cursed him and his team. The city's baseball fans aren't a very magic friendly lot because of the legend. Note there is no curse. The manager died peacefully in his bed filthy rich and surrounded by loved ones. The Rough Riders are just a really crappy team. |
| Fire Station Prime |
| By Cherico This fire station is notable for being the nerve centre of the city's fire fighting services. The Prime has a satellite uplink and a massive Beowulf super computer. This allows the fire station to send help from the nearest station house using the shortest route. The station also houses a museum for the public which holds records of past city fire fighting greats and oddities of fire fighting technology. Things of note; Optimus Prime replica - 50 years ago an insane hardware character converted an old fire truck into a suit of power armour. He wrecked quite a bit of the Glowmane district and almost destroyed city hall! It took the effort of a heroic meta hero named Zellarus to stop him but at the cost of his life. The Transforming power armour was given to the city's fire fighters to help start a museum, after its power source was removed. |
| The Forge (2) |
| By Cherico
This store sells body armour and ancient weapons at reasonable prices. Unfortunately it has started a love affair between the city's gangs and sword play. Swords from the Forge are considered the best.
Charley Knight |
| Foxville Asylum (55) |
| By Cherico Traditionally the city's insane asylum has been under funded and misused it seems like the city's wealthy set have a history of declaring family embarrassments insane and forcing them into the asylum. |
| Fresca College (18) |
| By Cherico
Originally Fresca College was a school for the deaf and was considered one of the best in the world at one time. Then Alexander Gram bell started to promote oralism in America. Initially all classes were taught in sign language and 100% of the teachers were deaf but as oralism made its way into city politics, the deaf teachers were fired and sign language was slowly phased out in favour of lip reading. Later, slowly but surely hearing students were let into the school to bring diversity to show the deaf students what the real world was like. Eventually the hearing students outnumbered the deaf students and Fresca was no longer a deaf school. Today its almost impossible for deaf students to get an interpreter at Fresca College. The city's deaf community go to anyone of the city's other schools. Today it is a technical school which turns out engineers and other skilled labourers. Its soccer team the Ninjas has won the country cup 3 times in a row and is considered the best in the nation. |
| Games R Us (56) |
| By Marco Ferraro This large shop is divided into 3 sections. The front section is where computer and console games are sold, with part of the area devoted to second hand games. The back section is much larger and holds the arcade coin slot machines (even originals like Pac man and pinball machines). The first floor is the third section which houses the Virtual Xtreme games. Virtual Xtreme is a new form of advanced virtual reality game using a visor which inputs sensory information directly into the optical nerves. This is much like the VR helmet games more commonly available but less cumbersome and totally realistic, with digital photo/video imagery replacing old style computer graphics. |
| Han's Chinese Diner (10) |
| By Cherico This is the only Chinese restaurant in Chinatown with a five star rating. This is where the city's elite come to discuss business and eat.
Jack Han
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| Hellsgate Jail (58) |
| By Marco Ferraro While each police station has its own holding cells, the city has only one prison. In recent years, there has been much debate in the city over the privatization of their prison system. The argument for privatization stresses cost reduction, whereas the arguments against it focus on standards of care, and the question of whether a market economy for prisons might not also lead to a market demand for prisoners (that is a strong lobby for ever tougher sentencing to satisfy the need for cheap labour). Prison conditions are problematic, with prisoner violence and rape wide spread, and medical care for inmates inadequate. Hellsgate outsources medical care to other private companies which try to minimize the amount of care given to prisoners in order to maximize profits. The average murderer is sentenced 20 years to life, but due to overcrowding in the prison system he serves only 7 years of real time. Other criminals also have sentences cut in half or down to one third the original sentence. This overcrowding problem was caused by previous administration's belief that it would be cheaper to have all the criminals in one super prison rather than spread out all over the city. From a humanitarian veiwpoint there should only be one inmate per cell to prevent in-cell beatings, killings and rape. Now due to gross overcrowding whenever a new prisoner is interred, a criminal must be released in order to make room. Consequently prisoners of all kinds are let out of prison early. Gang violence has recently become a major problem, since many gang members retain their affiliations when incarcerated. Private companies which provide services to the prison have recently begun combining their resources to lobby the city council on legislation which is favourable to their industry. The prison is one square kilometre in diametre with 3 levels below ground and 9 levels above. Other than that the prison layout is very similar to most others in the U.S. |
| Heroes Ltd (38) |
| By AJ Pickett The Heroes Ltd headquarters is located about four blocks from The Spoon. Outside the buildings there are planter boxes with flowers donated by the Sunnydale old peoples home, and White Oak trees grow along the sidewalk, with willow trees growing along the shore, where a few upper class restaurants and afternoon cafe's do a thriving trade. Heroes Ltd Super hero crime fighters, defenders of The City. Team Members; Hyper Guy Meson Mistress The Amasing Amoeba Man The Silver Fern Nike and special guest star Mr Mighty |
| Heromart Mall (22) |
| By Marco Ferraro Heromart was created to cash in on the popularity of the city's heroes. It has a general merchandise area for each possible piece of lifestyle element. This includes departments for homeware, garden, bath room, automotive care, bedding, a pharmacy, pet supplies, electronics, toys, games, jewellery, office supplies, furniture, clothing, sports, hardware, film developing, art materials, shoes, an alcohol section and a complete food supermarket. The rest of the mall is filled with 100 different specialty shops. Due to the high rent the type of shops are always changing. |
| Hokey's Harem (19) |
| By Marco Ferraro A house of ill repute with female mutant prostitutes who cater to any taste. It is extremely popular but expensive due to its exoticness (Bugger for instance can assume the likeness of any female desired). The staff include; Harry Horatio Hokey (owner) - Extra MA, Fart Expulsion Bugger All - Extra PP, Shapeshift Flying F**k - Extra PB, Winged Flight Jolly Roger - Empathic, Extra PB Merry Christmas - Extra PB, Ice Expulsion Pussy Galore - Alter PS Animal Wild Feline, Extra PB |
| Hungry Monkey Movie (3) |
| By Cherico
This theatre shows anime from Japan with subtitles and other movies from Japan. Its a big hand out for the marshal arts set and anime fans. A few years ago 3 super villains were killed in a sword match here and to this day one of the walls has the face imprint of one of the dead villains.
