The Undercity. Over a million people crammed together in far too little space, a sky made of concrete and massive spotlights, and buildings crowded so close together they might as well be conjoined. There was no sun here, so “time” was a concept that barely registered. Of course there were clocks hooked up to the surface time but who cared about those, save for organizing meetings? The only things that kept to a schedule were monorails that ran throughout the jungle of steel, concrete, plastic, and neon lighting.
But like it or not, this place is home. Home to over a million, all with their own lives, their own stories of trying to survive in this underground nightmare of a city. And this story, is the story of our lives.
Delilah is shy and rather soft spoken, and she doesn’t like talking about herself when she can avoid it. In contrast she loves learning about other people, and will listen intently if someone tells her a story about themself. She exhibits a sort of innocence and naivete that often causes others to want to protect her despite being quite able to fend for herself, and she isn’t above capitalizing on it. While she dislikes violence and prefers not to employ it if it can be avoided, she knows the reality of the situation and is perfectly capable of using both the stun gun and shock baton she keeps with her. She grew up seeing everyone around her in situations of desperation, and believes that people who have more than what they need should give it to those who don’t. She doesn’t force this belief on others in her group, but extra money she has usually finds its way into the hands of those worse-off than her, and she sometimes likes to consider herself a modern Robin Hood.
Background:
Delilah was born to parents who couldn’t really afford a child, and as soon as she was old enough she was fending for herself. She rarely ever saw her parents and for all intents and purposes was a street urchin for most of her young life, during which she learned how to pickpocket, how to hide, and when necessary, how to defend herself. At the age of 13 she was taken in by the person who would become her mentor, and who she considered her big brother. He was a member of a notorious anti-authority hacking group, and taught her how to slice security systems. She’s not a master hacker by any means, but she’s able to get into most standardized systems and find exploits to use, making her an invaluable asset to a group of Scroungers. Ultimately her adoptive brother disappeared, and she still doesn’t know what happened to him. Part of her goal as a Scrounger is to find out.
Other details:
Tends to keep her face hidden behind welding goggles and a gas mask when in public, has an old music player that she takes wherever she goes and can usually be found listening to when she’s alone. She's also openly gay.
This will take place in the “Undercity” A huge city underneath New Denver, which was built on top of the original city with synthetic ground, resulting in the original city becoming a huge network of caverns underneath it. As population continued to swell, poorer residents of New Denver were forced underground into the slums of the Undercity, and in this day and age most residents haven’t even seen the sun or sky. The air is stale from constant air-recycler use, and a cloud of smog, created from a mix of various types of smoke, permeates the air, making gas masks and rebreathers a valuable commodity. The huge skyscrapers have been turned into living complexes, with tiny cubicles separated by a thin sheet of cloth acting as homes for most residents. The lucky ones might have a real apartment, or even a house, but most such buildings have been taken over by competing storefronts or gangs. Bright neon lights flash at every turn, each one vying for attention in the hopes of attracting a potential customer, and seedy bars and nightclubs can be found practically at every turn. The main profit for those unlucky enough to not have wares to sell is dangerous factory work, as much of the undercity is devoted to cheaply producing the various items that those living on the surface use in daily life. As far as fashion goes, most people simply wear whatever they have, but those who are able to afford a bit more tend to try and emulate the sleek look common on surface residents. Cybernetic enhancement is common on the surface, but due to the expensive medical procedures required proper cybernetics are rarely used by any but the most wealthy Undercity Dwellers, and most cybernetics are applied by “hacks”; so-called medical professionals who have “misplaced” their medical license. Hack-jobs are hit-or-miss, as they can be as good as the real thing, or you might end up missing your limb and your kidney, but they are also significantly cheaper than acquiring cybernetics through the proper channels. The police force has an Undercity branch, which is almost a completely separate force from the polite, safety-first NDPD. The “UCPD” as they’re sometimes referred to, are trigger-happy, corrupt, and as dangerous as the violent gangs that all-but rule the Undercity, and are only too happy to resort to deadly force on people who aren’t able to pay their bribes. Robots are a fairly common sight in the Undercity, but primarily the utilitarian ones used in factory work or the military-grade robots often employed by the UCPD. Certain large-scale businesses that operate in the Undercity employ androids to work the front desk, as they are even cheaper than human labor, but beyond that androids are rarely if ever seen. We will be playing as a group of “Scroungers”; tightly knit groups of people trying to survive. Scroungers live by their own rules, often selling items they steal to store owners, taking odd jobs, and doing what they can to survive. Scroungers live on the belief of safety in numbers, and that while they might not always get along with eachother, if they want to survive being in a group with multiple talents is much better than being on your own
I will be playing as a member of our group of Scroungers, as well as various NPC’s. There will be a list of important NPC’s who we may or may not encounter but who will effect the undercity whether we see them directly or not. Including myself, there will be six slots available.
