Presenting the latest entry in my continuing "cyberpunk city kit" series. "The Barrens" -- two d20
random tables of site descriptions. Roll randomly or select from the tables to quickly build a scene or setpiece. Written for Chromatic
Shadows, but compatible with any other cyberpunk or modern urban adventure game.
Description
The Barrens are a zone of crushing poverty and urban decay. Security checkpoints divide the Barrens from the wealth and safety of the neighboring Metroplex and CorpSec. There are occasional pockets of struggling commerce, and intact public services, but far more often the urban landscape is dominated by derelict buildings, overgrown lots, and bleak tenement towers. Between gang territory disputes and the slow rot of industrial buildings, the gravity of the occult world bubbles up just below the surface.
People
The Barrens flies under the radar of law enforcement and the megacorps. In this obsolescence, the underground thrives. Neotribal societies dwell on the margins and operators hold court in secret clubs. Gang and criminal enterprise flourish openly on the streets. Likewise, the Factions are free to conduct their operations away from prying eyes. The lowlife machinery churns in the shadows.
Occult World
Miles of dilapidated civilian infrastructure conceals the fallout from the Shadow War and the reality of the Occult World. Beneath gutted warehouses, or deep within abandoned tunnels occult secrets lie dormant. Long defunct Shadow Operations and Occult Asset experiments are hidden throughout the Barrens, but their uncanny influence bubbles up onto the streets and often twists local reality.
Major Sites
- Tenement towers: cluster of massive 50 story concrete obelisks rises from a cracked industrial lot. Parking lot fans out in all directions, many cars clearly abandoned. Gated chainlink fence surrounds area.
- Housing flats: neighborhood sized zone of tightly clustered concrete bunker-like buildings. Small dark windows are cut into slab like facades. Cracked concrete sidewalks and strangled vegetation. Cars on streets are mostly stripped for parts, burned and covered with graffiti. Heavily armed drug gangs ruthlessly control access.
- Neo Favela: dense residential blocks built up into piecemealed multistory flats. Smaller improvised structures are stacked up in the narrow alleys. Snarls of cable dangle from stained brick facades. Corrugated metal sheets shore up leaking roofs. Tops of buildings bristle with antennae and second-hand satellite dishes.
- Courthouse: looming carbon stained building perforated with small inset windows. Facade fit with jutting angular pediment supporting a row of square cut columns. Graffiti covers wide stairs. Vagrants squatting and sleeping here at all hours.
- Commercial district: rows of graffiti covered brick buildings. Street level storefronts reinforced with heavy cages or boarded up and dark. Frayed canopies whip in the wind. Dimly lit apartment flats above.
- Office building: abandoned multi storey building built upon ground level parking garage. Windows broke and boarded up, chain link fence surrounds site. Layers of graffiti and evidence of recent habitation.
- Dilapidated port: empty warehouses and offices built up along a derelict waterfront terminal. Industrial refuse heaped in piles. Trailers and abandoned shipping crates rot on a concrete pad near a defunct rail line. Old docks jut out into the dark water. At night, unmarked trucks move in and out, and dark fishing boats can be seen docking here.
- Med clinic: interconnected modular tube-trailers set up on extruded concrete cradle-foundations. Steel ramps and narrow steps lead to the dented and locked security door. Entrance gated behind an automated UID scanner and a bank of security cameras. Windows are caged, many are boarded up. External HVAC unit in steel cages roaring and rattling.
- Overpass: concrete bridge 50 feet above. Homeless vagrants shuffle among crude shelters and fire barrels. Chain link fence cordones the area. Culvert pipes discharge a slurry of foul water into an oily stream.
- Warehouses: industrial neighborhood, looming concrete structures. Grime streaked and graffiti covered slab facades perforated with window slits and sealed cargo bays. Most are abandoned, but show evidence of recent occupation.
- Trestle: old steel cantilever bridge spanning a wide and murky river hundreds of feet below. Once served as a double track railroad bridge. Line is now defunct, and abandoned to rust. Along its length, improvised shelters and makeshift camps have been built.
- Derelict hotel: looming brick edifice, abandoned, takes up half of a city block. Twenty stories tall with numerous inset square windows. Dentil molding and geometric tiles adorn the facade. Row of bricked-up arches at ground level prevents easy access. One door has been carefully breached, and reinforced from within by the current inhabitants.
- Scrap yard: Stacks of flattened cars are stacked 20’ tall creating a maze of compressed metal. Huge crushing machines, claw cranes, and metal shredders roar away until nightfall. For the right price, the scrap yard keeper can make incriminating vehicles (and their contents) quickly disappear. Chain link fence surrounds area.
- Secure storage facility: large concrete block structure, with small caged windows wrapping around the upper levels. Garage bays and double-wide utility doors lead into massive freight elevators, and numerous locked storage pods within. Heavy camera security, and dog drones monitor grounds.
- Subway station: narrow stairs lead underground to winding passageways. Turnstyles fitted with scanners open to stairs leading to deeper sublevels. At night, the narrow train platforms are notorious for crime and gang activity. Security is absent, and the trains rarely run on time.
- Abandoned lot: tall chain link fence surrounds multiple conjoined lots. Brush and coarse grass grows from fractured asphalt. Hollow eyed vagrants squat here among crude tents and piecemeal shelters. Fire barrels burn all night.
- Parking garage: multi tiered wedge shaped concrete building covered with graffiti. Long running horizontal apertures at each level. Any cars within have been burned or stripped for parts. Ramps wind up to top. Neotribes hold court in the upper levels, and observe from the roof.
- Capsule hotels: blocky concrete warehouse with rows of small vertically cut windows. Automated entrance gate opens to a grid arrangement of stacked sleep capsules. Along the walls, tiers of capsules are stacked on multi-level catwalks, accessible by stairs and tube lift. Pods are fit with privacy seals, and accommodate a single adult.
