Sapphire City [Scrapbook and Discussions]

[Dr Yes]

In an attempt to start somewhere, I'll start jotting down some of my ideas here.
Feel free to weigh in with suggestions, comments, questions and other projects that you think may link up nicely with this one.  Obviously early in the piece it is hard to present a complete picture, but by the same token I'm interested to see how people would interpret the incomplete picture at various stages.   :cool:

Sapphire City
Dr Yes
[link tba]
Sapphire City is a system neutral setting for use in your near future RPG sessions.  It is primarily a inter-related collection of factions and npcs, along with their agendas, hooks and sites of interest.  It has a heavy themematic focus on crime, commerce, wealth, security and secrecy.  Circumstance and coincidence feature heavily in presenting opportunities for character representation and fun play sessions.  Imagine your Shadowrun mission in a Grand Theft Auto city playing out similar to 'Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrells' and you've got a feel for where it's at.

[Dr Yes]

Given I have to have some kind of background, I'll start with what I have put below.
It is very bare, but i'm hoping it gives an indication of where I am trying to get to.

A Very Brief Overview of Saphire City
Saphire City was built from nothing in a few years (just over 10 years ago) as an alternative workplace/residence for the managers, admininstrators, researchers and families of several prosperous companies that amalgamated under the Emergence Technologies Conglomerate.
Almost every building is in great condition, and the city is filled to the brim with premises offering the goods and services craved by consumers with plenty to spend. As well as all the supporting businesses that operate these premises, a thriving tourism market has developed for the wealthy of other regions to come here and enjoy all the attractions.
In a city that produces no durable products, almost everything is imported - by plane, train and sea freight.  This in turn has lead to the northern third of the city becoming a major transport hub connecting other cities and production areas in the region.  The importance of this hub, and the research of some of the ETC companies, has seen the development of several important nearby  military facilities.
Nothing good lasts for ever though.  The fortunes of the ETC companies has shifted, with one company divided by a bitter internal dispute, and another on the verge of collapse as a result of shifting markets.  The easy wealth lifestyle has seen the emergence of vice, corruption, and the highly addictive drugs 'chill' and 'pump'.  Organised crime is gaining influence, and a violent gang culture is emerging amoung some of the city's youth.  To add to these concerns, an 'undisclosed emergency' at one of the corporate research labs has seen a quarantine zone placed around a six kilometer square block of the city.

System
The setting is intended to be system neutral and support the rules preferred by the playing group.  Ideally modern and near future rulesets will probably work the best.  In particular I would suggest Shadowrun, Spycraft, d20 Modern or Heavy Gear.
At a minimum it would be beneficial for the system to support gunfights and have a mechanism similar to the bluff/sense-motive mechanic.  Supporting rules for car chases, burglary/espionage type activities and other types of combat and skill usage would also get well used.

Unusual Powers
The standard version of this setting is that unnatural augmentation such as super powers, magic, psionics, divine abilities, cyberware, bioware, etc do not exist.  The alternative option is to allow one or more of these to exist in the setting, but have it as something that has emerged recently with the general population either unaware or untrusting of its presence.
Introducing these powers in an obvious and large scale fashion would require significant rework to the setting and is outside the scope of this version.

Fluff versus Crunch
In an attempt to be system neutral the work prepared is high on fluff and low on crunch.  That said, alot of the fluff is intended to be items that can be brought straight into the game such as hooks, npc motives/personality, faction agendas, physical sites and mission/adventure outlines.

[Dr Yes]

Ok so if I had to start a game right now, and players needed details of the city I just don't have, I would give them a summary of some recent news events.  It would give them some hooks, some background events, and refer to some of the factions, npcs and sites of Saphire City.

I've made up a sample one below.  Some of the tongue in cheek maybe has too much cheek however.  I would be interested in hearing what news items interest people (either from the perspective of a player, a GM or just a reader), and which ones make you cringe or need reworking.

