Cronograma de Actividades

Much like the Iron Horse Nation, the City of Steel is bor- dered by a wall that runs along the edge of the outer cliffs. This one is eight meters of concrete with steel reinforcement every two meters, topped with a two-meter-wide walkway and electrified razorwire. The wall not only rings the outer cliffs but also cuts this ring into seven separate sectors, with gated walls separating areas as they rise closer and closer to the central region. The gate to enter this ring is a pair of eight-meter-high, three-meter-wide concrete doors that swing inward.

The first zone of the City of Steel, just inside the gates, is what the denizens call the Mish-Mosh. This is the place where everything from the other zones mixes. Construction ranges from shanty-tents to glass-and-steel towers with a mix of classic and gothic architecture blended in for fun, but all of it is a crazy mix-and-match mess. Every era of Denver’s history has buildings here. This first zone acts as a market of sorts, where locals come out to trade goods and services. Many things they trade are not apparently useful, and ser- vices will be something like talking to them for a few hours. It’s a metaplanar economy—things get a little weird.

Immediately inside the gates is another wall and another gate. This gate consists of the three two-meter sections of the wall that slide upward. The outside of this gate is covered in warnings and graffiti; the largest is a “No Admittance” ban- ner in red across the top section of gate that doesn’t move. Beyond this gate is the Sun Sector, an exiled section of the City of Steel that obviously represents Aztlan’s sector of the

>> RIPPING REALITY <<

city. It fills much of the outer ring. A small section of the outer ring is the home of the Fallen, a small sector that still remem- bers the Ute. The path toward the center of the City of Steel passes through the tech sector, Brokenville, and finally the Ring of Order, representing the PCC, UCAS/CAS, and Sioux respectively.

The Sun Sector is rundown and dark, with life living in the shadows of this exiled domain. Every structure, even the sim- plest home, has a stepped-pyramid look, and while the build- ings are dingy, dirty, and dark, the pastel shades of pink, blue, and green peek through the grime. Many of the pyramids are taller than the wall itself, but that is common throughout the City of Steel. Aztec iconography is everywhere, along with traditional styles of dress and modern styles with Aztec ac- cents. Though the dress is traditional, this area is still a place of exile and struggle, and most people’s clothes are ragged or well-worn. Only the most powerful of the area’s Sunlords do not live in squalor.

The Fallen live in a narrow wedge between Mish-Mosh and Sun Sector. Their domain is a strange place of transition. The buildings would fit in any traditional suburb across North America, but everything is accented with traditional Ute pieces. Art on the walls of homes and buildings, decorative designs in windows, wind chimes with abundant beadwork— everything here has touch of the Ute, but only the Lodge, as the locals refer to it, is completely traditional. It is a massive angled tepee with three floors inside. The most honored fam- ilies live in the Lodge, and ceremonies of the Ute are per- formed in its central atrium. The oddest thing about the Fallen and this sector is the people. They are all Native Americans and real members of the Ute tribe. Most disappeared during the collapse of the Ute Nation and were offered asylum here. No metaplanar natives live in this sector of town.

The Tech Sector is split between residential towers on the outer edge, a park that lines the center, and commercial of- fice buildings on the inner edge. The residential structures are four stories, with the lowest two appearing to be made of adobe and the upper two consisting of interlocking triangu- lar glass windows. The offices are ten-story towers of dark glass with black metal seams. The location of one’s office is determined by authority, with those who have the most look- ing out at the Broken Heart. Looking out over the rest of the metaplane is next-highest, and just a view of the residential structures is right above staring out your window directly into a cliff wall. The residents tend to dress in a business casu- al style with traditional Pueblo, Hopi, Zuni, and Ute accents. The primary activity here is “programming.” Workers head to their offices and hit the keyboards to write code. What the code is for, everyone claims to understand, but no one can or will explain it. It’s a metaplanar reflection of the corporate nature of this nation.

Brokenville is split at the center by a shorter wall built out from buildings to cut across the central road. It is obviously an odd addition to this sector. The atmosphere of Brokenville is one of despair hidden behind the façade of confidence. The whole sector consists of steel, glass, and concrete, along with the occasional bit of plastic and canvas, all tangled together

to create an unending cityscape. Narrow alleys slip between buildings but never travel far. All the buildings are connected overhead, with skywalks over the crowded streets. The sec- tors both have two parts, uptown and downtown, with up- town being on the road closer to the heart and downtown be- ing the side closer to the outer wall. Uptown is filled with the up-and-up businesses, while downtown is filled with seedy establishments and rundown squats. The wall at the center is only four meters tall where it runs across the two streets, but it’s connected to the buildings on either side. Sliding gates are operated by guards flanking them. This sector represents both the UCAS and CAS. The people of the sector reflect the variety of both these nations in style of dress, and various accents, drawls, and twangs of the represented nations are on display.

