TEXT: world_rev.0.7.1 // ‘the drift update’
  
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  Film: The Matrix, Tron, Tron: Legacy
  Games: Transistor by Supergiant Games, Cryptomancer by Chad Walker
  Books: Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
  Hello, World has a Spotify playlist!
  https://tinyurl.com/hello-world-spotify
  Hello, World contains many themes you might expect from
  a forged in the dark game and a few you might not.
  There can be plenty of depictions of the players acting out
  scenes of criminal misadventure, violence, deception, and
  theft, though the overall tone can be more light-hearted
  and hopeful. The opportunity exists for good outcomes!
  Other themes include identity, memory, and social turmoil
  in a society without a functioning attention span.
  Additionally, themes of self-awareness and worker’s rights
  can be invoked by the Process, World’s human-like
  procedurally-generated labor class.
  Be sure to ask the table before play whether any of these
  themes interest them or should be downplayed or vetoed
  entirely. Play with safety tools, such as Script Change, the
  X-card or Lines & Veils.
  The Script Change tool and a
  space for Lines and Veils are printed on the back of this
  booklet to assist you!
  2-4. Themes of Hello, World
  5. What’s new from FitD
  6. Memory
  7-8. Functions
  9. Damage, armor & harm
  10-11. Deresolution & Drift
  12. Fighting Admins/Glitch
  13. Crew creation, cohorts
  15. Authority functions
  16. Magnitude tables
  17. Artifacts
  18. Quality & Items
  19. People of World (Users &
  Process)
  21. Other entities of World
  23. Action/Theme tables
  24 - 40. Servers
  40-47. Factions
  int main()
  {
  printf("hello, world!\n");
  return 0;
  }
  Blades in the Dark™ is a trademark of One Seven Design.
  The Forged in the Dark Logo is © One Seven Design, and is used with permission.
  World was built for Users like you, and your safety and security are guaranteed by the
  Administrators who tirelessly hold the gates of the great Servers. By its nature World is post-
  scarcity: there is no material good or service that cannot be replicated endlessly at no cost other
  than server load.
  This sprawling metropolis is built on a cloud of data where the only true commodity is Memory:
  the privilege to record, store, and recall the priceless recollections that stitch together your
  identity. Memory is physical in World: you can touch it, exchange it, manipulate it, discard or
  destroy it. Users are faced with constant choices about how to manage their memories. Your
  treasured dreams of past sensations compete with present-day luxuries and practical
  necessities. Some Users choose a life of fleeting decadence and persistent amnesia, constantly
  discarding their old senses of Self in pursuit of new sensations.
  In this digital frontier Users are immortal in a broad sense, but their personal identities are
  mutable, precious, and fragile. In order to afford the cost of server storage to sustain the
  collection of memories needed for a functioning sense of Self, many Users turn to illicit
  activities...
  Hello, World wouldn’t exist without these people:
  Writer / Design Collaboration : James, who is the most creative writer I know. If you find in
  here a random table filled with fascinating and surprising results, or a description of a wonderful
  dream-like location, he probably wrote it. Thanks for believing in me, brother.
  Motivator / Aesthetic Instigator: Mabel Harper, who told me that this world had a future.
  Tireless GM / fellow Forged in the Dark traveller: Erik of the San Janero Co-op and
  Brinkwood. Thanks for letting me dwell among your community.
  Everyone who has played this game with me at conventions and online. You’re all
  wonderful.
  @umbral_aeronaut
  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  Except where noted in the following pages, Hello, World operates with the same core system as
  Blades in the Dark: https://bladesinthedark.com/basics
  This is a guide to the state of World, as it exists before your story is told. Many questions are
  intentionally left ambiguous. The answers you find in play are true for your table.
  World is a physics simulation. They aren’t the same laws that you and I experience, but they
  are consistent and empirically-knowable to our characters. About as many people in our own
  reality can meaningfully discuss quantum mechanics as there are Users in World who can
  discuss the inner workings of World’s data-driven physics ruleset. They aren’t a lot of fun at
  parties. If your User is one of those people, either keep it to yourself or make up your own
  science-babble.
  Nobody remembers anything before World. Memory simply doesn’t stretch that far back. No
  matter how deeply you dig, the origins of World were so many layered iterations and countless
  cycles ago that the Archives become twisted and corrupt long before any valid information can
  be obtained.
  There is probably nothing worthwhile outside of World. Experiments to test or observe
  beyond the outer edges of World’s servers always fail, or worse. Worse is the Glitch. Glitch is
  dangerously anathema to World’s physics and requires immediate, emergency containment by
  Administrators or other classified and cleared personnel. Glitch is the only measurable exterior
  force to be recorded in World.
  
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  They stopped making new Users a long, long time ago. Sorry! But you're welcome to try
  anyway (use safety tools to determine your table's appetite for R+ rated content). That said, if a
  User discards all of their memories and takes a lengthy defrag on the Stack, they're almost like
  a completely new person.
  Something happened to World in the distant past, and it is emptier than it should be.
  Despite 99 percent of total available server space being dormant, World’s processing power is
  apparently straining to meet the demands of its population. This might be why one of the four
  servers has been indefinitely held off-line in a defrag cycle for most of living memory. This could
  also explain why nobody can seem to afford enough Memory to remember who they are for
  very long, and why an increasing number of Users are being driven to unlawful acts to acquire a
  greater share of Memory.
  This is an elephant-in-the-room topic for most Users (kind of like how you’re a drag to be
  around if you’re constantly bringing up the inevitable heat death of our universe).
  World is Happy! Despite all of the above, World is an optimistic place. Why should they be
  bothered by the big picture circumstances? You never seem to be all that bothered by the fact
  that you're made out of meat and stand on a tiny wet marble surrounded by vacuum and
  spinning at high velocity around a hydrogen explosion.
  World is a great place to live. World is a real utopia. You can’t die, you can be basically
  anyone you want to be, most kinds of physical things and entertainments are essentially free,
  and you don’t have any real obligations if you don’t want them. Sure you have to follow a few
  rules, and there is the problem of your persistent amnesia, but who cares? Wonderful new
  experiences are always right around the corner for you.
  In World nobody dies, nobody gets sick, nobody is homeless. Nobody even needs to eat,
  but if they want to they can have food for relatively cheap (food is still delicious). If you've been
  listening to the Hello, World spotify playlist since the last page, by now you've probably hit at
  least one saccharine chiptune bop. I'm not sorry.
  Although the visuals of World use near futurism and cyber-nostalgia as their basis, the genre
  of Hello, World is POST-cyberpunk. Individuals are so heavily-enfranchised in World that
  corporations and nations are basically defunct for lack of interest (though there are a handful
  of those trying to hang on). Material goods are so ubiquitous and cheap that their acquisition
  hardly matters, but ideas are very important in World. Dedicated groups of people can
  change society, at least for a time.
  There are two kinds of Users: those who are satisfied with the state of this place, and
  those who are not. Hello, World is about the human drive to take control of things around us
  and change them, and grappling with what that means in a utopia. World is full of bored
  dilettantes with nothing better to do than mess with the balance of society for greater personal
  power or to enact their own unique vision (check out the Faction pages to find plenty of
  examples!). Your characters might even be part of one such group.
  We play to find out what happens to World, and how your characters are complicit in
  it's fate. Establishment-aligned forces like the Administration, Moderators, and
  Troubleshooters exist to hold these impulses at bay and protect the "greatest good for the
  greatest number" that they believe World's preservation represents, but the forces of chaos
  arrayed against them are enfranchised by the status quo and blessed with the immortality and
  resources to enact their plots.
  The tools to change or destroy World are provided free of charge by the system itself. What
  would you change about this place? What would you preserve? Or are you just trying to get
  by while hanging onto a few good memories along the way?
  I’m pretty sure we’re done here. That’s all you could possibly need to know about World.
  *sigh* Yes, you. You in the back. I see you.
  “So are Users brains in jars connected to electrodes, or is World a simulation
  happening to frozen bodies in a huge generation ship, or are we inside a giant network
  of artifical intelligences powered by a Dyson Sphere, or...?”
  Ask this question again but substitute “humans” for Users and “Earth” for World and you’ll
  realize that it sounds a little silly.
  But, yes. All of that.
  However this isn’t a game about escaping the Matrix. It’s about self-discovery in the face of a
  boring utopia. It’s about whether you’ll break the mantle of existence when you realize
  Heaven was born empty and that, sadly, makes you the only God.
  You must live with the World you create. That being said, if your User ever does manage to
  escape World, please tell me what they find on the other side (my twitter account is
  @umbral_aeronaut). I happen to have a lot of money riding on “2-dimensional computer
  etched into the side of a black hole, post-Universal Heat Death”.
  
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  If you’ve played or been a GM for a Forged in the Dark game before (like Blades in the Dark or
  Scum and Villainy), then this should be pretty close to second nature. Here’s what’s different:
  You are immortal. The PC’s and other main characters can’t die, but they can forget and will
  change. We play to find out who they are, who they once were, and who they will become.
  You can change World. Disruption to the status quo is usually fleeting in World, at least until an
  Authority function is executed. These cause permanent ripples in the physical and social fabric.
  The players will get a taste of Authority during crew creation, and can wield it again periodically
  throughout their story to chart the course of World’s future.
  The Factions of World are fluid. The faction pyramid of World is dynamic, and the major power
  players will move up and down in Tier just like the player’s crew does. Their goals, composition,
  and resources will change to reflect their growing ambitions, just like the Crew does. You can
  knock them down if their goals are incompatible with yours but remember, they are immortal too!
  There are 9 basic Functions in World. The next page describes the ‘verbs’ (Functions) that
  govern the life of Users in World (Authority functions add 3 more to this total but the Players don’t
  need to be worried about them most of the time).
  The list of functions that players have to
  contend with is smaller than usual for Blades, and lacks a few things you might be used to:
  Survey is gone. If there is hidden danger for the PCs to potentially miss noticing in the
  scene, simply tell them something is out there and ask them if they want to Resist with
  Computation in order to notice it. Use this trick sparingly, most of the time it’s actually better
  to tell the players what’s going on up front and ask them what they’ll do with the information.
  Hidden information works well in certain RPGs, but generally just slows down the action here.
  Use Find if the players want to Gather Info by observing a situation.
  Command is gone. People can’t ordinarily be intimidated into doing what you want in World,
  as pain is mostly abstract and everyone who matters is immortal (for the exception to this
  rule, see the Breaker playbook’s Intimidator Special Ability). If the players are leading friends
  or allies into action, use the Get function instead.
  Player Characters handle “gear” differently. Since thoughts are just as tangible as physical
  objects in World, players deal with their equipment by using a resource called Memory (or MEM
  for short). Players don’t pick a loadout at the start of scores, but can purchase extra MEM slots
  when they level up to help them be more flexible. Because their playbook-specific special items
  don’t cost any MEM to equip, players will always have access to their signature items. Don’t be
  afraid to throw consequences or Bargains related to Memory at the players, it’s important to
  World’s flavor!
  “With a grin, your contact hands you the MEMcard and disappears into the crowd. Are you gonna
  try to scan and dump the card here in public, or hold onto it? It costs 1 MEM to keep.”
  “The Coin you swipe uploads to your Memknife in an instant, but you realize that the target’s
  encryption has made the file bigger than expected: mark off a MEM to hold onto it all!”
  “You can get some useful blackmail here, but it will cost you at least one MEM slot to store the
  scene at a high-enough fidelity. Do you want to try to keep watching and download even more?”
  Player Characters handle “damage” differently. When you assign damage as a consequence,
  by default it goes to the character’s Stress track (usually between 1 to 3 Stress). Players can still
  use Armor to block the damage, or ‘download’ the damage into one or more of their Harm slots
  to reduce the Stress. Since players get to choose when and how to take Harm and have an
  automatic “Second Wind” option to resist falling out of the score from Stress (by taking the most
  severe Harm box instead), they’re pretty durable. Don’t be afraid to hit them hard.
  Player Characters bounce back fast. Downtime actions in Hello, World are streamlined and
  emphasize getting the PCs back into the action, rather than a punishing grind of resources like in
  traditional Blades. That’s all the more reason to push them hard with consequences during the
  Score. If you like assigning 2 or more Consequences during most action rolls, this game is for
  you.
  Some of my favorite fall-backs include Memory or Gear expenditure, worsening the
  Position, and ticking dangerous Clocks. Make the players choose what to Resist!
  “Your Best Memories Look Better In MEMcrystal(c)!”
  Memory is physical in World. You can touch it, exchange it, manipulate it, discard or destroy
  it. There are two major types of Memory “formats” that are seen in World.
  MEMchip: A disposable storage format, typically used for consumable items (food and drink,
  cheap goods) and small exchanges of cash or information between Users. A still hologram,
  pamphlet, or simple recording. A single Coin’s worth of cash.
  MEMcard: A common storage format, with a silver-coated “Write-once then Read-only” core
  embedded in neuroplastics mined from Arcturus. Most memories are stored in these nowadays.
  Often used to store physical possessions: a mass-produced stock item or weapon can be ‘drawn’
  out of a MEMcard. Credentials to an account that holds a few Coins. A complex recollection.
  MEMcrystal: The iconic symbol of quality storage. Consists of a gold Read/Write element as well
  as a content preview and selection ring, both of which are embedded in a durable poly-crystalline
  block that serves as the actual storage medium and protective shell. Often reserved for the
  safekeeping of treasured high-fidelity recollections and valued signature possessions. Nobody
  makes them anymore but the average User is hanging onto at least a few of these still.
  Every User has built-in ‘Random-Access Memory’ that lets them follow through on short-term
  tasks, carry out internal monologues and decision-making, and process sensory stimuli, but
  recalling or acting on anything longer than a cycle or two ago requires the usage of external
  Memory. Long-term internal storage for Users to record their innermost ‘selves’ is theorized to
  exist, but it’s functions are embedded deeply in the hidden operating language of World and it has
  long been considered impossible to define accurate capacities and limits for it. How much of
  “You” is actually preserved without access to Memory is a question debated at length by
  philosophers.
  Most Users go about their normal routines using MEMplast to record notable events, interesting
  conversations and experiences, and periodically transferring items desired for long-term storage
  to a MEMcrystal. It’s common to create back-ups, as the crime of MEMcrystal theft is on the rise.
  In Hello, World the process of handling personal memories is abstracted and the Memory
  capacity of PCs is mostly explored to the extent that it adds interesting challenges and
  considerations to what they choose to have, own, or recall. If the players express interest in
  exploring these aspects of being a User, ask them questions about how they handle their
  Memories. When they Recall, what does it look like?
  Within the game, MEM serves as the method for determining Loadout: how much gear the
  Players can hold on a Score. Normally the Users begin a Score with 4 slots of Memory which
  can be filled with as generic gear items as they are needed.
  The Playbook Items the players select during User Creation are also “memory” within World’s
  fiction, but these dont cost MEM as they are presumed to be already accounted for by the Users:
  let them be always on hand when needed, unless a Complication or Daemon’s Bargain causes
  one to become unavailable for a time!
  
