METROPLEXBURN

A Quick and dirty

cyberpunk setting

for rewired

Among the fractured sovereign states that have arisen in the shadow of the former USA, The Independent State of Texas stands proud against the onslaught of anarchy and hazards of the south west. Surrounded by Mexican warlords to the south, radioactive badlands to the east and deserted rural wasteland to the north... the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex shines as a monolith of civilization in a wrecked land.

Millions have flocked to the sprawl of D/FW hoping to find security and safety in numbers. Within the urban jungles of concrete and steel, however, life is far from orderly and fair. The municipalities that make up the Metroplex are entirely understaffed, underfunded and infamous with corruption. All of the “nice” communities around the area are actually privatized gated neighborhoods owned by local corporations, often funding their own law enforcement and security. Outside those gates, the streets run rampant with poverty and violent street gangs.

Still, D/FW is a prize hub for business in the Southwest. Not only is it one of the safer stops in the region to stock up on local goods and commodities, it’s also a crucial backbone for the South Western DataSphere. Several major pipelines run through the D/FW networks, and many relay paths connect through their data streams. Surrounding counties remain as important agricultural sources for the region, and most of the oil production coming out of Houston for trade outside the state is sold through D/FW markets.

Then there’s the friendly neighborhood black market. Drugs, weapons, and many other types of contraband are ran through D/FW streets nightly. Big businesses play some nasty games with each other when the city edges on general lawlessness. The information that travels through the digital complex leads to some interesting paydirt and blackmail. Many high-stakesdeals are made in the alleyways and back rooms of seedy bars. Murder, extortion, espionage and sabotage – these are all tools of the trade.

The Metroplex, it seems, is a hopping place for any Ronin to make a living working “The Burn.” Staying alive to make that living, that's the tricky part.

ARCHETYPES OF THE BURN

The following are some typical character roles you’d find working the Burn in the D/FW area.

Maverick: In other times and other places, terms like “Street Samurai” or “Solo” may have been used for these hombres. Troubleshooters, freelancers, guns for hire. Mavericks make their living operating as one-man armies, capable of surviving in the thickof things alone. But make no mistake, even the most professional operator knows better than to “lone wolf” it.

Rustler: Computer hacking can get you plenty of payout, but those wanting the real bucks know that the biggest paying heists are the ones you’re willing to really stick your neck out for. Data Rustlers are crazy enough to infiltrate and run a hack on-site, avoiding the risk of trace-back, signal loss and data corruption.

Gearhead: Where a Rustler gets his rush in Cyberspace, Gearheads really thrive when connected to their mechanical beasts. Whether it's the roar of their vehicle's engine, or the nerual feedbackof the drones they project their consciousness into... Gearheads canplay crucial roles as both surveillance and extraction.

Ace: Aces specialize as smooth talkers, information gatherers and sometimes negotiator for a team. Often Aces are well connected with a particular faction or subculture, and know plenty of people to hit up for intel or favors. Despite a lack of combat ability, Aces can be a really handy to get the group out of a bind in situations where bullets would do more harm than good.

Doc: Let’s face it -- bullets fly, people get hurt. Augments get bustedup and need repair. The junkie in the group needs his fix or his wires get all crazy, and he just starts spazzing. Doctors and medics -- whether legitimate or not -- are handy in this line of work.

How the Job is Done.

The thing that makes The Burn scene stand out from usual crooks for hire is a certain level of setup, etiquette and professionalism involved. Ronin are a very skilled and select group, their talents being more than just your typical street thug. So it makes sense that those who hire Ronin are usually higher profile than your friendly neighborhood drug runner or loan shark.

The primary practice is the person offering the job hits up a Broker. Brokers are the go-between for both the “Client” and the Ronin. Majority of the time, anonymity between parties is the safest for plausible deniability. Generally, the deal works like this: The Client and The Broker negotiate the terms of the job, as well as initial payment. The Broker then arranges a meetup with selected operatives (Ronin) that he feels have the talent to get the job done. They negotiate terms and payment, and upon completion of the job the Client pays the Broker, who trims his share and then delivers the rest to the agents.

