SPRAWL ZONE: METROPLEX

Presenting the "Metroplex" entry in my ongoing "Cyberpunk City Generator" series for Chromatic Shadows. Use the tables below to generate sites and story seeds within a bustling near-future urban environment. It's written for use with Chromatic Shadows, but can be easily adapted for other near-future urban adventure games.

 

Description

The Metroplex is the quintessential "city center". It is characterized by concentrated urban buildup, large residential and commercial structures, high density population, and sophisticated transportation infrastructure. The Metroplex is one of the most populous and economically active zone in the Sprawl.

Society

Life in Metroplex organizes around vectors of history, technology, and economics. Immersive hypertech is grafted onto an older, analog substrate and covers the hard reality of urban life. The fallout from the Collapse pushes against the seams, and threatens to disrupt the thin veneer of corporately mediated “virtual” reality.

People

Humanity lives closer than ever to invasive technology. AR immersion, ubiquitous surveillance, drones, and holographic advertising are everywhere. People are plugged into the cloud, and tuned out of reality. A growing underground has begun questioning the conventional “truth” of the collapse, and are growing cynical to technological exploitation.

The Strange

The city is densely populated and heavily surveilled, but secret places remain in the sublevels of old buildings and in the numerous tunnels below. Boltholes, transportation lines, lost stations, sewers, drainage tunnels, and bomb shelters are found just beneath the urban skin.  Among these, lost experiments, and active occult threats abound.

 

 

Major Sites

1. Sports stadium: heavy traffic surrounds a massive arena built from weathered limestone block. Banners and massive holographic signage adorn a girdle of square columns and arches. Rows of narrow bleacher seats overlook jumbo projection screens and an open sports field below. Media drones jockey for a camera spot. AR, holograms, and booming music inundate the interior.
2. Skyscraper canyon: impossibly tall office buildings loom on either side of a busy street. Tube walkways and bridges interconnect the towers high above. Wind howls and whips through concrete trenches.
3. Central rail terminal: major neoclassical building topped with large pediment friezes. Winged figure with a spear is perched at the highest point. Wide stairs lead to row of fluted columns and doors beyond.. Vaulted ceiling with astronomical mural above stone arches and columns. Crowds of people gathered at ticket kiosks. Travelators and ramps lead to numerous train gates below. Heavy police, military and security drone presence. Numerous hidden side tunnels.
4. Major crosswalk: intersection of several main roadways. AR traffic icons, safety holoprojections, and police drones regulate the stream of gridlocked vehicles, and pedestrian foot-traffic.
5. Subway station: stairs descend to underground complex, AR terminal pay-gate leads to lower tube platforms, where high-speed graffiti-covered trains roll in and out. Digital kiosks display 3D info-maps. Officers with body armor and assault rifles patrol with dog drone assistance.
6. Major park: expanse of bioengineered gardens and artificial waterways. Interconnecting walkways, tube travelators, bridges, fountains, and graffiti covered monuments. Food and gift kiosks everywhere. Police dog drones surveille for blatant crime. Trafficked by tourists and homeless during the day, at night gangs, and vagrants roam freely.
7. Minor park: small green area between major roadways.Graffiti covered obelisk at center of weed filled square. Homeless vagrants hold court on the cement slab benches.
8. Airport: heavy traffic pattern diverts to numerous looping roadways around airport gigaplex. Roads lead directly to each individual gate. Terminal is a multi-story structure, high security customs. Drone security. Armed officers everywhere. Adjacent mall: stores, hotel and high density parking.
9. Theater district: Giant holoboards flank the avenue saturating everything in light and color. Hulking brick buildings are theaters and performance spaces. On the street, well dressed elites file in and out of black cars.
10. University district: complex of large slab structures and atriums. Tall trees surround an inner quad. Activists gathered here with surrounding police perimeter.
11. Meatpacking district: center of nightlife. Crowds of drunken young people converge every night, ready to party. Blocks in all directions are crowded with restaurants, bars, clubs, and large warehouse venues.
12. Gallery district: avenues bisected by streets lined with numerous tall, glass faced galleries. art installations and paintings hang on high white walls. The subjects are psychedelic, digital, and occult in nature.
13. Garment district: limestone block department stores, and numerous designer clothing jewelry, and shoe storefronts. Cafes, atriums, and food trucks throughout. Large holographic signage and saturated colored light. Police presence.
14. Financial district: wide streets flanked with looming grey faced banks, and modern financial offices. Stock exchange dominates area: wide steps lead to a hulking neoclassical structure with massive Roman columns and sculptural pediment. Day traders and finance agents press between police and drone controlled checkpoints.
15. Upper class condos: strip of hyper modern buildings, stacked levels of curving glass and rounded steel framework. Zigzagging travelators and tube elevators run up their side. Gyrocabs dock on roof. Each unit is a cavernous glass enclosed luxury space.
16. Working class apartments: broad hulking building, perforated with countless “microcube” apartments. for the urban working class. Beds and utilities fold into walls for full space-efficiency.
17. Upper middle class apartments: tall glass faced buildings contain thousands of modestly sized, overpriced hypermodern apartments. Fully automatic and AR integrated utilities. Molded plate glass windows look over the precipitous skyline.
18. Ethnic enclave: lower class area inhabited by single ethnic group. Neighborhood distinguished by dominant spoken language, culture, cuisine,  and specialty “goods” for sale. Known destination for unregulated biotech, grey market products, and “off grid” transactions. Low police presence. Organized crime families enforce openly, regulating social traditions, and protecting respective business interests.
19. Marina: bridges and tube-ramps lead to an interconnected complex of commercial terminals and artificial “islands” jutting out into the river. Members only complex is “built-up” with numerous private clubs, and restaurants. Private boats are docked all around. Nearby, cavernous warehouses have been modernized into high end shopping and entertainment village.
20. City Highway: high density urban boulevard runs in complicated loops around the metroplex. In places, the road rises up onto complex overpasses and runs through several underground tunnels. Automated checkpoints and surveillance cameras regulate traffic. Police drones monitor from above.