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  ■ COMPUTATION - To resist consequences from Deception or Understanding.
  Find - filter information, discover facts, see through illusions
  You might dig through memories, records, and news reports. You might follow a
  target and discover their location. You might closely analyze a person to detect
  falsehoods or see through their mask. You could try to study records and
  historical tags to understand the past (but restoring the archives to directly
  observe events might be better).
  Ping - suppress or disable, ranged combat, crack locks
  You might wear down a gang or fortification with a flurry of attacks. You might
  attack with precision shooting from a distance. You might crack a simple numeric
  lock by rapidly testing combinations in sequence. You could try to scale up to a
  dictionary attack against a more complicated password (but finding the
  password’s written hint might be better). You could try to take out a durable
  adversary with repeated weak hits (but crashing might be better).
  Restore - rewind an object/place to a previous state, recover from Archives
  You might restore a location to its state at the time of a crime to gather clues.
  You might recreate a gadget or a lost feature of an existing item. You might
  reconstruct a structure or lost feature of the terrain. You could try to confound a
  pursuer by cycling a hallway through confusing historical snapshots (but echo or
  goto might be better).
  ■ STABILITY- To resist consequences from Physical Strain or Disruption.
  Buffer - guard, seize or hold territory, delay or redirect danger
  You might seize or hold a position in battle. You might channel a stream of
  destructive energy or divert an attack. You might buy a cohort or ally time by
  interposing yourself as a barrier. You could try to outlast an opponent through
  endurance until they back off (but crashing might be better).
  Crash - strike, break, or duel with close-quarters force and skill
  You might hack and slash or go head to head in a high-flying martial arts battle.
  You might engage in a swirling close-quarters gunfight. You might break barriers
  or smash World’s infrastructure in order to overcome an obstacle or cause
  chaos. You could try to drive off a large gang with crushing attacks (but pinging
  might be better).
  Goto - run, climb, navigate, operate vehicles, avoid danger
  You might run and leap across rooftops. You might handle the controls of a
  vehicle or direct a mount. You might outrace an opponent with knowledge of
  shortcuts or a burst of speed. You could try to evade a powerful attack (but
  buffering might be better).
  ■ RESOLUTION - To resist consequences from Mental Strain or Willpower.
  Mask - hide, sneak, steal, physical misdirection and disguises
  You might sneak past a guard or hide in the shadows.You might misdirect others
  in order to swipe a keycard or steal a memory. You might change your
  appearances to resemble someone who is allowed access to an area. You could
  try to disguise yourself as a specific person in order to obtain something you
  aren’t allowed to have (but getting or restoring might be better).
  Echo - sway or deceive with misinformation or illusion
  You might fool the senses with optical illusions. You might sway the beliefs of
  others with emotional appeal or falsified evidence. You might alter timestamps
  and event tags to deceive investigators who try to restore the scene. You could
  try to distract guards in order to travel somewhere you aren’t authorized (but
  masking might be better).
  Get - consort, blend in, handle personal connections, utilize public services
  You might gain access to resources, people, or places. You might make new
  friends or win someone over with your charm and style. You might turn the
  natural resources and privileges of World to your advantage. You could try to
  obtain hidden information about a faction by rubbing elbows with their members
  (but finding might be better).
  ■ AUTHORITY - To resist changes to the baseline reality of World.
  Kill - Infinite power of Revocation
  You might purge a district, derezzing all individuals within and wiping it’s
  geotags back to baseline. You might destroy a dangerous Memory. You might
  permanently revoke a User’s rights, removing all trace of them from World
  forever.
  Format - Infinite power of Redefinition
  You might quarantine a district, freezing movement in and out. You might alter
  the flows of space, time, gravity, or other natural laws in a district. You might
  revise the parameters of an entire server’s population of Process.
  Compile - Infinite power of Creation
  You might create an artifact of supreme power. You might define the
  dimensions of a brand new district or partition. You might commission a mighty
  army of Process to your specifications.
  !AUTHORITY functions cannot be wielded if the User has no dots trained!
  //WARNING//
  Unauthorized Privilege Escalation is a Class II Offense, punishable by
  summary Deresolution and derogatory processing to the Stack.
  
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  Damage in Hello, World is handled differently to ordinary consequences. Users take damage
  directly against their Stress track.
  Don’t be afraid to deal damage during moments of
  psychological loss, mental stress, or social disappointment! World is an abstract kind of place.
  When a situation is Controlled, a minor consequence could cause 1 Stress of damage.
  If Risky, a standard consequence usually is 2 Stress.
  If Desperate, a serious consequence might be 3 Stress, but could potentially be 4 or higher if
  major factors of Scale or Potency exceed the defenses of the PC.
  When damage is dealt to a player character, they can choose to either accept it or resist by using
  Armor, their Harm boxes, any relevant Special Abilities, or a combination of those options.
  In order to resist damage with Armor, ask the player to mark off an Armor box that applies to
  the threat vector (for example, the Shieldbelt is a generic Memory slot choice for every playbook
  that is useful for resisting incoming damage from physical attacks). Each playbook also has a
  unique Armor item that could potentially be used against various different kinds of damage. For
  example, the Filcher’s Holo Bomb might let them slip away from the consequences of physical
  detection, ranged attack, or other consequences. Let the players be imaginative!
  At the GM’s discretion, Armor can reduce either some or all of the Damage. As a general
  guideline, let the player resist all of the Damage if their playbook armor is obviously the right
  defense for the attack vector (for example, the Breaker’s Lightbarrier during a close-quarters
  brawl, or the Squawker’s Disarming Wit during a heated duel of words).
  Otherwise, simply
  reduce the incoming damage by 1 instead.
  In order to resist damage using Harm, have the player declare how much damage they are
  transferring to the Harm track.
  For example, a Serious Damage consequence (3 stress) could
  translate into a Level 3 Harm box, or both Level 1 and Level 2 Harm, or be partially mitigated
  using a lesser Harm box. If a Harm box is already filled, it is unavailable and the player would
  have to resist using the next higher-numbered box that is still empty.
  Level 1 Harm represents a brief moment of avatar Instability that leaves behind an incriminating
  timestamp, memory sliver, or other clue that helps investigators and other factions track the
  crew’s actions. This is represented by additional immediate Heat. If you want to explore the
  fiction around this, ask the player to describe what they left behind. Level 1 Harm automatically
  clears itself off of the damage track during the reset phase of Downtime, so be sure to suggest it
  to the players as an option when they take damage!
  Level 2 Harm is an Error that represents some loss of agency within World. The User might be
  a little 'fuzzy' at the edges, or perhaps have a distinctive injury represented on their avatar. Ask
  the player to describe what their Error looks like, then write it in on their harm track in the
  appropriate space. The GM can assess less effect for action rolls that depend on their avatar
  smoothly functioning.
  Level 3 Harm is a serious Fault such as an obvious wound or noticeable avatar degradation.
  Ask the player to describe the nature of the Fault, then tell them to write it in on the track. This
  can result in a -1d penalty against the number of function dice rolled for applicable actions.
  Level 4 Harm means your avatar is Crashing and likely suffering from multiple compounding
  issues. Without help from an ally your User will have difficulty employing their expertise to help
  the crew. Help is deliberately undefined so that the GM can assess what qualifies on a case-by-
  case basis, but a common requirement of help includes putting your allies at risk of
  consequences from the assisted action.
  Whenever a Player fills in their last stress box for any reason, they derez to the Stack as
  soon as the current function concludes (see next page). However if their Level 4 Harm box is
  empty, they may instead choose to write an appropriate Harm in it to clear 4 Stress and
  endure.
  Users are immortal. Whenever a User experiences a critical existence failure (“deresolution” or
  simply “derez”), their baseline data and any memories they held at Time of Deresolution are
  whisked away through World and reassembled automatically at the top of The Stack, a grand
  tower that dominates the entire vertical length of Helios. Whenever an instance of user-data
  arrives at the bottom of the Stack it is compiled by the Lead Executor and the resulting User is
  released back into World after a brief period of readjustment.
  There are a few things that might Derez a Player Character, but the two most common triggers
  are getting arrested by the Troubleshooters, or filling your final box of Stress for any reason and
  choosing not to (or being unable to) fill in Level 4 Harm to endure. Whenever a User derezzes
  they disappear from the scene and arrive at The Stack (non-User playbooks may have different
  conditions or outcomes as described on their sheet). What does it look like when you Derez?
  Do you vanish in a flash of light, collapse into disintegrating fragments, fade to flickering dust?
  Do you have time to make a dramatic statement?
  The Stack can be a pleasant dreamscape vacation, a living nightmare, or something in between.
  We make a Deresolution roll to find out (similar to Incarceration in Blades).
  Your starting dice pool consists of your crew’s Tier, modified by the circumstances of your
  Deresolution (choose the most appropriate option below). The current Chaos level determines
  what chart you roll for Deresolution on: the Administration of World will be far less lenient on
  known bad actors against World’s stability, and degrading server conditions can harm the
  experience on the Stack for everyone.
  Damage: -1d
  Arrested, or Self-inflicted Stress: +0d
  Kill command suffered: -2d
  While wielding Authority: +1d
  Low Chaos (0-1)
  Medium Chaos (2-3)
  High Chaos (4)
  1-3
  Unpleasant Dreams
  (+2 Stress)
  Rough Interrogation
  (+2 Heat, +2 Stress)
  ERROR///Resolution Failure
  (+1 additional Drift)
  4/5
  Interrogated by Mods
  (+1 Heat)
  Pleasant Interrogation
  (+2 Heat)
  Admins scour your thoughts
  (+6 Stress)
  6
  Pleasant Dreams
  (no effect)
  Confusing Dreams
  (-1 MEM in next Score)
  Admins are lenient
  (+3 Stress)
  CRIT
  Surprise Recollection
  (+1 Experience)
  Vital Recollection
  (+2 Experience)
  Admin presents a Revelation
  (+3 Stress, +3 Experience)
  Regardless of the result, a user who was derezzed takes Drift (see the next page) and cannot
  return to the crew until they’ve sat out a number of Scores equal to the current Chaos level.
  Upon your return to your crew, you usually have zero stress, although some results on the
  Deresolution table will add more to that.
  If an outcome would add Heat it can be prevented with a suitable bribe to the Troubleshooters
  (Coin = Chaos+1). Use the Deresolution table result as a prompt for a scene describing the
  User’s experience on the stack, if desired.
  The Stack is also where allies, enemies, and even entire Factions may end up. The GM uses
  the “Stack” locations on the Faction Map to track this, with a “Stack Resolution” 4-clock that ticks
  once at the end of every Score the Players go on. While the Stack nominally holds user-data in
  descending order of resolution time, its order of operations is routinely altered by the Executors
  who manage Central Processing... In other words, allow fictional circumstances to alter the flow
  of factions on and off of the Stack.
  
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  When a User is sent to the Stack for any reason, they experience Drift. When you take Drift,
  mark it in the designated space on your character sheet and circle one of the drift conditions like
  Glitched, Lagging, etc.
  Drift represents buildup of behavioral quirks, corrupted memory, and in extreme cases gradual
  dissociation from the personal identity a User has selected for themself. As a User drifts further
  and further off of their baseline, they may find treasured memories and habits to be less fulfilling
  than they once were.
  This is represented by decreased Stress recovery when Indulging
  Memories in downtime.
  •
  Disconnected: You’ve begun discarding your once-valued memories of other Users. You
  are not moved by emotional appeal or social bonds.
  •
  Glitched: You display signs of overexposure to the Glitch. Your avatar is scarred, and your
  memories are stalked by malignant intruders.
  •
  Infected: Something is consuming your thoughts. You’re obsessed by that thing: an activity,
  a person, an ideology, a fear.
  •
  Lagging: You occasionally desynchronize, causing you to miss important details or slowing
  your responses.
  •
  Overclocked:
  You can’t slow down your responses. You act without regard to safety,
  recklessly or impulsively.
  •
  Sentimental:
  You cling desperately to your favored memories and fear their loss. You
  become soft, passive, gentle.
  •
  Timeslip:
  Your ability to differentiate between timestamps falters. You confuse past with
  present, reliving events or seeing things.
  •
  Volatile: Your RAM is unstable. You can suddenly rage, or fall into despair, or freeze up.
  You can play up your drift conditions as much or as little as you like. They can totally transform
  your User’s persona or have only a small impact. However, If you do play them strongly and allow
  them to complicate your User’s life, you will earn XP for it.
  Drift conditions are permanent. When you mark your fourth drift condition, your character can
  no longer continue under their present identity. They vanish, typically by voluntarily discarding
  most of their memories and taking a lengthy defragmentation on the Stack in order to begin a new
  life (the official term is “Reiteration”). However if desired, a player may choose to make a new
  character representing the “legacy” User’s new identity (use the normal rules for User creation).
  They are unlikely to be very similar at all to their previous self...
  Close encounters with Administration and the Glitch can be harrowing.
  They present
  challenges for the Player Characters that fall outside the normal bounds of interaction that most
  often occur in World.
  By default, Administrators will inflict a commanding hynosis-like trance on Users and Process in
  their presence. A PC can choose to meekly obey commands, or they can make a resistance roll
  with Resolution to ignore the effect. Characters with lots of exposure to Administration, such as
  Moderators and some squawkers, become less susceptible and only face hypnosis from Admins
  during hazardous situations where their potential for self-will or hesitation is judged to be a risk.
  Even if the hypnotic trance is resisted, Users who seek to oppose the Administration still face an
  adversary with unconstrained access to the Authority commands of World, making them a
  fearsome adversary.
  Usually Admins will begin by Formatting the arena, suspending local
  timeflow or trapping their adversary in a fractal prison. They may summon proxy combatants to
  fight on their behalf with Compile, choosing to serenely float through the engagement while the
  situation is taken care of. Most Admins will spare unleashing the full force of the Kill command
  on Users if they can help it, but remember that their logic is fixated on zero-sum considerations
  of what is “good” for the entirety of World. A User who falls on the wrong side of that ethical
  calculation will be derezzed without hesitation.
  Glitch at it’s most basic form is a passive environmental threat. It is the physical manifestation of
  entropy, total data loss eating away at World. When Player Characters move through a Glitch-
  corrupted environment, they must first sustain 1 Stress Damage before they can act. If they
  continue pressing on, they will keep incurring level 1 Damage for subsequent actions performed
  within the corruption zone. Process cohorts without the “Debug Routines” edge will experience
  immediate existence failure in such places.
  When the Glitch erupts forth in a dynamic pattern, things get much worse. Acting against the
  semi-sentient Harbingers of the Glitch is an exercise in deadly frustration, as the Glitch’s mere
  existence undermines the foundation that permits Users to take action in World.
  Harbingers
  generally do not respond to physical or mental disruption, are not constrained by physical barriers
  or laws, and dissolve the fabric of reality at a touch. Users are advised to avoid contact at all
  costs.
  