Tenche Toshiba |
| The Ka'ge (42) |
| By Ghurshog Night Club: Ka'ge Owner: Takagawa Ishima This establishment is the hot spot along the Japanese communities. Very up-scale, very expensive. This business is a front for the modern day Yakuza. Super villains and all. Takagawa is also a leading member of local branch of members. The traffic in everything, drugs, slavery, weapons, gambling, information, anything and everything. Their supply of hi-tech equipment keeps their muscle from being over classed by nosey hero's as well their training in the martial arts. The are know to have bionic soldiers for heavy shock troops as well as medium powered super villains if a war should break out against other rival crime organizations. |
| Legion Headquarters (35) |
| See here for more details about the Legion. |
| Library (47) |
| By Cherico A marvel of gothic architecture, the city library stands 3 stories tall. It was built in 1935 by the city mayor of the time Joe Zaterian who loved the dark atmosphere of gothic architecture. The city council refused to pony up the money, but the mayor would not be denied so he literally bankrupted himself to build his great library. Today it stands as a symbol of dark beauty, the fact that surrounding taller buildings bathe the library in perpetual darkness only adds to its creepy charm. Today the building's rooftop is a magnet for brooding meta beings. The library is also a hang out for mages or even normal people who like the Goth look. Many famous pictures were taken at the Zaterian. The building definitely has a big crowd following, but not every one loves it. The chamber of commerce has been trying to shut down the Zaterian and replace it with an office building for the last 20 years! Recently though the Zaterian was put on the list of historic buildings more to preserve the tourism money the Zaterian rakes in. Notes about the Zaterian; 1. The ghost of Mayor Zaterian is said to walk the halls of the library and has been known to talk to people. Every one who sees him agrees that he seems to be in a state of absolute joy. 2. The Zaterian has secret passages! Right now only the city librarians know about them, and they've been debating whether they should tell the public. |
| The Lighthouse (39) |
| By Cherico The city's lighthouse was once a very useful part of the community. Then modern technology made it useless, and for a while it stood empty. Later the city elders decided to turn it into a training ground for newly emerged metahumans. Any paranormal being who can't control their powers are sent to the island until they stop being a danger to themselves and others. Members of the Legion donate their time here in their off hours to help train those who need it. Learning to use one's powers usually takes a few weeks. Note this is not a prison. The city has converted the world war two army barracks located here into a modern day training facility complete with beds, cafeteria, showers and classrooms. Although he city's paranormal population questions the constitutionality of these actions, it does get results ( the city's rate of destruction of private property has gone down 30%). It remains to be seen whether the lighthouse will once again be abandoned. |
| The Living Tao (6) |
| By Cherico
This is the only martial arts studio in Chinatown. Almost all of other the martial arts studios are in K-street. The owner of the living Tao was kicked out of K-street after being implicated in the murder of a rival martial arts instructor, although never convicted. |
| MetaTech (52) |
| See here for more details about MetaTech. |
| Millennium University (40) |
| By Marco Ferraro Millennium University is among the finest universities in the world. Established in 1672, it is committed to producing graduates recognised worldwide for their creativity, knowledge and skills. With 16,000 students, including more than 2,000 students from 70 countries, Millennium University has produced two Nobel Prize-winning graduates and nearly 100 Rhodes Scholars. An innovative and forward looking university, Millennium has major strengths in wine and food, biological sciences, physical sciences, information technology and telecommunications, environmental sciences and social sciences. Since its inception the university has been at the heart of Millennium city life, shaping education, research, culture, politics and economics. The Fresca building accommodated the entire university when it opened in 1672. Visitors to the heritage listed building can inspect the restored foyer with its ornate pillars, elegant staircase, stained glass windows and vaulted cedar ceilings. Cherico Hall opened in 1800, houses the Cherico Conservatorium of Music and is a popular venue for concerts and public lectures. The Elder Conservatorium presents lunch hour concerts every Friday afternoon during semester. Baldur's Hall completed in 1836, seats 1000 and is used for university graduation ceremonies, conventions and major public events. The Wartz Library is named in honour of the Wartz family, which was prominent in Millennium city business and pastoralist activity over many years, and made many gifts and bequests to the university. The Wartz Library occupies a central position on the campus and is the largest library in the city. Student House provides an important centre for student activities. It contains student cafeterias, the Spoon licensed restaurant, the university bar and a small theatre. The Spoon displays works from the Millennium university art collection. Members of the public are welcome at these venues, which also cater for functions. There's just one problem. The only way to get entrance to this university is if your family is wealthy. If not they'd better be willing to become destitute, paying off your university fees for the rest of their lives. A lot of royalty from other countries attend this university. Most of the graduates come out of the university believing in their own superiority over other inhabitants of the city. Any they really hate losing in competitions to Fresca and Zellarus. |
| Mongo's Hot Dog Cart |
| By DevastationBob Mongo is seen around the city. He has a hot dog cart. He's a big Maori lookin' dude with weird facial tattoos. His hot dogs are delicious. Too bad they're made from human flesh. |
| Motorhead Autos (57) |
| By Marco Ferraro This is a combined large second hand auto dealership and parts store with a wrecking yard out the back. The yard supplies the parts sold in the store. Customers can also for a small fee help themselves to anything in the yard. |
| M.S.I. (D) |
| See here for more details about the Metaphysical Studies Institute. |
| The Museum of Supernatural History (32) |
