Shadowrun Campaign Setting

Metro Sectors Law Enforcers Transport
Governors Beyond the Sectors Southside Southside Slackers

Metro

Metro is a personal campaign area which I am currently creating and adding to. I plan to share the advancements here as the areas continue to grow. If you would like to see anything specific or indeed have any ideas then by all means add them to the comments below.

Metro and the Surrounding Areas

The more observant of you will recognise that Metro looks very similar to the area of London, Uk from the Shadowrun sourcebook of the same name. When starting off the campaign, I called the area Southside, only to later discover that later there was already a sector of London called this. I used some of the map to create the existing area and some of the background, although I did not want to have to follow the source book exactly, so this was where we parted ways. The economy, law enforcement etc also differs somewhat.

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Sectors

Metro consists of five sectors/areas.

  • Southside – This is currently the area which the runners are adventuring in, although their jobs are frequently taking them outside the sector. Southside consists of two distinct areas, the southern most areas near the river being rather lower class and being the domain of street gangs and companies striving to making a living, often paying the require bribes to both gangers, law enforcement and the larger companies of the northern most area. The northern areas is place for new development. Corporations and companies from the Central Sector of Metro and starting to expand into this area with the encouragement of the new mayor and some fledgling companies who already exist here. The whole northern area of Southside is becoming more and more middle lifestyle and is often seen as the new place to party, shop and live – especially as Westside becomes more and more – ‘full’. However, although things might be looking up for Southside, there are some distinct areas which are lacking and cause somewhat of a headache for the sector Mayor – Brian Maldune – with street gangs and several unsavoury elements insisting of keeping a hold on some areas, including the rather rundown area of the docks. The East of the sector has a huge wire fence with frequent posts with security cameras constantly surveying the border with the Contaminated Area. Gates along this area are rare and the whole boundary is patrolled by the security Corporation Jasmine Sun.


  • Westside – If you want a nice place to live then Westside is the place to be. Middle to Luxury apartments are a-plenty here along with some fine dining options and some local convenient stores and boutiques. The whole area is mainly governed by two accommodation companies, Bellway Homes and Redrow Apartments. Law Enforcement frequently patrol this sector and it is safe to walk around almost any time of day or night – unless you are a wanted runner of course! Although some entertain establishments have tried to start up in Westside, they have been unsuccessful with only the very lower middle lifestyles frequenting them – if you want to enjoy yourself then Eastside is the place to be!


  • Eastside – Where do you go in Metro if you want to let your hair down and party? Well, although the other sectors do provide some options, Eastside is really the place to be. Clubs here range of bars to strip. Entertainment of every type can be found here from the legal to the illegal – yes even the law enforcers recognise the importance of this sector turn a blind eye to the exploits of the clubs although not their patrons if things get out of hand. Eastside never closes and you can alway have a drink and take in a show at any time of the day or night, although the type of show might not be quite what you are expecting.


  • Northside – Few runners will ever have the opportunity and wish to live in Northside. If you are somebody then Northside is where you live and play. It is a vast area for those who have credits and time live. All apartments are luxury or even higher and the only war which exists is that for the longest drive, biggest house or most perfect synthetic lawn. Chaffeurs and servants are common and an selective branch of the Law Enforcers keep the peace which generally means removing the undesirables. The nobility, yes Metro still has people who claim that they are important enough to be ‘royal’ definitely live here.


  • Central – Companies and Corporations first started off in Central. The Wall Street sector of Metro, the buildings grew vertically up rather than spreading into the other sectors. This is where the main corporation are. Head Offices and CEOs inhabit this sector with the main decisions being main in tall reflective sky scrapers.


  • Contaminated Area – BEWARE! The Contaminated Area of Metro, commonly known as the Dead Zone, is a sector which most people want to be removed – preferably along with its population. Formerly part of Southside, the area became over populated with low lifestyle and squatters. The living conditions got worse and worse and the corporations refused to invest either time or credits into the sector to recover it. Various diseased broke out including Dwarf Sickness and Elf Bug – both labelled so due to the initial carriers. The area started to resemble the London of 1665 during the great plague and it was felt that, if allowed to spread, the result would be disastrous for Metro. In their ivory towers, corporations planned a solution and twenty six years ago, several VTOL aircraft were seen flying towards to the area. The after effects of several bombs were seen minutes later and the area was, in the words of Network 7 reports, flattened. High security fences were erected around the areas which adjoined other sectors and Metro’s largest security corporation, Jasmine Sun, won the contract to keep everything in and everyone out (Maybe they actually arranged the initial bombing?). Rumours abound about the area. There is no doubt, from the footage of Network 7 drones when it was still news, that both people and creatures still live there, but the condition of these and the surround air itself. If you want any advice about this area, stay out of it!


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    Law Levels and Enforcers

    There are several sectors within Metro that need a little bit of regulation and that is the job of the Law Enforcers. This is a mega corporation, used to keep the inhabitants of Metro in order. Due to the corporation nature of the Law Enforcers, they are beyond doubt open to bribes and extra commissions. Many corporations and companies pay significant amounts for them to ‘look the other way’ or even divert their attention onto their rivals. However, not all of the Law Enforcers are corrupted and there are some good people who protect the innocent and keep the runners in check.

    In order to establish how quickly Law Enforcers will arrive on the scene of a ‘disturbance’, each sector and, in some cases areas, have a law rating. This is the number of dice that will be rolled, adjusted for situational bonuses – e.g. that nosy neighbour. The threshold for response is two with the net hits determining the number of minutes that the cops will arrive.