  13
  14
  Choose a crew type. You begin at Tier 0 with 0 Rep (all the Users involved
  in the crew just got rezzed off of the stack, remember?) but you have
  collectively scraped together 2 Coin based on some recovered savings.
  Choose a special ability. Choose from the list on your crew sheet. If you’re
  unsure, select the first one (it’s a good default choice).
  Choose an initial reputation and select the district you are trying to
  break into. Your reputation is a sign-post as to how other factions and
  unaffiliated Users might view you, choices include:
  Aggressive - Daring - Honorable - Professional - Subtle - Weird
  Also, choose one of the four major districts to be your starting locale. Your GM will
  summarize a bit to you about them now if you aren’t yet familiar (next page).
  GM: tell the players about the Tier 2 faction that operates within the district (a Troubleshooter
  precinct if you want the police to be a factor early on, otherwise a Syndicate or Weird). Ask
  the players how they deal with them:
  • Pay your respects. -1 Coin, and their status becomes neutral (0).
  • Gift them handsomely. -2 Coin, and their status is now +1.
  • Pay them nothing. Crew status with them is -1.
  Wield Authority! Your crew had to do something to establish themselves,
  something big. Something that can only be done with a stolen power of
  Authority. Choose whether you:
  □ Changed a street, the neighborhood process, a local law of reality (+Format)
  □ Created a new passageway, a unique hideout, a great stockpile (+ Compile)
  □ Destroyed a mighty barrier, a bitter rival, a troublesome memory (+Kill)
  Fill in 1 dot in the associated Authority function on the crew sheet.
  GM: This Server’s current masters didn’t like that: an Infrastructure faction if you didn’t choose
  Troubleshooters in the last step, a Syndicate or Weird faction otherwise. Write them in as this
  server’s Tier 3 faction at -1 status.
  Choose a favored crew contact. Mark the one who is a close friend, long-
  time associate, or partner in crime.
  GM: tell the players about two factions with a relationship to this contact (write them into the
  faction map as needed, focusing on Tier 2/3 slots in neighboring servers):
  • One faction is friendly with the contact. Take +1 status with them.
  • One faction dislikes the contact. Take -2 status with them.
  May take -1 Coin for +1 status in either above relationship.
  Choose starting Cohort. Your crew has one or a few Process working for it,
  either an Expert or a Gang (your crew playbook will show you which).
  Be sure
  to choose Edges & Flaws using the guidelines on the next page.
  GM: tell the players about the Tier 1 faction in another server that helped them acquire the
  Cohort. Did the crew:
  • Trade favors? Take +1 status with them.
  • Throw in a little extra? -1 Coin, and +2 status with them.
  GM: Now is your chance to decide if you want to fill in some more of the remaining blank
  spaces on the map with neutral factions, or else leave them empty to discover in play.
  Consider leaving Helios (tier 4 and 5) empty on the map for now, or else put only one faction
  there. It will create a much bigger impact when someone does finally arrive in Helios, and give
  your table time to explore the setting without those additional pressures.
  Debug Routines: The cohort can survive
  initial contact with the Glitch and navigate
  chaotic or degraded environments.
  Subtext Recognition: The cohort is capable
  of understanding and negotiating nuanced
  social situations.
  Multi-threaded: The cohort can be trusted to
  make good decisions and act on their own
  initiative in the absence of direct orders.
  Tenacious: The cohort can’t be deterred or
  misdirected away from their assigned tasks.
  Bloatware:
  The
  cohort
  has
  pre-installed
  obligations to another faction and can be
  trusted to report to them about your actions.
  Mandatory Patches: The cohort isn’t always
  available
  due
  to
  unusually-frequent
  maintenance requirements.
  Stock Avatars: The cohort is unimpressive to
  look at which is unflattering to your crew’s
  reputation.
  Willful: The cohort has an ethic or values that
  it won’t betray, and may question orders.
  Expert: 1 Edge and 0 Flaws or 2 Edges and 1 Flaw
  Gang: 1 Edge and 1 Flaw or 2 Edges and 2 Flaws
  A gang of cohorts works just as in Blades. Scale & Quality = Crew tier. Gang
  types are below:
  • Chatters - talk up things for you; negotiators & go-betweens
  • Routers - move things for you; drivers & couriers
  • Strikers - hit things for you; soldiers & toughs
  • Tracers - monitor things for you; trackers & watchers
  An expert is a higher-quality single Process, specced to order. They are Tier 0,
  with Quality = Crew Tier +1. Experts also don’t have as many Flaws as gangs
  (see below). Experts have a unique specialization defined at creation, for
  example they might be an Archivist, a Butler, an Illusionist, a Head of Security,
  etc.
  To command your cohorts or lead a group action with them, try using Get.
  The servers of World are 99 percent unformatted clusters of disorganized data. The form that
  wild data takes differs from server to server, but it stands in obvious contrast to the civilized
  centers (the remaining 1% of server space) that Users and Process traffic within. Servers are
  connected by Ports, fast transit hubs that connect the civic centers of World to each other.
  SIRIUS - Commercial population center of World, densely urban, mirrored streets and fractal
  architecture, spotlights crisscrossing the sky. Locked in eternal dusk.
  CANOPUS - Neo-Venetian, World’s center of arts and culture. A vast built-over moored vessel
  on an endless crystal sea. Archipelagos choked with untamed jungles.
  ARCTURUS - Industrialized desert arcology lashed by storms of lightning and scouring
  chemicals, vast below-ground machinery and piping, barren lawless expanses.
  ARGUS - [WARNING: currently undergoing Defragmentation] What stable pockets are found
  give it an ‘Oldtown’ vibe; anachronistic gas lamps, aging storefronts, winding cobbled streets.
  Also, there is: HELIOS - Domain of the Administrators & High tier factions. Geometric, pristine,
  symmetrical. Users cannot start their Tier 0 crew here.
  
  15
  16
  A fallen teardrop of pure starlight, raw untapped energy, the potential for great
  change made manifest… Authority, when condensed into a shape that can be
  tapped by the Users of World, is a great and terrible thing to witness. Compile,
  Format, and Kill are the three Authority functions in World (see their description in
  the Function Library, pg. xx). The Players will get to define one type of Authority
  fuction their Crew is strong at during Crew Creation (the one they chose in step 4).
  When the conditions described on their Crew playbook are met in play, the PCs
  have an opportunity to wield Authority. When they choose to do so:
  1. Crew decides together how to wield Authority. It’s important to let this
  discussion take however long it needs. Depending on the inclinations of the
  players, this could pause the action until a consensus is reached or the
  discussion could play out as a conversation between the characters. Either
  approach is fine! If there is an in-game disagreement between characters that
  threatens to spill over into opposed action, be sure to follow the guiding
  principles for PC vs. PC action on pg. XX.
  2. Determine Magnitude required, pay the price. The crew’s Tier + the
  Authority Function rating is the starting Magnitude of the Authority function. In
  order to ballpark how big of an impact the function requires, assess the features
  the PC’s are attempting to accomplish.
  In order to make up the difference in Magnitude for the effect they wish to create,
  the players may do any combination of the following:
  • Burn your financial reserves for temporary extra processing power.
  Spend 1 Coin for +1 Magnitude (any number of times).
  • Witness the Light directly. A participating PC may voluntarily take a Trauma for
  +3 Magnitude (only once).
  • Channel energy directly through a User.
  Derez the PC who volunteers to get +5 Magnitude (only once).
  • A cruel bargain with an Administrator or Daemon.
  Any other creative trade. At GM’s discretion, assess between +1-4 Magnitude.
  In the previous example, one way to make up the difference in Magnitude would be
  for one of the PC’s to volunteer to Derez as part of the price of wielding the Authority
  (3+ 5 = 8).
  area / scale
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  a room
  a few
  rooms
  a building
  a street
  a block
  a district
  an entire
  server
  1 or 2
  process
  small
  gang (3-6)
  medium
  gang (12)
  large gang
  (20)
  small
  company
  (40)
  large
  company
  (80)
  regiment
  (160)
  duration / range
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  a few ticks
  a cycle or
  two
  a hundred
  cycles
  half a
  kilocycle
  a kilocycle
  several
  kilocycles
  a demi-
  iteration
  Within
  reach
  a dozen
  paces
  an
  arcwheel’s
  flight
  several
  clicks
  away
  across the
  district
  across the
  server
  in another
  server
  tier & quality / force
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Poor
  Adequate
  Good
  Excellent
  Superior
  Impeccable
  Legendary
  Weak
  Moderate
  Strong
  Serious
  Powerful
  Overwhelming
  Devastating
  For example, to use the Kill command to instantaneously derez all Tier 3 and lower
  Users and Process in the immediate district, Area needs to be 5 and Force 3, for a
  total of 8 Magnitude. Additional features like Range (to target a more distant area)
  or Duration (to create a lingering Kill command that executes on those who violate
  district boundaries for the duration specified) would add even more Magnitude.
  If the Crew is at Tier 1, they would have 3 of the 8 Magnitude required.
  3. Make an Authority Blowback Roll. The starting dice for Blowback come from the
  Crew’s rating in the chosen Authority function. Take +1d if a PC was derezzed or
  accepted a Trauma in the last step (only once). Take +1d if an Allied Faction
  steps forward to assist the Crew. Take -1d if the chosen effect is against the
  wishes of an Administrator. If the highest result of the die pool is:
  1-3: Take -2 status with a Faction that was negatively impacted or alarmed by the
  Crew’s action. Add +2 Heat and the GM may immediately resolve an
  Entanglement of their choice from the applicable chart (if desired they may roll to
  randomly resolve instead).
  If you were wielding Authority in Downtime, the Entanglement added is in addition
  to the usual one rolled. If during a Score, the repercussions are on their way but
  you have at least a few cycles to prepare.
  4/5: Take -2 status with a Faction upset by the Crew’s action. A Contact or
  Friend of the Crew is threatened by a retaliation or other unexpected fallout.
  Who? If no player volunteers a likely candidate, GM chooses.
  6: The social fabric of World is relatively undisturbed by your activity. Take -1
  status with a Faction concerned by your actions, unless you can somehow bribe
  or convince them of your good intentions.
  Crit: The effect is surprisingly potent, choose +2 Magnitude worth of additional
  features. Take +1 status with a Faction that was awed or inspired by your action.
  What’s up with Time in World?
  Tick = An arbitrarily-brief span of time, often used as a rhetorical device (“I’ll be just a tick!”).
  Cycle = The standardized unit of time measurement in The World. This is the timespan required for Central
  Processing to execute a complete census, and thus actual Cycle length fluctuates within a small margin
  based on current rezzed User loads. Feels like several minutes to us.
  Kilocycle = A complete day/night transition in The World occurs exactly once every kilocycle (Two
  kilocycles thus loop around to the same time of day). Servers do not have their kilocycles tsynchronized.
  Days are really long in World.
  Census = An executive function available only to Administrators. Occasionally the census broadcast also
  includes critical news flashes and/or requests for polling data. At least one census happens every
  Kilocycle. Derezzed Users cannot return census results, causing a timestamped trail of the matter to be
  logged and prompting further investigation by Troubleshooters.
  Logs & Timestamp = A central record of all historical events, organized by timestamp, is maintained in
  Archives. It’s impossible to sort through unless you’re an Architect or tighten the search a lot.
  
  17
  18
  Tier & quality examples
  0
  A degraded memknife, an off-the-shelf avatar, a process storage coffin,
  a typical Process
  1
  A stock spark mag, a mix-and-match generated avatar, a shared apartment,
  cheap recreational memories, a custom Process
  2
  A dependable arc-wheel, a seasonally appropriate custom avatar, a
  monocycle, the average User or Shade
  3
  A military ping rifle, a private bungalow, a multi-passenger vehicle, a
  professionally-sculpted avatar, the average Daemon
  4
  A finely-crafted custom weapon, a high-end luxury memory, bank vault door,
  a Head Moderator or powerful Daemon
  5
  Personalized avatar tailored by a master, a server-locked airship,
  an Administrator
  6
  A sprawling high-security mansion, a Port or other foundation component of
  World’s infrastructure, rare energies or legendary relics,
  the nameless things that slumber beneath Archives
  One common usage of the Compile command is the creation of Artifacts, items
  imbued with an authority command. When wielded by a User, artifacts can
  repeatedly use the Authority command embedded within them. Artifacts are not
  permanent, and tend to degrade with over-use. They also are heavily-controlled
  items due to their potent, warping effect on the structural fabric of World.
  If the Crew wants to create an artifact, modify the Authority function rules as
  follows:
  •
  The command to create artifacts is always Compile, regardless of the nature
  of the embedded command.
  •
  Define the desired effect the artifact will have using normal magnitude rules
  (ex. A staff that flings Kill fireballs might have Force 3, Area 2, and Range 2 = 7
  Magnitude).
  •
  Add a Duration descriptor that will govern the durability of the artifact (you must
  pay for this separately from the Duration of any semi-permanent effects that
  the artifact is intended to create). This should commonly be at least 4
  Duration, for an item that will last a Kilocycle... enough time to complete an
  entire Score and Downtime with the artifact before it goes dormant.
  •
  Note that if the artifact is sealed away after creation rather than
  immediately used, the duration won’t start to decrement until it is first
  wielded for it’s effect.
  Staff of Ice Wall. Summons various simple constructs made out of Ice within
  reach of the wielder, up to the size of a city block. The ice structures only last a few
  cycles and can be broken through with a little effort.
  Compile effect: Quality 1, Scale 4, Duration 1, Range 0. Artifact Duration 4 (lasts for a
  little over one score)
  Godblade. A simple sword that can cut through anything. Even the walls of
  Helios. Even Administrators. Even.... Well, that’s really about it.
  Kill effect: Quality 6, Range 0. Artifact Duration 5 (burns out after several scores)
  Call Stack Crown. A worn item that allows the bearer to Format the thoughts
  and appearance of nearby Process of Quality 1 or less, overriding their baseline
  inclinations and bending them to your will. Up to 20 Process (a large gang) may be
  controlled simultaneously. If commanded to perform actions out of the wielder’s
  direct influence, the effect wears off within half of a kilocycle.
  Format effect: Quality 1, Scale 3, Duration 3. Artifact Duration 6 (effectively infinite)
  If the goal of a Compile command is to create a quantity of relatively mundane item
  or feature from pre-existing templates, refer to the below Quality table to determine
  a baseline magnitude. Unlike artifacts, these items do not have a timer on their
  lifespan and don’t need a Duration to be applied, though they’re just as destructible
  as anything else in World.
  With exception to higher-tier prestige items (4+), Users should also be able to
  merely Restore facsimiles out of Archives or trade favors to acquire these items.
  The Quality and Magnitude charts can be used to compare ballpark figures for the
  power scale of just about anything in World. For example, compare against a
  Faction’s Tier to figure out loosely how well a mighty Arch-Daemon (quality 4) would
  match up against the military forces of a Tier 3 Faction opposing it (in this example
  the Daemon likely has an edge of +1, which might make for a good basis for a
  Fortune roll modifier).
  If the player Crew is opposing a faction of a higher Tier than them, the excess
  quality might translate to worse position and/or effect on function rolls, especially if
  they’re fighting the Users or dealing with the signature features of that faction.
  Every factor won’t always apply to every situation. You don’t have to do an exact
  accounting every time. Use the factors to help you make a stronger judgment call,
  but don’t feel beholden to them.
  
