Welcome to Night City 2045 #6 – District Design Rundown
Amazing, isn’t it? Six weeks into our previews of Night City 2045, and we’re only 51 pages into the book! Time to break through that barrier and discuss the meat of the tome: the districts. In coming weeks, we’ll share information on the individual districts but, for today, we want to show off the way we’ve formatted them.
I’m J Gray, line manager for Cyberpunk! Please, join me.
Each district begins with an image, offering a visual of the area. Take note of the words under the picture.
The Security Code indicates the local authority’s general likelihood of responding to suspicious and criminal behavior on the street. The higher the number, the more attention local authorities pay to potential and actual threats and crimes. Speaking of authorities, after the number is the organization most likely to respond should there be trouble, then a rating – Light, Medium, or Heavy – to guide the GM in how intense a response is likely. If the response is Hardened, that is noted as well.
The Utility Code helps guide the GM in deciding if a location’s utilities (usually power, water, and CitiNet) are functioning. The lower the number, the less likely a utility failure.
Don’t worry, these rules will be fully explained in the book!
What follows the image is an introduction to the district and the Media writing its entry. We’ll also share information about the City Manager, Population, Security Provider, and Recent History of the district.
Next comes the map: a close-up of the district with all locations marked by number. You’ll find the legend on the lower part of the page. On the map, you’ll also find symbols indicating NCART stations and areas with a notable gang presence.
Following the map are location listings. They start with a number corresponding to its marker on the map, then the name. Under the name is a Security Rating, which might be the same as the district’s or might be different. Occasionally, we’ll also offer a unique Utility Code – some locations have better or worse utility access than the surrounding area. We bold the names of sublocations in listings, as well as important NPCs you might find there. With NPCs, when they have a Role, we list it and the rank.
Each district’s section ends with two sets of listings. First, a selection of interesting and notable people, complete with short biography. Second, a set of stat blocks for archetypical characters you might meet in a district, from NCPD Beat Cops to Gang Mooks to Corporate Drones.
That’s all for this week. If you want to catch up on the Welcome to Night City preview series, you can click on the links below. Until next week, stay safe on The Street!