There is a particular level of trust here. It’s often pretty well understood that Brokers are getting paid for setting up these contracts. It’s not uncommon for Brokers to scam a little extrapayout for himself when dealing with fresh faces; while it’s bullshit, it’s often defended as a “first time collateral” and typically doesn’t happen after the first couple jobs.

There’s also the risk of setup on several ends. Clients rarely stiff Brokers, since it’s generally not wise to screw over a guy who has a Rolodex of cybernetic, drug crazed mercenaries. Brokers, meanwhile, rarely stiff their agents for not only the same reasons, but because their work depends entirely on reputation. If word gets out a Broker stiffs his teams, he suddenly finds him or herself penniless and often reviled in the scene.

Ronin also have to worry about their reputations. Reckless, careless actions mean you’ve become a liability to all involved. The default policy with these types is to simply disavow any knowledge of them, and toss them to the birds when caught. Any further risk of endangering either the Broker or Client with a botched job could also result in a bounty on your head.

GIANTS CASTING SHADOWS

The Metroplex is filled with thousands of businesses, big and small. Everything from agriculture, industry, communications and entertainment thrive here. But all of these businesses loom in the shadows of the giant Megacorporations that have opened up branch offices here. These companies operate on a global level, lining the pockets of politicians (and arming the hands of revolutionaries) everywhere they go. Most of them function as umberella companies, acquiring and operating many smaller divisions and brands under them. While these power players aren’t the only big names in the league, they are the ones who currently dominate D/FW.

Hermes Telemetrics• Home office: Hamburg, Germany.• Ownership includes Mercurial Telecom

and Emphasize Delivery.

In the span of less than a decade, Hermes Telemetrics hascompletely revolutionized the way digital communication andtransactions work. Hermes is responsible for the restructured globalnetwork that has become the DataSphere. They have also inventedthe protocols for a purely peer-to-peer, all digital currency systemcalled “Cred.” Mercurial Telecom functions as the primary home andoffice communications network across the North American continent,with main offices throughout the former Union as well as Canada. Emphasize Delivery is a recent endeavor, being one of the first majorprivate delivery companies to function globally again post Y2K.

Ferencszy Corp• Home Office: Bucharest, Romania• Ownership includes Ferencszy Pharma,

Kinfirst Medical and NuGeneTek.

Ferencszy Corp initially begun as a medical supply manufacturer, oftencontracted to the Soviet cause during the nuclear retaliations of the1970’s. Decades later, Ferencszy is a name associated with not only firstaid, but a major pharmaceutical, cybernetics and -- now -- geneticmodification. Ferencszy is both praised for its humanitarian good, andreviled for scandals involving “leaked” prototypes of pharmaceuticals tothe streets for testing. Ferencszy has become an important name in theD/FW area, not only for their medical research stations, but theNuGeneTek farm labs in surrounding counties.

West Texan Carbine• Home Office: Abilene, Texas• Ownership includes Colonial Star,

Stalwart Industires, and others.

West Texan Carbine is renowned for being a leading weaponsmanufacturer under contract with both the Independent State ofTexas and the United Colonial States (under the brand ColonialStar.) While a respected brand world wide, it’s also establishedthat they own at least one mercenary outfit, Stalwart Industries, toprovide work on individual security contracts. Rumors flourish thatWest Texan has been behind many fixed revolutions in severalsmall countries, often arming both sides.

Helix Technologies• Home Office: Los Angeles, California.• Ownership includes Omnidex and Sorbet Microsystems.

While Hermes may reign supreme in terms of currency protocols and network solutions, Helix is the hardware that keeps cyberspace moving. After acquiringSorbet in the post Y2K crash, they have managed to rebuildtheir brand of personal computing devices in a restored market.Homes and business productivity primarily thrive off Sorbetcomputers, and most important DataSphere Gateways function on Helix servers and mainframes. Helix is also the owners of Omnidex, a popular global search engine and knowledge base.

Marcel International• Home Office: Syracuse, New York• All businesses acquired for Marcel adopt company name.

Marcel International is the largest manufacturer of defense vehicles,particularly aeronautics and VTOL transport, as well as a leader in Dronetechnology. With dozens of locations scattered throughout North America,Marcel is a powerhouse in both military and private sectors. In recentyears, investors have seen record share values as the CEO hasannounced plans to begin pushing for the development of privatizedspace programs and orbital structures.