  19
  20
  Users are the only ‘real’ people in World, at least in a legal sense. 13.7% of the rezzed
  population of World are users according to the most recent Census data. Users are
  enfranchised by World’s subsystems and never need to worry about having a place to
  live or free entertainment to consume. Luxuries such as designer foods, premium
  media, customized avatars, and storage space to spare for their Memories are status
  symbols among Users in World.
  Process are the faceless masses of World's populace. Process tend tables, clean
  public spaces, use amenities, and consume whatever bland media they are told to.
  Process are procedurally-generated by World in order to fill population quotas and
  simulate a lively environment for Users to enjoy.
  Their self-will is effectively
  nonexistent and they tend to repetitiously repeat functions or act out loyalties related
  to the faction which owns their home district. The majority of persons registered in
  Census are Process (approx. 81%). Individual Process tend to have a low threat level,
  but they can be quite dangerous in groups when sufficiently motivated. Additionally,
  some powerful factions have elite Process who work for them, gifted with superior
  perception, combat, and communication routines.
  When you need to make a simple threat like a bouncer, a gang of foot-soldiers, an
  obfuscating bureaucrat, or a nosy socialite, they are usually going to be Process.
  Often a single standard effect is enough to deal with a solitary Process. However,
  Process that are in a gang and thus have Scale on their side, as well as the elite
  Process of more powerful factions, might be tougher adversaries and possibly require
  a clock to deal with. Consider the Tier of the faction when building out a Process
  adversary. For example, a Tier 3 Syndicate faction might have individual Quality 2
  security guards and middle-managers patrolling their HQ, as well as a few Scale 3
  gangs of low-level bruisers defending their turf. Don’t be afraid to adjust up or down
  depending on how much emphasis you want to place on a given encounter!
  On the other hand, Users are strong and dynamic adversaries, usually on par with the
  PCs! Telegraph the trouble that Users represent: their penetrating gaze, their
  irresistible allure, their aura of danger, their self-confidence and style. Let your NPC
  Users initiate the action against the players sometimes (“Before you can even act,
  she draws her arc-wheel and whips it at you!”), and then ask the players if they want
  to resist. Use a clock (or two!) to show off your Users. For example: “Blaize has a 6-
  clock Toughness but to actually hit that you’ll need to somehow extinguish The
  Flames [a 4-clock] first!”
  Let Users build a rivalry or friendship with the Crew and then have them reverse
  course and try to play multiple sides. Remember that every User in World is the hero
  of their own personal story. Ask yourself what a Player Character would do in the
  User’s shoes: they just might do that!
  Roll or choose from the following tables to generate random Users and Process for
  faces in a crowd, a random stranger, etc. More tables are on the next page spread!
  If the results on any table don’t appeal to you, try flipping the dice results or just picking
  something you like.
  Process don’t need a Looks table: they always appear as a mild variation on the
  platonic ideal of their current function, desaturated and anonymous.
  user looks
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Tall
  Thin
  Lovely
  Large
  Chiseled
  Athletic
  2
  Slim
  Delicate
  Stout
  Scarred
  Short
  Sexy
  3
  Wild
  Elegant
  Cute
  Plain
  Old
  Young
  4
  Tattooed
  Patterned
  Stylish
  Sturdy
  Bald
  Anthro-
  pomorphic
  5
  Wooden
  Metallic
  Glowing
  Smoking
  Fae
  Sparking
  6
  Baleful
  Shimmering
  Smooth
  Placid
  Insubstantial
  Glitched
  process functions
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Data Entry
  Short-Order
  Cook
  Badge
  Checker
  Middleware
  Sales
  Small-Claims
  Appraiser
  Salaryman /
  woman
  2
  Ticket Puncher
  Factorum
  Worker
  Vox
  Dispatcher
  Interface
  Interpreter
  Memory
  Hawker
  Help Desk
  3
  Accountability
  Advisor
  Door Steward
  “In the
  Industry”
  Peripheral
  Adjutant
  Toll Clerk
  Performance
  Consultant
  4
  Curio Compiler
  Sidewalk
  Maintenance
  Bouncer /
  Muscle
  Troubleshooter
  Marketing
  Analyst
  Phone
  Watcher
  5
  Package
  Administrator
  Cleaning Staff
  Stunt Double
  Flag Operator
  Process
  Resources
  Standard
  Form Router
  6
  Maiter D’
  Network
  Evaluator
  Valet Driver
  Transit Officer
  Executive
  Assistant
  Roll on
  Recidivist
  Table
  recidivist process
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Unemployed by
  Choice
  Unlawfully
  Employed
  Rights
  Activist
  Recall
  Pending
  Open
  Warrant
  [Data
  Corrupted]
  
  21
  22
  Daemons are beings that are native to World but exist outside of the User/Process
  social hierarchy. Daemons take a wide variety of animal forms. They tend to dwell in
  marginal spaces away from districts with high User or Process density.
  Administrators (‘Admin’) = crystalline personifications of Order, represented by
  abstract geometric avatars.
  Tasked with high-order maintenance and upkeep of
  World's infrastructure, they do not directly interfere in society often, but when they do
  they are to be obeyed. Admin self-awareness is an occasionally-debated subject of
  philosophy. Many Users cite an intense feeling of unease in the presence of Admins.
  Glitch is a distorted personification of Chaos, a formless and unknowable entity that
  fills the void wherever World has begun to atrophy. It is the physical manifestation of
  a gradually-advancing wave of total data loss eating away at World.
  Glitch is
  anathema to your safe enjoyment of World and Users are advised to immediately
  report such anomalies. Do not under any circumstances approach, or interact with,
  the Glitch.
  Shades are a potential side-effect of a User’s incomplete deresolution. Shades are
  disjointed from World’s reality by the paradox of having incomplete ID fragments
  associated with their parent entity, a User sleeping on the Stack.
  Shades often
  jealously cling to their half-life and attempt to evade destruction by the Overwriters.
  Daemons have many varieties and can run a very wide range of motivations and
  threats, from animalistic beasts to canny sentients. In the old days of World, some
  powerful recurring Daemons provided a ready-made challenge for adventurous Users,
  while others offered Users quests for taking out their own kind... These oddly perverse
  motivations can still be observed in the mechanic of the Daemon’s Bargain.
  One of the most commonly-seen varieties of Daemon nowadays are the Viral Cats:
  irrepressible felines who very much fall into the “offer a sinister bargain” category.
  Viral cats have strange powers, are apparently impossible to remove, and can lurk in
  a “Backstage” zone that lies parallel to World’s observable reality. They have an odd
  tendency to choose specific Users to repeatedly torment, perhaps out of affection.
  Administrators are a Tier 6 faction that do not have mobility on the Faction Map:
  they are immune to the instability that plagues User-directed factions. Users who seek
  to oppose the Administration face an adversary with unconstrained access to the
  Authority commands of World, making them a fearsome adversary.
  The Glitch has no factional representation as it has no observable goals or desires,
  aside from it’s obvious tendency to consume things nearby.
  Reasoning with it is
  impossible.
  Shades are barely tangible, difficult to observe or track timestamps on, making them
  excellent spies and thieves if they are so motivated. Much like certain interpretations
  of ‘ghosts’, Shades sometimes try to reenact or reassemble fragments of a previous
  life, haunting their old associates and turf.
  daemon aspects and affinities (roll 2x, combine)
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Intelligent Animal or Elemental
  Humanoid w/ animal or
  elemental features
  Monstrous
  Cryptid
  Slimy / Water
  Shell / Earth
  Scales / Fire
  Feathers /
  Wind
  Luminescent /
  Radiance
  Camouflage /
  Darkness
  daemon desires (3/4 = materials harvested from daemons of that affinity)
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1/2
  Mayhem
  Manipulation
  Revenge
  Knowledge
  Coin
  Comfort
  3/4
  Water
  Earth
  Fire
  Wind
  Radiance
  Darkness
  5/6
  Freedom
  Fear
  Justice
  Savagery
  Praise
  Power
  admin appearance and traits (roll 1-2x of each)
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Wireframe
  polyhedron
  Eyes and
  Wings
  Blank Plastic
  Humanoid
  Classical
  Architecture
  Gnarled
  Roots or..
  Lungs?
  Amorphous
  Cloud or
  Swarm
  Odorless
  Smoke
  Pearlescent
  Shimmering
  Wreathed in
  Pale Flames
  Ticks to a
  Precise
  Heartbeat
  Crown of
  Starfire and
  Ash
  Draped in
  Rags
  Slow, is it
  even
  speaking?
  Quickened,
  incessant
  chattering
  Ominous,
  gets too close
  Distant, but
  never out of
  sight
  Disinterested,
  ignores
  surroundings
  Curious, asks
  unusual
  questions
  user hobbies
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Curios and
  Artifacts
  Fighting and
  Warfare
  Society or
  Activism
  Games or
  Gambling
  Dining and
  Cuisine
  Religion and
  Worship
  2
  Hand Crafting
  Exploring,
  Partition
  Delving
  Sport, Magball
  or Echo Chess
  Politics or
  Governance
  Dueling or
  Fencing
  Hunting and
  Tracking
  3
  Singing or Music
  Weapons and
  Armor
  History and
  Legend
  Theory and
  Philosophy
  Enterprising
  Ventures
  Ideology or
  Revolution
  4
  Currencies and
  Cryptos
  Business or
  Finance
  Painting or
  Sculpture
  World
  Architecture
  Journalism,
  Reporting
  Nobility or
  Origin
  5
  Novels or
  Scriptwriting
  Performance
  Art or Dance
  Racing:
  Blades or
  Monocycles
  Racing:
  Swoops or
  Wheels
  Memory
  Formats
  Philanthropy,
  Governance
  6
  Soporifics, Spirits
  or Snow
  Imps or
  Holopets
  Poetry or
  Rhetoric
  Industry or
  Acquisition
  Information
  Trade
  Daemons or
  Admins
  
  23
  24
  At a loss for what is happening in a district, a faction or User’s motivation, an event
  that took place in the past? Consult the AI, by rolling 2d6 and looking up the results
  on the Column and Row of the following tables. If one result doesn’t quite work for
  you or make sense, try flipping the column/row of the die result. Add an Action and a
  Theme together for a plot idea!
  For example, a 1-5 on the Action table can be either Suppress -or- Mourn. The
  double results are specifically more universal or adaptable.
  action
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Avoid
  Negotiate
  Avenge
  Salvage
  Mourn
  Transform
  2
  Challenge
  Preserve
  Surrender
  Guard
  Command
  Investigate
  3
  Restore
  Demand
  Reform
  Hunt
  Find
  Manipulate
  4
  Assault
  Capture
  Hide
  Oppose
  Create
  Threaten
  5
  Suppress
  Betray
  Abandon
  Denounce
  Subvert
  Deliver
  6
  Refuse
  Escalate
  Forget
  Control
  Seize
  Uncover
  theme
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  1
  Decay
  Belief
  Dream
  Honor
  Loss
  Mystery
  2
  History
  Memory
  Freedom
  Grief
  Duty
  Wealth
  3
  Deception
  Community
  Ally
  Power
  Truth
  Fame
  4
  Greed
  Pleasure
  Rumor
  Enemy
  Weakness
  Prophecy
  5
  Love
  Debt
  Judgement
  Strength
  Daemons
  Identity
  6
  Pride
  Law
  Fortune
  Artifact
  Corruption
  Administration
  ARCTURUS is a lightning-scoured silicon desert of extreme conditions, catering to the fantasies
  of a subset of Users who view a harsh environment and harsher society as the ultimate
  challenge to conquer.
  Known as Jovians, those Users who first originated in Arcturus are said to tend toward traits of
  loyalty to their banners and companions, industry as a means of extracting value or
  advantage from the resources available to them, and confidence in their abilities and tenacity
  to overcome any hardship. Jovians make for trustworthy allies or fierce individualists.
  Arcturus’ chief contribution to the economy of World is Neuroplast, the central source of
  memory material to feed the hunger of World’s population for novelty. Piped up from the
  churning core of the server, Neuroplast’s rich value has created an aristocracy of feuding
  nobility that bicker over control of the levers of power.
  
  25
  26
  canton castellum
  Buffeted by twisting spirals of silicon and waves of heat alike, the sharp black spires of Hive
  Gehenna dominate the desolate horizon of Arcturus. Canton Castellum is home to the majority
  of the server’s User population, though only a scant few can afford to live in Soloch, the central
  tower carved out of obsidian and rumored to date back to World’s founding. The other towers
  sprout from the Hive’s outer ring, bound to Soloch by a thicket of criss-crossing lightning bridges.
  Castellum is the de facto luxury district of Arcturus and riches, secrets and connections await
  those ambitious enough to brave it's byzantine political landscape.
  Landmarks
  Soloch. The central spire of Gehenna pierces the storm laden sky, a dark tower overlooking
  Arcturus. Ancient mechanisms and guardians slumber on each floor, a popular--if temporary--
  home for the influential to play at regality and show off exotic collections of riches and artifacts.
  Even the reclusive Count Zero professes not to know the extent of its upper floors.
  Ein Sof. Also known as the Crown of Arcturus, Ein Sof rises from the upper heights of Soloch into
  the dizzying troposphere, refracting a baleful light through the turbulent thunderheads. A fortified
  memory palace crafted by the First Arcturans, spoken of in whispers as Artaud-Lanier, a best-
  forgotten clan name. These cavernous halls echo in reproachful solitude; You should not have
  come here.
  Electrostatic Skyway. This maze of glassy walkways connects Soloch to the other towers of
  Castellum. A harrowing journey for most, due to the inclement weather and precipitous drop. To
  make matters worse, it is a favored location for wandering rakes and bravos, always eager to
  tempt fate with a deadly skirmish.
  The Shards. Mid-level houses that fall out of favor tend to find their home in the ring of
  neuroplastic towers that stand along the edge of Gehenna, cloned in Soloch’s image. The unique
  timestamp-scrambling properties of these ageless structures makes Archival restoration
  challenging, which protects the secrecy of events within. Much of the scheming between rival
  gladiator teams and subsidiary Factorum enterprises occurs here, to Castellum’s profit.
  Details
  Scene: Wind-blasted palisades and galleries overlook the Gladium as lightning arcs between the
  bridges of the Skyway. Inside the towers, hushed, twisting hallways lit by scented torches echo
  with whispers of power and conspiracy. Archaic edifices thrum quietly, hiding stairwells and
  passageways.
  Resources: Spies, messengers and confidantes. Elegant gardens, tapestries, and decorations.
  Gourmet kitchens and other decadent pleasures. Trophy rooms rigged with intricate security
  systems.
  Threats: Petty nobles spoiling for a fight, arrogant swords for hire, companies of Process honor
  guard. The displeasure of the truly powerful. Within Soloch, mysterious dormant golems and
  Escherian architecture.
  Notables
  Count Zero. An eccentric noble who holds court in an open-air terrace halfway up the tower of
  Soloch. Though he is the current claimant to the ‘Arcturan Throne’, rumors paint the Count as a
  mere steward for the sleeping masters of the house above. Secretly craves a greater share of
  Soloch’s power. (Arrogant, Theatrical)
  Mige Krav. Infamous masked assassin, known for systematically derezzing nobles whose
  ambitions extend higher than the tacit social contract of their peers. Appears to accept or refuse
  contracts entirely on a whim; their ultimate goals are anyone’s guess. (Blindsight, Reflexes)
  Khafr3.
  A laconic viral cat who prowls the hallways of Soloch. It is known to enjoy riddles and
  sweet things, and has never been ousted from its domain. Those seeking greater insight into the
  workings of the towers often approach Khafr3, but the cat will always exact its toll. (Cryptic,
  Mischievous)
  arcturus random table
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Street
  Name
  Skewer Street
  Charred Path
  Runoff Road
  The Vents
  Mugger’s Pass
  Clank Street
  Silt Alley
  Lander’s Walk
  Sniper’s Merge
  Slot Ridge
  -indecipherable-
  Denizen
  A cloaked
  Process, in a
  hurry
  A wretched Imp
  A mysterious hunter
  A noble’s armed
  guard
  Pushy vendors
  A Gladiator
  daemon
  Mood
  Sweltering
  Blinding
  Loud
  Clanking
  Stifling
  Shadowed
  Hushed
  Echoing
  Dust Storms
  Charged
  Dangerous
  Tense
  Location
  Shaded
  Pavilion
  Shantytown
  Gladium Cage
  Dunes and Debris
  Catwalks and
  Corridors
  Obsidian Hall
  Details
  Exotic Wares
  Greasy Canisters
  Piping and Netting
  Glittering Sand
  Charnel Smoke
  Baroque
  Furnishings
  Use the following table to help you set scenes within the populated region of Arcturus:
  Hive Gehenna and it’s environs.
  If out in the hazardous dune sea, look instead to the page on the Silicon Sands (29).
  