    Current Law Levels – these are adjustable as game play continues.

  • Northside Law Level = 10
  • Central Law Level = 15
  • Westside Law Level = 8
  • Eastside Law Level = 8
  • Southside Law Level = 6 (4)
  • Contaminated Area Law Level = 0

    • If you are stopped by the Law Enforcers for any reason, then you can expect some form of intervention, so if at all possible, run before they get there.

  • Restricted Items without a license – If you are found with restricted items only, then these will be confiscated and a suitable fine imposed, usually about 2-5 times the cost of the item.


  • Forbidden Items – This is a lot more serious and will result in the runner being ‘escorted’ to the Law Enforcer’s HQ in Central. Here the runners vital information – SIN, biometrics, image etc, being filed and put onto the system. This will be followed by a hefty fine (5-10 times the cost of the item). This tends to mean that the Law Enforcers take an active interest in the runner and, in some case, even start to harass them.


  • General Physical Harm – Depending on the degree of harm and/or the person the harm has been done to, the Law Enforcers will either fine or take the to the HQ with the respective fine and scans completed.


  • Murder – Murder in the streets would likely result in the runners being arrested, and being thrown into a holding cell. Although this is not always the case, clearing the streets of some Gutterpunks might not even warrant an arrest. If you are found to be the cause of death of say a Mr. Johnson, then the runners would get the runners thrown into a high-security prison. Maybe time for a new character!


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    Transport

    Metro has a well established transport system both up and below the ground. The roads above ground have been developed as a grid system, taking its lead from the 20th century Milton Keynes before its destruction in 2070 by the raging earth elemental. You can freely park your car in any available places along the pavement (threshold for finding a place is related to how busy the area is, your vehicle skill being the dice pool) and traffic wardens are a thing of the past. If you can’t afford a car then public transport is available. Tram like public buses, run by the company called Trailer Trams will take you to your destination (4D6 minutes from where you are and going) and will cost you the set price of 10Cr no matter how long the trip. This might seem expensive (roughly £10.00, but Metro is trying to remove these in favour of the underground). If you want to go up market, then taxis are available. Although there are some minor companies trying to gain a foot hold in the sector, the Blue Fin taxi company actually has the monopoly on the business – so named due to the fin like roof object which declares both the company and the availability. This also show the availability of the taxi in AR via an ARO as well showing advertisements for local businesses. Costs for taxis range from a few credits to hundreds depending on how far you which to travel. All destinations are recorded in the Blue Fin’s central office and all cabs carry on-board GPS and internal taxi-SIN readers which record both the SIN and remove the money from your account automatically. Of course, sometimes drivers can be ‘persuaded’ to turn any or all of these off. Blue Fin has a central hosted system which is located in the Central Sector – it is a rating 6 host and mirrors that of the underground system in construct. Yes, Metro does have an underground which is the most popular way of getting around. Everyone is always close to an underground station (2D6 minutes away from your location) and will cost you 5Cr for a day ticket to anywhere (hence under cutting the trams significantly). On paper the underground is owned by a company called Tunnel Transport, although it is rumoured that one of the corporations actually own both this and the Blue Fin taxi firm. Tunnel Transport has its head office in central where its hosted system (Rating 5) takes on the construct of a huge miniature railway set with porters attending any broken trains like huge children playing with them. Apart from the extreme tunnel crash ten years ago when two tube trains collided head on in the same tunnel killing most of the contents of the trains (TT maintain that this was due to a hacker messing with their systems although nothing was proven and the company paid out significant amounts of money in compensation) the underground has proved itself to be both reliable and safe. Although what lurks in the tunnels after the trains have departed no-one is quite sure.

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    Governance


    Metro is still in a unique position since it is governed by a group of mayors which come together as a central governing body to make decisions. Each sector, elects their own mayor for a period of five years with mayors being allowed to stand for re-election for only three times – after that they need to stand down. The mayor of each sector brings their own entourage to the central meeting once a month where items are discussed and decisions made behind close doors. There is never a mayor of Central with the CEOs of the major corporations deciding who will be represented within all meetings.Elections take place in April of every year and involve a voting session.

  • Northside – Mayor Jessica Phorge-Knapton (Human) (2nd year of service)
  • Eastside – Mayor Lawrence Buckingham (Human) (1st year of service)
  • Westside – Mayor Elizabeth Sylvan (Elf) (1st year of service)
  • Soutside – Mayor Jon Smith (Human) (4th year of service)

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    Beyond the Sectors

    As you leave any of the sectors, there exists several kilometres of open, barren lands with a single road leading away from Metro. Each leads to the next main town (yet to be created) although runners will not be aware of these quite yet. After the barren piece of land, the area is taken over by the indigenous forest of the region. Tourist companies often promote hunting expeditions to these areas, although these are only available for the rich and wealthy. Once you leave the confines of Metro, the public grid becomes less and less reliable and once you get into the forest then matrix connection is poor to say the least. Within the forests themselves a number of hunting lodges do exist, as well as wild animals and, as some believe, the local druids. This outside area of Metro is not very well documented so its best to keep clear – who knows what lurks in those wooded areas. To the west, the river continues to the ocean where trade is transported up to Metro and to the east, the river continues to the mountains where its source springs from a rock.

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