Welcome to Phoenix Rising, a 'modern fantasy' world in which scientific process has spent a great deal of time understanding how magic and psionics works, creating new branches of science and inadvertently skipping a few things here and there along the way.
The game takes place in a city known as Black Diamond, located in the continent and country of Eio, where technology has expanded vastly beyond the typical fantasy norms, powered by a terrific understanding of magic and psionics as well as the other natural laws of the universe and how to bend them to your whims. Some elements of scientific understanding have been skipped or abandoned here and there where something else could do the job better (who needs solar panels when you can draw power out of the air?), while others exist in similar guises but are powered by very different principles (it's much easier to make a cell phone when you can violate the laws of physics).
The continent has a number of large cities named after gemstones, with smaller cities named after less precious stones and formations. There is a major underground rail system that transports people between all large and most smaller cities, as well as major suburban areas. The largest city is owned and managed by the Diamond Star Corporation, and thus the city of Black Diamond and the Diamante suburb are the glittering jewel at the center of Eio. Nearby cities include Amethyst Valley, Port Coral, Garnet City, and Sunstone Flats.
Diamond Star is responsible for much of the municipal works done throughout Eio, particularly the subway network, bus lines, and taxicar system, and as such they have a major interest in Black Diamond. Despite this, several other major corporations have holdings – most specifically, ScaleTech, a line of products for reptilians and scalykind of all varieties; Novus Laboratories (formerly NeuvoTek), an alchemical and biotech research and design company; and Phoenix Labs, a major alchemical corporation that works in bioengineering and pharmaceutical product design. A small upstart hoping to seek a place in the corporate spotlight is Armex Machina, which designs consumer level defense products for the public market as well as weapons, armor, and supplies for security forces.
Not everything is peaceful, though. Eio's long and storied past with alchemical experimentation means that beyond the safety of the cities, monsters walk, crawl, fly, swim, and slither. Beyond the city walls, the landscape turns from rolling plains to dangerous and toxic swamps and waterways. And every now and then, something manages to get through the security and walls that doesn't have the best interests of the citizens in mind…
Most transit between cities is done through the subway lines that connect each city, with fast, efficient transport from place to place. However, those who want a peaceful drive in the country might do well to remember that the overland roads are 'usually' safe… but not always. Many of the former experiments that have survived purges over the centuries continue to raise their young in the countryside, and some people will always choose a criminal outlook on life. There is always a demand for caravan guards for equipment that can't travel through the subway systems, or for people who want to travel without worrying about the monitoring and control of the subways.
Beneath most of the cities of Eio are a series of tunnels, first dug by mining operations, then by monstrosities, then by corporate interests, then by criminal enterprises, then by private citizens, any of which can be found still lurking in the vast network of undertunnels beneath the continent. Most important are the subway tunnels that smoothly transport people between the major cities, and the various businesses, transports, and pedestrian pathways that interconnect the internal workings of each city. They are a dangerous place, but a place full of opportunity for the prepared entrepreneur.
Characters start with roughly 120 gold pieces worth of items from the Standard Equipment List, or roughly 2,400 Scale in local currency. During play, the local currency is known as the Scale - 1-Scale coins are basically silver coins the size of a half-dollar, and 1-Bit, 5-Bit, 10-Bit, and 25-Bit coins are smaller copper or silver coins. There is also a 5-Scale gold coin, but most larger amounts are in folding (paper) currency, or stored on credcards.
Access to the Newell District has been restricted due to a disaster at Diamond Star Research. Corporate representatives for Diamond Star acknowledge that a large portion of their R&D building is “missing”, but refuse to provide further information. WCDI-TV is looking for informed sources for an interview about the incident.
June 15, 3235 AED: Armex Machina is holding a press conference to discuss their newest innovation in point defense technology, which will be installed on caravan runners starting next January.