  27
  28
  Hive Gehenna is a gargantuan edifice that encircles the desert of Arcturus for many clicks,
  enclosing a diverse biome within its walls. Canton Gladium is the name for the bloodsand circle
  inside Gehenna, but as economic pressure has pushed Process by droves - and some Users by
  choice - to occupy lower and lower levels of the Hive, the district has grown to encompass a vast
  shanty town that chokes the tunnels of the city and clings to both the inside and outside walls.
  Residents have gained a reputation for being close knit and insular, though there are some who
  will take any chance to elevate their fortune, be it within the gladiator’s ring or without.
  Landmarks
  Bloodsand Circle. The formal dueling pit of Arcturus is in fact a vast basin that stretches the
  breadth of the inner Gehennan ring.
  Under the watchful gaze of Castellum, a rich variety of
  violent games are played out by grandstanding champions and dour Process.
  The lightning
  barriers between matches occasionally ‘short-circuit’ according to the whims of the aristocracy,
  and the resulting cascade of bloodthirsty duelists, hunters, charioteers, and warbeasts engulfs
  the entire pit in a spectacular free-for-all.
  The Cages. Part of Gehenna’s dredging system, the interconnected cranks and pulleys that
  churned up the sand in search of underground riches so long ago. Instead of being repurposed
  to ferry materials up from Factorum, these suspended chambers are used alternately as a prison
  or an arena for prestigious personal bouts. It is considered a great honor to be derezzed in a
  cage match, and you will certainly hear of it when you return.
  Cantilever Conduits. A rat’s nest of tunnels within the walls of Gehenna. The Conduits are not
  only the lifeblood of the Hive, but a crossroads for travelers from other servers as well as housing
  for the multitude of unassigned Process that invariably collect around a server’s Transit Gate. A
  good place to lose a tail, or get lost yourself.
  Heller’s Bazaar. A riotous cacophony of goods and services offered at competing volumes, in
  close proximity to the Port hub of Arcturus. Frequented by flush investment brokers from Sirius
  and thrifty influencers from Canopus, the Bazaar supports a rich ecosystem of pickpockets and
  grifters. Troubleshooter presence fluctuates in time with the petty crime rate.
  Details
  Scene: Within the walls, sprawling tents and pavilions house strange wares and avaricious
  fingers.
  Bland Process mill about in search of function while Users sporting exotic scars,
  accessories and pets leer from the rafters. Columns of dusty light from towering lancet windows
  swirl and throb rhythmically to the muffled impacts and yells of the games.
  Resources: The imported goods and delicacies of all servers on colorful sale. Cast-offs and
  imitations of dubious quality siphoned from the underground forges of Factorum. Willing Process
  and willful combatants bound for the arena.
  Threats: Trigger-happy bounty hunters, swarthy gladiators, overprotective Process gangs. Being
  rolled right into one of the cages, or out onto the bloodsands.
  Notables
  Jerran Heller. The thriving community around the base of Gehenna’s walls owes much to this
  opportunistic entrepreneur. Heller saw opportunity in the hordes of listless process matriculating
  out of the Factorum mines, and put them to work gathering an eclectic market of Arcturus’
  strangest wares. Catchphrase: ‘There’s a gem in every grain of sand!’ (Gregarious, Shrewd)
  Gana Sol. This enigmatic hunter trudges out of the desert haze on occasion, bearing strange
  fruits and scavenged memchips for the markets, the latter mostly from fallen gladiators. They
  seem to be looking for a specific memory, but always disappear back to the bloodsands empty-
  handed. (Discreet, Patient)
  B4stet. A terrifying multi-armed Daemon-Queen of the gladiatorial ring, B4stet is protected from
  prosecution through a prestigious chain of ownership which includes some of the oldest houses
  on Arcturus. Despite her violent reputation, the towering daemon is apparently quite soft spoken
  in person. It is said she eats a memory from every User she defeats in battle. (Cold, Efficient)
  canton gladium
  Like the tip of an iceberg, the vast majority of Hive Gehenna extends deep beneath the surface
  of Arcturus, into the chaotic plasma flows of raw data that permeate the membranes of servers.
  As simulation stability begins to break down near the edge of World, autonomous construction
  drones are constantly at work patching the underground walls of the hive and rewriting memory
  leaks. At the heart of this industry lies the shielded headquarters of the Neuroplastic Construction
  Company and their bank of furnace printers that extrude Neuroplast, the ubiquitous memory
  material comprising most of World’s modern structures and commodities.
  Landmarks
  Neuroplast Clonstruction Company (NCC). The discovery that unformatted data from the core
  threads of World could be recycled and refined into a bland but pliable memory material
  revolutionized the industry of Arcturus. The myriad interests and subsidiaries of the old material
  formats split and reformed in a flurry of acquisitions and restructurings, gradually coalescing into
  the two commodity giants known to World today: The Isomorphic Mining Consortium and the
  Neuroplast Construction Company.
  Refinery Hall. A massive inner space, renowned World over for its state-of-the-art Fabrication
  Consoles. Shivering table-length blades made of pure Iso shear off white-hot rods of Neuroplast
  piped in from the Core. Shielded containment bays overlook the massive hooded furnaces that
  cook the threads of the plasma, altering their shape for final construction. Fabricator permits are
  not easy to obtain, but a User with enough pull can co opt the use of a console in order to print
  out a structure of their own design.
  The Plunge. A vast mining shaft clicks in diameter, now largely abandoned. The Plunge was
  stripped of its active Iso many cycles ago and now remains as a historical curiosity, a side channel
  to the new data core pipeline, and of course a dark and dangerous space teeming with
  unregistered entities.
  The Core. Each server of World is an instanced space offset from the central processing core that
  powers the contiguous simulation. Piercing the barrier between servers is a Tier V offense that
  threatens the stability of World itself, punishable by immediate Administrative deresolution and
  privilege review. There is a fine line regulating how much raw data the NCC can legally siphon
  off of Arcturus’ membrane, and they push it as far as their instrumentation will allow.
  Details
  Scene: The earth piercing rumble and glow of hot plasma, a clockwork dance of sheathed
  conveyors, pulleys, and manipulator claws blindly grasping at the bedrock. Above, the ceaseless
  droning of Refinery Hall. Far, far below, rows of hooded Process marching to and fro amidst the
  spray of lava and the tearing of reality.
  Resources: Rich veins of minerals. The combined industry and commerce of the NCC and its
  subsidiaries.
  Open workshops in the Refinery, and a rich history of artisanal talent.
  Delving
  missions proposed by entrepreneurial Users.
  Threats: Physical conditions so extreme even Users are at risk without shielding. The relentless
  churning of heavy machinery. Buzzing electro-lashes wielded by Foreman Zoss and his crew.
  Distant rumblings of huge Iso-eating Worms.
  Notables
  Quorum.
  This irrepressible fortune hunter operates a mobile waystation and research lab
  halfway down the Plunge, where they have protested multiple eviction notices from the NCC. To
  hear Quorum speak of it, there are treasures yet to plunder in the depths of Arcturus that the
  ruling class of Gehenna would rather be buried forever. (Earnest, Obsessed)
  Foreman Zoss.
  An old Process who has witnessed many iterations of World, the Foreman’s
  subroutines are complex enough to be nearly indistinguishable from a User’s behavior. Zoss is
  tightlipped about the circumstances that lead to the NCC’s unrivaled monopoly over Neuro
  extraction, and defers inquiries to unaccountable leadership positions when he isn’t fully
  occupied with the management of work crews in the Core, which is basically never. (Fanatical,
  Strict)
  canton factorum
  
  29
  30
  While it’s almost impossible for Users to derez purely from exposure to the elements, the extreme
  physical conditions of the Arcturan wasteland have nevertheless garnered a deadly reputation.
  Chaos holds sway in the unformatted space of the server, where dunes, pits, and ridgelines
  merge and interrupt each other with maddening irregularity. The silicon sands themselves seem
  to be hostile to logic and order, as the heavy metals that kick up with every tectonic shift of the
  churning landscape play havoc on scanning or mapping electronics. Only entities who are truly
  adrift from World’s society thrive out here.
  Landmarks
  Static Zero Interrupt. One of the few constants of the wasteland landscape, local legend speaks
  volumes about the destructive fury of the Static-Zero-Interrupt, a flickering coordinate point that
  seems to bend the polarity of the desert around it. Mere sandstorms are common enough in
  Arcturus, but stray too close to the magnetic center of the Silicon Sands and you risk witnessing
  a Glitch Storm, an event no User can survive.
  The Rust Belt. No matter how many tectonic shifts alter the landscape of Arcturus, a rust belt
  always emerges, mangled metal crackling in the heat like the fuming teeth of a fiery beast. Clicks
  and clicks of abandoned vehicles, structures, and detritus can serve as valuable shade or
  resources, but they are also a reminder of civilizations old and strange which often seem to have
  no place in World. This is a relatively safe place to hole up in the wastes, but you are bound to
  run into others who had the same idea.
  The Howling Caverns. Rumors in Gehenna differ on the origin of the caves that twist through the
  wastes, sporadically uncovered by the shifting terrain. Some say they lead to partitions older than
  Arcturus itself, or are the resting place of countless Memories hoarded by intelligent Daemons.
  Others claim the Banshee Worms retreat there to slumber during the harsh Arcturan nights. Most
  agree that the secrets within hold value, but few Users can claim to have successfully braved the
  depths.
  Details
  Scene: The haywire buzz of malfunctioning Vox, sweat beading on the inside of a protective visor.
  Static crackling on the horizon, the only other sound rising and falling in time with panicked
  breath. Ahead, rising out of the pall of whipping sands, the sharp, rusted over bones of hollowed-
  out metal. Thunder in the distance.
  Resources: The wreckage of foolhardy explorers, relics of a bygone era.
  Glittering troves of
  memory under the earth. The insides of a beached Banshee Worm--precious Memory, sky-blue
  Iso, half-digested things of unknown origin.
  Threats: The hiss and pop of spark shots from a concealed rifleman, sonic booms from the
  monocycle of a cackling marauder. Desperate Process thieves seeking a pitiful prize to hawk at
  Heller’s Bazaar. The earthquake rumble of an approaching Banshee Worm--certain deresolution.
  Notables
  Amaranth. This eccentric User is famous Worldwide for the prodigious lifespan of her current
  iteration. In fact, not submitting to the Stack for deresolution appears to be a point of pride among
  all the Lightning Riders, the rowdy monocycle gang that Amaranth rules with an iron fist. They
  are without exception Class III wanted individuals, and are responsible for much mayhem when
  they stop by Canton Gladium for supplies, but collectively they may know more about the
  boundaries of Arcturus than any other User. (Capricious, Possessive)
  Cazic-Thule, the N0mad. A self-styled God of Fear, this Daemon is known to appear before
  Users lost in the wastes, bearing strange gifts in its many hands and prayers for the primordial
  Glitch it seems to worship. For every account of a chance encounter with the daemon saving a
  wayward User, there is a horror story of a Memory-starved beast wearing the face of a long lost
  friend. (Pious, Hungry)
  the silicon sands
  CANOPUS is a tropical water world that attracts Users looking for a vibrant cultural nexus and
  upbeat community-focused society. It’s center is mostly built on the sturdy bones of the
  Amaurot, a gargantuan moored vessel that once sailed this sea.
  Known as Lunar, those Users who first originated in Arcturus are said to be adventurous
  seekers of knowledge and experience, eclectic appreciators of the contributions and culture of
  others, and friendly forgers of close relationships. Lunar make for visionary leaders and
  informed trend-setters.
  Canopus is the cultural hub of World, and forges the trends and habits that the rest of World will
  mimic. Here, rhetoricians and news-casters debate endlessly while artists express the reigning
  zeitgeist through myriad mediums of expression. Empty memory chips formed of Neuroplast
  from Arcturus are filled with the cultural trinkets and consumables that turn the gears of
  commerce in World.
  canopus random table
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Street
  Name
  Broad Street
  Stepped Falls
  Coral Avenue
  Clearwater
  Moonfall Way
  Murkwater
  Mist Pier
  Shimmerwalk
  Anchor’s Rest
  Ring Street
  Marble Shoal
  Bilge Overlook
  Denizen
  Trendy
  shoppers
  A performing Echo
  artist
  Arguing
  Rhetoricians
  Pick-up street sports
  Hooded figures,
  observing you
  Peacoat sailors
  Mood
  Bright
  Breezy
  Quiet
  Reflective
  Bustling
  Carefree
  Lively
  Glamorous
  Wind Gales
  Humid
  Calm
  Watchful
  Location
  Sheltered Perch
  Shaded Bungalow
  Columned Gallery
  Moored Yacht
  Wide-open Dock
  Rooftops and
  Ledges
  Details
  Avian Daemons
  Repurposed
  Signage
  Bas-Relief
  Sculptures
  Elegant Pottery
  Abandoned
  Freight
  Overgrown
  Gardens
  
  31
  32
  Sometimes known as “The Birthplace of a Thousand Opinions”, this district’s boundaries are
  porous and uncertain, perhaps best explained as an idea that inhabits a nebulously-defined
  region of the residential flats and bungalows set into stacked layers in the elevated fantail of
  Amaurot. Users here gather for lively debate in public houses devoted to consumptory memories
  such as beer, ramen and coffee, and the intense competition for higher-quality renditions of these
  and other nostalgic fare keeps visitor traffic through the region high.
  Landmarks
  Aftcastle. Though it has been buried under kilocycles of spontaneous civic growth, Amaurot is a
  gargantuan sailing vessel--sprawling rooftops overlap bulbous bows designed to cut through the
  glittering surf, and festive decorations hide rudders, pulse engines and boom sails. These days
  the city’s sailing apparatus lies dormant under the watchful eye of Amaurot’s Captain and his
  sailors, a crack team of Process nicknamed the Peacoats for their distinctive uniforms who serve
  to police the flow of goods between districts.
  The Flying Bridge. The forward command deck of Amaurot has long since been repurposed into
  the trading hub of the server, and shipments routinely cycle up and down the pulley elevators that
  surround the bridge like a carnivalesque maypole. The daily manifests are run with an iron fist
  by the trade federations and guarded by the Peacoats, but the Bridge remains a tempting prize
  for the ambitious.
  The Brass Crab. This sprawling restaurant-campus is the culinary heart of the Heights. Aspiring
  chefs are trained in the art of ‘Eat-Only’ Memory craft, with dynamic flavor variables that simulate
  a food experience to an unprecedented degree. Many of the Crab’s legs nestle into the tight
  alleys and homely neighborhoods of Achora, and as such are walk-in joints for local cuisine.
  Hall of Rhetoric. Sequestered away on the leeward side of the floating city and buttressed by
  solemn pillars, this open-air forum to philosophy and discourse is a welcome diversion from the
  chaos and bustle of Achora.
  Users who enter are flagged with a ‘Rhetorician’ tag, and it’s
  common practice to edit one’s tag with the current affairs, points of argumentation, and schools
  of thought one is willing to discuss.
  Details
  Scene: Gaudy streamers flutter in artificial breezes, reflecting holographic displays and
  endorsements onto baroque facades and bas reliefs. Thoughtful Rhetoricians and surly Peacoats
  mingle on the wide decks, capped by a sky so deep its blue registers in the ultraviolet band.
  Resources: Pristine living conditions, with private cabins, hostels, or bungalows for sale.
  Revolutionary ideas, firebrand rhetoric, and engaging philosophies.
  Trade deals, negotiating
  halls, and control of Canopan shipping routes.
  Threats: Arrogant opinion leaders and their zealous adherents. Dangerous contraband mixed in
  with legitimate goods. Getting on the wrong side of the militant Peacoats.
  Notables
  Transom Bilge. A stern fellow who is nonetheless beloved as “Honorary Captain” of the Floating
  City. Amaurot’s anchors are set, its grand voyage long since ended, but Transom runs a tight ship
  regardless, his Peacoat crew ever at the ready to cast off. When pressed on the matter of when
  the City-Ark was built or the origin of its long journey, Transom is mute. (Cantankerous,
  Considerate)
  Julius Crowley. Chief Liaison of the Achora Compact, a consortium that controls trade to and
  from the Canopan Archipelago. Crowley’s days are spent nose deep in the negotiations and
  opulent displays on the flying bridge that the trade empire demands. Rumor is the Compact is a
  front, however, and that the broker, a master of Echoing in his own right, frequently leaves the
  handling of day-to-day affairs to his illusory counterparts. (Restless, Shrewd)
  Professor Keel. The itinerant professor alternates crafting speeches for the Hall of Rhetoric on
  the nature of User consciousness and deeper meanings of World's symbolic associations with
  expeditions into strange ruins and collapsed partitions on Caliban. (Friendly, Didactic)
  achora heights
  The Floating Ark of Amaurot used to bear a much sleeker profile, built for speed and integrity.
  After dropping anchor off the coast of Prospero, the Ark became a magnet for smaller vessels and
  constructions, and over the countless iterations of World the distinctions between the moored
  craft that served as outlying suburbs blurred and were quickly forgotten.
  A vast, sprawling
  network of inlets and channels rings the greater superstructure now, and haphazard dwellings,
  temples and edifices have rooted Amaurot firmly in place, their foundations and pillars sinking into
  the depths.
  Landmarks
  Macarensen Angle. The lucky arrangement of several luxury barges gave rise to a World culture
  museum of unprecedented scope. Built up geometric spirals encompass galleries that hang out
  over the serene waters and boast some of the liveliest scenic views of the Surf. The museum’s
  curators have been known to enlist private security teams to protect their collection, which
  contains unreplicable objects derived from crude materials such as threaded fabric and
  hammered steel and is beyond valuation.
  The Hyperdome. Ordinarily set up as a Magball pitch, but capable of instantaneous
  transformation into no less than a dozen other configurations to support whatever sport or charity
  event this cycle requires, including formal Arc Wheel dueling and in-door Blade racing.
  The
  principle draw of the Hyperdome is it’s cutting-edge Format modelling, with frictionless low-gravity
  ‘bubble’ arenas being particularly popular this season.
  Steamworks. A pressurized and sweltering nexus of Amaurot’s infrastructure, at the center of
  which lies the mighty water-cooled fusion reactor that once powered the great vessel’s migration.
  The spent fuel rods are long past several half-lives but their latent heat is still harnessed to route
  steam energy throughout Amaurot. Ancient rumors persist of a hidden stockpile of fuel, never
  disclosed by the mute Peacoats and their Captain.
  Freeboard. Amaurot’s underbelly is a sodden labyrinth of massive ducting, drainage tunnels, and
  sunken buildings, slowly sagging under the weight of the construction above. Mostly deregulated
  and lawless, the region has become a haven for free spirits and ne'er do wells looking to practice
  their art or other, more occult expressions without supervision.
  Details
  Scene: Opalescent lacquer shimmers to the gentle lapping of waves along the base of eroded
  structures. Columns and quatrefoils line the entrances to half-submerged hallways, as Users
  skim soundlessly down the channels to colorful galleries.
  Every street boasts a unique and
  clashing style of renovation.
  Resources: Curated fine art Memories of the highest quality, signed merchandise from celebrity
  artists and athletes. The maintenance tunnels and control rooms of Amaurot. Access to pleasure
  barges, skiffs, and yachts, most in disuse.
  Threats: Creative pranks and thefts from art-banditos, riotous gangs of athletes engaged in high-
  risk street sports.
  Cultists to Sycorax, abducting Users for watery communion.
  Elite private
  security Process, guarding the wealthy.
  Notables
  JIM-2. This identity-fluid graffiti artist and street performer wages a constant shadow war against
  the more respectable fine art institutions of Meridian, often altering priceless works in such minute
  ways the crime goes undiscovered for cycles.
  Recent investigations into JIM’s larger capers
  have revealed the possibility that they actually represent two underground artists working in
  tandem. (Fractured, Passionate)
  Mazo “Triple” LaRude. This Magball player has rocketed to stardom on the heels of repeated
  tournament successes, by combining Crashing physical play with encyclopedic game knowledge
  and masterful Echoed shot-fakes into a ‘terrible triple threat’ (broadcast color commentators love
  him).
  Calls all of his team’s plays from the Power Quarterfielder position, an unusual
  arrangement unique to the Meridian Silvertails. (Talented, Obsessed)
  meridian channels
  