| By Cherico This museum carries artifacts from the Talisman era. Everything from old suits of armour, to crystal swords, to scrolls describing lost magic in dead languages can be found here. The museum is however haunted. Long ago a magical sword of great power was giving in to the museum's care. A ghostly knight protects this sword and gets rather rough with any one who gets too close as it used to belong to him while he was alive. The only reason the museum was able to get it in their collection at all was because they agreed to include tales of his exploits in the tour. The magical information within is of great interest to every mage in the city as several categories of magic were lost and the scrolls may yet bring a few back into existence. The government has ordered the scrolls forever sealed as the last thing they want to deal with is yet another collection of tricks that criminals can potentially use. Magic has not yet regained its lost respectability. |
| Noah’s Arcology (1) |
| By acreRake The world’s first skyscraper zoo is the brainchild of billionaire genius Erasmus Hamm who, among other stunning achievements, produced the combat programs used now in virtually all the security and military robots used by the governments of the United States, Great Britain, Israel and many others. Erasmus is a 14th (!) level Electrical Genius and pushing 100 years old. Still vibrant in his old age he shows no signs of slowing down (with help from all those cybernetics, of course) but he has given up the cutthroat business world (and even more cutthroat intelligence community) to focus on his real passion: animals and education. He designed the building and has overseen the project from groundbreaking to each night’s closing. The building itself is breathtaking. The edifice of glass and vegetation towers above the surrounding buildings (mostly single-family and low-rise residential) and its own massive parking facility, the perimeter of its base is a little less than 6 kilometres. The building is largely a series of terraced levels leaning dizzily away from South (I assume The City is in North America?). Each level measures hundreds of acres and some areas (like the savannah) have 30m or higher ceilings. Some other places (especially near the top) are open to the air. The zoo also branches in places with towers, rooms and platforms sweeping away from the main structure. The levels are roughly divided by biome. On and below the ground level are primarily tanks for fish and sea-going mammals, working up through taiga/tundra, desert, mountains, savannah/prairie, temperate forest and tropical rain forest, though there are some overlapping areas and multi-level enclosures. The huge aviary in the centre of the building near the top, for example, cuts up through three levels, with visitors walking the tubular catwalks or observing from the periphery. Of particular interest to scientists and tourists alike (and probably the primary draw of the zoo) is its unique collection of extinct, cloned animals including three mammoths, a woolly rhino, and two Selerikan horses. All of these are heavily guarded. Everything is state of the art, from the holographic fauna to in-house water reclamation and Siembieda-class fusion generators and (unbeknownst to most) anti-gravity and force field devices developed by Hamm to support the structure. The zoo is permeated with conveyances: tubular rail rides, glass elevators, moving walkways and escalators. Personal motorized vehicles are also available for rent. One controversial aspect of the park is that many of the rarer and endangered animals in the collection (especially predators) are sophisticated synthetics with artificial animal intelligence. Often this is because Hamm feels that it is inhumane to "cage" animals like tigers and polar bears, which, in the wild, range over huge territories. It also allows him to display lions and cheetahs in the same exhibit as the giraffes and zebras. Some of the other androids are even more experimental, expensive and secret. Hamm has found a way to transfer the mind of a living creature into an extremely complex artificial brain. While he has not yet tested his procedure on a human (he intends to use himself as the first test subject) he has had success at transferring animals, including dolphins and some great apes. Unfortunately the process always kills the subject, and so far saving a backup "mind-print" has proved impossible, each intelligence only transfers once. Nevertheless, Hamm and his acolytes have been collecting animal intelligences, mostly from typical laboratory-type and other common animals. Due to the great minds in his organization, his staff is also called upon (or offer their services) to treat ailing animals in other zoos and institutions, and if recovery is unlikely the mind is secretly saved. Hamm truly is an animal lover and humanitarian, and while he is satisfied with how Noah’s has turned out, he considers it only a step in his journey. Hamm believes the time will soon come when humans will have to abandon their home world due to pollution, overpopulation, war or some other calamity. Toward this end he and his colleagues have constructed an enormous "escape capsule" resting underneath the parking complex. While he has had some extraterrestrials review his work, (this is a guy with contacts!) all the technology is earth-made and, though slow by galactic standards, completely space worthy. He is also collecting genetic material from all the plant and animal species he can get his hands on. His scientists have been perfecting the art of so-called test-tube cloning to the point where they are capable of growing complete animals from only a cell and a solution of nutrients. Besides recreating animals from scratch, he has also been working on a process to artificially age the clones to maturity, but has so far had no success in this area. In preparation for extraterrestrial colonization, they have, of course, studied the cloning of humans along with animals, with an eye toward genetic degradation and mutation. These experiments have resulted in a few mutant humans and animals, some with supernatural abilities or aspects. Not everyone who lives and works in the Arcology is aware of all the super-science and "escape plans", of course, but there are about fifty scientists, volunteers (fanatics?) and mutants ready to blast off at a moments notice. Some, however, especially the young mutants, feel that instead of running away they should try to save the world from destruction. Possible NPCs: Erasmus Hamm (Hardware: Electrical) Familiar (Reverse transferred intelligence: Artificial intelligence downloaded into a genetically engineered cat) Pearl ((mutant?) dolphin intelligence transferred into a human android) Abel (Bonobo [ape] "Super Soldier" with ‘brain boost’ and ‘physical transformation’) Algernon (a mutant mouse) Other characters created by or associated with Noah’s Arcology could be Alien, bionic, experiment, hardware, mutant or robot. |
| No Mercy Hospital (60) |