 :detect:  Saphire City News  :detect:

Headlines:
Sophia Phillips, partner of Sapphire City entrepeneur (and alledged crime boss) Mathew Phillips was found dead this morning in her hotel room at the Sapphire Sceptre Casino from multiple stab wounds.  Further details as they develop will be broadcast on the Saphire City News network.

News:
Offduty military personnel from both the Airbourne Assault Divison and the Naval Facilities Guard have been banned from all civilian areas between 6pm and 6am after brawling between the two groups last weekend at the 'Roundhouse Bar and Grill'.  Witnesses say the fights broke out after bets on a nearby illegal street race were complicated by the two cars crashing into a garbage truck in the closing stages of the race.

World News:
The united African League posted another consecutive quarter of strong economic growth, with demand for cheap consumer products from the USA and Europe expected to remain strong.  Hostilities have resumed between the United Oceanic Republic and the South American Alliance, with both sides attempting to seize control of disputed Antartic Mining facilities.

Celebrity Gossip:
The celebrity Sapphire City loves to hate, Haris Pilton (heir of the Pilton construction empire) is reportedly planning an A-List celebrity event at his new private nightclub 'HighRisers' to celebrate the birthday of his famous handbag dog 'Botox'.  Details are still not finialised, but invites are eagerly awaited by the party crowd of Sapphire City's high rollers.

Out and about:
Russian girl band / gangsta rap outfit 'Spetnaz Sistaz' perform three live shows at the PartyDome. Two new resteraunts open this week 'Evocation' and 'XSLT'. The cast of 'Friends - The Next Generation' has a promtional poster signing event at the 'Karazhan Galleria' shopping mall.  Pirates of the Caribean XIV is still going strong at the box office.

Business and Finance:
As the legal disputes continue unabated between Pheonyx Engines and Pheonyx Military Systems, auditors from Kapa-Hari-Beuson report that a full division of the companies' formerly joint assests is still a long way from being resolved.  Insiders are commenting that a shortage of unalligned propulsion engineer/analysts and complications with the secure data archive facilities are further likely to hamper progress.

Employment:
STD (Sapphire Transport and Distribution) is seeking motivated shift workers to help keep Sapphire City's freight and transport hub operating at peak efficiency.  Drivers, Administrators, Security and Warehouse personel with skills and experience are invited to apply in person at the STD Human Resources department.

For Rent:
1 Year free rent.  Would suit a small group of ex-military or law enforcement types who have time to perform some urgently needed work on the premises.

Auctions:
Deceased estate of former small business owner/operator - assorted Office furntiture & equipment,  2 computers, storage shed, grey delivery van.

Weather:
Forescast for today and the next 4 days is glorious Autum weather with a daytime maximum of 22-25 degress (celcius) and an overnight low of 14-16 degress.  Some early morning fog may be present, but should be dispersed by light winds blowing from the Southwest.  The beareau is advising that mild storm front is developing off shore which may bring a few days unseasonal heavy rainfall in the following week.

Sports:
Official bookmakers have suspended betting on this weekends baseball match between the Alternate Energy Allstars and the Pheonyx Engines Cruisers, amid rumor that star PEC recruit Tony Dalomore was arrested overnight for possession of the street drug 'chill'.

[Seraph]

Haha.  I like your news articles.  They are funny.  Ok, so I think I see more or less where you're going with this and I rather like it.  I suppose there will be some big NPCs in some of the major corporations and in the criminal underworld that I look forward to seeing and should help your world come alive.  Characters always help with that.

When you mentioned a "quarantine zone" around a research lab I was rather disappointed to hear there would be no magic or psionics.  I thought that it would be cool if some kind of radiation from the laboratory created a subsection of the populace with psionic powers.  I suppose it's kind of cliche, but it's fun.

[SA]

Hehe.  STD...

(Which, I acknowledge, really isn't as funny as I think it is)

This reminds me of Grand Theft Auto, actually.

[Wensleydale]

Hehe.  STD...

The 'STD human resources department' was the one that got me.

But anyway. Your news articles are great - humourous, but not stupid. I see you also put in all the items PCs are likely to need to start out with up for rent or auction, too, which was a nice touch. ;)

[Raelifin]

Hey, great to see your stuff! I think it's great to see some modern here.