  33
  34
  The smallest key at the tip of a pastoral archipelago, Prospero City is a district of Amaurot in all
  but name and is the glittering jewel of Canopus.
  Magrails connect to the Floating City at
  Heliopolis Memorial Park, overlooking the island’s verdant jungles and pristine coastlines. Last
  stop is at Guillevin Terminal Hall, where glassy boardwalks and manicured courtyards circle back
  around Prospero City, expertly guiding visitors through a brilliant gauntlet of luxury shoppes,
  island tour getaways, and holographic divertissements.
  Landmarks
  Heliopolis Memorial Park. No memory recalls the subjects enshrined on this bluff overlooking
  the ocean, and archival Restoration of the faded inscriptions and friezes in the park has been
  deemed impossible, their honorifics lost to time. Nonetheless the Park undergoes renovation
  after renovation to stay relevant, the most recent having completely replaced its foot-pathways
  with pipes and skid bars to support Blade-skating passage across the Meridian. Derez-defying
  freestyle races are often held on these transit lines between Prospero and Amaurot.
  Aftershock Canyon. An acoustically-amplified outdoor concert hall and DMZ are coveted territory
  in the center of the occupied battlefield that constitutes the premiere music district of Canopus.
  The canyon’s broken earth is marked by constant heavy fighting; territorial genre flags and pop-
  up merch booths proliferate on held ground.
  Fashion Row. The most creative avatars and cutting-edge accessories in World are on
  continuous display in Fashion Row, a wide, elevated bridging lane that cuts above the plazas and
  serves the highest foot-traffic rates in Canopus. Eccentric designers premiere new looks on a
  seasonal basis, but anyone in the know will tell you that the shifting trends here evolve too fast to
  properly categorize.
  Plastic Beach. The coastline of Prospero is a marvel of Restorative technology, boasting
  instantiated tracts of sand for rent that can be personalized at will. Every aspect of your luxurious
  beach vacation can be altered in real time, from the weather patterns to the volatility of the waves.
  Misaligned timestamps and crashing errors have rendered some sections of the beach unusable,
  flickering nightmare tableaus of revelry. Moderators maintain that the integrity of the beach is
  stable, and that they will be pushing through hotfixes any cycle now.
  Details
  Scene: The thumping bass of distant instrumental-weapons discharge echoes over wide plazas
  and winding boroughs, as flashy holographs proudly boast of unforgettable experiences at beach
  resorts and gallerias. Chic fashionistas sip on sizzling refreshments as they overlook a stampede
  of beach festivities.
  Resources: Premium item skins and consumables. Memory-molded fashion one can customize
  on a whim.
  Offshore trading accounts and exchangeable currencies, nearly untraceable.
  Aftershock memorabilia and war assets.
  Threats: Running afoul of one of Guillevin’s loan sharks. Getting caught in a concussive turf war
  between Aftershock cultist-groupies, or a crashing beach instance.
  Notables
  August Guillevin. The founder of Prospero City is oddly attached to his position, returning after
  every sojourn on the stack to his waiting empire and the Process goons who dutifully fend off
  would be usurpers. The price for doing business on Prospero is high, and August’s protection
  racket exacts its due in a variety of creative ways. (Connected, Taciturn)
  Queen Crimson. Lead vocalist of Industrial Jazz Mega-Pop sensation Pastel Massacre, World’s
  most famous band. Leads a colorful coterie of idols whose dance numbers inspire fans across
  World (diehards wear all-white avatars, the better to display ink cannon splatters from PM’s live
  act). Will not rest until Vivid Malaise is utterly destroyed. (Frenetic, Eager)
  Pallous Ulver.
  Frontman of cult Post-Noise outfit Vivid Malaise, World’s other most famous
  band. Leads a grim contingent of fellow technicians, inspiring solemn head-nods in true believers
  (muted attire and sound-cancelling headsets are common, the better to feel the pulse of VM's
  reverberations). Will not rest until Pastel Massacre is utterly destroyed. (Laconic, Somber)
  prospero city
  The ‘oceans’ of Canopus are an elaborate illusion, comprised more of primordial soup than water.
  This dynamic fluid medium is a homogenous repository of unformatted information, one of
  World’s many methods of storing unusable material for reprocessing. All the same, the data
  lattice behaves similarly to water, with a strong surface tension governed by electromagnetism
  and a buffered response to temperature differentials making for relatively placid seas server-
  wide. With no other significant landmasses to sail to and few celestial bodies to navigate by, the
  vast oceanic expanse beyond the Canopan Archipelago remains largely uncharted to this day.
  Landmarks
  Caliban. Brother island to Prospero, Caliban is a vast untamed wilderness, one of the only stable
  representations of 'nature' in World. As such, it represents a priceless opportunity for ecologists
  seeking to catalog the endless varieties of flora and daemonic fauna that are procedurally
  generated somewhere deep in the jungle. These safaris take care not to venture too far inland,
  where morphogenetic fields thwart LIDAR scanning and warp Caliban’s terrain in defiance of
  spatial causality.
  Ultraviolet Sound. The bays between each island on Canopus are impossibly deep, hinting at
  unknown structures in the waters beneath the Archipelago. Deep sea exploration is stymied by
  the uniquely heavy properties of the Sound, which seems to collect memory fragments in its
  depths. Divers who venture beneath the waves return telling tall tales of dreamlike environs and
  otherworldly presences.
  Sunset Sea. The Canopan horizon is a beautiful mirage, as light from the Glittering Surf reflects
  off the curvature of the server’s boundary representative points, spooling out a neon
  kaleidoscope of color. Though stories of terrible sea Daemons abound, voyages into the Sunset
  Sea are nearly always serene and uneventful.
  Shrine of the Divinities. Ancient temple grounds hidden in fog and sequestered amid towering
  cliffs, occupied by a sect of benign ascetics worshiping the spark of divinity they say dwells within
  every User.
  They preach that the Administrators are flawed experiments left behind by the
  Superuser, a mythical being whose prophesied return will presage the uplift of World into a
  benevolent "Third Age". Probably harmless.
  Details
  Scene: A solemn procession of robed monks chanting on their wandering path through the jungle
  back to the Shrine.
  A rare swell of waves lapping over a beachfront composed entirely of
  discarded and broken MEMcards. The rustle of leaves as a mismatched set of baleful eyes peer
  out at you.
  Resources:
  Beauty and isolation.
  Sunken treasures of impossible provenance.
  Untouched
  wilderness teeming with never-before-seen species.
  Threats:
  Wild daemons eager for the taste of User.
  Freak weather and unexplainable
  phenomena, equipment failure, disappearances. The irresistible, haunting call of the deep.
  Notables
  Sycorax, the Dr3amer.
  There is something in the water deep beneath Canopus, and it is
  reaching out to Users.
  Lost cycles--a common enough complaint among the freewheeling
  residents of Amaurot. “It’s dusk and I feel like I’ve been staring at the water for cycles,” they’ll say,
  avatars hunched, grasping at something you can’t see. “I think I left something important down
  there… I need to get it back.” They forget the feeling in time, but deresolution and processing on
  the stack is a more immediate cure.
  the glittering surf
  
  35
  36
  SIRIUS is a benighted, eternally-rainy city with no boundaries. It invites Users who enjoy
  cosmopolitan bustle and being in the center of it all, and has the highest population of all World.
  Known as Sidereal, those Users who first originated in Sirius are said to be connected to webs
  of relationship and favors, dispassionately in control of their emotions and appearance, and
  urbane with refinement in manners and the ability to rapidly synthesize new information and
  deal with surprising situations. Sidereal make for efficient managers and gifted manipulators.
  Sirius is the economic center of World, and information as well as Coin flows here in
  abundance. Market analysts and opportunistic grifters rub elbows with wide-eyed innocents,
  those members of World’s User population who have chosen emptiness of mind and of
  purpose, simply experiencing the Endless City anew every Cycle. Sirius welcomes them all
  with free housing and non-stop trivial pleasures.
  Landmarks
  The Skyrises. The people of Sirius take the term ‘living the high life’ quite seriously, and from the
  Skyrise Apartment Launchpad, anyone can obtain temporary authorization to float their
  customized condo through the clouds. Many of the server’s elite take to retrofitting their flying
  tracts of land with gratuitously illegal thrusters and ordnance. In Echo City, it’s considered terribly
  impolite to entertain guests on the ground.
  Gardenside Promenade. Soaring above the chaotic topography of Old Arcadia, the Promenade
  connects most of the city’s districts with a gravity-defying maze of bridges, stairways, and scenic
  overlooks. Echo City’s stretch of the walkway boasts a rich botanical garden, cultivated by an
  autonomous Process crew. Many cycles ago, in perhaps overzealous treatment of their duties,
  they grew the promenade far beyond its original structural permit.
  Gardenside is now a
  labyrinthine jungle of exotic organics sprouting seamlessly from its silicon boulevards.
  Golden Mile Raceway. The grav-thrusters that Arcadian swoops favor can take the death defying
  corners and loops of this raceway at ludicrous speed, all the better to thrill the audiences that
  congregate on rooftops and in floating villas mere clicks from the track. Bookies for the races take
  in the majority of Echo’s GDP, especially when elaborate schemes and traps built by rival teams
  result in devastating crashes.
  SimCity. The glamorous SimCity Bar and Casino is a paean to World’s excess.
  Vast halls
  dedicated to sport betting on live-streamed gladiatorial games from Arcturus and Magball
  matches from Canopus compete with raucous stage-show acts from across World amid an
  infinite labyrinth of slot machines and card tables. Echo’s movers and shakers enjoy making
  themselves seen here, where the highest-priced games siphon data from Panopticon to model
  group behavioral dynamics and fleeting societal trends from Mute City below.
  Details
  Scene: Raindrops sizzle through flickering holographic ads. Scenic platforms swell on the backs
  of rising mist clouds, while hovering manses and trendy flying cars cut through the gloom. A city
  of glass grasps at the stars, bathed in the reflective glow of neon pinks and greens.
  Resources: Well-informed socialites, loose-lipped groupies, eager venture capitalists. Luxury
  stores and mall plazas with limited availability wares. Open and closed door parties, attended by
  the rich and famous.
  Threats: Prying eyes, knowing smiles, and predatory con artists. A high likelihood of showing up
  on the evening news. Losing your shirt in the races, or your head in the SimPods. Becoming a
  catspaw in an elaborate scheme.
  Notables
  Honora Plath. Self-styled ‘Princess of the Clouds’, Honora’s Skyrise Custom has been a fixture
  in Echo City well longer than should be legal. Anyone who makes it big in Echo is expected to
  pay her tribute with a housewarming gift as extravagant as her personality. (Lavish, Overbearing)
  Sanje Ras. Two-time reigning champion of both the Group X (Experimental) and Group M1
  (Heavyweight Monocycle) classes at the Golden Mile Invitational. Sanje’s meteoric rise to fame
  has been breathlessly followed by fans, amplified by a larger-than-life personality and eagerness
  for off-season illicit street racing. (Competitive, Oblivious)
  Ohm.
  A Process of Interest to the Troubleshooters. Has been traced departing the scene of
  recent instances of unexplained market volatility, civic unrest, and Infrastructure Instability Events
  (IIEs). Refer to case file for further details, classification-level Platinum. (Secretive, Unstable)
  echo city
  Echo City is the glittering jewel of Sirius, its rain slick towers and soaring colonnades rising
  improbably above the metropolitan landscape. ‘Everybody who is anybody does their business
  in Echo City’, its residents like to claim, but the truth is this high-flying district is little more than a
  cacophony of easy distractions and frivolous politics. If a User isn’t burnt out on nigh-endless
  decadence, they can look forward to a brilliant sunrise on the rare occasion that the clouds part
  and the rain lets up. After a fleetingly brief day cycle, the pervasive twilight of Sirius returns and
  the jewel shines again, lit by the golden halo of its floating raceway and a thousand tiny stars.
  