The Ring of Order is a drastic change from the previous sector. Structures here are three stories or less, all made of reddish stone and black glass, and very boxy. The citizens dress in a military-ish uniform with accents of Sioux culture like feathers, paints, and beads. All are armed, most with pistols, but some carry bows of both traditional and modern design. They don’t stand in formations and march around or even stand guard but these are the guardians of the final ring. They’re seen in pairs, trios, and quartets, talking and appear- ing to socialize, but they are always watching.

Denver has for decades been all about politics and back-alleys deals made in corporate boardrooms. It’s a lab- yrinth of cultures full of all sorts of minotaurs. These stealthy interconnections are not left behind within the City of Steel. All the sectors have dark alleys, and the rising spiral form it takes means that the first floor of one place may lead to the basement, sub-basement, or even lead into secret complexes deep in the mountain that are not a part of this adventure but could easily play a part in other metaplanar explorations.

If the runners want to move through these places quick- ly, they need to pick up a taxi at each gate. The taxies are completely automated. They are small cars suited for the nar- row streets of this sector. The problem is they only seat four adults uncomfortably, with most orks taking up two spots. Trolls need their own taxi.

Event: Another party has followed the runners and

doesn’t want them to make it to the Broken Heart. They know they only have one shot, and this is it. They’ve brought along some lackeys to do the dirty work because they aren’t as powerful on this metaplane as they are at home and they’re saving themselves for a possible scuffle later with the master of the realm.

When the runners reach the wall at the center of Broken- ville, they are ambushed. The attackers have good positions and should get the jump on the runners, but a Surprise test should still be made. The ambushers have two snipers located on balconies on the far side of the wall. They are two hundred fifty meters out and attack when the runners are one hundred meters from the wall. They have a wide-open field of fire for fifty meters, with only narrow doorways to hide in. Windows and doors along this narrow strip are reinforced and cannot be broken through or shot out (an aspect of the metaplane

working against being broken). The angle of attack loses sight of the runners inside fifty meters of the wall, which is when the skirmishing squad comes through the gates to attack.

There are three skirmishers for each member of the team. They also move in groups of three, with the leader holding an extra-wide riot shield and the others tucked close in back. They move forward quickly, firing their weapons as they move before breaking out and going into melee, which is their specialty.

SNIPERS

(PROFESSIONAL RATING 3)

Shooting from up high, when they die their bodies fall to the pavement below where the runners can eventually see that they are elves, have a red diamond around their right eye, and are dressed in long brown trench coats.

B A R S W L I C EDG

4 6 5 3 5 4 6 5 6

Initiative 12 + 2D6

Condition Monitor 14

Limits Physical 5, Mental 7, Social 7

Armor 12

Skills Longarms 7 (Sniper Rifle +2), Perception 6

Qualities Lightning Reflexes, Tough as Nails 3, Toughness

Weapons DeathCaster Rifle [Sniper Rifle, Acc 8, DV 9P, AP –4, SA, RC 2, 8(c), w/ scope (vision magnification)]

SKIRMISHER

(PROFESSIONAL RATING 2)

Beetle-like body armor covers thin elven frames. They all fight with a similar style, and all of them brandish ornate rapi- ers as they attack. Under the armor, they all wear white face paint with a red diamond around their left eyes. As a note to the gamemaster they didn’t all look like this when they came but their affiliation with a certain elf forced this look on them.

B A R S W L I C EDG

4 6 5 3 5 4 6 5 6

Initiative 12 + 2D6

Condition Monitor 14

Limits Physical 6, Mental 6, Social 7

Armor 15 (21)

Skills Automatics 6, Blades 7 (Sword +2), Perception 5, Unarmed Combat 9

Qualities Lightning Reflexes, Tough as Nails 3, Toughness

Gear Armor jacket (12), helmet (+3), triple-width ballistic shield (+6 at the center, Good Cover for the sides)

Weapons Barker SMG [SMG, Acc 5, DV 7P, AP –2, SA/BF/ FA, RC 4, 24(c)]

Sliverblade [Blades, Reach 1, DV 7P, AP –4]

Notes Movement while behind the shields is limited to 10 meters, but the skirmishers can move out of the cover to gain the remainder of their movement.