Setting and NPCs
Jan. 10th, 2012 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nightsinkaonmodsSetting!
Please, these are just basics, and feel free suggest additions/embellishments.
Kaon is divided into zones, each representing a level of society. The upper zone is actually floating in geosynchronous orbit above the city itself, accessible only by Alpha Trion and mechs with flight capabilities. Alpha Trion's tower is up there.
1. Terrestrially, the living standard descends as you move down through the zones. The uppermost are mostly lavish living quarters for the ultra-rich, each claiming the 'airspace' around their apartment like you might a lawn--they prize their open air.
2. Below that zone are the shops and hotels and other businesses that cater to the upper class clientele, and the Spaceport!
3. Midzone. Between this zone and the next is MidZone: This is where the Senate chambers are, built there from a time when the Senate declared it was 'of the people'--what better way to symbolize that than straddling the line between the rich and the plebs? Right by the Senate is the Security Forces, including the jail.
4. Things get loosey-goosey below here--factories and middle class and lower class housing jumbled together for what would be several 'zones' worth of real estate. Jump Joint is down here if you need a hangout and a drink and some shady connections.
5. The Mines: Some are functioning, and some are creepy and abandoned and would be the perfect place for a hideout...or a mugging!
6. Clench's Arena is in the lower levels of this zone. He considers the Arena to be like what the Senate pretends to be: truly a reflection of the constituency. He draws his mechs from both the desperate working class and the destitute.
7. and below all of that, cramped and dark and reeking of recycled air, are the gutters. Syk dealers, prostitutes, gambling, illegal mod trading and the like are all here, but be warned: you take your chances.
NPCs and Allegiances
The NPCs are each empowered by whichever of the Thirteen is pulling their strings (and even they don't know) to try to gain power through either memories (a sort of currency among them) of you, the player characters, or your character's allegiance, loyalty or favors. Here's a quick rundown on who's who and what you can expect if you work with/for them. It is unlikely you'll be able to draw clear Autobot/Decepticon boundaries here--and that's the point! The war came from somewhere, and that's where we are.
Sentinel Prime: He's the guy that went into the police force because he likes power. He believes in the Rule of Law, and dammit, he IS the law! He can arrest you, summarily sentence you to any of a range of sentences (including death). He's a bad mech to be on the wrong side of. On his right side, he may be willing to use you as a confidential informant, or deputize you as Security Forces. He may decide, in that case, to look the other way at your own behavior. He will be recruiting mechs. The job doesn't pay well, but you have a room at the police barracks, access to jail, medical facilities, and a shiny badge, as well as the sparkwarming knowledge that you are making Kaon safe!
Senator Ratbat .He brings 'looking out for number one' to a WHOLE new level. He enjoys manipulating mechs--those he controls, those he doesn't control. He loves power. Power as money, luxury, sure, that's fine, but power over others is where it's really at for him.
You can work for him. He can be generous, if you're worth it. He in a sense expects anything worth having to be expensive and he's willing to pay top credit for a top notch mech. (That said, he will try to screw you over to see if you're that gullible). He believes in the power of the Senate. This is how things have been done for millenia. This is how it should be. Negotiate your benefits package well~!
Alpha Trion is the mech directly responsible for bringing you here. He doesn't have much choice in who comes, but he pulls the levers, as it were, that brings you to Kaon. Of the NPCs, he's the one most aware of what's going on. A shame that he can only speak in Epic Caps and Gnomic Wisdom, huh? He is required by the Thirteen to be neutral. He cannot pick sides. He has no side, except that mumbojumbo about Destiny. He has no stake in the outcome of events here and no real self-interest. He has a tower, above the City, full of mysterious gizmosand probably cats.
Clench runs the Arena. He's a sadist, and it was a gold star day in his life when he realized that beating someone up was...marketable. He fights in his own Arena, because he detests softness and weakness and refuses to become weak himself. He's never lost. He's also been known to cheat to make sure he never loses.
You can fight in his arena, and he'll lodge you in his barracks, and give you quality repairs. It's not generosity--his audience pays to see top-shelf mechs fight, not broken down old wrecks. He enjoys the disruptive potential of violence, and hates that Sentinel and the Senate seem to be cracking down on his livelihood.
Dai Atlas is the nominal leader of the Circle of Light. These are a host of mechs who believe that the Knights of Cybertron are real, and are trying to live by the mythical Knights' rules. Dai Atlas has access to every place in Kaon, save Alpha Trion's Tower--he can enter the prisons and the Arenas on missions of mercy.
Because his commitment is to an ideal of a perfect society rather than some material aim, he's going to be the hardest to win over--you have to prove yourself worthy of the New Cybertron he is envisioning. So, a bit of a pious elitist, really. He has a Tower, if you are worthy. And until then, you can stay in the guest hostel.
The Mobs (Angry and Calm) run around in the gutters. They can do nothing for you but will gladly rob you, beat you up, try to sell your parts, and will try to kill you, you name it. Fight them or run away!
All of the NPCs can give you things--memories (canon updates), modifications, favors, in return for service. If/when you die, they are the ones who can restore you to life in return for some of your memories, or, of course, a favor. If, say, Sentinel revives you, you owe him big. So expect to be forced to run a raid on those low down thugs in the lower zones, etc. If Ratbat restores you to life, he may expect you to, you know, plant a bomb, or steal something, or snitch. Dai Atlas will likely send you on a quest.