 

 

Building Type

1. Hypermodern skyscraper, twisting organic design, curved glass and steel spire.
2. Library: neoclassical building, statues on pedestals, heavy roman columns and decorative frieze above.
3. Bank: art deco office building. Facade of high fluted curtains and curved bays. Lower levels are narrow windows and elaborate glass doorways
4. Psychiatric ward: sturdy brick building with narrow caged windows, chainlink enclosure runs along top of building. Inbuilt garage for staff and emergency vehicles.
5. Hotel: Mirrored tower soars above busy commercial district. Laser lit marble fountains in front of elaborate gold and glass entrance way.
6. Restaurant: brick factory turned into ultramodern dining space. Wrought iron and industrial style decor, high balcony, huge black glass chandelier.
7. Cinemaplex: flashing canopy and holographic billboards. Automated box office leads to multilevel screen complex and immersive VR arcade.
8. Shopping mall: hulking complex of concrete slab and glass atriums. Multiple levels, catwalks and balconies connected with travelators and tube-lifts. Boutique stores and restaurants.
9. Bus terminal: major transportation hub, enormous block building, multiple levels, catwalks and travelators connecting dozens of loading gates. Outside, cavernous gated opening for bus fleet. Vast tunnel system winds below streets for blocks in every direction.
10. Modern Museum: ultramodern structure made of extruded white slabs and curving glass towers. Security gates enclose fountains and benches outside.
11. Classical museum: Round romanesque portico with columns, wide stone steps, swarming with tourists and vendors. Drones and security forces patrol closely.
12. Cathedral: soaring gothic edifice, narrow buttresses support two sharp towers flanking the massive pediment door, rose window set in delicate stone tracery above. Black iron fence holds back overgrown brush and garbage.
13. Construction site: foundation and vertical girders in place for planned skyscraper. Cranes, drones, and exosuit augmented construction crew labor with welding torches and heavy machinery.
14. Operator bar/ nightclub: side street leads to narrow brick warehouse, retrofit as an underground nightclub. Holographic signage and high windows pulse with colored light. Lines of punks, neotribals and operators queuing past augmented security guards.
15. Government services building: massive brutalist complex, looming concrete block construction with facade-grid of square inset window. Busy entrance checkpoint, with scanner kiosks, drone surveillance and police.
16. Hospital: stacked rotundas and glass rimmed towers rise above a wide horizontal structure fitted with columns and angular slabs. Flashing ambulances and emergency vehicles crowd in front of ER entrance.
17. School: oppressive brick complex covered in obscene graffiti. Chain link fence perimeter, broken cameras, and security checkpoint entrance staffed by bored officers.
18. Office buildings: massive formation of 4 grey buildings built at right angles to each other. Inner concourse is dominated by crisscrossing tubes and walkways connecting the buildings at multiple levels.
19. Private social club: art-deco building with faux columns and occult relief symbols adorning lintel, heavy black double doors. Suited guards checking membership IDs. Inside is a lavishly ornamented multistory “club” for the city’s elite. Known meeting place of the Hand of Moloch.
20. Storage units: multistory warehouse filled with 24 hour access self-storage cubicles. Freight elevator access to each level. Security cameras everywhere. 