A QUICK TOUR OF THE 'PLEX

Quick may be a relative term, being that in real life the D/FW Metroplex is bigger than some states in the US. We're talking an area that covers a block of thirteen counties in North Central Texas. In the Mangled Earth reflection, the Metroplex may very well stretch further than that, with a population easily over 7 Million. And that's just the registered citizens on the grid. Among the illegal immigrants, self-sustaining urban primitives, and nomadic packs traveling from the Mid Wastes and Bayous...lord only knows the exact number. What we all know: It's kind of crowded around here.

Dallas and Ft. Worth are the largest cities in the sprawl, but there's easily several dozen “mid-cities,” developments and corporate complexes throughout. Factor in unincorporated towns and suburbs on the fringes, there's a lot of ground to cover here. For the sake of simplicity, we'll cover some important areas to know for running the game... but also provide a quick toolto inspire locations for your own campaigns:

The True Story of DISH, Texas

In Denton county, the small town of Clark, TX renamed itself in 2005 to DISH, in all capital letters, after the name of a local cable and satellite TV provider. In exchange for the name change, all residents of DISH received free basic cable. That's right, the small town was willing to turn itself essentially into a giant advertisement for the DISH Network.

When scheming up locations for a D/FW based campaign...feel free to take creative license with locations (this is on an alternate earth, after all.) For extra fun, name the municipality/district/enclave, or whatever the neighborhood or burb is, after a major name-brand company or service. Ferencsburgh, TX, for example, may be property “sponsored” by Ferencszy Corp and provided basic healthcare. Nah, that's too optimistic... maybe G-Dubs, TX, provides everyone a weekly allowance of beef brisket in exchange for everyone keeping their BBQ advertisements on their vehicles.

Maybe some of these “services” are even enforced by local law enforcement. Perhaps Zaru Motors “sponsored” the utilities and public works of a burb, in exchange for only allowing their brand of motor vehicles for residents.

Get creative. Feel free to get snarky. Remember there is a PUNK in cyberpunk, and sometimes that comes in the form of dark satire. We laugh when a concept is blown out of proportion... until it's not a joke anymore.

Map Provided by OpenStreetMap.org and licensed on CC-BY-SA (© OpenStreetMap contributors )

Provided by Wikicommons.

Ft. Worth

DowntownDowntown Ft. Worth has a myriad of skyscrapers, luxury hotels and big offices. Ferencszy Corp and Helix own the tallest buildings in the Ft. Worth skyline. At the heart of downtown, Sundance Square remains a lit up hive of cultural activity, being home to countless bars, restaurants, museums and theaters. Despite the high amounts of corporate security and drone surveillance, downtown Ft. Worth offers plenty of smoky pubs and back rooms for Ronin and Brokers alike to arrange Burn contracts.

Ridgmar Heights

On the Northwestern side of Ft. Worth, the areas known as “Ridgmar Heights” is actually a mix of various corporate enclaves and gated communities. Although there are a few public road ways that go between the different communities, travel for an unregistered resident through each usually entails heavy surveillance via drones and neighborhood patrols. Various golf courses, entertainment venues, and a few big ass shopping malls can be found sandwiched between communities. Carswell, a former United States Air Force base, is now a privatized airport catering to corporate residents.

White Settlement

Outside of the gated enclaves and drone patrols of Ridgmar, White Settlement and other surrounding communities were once thriving suburbs, but have now devolved into slums and overpopulated housingprojects. Though many families can get by here, the crime rate has skyrocketed in the last decade. Gangviolence, robberies and carjackings are at record highs.

Dallas

Downtown

Downtown Dallas, while also a hotbed of corporate skyscrapers and luxury hotels, is colder in feel thanks to what feels like an endless maze of glass, concrete and steel. Reunion Tower, the famous “ball” landmark of the Dallas Skyline, has been purchased by Hermes Telemetric and renamed Mercurial Tower. Still operating as a world famous restaurant above a renowned hotel, Hermes has also managed to modify significant portions of the tower to operate as a massive DataSphere relay for the city. On the outskirts of downtown, a popular arts district known as Deep Ellum. Here, countless art galleries and music venues collide with radical, often times underground night life. While Downtown maintains the same heightened levels of drone patrols and corporate police, Deep Ellum and neighborhoods beyond it have a noticeable lack of security.