Please, these are just basics, and feel free suggest additions/embellishments.
Kaon is divided into zones, each representing a level of society. The upper zone is actually floating in geosynchronous orbit above the city itself, accessible only by Alpha Trion and mechs with flight capabilities. Alpha Trion's tower is up there.
1. Terrestrially, the living standard descends as you move down through the zones. The uppermost are mostly lavish living quarters for the ultra-rich, each claiming the 'airspace' around their apartment like you might a lawn--they prize their open air.
2. Below that zone are the shops and hotels and other businesses that cater to the upper class clientele, and the Spaceport!
3. Midzone. Between this zone and the next is MidZone: This is where the Senate chambers are, built there from a time when the Senate declared it was 'of the people'--what better way to symbolize that than straddling the line between the rich and the plebs? Right by the Senate is the Security Forces, including the jail.
4. Things get loosey-goosey below here--factories and middle class and lower class housing jumbled together for what would be several 'zones' worth of real estate. Jump Joint is down here if you need a hangout and a drink and some shady connections.
5. The Mines: Some are functioning, and some are creepy and abandoned and would be the perfect place for a hideout...or a mugging!
6. Clench's Arena is in the lower levels of this zone. He considers the Arena to be like what the Senate pretends to be: truly a reflection of the constituency. He draws his mechs from both the desperate working class and the destitute.
7. and below all of that, cramped and dark and reeking of recycled air, are the gutters. Syk dealers, prostitutes, gambling, illegal mod trading and the like are all here, but be warned: you take your chances.
NPCs and Allegiances
The NPCs are each empowered by whichever of the Thirteen is pulling their strings (and even they don't know) to try to gain power through either memories (a sort of currency among them) of you, the player characters, or your character's allegiance, loyalty or favors. Here's a quick rundown on who's who and what you can expect if you work with/for them. It is unlikely you'll be able to draw clear Autobot/Decepticon boundaries here--and that's the point! The war came from somewhere, and that's where we are.
Sentinel Prime: He's the guy that went into the police force because he likes power. He believes in the Rule of Law, and dammit, he IS the law! He can arrest you, summarily sentence you to any of a range of sentences (including death). He's a bad mech to be on the wrong side of. On his right side, he may be willing to use you as a confidential informant, or deputize you as Security Forces. He may decide, in that case, to look the other way at your own behavior. He will be recruiting mechs. The job doesn't pay well, but you have a room at the police barracks, access to jail, medical facilities, and a shiny badge, as well as the sparkwarming knowledge that you are making Kaon safe!
Senator Ratbat .He brings 'looking out for number one' to a WHOLE new level. He enjoys manipulating mechs--those he controls, those he doesn't control. He loves power. Power as money, luxury, sure, that's fine, but power over others is where it's really at for him.
You can work for him. He can be generous, if you're worth it. He in a sense expects anything worth having to be expensive and he's willing to pay top credit for a top notch mech. (That said, he will try to screw you over to see if you're that gullible). He believes in the power of the Senate. This is how things have been done for millenia. This is how it should be. Negotiate your benefits package well~!
Alpha Trion is the mech directly responsible for bringing you here. He doesn't have much choice in who comes, but he pulls the levers, as it were, that brings you to Kaon. Of the NPCs, he's the one most aware of what's going on. A shame that he can only speak in Epic Caps and Gnomic Wisdom, huh? He is required by the Thirteen to be neutral. He cannot pick sides. He has no side, except that mumbojumbo about Destiny. He has no stake in the outcome of events here and no real self-interest. He has a tower, above the City, full of mysterious gizmos
Clench runs the Arena. He's a sadist, and it was a gold star day in his life when he realized that beating someone up was...marketable. He fights in his own Arena, because he detests softness and weakness and refuses to become weak himself. He's never lost. He's also been known to cheat to make sure he never loses.
You can fight in his arena, and he'll lodge you in his barracks, and give you quality repairs. It's not generosity--his audience pays to see top-shelf mechs fight, not broken down old wrecks. He enjoys the disruptive potential of violence, and hates that Sentinel and the Senate seem to be cracking down on his livelihood.
Dai Atlas is the nominal leader of the Circle of Light. These are a host of mechs who believe that the Knights of Cybertron are real, and are trying to live by the mythical Knights' rules. Dai Atlas has access to every place in Kaon, save Alpha Trion's Tower--he can enter the prisons and the Arenas on missions of mercy.
Because his commitment is to an ideal of a perfect society rather than some material aim, he's going to be the hardest to win over--you have to prove yourself worthy of the New Cybertron he is envisioning. So, a bit of a pious elitist, really. He has a Tower, if you are worthy. And until then, you can stay in the guest hostel.
The Mobs (Angry and Calm) run around in the gutters. They can do nothing for you but will gladly rob you, beat you up, try to sell your parts, and will try to kill you, you name it. Fight them or run away!
All of the NPCs can give you things--memories (canon updates), modifications, favors, in return for service. If/when you die, they are the ones who can restore you to life in return for some of your memories, or, of course, a favor. If, say, Sentinel revives you, you owe him big. So expect to be forced to run a raid on those low down thugs in the lower zones, etc. If Ratbat restores you to life, he may expect you to, you know, plant a bomb, or steal something, or snitch. Dai Atlas will likely send you on a quest.
