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Fluff / WelcomeToSeattle
Welcome to SeattleHoi chummers, welcome to the sprawl. New in town? Lifetime native but just getting into the shadows? Local and a veteran but just hitting the hub host? Well, whichever you are, take a seat and have a listen. This is solid paydata for anyone coming into this host. Seattle’s a city on the edge omae, and that’s the way the citizens like it. We’re shadowrunner mecca, we’re the place to be, scan? What other city you gonna have people bragging about knowing a ‘runner via a few degrees of separation? We’ve got every AAA working here (Even SK, the wrought-iron krauts) and tons of AA and As too. We’ve got every political party and law enforcement agency from the UCAS here. We got the Mafia, the Yaks, Triads, the Vory, the Seoulpa Rings, we even got our little homegrown band of elves the Laesa. We got more gangs than you can toss a grenade at, and some of em are big enough you might just have heard of ‘em outside our borders. In short omae, we are positively vibrating with thugs, suits, and every brand of criminal both obvious and hidden between. And all of ‘em need people that don’t exist to go do things they can’t be seen doing. That means you, for the meathead types. First off, the big basics. Seattle’s the sole UCAS turf this side of the rockies, from Everett up north down to the Puyallup barrens down south. North to South West to East, it’s the districts of Everett, Snohomish, Downtown, Bellevue, Redmond, Auburn, Tacoma, Renton, Puyallup. Nine districts, each its own damn city in its own right, with its own culture and its own rules to work in. But before I get into the districts, we’re going to get across the basics. Bear with me, and you’ll come out wiser and more street smart for it. TravelNationallyLet’s start with how some of you got here. You either flew, drove, or sailed. Of course, this info’s also gonna be useful if you need to get back out. AirSeattle’s got more than its fair share of airports. SeaTac comes to mind of course, but there’s also the strip at Ft Lewis if you used to be a jarhead, and that’s not even getting into the variety of unlabeled and off the grid strips up in Snoho or down in Puyallup. Protip: Don’t use SeaTac. You’re just paying for the hassle of a burnt SIN. [1] LandWell, there’s roads. But all of ‘em have checkpoints with the SSC and that’s bad news for our types. Main routes are North, South and East. North and South have got the security but also a lot of daily traffic so it’s not as bad as it could be slipping over ‘em. Eastern road officially occurs on the Redmond-Renton border, and that means sec there is pretty damn lax. So if you gotta drive, use that road. Past just cars and roads, there’s the SanFran maglev, though you’re peeping some pretty high sec there since it goes through elf country - sorry, I mean Tir Tairngire. And all this assumes you care about using actual roads. There’s miles and miles of border technically, and most if it is passable if you know the right sort of wheels to get you past it - and you can deal with the possible critters out there. [2] SeaWell, we’ve got a whole damn ocean to the west. Pretty useful tool to get folks over here. Don’t be a chump and use the ferries or anything official, that’s just more SIN Checks and hassle. Get to know a real good smuggler and use the backpaths they’ll know, like the San Juan strait or Case Inlet. [3] LocallyNow that’s covered getting in and out. Let’s talk getting around shall we? TransitDon’t discount it just cuz there’s homeless bums on the bus, omae. Automated buses fill the downtown streets, and they’re pretty common in the nicer areas like Bellevue, Renton and some of Tacoma. They’ll even go to Touristville in Redmond or Puyallup city since there’s anti-tamper measures on the outside to keep petty vandals away. It’s even free inside Downtown, and all of 2 nuyen a ride outside the district. Downtown’s also got the monorail for a faster experience if you don’t mind being limited to the landmarks. [4] DrivingCars! The UCASian dream. And with cars comes gridguide. Especially Downtown - it’s actively the law to use it at all times, not that we much care for the law most times. Still wise to know if you’re just trying to grab a bite to eat. Of course once you branch out from downtown it gets less and less prevalent - or even serviceable as an option. Don’t own a car? Kind of a bad idea champ, but you do you. In that case, taxi