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 Post subject: Welcome to Heartland
PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 1:05 am 

Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:13 pm
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Location: Amesbury, MA
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Hey all, just another idea I'm throwing out there!

So this is a very ShadowRun influenced RP. Lots of Cyberpunk. lots of kick ass high-tech gunkata fights, and lots of sneaky assassin cyber ninjas commiting corporate espionage for glory, money, and even more glory. I'll post an overview and a link to a prologue of sorts, this is based on a novel I'm writing so it really gives a feel, the, in the next post on this thread. Hope you enjoy!

_________________
~-----~

"Who put bacon in the soap?!?!?!" - Zim


I'm writing this story! It's called The Legends of Kal'duune. You can comment about things you like or hate, but preferably the first thing, here!

This thing is my resume! Reeeeaad iiiiiit...


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 Post subject: Re: Welcome to Heartland
PostPosted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 1:10 am 

Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:13 pm
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Here's the pro;logue.

Don't worry about chapter 1.

Here is the overview as well.


Overview:

In the wake of a world shattering cataclysm, humanity had to find new ways to survive in a far more murderous world than the one that they had come from. They had to seek shelter from the new dangers that existed in the nightmarish urban wasteland by hiding in structures that still stood despite the ravages of time in this new and hostile environment. In time, and in great peril, the more ambitious men and women began building back out into the world. Large, protective shelters called biospheres were erected; made to be the great shield against the new world. They were created using the most cutting edge technology to protect from the greatest dangers of the outside world. By far the most powerful of the environmental threats are the nanostorms.

The Nano Threat:

Nanostorms occur when a large charge of static, unstable energy gathers in one area. When the charge reaches its peak, dormant nanites absorb the overflow of energy, activate, and assimilate themselves into a hive once more. Whether due to corruption over time or some other unknown cause, their original programming has changed. Instead of their dark, however intended purpose, which was to simply disable machinery and cause anything living to asphyxiate or seize, they combined the two in grotesque fashion.

The nanostorms are the single creator of one of the most frightening monstrosities humanity has ever struggled against; the Reaver Drones. When a living thing comes into contact with a nanites swarm during their hellish, though brief periods of agitation, their bodies are harvested. The nanites will inhabit a human's body, using the natural power supplied by both brain and body to sustain themselves for a long enough time to recycle the flesh and bone as well as things in the environment to create a self-sustaining hive within the corpse. The only purpose the after product, what is known as the Reaver Drone, seems to serve is to spawn more of themselves. Many different species of animals and insects have been seen turned into Reavers as well and are considered to be very dangerous.

Very, very rarely there are rumors that go through the urban wastes about individuals that survived exposure to a nano event. These individuals are reported to have strange gifts afterward. One person may have the ability to manipulate things with his mind, while a dog might have impenetrable skin. These "gifts", if that's what you want to call them, come with the heavy price of being exiled.

The Gifted:

The Gifted are humans or animals that have survived exposure to a nano event. Each survivor has a gift, or curse as some might know it as, all their own, completely unique to them and them alone. The abilities range from purely mentally or emotionally oriented to great power over the environment, such as manipulating fire or telekinesis. Many people seek out an opportunity to become one of the Gifted, but no one is certain what exactly the right conditions are during a nanostorm to do something of that nature. It is also a very unlikely occasion that an animal survives being exposed as it would most likely die due to its nervous system getting overwhelmed.

The Domes:

Made to be a safe haven within the sprawling earthen wasteland, massive dome structures known as Biological Life-Support Spheres were erected as a shield against the outside Nano threat. Bliss Spheres are made with the ability to create their own atmosphere and completely cut themselves off from the rest of the planet's surface, acting as a giant greenhouse. Larger Bliss Spheres often have two levels; an upper level, which is usually the home of the elite upper class, and the lower section, home to the rougher, poverty stricken citizens of dome life.

Heartland:

The largest of the Bliss Spheres is known as Heartland and actually has three levels unlike its counterparts.

