Editing User:Bill/Hyperstructure Aurora (section)

=Setting=
Hyperstructure Aurora is a vast, self contained, tower complex inhabited by the wealthy and powerful of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Surrounded on all sides by desperate refugees, the dictatorial regime within uses force to subjugate the terrorized masses huddled below its nigh indestructible walls. Ravaged by disease, poverty, and the predations of monsters both human and inhuman the desperate retches of the refugee shanty town look for any opportunity to gain entrance to Aurora.

While these notes were intended to support my Hyperstructure Aurora game I think they could be applied to virtually any cross-genre TriStat dX game where the players are empowered to create their own equipment and powers.
==Government==
Aurora is presided over by an oligarchy composed of 13 appointed ministers called the civil governance council. These 13 men and women represent broad divisions, such as the military and public health, in the society of Aurora. It is intended to be a meritocracy, however many of these seats are gained at least as often through political maneuvering as they are by skill in the area that the minister is supposed to represent and manage. Ministers are appointed for life by a two-thirds majority vote of the other 12 ministers. By tradition, members of the civil governance council of Aurora step aside after a term of 20 years. The prime minister, who is empowered to act without council approval in emergencies and who's vote breaks ties in council decisions, is elected by simple majority every five years. 

The civil governance council has been extremely conservative since the global disaster that caused the enormous loss of life on earth and the collapse of most governments. For the last 13 years it has been led by Prime Minister Konrad Brewer, a former general in Aurora's armed forces. Brewer is nearing the end of his 20 year term on the civil governance council. It's rumored that he's planning to break tradition and continue to holding his seat. Other members of the council are jockeying for support in their bid for his seat while simultaneously grooming candidates among the military to take Brewer's seat as minister of defense. This has some interesting consequences as high ranking officers in the military attempt to distinguish themselves by backing new hardware projects, engaging in sweeping counter terrorist operations, and otherwise pushing the boundaries of what would be considered normal and acceptable behavior. 
==Society==
Within the hyperstructure one's status may be determined by his or her address. The more wealthy and powerful a person is the higher and more towards the center of the structure they live. The poor and recently admitted live in the lower, subterranean areas, close to the garrison and central power core. While that could represent a potential security risk, the waiting list for permission to enter Aurora is several years long and only those able to endure tremendous scrutiny make it through the process. Most of the workers of Aurora live at ground level and up to the first fifteen stories, along side the factories and hydroponic systems that sustain the population. Administrators and managers reside between levels sixteen and twenty-four while levels twenty-five to thirty are taken up by recreational facilities. Above level thirty are the living quarters of the highest managers and the ministers. At the very top of the titanic hyperstructure are the council chambers.

The existence of psychic abilities and the manipulation of arcane forces came to be accepted long after Aurora was constructed. The ministers have long upheld the conservative traditions of their forbears and thus the practice of magic remains outlawed within the hyperstructure itself. In the shanty-town that sprung up around Aurora over the last half century there is no such restriction. Similarly the use of psychic abilities is frowned upon in polite society though there is no law prohibiting psychics from living and working in Aurora. Psychics seldom rise above middle management or the rank of captain in the armed forces in this climate. Aliens are never permitted to reside in the hyperstructure, though they may apply for and receive work passes or enter with a special visitors pass.
==The Shanty Town==
Aurora is surrounded on all sides by the hungry and desperate refugees of the outside world. Most of the shanty town is constructed of recycled materials procured from the city that formerly surrounded the hyperstructure including entire buildings that survived the cataclysm, the tallest of which are up to six stories. A mile wide no-mans-land between Aurora and the shanty town is kept clear by squads of soldiers that patrol it. The soldiers are none too gentle about evacuating squatters either. Numerous complaints of brutality fall on the civil governance council's deaf ears every month. The shanty town extends for several miles in all directions and continues to slowly expand. Some members of the civil governance council have suggested that it would be better to restrict the growth of the shanty town fearing that too large a refugee population could result in an attempt to seize the city. Others have suggested that the shanty town provides a valuable first line of defense and that those living there are expendable. This position is not publicly known, though even if it were few would see it as more than uptown arrogance.

For most the hyperstructure represents hope and a dream of a better life. Gaining entry is the only reason why they are there and the only reason that they stay. For others though the shade of Aurora is exactly where they want to be. These individuals and clandestine organizations see the huddled throng as an opportunity for wealth and power that is simply unattainable for those who are admitted to the sterile halls of the hyperstructure. These men and women trade in all manner of goods and services both legal and illegal. For those seeking refuge in Aurora dealing with the black market and gangsters is an unpleasant necessity. There is no unified criminal syndicate though. The civil governance council maintains a hands off policy regarding all but the most dangerous of criminal activities in the shanty town, but has stepped in to break up gangs that get too large or influential. It's rumored that they have spies everywhere and that the civil governance council also targets people that speak out against their policies too loudly. Disappearances are so common in the shanty town though that these accusations are usually dismissed as conspiracy theory.

The gangs of Aurora's shanty town are without question dangerous and many people are killed in the clashes between them. They are however not the worst thing that the Shanty town has to offer. Such a large mass of humanity has attracted many demonic entities and rapacious aliens. Most appear human or are shape-shifters but others have human allies that conceal their existence. The few military patrols of Aurora within the shanty town are generally seeking these monsters. Destroying these kinds of monsters and the cults that worship them has been made a priority by the civil governance council, but they do not wish to commit too many resources to save people that are most likely going to die from disease or hunger anyway. As a result the patrols are mostly for show and only when there is a major disturbance are armored assault troops deployed.

==Non-Player Characters==
Integral to the setting are the characters that the players interact with. These are some of the people that came up in the game that I ran.<br>
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" width="100%"
|-
|width="25%"| [[User:Bill/Hyperstructure_Aurora/Characters:Didac|Didac]]
| Two-headed mutant crimeboss.
|-
| [[User:Bill/Hyperstructure_Aurora/Characters:Mechon|Mechon]]
| Cyborg drug dealer and smuggler.
|-
| [[User:Bill/Hyperstructure_Aurora/Characters:Mistress_Katrina|Mistress Katrina]]
| A psychic vampire involved involved in prostitution.
|-
| [[User:Bill/Hyperstructure_Aurora/Characters:Marius|Marius]]
| A strange tattooed preacher consumed by visions of destruction.
|}