More About the World

[tibbius]

Questions were asked ...

This world is not Earth. It is a world like Earth, except that magic developed into and along with tech, so that a neural interface and a computer are as much enchanted objects as they are techno-artefacts.

Trolls and the unliving have always been with us. Androids are new in the past 30 years, which means that all of our characters have seen them as long as they've been alive. Obviously there are no android children, so no human or troll has a childhood android friend. There are unliving children - tragically and permanently too-wise-for-their-apparent-age - so some living characters have a little sympathy for the kids they grew beyond and left behind.

An indebted monarchy became subsumed by a private stock limited lending company, and the shareholders assumed the reins of government. Thus Govcorp.

Our setting is the City that Thrives. Thriving is mandatory here, and hard to achieve.

[BackworldTraveller]

What is Ward 3?

What is the Council? - i.e. What does it do? and How is it constituted? Given this is a Corporate structure, elections appear odd so how does this work?

Who is Stevie Luiz?

At what type of venue is the staged event occurring?

How does this map to places we live, work, drink, dance, etc?

[tibbius]

The City government is organized by a council that advises the Executive Vice President in charge of daily operations and strategy. The council comprises council members who each represent one of the fourteen districts or Wards in the City. Its function is to "give the people a voice" but its actual input to executive decisions is doubtful.

Stevie Luiz is a moderately well-known architect and developer who decided to throw her hat into the biennial popularity contest that is the council election. She's a human running against two trolls (Edward Remby and Jared Smith) and an unliving (Sasha Myers) for the privilege to represent Ward 3.

Ward 3 is an industrial / residential blend where in the past few decades - since the arrival of androids - the industry has been reborn more active than before. However, a lot of the less-skilled labor is done by androids and unliving. Many humans and trolls, who are basically qualified only for those jobs, feel left out of the progress. Stevie's campaign promises to make the living more competitive in the labor market by enhancing the rights of the non-living ("non-living" is a term that brings androids and unliving under a broad umbrella that some of its constituents perceive as throwing shade).

The event is happening at a local music venue, the Lizard Lounge.

You all live in the Ward, which is part of why you're involved in the campaign. You each have your own particular reasons for wanting to help Stevie. The Ward is moderate-sized, you could walk across it in about twenty minutes, and it's densely populated mostly in patches of cheap apartments between sprawling industrial buildings. There are a few nicer townhouses. Do any of you live in one of those?

[BackworldTraveller]

There are a few nicer townhouses. Do any of you live in one of those?

Generally depends on the Jobs we hold down? Who can afford one?
As a Semi-Corporate Social Employment Type could I afford it? Would it be safe for me NOT to be? Would it be safe for me to be?

[shaidar]

I think Shift lives in one of the other members closet.

[tibbius]

There are a few nicer townhouses. Do any of you live in one of those?

Generally depends on the Jobs we hold down? Who can afford one?
As a Semi-Corporate Social Employment Type could I afford it? Would it be safe for me NOT to be? Would it be safe for me to be?

Any of you conceivably could afford a townhouse. The starting creds are your disposable income after living expenses. The question is whether you want your character to have a townhouse style of life, or a cheap apartment style of life.

[tibbius]

NOTE

A thing I like: collaborative world-building.

If you have a question about some new aspect of the world, make up an interesting answer and post it to this thread.

A few questions definitively answered:
1. There might be other spells than what's in the rules, but you don't know them. This setting doesn't do MAGIC MISSILE or FIREBALL or anything flashy like that. It has shotguns instead.
2. There aren't any fantasy creatures. Just humans, androids, unliving, and trolls.
3. Unliving are somethingone that returned from or bypassed the grave when they should have gone down.
4. Society is exploitative. Humans generally are somewhat less exploited, then trolls, then the unliving and androids get treated pretty much the same. A wealthy few humans (and even fewer wealthy trolls) make up the privileged class at the top of Govcorp, who strive get their kids in with them. Every generation a few upper-crust kids crumble down and then what? Usually, discontent.