Upper Heartland:

Upper Heartland, in complete contradiction to Heartland's sibling spheres, is home to the poorest class of people. Many structures and even whole sections of the foundation within the upper region are condemned and uninhabitable. People live together in large buildings of single family domiciles, many people actually squatters living there illegally. The wealthiest citizens of Upper Heartland live in somewhat larger apartments. Most of the wealthier districts are still a hard place to live. Crime is ever-present, the dome itself is fractured in places letting in nanites during particularly bad nanostorms, and chem addiction is a rampant condition even amongst the Heartland officials placed by the sphere's parliament.

The men and women placed in charge of both the upper and mid regions are referred to as arbiters. Arbiters are in charge of keeping law and order amongst the citizens and have control over the Heartland Security regiments for all sectors. Under the arbiters, the ordinators are the governing force for each specific sector. Ordinators are chosen from a pool of parliament officials and HS officers and are given judicial powers over lower level crimes. For high-profile illegal activity is always presided over by any three parliament inquisitors for matters of judgement and discipline.

Upper Heartland is notorious for a wide variety of crime. Every service from arms dealing to alpha level data retrieval, it can be bought and paid for with money or other… Darker means. Many crews just getting their start have their headquarters there and even veteran crews have a safe house lined up there, deep in the bowels of the hunger and destitution.

Mid Heartland:

The bustling, ever-beating heart of Heartland, Mid Heartland is the epicenter of activity for the domed metropolis. The northwestern region is a massive industrial complex where everything needed to maintain the dome itself was built and some privatized industrial complexes built most of their consumer goods. Another, much smaller biosphere was built, a mile or so west of Heartland itself, containing the brunt of the massive dome's food production. A bullet train takes the workers back and forth to avoid any unnecessary nano exposure to either the workers or the food production plant.

One of the most infamous aspects of all Heartland is the vibrant nightlife that can be found in nearly every sector of Mid Heartland. Even the industrial sectors have warehouses dedicated to chems and debauchery. If there is an illegal service or item, you can find someone who knows where to get it. Both the rich and poor mingle in Mid Heartland and one has to be careful with whom they talk to; friends and enemies can be hard to differentiate.

The residential districts of Mid Heartland can vary greatly in quality. Many Res Sectors in the northern areas of the dome, especially where they border the industrial zones, are poor, while the Res Sectors in the east and south, bordering or being themselves the lush centers for nighttime activity, are incredibly wealthy. Some even managed to acquire more net worth than the communities in the undercity.

The Heartland Undercity:

The root of all evil, the wicked center of corruption itself, the Heartland Undercity. It's a place of lavish luxury and entirely unnecessary excess. From virtual reality fantasy jacks that interact directly with your nervous system to fully grown clones that you can transfer your consciousness into in the case of untimely death, the undercity is home to every weird fetish and absurd service you could think of. Enormous mansions and luxury apartments are called home by the richest men and women in the massive metropolis. Members of Heartland Parliament, the upper echelon of the corporate world, and even the most famous members of the syndicate share the undercity's exuberant res centers. If someone thought that Mid Heartland's nightlife was devious, they never saw the undercity in full swing. Kems, prostitution of every kind, and the brutal blood pits are just some of the less-than-reputable entertainment one can find in the lush places.

The men and women of the undercity enjoy supreme safety from the environmental hazards unlike the people living in the upper regions. In their underground dwellings they have nothing to fear from the nano threat. And the Reaver Drones that are so feared on the surface are practically myth in the bowels of wealth. In case of a true emergency, underground bunkers are carved deep, deep into the earth where the rich and powerful can go to wait and hide. The other denizens of Heartland can make it into these bunkers, for the right price.

