“I got my start on Night City, under that red sky. Little China is rough now and even more so then. Every fam had a Geiger counter a KI tablets. Even then, the city had splendors if you knew where to look and could afford them. After my first single popped and big gigs landed, I got invites to some of those corpo parties in the Glen, even the Exec Zone. The other half lives well, even if their towers look over the wasteland their war left behind.”
To say that Night City was once glorious would really depend on your point of view. From the top, the city is what you made of it. Before the 4th Corporate War and then the bomb that capped it all off, a high ranking corpo lived in crystal towers sitting above the smog layer, ate the best food and went to the best clubs. However, without money or credibility, life always sort of sucked in Night City. Scrambling for money, living in projects or on the streets. Keeping their head low as corporations duked it out with them in the crossfire. Some edgerunners made the most of their situation, climbing the ranks and banking some Eurobucks. They schmoozed with famous fixers at Afterlife, landing bigger more dangerous gigs.
Life in 2045 is different. The bomb that took out the old corporate center in 2023 changed the landscape in a very real sense. 22 years later and the city is still being rebuilt. Downtown is a mix of new corporate construction, a tangle of skeletal skyscrapers being built with the use of robotic cranes that dominate the skyline, and combat zones in and around what once was the city’s epicenter. Outside of downtown, areas that were once suburbs referred to as Beavervilles, are now crowded with tent cities and refugees. Mass housing is in the works, but it has been a long time coming and the crowded streets are filled with waste and crime. Beyond the refugee camps are the badlands occupied by outcasts and nomad families. As bad as the city can be, life on the fringes is even rougher.
Characters in this one-shot hail from all over the city (and outside in Laura’s case). Most have experienced the highs and lows this city has to offer and are familiar with the various districts. Here is a brief synopsis of each of them:
What used to be the Corporate Zone before being leveled by a nuclear blast. Now, those that dare to enter are worst of the gangs or suicidal.
A tangle of new construction and cranes dominate this area.Mega-buildings are being constructed to house the millions who were forced to flee when the Corporate Zone was destroyed. This area is subdivided into neighborhoods.
Houses most of the important government buildings.
A neighborhood consisting of old brick buildings and new skyscrapers.
Run mostly by Militech, this base to the north is heavily fortified and cut off from the rest of Night City.
Corporate sponsored district centered around Playland by theSea, an amusement park amid massive development.
Features a well-maintained marina with a mix of old industrial buildings and new construction.
Precariously positioned at the edge of the Hot Zone andSouth Night City, this houses the last remaining university in the city.
A massive development of mega buildings and arcologies intended to house many thousands of refugees.
This is a collection of old districts that have fell to the influence of gangs and criminal activity. Law enforcement only show up here in the direst circumstances or when some corpo exec needs something accomplished. Most of the slums here run together now, but they were formerly divided into neighborhoods including Old Japantown, Little China, South Night City and theOld Combat Zone (you know, when things didn’t suck quite as bad and so the combat zone could be contained).
When people had to flee the central city, they went to the suburbs. Without enough housing available, refugee camps eventually turned into shanty towns. The ever-present classism still reigns here as the wealthy build barriers around their neighborhoods to keep out the rest.
Heywood is overpacked and split between the wealthy in the north and the poor in the south in an area referred to as Santa Domingo.
A collection of warehouses, factories and even some derelict cargo ships that are being used as housing by a desperate population.
This district used to be the old executive zone and still has some of that glitz and glamor, but like so much of the Suburbs, it is now packed with a homeless population. Unlike Heywood, which is divided geographically, New Westbrook division is one of elevation. The rich live in towers and transport via AV or armored cars on elevated roads and the poor are on ground level.
Formerly the land of single-family housing and mini malls, now slowly converting into more of an industrial zone and shanty towns.
A small section built amongst the hills outside of NightCity proper, this zone caters to the elite and is separated by a heavily guarded fence.
The Badlands account for everything outside of the city and suburbs. Attempts are being made to reclaim some of the outskirts to provide for the displaced population, an effort supported by Nomad families and private security, but much of this area is low on resources and very dangerous. Survivalists, criminals and gangs are a constant threat here. Most that have to travel through stick to the patrolled interstates unless they have a desparate need.