| By Marco Ferraro No Mercy Hospital was so named by the inhabitants of the Slums due to its policy of no money, no service. This hospital has state of the art medical equipment supplied by MetaTech. As a result only the middle to upper classes can afford health care here. No Mercy boasts 20 standard operating theatres, 5 ERs and 2 special theatres dedicated to bionic transplants and bionic reconstruction. M.S.I. has its own disease research facility within the hospital, in return for which they share all their findings with No Mercy. |
| The Oddity Shop |
| By The Baron of
Chaos This small shop is a sort of urban legend. It is known to appear and disappear, and one can buy anything he want in it, provided they can afford the price. Rumours abound that the owner is not human, and that the price is sometimes more than just money. Many scowl at it as a silly urban legend. But all practitioners of the mystic arts know the truth and more than one hero has had to face the result of some of the articles sold from this unholy shop. The Oddity shop looks like a normal antique shop, although with bizarre and weird decorations near the door. When one enters it seems as if the shop is bigger on the inside than the outside. There is also the unpleasant feeling of being watched by something... and one also gains the impression that the wall and ceiling BREATHE. The shop offers any sort of object from carillon to guns, to rare trading cards, to Babe Ruth's baseball bat, to the guitar of Elvis. The owner appears suddenly from nowhere when one finds an article of interest. He looks like a thin old man with sunken eyes and cheeks, elegant and with a pair of gold goggles. If you are really interested in the article you are browsing he will tell you its history; because everything that is sold in the Oddity Shop has one dark history behind it. And then he'll ask if you REALLY want to buy it. If you say yes, the owner giggles, tells you that the affair is done and that you can take it. And if asked the price he ALWAYS answers "Oh don't worry, you'll discover the price in time". And saying so he disappears, along with the shop. The customer finds himself outside the shop not knowing how, with the object "bought" in hand. As one could easily imagine each object is enchanted and delivers a curse with it. From guns that blend with the body and want to shoot endlessly, to guitars that grant absolute control over sound but need to be fed with the blood of virgins. The latest exploit of the shop was a ring that slowly turned a small time pusher into a monstrous creature, needing the combined effort of two heroes Alazaar and Darkwraith to be stopped. NPC: The shop owner Alignment: Miscreant Alien humanoid, with skeletal gaunt outlook Powers: Extra MA and empathic transfer to better sell his goods. Appears to have an unknown level of mystical powers. Seem to be bonded to the shop and never leaves it
The Oddity shop Itself shows clear sign of life but it remains unknown if it is self aware or not. |
| The Old Stomping Ground (44) |
| By khyron1144 (Yes, I know Stamping Grounds is Actually Correct, but stomping Makes a Better Pun). This is the full name on the sign outside this business that includes a cartoonish drawing of the Red Smasher jumping on top of a coffee bean. This business is the coffee house founded by the semi-retired mega hero of a brickish persuasion named Red Smasher (in his powered up form, Red besides being very big has red skin). Like all coffee houses it's frequented mostly by bored Gen Xers. The fact that most of these Gen Xers have powers, and, when they aren't busy sucking down overpriced mochas, wear tights while beating each other up is mostly immaterial. They get some of the rockingest local bands in to play every Friday and Saturday night. In fact one of the bands that regularly plays in the Stomping Grounds is rather literally a rock band with two humanoid mineral aliens and two guys with Alter Physical Structure: Stone among them. It's located right across the street from Viking Bob's, and Bob does not really approve of their noisy disruption of his Frigga Day worship. Then again, bob approves of almost nothing. Red himself is quite amiable, and willing to chat about anything. He's surprisingly bright. In fact, given the right opening he'll reveal that it was medical research he was conducting, himself that gave him his powers. The purpose of this place can be to be the HU equivalent of the D&D tavern, a place to pick up jobs and NPC buddies, of course its much more than that too. |
| Our Lady of Perpetual Faith (11) |
| By Cherico After the great Endsville fire and the building of the wall there was a need for some form of education to be restored in the Slums area. Thankfully the Catholic Church intervened and converted their cathedral into a makeshift school. Thanks to the paranormal abilities of a few mutant adherents to the faith, the school was expanded and a new church was built nearby. Right now the people of Endsville have only 3 choices; they can home school their kids, they can wake their kids up really early so they can ride an armoured bus to a school outside Endsville, or they can go to the catholic school. The majority remaining mistrustful of any outside the slums choose to send their kids to Our Lady. The education is above average but its nowhere near the level of the Wartz schools level of educational excellence. On a related note the number of Catholics in Endsville is exploding, most being converts graduated from Our Lady of Perpetual Faith. |
| Police Station / Chinatown District (4) |
| By Cherico Originally located in Endsville this police station covered both the Slums and Chinatown. When Endsville's economy collapsed the department responded to the crime with a proactive approach. This backfired as the police soon found themselves outnumbered and outgunned. The Endsville community started to hate and despise the police and treated them like an occupying army. During this time period the station house was attacked and destroyed a total of five times. After the Endsville fire destroyed the station house for the sixth time the police changed tactics. Firstly the station was shifted into the Chinatown district. Next they decided they would no longer patrol Endsville, instead using only undercover cops in the Slums. After an undercover cop gets enough evidence the station places a bounty on the perp's head (victims of the perp and citizens can add funds to the bounty). This system proved to be far superior, less costly, and results in fewer police casualties (but a big increase in Vigilantes). |
| Police Station / Business District (28) |
| By Cherico The Gloweman station is named after Robert Gloweman, a former republican senator who served in the 80s. Gloweman was a fierce partisan who consistently voted by party lines. Henry Finstine a democratic senator grew tired of Roberts antics and started attaching offensive riders to Robert's bills. Robert never paid attention to what he was voting on and consequently made some seriously bad decisions. The worst was the rider commissioning statues of Gloweman having anal sex with an Asian school girl, which were then built in Gloweman's voting district. The largest one is a 12 foot statue right in front of the Glowerman police station. It stands as a historical monument of partisan rivalry. The police station itself is the most nondescript one in the entire city, seeming to blend into the surroundings. Even veteran police officers who have worked in the station house for years have trouble finding it every now and then. |