services. EmeraldCab, YellowCab, GridCab, to name a few. Any number of pay-for-ride services out there, even limo services for those of you with more nuyen than sense. Moving on, there’s also a little gem called KeyCar - cars are just parked around at meters. Pay the fee, you get the car! Costs about 15 a month to be on the roster. But these are all legal measures, and we want stuff that’ll let us carry our guns around right? Well, you want GhostRide. Lot of bored riggers drive their cars around as taxis for the right crowd, if you don’t mind trusting you and your doss to some unknown. Protip: have your fixer vet the incoming rigger if you can. [4] FlightYou’d be surprised here, but there’s a number of air taxi services. Emerald Air, Quetzal Shuttle, FedBoeing Air Carriers to name a few. It’ll run you about 100 to start, more if you’re bringing friends, but for that you get a crosstown hop at speed. Not bad eh chummer? [4] FloatHonestly? Kind of a wash (heheheh) here. The ferries or a smuggler are your only real options unless you own a boat. [4] The GovernmentSo having talked about how to get in, out and around, let’s talk the folks in "charge" - the government and its lackeys. Don’t laugh - these guys pay big nuyen to have dirty little secrets found, aired, or slammed back in the closet. Seattle’s got the best legal system in the UCAS, and the corps take notice of that, you scan? Never look down on a source of income. [5] So something to note here - Seattle is a state, right? But it’s also a sprawl. So here’s the deal - it’s got two senators, a buncha house reps, and a governor like any other state. That’s the big boys in charge. But you’ve also got district mayors - the guy in charge of Renton ain’t the same as the guy in charge of Bellevue, and they both answer to the governor. So let’s do a run down. The Governor used to be a fella named Martin Pierce, before he got geeked out of the blue just before the 2078 election. There was uh, a bit of a fluffup there - more on that in our 'Hub history post- but the winner was a dryad named Mitzy Harlan. She bit it about a year ago - seriously go read that datafile there chummer I ain’t gonna explain it again - and we got Corinne Potter in the most recent election. [6] Seattle’s got 11 departments in its Cabinet. Admin, Business, Info, Health n Services, Justice, Military, Public Works, Race Relations, Resources, State, and Treasury. You’re as likely to be hired by any of em as not by the way, even the weird ones like Resources - after all, land rights are big biz. [5]. Below them is the Metroplex Congress, but they’re a bit of a boring lot. We’ve also got our little piece of the UCAS pie in our house reps and senators. 1 Republican, 1 Democrat for the senators, 2 Republicans, 2 Technocrats, 1 Democrat and 1 New Century for our house. Eh? Their names? You got a commlink omae you look it up, c’mon now. [7] Gonna summarize the district stuff here, I only got so much space in this upload and there’s a lot more to talk about. I’ll do the per district writeup later, for now here’s the political movers. [8]
The CorpsI could write a whole damn book on the corps and their claws in this sprawl, but we’ll make this real quick as I’m sure you’ve all got better places to be and things to be doing. Seattle leases a lot of its vital services to corps. KE’s got law enforcement (that means they own the contract for the city), Lone Star runs the prisons, City Health Medical runs public health (though let’s be real most folk run Docwagon or CrashCart but hey, public healthcare’s always there), Eta Engineering runs sanitation, Spinglobal runs the public grid, Franklin Associates runs fire , Docwagon runs emergency medical response (See? Told you!), Gaeatronics runs the power plants, MCT runs gridguide, and Shiawase gets the potluck of ‘public works’. [9] There’s also this little group called the United Corporate Council - its like a round table of the big boys in Seattle where they all get to have a say, nominally, in how the city operates. Ares, Athabaskan Oil, Aztechnology, Brackhaven Investments, Eastern Tiger, Eta Engineering, FedBoeing, Gaeatronics, Microdeck, MCT, Regency Megamedia, Renraku, Shiawase, Telestrian, UniOmni, and Wuxing all have a seat on this "august" body. As does the Corp Court itself with a rep. You’ll notice a few of the big 10 don’t show up there - this town isn’t just the playground for the big boys after all. [10] Now I can already hear you whining. “That’s hardly