World of Ruin - Angel City

OK, every good campaign world needs a "starting area," which is given more detail, and which can be expanded as needed as the PCs venture further afield. By default, I'm making this starting area be southern California. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, it's where I live, so I have a good idea what the geography is like.

Second of all, it's an interesting place, even if you take away the social aspects--it's got mountains, ocean, deserts, hills, and so on. I've also lived much of my life in central Ohio, but that's not as physically interesting--it's mostly flat or nearly flat, and you can pretty much go anywhere you want to if you're not concerned with things like private property. The geography of SoCal lets me more easily define physical limits and barriers, and say things like "These monsters live on THIS side of these mountains," and "troops from THIS valley rarely go to THIS OTHER valley."

Third, it's almost got a World of Ruin flavor to it as is. Ohio's cities blur into the countryside. You might be driving along a busy street lined with strip malls and fast food joints, and as you go along, those businesses are slowly replaced by homes, and the homes by farms, and the farms by forests until you finally realize you're in the boonies. Here where I live now the cities are cut out from the wilderness almost with a laser beam. I've walked through residential neighborhoods where the last row of houses borders scrubland that looks like it hasn't been changed since before the Spanish discovered the place. Yet, on the other side of that divide are new, modern homes with lawns and swimming pools. In short, it's got that "Civilization-bordering-on-raw-wilderness" feel that I want.

In the World of Ruin, there are two main centers of civilization in the area, corresponding to the modern cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. In the place of the former, there's the similarly-named "Angel City." They're my default "local bad guys." Despite the angelic motif of much of their military technology, they're far from heavenly. They're your typical high-tech fascist police state. If you're familiar with the Coalition from Rifts, imagine those guys with a fixation on angelic imagery (feathered wings, halos, etc.) rather than skulls. That said, they are a force for civilization, and they are able to keep their territory mostly safe from monsters, though people who don't back the current government wholeheartedly are probably a lot less safe than they'd be out in the wilds. They're a force for civilization, but probably not the type of civilization that player characters typically favor.

Despite the obviously religous nature of angels, I don't really want Angel City to be a fundamentalist theocracy--that would be too obvious. Instead, they're run by a military government advised (and some people would say, controlled) by a group of four AIs. These AIs occupy heavily fortified structures, called "Citadels" which are located around the central arcology structure of Angel City itself, and are responsible for much of the actual policies of the city-state. The AIs are named Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel, and collectively referred to as the Archangels. These squabble amongst themselves, but generally present a unified front to outside threats.

Downtown LA is completely covered over by a massive arcology tower, nearly as well fortified as the Citadels that protect it. The majority of the population lives in here. Life for a typical citizen is, above all else, safe. There is constant security, protecting the people from crime and accidents, but also from dangerous thought and hurtful speech (where "Dangerous" and "Hurtful" are defined by the government, of course). Most people don't mind this, and go about their daily lives working (at government-supported jobs) and playing (government approved games and sports). The military occupies the highest stratum of human society here, with officially-supported businesses (nominally independant, but in fact subject to significant oversight) directly beneath them.

Other, smaller satellite arcologies are located elsewhere in the greater LA area. These are generally owned by large businesses, and dedicated to housing their workers. People here generally have a bit more freedom of thought and expression (at least, as long as there are no Angel City forces "visiting" at the time), but also lack the protection that those forces provide. Crime and corruption are common, and workers are often exploited by their employers.

Surrounding these arcologies are the "exurbs" -- the remains of the old cityscape from the pre-arcology days. Services of any sort are spotty here--many areas lack electricity, running water, or adequete sanitation. The people who live here are both a resource to be used by the government and corporations, and a constant thorn in their side. It is difficult to adequately police such an area, and violent crime is ubiquitous, but this lack of policing also makes the exurbs a hotbed for revolutionary activity. To help combat this, the Angel City authority offer money and other rewards for turning in subversive elements. This means that betrayal and treachery are a constant concern here, with everyone trying to stab each other in the back for a few handouts--which is exactly how the authorities like it.

In what would be present day Orange County, the influence of Angel City decreases as you head further south. South Orange County and adjacent parts of San Diego County are home to the mysterious and dangerous "Dead Zone." I'll cover that in a later post.