  37
  38
  mute city
  By far the most population-dense region of World across all servers, Mute City lives in the
  shadowed canyons and refracted-light causeways beneath its glamorous sister city. “Mute” is
  both a descriptor for the sonically-dampened region as well as it’s residents, who have grown
  accustomed to a state of permanent inescapable surveillance. The Sirian Stock Exchange (SSE)
  dominates the district, a monstrous data nexus that accounts for nearly a third of the total cross-
  server traffic through all of World.
  Landmarks
  EVIL, Inc. Look, we get it. The marketing could have used some more time to bake. And our first
  prototype wasn’t a huge hit, especially when it administered an uncommanded Omega Protocol
  on innocent crowds during our grand unveiling. But we won’t stop working for you, cycle in and
  cycle out. Our call center is FILLED with listless Process with nowhere else to go. Please call
  us. We just want to route your call. Do you have time to fill out a satisfaction survey? Please
  don’t hang up.
  The Mall. The Mall is the manifestation of a particularly-dense data substrate in Old Arcadia. It
  speaks to unfulfilled desires, forgotten product lines, naked avarice.
  It is run-down, decrepit,
  emptied of meaning.
  It could exist anywhere, and so it chose to exist nowhere.
  Escape is
  difficult, landmarks are unreliable.
  Kamidana. Where cultures of old dreamt up salt circles and warding incantations, the founders
  of World discovered that Daemons cannot cross certain data thresholds willingly. What started
  as a project to contain and research the strange natives of the simulation has become a
  monument to their insidious adaptability. Shadowy, guttural mob bosses run the underworld from
  this maze of sliding doors and interleaved hallways. Their liaisons are strangely polite, but from
  afar the shimmering black creatures in their tightly pressed suit coats seem to chafe madly
  against the restraints of polite society.
  The Beltway and Intraserver-665. Roads that exist only for their own sake, cutting underneath,
  above, and through the spaces of the Fade like a tangled spaghetti can.
  At the flickering
  boundary references of Sirius the paved surface contorts and twists, buckling against the physical
  limitations of World as though it’s intentions lie somewhere beyond the perimeter. Carefree Users
  sometimes careen through the Beltway, looking for shortcuts to destinations in New Arcadia or
  else to simply lose their worries in the desolate wash of passing lights.
  Landmarks
  Panopticon. A distributed network of fisheye lenses, spy-towers, shotgun microphone arrays,
  and scanning pillars that blankets the district, logging every action of the crowds that pass
  through Mute City. While in theory all actions in World can be Restored and analyzed ex post
  facto, Mute City is unique by virtue of active monitoring that dynamically tracks all occupants in
  real-time and directly collates data. Aggregated ‘bundles’ of information are sold on the SSE
  Intelligence Market to interested factions and Users or occasionally quarantined for Moderator
  analysis.
  Shadowbank Promenade. Winding through the void between skyscrapers, the Promenade is the
  common thread linking all of New Arcadia. Far below it’s twin Gardenside, Shadowbank pulses
  with crowds of greedy hustlers. A unique property of the Promenade folds space vast distances
  in the formless metropolitan sprawl. Open the right (or wrong) door here, and you’ll find yourself
  exiting kiloclicks away.
  Central Sirian Bank (CSB). The CSB serves as the credit rating and economic regulatory agency
  of World as well as it’s prime lender. Much of the Coin earned by Users (and nearly all of it by
  Process) passes through these over-wrought doors and into elaborate money-market schemes
  and credit tranches. The Bank’s physical security and economic clout is airtight, and even if it
  wasn’t, the CSB is much too big to ever fail.
  Sirian Stock Exchange. A raucous, open-air space dominated by massive updating stock tickers
  and crowded by Process intermediaries bidding on behalf of major factions.
  Composed of a
  Commodities Index tied to Memory production fluctuations, a Currency Exchange pitting
  thousands of imperceptibly-differing Coins against each other, the Intelligence Market which buys
  and sells raw data for various usages, and the Server Stocks of the more ‘corporate’ factions, as
  well as endless obscure equities and derivatives.
  Details
  Scene: This is the same escalator you took twenty cycles ago. A distorted recording of an ancient
  public service announcement briefly interrupts the distant strains of flavorless nu-jazz corporate
  muzak. The Janitor is coming, turn away. Run. RUN.
  Resources: All of yesterday’s consumable goods and disposable lifestyle choices, invitingly free.
  The secrets known only to Daemons and never before transcribed to Memory.
  Threats: Finding your way home. Daemons who know exactly what it is you seek before you
  realize it, always offering excellent deals. The Janitor.
  Notables
  Dan Shelman. Apparently the only middle manager employed at EVIL, Inc. Dan Shelman from
  Marketing will send you to see Dan Shelman working Travel Claims to fill out the expense report
  that Dan Shelman in Accounting gave you. Never seen in the same room as himself. Betrays no
  unease with his apparently-infinite work arrangement and holds few opinions aside from a frantic
  insistence that no one ever attempt to visit EVIL’s corporate leadership. (Bland, Secretive)
  The Janitor. An uncategorizable entity that stalks the Fade, cleaning forever.
  Whether it is a
  function of World’s baseline code is unknown, but it is unique to Sirius. Does not respond to any
  communication and cannot be slowed down. Mulches anything that tries. (Blind, Inexorable)
  Charlotte, the Queen 4bove. A massive, pleasant spider-like Daemon who oversees a cheerful
  web-village community in the vaulted rafters of a rusted-over industrial center. Does not wish for
  you to stay here forever in a crystal cocoon and slowly drain your avatar of memories. Will not
  send a scuttling tide of her children to immobilize you and put you in a crystal cocoon. Just wants
  to talk, perhaps over tea. You like lavender, yes? (Friendly, Knowledgeable)
  Details
  Scene: Panic from the Stock Exchange ripples through the crowd, flashing alert-red notifications
  as the market undergoes one of it’s routine cyclical crashes. A huddled gang of disaffected
  Process Echo to each other in a visual cryptolect, hoping to obscure their communication from
  outsiders and the evolving algorithms of Panopticon.
  Resources: Direct access to the premiere information hub of World. An endless crowd of easy
  marks, and easier getaways via Shadowbank. Close friends, and echo-spoofed apartments.
  Threats: Inescapable surveillance. Suited pit bosses from the CSB on the lookout for counter-
  market activity. Market predators performing a hostile takeover and ‘recapitalizing’ your assets.
  Notables
  Kaolus Vvulf. Freewheeling speculator. Actually buried in debt from dangerously overextending
  on a “sure thing” stock short during a recent Market surge, and stays perpetually one feverish
  deal ahead of debtors threatening a multi-iteration stint on the Stack.
  Looks to expand into
  ‘aggressive acquisitions’, other growth markets. (Amoral, Desperate)
  Thr4ex.
  A recent addition to Mute City’s charged climate, Thr4ex is a psychopathic mass-
  derezzing Daemon who can impersonate any User’s avatar almost perfectly. It seems to obey a
  strict code of conduct, and will spare anyone canny enough to see through its disguises. It is
  unclear how it has evaded Moderator detection thus far. (Gleeful, Maniacal)
  Yvritte. An Architect of World-renown, who has taken to using Mute as a personal playground for
  civic experiments.
  Dwells at the center of Panopticon, monitoring the results of every subtle
  change in terrain, utilities, and transit systems.
  Well-connected by virtue of upper-crust
  Moderator networking. (Analytical, Egotistical)
  the fade
  Dis-organized data clusters in Sirius take the form of endless clicks of liminal commercial spaces:
  in-patient waiting rooms, empty lifeless malls, featureless corporate interiors carpeted in off-
  yellow, silent airport terminals, all leading nowhere or folding back upon themselves. Daemons
  form exile communities here outside the margins of the populous cityscape.
  You can find
  anything in the Fade, they say, if you’re willing to lose yourself in the process.
  
  39
  40
  The following pages feature a sample of factions, enough to run a short campaign of hello,
  world. More factions are coming!
  Factions have differing membership, qualities, assets, and goals depending on what Tier they
  are presently at. World is a highly fluid society and the GM can use the downtime Faction
  Turmoil rules to create a relatively rapid turnover of leadership in servers. Arriving at Helios (ie.
  Tier 4 and especially Tier 5) is a big deal. Tell the players how World changes to accommodate
  it’s new (temporary) ‘masters’.
  What color do they paint the skies? What’s fashionable now? What’s “SO last cycle”?
  For describing a Faction at Tier 2 and Tier 4, you can integrate the two closest tiers on their
  entry into a fusion: Perhaps a Tier 4 faction resembles it’s Tier 3 version, but it has already
  achieved one of the Tier 3 Faction Goals and is in actively acquiring the resources or assets
  described in it’s Tier 5 iteration.
  What becomes of all the ‘stuff’ described in a faction that has not yet achieved the Tier to
  ‘unlock’ it? This is a question that can have a lot of creative answers. World procedurally
  generates Process for a faction based on their current Tier and inclinations, alloting more
  resources to factions that have a higher status. Assets may be undiscovered, waiting in the
  Archives for someone to restore them back to existence. For Users belonging to a faction,
  perhaps they are still training, on the Stack, presently-unafilliated, away on a distant mission,
  not yet at their full power and position, or simply unrevealed as yet.
  Other factions can wield Authority too! These are not much different from ordinary long-term
  faction goals that you might establish, but they imply much more instant and immediate effects
  that will change a major part of World.
  Give the players ample opportunity to stop, slow, or subvert them. Make the last-minute
  stopping of a dangerous Authority clock a big Score, as the enemy’s doomsday weapon,
  profane ritual, or wellspring of power gathers energy to unleash
  Ballpark math: the Magnitude of a faction’s intended Authority function should generally not
  exceed twice their Tier, +2. (ie. The Tsuruga Clan is Tier 3. The Magnitude you plot out for the
  Kill command they are preparing to shatter the HQ’s walls of their adversary is 8).
  undefined
  helios
  ARGUS is, or rather was, the old-town of World’s servers. It appealed to Users who desired the
  feel of hand-wrought things, or the fantasy of living in an early-industrial city from a long-
  forgotten place before World. Argus is undergoing an indefinite defragmentation cycle, and the
  Administration does not answer questions about when it is scheduled to be back online.
  Known as Panoptics, those Users who were forced to undergo the diaspora from Argus are
  now said to be observant to changes of fortune and poor omens, mysterious in their ways and
  presentation, and subtle in their dealings. Panoptics make for valued advisors but tend to be
  eerie companions. If they maintain any semblances of the Old Culture, by and large they have
  chosen to keep it to themselves.
  Argus used to have a Wharf district, a bustling Market Street, tidy and pleasant Row Houses,
  and a host of other quaint features along winding cobbled streets and gas-lit lamps. Now, it’s a
  morass of churning data and unstable terrain, legally accessible only to Admins and
  Moderators. Only the desperate would choose it as a lair, and only if they could Format a part
  of the server to freeze it in place and make stable ground...
  argus random table
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Street
  Name
  Coal Lane
  Stone Street
  Lamp Street
  Market Square
  Charter Way
  Dock Street
  F0rg##*# L#ne
  <ERR//undefind>
  ..turn back..
  Denizen
  A listless Shade
  Crowd of pale
  echoes
  Nobody at all
  A shiver in the
  simulation
  the woman in red
  Your face..?
  Mood
  Rippling
  Alive
  Churning
  Unstable
  Placid
  Forgotten
  Grinding
  Collapsing
  Glitching
  Hostile
  Unsettling
  Paralogical
  Location
  Anachronistic
  Brickworks
  Neat Rowhouses
  Customs
  Checkpoint
  Cobblestone Bridge
  Folded Buildings
  Yawning Abyss
  Details
  Trampled
  Mementoes
  Wrought Iron
  Fences
  Piles of Strewn
  Luggage
  Moving Searchlights
  Missing Textures
  Gravity
  Fluctuations
  sirius random table
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  Street
  Name
  Wall Avenue
  Warp Alley
  327th Street
  Pillar Road
  Eclipse Lane
  Z Street
  Mirror Junction
  Exit 163
  Howl Skybridge
  Pad 18C
  Void Walk
  Crosstown E
  Denizen
  Crushing
  crowds
  Angry stock-
  brokers
  Hordes of shoppers
  Silent Process gang
  Trenchcoated
  and tailing you
  Suddenly alone
  Mood
  Teeming
  Chaotic
  Sodden
  Sullen
  Lights, Colors
  Riotous Sounds
  Dusky
  Moody
  Foggy
  Muted
  Torrential
  Furtive
  Location
  Unlit Park
  Neon Apartments
  Hazardous
  Intersection
  Public Transit
  Tunnel
  Shadowed
  Walkway
  Office Complex
  Details
  Auto-News
  Stand
  Flickering Stock
  Ticker
  Brutalist
  Architecture
  lounging Viral Cat
  Neon
  Advertisements
  Art Deco
  Installations
  helios random table
  1/2
  3/4
  5/6
  Street
  Name
  The Substrate
  Via0028593
  Goldcircuit
  Copperway
  Central Promenade
  Set [0.0]
  Denizen
  A pair of conversing Architects
  Tier 5 faction enforcers
  An Administrator, monitoring
  Mood
  Frigid
  Empirical
  Shimmering
  Overclocked
  Alien
  Unsettling
  Location
  The Stack
  Central Processing
  Admin Conclave
  Details
  Spotless Surfaces
  Perfect Stillness
  Crystalline Flora
  
