Cities of Intrigue Wishlist, What cities would you like to see & Why? Options

[stevebugge]

Spun off of the Feral Cities Thread

Cities of Intrigue is still a fair way down the line. It's slotted for a 2009 street date with development kicking off later this year. I wouldn't expect the final locations to be selected for several months yet, and they will obviously be at least partially contingent on the proposals (and quality thereof) we recieve in the coming months. That said we do already have a few submissions on file that we will be reviewing and we do have a short list for which sprawls we'd like to see get the spotlight.

My understanding of Cities of Intrigue is that it's going to focus somewhat on Political matters. Some places I'd love to see covered in this book are Federated DC & Richmond VA as a pair(UCAS - CAS), Vatican City(After the Templars Teaser in Threats 2), Portland Tir Tairngire (Uh yeah WTF happened to the Council of Princes anyway?), Montreal, and Tokyo.

[Simon May]

I'm wholly enamored with Austin, Texas. Besides being right on the Azzie-CAS border, it has smuggling, the Rio Grande, Texans, and hispanic gangs. Not to mention the central location that can act as a stopover between the CAS and the Southwest.

Other cities I'd like to see:
Venice, Italy
Prague, Czech Republic
Alexandria, Egypt
Jerusalem
Casablanca, Morocco (just for fun)
Calcutta, India
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

[stevebugge]

Jerusalem would be good, based on the material in Shadows of Asia it hasn't calmed down much.

[Grinder]

Bruxelles, if the NEEC is still headquartered there.

[FrankTrollman]

Bucharest, ChiÅŸinău, ТирáÑ?поль, or Brăila
The lands of Bessarabia, Wallachia, Bukovina, Transnistria, and Transylvania are shrouded in darkness and obscurity right now. Did you know that Transnistria is a semi-independent nation inside of Moldova which prints its own currency and balances its budget by smuggling weapons, drugs, and human slaves? Most people pretend that kind of crap doesn't happen in Europe, but there really is a region out here which is actually run by Shadowrunners and Vory. Add on the fact that the majority of people who think about this region at all think of it as the homeland of vampires - which would create a natural exodus of vampires to the region every bit as large as the exodus of elves to the Tir nations and you have a recipe for a region dominated by those masters of intrigue: Eurotrash Vampires in Opera Capes. That's right, this place is ripe for a vampire takeover, which means that it should have happened some time ago in Shadowrun time - but they've never really talked about the region at all. Plus, it owns the mouth of the Blue Danube and stands at the line between Turkish and Russian lands on the banks of the Black Sea. And yet, the Romanians themselves consider themselves to be Italians, and not Slavs or Turks - which means that you've got all three major influence groups of Europe vying for control. And all in an economically prostrate land dominated by crime and ruled by iron fisted vampires. This is a country that I would be proud to drink expensive champaign with a European Nobleman while Neo-Soviets clashed with Islamic Jihadists in the streets outside.

I mean seriously, it's the home of Vlad the Impaler, and one of the breakaway republics released This in 2007, and they weren't even kidding. Also, Gagauzia is a separate Turkish semi-state in the same area. How awesome is that?

London
You can't even spell Intrigue without MI6.

Los Vegas
I think this one speaks for itself as well.

-Frank

[stevebugge]

Bucharest, ChiÅŸinău, ТирáÑ?поль, or Brăila
The lands of Bessarabia, Wallachia, Bukovina, Transnistria, and Transylvania are shrouded in darkness and obscurity right now. Did you know that Transnistria is a semi-independent nation inside of Moldova which prints its own currency and balances its budget by smuggling weapons, drugs, and human slaves? Most people pretend that kind of crap doesn't happen in Europe, but there really is a region out here which is actually run by Shadowrunners and Vory. Add on the fact that the majority of people who think about this region at all think of it as the homeland of vampires - which would create a natural exodus of vampires to the region every bit as large as the exodus of elves to the Tir nations and you have a recipe for a region dominated by those masters of intrigue: Eurotrash Vampires in Opera Capes. That's right, this place is ripe for a vampire takeover, which means that it should have happened some time ago in Shadowrun time - but they've never really talked about the region at all. Plus, it owns the mouth of the Blue Danube and stands at the line between Turkish and Russian lands on the banks of the Black Sea. And yet, the Romanians themselves consider themselves to be Italians, and not Slavs or Turks - which means that you've got all three major influence groups of Europe vying for control. And all in an economically prostrate land dominated by crime and ruled by iron fisted vampires. This is a country that I would be proud to drink expensive champaign with a European Nobleman while Neo-Soviets clashed with Islamic Jihadists in the streets outside.

I mean seriously, it's the home of Vlad the Impaler, and one of the breakaway republics released This in 2007, and they weren't even kidding. Also, Gagauzia is a separate Turkish semi-state in the same area. How awesome is that?