I know these are notes, and I do appreciate the difference between notes and finished material, but you are in desperate need of an introduction. I went into that first paragraph (seriously) thinking about how major stone buildings like churches and castles would be unfinished in 10 years. ;) (Though in retrospect, only major castles typically take that long...)

[Dr Yes]

I suppose there will be some big NPCs in some of the major corporations and in the criminal underworld that I look forward to seeing and should help your world come alive.  Characters always help with that.

Yeah I agree, characters really bring a place to life.
As well as the big NPCs you've got the pleb/minion level guys who the players are dealing with very early on in the game.  I really want to good quantity of those ready to roll with the rest of the setting.

When you mentioned a "quarantine zone" around a research lab I was rather disappointed to hear there would be no magic or psionics.  I thought that it would be cool if some kind of radiation from the laboratory created a subsection of the populace with psionic powers.  I suppose it's kind of cliche, but it's fun.

This raises two points.
The first is that I need to describe in a clear fashion that the GC could slot in psionic powers (or cyberware, or something else) if thats what they are after.  They just won't find the material already loaded up with it.  This is bad news in that it is more work for them, but its good news in that they can slot in psionics (etc) the way they like it.  It also means they don't need to go thru the material scrubbing out refences to bioware and psionics, so that they can tone the unusual down enough to contrast with the occult mysticism they *really* want to slot in.
The second point is that, yeah - the quarantine zone is the place to put the unusual game factor of your choice.  Psionic Plagues, Chemical Weapon side effects, Zombie Invasions, Time Travel gone wrong, Twilight Zone Fringe effects, Aliens, Skynet Robot Warriors, Insect Spirits and Portals to places unknown get put there.  In addition you have the whole "salvage operations" options for your burglar who wants to go legal.  Potentially its a campaign setting in its own right, not so much a part of the core city setting, but I think it will be worth me elaborating on maybe 3 different potentials later on down the track.  Alternatively some other people might want to write up some options for that place (and similar places in other settings), in which case I'll happily provide fat linkage from my stuff.

[Dr Yes]

This reminds me of Grand Theft Auto, actually.

Well spotted. I was already so plugged into the GTA style I failed to make note of this.
I'll incorporate some direct GTA references in (including the concept summary).  GTA already has quite a high following amoung gamers, and it does incorporate a playing mindset that meshes well with the setting.

[Dr Yes]

Hehe.  STD...
(Which, I acknowledge, really isn't as funny as I think it is)

The 'STD human resources department' was the one that got me.

Yeah its that kind of humor that is neither adult or juvenile, yet both adult and juvenile.
I would hope its not too distressing to anyone sensitive, and not to distracting to groups prone to a good giggle fest - I'm fairly confident on the first point but not to sure on the second point.  Imagine the gaming table gags when a group member decides to go get a job there (to get access to their resouces, or maybe to help establish a good cover for later missions) - "How you progressing on your STD mission?", "I flash him my STD badge", "I'd better finish my STD deliveries".

Your news articles are great - humourous, but not stupid.

Yeah like the STD thing, I think its going to be tricky to get the right level, ultimately it may need to partly rely on a GM omitting what he thinks is stupid or unsuitable.  What I need it to do is set a tone that is a more light hearted then an epic fantasy game would be, what I really don't want it to do is turn people off who find it stupid or cringe worthy.

I see you also put in all the items PCs are likely to need to start out with up for rent or auction, too, which was a nice touch. ;)

Cheers.  What may not have been obvious is that alot of it would hook into immediate missions for the players - the celebrity events could potentially hire on some extra security staff, the 1 year free rent is actually a reward for managing to eject a violent bikie gang out of the land lord's premises.

[Dr Yes]

Hey, great to see your stuff! I think it's great to see some modern here.

