Gangwars Story

This is going to be an RPG based roughly on the events / world of shadowrun, with gang members and simple people being in focus.

Background

Year 2082. Berlin.

The world has gone through a lot of changes in the last 60 years. A long oil crisis and the following world-wide wars have left the global economy crippled until developments in biotechnology could solve the energy problems partially. The development of biocells to fuel our hungry industries has stabilized the political situation after a long period of tension.

Connecting the human neural system to digital systems and redesigning our computers to fit this new kind of interface was the next big thing. Now, disabled people could control machines with their minds and a new kind of prosthetics was finally possible. The next step was the introduction of integrated prosthetics, also called cyberware. Machines could finally be integrated into our system and use our own body energy and be controlled by our own neurological system. This huge medical revolution soon also transcended into other areas such as sports and the military.

Then... something unexpected happened.

Reports of inexplainable incidents increased - freak accidents, strange occurances, weird phenomena that put scientist into confusion. As a global pattern slowly started to emerge, individuals claiming to be long-dead prophets and saints appeared. The whole world was in an uproar as a young student by the name of Jesus walked across the Tiber river to the Vatican, demanding the Pope to step down from his earthly throne and to dispand the church. As the young man started healing the sick and performing further wonders, he was put into custody by Italian officials for disturbing the public peace. As a result, demonstrations and riots occured all over the world. A whole new Christianity emerged.

But that was not the only supernatural occurence. A group of native americans demanded their old territories back and threatened with terroristic acts in case of refusal. The US government captured many of those "terrorists" but had no time for interrogation. The ghost dance created a massive volcano near Arizone, causing massive quakes that destroyed parts of San Francisco and L.A. At the same time, development workers and anthropologists around the world reported the appearance of self-proclaimed religious leaders, shamans and witchdoctors who seemed to hold great influence over their followers. The power of these people became appearant as tribal groups in Africa and South America regained control over their ancient territories. Military forces trying to hinder these secessions failed and frequently returned with reports of terrible creatures and strange occurences. Some did not return at all...

It took the world some twenty years to realize that these events could not be explained scientifically. US researchers were the first to announce that "magic" had returned back to the world. A research group in Heidelberg, Germany, focused on these paranormal cases and confirmed the initial findings. At the same time, small backwards nations reemerged with newfound power, cults and sects were founded everywhere and a social chaos arose as the message slowly sunk into the heads of the modern man.

The "awakened world", as the media coined it, was now a home of old mythical creatures like unicorns and dragons. The return of magic had released microorganisms that changed existing animals to transform them into strange beings with unexplainable powers. A deadly virus swept over the human population, killing many and leaving many others disfigured. The few survivors were named "orcs" and "elves" by the media, putting them into social isolation. Freakshows became common again, displaying Trolls, Gnomes and other disfigured Humans as well as strange animals. Slowly, the flora and faune of the world changed as scientists tried to keep up with these developments. The scientific world effectively came to a halt, dizzy with all the global transformation that was occuring.

Most of the changes were accompanied by terror and fighting. Havoc caused by the proclamation of the Apocalypse by religious figures and the fear of biotransformation induced by scientists left many people confused and alone in the world. In the neglected urban areas, this led to the building of modern tribes. These "gangs" were simply gatherings of people that tried to take care of each other. Since the government failed to support its citizens, they grouped to help themselves. Sometimes bickering and fighting over scraps, putting the world into something like a pre-civilisation society.

YOU are living in this society. You are part of a world that's trying to assume "business as usual". But everything is far far away from usual. You - the people - have recognized this and took steps to take care of yourself and those around you. You are part of a modern tribe.

Within a world struggling with new technologies and old legends, you are left amidst strange cults, corporate terror, helpless governments and raving media. Kids with cheasy books holding seances suddenly succeed in conjuring old evil devouring whole blocks of your neighborhood. Corporations drive your rents up by building high-fashion plazas next to your place and try to mug you out of your home. The Government releases stupid and ineffective regulations, trying to control magic and new technologies. You are right in the middle of all this. Sadly, you do not belong to the middle class or the priviledged few. Hell, you've barely been able to pay rent and get some food - maybe even enough to pay for your education. Whatever you've been trying to do in this world... whatever you've been trying to achive... you've failed.

So have others- you are not alone! Your hood gets together. You folks have each other. You're one big family... They call you scum, they call you gangs... well, allright then. Lets be the chewing gum on the bottom sole of society...

Compared to organized crimes's pyramidal structure, gangs are loosely hierarchial and often fight each other. Drive-by shootings by gangers often result in casualties among the local populations, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread dislike of the authorities. When there is a war on between gangs, the streets arent safe and even the peaceful tribes will take up arms to protect their hood.

Role

You and the other players are all gang members. You can define what kind of gang you will be- a group of suburban kids beating the crap out of others? Or a neighborhood lashed by fate and formed into a new family? However you may define yourself and whatever situation you may be in - you are part of a modern tribe.

At the start, you will be at the bottom of the tribe: a new or young member that is trying to gain in rank and esteem. Over time, you might get to the top of the tribe, even ruling it yourself, or start new tribes. You might even become a cult leader, a tribal warlord or rise (back) to the ranks of citizens living in a nice home with your family.

The gangwars assume that the PCs are part of a gang (or even a very small gang themselves) that has to fight "the rest of the world" to ensure its survival. With drugs, weapons, magic and cyberware circulating in the streets freely, this makes for an interesting starting point. Will you try to gain some insight into magic to assume power as fast as possible - at the same time putting you and others to very high risk? Or will you try to rob and pressure others for money? Maybe you'll even chop people to sell their parts off or sit in someones backroom for a cyber-implant? The multitude of approaches from a basic starting point can turn this setting into anything from Buffy to Special Unit 2 to Johnny Mnemonic to Ghost in the Shell.