-Frank

I seriously hope you are submitting that, that is pretty darn cool. Add in it's proximity to some Earthdawn locations for metaplot and mix in a healthy dose of Ordo Maximus money backing and it's definitely a location that deserves a write up somewhere.

[Ophis]

LONDON

This was a subtle message bought to you by Ophis.

[Kyoto Kid]

...Portland, for sure. (Tiger Eyes as the writer, for sure).

...next choice: The Smoke (OK, Frank [& now Ophis] beat me to it)

...and since he submitted Bucharest & Transylvania, I'll put in a plug for Zagreba, Dubrovnik, Beograd, and Sarajevo. Heck about time we find out more on the Balkans.

I concur on Prague and Bruxelles.

....I'll also toss in Warsaw and Moscow for good measure.

Tokyo is already detailed in Corporate Enclaves though Kyoto (the city) might be interesting.

This post has been edited by Kyoto Kid: Feb 19 2008, 06:43 PM

[Method]

Portland, London and Jerusalem for sure.

I think that given the rising tensions between the UCAS and the Sioux nation a small blurb on Cheyenne might be cool. Maybe thats just me?

[It trolls!]

I agree on London and Portland but I'd also like to see some treatment of the Rhine-Ruhr-Plex.

It's bigger than Seattle, at least as dirty and it's the location of the corporate headquarters of the world's most powerfiul megacorp and as well as the nest of one of the eldest, strongest and scariest Great Dragons, yet it hasn't gotten any love outside of the wacky DiDS I+II. Let's see some love for the Ruhrpott!

[FrankTrollman]

I would like to see War Zones happen, which would focus in on Yangon (or Phnom Penh); Lagos (or Mogadishu); and Zagreb (or Belgrade).

I seriously hope you are submitting that, that is pretty darn cool. Add in it's proximity to some Earthdawn locations for metaplot and mix in a healthy dose of Ordo Maximus money backing and it's definitely a location that deserves a write up somewhere.

Not going to happen. I am not going to write any more Shadowrun books, but I would love it if someone else wrote such a chapter, because it would be awesome.

-Frank

[Method]

I am not going to write any more Shadowrun books...

Out of curiosity, is that because of school (per your previous posts) or issues with the current freelance writing process?

[Kyoto Kid]

I would like to see War Zones happen, which would focus in on Yangon (or Phnom Penh); Lagos (or Mogadishu); and Zagreb (or Belgrade).

...so is this a for real title? Though I thought that Croatia and Serbia held peace talks in the summer of 2063. Hard to imagine that the region would still be so war torn after 33 years unless someone still wanted it that way...

...and tonight on Balkan Wars, we will evaluate how effective the Thunderstuck Gauss rifle is in a live battlefield situation, but first this message from the fine folks at Rhurmettal AG...

[Fortune]

Portland and New Orleans.

[martindv]

Quoted from the Feral Cities thread:

Cities of Intrigue

• Kittimat, Tsimshian Protectorate
• San Francisco, CFS
• Boise, Tri-Border City
• Denver, FRFZ
• Washington, DC UCAS
• Austin, CAS
• Geneva, Switzerland
• London, Great Britain
• Brussel, EC
• Warsaw, Poland
• Moscow, Russia
• Baghdad, Iraq
• Dushanbe, Tajikistan
• Hainan
• Beirut, Lebanon
• Bogota
• St. Louis, UCAS
• Manila, Philippines
• Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Kiev, Ukraine
• Odessa, Ukraine
• Mogadishu, Ethiomalian TerritorieS
• Urumqi, Ughuristan
• Chengdu, Sichuan
• Tashkent, Turkestan

I'll explain if needed, but most should be pretty obvious on their faces or if you've read State of the Art and the last SR3 books.

This is the first draft of the above list.

Portland, TT
Bellingham, SSC
Kittimat, Tsimshian Protectorate
Sacramento, CFS
San Francisco, CFS
Boise, Tri-Border City
Santa Fe, PCC
Denver, FRFZ
Cheyenne, Sioux
Omaha, UCAS
Washington, DC UCAS
Atlanta, CAS
Austin, CAS
Havana, Cuba
Quebec City, Quebec
Geneva, Switzerland
Vienna, Austria
London, Great Britain
Brussel, EC
Warsaw, Poland
Moscow, Russia
Baghdad, Iraq
Tripoli Hot Zone, Egypt
Jersusalem
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Neo-Tokyo, Japan
Hainan
Beirut, Lebanon
Bogota
Miami, CAS
New Orleans, CAS
St. Louis, UCAS
Manila, Philippines
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Belgrade, Serbia
Kiev, Ukraine
Odessa, Ukraine
Mogadishu, Ethiomalian Territories
Lagos, Nigeria
Baky, Azerbaijan
Tenghiz, Kazakhstan
Urumqi, Ughuristan
Chengdu, Sichuan

I'm wholly enamored with Austin, Texas. Besides being right on the Azzie-CAS border, it has smuggling, the Rio Grande, Texans, and hispanic gangs. Not to mention the central location that can act as a stopover between the CAS and the Southwest.