Our group of scroungers has taken up residence in a small building that nay have once been an apartment or a small house. There's very little space in the home, with the residents sharing two bedrooms and one bathroom. The remaining rooms are used as storage or entertainment. Outside leads onto the neon lit, haze-filled streets, with several shop owners and fences willing to buy stolen goods from scroungers. The other main hangout is Sandy's, a bar/nightclub nearby. The neighborhood is ruled by a large gang, and contacts for both this gang and some of their enemies can be found for jobs. The police presence is lesser here as they've been adequately bribed by the ruling gang, but they occasionally stop through for "surprise inspections".
Posting will work like this: When your character is accepted you can make an intro post. Once all intro posts have been made or an unreasonably long time period passes before a new character is made I'll make another GM post, and post order will be the same as the order of intro posts. Each full post order is a round, and I will make a GM post every certain number of rounds, which will be stated on the previous GM post.
Character sheet: (Feel free to fancy it up however you like) Name: Age: (Most Scroungers are below the age of 28, though some are older.) Gender: (don't feel limited to cis male/cis female with this) Appearance: (Images preferable, but a very detailed written description is acceptable) Personality: (Doesn't have to be long, just write up personality traits) Background: Other details: (anything else you want to include about your character. Things like sexuality, objects of importance, ect can go here if you like)
Name: Natiliya Mikhailov Age: 38 Gender: Female Appearance: Personality:Fairly enigmatic, as few people outside the upper ranks of her gang get the privilege of speaking to her. Those who have don’t talk much about her, but the general consensus is she’s cold and doesn’t take no for an answer. Other details: Leader of ruling gang. Often referred to as “The Queen” in her territory.
Name: Vance Nieves Age: 43 Gender: Male Appearance: Personality: Vance is corrupt and brutal in his methods. Criminals that pay are allowed to walk, and anyone that he decides needs to be locked up disappears. Arguably holds the most power of anyone in the Undercity, and uses shows of force to ensure everyone knows it. Other details: Ruthless chief of police in the Undercity.
Name: Vito Fredrickson Age: 29 Gender: Male Appearance: Personality: Sleazy, fast talking. Could easily be described as having a silver tongue. He’s the stereotypical salesman or con-man, able to easily get people to think the way he wants them to if they aren’t constantly on guard for his tricks. Other details: Fence and job broker working for an unknown, very wealthy person. Not to be trifled with, or trusted.
Name: Isaac Kravitz Age: 63 Gender: Male Appearance: Personality: Generally honest, but believes in a “don’t ask don’t tell” system for the goods he purchases. Sometimes offers medical work to people he takes a liking to, for a price of course. He hasn’t gotten to the age of 63 on kindness, after all. Other details: Multiprofessional, engineer, doctor, and shop owner. Buys, sells, and repairs mechanical parts.
Name: Andrew Korbil Age: 33 Gender: Male Appearance: Personality: Andrew will always scratch your back if you scratch his. Usually that just means paying him a little extra, but he often needs various jobs done. As long as you have money he sells information as well as just about everything else you can find, and he buys no questions asked, albeit for a fairly low price. Other details: Owner of a pawn shop. While functional and well-used, the store is a front for an arms business.
Name: Ashe Mariah Age: 26 Gender: Female Appearance: Personality: Those who’ve met her say Ashe is surprisingly bubbly and sweet for someone who makes a living sawing peoples limbs off and sticking robot parts in their place. She’s also a notorious flirt, and for those who know her well can be a good source of information. Other details: One of the best Hacks in the area, especially taking her age into account.
Name: Sandra Vonnegut Age: 29 Gender: Female Appearance: Personality: Sandra is of the opinion that as long as she doesn’t lose business, anything goes in her club. She’ll give information as well as drinks for the right price, and can usually point out the people who are looking for someone to do work for them. Other details: Owner of a major bar/nightclub where you can usually find whatever you’re looking for, be it sex, drugs, alcohol, or even a quick job.
To answer questions real quick before I start up a main thread: Robotics in this setting haven't reached the level of proper autonomous AI, so you'd just be playing a human. A cyborg is an option. As far as cybernetics, run any ideas you have by me first and I'll tell you whether or not they work, but remember, we're playing scroungers, cybernetics they could afford are going to be low grade, and even then they won't be cheap. Lastly, as far as plot, there will be a plot, yes. However during the beginning of the game the plot threads will be very subtle, and even when it becomes a major part of the RP the storyline will be somewhat of an equal mix between the slice of life style and the plotline. As far as what that plotline is, it'd be spoilers for me to say, but to drop a very small hint, we won't spend the entirety of the RP in the undercity.