| Police Station / Latte District (45) |
| By Cherico Built in the 70s the Latte Station is yet another example of the city going to one of its rich citizens looking for a hand out, this particular citizen being a coffee bean magnate. The police officers got word about this and learned to their horror that their station was going to be redesigned to look like a giant coffee mug. Not wanting a repeat of the pig in the Wealthy District the force threatened to strike for the first time in its history. Eventually a compromise was reached and instead the station has murals and mosaics of coffee mugs. On the plus side the police station has the best free coffee of all of the station houses. |
| Police Station / Wealthy District (36) |
| By Cherico During the 1960s the police wanted to build a station house to replace the old dilapidated structure. The city asked a millionaire to foot the bill. He agreed on the condition that he was given complete creative control over the building's look. Unfortunately for the police the millionaire had a beef with them. After he was done the police officers were horrified to learn that their new station house looked like a giant pig in a police uniform! The city government being extremely pragmatic told the outraged officers to deal with it. The building is still in use today much to the chagrin of the police officers who work there. |
| Power Plant (15) |
| By Cherico In the 1980s the city entered an energy crisis and the price of power skyrocketed. The city decided to build a nuclear power plant. First they tried to put it in the Slums this led to a three day riot where half of the construction crew was killed. The city got the message and tried to build it in Chinatown. The next day the mayor was found dead with a ninja star in his forehead. Then they tried to put it in the Gloweman district. After a wave of lawsuits they decided to build it secretly in the outskirts of the Slums. This time MetaTech was contracted to build it which had 2 added benefits; 1)Having the best hardware specialist in the city, MetaTech were able to change from the original nuclear plant idea to the revolutionary and slightly safer fusion plant. 2)Metatech was able to use its own private militia to protect the construction area. To disguise the plant they made it look like a giant iron, it even shoots out steam twice a day. |
| Roadbusters (51) |
| By Marco Ferraro When it absolutely, positively, has to be there NOW! Urusei Tanaka is your man...if you can afford his rates. Born in Japan, Urusei used his extraordinary driving skills to great (and profitable) use by acting as a courier and driver, for whomever could pay. Eventually after some *issues* with the Japanese police Urusei moved to Millennium city, and opened up shop here. Urusei's primary skills include all driving skills at 98% (including race car), offensive driving, WP Pistol and WP Knife. The Roadbuster is a completely customized vehicle, based on a Porsche chassis and a Corvette Stingray '71 engine block. It's only really unique equipment are the retractable wheel spikes. Roadbuster is covered in 5mm battleship steel armour plate, with windows that are composed of bulletproof glass. It also boasts both four wheel drive and four wheel steering, with a top speed of over 300kph, with engine performance in excess of 730 horsepower. It gets lousy mileage; that, coupled with the fact that the estimated cost to build it was about one million dollars is one reason Urusei's rates are so high. |
| Royal Theatre (41) |
| By Marco Ferraro Apparitions in the corridors of the Royal Theatre are well known to staff and visitors who have grown accustomed to the three resident ghosts including that of a former director who fell to his death from the balcony outside the dress circle in 1907. There are also regular sightings of an elderly man walking into the ladies toilets. The Theatre's most famous ghost is dressed in 18th Century evening dress with feathers in her hair. She has no colour, her whole figure appears as grey. At times she appears solid although sometimes as a wispy, smoky figure. When alive she fell madly in love with an actor at the theatre and spent all her time watching him from the top box. As her love was unrequited she hung herself behind a door at the theatre's own pub. The Phantom Doorman appears dressed in 19th Century clothes and nothing is known about him, other than the fact that he must have once worked as a doorman at the theatre. The whole surrounding area is infested with poltergeists and ghosts. The theatre is sandwiched between two houses, both of which are haunted by mysterious figures and happenings. |
| San Paulo Cemetery (12) |
| By The Baron of
Chaos The most ancient part of the City. It was built near the Cathedral of San Paulo (St. Paul) in 1784. It survived the destruction of the Cathedral in the earthquake of 1825. Later the cathedral was rebuilt but was destroyed by a fire set by an insane monk in 1837. The monk claimed that he wanted to destroy the cemetery and that unholy things rest there. Of course God told him that. BUT There is something odd about that cemetery. It is always clad in a thick fog, even on a bright sunny day. There is, for example, a Dance Macabre; a painting in a small temple in the cemetery depicting people dancing with their own Deaths, that apparently grows every year!! According to its ancient description it started with a depiction of six figures on the east wall of the temple. Now there are 35 figures and it covers almost all the temple, inside and outside!! Or the Howling Tomb; a tomb of a John Doe, which howls in the night of full moon. There are the Gargoyle statues and tombstones which move from one position to another. The shadowy figures that on Halloween seem to dance in the cemetery and disappear if disturbed. And a lot of bloody event occurred in the cemetery. On the 12th of November 1965, Karl Hawkwood killed his girl Beth Kenson. He was unable to explain why they were there nor why he did it. But the most mysterious event happened during the age of wonder. In 1978 a blazing green light was shot from the cemetery into the sky and apparently released the ancient demon Bh'thgoarht, that almost succeeded in turning the city into a copy of his hellish realm. The most notable event of the cemetery are the sightings of the Darkwraith; the cruel and ruthless vigilant active since 1945 and known to have his base in the cemetery. While the local administration has attempted more than once to demolish the cemetery they have found this a formidable task; First off it is a historical part of the City. Second everyone that has made the attempt to even only damage it has been found dead... in a painful ways. Even the evil Architect said "..this is surely not the place I would be buried when the time will come. Too nasty neighbours.." NPC;