Just getting an author to acknowledge that it is closer to modern-day Seoul and definitely the DMZ (complete with peace bridge) that it ever is to Berlin would be swell.

Mogadishu would be great as a city of intrigue, having become something more than the image people have of it from Blackhawk Down.

[FrankTrollman]

Out of curiosity, is that because of school (per your previous posts) or issues with the current freelance writing process?

The primary is that I am at this very moment memorizing the nerves of the human body for a test on Friday. Taking the amount of time required to get a game mechanic right or do sufficient historical research to make Phnom Penh or Chişinău come alive just wouldn't be possible. There's more of course, and if Synner wants to talk about it, he can. But primarily the fact is that even if they wanted me to write a chapter I basically couldn't do it. There's only a few months out of the year that I'm not actively involved in medical study, and committee based freelance writing doesn't keep schedules well enough to fit into that window.

-Frank

[Sir_Psycho]

The arcologies can be cities in themselves, can't they? I wouldn't mind seeing a chapter on the biggest, baddest arc there is, or even a source-book on several different arcologies. Maybe they could even include space stations (because as if any of us are going anywhere near the Z-O-G).

They'd be perfect for high level characters who are both tactically brilliant and suicidal. Pervasive surveillance and security in an enclosed extraterritorial space. But it would make sense for their to be a permanent fixture of Shadowrunners. Execs don't tend to limit their sabotage and datasteals to OTHER corporations, so it would make sense to have some-one in-house. Also outside forces would need jobs done too. Maybe some-one needs their LAV authorized to dock, so that this week's BTL shipment can be delivered to various edgy sararimans. Skills like Stealth and Etiquette (relevant corporate) would be vital, as well would good disguises, discreet cyber-ware (bioware preferred), and high rating fake SINs. And after a few runs, when you're discovered, you get to either have a mad bash and dash to get out, or go out in a blaze of glory.

[Whipstitch]

I wholeheartedly endorse St. Louis. Seccession talk, the Missouri split, the smuggling routes, shooting eachother to jazz music, the St. Louis Mafia... what's not to love? I've always been astounded that Missouri and Kansas didn't get more love in the earlier source books considering they have such rich political histories.

[cryptoknight]

Peoria, IL... today it's the theoretical archetype of the US. Might as well have a sourcebook for the cleavers.

The place is probably the source of the Shedim.

[nezumi]

Baltimore. Of all the cities in the US, Baltimore, Detroit and Philly are far and away the three most cyberpunk, yet all three have been sorely neglected. However Baltimore has the benefit of being a HUGE smuggling port, spitting distance from the UCAS, a slightly longer spit from the CAS border, with ties to basically all the big underworld groups. Honestly, the fact that SR is based by default in SEATTLE of all cities has always bothered me a little. Wooh, starbucks, so cyberpunk! Give me a murder a night and one of the most abusive police forces in the country any day.

[stevebugge]

Looks like there are a lot of good candidates for cities. I was trying to find a link for the Submission Guidelines that used to be in the FAQ, but wasn't able too. Maybe Rob, Adam, or Synner would be good enough put in a link to them?

A couple more to add to the mix:
Riyadh, Mecca, and Medina and I'd suggest them as a group rather than individually
Cape Town South Africa
Beijing
Zanzibar Tanzania (though Arusha is much closer to Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar has a lot of colorful history and would still be a likely jumping off point for out of town runners going to work on the Kilimanjaro Mass Driver)

[Kyoto Kid]

Peoria, IL... today it's the theoretical archetype of the US. Might as well have a sourcebook for the cleavers.

The place is probably the source of the Shedim.

...nah, that would be Adams County WI. Lot's of old horrors & skeltons in closets there.

OK totally homer shameful plug time...M'waukee. (take the chipheads bowling...eh..)

[Grinder]

Portland, London and Jerusalem for sure.

I think that given the rising tensions between the UCAS and the Sioux nation a small blurb on Cheyenne might be cool. Maybe thats just me?

We've so many weirdos here, you're probably not alone. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Synner]

Looks like there are a lot of good candidates for cities. I was trying to find a link for the Submission Guidelines that used to be in the FAQ, but wasn't able too. Maybe Rob, Adam, or Synner would be good enough put in a link to them?

The Shadowrun Submission Guidelines are under the Catalyst Game Labs tab on the website (not the FAQ).

To further clarify, since there seems to be a little confusion as to the "theme" of the book: Cities of Intrigue will focus on sprawls that are flashpoints for political intrigue, social unrest, ideological clashes, espionage games, and/or are seats of government power.

(btw: Cape Town is already in Runner Havens)

[Fortune]

I still vote Portland.

And I maintain that not covering New Orleans in one of the city books would be a huge disservice.