 

 

Minor Sites

1. Gyro livery pad: On rooftop of parking garage, hexagonal landing pad with inset strip lights and rotating safety holograms. Lasers guide a flow of Gyrocab traffic docking and alighting.
2. Dining domes: series of private interconnected geodesic “bubbles ”running along side sidewalks, connected to restaurants with plastic tubes.. Wealthy patrons eat within these climate controlled enclosures, crowds of pedestrians.
3. Artemis drone depot: slab and aluminum building with extended vertical parcel drone docking bay. Within, packages are deposited or received in dedicated and secure “delivery pods”. Drones dock, load and charge in the bay level. Camera sutveillance in and out.
4. Efficiency parking garage: tall vertical structure made of concrete and steel beams, articulating robotic platform elevates and deposits cars into high-density storage and retrieval cells.
5. Holomedia obelisk: Freestanding media consoles near major crosswalk. Numerous10’ tall holo projection panels. Area is soaked in pulsing colored light. Laser arrays project 3D holographic advertisements. Unnaturally beautiful models writhe and beckon amongst the crowds.
6. Delivery drone: rotor drone traffic swarming at low altitudes between buildings. Many docking into access portals in the sides of buildings or lowering down into Artemis delivery kiosks.
7. Hover cab network: High speed hover-cabs run on a dedicated smart “magnet track” that snakes alongside normal traffic and cuts efficiently through the city’s roadway.
8. Police barricade: Crowd of seething protestors pressed against a barricade of heavy steel tubing. Black walker mechs standing in formation behind the wall, cops in riot gear behind them in a line.
9. Construction zone: traffic pattern redirected, blinking red cones and AR safety icons blocking off area,. Street ripped up, workers and labor drones excavating an underground system. Police and large construction trucks nearby.
10. Security checkpoint: Gateway to an adjacent sprawl zone (Barrens or Corpsec)..HIgh chainlink fence and series of security gates. Officers in plexi boxes scanning IDs at each checkpoint. Drones hovering above scanning vehicles with laser arrays.
11. Open air market: Wide avenue is shut down for multiple blocks. Dense pedestrian crowds. Street is flanked with souvenir vendors, VR booths, food tents, noodle bars, drug kiosks, robot pleasure pods.
12. Micromarts: efficiency convenient store, neon AR signage, cages on windows, rack of colorful snacks, and brightly lit coolers of beer and stim-beverages. Security cameras inside and out.
13. Apocalyptic zealots: religious cult in color shifting LED fiber robes and hoods perform a ritual pageant. Handing out tracts to their church.
14. Protest camp: numerous tents and shelters crammed tightly together, crowds of anarchists “holding ground” behind police barricades.
15. High stairs: Huge flight of stairs spanning a high urban hill. Wide concrete slab steps, covered in graffiti. Gang members monitor who comes and goes, controlling access to territory.
16. Public monument: larger than life bronze statue on high stone pedestal, covered in layers of bright spray paint. Gang tags, and the occasional occult, neotribal, or factional symbol might be present. Low tier gang members squat here dealing drugs and narcochips.
17. Emergency in effect: significant emergency response, police, SWAT officers, and enforcement drones actively engaging criminal incident. People injured, medical teams and ambulances on scene.
18. Elevated walkway: metal stairs and platforms lead to a lengthy span of old railway trestle overcome with high grass and rampant weeds. Graffiti and drug paraphernalia is everywhere. Gangs and neotribes can be found roaring these areas at night.
19. Bridge: multi-level suspension bridge spans a narrow part of the river. Blinking towers and sweeping cables span its length. Graffiti covers exposed steel girders. Narrow walkway for foot-traffic, bikes and motor scooters. Drones hover above monitoring the flow of traffic.
20. Riverside esplanade: extended walkway set up on a series of piers. Heavily trafficked by tourists by day. At night it becomes a hot location for low-key drug deals and party kids.