anything!” What, you want me to write whole damn paragraphs on each damn corp in Seattle? You and I both ain’t got time for that drek. Do some in depth research omae, earn that big kids host invite. The DistrictsOkay folks, the real meat of it all. You want the skinny on all the places you’ll be hanging around, not all that fancy big picture stuff right? Here we go. Your own personal guide through the districts. DowntownThe lights! The sounds! The action! Home to the corps, the fat-cats, the rich and wealthy. And of course a veritable army of plebs out away from the glittering skyline. Let’s talk facts. Downtown is the crown jewel of the emerald city, and that means the security and corp presence here is sky high. Mandatory GridGuide, mandatory SIN broadcasting, the whole nine yards. That said, it’s still a pit of crime and opportunity, so don’t get too scared just because you’re some lunk with more mass in his muscles than his mind. Just use your head and you’ll be fine. [11] Downtown DarknessThe real juice starts here. Downtown’s the home to a lot of players big and small. Here’s your paydata on ‘em. [12]
BellevueWelcome to the rich man’s land. You won’t find a whole lotta slums here, it’s all micro-arcos and luxury APCs here. Bellevue is where the rich and powerful that work in Downtown come to sleep, and you better believe the security is also on the same level. Tread carefully and be smart - people may tolerate you where they work, but they damn well won’t enjoy you drekking the place they lay their heads. Let’s get down to the rundown. [13] Belleveue BadnessBellevue’s "underworld" is a bit odd, because again, this is the rich man’s district. That said, there’s still always crime. [14]
TacomaAhh, the Tacoma Aroma. That one thing basically sums this city up. It’s a working class town for working class folks. Home of the Tacoma Docks, this place sees a loooot of industry and such. It’s a blue collar town through and through, and boy howdy is the underworld here sizzling. And of course, that means lots of work. [15] Tacoma Underworld
EverettEverett is defined by two things, omae. The naval yard and the odd dichotomy it has between high tech corp property and slumtown ghettos. The former drives most of its business and is an indelible zone of influence and activity, both good and bad for us types. The latter is a symptom of the strange economic vulnerability it possesses - no one’s sure if Everett’s the next barrens or not, but whatever happens there’s profit to be made. Oh, and we can’t forget the Fed Boeing yards, one of the other major economic powerhouses in the area. Let’s hit the underbelly, where there’s always intrigue. [17], [18], [19] Everett Evils
RentonIf Bellevue is where the rich sleep, Renton is where the white collar sleep. It’s the white bread all-UCASian suburb, or so the locals like to act and pretend. What this really means, if you can’t figure it out, is that Metahumans are not welcome here. This place is a Humanis stronghold and has been for years. It’s not even got a proper underbelly really, that’s how freaky and ‘white bread racist’ this place is. [21] Renton Rundown
AuburnIf Tacoma has the aroma, Auburn has the Hum. If Tacoma has the docks, Auburn has the factories. This is industry town, blue collar to the core. There is at least one factory somewhere in the district running no matter what day, and what hour. It’s how the ‘hum’ got its name. That blue collar mindset makes the place real insular though. Auburnites don’t like to talk to outsiders much, so have a care. [23] Auburn Awfulness
SnohomishSnohomish is the sprawl’s breadbasket. Out here, there’s farmland. Greenery! Agribusiness and good old boys living off the land and feeding their fellow humans. And preferably no one else, if they had their way. Snohomish is even more racist than Renton, with metaracist ‘training facilities’ hidden amongst the farms, corporate blacksties, and the other shady bits that dot the landscape. And if that wasn't enough, there’s a magical antique market here of all things. [25] Snohomish Shadows
Fort LewisCold, clean, and devoid of any real enjoyment in life. Am I talking about the military or a corp? Hard to tell! This time though I mean the military, and their stomping grounds in Seattle, Fort Lewis. The fort’s actually pretty clean and lush at times - the military doesn’t hold with a lot of the drek KE will. After all, KE has a bottom line they have to stay above, the military can define its own bottom line from taxpayer dollars. That said, there’s still crime of course. It’s just much better kept under the rug. Let’s have a view under it shall we? [27] Fort Lewis Crimes