North / South Dallas

Doesn't really matter which way you go... leaving Downtown by means other than the interstate or major highways usually gets you in the nasty, over populated areas. Dallas PD are pretty much unseen in these locations, unless massive sweeps and drug busts are going down. While the streets are unsafe to anyone not packing heat, many Ronin find some prime-time safe houses in these neighborhoods.

Mid Cities and Surrounding

Arlington and Neighboring

Arlington is a clash of corporate class and residential slums. Stick to the main roads connecting Ft. Worth and Dallas, you find a plethora of businesses, retail outlets and middle-class ruts sponsored by the big corporations. Venture a couple miles off course, things get a bit rougher. Not Dallas rough, but still nothing you want to find yourself unarmed for.

Garland, Plano and Mesquite

An entire sea of cookie-cutter corporate housing. Each community has a couple gated communities, notnearly as intense or crowded as Ridgmar Heights but nowhere near as luxurious, either. These are where middle management and up-and-comers for the local corps get stuck, having a substantial chunk of their salaries pulled out to pay their costs of living. Outside these communities, suburban homes startto blend in among a canvas of low-rent apartment buildings and trailer parks.

Denton

On the northern edges of the Metroplex, Denton is home to a large number of “low life” communities that shuns the corporate commercial life. Ironically, it's also home to one of the largest privatized corporate universities in the state. Many youthful candidates for “advanced management training” come here out of their preparatory school days, only to be exposed to the wild, counter-culture nature of the local inhabitants. Roughly a fourth of all incoming Freshmen to Denton Uni are expected to dropout to “be among the scum.” The scum, in particular, varies from communities of urban primitives, Neo-Bohemians, “old-school” hippies, self-sustaining survivalists and burned out libertines.

Airports

D/FW International Airport is located roughly twenty minutes north of Arlington. This is the largest commercial airport in the area. Dallas Love Field is located northwest of downtown Dallas, and is a city owned public airport. As mentioned earlier, Carswell is located west of Ft. Worth's business district, and is a recently converted airforce base now catering to private corporate clients.

Lakes and Rivers

The Trinity River runs roughly across the whole state of Texas, from south of the Red River, through Dallas and down through Houston. There have been huge projects to turn the area into an entertainmentand recreational area for Dallas, not only to help businesses but to combat the flooding. There are also tons of small lakes in the Metroplex area – notable ones being Lake Worth and Eagle Mountain Lake inFt. Worth, Joe Pool and Mountain Creek near and around Arlington, Grapevine Lake and Lewisville west and north of Dallas, and Lake Ray Hubbard on the eastern side of the Metroplex.

Organized Crime in D/FW

The following examples of gangs and cartels can be used as inspiration for antagonists, or potential factions for the players to align with in the D/FW underground.

Street Gangs

• Muertos: Recognizable by their sugar-skull face paint and goth-inspired attire, Muertos haunt the alleys and roadways of South Dallas. Though they're renowned as dangerous car jackers anddrug runners, many who reside in Muertos territory regard their familial attitudes towards each other.

• Dallas 13: Their gang colors are black and dark green, adorned with red armbands and the number 13. Known for arms smuggling and robbing businesses. Has ties and allegiances to the Mexican Mafia.

• Rancid Rodents: “Old School” gearheads who specialize in rebuilt custom rods and reckless night rides. Call White Settlement their home, but are notorious for bullying pedestrians and civilian drivers in North Dallas (Calamity Rider territory.)

• Cowboys from Hell: Biker club, claims most of North Texas as their territory. Infamous for bar brawls and rowdy gatherings wherever they go.

• The Pack: Another bike gang, but strictly consisting of Arlington youths with crotch-rockets. Obnoxious racers prone to rumbles.

• Calamity Riders: Gearhead gang fixated on state of the art wheels and flashy rides. Often dealsexclusively in the latest designer drugs, and run a few racketeering operations in North Dallas.

