Full Version: What's Redmond like?
I don't have any sourcebooks which deal with Seattle in-depth, but I want a bit of general info on Redmond. What's it like, any landmarks or things to note? All I know is that it's supposed to be a tough neighbourhood.
redmond is like alabama, unless you absolutely must, dont ever stop there
Ever seen those old news videos from war-torn countries where all the buildings are blasted to hell and all the people are living in squalor and everyone's either openly carrying assault rifles or they're cowering in fear of those who do? Add in orks and trolls wearing gang colors and that's the Redmond Barrens. It's classified Z-Zone, which means the police don't go there unless a tactical nuke goes off there, and only then so they can make sure no one who didn't live there got hurt. Pretty much everyone there is either SINless or they've ditched their SIN, the only way to survive is to band together for protection (usually performing some activity that's highly illegal to make money for food), and there are a large variety of predators both four and two legged ready to rob, rape, kill, or eat you (and many times all four). You don't go to Redmond after dark, you don't go to Redmond alone...actually, you just don't go to Redmond.
There are parts that aren't that bad, but that about sums it up. And remember, Puyallup is worse than that.
The Abstruse One
There are parts that aren't that bad, but that about sums it up. And remember, Puyallup is worse than that.
The Abstruse One
Puyallup? Do tell, please.
In Redmond, they'll roll you for your credstick, your clothes, your car, whatever you've got. If you don't look like you've got anything and you don't screw with anyone, they'll pretty much leave you alone. If you look like you're from the Barrens and act like you're from the Barrens, people typically don't screw with you until you give them a reason to.
In Puyallup, they don't need a reason. They'll beat you senseless and kill you just for the fun of it. A car left unattended in Puyallup usually doesn't get stolen, it gets shot up.
Again, these are only in the deepest, darkest parts of the respective Barrens, but the Puyallup Barrens is much darker and gets dark much faster than Redmond.
The Abstruse One
In Puyallup, they don't need a reason. They'll beat you senseless and kill you just for the fun of it. A car left unattended in Puyallup usually doesn't get stolen, it gets shot up.
Again, these are only in the deepest, darkest parts of the respective Barrens, but the Puyallup Barrens is much darker and gets dark much faster than Redmond.
The Abstruse One
Redmon Barrens are the absolute worst urban inner city you can think of. Imagine the worst sotries of the South Bronx in the 1970's and you're getting close. Built up and dangerous. A woman could be brutalized on the street and lie there begging for help, until another gang comes along.
Police do not patrol here under any circumstances. If they go in for something in particular they go in force, like an armored column with T-birds.
To survive you make deals with local gangs for protection.
Pullyap (however it's spelled) is more psread out and open, more LA barrens than New York/Detroit. Morel ikely to see vehicales in use through wide open spaces.Wide open because buildings have been leveled.
Police do not patrol here under any circumstances. If they go in for something in particular they go in force, like an armored column with T-birds.
To survive you make deals with local gangs for protection.
Pullyap (however it's spelled) is more psread out and open, more LA barrens than New York/Detroit. Morel ikely to see vehicales in use through wide open spaces.Wide open because buildings have been leveled.
Well, Redmond is frequently described as a brutal and vicious place in many of the books.
206x Redmond is a mirror opposite of 200x Redmond, which is a real place in King County, Washington. Redmond is the home of Microsoft (which get's an unnamed mention in the New Seattle sourcebook, as it supposedly collapses from the Crash) and Nintendo of America, as well AT&T Wireless and Eddie Bauer. General Dynamics has an prescence there also, where they develop Ordinance and Tactical Systems. It could be anyone's guess if any of the others they'd still be there in 2060.
If you want landmarks, the most of the Microsoft Campus would most likely still be standing (it's huge, about 4.68km^2 or almost 10% of Redmond itself). In fact, I could see many squatters setting up homes there, since I think that there wouldn't be any development in the area for quite sometime after the Crash. Apparently, it's also heavily wooded and has a lot of parks (something like 21 developed parks and another 13 undeveloped (i.e. no concrete trails), which I could see might be used for commerical/residental expansion), which might knock it out of the running for UCAS' top urban death sprawl. There's also some other government buildings that could still be standing, such as the Redmond Senior Center, the Old Firehouse, and the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, along with a burnout or dilapidated library, city hall, and city annex.
The Real Redmond, from Terraserver/U.S. Geological Survey
City Of Redmond's homepage, which will give you an idea what Redmond currently looks like. Be sure to check the "In The Works" section as this will give you an idea of what's currently being constructed, planned, and developed for the future, which would be SR's past.