- School: Bunker-like campus surrounded by chain link fence, and security gate. Buildings heavily sprayed with graffiti and gang signs. Windows and doors fit with security cages. Ball courts outside. Heavy camera surveillance and armed rent-a-cops on patrol.
- YMCA/ shelter: heavy angled concrete slab building with vertical support buttresses. Roof fit with a large glass dome. Inside, fitness rooms are repurposed as sleeping quarters, and the cafeteria serves as a soup kitchen. Deeper in the complex rooms filled with old fitness equipment, a drained swimming pool, showers and locker rooms.
Minor Sites
- Animal impound facility: brick and aluminum office with attached dog pound. Low warehouse with attached animal cages running beneath stained aluminum eaves.
- Repair garage: graffiti covered brick structure -- small office and triple garage bays. Parked cars jammed into a small lot directly in front.
- Laundromat: glass faced storefront on street corner, grime stained brick apartments above with blacked out windows. Inside, the hum of machines, micro laundry units stacked to the ceiling. Cats warming themselves in the windows.
- Video arcade: small warehouse repurposed as a gaming emporium. Raw industrial interior, rows of strobing AR enhanced video consoles and VR pods. Bar and pool hall in quieter wing. VIP catwalk above leads to private rooms where business is conducted. A known “neutral” zone. Thugs who start trouble are ejected by armed cybernetic bouncers. Repeat offenders are never heard from again.
- Operator club: armed and chromed up bouncers stand outside an unmarked backdoor leading into a brick warehouse. A dark narrow tunnel leads down several flights of stairs. A door opens into a cavernous underground sublevel thick with lasers, AR icons and thunderous bass. The dance floor is crowded with writhing freaks of every stripe. In the dark corners groups of hardcore operators hold court.
- Police station: large grey stone building on the corner of a city block rises 5 stories tall. Satellite modules and antennae on roof. Armored cruisers and utility vehicles parked on street. High security entrance foyer and garage bay lead into building. Rear parking lot filled with armored police hummers, and heavy utility vehicles.
- Fire station: squat stone building with two large red double garage bays. Narrow cut windows rise 3 stories to a frieze of ornamental moulding. Large siren fixed on roof.
- Playground: steps lead down into an abandoned children’s play area. Swings, slide and monkey bars all flecked with rust. Benches covered with graffiti. Makeshift homeless camp beneath pavilion.
- Micromart: small commercial building on street corner. Street facing windows lit with LED signs and AR projection ads. Inside, narrow aisles of instant food and snacks. Fridge cases filled boxed sandwiches, stim drinks, and beer.
- Liquor store: cramped space is cavelike and dim. Cameras everywhere. Narrow aisles winding through ceiling high stacks of cased beer and shelves of cheap whisky. Walk in fridge is filled with racks of cold beer and malt liquor. Clerk sits behind a bulletproof plexiglass kiosk. A dog drone is crouched near a sliding panel, and will rush to subdue any would-be thieves.
- Pawn shop: locked glass cases filled with discounted valuables: jewelry, watches, designer handbags, instruments, electronics, weapons. Clerk will buy high value items at 20-50% of their market value, no questions asked.
- Weapon supply:Cameras everywhere outside and in. Display racks behind ballistic resistant plexiglass divider. Array of firearms and armor on wall mounts. Glass counter units hold all manner of specialty gear, non-lethal grenades, and melee weapons: knives, swords, and shuriken. Military grade weapons, or machine guns cannot be purchased here.
- Grey market electronics shop: nondescript storefront on upper floor, accessible only by buzzer. Shop is packed with steel racks overflowing with computer consoles, modules and coils of colored cable. Glass counters showcase the latest iPilots and interface devices. Display cubbies hold drone units. The cyberdecks, and drone decks are locked away, and only available to reputable clients. Workshop in back for doing custom jobs.
- Chop shop: converted wing of a small meat packing warehouse. Small office for client intake. Central operating theater within an enclosed vinyl tent. Mechanical surgery table slides beneath a hulking robotic biotech module. Surgical tools, and vacuum sealed packages of prosthetics and robot parts lie on various carts and consoles. Behind a partition, recovery beds are divided by white privacy screens.
- Dojo: storefront in a run down strip mall. Polished wooden floor and thick sports matting on floor and walls. Wall-sized mirrors, nearby shelves with trophies and awards. Display case filled with sparring weapons. Classes run throughout the day, but at night “special” training occurs in the back studio.
- Japanese restaurant: neon fish and kanji signs hang in greasy windows. Entrance foyer opens up to a dim restaurant -- sushi bar, carved screens, booths and tables. Sliding screen opens to private Tatami room. Bamboo mats on the floor. A raised seating area fit with low wooden tables and cushions.
- Demolition site: not much gets built in the Barrens, but sometimes whole zones will get destroyed to make room for an expansion of the Metroplex. Area fenced in, heavy construction machines and drones are on site. Trucks ship the debris out to the Slags.
- Food market: small shops, and vendors cooking and selling street food. Streets lines with pop-up carts and trailers. Crowds of people mix here.
- Thrift store: small storefront with weather beaten canopy. Reeks of mildew. Floor jam packed with racks of old clothes and coats. Shelves overflowing with bric-a-brac, various random furnishings. Stack of old holovid sets tuned to a dead channel.
- Shitty deli: glass door leads to cramped, narrow space. High glass counter filled with various tube-meats, cheese product, and indeterminate pickles and salads. Plastic bins of stale bread disks. Scrolling LED menu on wall above, with AR pop-out elements. Wall mounted holovid set blasting at maximum volume.
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