The Possessor The Dance Macabre: A living painting. Whoever spreads blood on it, damages it, offends it, or just looks at it wrong will be visited by his own decayed corpse (consider it a sort of zombie-doppelganger). Later the victim and the corpse will join the dance macabre painting. Bh'thgoarht Cultist: a cult of this demon officiate sacrifice in the cemetery every third full moon, but of course they try to avoid the guardian of the cemetery Darkwraith. Some of them enjoy mystical bestowment from their demon god
The Girl: The phantom of a beautiful girl. Friendly and kind, she
always tries to help whoever gets lost in the cemetery at night. She is
the ONLY friend of Darkwraith, and the only one that could temper his
bloody anger. |
| Searchers Inc (54) |
| By Marco Ferraro Searchers Inc specialise in finding the unfindable, including people, objects and information. By accessing local and national databases, missing and lost persons are quickly located anywhere throughout the world. Thanks to international contacts and qualified agents, they can quickly locate even the hardest to find individuals, with the majority of searches being completed within 72 hours. Their staff have spent many years in foreign countries and have a solid understanding of the various database and records systems, along with other issues. Searchers Inc can also obtain a wide variety of information for companies and private citizens, alike. Common requests are financial statements, hidden assets, telephone tracing, screen name identification, electricity and utility records. Costs: $50 per hour if within the city. Additional expenses if the search is overseas. |
| Shen Hsui-Chih Hospital (9) |
| By Marco Ferraro Named after a Chinese god of medicine this hospital is based in Chinatown. Since Endsville lost its hospital in the great fire however the council passed a law forcing Shen Hospital to also look after the Slum's inhabitants. This has not only caused much resentment between the two districts but has also stretched the hospital to its operating capacity. There are rumours that the hospital sells body parts to the Body Works. Nowadays the hospital gets medical interns who weren't good enough to get in anywhere else and doctors whose credentials aren't checked too closely (deregistered). For the right price gang members are not reported to police if they come in with gunshot or stabbing injuries. |
| The Shock Shop (6) |
| By Cherico
Rumoured to exist in Chinatown, this place is supposed to supply at least 50% of the city's illegal cybernetics. |
| Skatman Airport (31) |
| By Cherico This is the city's main airport. Back in the 20s it was one of the most famous night clubs in the world. Then in 1928 disaster struck during a legendary battle of the bands. Some of the best Jazz musicians and the best Latin bands had split the club in half and duked it out for the crowds enjoyment. Unfortunately, at the height of the great battle the club's structure collapsed and killed everyone inside. It was latter learned that a deranged prohibition supporter was responsible because the club had sold booze under the table. The airport was built right on top of the site and every one agrees that the place is haunted. Almost every one who goes there say that they either hear jazz or Latin music, or even both. The thing is scientists have scoured the Skatman airport and haven't found any sound system. Any radio brought to the airport will only play Latin or jazz music and all of it old 20's style. It doesn't matter what tape, CD or station its tuned to, that's all you will hear. This makes the Skatman a popular haunt for paranormal investigators, various nut jobs and curious tourists. |
| Sky Casino (26) |
| By Cherico This is the city's only legal casino. Its owned by former skate board champion Sky Carlson who even built it to resemble a giant skateboard. The casino is crawling with paranormal security agents who are the foil to the city's local group of urban mages. So far its worked well but the city has a large urban mage population who is just itching to take the casino's money. The casino has three levels; the first is dedicated to one armed bandits, the second is centred around sports gambling and dice games, and the top floor has traditional card games as well as a special section for high rollers. Casino rumours; 1. Sky used to be a spy for the FBI and his former enemies now have a price on his head. 2. Sky is dating an alien from outer space, weird lights have been noticed around the casino and Sky has occasionally disappeared for awhile after these lights appeared. 3. There's an illegal gladiatory ring in the casino's basement. 4. Sky is addicted to pain killers and is being supplied his fix by the mob. He launders money for them so that his secret will be kept. |
| Slum Slam |
| By AJ Pickett An illegal street fighting event that crops up every few months in the slums, always on different days, advertised the day before by word of mouth. The current Slum Slam champions are The Brothers Grim, who basically entered themselves in the tournament, which is run a bit like an open class, no holds barred Kumate.. elimination matches with a 'last man standing is the winner' policy. Authorities would love to put a stop to Slum Slam, and heroes with more ideals than brains have tried.. but nobody has managed to halt the event so far, not with metahuman street brawlers from all over the world gathered in one place with nothing more on their minds than putting the smack down on all takers. The event is held in all sorts of different places in the slums, from burned out buildings and construction sites, to purpose built bunker arena's and (once) an arena held aloft by a great big airship! The only rules are that opponents may not use ranged attacks and no flying is allowed. The event organiser is unknown, never showing up to the actual contest and remaining nameless. High rollers are invited from all over the world to take bets and enjoy a spectacle unlike anything else seen in the United States. K1 has nothing on the Slum Slam, and although it is an underground, illegal and mainly low budget affair, the fighters are lining up to earn their cred in the square circle. |
| The Spoon (33) |
| By AJ Pickett Licensed bar and restaurant, cyber emporium and exclusive club for The City's super hero community. The Spoon is a popular fan hang out,75% of clientele are 19-30 yr olds, 20% are daily customers, 10% are regular (weekly) customers, 90% are strong supporters of super heroes and the spoon is the nexus of 20 different Hero fan clubs. For more information, as well as a floor plan of the 'public' ground floor of the Spoon, follow the link. |
| The Strang/Strange |