RedmondOh boy. Take a deep deep breath omae. Smell that? It’s desperation. It’s violence. It’s crime and hard life and gang wars. It’s Redmond, chummer. Welcome to the Barrens. The nicest place you’ll find here is Touristville, where corp brats can pretend to live in the streets for a night and be seen as a tough for their friends. But it’s still as I mention above got a government, and that government still fights to try and improve this hellhole. We’re gonna talk about the crime scene, and I’ll even avoid the joke of “Crime? Yes” that comes to mind for Redmond. [29] Redmond Ragers
It isn’t a part of the underworld per se, but it bears talking about the Body Mall here in Redmond. It’s where you go if you need augs and you dont care from where and you don’t care who puts it in. Just watch who you let put a knife in you. [31] PuyallupWelcome to the other barrens. It’s not quite as full of crime and filth and poverty, though it replaces that with a fragton of ash and actual barren wastes. It’s a place of contrasts. Pristine lava flows from the old Rainier eruption next to abandoned tenement blocks retaken over by squatters. The oddly beautiful streets of Tarislar, bastion of the elven refugees, and down the road a few klicks is Loveland, home of vice and debauchery for sale. It’s a little better than Redmond, but that’s like being a little more alive than a corpse. Let’s talk deets.[32] Puyallup Problems
Oh, and I should probably talk about Tarislar a bit too. It’s a little enclave down at the very southern edge of Seattle, founded by elves fleeing the Night of Rage back in the 20s and 30s. It’s got a bit of all metas, but its predominantly elven. The laesa and Ancients both patrol, and they even got a KE contract - not that the pawns come out very often. If you’re an elf, or friends with a few, you might just find a hiding spot down there comes pretty easy. [34] OutremerThe foggy, overcast isles! People tend to forget Outremer’s a thing a lot of the time - you’d be surprised how many native seattleites even think it’s part of the SSC or something. But no, those little islands out there are part of our glorious metroplex. There’s five of them, specifically. Bainbridge, Vashon, Fox, Mcneil, and Anderson. Oh, and if you ask the locals, they’re hardly part of Seattle anyways - so both sides tend to want to forget about the other. I bet you saw a name there you recognized and you’d be correct. Vashon the island is where Vashon Island the Shiawase subsidiary is located. Shocker. Bainbridge runs the show for the islands as a whole though, since MCT made the place a corp complex for the rich to live away from smog and plebs. [35] Outremer Outsiders
The Ork UndergroundIt’s currently in vogue amongst ‘society’ to just call it ‘The Seattle Underground’, but don’t ever forget its actual name chummer. This place has seen more violence caused in recent years that you can imagine, all stemming from the vote to turn it into an actual district. Now it’s in a strange in between - it’s still the safe haven and community it used to be, but there’s corporate and government pushbodies here trying to ‘make it a real place’. Some folks want that. Some folks hate it. No matter what though, if you’ve got tusks you’re as safe as you can be down here. They don’t hold with selling out their fellows. If you lack tusks, be a lot more wary. Some ‘streets’ are safe as pie. Some are liable to see you dead for your ears. And if you’re a dwarf, be very wary. Dwarf/Ork tensions were the reason this place went from “Seattle underground’ to ‘ork underground’ in the first place, and all those dwarves coming down here with deeds and land claims now that prop 23 passed, booting orks out from their squats, is not helping matters. [41] Underground Underworld
The EndWell chummer, that about covers it. You’ve heard about the government, you’ve heard how to get around, you’ve heard about the broad corp scenario, and I’ve gone and given you a look into each of the districts. Hope it’s been helpful, otherwise why are you reading this far down? See you on the flipside. And remember, watch your back,shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never make a deal with a dragon. Welcome to seattle omae, city of dreams. And ditches. References
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