[Lance]

I'd like to live in a townhouse with my parents, who are Govcorp middle management, like their privileged son

[shaidar]

I said about Shift living in somebody else's closet for a reason.

I was visualising that this world has lesser androids, like Shift's series-2000 janitor/repair unit, which have limited self-awareness and cognition, and are mass produced. They almost always live at their place of 'work. Then there are higher series androids, they have vastly improved higher cognitive function and are used for more advanced tasks just like a human. There are far fewer advanced models and they almost always live in their own homes.

I was thinking that the reason that Shift has evolved is that there was a mistake with his batch during manufacture and they were fitted with the high-reasoning circuits, but they were not activated. Shift's were activated when he was attacked and damaged by the GovCorp goons, a random glitch that 'woke' him. So as part of his cover he must ensure nobody realises he is more than just a lesser droid, so he need to reside with somebody.

[BackworldTraveller]

I'd definitely see my parents being Townhouse kind of people...but I've got a 2-bed place in with the people I'm trying to help. I've the money and clout/law to ensure that the electricity, plumbing and heating are operational; the walls have been painted with anti-fungal paint; and the windows are properly glazed. And there is Jenna, the lady from down the hall who runs a duster over the place once a week for cash. Second bedroom is part bunk and part electronics workbench.

[BackworldTraveller]

Arthur Sullivan?
Map of Crown Ave and G-Street in Ward 3

[BackworldTraveller]

I'd like to live in a townhouse with my parents, who are Govcorp middle management, like their privileged son

Failure to Launch?

[BackworldTraveller]

I said about Shift living in somebody else's closet for a reason.

I was visualising that this world has lesser androids, like Shift's series-2000 janitor/repair unit, which have limited self-awareness and cognition, and are mass produced. They almost always live at their place of 'work. Then there are higher series androids, they have vastly improved higher cognitive function and are used for more advanced tasks just like a human. There are far fewer advanced models and they almost always live in their own homes.

I was thinking that the reason that Shift has evolved is that there was a mistake with his batch during manufacture and they were fitted with the high-reasoning circuits, but they were not activated. Shift's were activated when he was attacked and damaged by the GovCorp goons, a random glitch that 'woke' him. So as part of his cover he must ensure nobody realises he is more than just a lesser droid, so he need to reside with somebody.

If I've a 2 bed apartment with workbench, no reason I wouldn't allow a hard-up droid to plug-in and hang out - provided you didn't scare off the cleaner or play the cyber-tune too loud/often. It's not like you are going to leave hair in the bath-plug.

Does a series-2000 come with an OCD-like Cleaning fetish? That might cheese off the cleaner!

[shaidar]

I'm thinking he was an electronics build/repair droid of some kind (hence his skills and the fact he managed to fix himself up), but usually hides out as a janitor droid, it's easier to get into places and be ignored, they all look the same to those humans

His plays his music constantly, but as a direct input into his auditory circuits, so nobody else has to put up with it.

[Lance]

I'd like to live in a townhouse with my parents, who are Govcorp middle management, like their privileged son

Failure to Launch?

Midman in Govcorp is all about clout and social capital. Suits on this level are not cheap. Also the two parents can barely afford the townhouse with both their pensions, taking a significant percentage of Clark's (not his real name) paycheck for living expenses.

[BackworldTraveller]

Ward 3
If you can walk across it in 20 min then its about 2km wide at most...it may be longer than it is wide so say 6km square or about 600 blocks: 20*30.

About 10% of the area will be roads, paths, etc.

Sprawling Industrial kind of implies about 50% of the Ward is factories or workshops - some of this may also be warehouse or accommodation if the workshops are dual use.

G-Street suggests that there are regular streets A to U (ish) running the length of the ward. Urban planning!

"Transit Pass"es suggest that there is a transit system. Whether this is underground, elevated or street level trams (or all of the above) or busses (and where they could go to and from) give possibilities.