| By BookWyrm This is probably one of the more "best kept secrets" of the city. This is a 'floating event', which is to say it's never in the same place twice in the same year, but not necessarily actually on the water. It started back in the early days of underground rave parties, the Strang providing a 'safe' place for Ravers to meet, dance, and generally have a good time. Multiple anti-drug busts for everything from Ecstasy to Scream (a new designer drug that flooded the streets with thousands of screaming hallucinating users 4 years ago) have not stopped the Strang from holding it's event. A new wrinkle to The Strang is the annual Day Of The Dead/Halloween party the managers of the event have started. Nicknamed 'Strange', due to a mispronunciation of the event's name, many of the club regulars have reported the sometimes benevolent ghosts, spectres, real vampires and other supernatural creatures have joined the Ravers on this particular night, just to dance and have a good time. This seems to be working, as no one has been killed by any supernatural at the party since it's inception. A few incognito superheroes, mutants and others have also joined in making this party a success, providing security, safety and even on the spot medical attention (exhaustion and dehydration are the majority of the cases) for the participants. |
| The Subway |
| By Cherico The city has a massive subway system. Well to be exact there's about 5 of them. The first subway system is the original prototype created in the 1800s. This subway system still exists but it is closed to the public for security reasons. The second subway system is the public one and extends around the entire city. The third underground system was built after the great budget crisis of 1952 to 1954 ended. The city entered a boom time. The construction on the Wartz school had managed to get a lot of the old world war two super beings into the building game and it started to seem like anything could be built under budget and exceedingly quick. The cold war had the city voters in a panic and seeing the Wartz school's success in fallout shelters only spurned them on. They demanded the same protection. This started a government boondoggle of massive proportions. For over 30 years the public fallout shelters stood empty. Eventually the city entered a housing crisis and the underground shelters were sold as housing. Today there are quite a few people who live comfortably underneath the city's streets. The underground is slowly becoming a thriving community with its own theatres and restaurants. The largest underground system is the sewer system; the city has a massive population and they have to get rid of the waste somehow. The sewer system is large enough to live in and travel through. However this is not advised due to the smell and disease. The last travel system is the smallest. The city's mages have over the years created several teleportation circles to get them from place to place with in the city. Over the years the number of circles have grown.
Places of note: |
| Sub's Subway (27) |
| By AJ Pickett In the city subway system there are a couple of underground malls located in the two major stops on either side of the river. Located in the mall complex further away from the central business district mall is a place called Subs Subway.. an actual Subway franchise that serves sandwiches just like any other franchise, except this place is owned and managed by Sub, also known as The Sub Human, a rather freakish looking mutant who has four arms, a tail and a snouted, bestial face. The Sub Human had a rather patchy career as a much maligned vigilante who stood up for the civil rights of mutants in the city. He has been arrested a number of times for inciting riots, break and entry, assault, fraud (falsely accused and convicted) and arson (also falsely accused and convicted). He set up the City's first Mutant sanctuary (basically a venue for mutants to meet, relax and be themselves with other mutants) and, while in prison, studied law and management degrees. With money raised (legit) amongst the mutant community, Sub also promoted a mutant human called Barker who ran for mayor (and lost by a wide margin, but the public relations exercise had a very positive effect on the mutant/norms situation in the city). These days, Sub runs his subway franchise and hires mutants who have little in the way of career prospects.. he does hire norms, at least in theory he does, but non have applied for a job yet for some reason.. The Subway mall has a large concentration of mutant humans who own businesses there, and believe it or not, the mall is quite a nice place to hang out and spend some money. Norms who frequent the 'mutie mall' are kind of used to the open display of mutant features on parade, while norms who have never been to the mall before can be quite shocked. But, the mutants who live and work in and around the mall are quite relaxed about it and there is a general air of freedom and confidence about the place which you can't help but notice after a while. Mutant kids play in the thoroughfare, mums and dads stroll about window shopping.. and aside from the fact that every one in five people is obviously a mutant (and proud of it), it is just a typical underground mall. Subs Subway is the same as basically any other subway franchise, except for some of the items on the menu, tailored for some of their clientelle, who actually prefer raw meat, pickled walnut sauce and other rather outlandish types of cuisine. The shop is frequently inspected by the city health board, but aside from one incident with some cooked rat mince on the menu, it has always passed inspection with an A1 rating. It helps that Sub happens to like cleaning the place personally, and he has four arms and a prehensile tail! |
| The Swanky Hotel (59) |
| By Marco Ferraro Offering views overlooking the Wealthy and Latte Districts, as well as the beach and river. All standard rooms and suites offer the following; Door peephole, 24 hour housekeeping, air conditioning, audible alarms, automatic door closer, bathroom amenities, clock radio, coffee maker, electronic locks, ironing board, mini bar, newspaper delivered (local), refrigerator, sofa bed telephone - auto wakeup with dataport, thermostat (adjustable), TV-Pay per view, video messaging, desk with lamp, Wlan port. Additionally suites have luxurious spacious surroundings which are the equivalent size of four standard rooms, and also have spa baths. The hotel also offers all guests the following services; multi lingual staff, laundry/valet, baggage storage, beauty salon, concierge desk, elevators, foreign currency exchange, gift shop, desk lounge, news stand, safety deposit box, room service, audio/ visual equipment, rental business centre, express mail, fax, meeting rooms, modem, photocopying, printer, secretarial service, video messaging, fitness room, pool, city tours (wealthy and latte district only), tennis court, and child care. This is one hotel where if you have to ask how much then you can't afford it. Often referred to as the Wanky hotel by the poor. |