Thanks.  I really like fanatasy settings as well, my gaming often alternates between the two to keep things fresh.
Maybe a few poeple might later throw together some modern mini-settings for a change of pace.  One thing with modern material is you can plug-and-play different mini-settings together quite nicely (you can do this with fantasy as well, but with fantasy its often nice to have those over-arcing themes and componets that define the setting always in place for consistency and feel).

I know these are notes, and I do appreciate the difference between notes and finished material, but you are in desperate need of an introduction.

A good point. By introduction do you mean a more detailed explantion of thsoe items, a brief history outline or just  better constructed elements/concepts/writing to introduce the setting?  To be honest it could probably do with all those things and I'll make a point to try address them all.

I went into that first paragraph (seriously) thinking about how major stone buildings like churches and castles would be unfinished in 10 years. ;) (Though in retrospect, only major castles typically take that long...)

This is a really great point for two reasons.
Firstly - I was think with current/near future construction techniques, and the backing of a successful corporate conglmerate who has a blue print for a city where there was none, you could throw up buildings really fast.  But thinking about it, its the classic man-month problem.  Theres an airport, harbor, train system, monorail, distribution hub, ofice towers, roads, sewers, public utilities, houses, hotels, casinos, shopping centres and all the rest.  Thats a serious amount of development to get done within an early part of a 10 year lifespan.  So yes, a timeline review will be needed, and part of that will be construction start and finish times for significant projects.
The second point - (and this is the bit I really like) is that if I assume every year sees a vast array of construction projects progressed, for several years in a row, and then at some point in time the majority of development is completed and most work winds up - what I end up with is a large construction company, and a large number of construction workers who are used to the Sapphire City lifestyle, who suddenly don't have a whole lot to do.  Thats a interesting rpg setting element in it sown right.

I'm not sure how this whole badges thing works?  Can I award you a 'Sapphire City Monrail Pass for Constructive Input'?  Or do I need to go discuss it with the cabbage overlords?

[Seraph]

This raises two points.
The first is that I need to describe in a clear fashion that the GC could slot in psionic powers (or cyberware, or something else) if thats what they are after.  They just won't find the material already loaded up with it.  This is bad news in that it is more work for them, but its good news in that they can slot in psionics (etc) the way they like it.  It also means they don't need to go thru the material scrubbing out refences to bioware and psionics, so that they can tone the unusual down enough to contrast with the occult mysticism they *really* want to slot in.
The second point is that, yeah - the quarantine zone is the place to put the unusual game factor of your choice.  Psionic Plagues, Chemical Weapon side effects, Zombie Invasions, Time Travel gone wrong, Twilight Zone Fringe effects, Aliens, Skynet Robot Warriors, Insect Spirits and Portals to places unknown get put there.  In addition you have the whole "salvage operations" options for your burglar who wants to go legal.  Potentially its a campaign setting in its own right, not so much a part of the core city setting, but I think it will be worth me elaborating on maybe 3 different potentials later on down the track.  Alternatively some other people might want to write up some options for that place (and similar places in other settings), in which case I'll happily provide fat linkage from my stuff.

I see the point you're making, and that such things could be left to the realm of GMs and individual campaigns, not the setting at large.  But think of the possibilities!  Charity societies coming to help the victims of the accident, fearful citizens committing hate-crimes against the mutant psychers, a tightknit criminal organization that makes use of one "victim's" new psychic powers to gain the upperhand against police forces and rival criminal organizations.

But then again, it's your setting, so maybe I should stop ranting. :shy:

[SA]

[ooc]Psst.  You've got me quoted for stuff Wensleydale said.[/ooc]

[Dr Yes]

Doh, thanks for pointing that out.  I've fixed it up now.
How embarrassment.  x.

[Wensleydale]

How embarrassment.

*snicker, snicker*

My sense of humour has been slightly diluted by the fact that I was in a show until 10:30 last night, and reading Harry Potter up until ten minutes ago, when I found myself incapable of sleep. Blame the medication.

Anyway, I did pick up on the quests part - I thought that was a nice touch too. If I was playing, I will admit that I would sign up for the Haris Pilton event instantly (if only to get a chance to shoot our favourite celebrity's equivalent between the eyes).