Boomtown
HISTORY BEGINS WITH THE FOUNDERS, UPON WHOSE ARRIVAL THE BLACK PYRAMID WAS BUILT AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAINS. SINCE THEN, IT HAS STOOD AS AN IMPOSING BEACON OF CIVILIZATION AND ORDER.
Boomtown
HISTORY BEGINS WITH THE FOUNDERS, UPON WHOSE ARRIVAL THE BLACK PYRAMID WAS BUILT AT THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAINS. SINCE THEN, IT HAS STOOD AS AN IMPOSING BEACON OF CIVILIZATION AND ORDER.
THE INSTITUTION
IN MODERN TIMES, THE INSTITUTION PERPETUATES THE WILL AND INTENT OF THE FOUNDERS THROUGH ITS THREE BRANCHES: THE LAW, THE MINISTRY, AND THE CORPS.
Makers
In all areas of life, the will of the Founders is established as Law by the Makers. The nature of government, the behavior of the governed, and the requirements and prohibitions of business are all dictated through the work of this branch.
Ministers
The Ministers interpret and communicate the Law to the people of Boomtown. Through their work, this branch has developed a nearly monolithic populace that reveres Law as a worthy expression of the ideal of the Founders.
Keepers
The Keepers ensure all entities and individuals operate in accordance with the will of the Founders, as established in Law and affirmed by the Ministry. These boundaries of propriety are strictly preserved through all necessary means from Hightown to the Annex.
Locales
Two circular WALLS FULLY DIVIDE the population by CLASS, WHILE A THIRD, INCOMPLETE WALL BLURS THE LINE BETWEEN THE CITY PROPER AND THE ANNEX, A MELTING-POT SLUM OF THE MANY WHOSE EXCLUSION FROM THE CITY AND VULNERABILITY TO THE CHAOTIC WILDERNESS MAKES PROXIMITY TO BOOMTOWN NECESSARY, IF UNDESIRED.
Midtown
Here the largest class directs and produces the work that keeps most of the city running. Decisions are made and delegated down the chain, and the fruits of these efforts are reaped in the luxuries of social events, entertainment, and fine dining.
Lowtown
With steady productivity and registration with the annual census, one earns citizenship and the privileges that come with it. The work is hard and the quality of life is scarcely better than in the slums, but the food is steady, and the wall is better than the frontier.
The Annex
The slums which spill out from Boomtown’s incomplete outermost wall are populated by Outsiders who can’t get in, Towners who have gotten out, and locals from birth - all refugees, fugitives, and survivors of both worlds.
Wilderness
AN IMPASSIBLE MOUNTAIN RANGE EXTENDS FROM BOOMTOWN AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE. THOSE WHO SET OUT TO THE HORIZON NEVER RETURN, OR DO SO TOO TERRIFIED TO TELL WHY.
THIS IS NO SURPRISE TO THE TRIBES WHO HAVE FOUND A HIDDEN PLACE IN THE WILDERNESS TO COLONIZE - THEIR STORIES OF THE WOLF OF THE WORLD HAVE LONG KEPT THEM FROM THE SHALLOW PLACES WHERE HE IS SAID TO MOVE.
THE REPRODUCTIVE CRISIS HIT THE OUTSIDERS HARDEST; BIRTHS HAVE BEEN TOO SCARCE FOR TOO LONG. OF THIS THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT: THEIR GENERATIONS ARE NUMBERED.
Wilderness
AN IMPASSIBLE MOUNTAIN RANGE EXTENDS FROM BOOMTOWN AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE. THOSE WHO SET OUT TO THE HORIZON NEVER RETURN, OR DO SO TOO TERRIFIED TO TELL WHY.
THIS IS NO SURPRISE TO THE TRIBES WHO HAVE FOUND A HIDDEN PLACE IN THE WILDERNESS TO COLONIZE - THEIR STORIES OF THE WOLF OF THE WORLD HAVE LONG KEPT THEM FROM THE SHALLOW PLACES WHERE HE IS SAID TO MOVE.
THE REPRODUCTIVE CRISIS HIT THE OUTSIDERS HARDEST; BIRTHS HAVE BEEN TOO SCARCE FOR TOO LONG. OF THIS THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT: THEIR GENERATIONS ARE NUMBERED.
Outsiders
The Hangman’s Horde
Ten years ago, a boy had a vision of the future.
Since then, a cult rooted in its message has grown to become the largest modern tribe in the Wilderness. In their pursuit of a relic they believe is the key to unlocking a future of eternal paradise, they have conquered and absorbed most surviving tribes.
Those who remain sovereign have struck an alliance to protect and preserve their waning cultures from complete annihilation.
The Tribes
Few evaded Boomtown’s Marshaling of the Outsiders. The extant tribes remain scattered across the habitable world, their philosophies at odds, their cultures often incompatible.
But on each full moon, the tribes come together at the ruckus, an occasion of unity in which passions and vices are given general license, and reproduction is desperately and indulgently pursued.
The Relegy
Once a robust society and valid alternative to living in Boomtown, the Relegy has disappeared.
It is believed they still exist somewhere far from Boomtown, continuing their lives in peace and welcoming any who navigate the shallow places to find them.
In their absence, enlightened thinking and open minds have largely been lost in the Wilderness, where permeating mistrust between tribes prevents significant advancement, and might and superstitions rule the day.