206x Redmond is a mirror opposite of 200x Redmond, which is a real place in King County, Washington. Redmond is the home of Microsoft (which get's an unnamed mention in the New Seattle sourcebook, as it supposedly collapses from the Crash) and Nintendo of America, as well AT&T Wireless and Eddie Bauer. General Dynamics has an prescence there also, where they develop Ordinance and Tactical Systems. It could be anyone's guess if any of the others they'd still be there in 2060.
If you want landmarks, the most of the Microsoft Campus would most likely still be standing (it's huge, about 4.68km^2 or almost 10% of Redmond itself). In fact, I could see many squatters setting up homes there, since I think that there wouldn't be any development in the area for quite sometime after the Crash. Apparently, it's also heavily wooded and has a lot of parks (something like 21 developed parks and another 13 undeveloped (i.e. no concrete trails), which I could see might be used for commerical/residental expansion), which might knock it out of the running for UCAS' top urban death sprawl. There's also some other government buildings that could still be standing, such as the Redmond Senior Center, the Old Firehouse, and the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, along with a burnout or dilapidated library, city hall, and city annex.
The Real Redmond, from Terraserver/U.S. Geological Survey
City Of Redmond's homepage, which will give you an idea what Redmond currently looks like. Be sure to check the "In The Works" section as this will give you an idea of what's currently being constructed, planned, and developed for the future, which would be SR's past.
Someone on dumpshock here once posted a kick ass link with an excellent essay about life in Redmond. I have searched for it in the past and just can't find it.
If any one knows of what web page i'm talking about, please post the link.
If any one knows of what web page i'm talking about, please post the link.
ok, now that we know how it looks like...
how did it turn to be like that??
how did it turn to be like that??
| QUOTE (Abstruse) |
| and there are a large variety of predators both four and two legged ready to rob, rape, kill, or eat you (and many times all four). |
And not necessarily in that order. It's a rough place to live, but it's home.
| QUOTE (NetJacker) |
| ok, now that we know how it looks like... how did it turn to be like that?? |
those dag-nabit young hooligans, with there thrash music and fast cars.
It all started when Kerry got elected...
Try having a read of these three articles on the barrens. Should give you something to think about.
| QUOTE (Mr.Platinum) |
| Someone on dumpshock here once posted a kick ass link with an excellent essay about life in Redmond. I have searched for it in the past and just can't find it. If any one knows of what web page i'm talking about, please post the link. FlakJacket Posted on Jun 20 2004, 07:53 PM Try having a read of these three articles on the barrens. Should give you something to think about. |
Thats the link!!!
| QUOTE (FXcalibur) |
| I don't have any sourcebooks which deal with Seattle in-depth, but I want a bit of general info on Redmond. What's it like, any landmarks or things to note? All I know is that it's supposed to be a tough neighbourhood. |
You read DC Comics? Well, the Redmond Barrens would be like a cross between Sarajevo and Gotham during NML (or, if you haven't read the No Man's Land storyline, think NYC from Escape from New York) but without the sky-scrapers.
In terms of real life references, think of something along the lines of a cross between Sarajevo and Mogadishu. Add in a bit of Mogadishu's Bakara marketplace and Fallujah and you should get the right idea. The descriptions that make it sound like something out of Fallout 2, in my opinion, seem just a wee bit over the top and hard to swallow.
Remember theres a difference between Redmond and the Redmond Barrens. the barrens dont take up the entirety of Redmond. Therees a few decent neightborhoods and commercial areas there according to the seattle sourcebook.
Most of Redmond is the proverbial "bad side of town". Touristville isn't half bad (well, if you're not stupid), but Glow City is an irradiated war zone.
What happened was a big satellite crashed in Redmond and destroyed most of the commercial buildings. Most of the tech-based companies went belly-up in the Crash. The volcanos blew during the Great Ghost Dance and covered the area with volacnic ash. People started squatting in half-destroyed buildings and rubble (mostly metahumans running from the Night of Rage etc.), and this caused property values to plummet even more as most respectible people found somewhere else to live and work. And so on and so on and so on until things got how they are now.
The Abstruse One
The Abstruse One
Be it ever so humble.
An interesting note about the Barrens there in Redmond.
The Lonestar Solution, it's easier to contain the problem of crime in Redmond than it is to police the area.
The Lonestar Solution, it's easier to contain the problem of crime in Redmond than it is to police the area.
Like BitBasher said, you do have to keep in mind that Redmond isn't uniformly bad.
Touristville is a C-rated area. You actually see Lone Star occasionally there, patrolling near the doughnut shops. That's becuase that is where the 'other half' comes to slum and get a 'real Barrens experience'.