Larger Syndicates

• Mexican Mafia was born out of the former US Prison system. In the wake of Texas becoming an independent state, and most of Mexico and South America becoming contested by various cartels and warlords, the Mexican Mafia has stepped up its operation in the D/FW area. Weapons and drugs are simple things; extortion, human trafficking and data smuggling is also ahuge part of day to day operations.

• Romanian Mafia: Ferencszy Corp has always had deep ties to the varying clans of the Romanian Mob, and it came as no surprise over the years as their presence has been felt in D/FW. Though their connections are few outside of Texas, the D/FW connection is an empire of prostitution, gambling and other vices.

• The Brotherhood: In many rural communities and backwater towns, a lot of Texans actually have a distrust of augmentations, genetically modified farming, or even the DataSphere. Grown out of the former Aryan Brotherhood, this organization follows a burning zeal for “purity” among humanity. They reject modern healthcare, seeing nanite injections and genetic restructuring as a blasphemy to creation. While the majority of Brotherhood members live in private communities outside of the Metroplex, they often recruit “sympathizers” as well as plantmoles within the city. Their operations are purely terrorism, ranging from bombing cybernetic clinics, razing NuGeneTek farm labs or toppling Hermes relay towers.

Miscellaneous Groups

• TrinityNET: Named after the Trinity River, which runs through the entirety of Texas through Dallas and down into Houston, this “shadow” set of relays operates both as a digital black market, as well as a pirated broadcast station and community forums. To access Trinity, you have to go looking for it. The Gateway relays for the network are always mobile: the back of vans, trailers, even deployed Drones (both in the air and within the river.) Some gateways relocate on a pattern or schedule, but these are usually only for weeks at a time before changing their routine. Once a person (or at least their handle) is established on TrinityNET, they may be able to get in on encryption keys and signal sniffers to help them locate access in the future.

• Devil Dealers: Texas is renown for its alternative, more traditional methods of trade and commerce: Flea Markets, trade shows, vendor gatherings and the like. As urban and industrialized as the Metroplex is, don't think for a second that the flux of nomads from the waste or the “rustic” folk from the surrounding communities haven't had an impact on the BlackMarket. “Devil Dealin'” is a collection of folk etiquette, colloquialisms and other bearings that have originated in the region as sort of a “tradespeak” for those doing shady deals under the radar. This isn't just among common folk, either: Many corporate types who've pursued collections (such as antiquities) will host “Galas” that are very much a front for this activity.

ADVENTURE IDEAS

Wanting to run your players in the Metroplex Burn scene, but not exactly sure where to start? The following are some loose synopsis of game sessions I've ran while play testing REWIRED.

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH

D/FW has its share of celebrity empires, and none of them are as big as Father Chavez. Chavez is the host of a massive televangelist data feed, with millions logging in to his “sermons” which are performed on location at his “All-Light” ministry (a converted shopping mall.) However, not all is what it seems: Chavez is renown for his ministry work in South America. However, buzz on the TrinityNET is that he uses his mission work as a front for weapon smuggling and drug dealing.

The Pitch: The Broker has a client who claims that their teenage son was found beaten, bloodied, and strung out on some drugs when he was allegedly “on mission” with Chavez's crew. The Ronin get hiredto burn Chavez: Infiltrate the ministry, and obtain evidence of his crooked operation.

DOUBLE-CROSS ON THE DOCKS

This is best pulled off as either a multi-part adventure, or a lengthy session of gaming. Alex Dimir is a prominent executive with Ferencszy Corp. Sarah Bellfonte is in a dead marriage with Cameron Bellfonte, a wealthy tycoon invested in Helix. If ever Alex and Sarah's affair was exposed... it would bea scandal that would cost her everything, and potentially ruin any mutual endeavors between the two companies.

Alex has a plan. While cloning may be a restricted practice, it wouldn't stop him from dealing with some more “underground” research labs in providing just enough of a body to be mistaken as Sarah's corpse. He proposes a risky endeavor to her: Stage a kidnapping, leave her “corpse” to be found, and make sure her will is updated to sign all of her estate – including shares in Helix – over to him.

If it sounds fishy, it is.