The Corporations:

An unavoidable part of life in the new world is the corporate atmosphere that permeates every aspect of life in the wastes. Capitalism and consumer manipulation are constantly and aggressively thrust upon the denizens of every dome. The parliament that governed what was left of humanity was put together by the corporations themselves in order to maintain their supremacy. This is an openly known, and even accepted fact. Some of the most notable corporations are as follows;

Orion Cybernetics:

Orion; the very cutting edge of cyber enhancement. They are famous for their innovation of the body through technology. They've developed nearly everything; artificial gills that can be easily installed in the throat, cybernetic finger replacements with hollow compartments for smuggling diminutive contraband, and even nutrition synthesizers that fed protein and mineral supplements directly into your stomach that virtually removed the need to eat. They are one of the most private organizations and they kept only one true corporate base of operations. The Orion Tower was a massive structure located in Heartland. It spanned all three levels of the metropolis and the wasteland knew nothing else that reached such an impressive height.

Artemis Incorporated:

Whether an enforcer looking for a sweet piece to make any two-bit thugs think twice before making a move, or someone who prefers to keep their business quiet with the atomically sharp edge of a plasma steel sword, you can find your weapon of choice at Artemis. There many, many inventions and innovations are credited to Artemis. The free-motion platforms used by the HS were first drawn up in the AR&D facilities located five miles due north of Heartland. It's an unorthodox location, but the anti-gravity personnel carriers, lovingly known as Carrier Pigeons, have been proven to be safe even in the worst nanostorms.

White Ribbon Defense:

Specializing in the protective qualities of mineral and energy, WRD strive to bring you the cutting edge in protective body armor and shielding. Their armor covers everything from optimum-flex fabristeel vests to full body powered exoskeletons/personal weapons platforms. Remember; if you want to get shot, get shot wearing WRD.

Lovell Bio-Medical:

If you've ever been hospitalized, had some kind of surgery, or have just received medical attention for some small inconsequential thing; you've been on the receiving end of Lovell's awestriking healing prowess. One of the few established organizations with the knowledge and ability to use nanotechnology, they've brought themselves to the forefront of wealth and fame in the urban wasteland. They are a very publicly oriented company who are constantly doing charity work. They've worked with many a celebrity for public outreach. On a much quieter note, they've worked with companies such as Orion implementing their nanotech prowess. They are not willing to give up their nano secrets completely, but they'll apply it when it's profitable.

The Syndicate:

In both the dark and seedy places, as well as the well-to-do lavish locales of the urban wasteland; you could find a very peculiar culture formulated by both the inconceivably courageous and greedily murderous. The Syndicate was the very center of the criminal underground and as the world, as technology evolved exponentially, so to did the criminal mind. With an ironclad code of conduct and willingness to destroy anyone or anything that would threaten their prominence.

Gambling is still a widely enjoyed form of entertainment. The Blood Matches, Sliver Races, poker, and any number of other things are illegally gambled upon on a regular basis, but in recent years; a new form of gambling surfaced and the level of danger had never been higher. Small units of individuals, typically numbering from five to twelve, work together in crews carrying out different jobs, or objectives, given out from different third parties. The usual clients are the corporations, but every now and then a job comes in from organizations like Heartland Security, a high profile gang, or even the Technophiles.

Objectives could be anything from assassination to deleting a small kilobyte of data. Corporate espionage was the usual motive behind such jobs as well. Crews acquire jobs through Smiths. A Smith is the middleman between the client and the crew, ensuring that things stay anonymous on an individual level, especially from the corporate eye; plausible deniability was key after all. Smiths post jobs on the Syndicate Forum where crews can take them at their own risk on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once the job contracts are finished, the Smiths send all relevant information to the Syndicate Leaderboard Administration, who then calculate the odds based on the prior records of the corporations or parties targeted compared to the scores of the crew doing the job. People can then gamble on the odds of categories like death of the crew, capture of the crew. Or success of the job.

_________________
~-----~

"Who put bacon in the soap?!?!?!" - Zim


I'm writing this story! It's called The Legends of Kal'duune. You can comment about things you like or hate, but preferably the first thing, here!

This thing is my resume! Reeeeaad iiiiiit...


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