Most of Redmond is E-rated. Lone star normally doesn't bother coming out there, but will respond to calls by paying customers. In my game, the PCs live in Avondale, ~2 miles outside of Touristville. Here, the gangs are the primary law, but there is a low-to-middle lifestyle fenced community that has a Eagle Security contract in the town, as well as their own little watertower and power substation. There are stores, although the instock suffers, and the grocery store is mostly empty. Most locals buy food at the weekly food market, where (for protection) the food semis come all at once, and sell off the back of the trucks. The PCs have seen a Lone Star response unit (2 citymasters) come screaming through town in the past week. Personal firepower is actually rather low. Gangs fight with clubs, chains, knives, cheap pistols. One of the PCs got a armored long coat off of an anonymous shadowrunner who got capped by somebody else who wanted his gun. Socially, I basically model most of the Barrens off of 1980s Beruit, but without the shelling.
Glow City is a Z-zone - modeled more after 'Escape from New York'. My PCs avoid such areas like the plague.
Touristville is a C-rated area. You actually see Lone Star occasionally there, patrolling near the doughnut shops. That's becuase that is where the 'other half' comes to slum and get a 'real Barrens experience'.
Most of Redmond is E-rated. Lone star normally doesn't bother coming out there, but will respond to calls by paying customers. In my game, the PCs live in Avondale, ~2 miles outside of Touristville. Here, the gangs are the primary law, but there is a low-to-middle lifestyle fenced community that has a Eagle Security contract in the town, as well as their own little watertower and power substation. There are stores, although the instock suffers, and the grocery store is mostly empty. Most locals buy food at the weekly food market, where (for protection) the food semis come all at once, and sell off the back of the trucks. The PCs have seen a Lone Star response unit (2 citymasters) come screaming through town in the past week. Personal firepower is actually rather low. Gangs fight with clubs, chains, knives, cheap pistols. One of the PCs got a armored long coat off of an anonymous shadowrunner who got capped by somebody else who wanted his gun. Socially, I basically model most of the Barrens off of 1980s Beruit, but without the shelling.
Glow City is a Z-zone - modeled more after 'Escape from New York'. My PCs avoid such areas like the plague.
Don't forget the rats nest? That's a Z-zone too. Puyallup is a little more than twice the size of Redmnd and it has a much larger metahuman population (only 48% human, 21% elf, 4% dwarf, 22% ork, and 4% troll, ominous 1% other)
I tend to view shadowrun gangs as a little more equipped than fighting with clubs and knives. The ganger archetype has ruger super warhawk, so I consider most gangers have atleast a relatively inexpensive piece, although they don't use it all the time. Better to beat the crap out of someone and take there stuff, than to kill them, simply because you can do it again when they get more stuff.
I tend to view shadowrun gangs as a little more equipped than fighting with clubs and knives. The ganger archetype has ruger super warhawk, so I consider most gangers have atleast a relatively inexpensive piece, although they don't use it all the time. Better to beat the crap out of someone and take there stuff, than to kill them, simply because you can do it again when they get more stuff.
The Geo-satellite photo posted earlier only shows the lower left corner of Redmond. "Redmond" in 2064 encompases most of Redmond today, plus all of Sammamish and parts of other local communities that exist in 2004.
I live in Redmond now. If you want me to bury something in the ground for your character to find in 60 years, you can send it to me via UPS Ground (no need for express delivery). I'm a couple miles north of Glow City, and several miles East of Touristville.
I live in Redmond now. If you want me to bury something in the ground for your character to find in 60 years, you can send it to me via UPS Ground (no need for express delivery). I'm a couple miles north of Glow City, and several miles East of Touristville.
Yeah, bury a bunch of baseball cards, coins, stamps, and comic books. My character will retire a billionaire in 60 years 
The Abstruse One
The Abstruse One
| QUOTE (Vlad the Bad) |
| I tend to view shadowrun gangs as a little more equipped than fighting with clubs and knives. The ganger archetype has ruger super warhawk, so I consider most gangers have atleast a relatively inexpensive piece, although they don't use it all the time. Better to beat the crap out of someone and take there stuff, than to kill them, simply because you can do it again when they get more stuff. |
I treat the Barrens as full of poor people. So the gangers in the Barrens are underequipped, compared to their cousins in, say, Downtown, Renton, or Bellevue. What they lack in wealth they make up for in numbers, variety, and visciousness. Any cool loot goes immediately to the gang leaders and leutenants. And the goal of a good fraction of the folks in the Barrens is to build up enough of a bankroll or rep to get out.
After all, a Barrens gang is made up of people who live in the Barrens. In my game, the only gangs with any money in the Barrens are the Go-Gangs. They are at the top of the food chain (well, under the syndicates).
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