Crown Avenue crosses G-Street so must run across the Ward - Whether this is a pre-grid road or part of the grid can be a subject for the map.

So this leaves about 300 residential/park/service blocks. Unlikely that much of that is "Town Houses". and town houses are going to be no more than 30 (ish) dwellings per block. The presence of anything remotely as good as Town Houses suggests a park, schools, up-market local shops, medical facilities, police station - if not in the ward itself then nearby in an adjacent one.

Of of the 300 residential/park/service blocks, that probably leaves about 200 "Below the line" blocks. (Interesting what physical feature separates these from the Town Houses?). That could be 200 towers of 20-100 stories; or 200 low-rise slums or any mix between the two. Low rise slums would put that at about 20,000 residences (max) or 120,000 people. Blocks could push that up by factors of 10 to 40(ish) to 1,200,000 or about 5,000,000 residents (max). I doubt the whole would be towers. (p.s. How many Trolls can you get under a railway viaduct?)

Given the presence of the not-living, at least 1 block should probably be Graveyard (Above-ground, New-Orleans style?); and somewhere else there should be a morgue!

Given the size of the population, at least some of the industry will have to be significant utilities.

120,000 people will need 3 semi-trailer truck-loads of food per day, and will use (probably a lot) over 1.2 million litres of water per day. (Multiply by housing factor). So that is a lot of food distribution points (shops, soup kitchens, etc.)

That is about 6 births and 6 deaths per day at an average life expectation of 60. Double that if most die young at 30. (Again, multiply by housing factor).

120,000 people will have between 2,000 and 4,000 people per year (depending on life expectancy). So school-age being 6-10 have between 10,000 and 20,000 to teach. High School age (11-15) another 10,000 to 20,000. How many are in school is going to be interesting. (And multiply these numbers by the housing factor yet again).

[Lance]

How much of Ward 3 is unliving (undead and androids) not needing food, water or heating in the traditional sense?

[tibbius]

About 10% each unliving and 'droid.

Figure about 90-10,000 living creatures, 70,000 of them are human, the rest are trolls and not well-counted.

[BackworldTraveller]

Ward 3:
Population

• Humans: 70,000
  • <10,000 in Townhouses
• Trolls: 30,000
• Androids: 10,000
• Unliving: 10,000

Housing Stock

• Tower Blocks: 1-2
• Low-Rise Blocks: 200 - running at about 80% occupancy.
  • n.b. Lots of vacant lots. Failed housing projects?
• Townhouse Blocks: 100

Industrial and Commercial

• Industrial: 150 blocks
• Commercial (non-Retail): <=80 blocks
  • Includes:
  • Ward Administration Office; Works Yard and Public Square: 1 Block
• Commercial (Retail): 20+ blocks
• Transit Line Stations: 2+
• Electricity Sub-Stations: 10-20

Social Buildings

• Primary Schools: 20 School Blocks, each a school (Concentrated in Townhouse areas)
• Secondary Schools: 20 School Blocks = 5 schools (Concentrated in Townhouse areas)
• Medical: <=1 Hospital; 5-8 Surgeries (Some unlicensed? Includes Hedge-Witches?); 1 Morgue; Other: ?
• Police Stations: 1 building with 10+ police officers (Edge of Townhouse area)
• Fire Stations: 1 building
• Welfare Offices: 1 building
• Drug Rehab Centre: 1+ building
• Religious Centres: 6+ building
• Entertainments areas: 1+ block
  • Includes: The Lizard Lounge

Any other stuff I need to add? Parks, Cemeteries, Undeveloped Riverbank, Docks?

Street Index

• G-Street
• Crown Avenue

Map

Ward 3 - Zoned - G-Street Circled.jpg (435.73 KiB) Viewed 515 times

[BackworldTraveller]

How much of Ward 3 is unliving (undead and androids) not needing food, water or heating in the traditional sense?

True - but Androids need dry, safe places to rest and meet friends and recharge while Undead need, err...what do they need?