The Pitch: The Broker makes it clear that he has a client of high repute, who has a very risky job to pull off – but the payment is nothing short of awesome. If you want to add some real grit, run this idea after the players do a botched job for Ferencszy Corp, and this job is their one ticket to restoring their rep. Either way, the burn is broken up into phases:

• First, staged kidnapping. The proposed idea is to nab her at Club Dynast, an upscale nightclub in Deep Ellum. There's moderate security on hand, bullets are expected to be exchanged, but if they could grab her and haul ass out (avoiding Downtown) they could manage a get away.

• Second phase involves laying low, either at a safehouse or some other location. They're going tobe hot, so the idea is to keep themselves covered while waiting for the “All Clear.” The plan is to throw off investigations and lead them to the red herring of a burnt corpse in a car, which is Sarah's double.

• The last step is the riskiest: Get her ass down to the docks in Galveston (right outside of Houston, roughly a four hour drive.) Not only will they need to not attract any Texas Troopers on the drive, but potentially avoid conflict with road gangs and xenophobic small town locals.

The catch in all of this is that Alex really has no interest in sharing “happily ever after” with Sarah. His plans out in the Gulf is to simply have an alibi after she's found murdered. Truth is, he's going to murder the real her out here, and feed her corpse to whatever the hell has survived swimming in the seahere. All he's after is the shares in Helix, which will give him a power play he's sought for sometime in pushing toward the advancement of some projects he's funding.

If the players had any suspicions up until now, it should be heavily hinted by Sarah's actions that something seems off when they arrive (have some menacing goons standing around or something.) At the drop off, Alex informs them payment has been sent to their Booker, and no more work is needed of them. They can either try to be heroes, or they can take their payment and leave. Whatever they decide,feel free to have that choice echo in future adventures.

CLEANING UP THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The city of Denton, on the northern side of D/FW, has been a home to wealth of urban primitives, self-sustaining survivalists, Neo-Bohemians and all around hippies. It's a progressive town, but has been thetarget of trouble lately. Generally receptive of most nomad packs that come through the area, a clan of Brotherhood members have settled in the town lately. They've been inviting a lot of sympathizers to their compound, and have started roughing up the neighborhood. Nightly assaults are reported, propertyvandalized and as of this morning, the local augmentation parlor has been carbombed.

The Pitch: A contract has been offered by the owner of Redline Modifications to “clean” Denton of theBrotherhood compound. This can be handled however the players want; if they want to go in guns-a-blazing, they can. While this is a simple job, it has its repercussions. Depending on how the players handle it, they run the risk of kicking the proverbial hornets nest, causing more Brotherhood clans or area sympathizers to continue to harass and harm people in the area. It might also paint a giant target onthemselves.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

While I'm a North Texas native, quite a bit of research went into this document.

Most artwork used was based on public domain images.

I'd like to give a shout out to my friends who allowed me to doctor photos of them for this project:

• Derek Davis (The Maverick)

• Jimbo Corbin (The Gearhead)

• Stephen Mercer (The Ace)

And again would like to thank Modok and Vaitel for contributing some artwork to the REWIRED project as well.

OpenStreetMap.Org is an amazing resource. The initial map of Dallas/Ft. Worth was provided by them (© OpenStreetMap contributors ) and used under the Open Data Commons Open Database License, and their cartography is licensed under CC-BY-SA. http://openstreetmap.org

Any resemblance of actual facts were most likely scammed off of Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%E2%80%93Fort_Worth_metroplex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_River_(Texas)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISH,_Texas

The text in this document is released under CreativeCommons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 – meaning you're more than welcome to redistribute, re-use and even alter the works aslong as:

• You give credit to the original work.

• It's not being published as a commercial work / for profit

• You license your work under similar terms.

While I hope this goes without saying, METROPLEX BURN is a work of fiction to supplement a role-playing game. While based on real world locations, it's not meant as a literal guide to the D/FW area, and lots of creative license has been taken. The corporations, gangs, political commentary and location descriptions in this text do not accurately reflect the real world, and any similarities are purely coincidental.

Any complaints, criticisms, praises and fan mail can be sent to me at redavis101@outlook.com

You can find this and more free gaming projects, as well as blogs and reviews at:

http://chaosgrenade.com