| Tiram Boats (30) |
| By Cherico This boating service ferries people from one side of the city to the other. Its been in existence for 50 years but is rumoured to dispose of bodies for the city's criminal element during the crossing. |
| Tobin Art Gallery (48) |
| By Marco Ferraro First built in 1901 by Tomas Tobin this gallery originally held fake reproductions of many famous paintings. Tomas then set fire to the gallery in order to collect on the insurance money. The fire was successful in destroying most of the gallery and all the fake paintings. However one section remained completely untouched.. the section filled with unknown works reputed to be from the Talisman era. Tobin was later found in his home horribly mauled as if by some animal. The city then tried to demolish the rest of the gallery but terrible things kept happening to the work crew so this idea was eventually abandoned. Instead a new gallery was simply built around the remains of the old. For the most part the gallery has prints like any other art gallery in the world. Then there's that other section... which anyone sane never goes into. It is rumoured that at certain times of the year (such as Halloween) some of these paintings come alive while others become portals to other worlds... |
| Vanguard Penitentiary |
| By Marco Ferraro |
| Viking Bob's Used and Rare Books (46) |
| By khyron1144 It's a mostly normal used bookstore, which isn't saying much. The proprietor is a bit...odd, however. Viking Bob used to be a costumed hero wielding a mystic axe. He has gotten too old to risk his neck for the rest of the planet (let the rest of the planet save me for once, he retorts). He still has the axe, though. He has even been known to use it on unacceptable trade-ins (they don't want it, and I can't use it, so it might as well be chopped in half, he explains). If heroes are looking for advice, guidance, clues, or a paperback copy of Heinlein's The Past Through Tomorrow, they just might find it here. With generous helpings of Bob's Verbal abuse, of course. |
| The Wartz School (34) |
| By Cherico In the 1700s the Wartz family moved to America and established a huge farm in the middle of nowhere. Eventually the city was created nearby and the Wartz family farm made a killing selling their goods to the them. They invested the money wisely and became filthy rich. In 1886 the Wartz family created the Omega Corporation, which would later grow into one of the ten largest multi nationals in the world, but more on that later. Tragedy struck the Wartz family in 1923; a virus killed every single Wartz family member except John. John wartz was a business genius but he was also very eccentric and just plain coocoo. By this time the city now completely surrounded the large, and I do mean large family estate. Wartz successfully led the family business through the great depression and into world war two. The world war was very good to the Omega Corporation. Eventually in 1953 John Wartz died. He didn't have a single heir but he did have a will. The Wartz estate gave the city a deal. The Wartz land would become public property, the entirety of the Wartz family fortune of 2 billion dollars and 10% of the Omega Corporation would be given to the city. There was however a catch, the land could only be used as a public school, and all funds would have to go into this school. Every building had to have a bomb shelter underneath it, and the school had to teach all grade levels from kindergarten to graduate student. The City got this deal in the mist of the largest financial crisis in its history. The governor desperate to save his political hide agreed to every single demand. With the huge amount of money the Wartz school was financially independent from the city. Since that day the city has not had to put a single dime into that particular school. The Wartz school is today the largest public school in the world. IT is practically a city within the city. The schools odd ball nature and set up means that its possible to learn almost any thing there no matter what your grade. This set up has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand its estimated that 20% of the worlds Hardware class are Wartz school graduates. On the other hand the city's criminals have frequently abused their hard won skills.
Places of interest: |
| Whispering Creek Golf Course (39) |
| By Marco Ferraro A unique and fun course... once people get use to the traps, the fogs, and the electrical storms. Ground fog is a very common in the course's rough areas. When a storm moves in, a beacon signals to the golfers that they must return to the insulated clubhouse immediately. Storms are supernatural, unpredictable and more often than not highly dangerous. If all that wasn't enough, if you're an exceptional golfer a mysterious opponent could challenge you when you least expect it. The course consists of 13 holes. There are numerous hazards including bunkers, sand traps, lakes, ponds, and rivers. Most of the grass of the putting green is cut very short, but not all. One area in particular resembles Vietnam. There is also a practice range and a driving area. Present at different times are the apparitions of tribal Indians performing dances, the spirit of a bride wailing over her murder, a headless horseman and the ghost of the course's original owner sipping booze on the course. |
| Zellarus University (21) |
| By Cherico Named after a hero who died saving the city from a giant robot. Zellarus has been in action for 20 years, but all ready it has become Fresca's arch foe. The two universities hate each other with a passion. The fact that Zellarus is in the slums and Fresca's in Monopoly Ave adds a class war aspect to the bitter cross town rivalry. Zellarus university was badly burned like all of the buildings in the Slums during the great fire. But unlike all of the others the students of Zellarus fought to save their university. 20 people died in the effort, but thanks to them Zellarus still exists. A memorial was built to honour the fallen students. The university has a huge magic subculture, with most of them being Urban Mages. Many of the city's mages have learned a trick or too from Zellarus University. On a other note Zellarus University has beaten Fresca in every sport for the last 15 years. A fact that is advertised on T-shirts and slogans. Many of the slums residents live to see the rich boys at Fresca go down to Zellarus University. Zellarus offers more than 160 undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as higher degree research supervision across all disciplines. Many courses use new information and communication technologies to supplement face to face teaching and provide flexible options. International students make up 10% of the campus student population. Research is carried out in the four faculties in three key areas - health, medicine, and science and technology. Zellarus has art galleries on campus and in the city. |