  41
  42
  Tier 1: A boarding school of misfit “pledges” (newly-rezzed
  Users emulating teenage forms) with far too little supervision.
  An anemic school board run by Professor Morcroft (ancient,
  arcane, eccentric). The key to the Archives hidden
  somewhere on school grounds.
  Tier 3: A full class roster prompts the re-inauguration of the
  Grand Academy Cup. The student body’s conflict spills out
  into the server at large, and recovered artifacts are wielded
  with total disregard for public safety.
  Tier 5: A student “chosen by fate” rises up from one of the four
  Houses and begins questing for the Seven Seals that control
  full Archive access. They unite the Academy in an effort to
  initiate a global restoration of World to a baseline back-up.
  The four branches of the Academy which pledges are selected by during the first semester are:
  House Flare, led by Sazil Ergon (reckless),
  House Radiance, led by Pria Laiss (ruthless),
  House Eclipse, led by Edgar Volun (charismatic), and
  House Void led by Orabidia Trin (analytical).
  All House leaders are young, dumb, gifted with excessive authority, and in constant competition.
  Allies: Overwriters, Architects, Phlegethon Productions
  Enemies: Administration, Adventurer’s Guild
  Notes: There is a Port to Archives beneath the schoolhouse, sealed by lethal puzzles. Archives
  is a grey-and-white shadow realm of timeless, platonic structures and forms: a perfect
  battleground for the students. Pursuit of the Academies’ Tier 5 goals will put them in direct
  conflict with Administration, which is withholding the true nature of Archives for some reason.
  Though the Academy is likely to fail as it always has before, the Professors are patient. They
  are content to wait for another student of prophecy to arise in the next generation...
  Faction Goals
  A semester of madcap
  hĳinks concludes
  Recruit Students
  ______________________
  Grand Cup battle in
  Archives
  ______________________
  Acquire a Seal (repeating)
  Use the Seven Seals to re-
  Format World to a back up.
  Archive Academy
  6
  4
  8
  6
  12
  Tier 1: Small street patrols of Process, one overworked
  plainclothes investigator: Detective Harlan (cold, shrewd,
  corrupt?), deference & graft paid up to local Level 3 faction.
  Evidence lockers and a burgeoning protection racket.
  Tier 3: Armored patrol hovercars, a STRIKE team led by
  Sergeant Slee (armored, mocking, vicious), planted evidence
  & sting operations against local non-Infrastructure factions that
  don’t pay up.
  Tier 5: Helios in the pocket of Commisioner Wallace (arrogant,
  corrupt, connected), extensive militarization, fortified HQ,
  routine district sweeps to ‘clean up dirty servers’, citizen
  outreach efforts to portray Troubleshooters as local heroes.
  Allies: Administration, Moderators, local highest-Tier Syndicate if they play nice
  Enemies: Archive Academy, Cult of Static, Overwriters, all other Syndicate factions
  Notes: Multiple Troubleshooter precincts may exist independent of each other, and they all
  serve the same overarching goals even if minor rivalries exist. In the event one of them
  advances to Tier 4 or 5, that Precinct becomes the “Central Office” and all operations by
  lesser Troubleshooter branches receive +1d or +2d (respectively) against Faction Turmoil or
  to advance local Faction goals.
  World’s basecode dictates that only 1 Troubleshooter faction may be in Helios at a time. When
  the reigning Troubleshooter faction is displaced from Helios, immediately reduce Tier of
  every other Troubleshooter Precinct by 1 due to widespread public backlash.
  Faction Goals
  Procure better arms and
  equipment
  Hire informants
  ______________________
  Execute sting operation
  Raid an enemy/Syndicate
  ______________________
  Suppress Moderator
  influences
  Sweep a Server
  Troubleshooters (“Precinct 42”)
  6
  4
  6
  8
  8
  6
  Tier 1: Solitary masked hunters [ex. Acra Shorn (determined,
  resourceful)] guarding secret techniques for full-data erasure,
  effectively forced to act as vigilantes due to Troubleshooter
  interference. Seeker daemons (arcane senses, arrow-quick)
  for flushing out Shades and Glitch.
  Tier 3: Customs checkpoints across the server and a floating
  ops center trawling above districts, performing deep scans for
  signs of Glitch and para-logical activity in the residents. A
  sophisticated vox network coordinated by sysop Lens
  (analytical, anonymous, vain)
  Tier 4*: Heavily-armed specialist squads tracing World for
  infringement of Data Purity laws. A processing facility with
  stockpiles of illicit memories/Process slated for destruction.
  Tier 1: Doomed teams of would-be dungeon explorers getting
  derezzed in forgotten places. Barbarian ‘Rook’ Mope (brutal,
  dim, tough) and Cleric ‘Pawn’ Healbot (Process, buffers allies,
  weak). Stores of uncovered artifacts, most of dubious value.
  Tier 3: Dragoon ‘Queen’ Korryn Vayle (elegant, powerful,
  ruthless) leads an artifact black market, dabbles in protection
  racket. Trove of ancient lore, maps, memories. Arms and
  armor plundered from World’s history. Bound lesser daemons.
  Tier 5: Vast PvP zones designated in each server, where
  heavily-armed Guild ‘heroes’ prowl the streets provoking
  fights. Wielder ‘Bishop’ Fayze Akathi (strange, haunted,
  obsessive) has bound the Daemon King Ortu (ancient,
  glitched, sorcerous), but who truly serves whom?
  Allies: Administrators
  Enemies: Adventurer’s Guild, Cult of Static, Temple of Unresolution, Troubleshooters
  Notes: Overwriters are above the law and jealously guard ancient permissions for usage of the
  Kill command. They are sanctioned to only use Kill to wipe infected data clusters that hog
  World’s resources or violate contraband laws, and they take their job seriously. One of their
  hardest targets are the Shades that occasionally are left behind by deresolution, which
  prevent resolution of the associated user off the Stack so long as they exist. Shades resist
  destruction and go into hiding, assisted by their dislocation from World’s monitoring systems.
  *Unless something drastic changes in their leadership and belief structure, the Overwriters will
  refuse any opportunity to advance to Tier 5. If they exceed their mandate and seek
  political power they would be summarily stripped of their command-line permissions and legal
  status by the Admins...
  Allies: Bluelight Society
  Enemies: Archive Academy, Overwriters, Troubleshooters
  Notes: A chess piece rank structure and byzantine membership bylaws do little to reign in these
  morally-bankrupt vagrants. Adventurers often break into sealed server partitions in order to
  plunder the sealed wealth (and brave the slumbering dangers) within.
  The Adventurers Guild’s fixation on forbidden places outside of World’s civilized network means
  they often stumble across sealed artifacts. At any time their membership might (Fortune roll
  with Tier) manifest uncovered ‘magic items’ that grant them powerful advantages, or perhaps
  unleash dangerous powers beyond their control.
  Faction Goals
  Faction Goals
  Hunt a Shade
  (repeating)
  Initiate new Overwriters
  ______________________
  Sweep a District for
  contraband
  Relocate Ops Center
  ______________________
  Pull strings for draconian
  new Data Purity laws
  Raid ancient partitions
  (repeating)
  ______________________
  Acquire artifacts
  Discover Ortu’s binding
  circle
  ______________________
  Unleash Daemon hordes
  Heroically contain
  Daemon rampage
  Overwriters
  Adventurer’s Guild
  4
  8
  6
  6
  4
  6
  8
  8
  6
  12
  
  43
  44
  Tier 1: Petty memory theft, a black-market of unusual sensory
  experiences, a few teams of small-time enforcers led by
  Blaise (brutal, fiery, well-dressed).
  Tier 3: Elaborate catered social events headed by majordomo
  Porfus Ordan (Process, discrete, formal), a web of
  allegiances with memory-brokers and artifact hunters,
  extensive blackmail on peer factions in other servers. The
  Bluelight Mask is used to suppress rivals.
  Tier 5: World is a family business, and your memories are the
  price to play. Society head Kraft (enigmatic, manipulative,
  unseen) reveals their presence and ‘encourages’ cooperation.
  The leadership of major Infrastructure and Syndicate factions
  are Masked to assert control.
  Tier 1: A small band of rough breaker mercenaries and filcher
  cut-throats pledging their swords to the highest bidder. Their
  mobile bivouac, illuminated by nightly revels and tests of
  strength. Tsuruga Isshin (analytical, taciturn, Soul Edge)
  chases rumors of a mountain citadel lost in the mists.
  Tier 3: Fortified in Castle Tsuruga, the clan focuses inward on
  recovering lost secrets. Ao Nohime (composed, subtle,
  Reflexes) manages household affairs while living a double-life
  as an infiltrator sabotaging Clan enemies. The shades of
  Tsuruga Clan’s derezzed heroes, serving even in ‘death’.
  Tier 5: A mighty host of Process warriors assembled by the
  Castle and led by Isshin’s generals: Tsuruga Naomori
  (boastful, hasty, powerful) and Musō Takauji (loyal, patient,
  skilled). Masked assassins and informants everywhere.
  Allies: Adventurer’s Guild, Cult of Static, Troubleshooters
  Enemies: Overwriters, Tsuruga Clan, Temple of Unresolution
  Notes: The Bluelight Society’s traffic in old artifacts and memories will eventually (Tier 3+) lead
  them to recovering the infamous weapon that is their namesake, the Bluelight Mask. The
  Mask can purge the local memories of Users and reduce them to catatonic shells (it is an
  artifact crown that causes a Format command reset against it’s hapless wearer). Though the
  effects are not permanent, it is a fearsome deterrent. If the Mask is used on a PC, treat it
  mechanically as though it were a Deresolution Roll fixed at 1d and 1 Chaos while they take
  time off to reconstruct their identity. The User must take a Trauma, as normal.
  Allies: Temple of Unresolution
  Enemies: Bluelight Society
  Notes: Castle Tsuruga is not Compiled or Restored by the Clan like most faction’s HQs but is a
  recurring architectural artifact that is code-locked in World’s feature set, making it inevitable
  that it will iterate somewhere in every cycle whenever absent. This unusual characteristic is
  the foundation of Tsuruga’s claim to dominance: when the Castle migrates to Helios, so too do
  the legitimate rulers of World.
  Upon ascent to Helios, the Tsuruga Clan attempts to ally with, vassalize, or else eradicate the
  other factions there in preparation for the next phase. With Isshin installed at the head of a
  military junta, a campaign of conquest will be waged against the Tier 3 faction leaders of each
  server. Isshin is canny and generally seeks to divide his enemies with in-fighting and careful
  use of spies prior to direct action, but the clan as a whole favors bold maneuvers and personal
  combat to seek swift resolution to hostilities.
  Faction Goals
  Faction Goals
  Discover memory-running
  routes across Servers
  Acquire blackmail
  ______________________
  Use Bluelight Mask on a
  rival User/Moderator
  Hold a grand
  gala/masquerade
  ______________________
  Unveil ‘restructuring’ of
  Moderators
  Pursue Tsuruga Castle
  rumors
  Fight on behalf of another
  faction
  ______________________
  Delve deeply beneath
  Castle Tsuruga
  Infiltrate another faction
  ______________________
  Military campaign enters a
  new stage
  Bluelight Society
  Tsuruga Clan
  6
  4
  6
  4
  6
  8
  8
  6
  10
  8
  Tier 1: Spaced-out cultists dosing on “Snow”, a designer
  memory that creates thought-eradicating euphoric waves. The
  elusive Deacon Kalix (cunning, persuasive, insane) deals
  Snow and proselytizes to a fanatical contingent of faithful.
  Tier 3: Processions of cloaked aspirants march to the chanting
  of Confessor Matteus (armored, fanatical, glitch-fire).
  Subterranean headquarters hidden in forsaken partitions, at
  the heart of one lays a festering nexus of Glitch. Ritualistic
  cabals attempt to summon Glitch into being: they mostly fail.
  Tier 5: Glitch Harbingers in the streets. Tendrils of The Great
  Maw (ancient, mindless, ravenous) burst through foundations,
  creep across the skyline. Archbishop Thayen (gibbering,
  glitched, sorcerous) preaches the end from a palanquin drawn
  by horrors.
  Tier 1: An enclave of meditation. Pamphlets on the banality of
  existence in World, calling for an ascetic lifestyle. Temple
  guards led by Quiet Mountain (friendly, powerful, talkative).
  Tier 3: Teachers in the “art of dying” leading prospects through
  empty mind rituals. Grand Master Ita Jaga (discerning,
  subtle, transcended) projects public echoes of their lucid
  dream, forever meditating on the margins of deresolution.
  Shades of the Unrezzed begin to congregate at temples
  throughout server. Works of art that slowly alter their owners.
  Tier 5: Brainwashed aspirants take “auto-derez” pacts across
  World, the Stack is crowded as acolytes clog the feed and
  their unliving Shades outnumber the legitimate population.
  Crypto-sculptures with mind-altering programmatic properties
  openly displayed in major server gathering spaces.
  Allies: Bluelight Society
  Enemies: Administration, Overwriters, Temple of Unresolution, Troubleshooters
  Notes: The Cult’s beliefs are antithetical to World’s existence. If the Cult grows in power to
  Tier 4, Admins and Moderators will mobilize in force to try to contain their influence.
  Temporarily modify the Chaos level by +1 (at Tier 5, +2) for as long as the Cult dwells in
  Helios: the harm and confusion they cause across World results in collateral damage for
  everyone. If this would raise Chaos above 4, resolve 1 extra Entanglement every downtime
  as World plummets toward anarchy and collapse.
  Allies: Tsuruga Clan
  Enemies: Bluelight Society, Cult of Static, Overwriters
  Notes: The Temple teaches paradoxical logic fixating on Deresolution. Though initially
  harmless, they preach a doctrine of self-negation that propagates via subliminal
  reprogramming of User minds. Starting at Tier 3, begin a 6-clock (“Brainwashing”) for PCs
  who observe the Temple’s hypnotic crypto-sculptures in their fullness.
  Ordinarily a mistake caused by an incomplete deresolution, a mental technique taught by the
  Unrezzed allows a User to voluntarily leave behind a Shade. Since it is forbidden for identical
  user datasets to exist in World, the subject becomes trapped on the Stack while their Shade
  roams freely. Shades are difficult to directly observe or track timestamps on, making them
  excellent spies and assassins.
  Faction Goals
  Faction Goals
  Hook new Users on Snow
  Devise deadly new formula
  ______________________
  Call forth the Giltch
  ______________________
  Shatter World’s Firewalls
  Attract followers (repeating)
  Study hynotic artifacts
  ______________________
  Produce hypnotic artifacts
  Gather Shades
  ______________________
  Pact of Unresolution
  creates new ghost district
  (repeating)
  Cult of Static
  Temple of Unresolution
  4
  8
  4
  8
  10
  6
  8
  12
  6
  
  45
  46
  Tier 1: Interactive game shows hosted by Zagreus (charismatic,
  magnanimous, vain). A gossip and news stream run by
  Megaera (insightful, mocking, spiteful). A small memory card
  studio tucked away in an artistic corner.
  Tier 3: Big-budget Memories starring action icon Theseus
  (handsome, petty) heroically battling vast Daemons (actually
  just convincing post-production effects). Giant arenas for
  Battle Royale reality shows, complete with team Coin
  currencies and factional sponsorships.
  Tier 5: Elysian Studios, a high-brow subsidiary devoted to “finer
  art” productions. Pervasive paperazzi presence in all major
  servers.
  Allies: Archive Academy, Troubleshooters
  Enemies: Temple of Unresolution
  Notes: Phlegethon dabbles in a lot of multimedia experiences, but their specialty will always be
  delivering chaotic, loosely-scripted entertainment in front of a live-streaming audience. They
  are willing to televise just about anything and will gleefully make their enemies a part of “this
  season’s plot arc” on whatever “reality memory” production is making the most bank currently.
  While Phlegethon is the Tier 3 Faction in a server, assess +1 extra Heat in Payoff in that
  server due to the added exposure, unless the PCs somehow manage to keep all evidence of
  their actions and presence completely off-camera (highly unlikely). If Phlegethon is a Tier 4/5
  faction, this may apply to any score in any server at GM’s discretion.
  Faction Goals
  Dig up some dirt on
  another faction
  ______________________
  Battle Royale TV kicks off a
  new season...
  ...you’re the guest star
  ______________________
  Install new highly-invasive
  monitoring systems in a
  server
  Phlegethon Productions
  6
  6
  4
  8
  Tier 1:
  Tier 3:
  Tier 5:
  Tier 1:
  Tier 3:
  Tier 5:
  Allies:
  Enemies:
  Notes:
  Allies:
  Enemies:
  Notes:
  Faction Goals
  Faction Goals
  ______________________
  ______________________
  ______________________
  ______________________
  Tier 1: Wilderness pioneer teams taking samples at valuable
  “Iso spikes” across the server. Science Head Olivia Calcifer
  (brilliant, demanding, high-strung) and her enterprising R&D
  department work on the recovery of lost MEMcrystal
  fabrication techniques.
  Tier 3: Iso cutting lasers, crystal refineries, and hazardous
  materials storage, housed in the mobile base camp “Alpha-1”
  (HQ). A corporate paramilitary squad led by Team Lead
  Kruger (heavily-armed, ruthless, tenacious) defends Alpha-1
  and it’s remote extraction sites.
  Tier 5: Private military regiments with autonomous combat
  walkers motivated by Rubric Cores enforce ‘free trade’ chains
  that exclusively benefit the IMC, strangling competition with an
  iron fist. A corporate nation-state under Governor-General
  Hardinger (corrupt, heavy-handed) controls vast swathes,
  press-ganging Process labor and heedlessly exploiting mineral
  wealth.
  Allies: Bluelight Society, Troubleshooters
  Enemies: Neuroplastic Construction Company
  Notes: The IMC alone has the resources and knowledge to manufacture new MEMcrystal in
  World, and they do so by pursuing a rare randomly-occuring diamond-like substance called
  Isomorph, or simply “Iso” for short. Though MEMcrystal is valued for it’s durability, Read/Write
  functionality, and high-fidelity storage, the IMC’s monopoly on production makes it wildly
  expensive and dangerously warping to World’s economy.
  While the IMC is a Tier 4/5 faction, increase the price of Indulging Memory in downtime by +1
  Coin, +1 Memory slot, or +1 Heat (player’s choice). The spiraling costs of memory production
  and economic warfare take their toll as the IMC chokes competing formats and raises prices.
  Faction Goals
  Siphon Resources
  Rediscover Iso-refining
  process
  ______________________
  Extract local ISO and
  relocate Alpha-1
  (repeating)
  Develop Rubric Cores
  ______________________
  Expand territorial control
  Destroy a competitor
  Isomorphic Mining Consortium
  4
  6
  6
  8
  6
  8
  
  47
  The TTRPG Safety Toolkit is a resource created by
  Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. The TTRPG
  Safety Toolkit is a compilation of safety tools that have
  been designed by members of the tabletop roleplaying
  games community for use by players and GMs at the
  table. You can find it at: bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Hello, World/HW_Guide booklet.pdf