Welcome to Night City 2045 #7 – Island Districts
Welcome to week seven of our preview of Night City 2045!
This time around I, J Gray (line manager for Cyberpunk RED), will take you on a whirlwind tour of the Island and Northside! For this journey, we’ll be picking and choosing which information to share from the opening facts (City Manager, Population, Security Provider, and Recent History) of every included district and pulling out a random number generator to select two locales in each to reveal. In the interest of brevity (too late!) nothing presented here represents the whole of the many words used to describe the people, places, and things in this book.
Stick around to the end for a new art reveal!
Ready, set, go!
The Island
Little Europe
City Manager: Amanda Polishcuk. Retired Solo. Known as “The Pole” even though she’s Ukrainian-American. Doesn’t like Downtown City Manager Emila Ortega.
Population: Tends towards “working class” or, if you prefer “not totally destitute.”
Security Provider: NCPD. Known to look for excuses to stop and frisk.
Recent History: Remember that “mass addiction event” that marked the start of the Bozo Civil War a few months back? Good times.
Random Location #1: (10) Everything and More. Once a major department store. Now just a big bodega.
Random Location #2: (14) Kaito Market. Open-air day market set up Thursday to Sunday. Tattoos, apps, firearms, food, knock off goods, fortune telling, hair dressing, and tacos.
Upper Marina
City Manager: Kabria Chung. Wants the Upper Marina written about by Richard Night: breezy, bohemian, and gorgeous.
Population: You’ve got the (small) yacht owners on top and the laborers and unhoused on the bottom.
Security Provider: NCPD. Encouraged by the City Manager to behave. Appearances are everything.
Recent History: The Slammers are on track to win the West Coast Series. The Heat lost their shot at the playoffs by one game. A Kira <3 concert is coming to the stadium.
Random Location #1: (20) Kraken Line Water Taxis. The largest service providing transport across the bay by boat. Look for the cartoon tentacle beast on the prow!
Random Location #2: (11) Digital Divinity Incorporated NC. NC headquarters of the corporate church of the divine singularity. Go there to connect with the “All-Spring of Deus” and bathe in its full-spectrum light.
Downtown
City Manager: Emily Ortega. Used to captain a gigantic cargo ship. Runs the District for Mister K and the “Chamber of Commerce.”
Population: Old families who have been here since the nuke, mixed with newcomers looking to gentrify.
Security Provider: Whitewater Security. The top officers served under Ortega back in her ocean-going days.
Recent History: Rumor has it the Eastern Tiger Triad jacked one of Mister K’s shipments from Asia.
Random Location #1: (12) Gilded Phoenix Arcade. Arcade games downstairs. Braindances upstairs. Money laundering everywhere, courtesy of the Eastern Tigers Triad.
Random Location #2: (11) Folio. A classic fortune teller’s shop. Madame Folio is an expert in reading clients … thanks to technology and pharmaceuticals.
The Hot Zone
City Manager: Hah!
Population: Almost nobody lives here by choice. Beware the ones who do.
Security Provider: NCPD. Sometimes they fly over in AVs and pick off any “troublemakers.”
Recent History: Zhiarafa has had issues with the heavy equipment working the edges. Could be sabotage. Or just equipment fatigue caused by brutal conditions.
Random Location #1: (2) The Crater. The center of it all. Where the nuke went off. The Reckoners treat it as a holy site.
Random Location #2: (9) Safe Child. Plenty of buzz about this one. Dead kids haunting the site? Or kids cryofrozen in tanks far below the surface. You decide!
Little China
City Manager: David Ling Po. Harvard MBA. Respectable business owner. Probably doesn’t watch the entire district through the eyes of his minions … probably.
Population: Mostly locals of Chinese and other Asian ancestry whose families have lived here forever, but you’ll also find Hydrosubsidium employees and Red Chrome Legion moving in here, too.
Security Provider: Gold Dragons. In addition to the cybereye cameras they totally don’t have to allow their boss to see through them, they’re fond of jump boosters so they can do Hong Kong action stunts.
Recent History: David Ling Po re-opened a tower last year. Everyone’s quite excited about it! Ignore the shut down arcade on the top floor. That’ll surely reopen soon.
Random Location #1: (14) Richard Night Aquarium. Many of the tanks are empty, but Director Chung has money to pay for new specimens.
Random Location #2: (11) Madame Lin’s Massage Parlor. Thanks to cousin Freddy taking over, the Massage Parlor is just a massage parlor. Oddly, it makes more now than it did back in the day.
University District
City Manager: Dr. Edward Michaels. Dean of NCU for decades. He pulled NCU through the Time of the Red by turning it into a walled fortress of learning.
Population: Students. Faculty. Residents who run/work in businesses catering to students and faculty. Plus, Biotechnica sorts.
Security Provider: NCU Campus Security. Known as the Maxes by the NCU population. Surprisingly well armed when they need to be.
Recent History: A university professor was revealed to be a serial killer, preying on young students. A crew of edgerunners took him down, not campus security.
Random Location #1: (6) Carriage Street Books/Afterwards Cafe. Carriage Street no longer exists but the bookstore still does. Stop by for real coffee, courtesy of Biotechnica!
Random Location #2: (11h) Loggagia Science Labs. The campus science labs are being refurbished and scheduled to re-open in 2047. For now, science students borrow lab space in Science Tower and Knute Hall.
The Glen
City Manager: Zohara Freeman. Daughter of former mayor Mbole Ebunike and actress Rachel Becher.
Population: The district was custom-designed to push the almost upper class to bust their butts to earn more scratch.
Security Provider: NCPD, but private cops like Militech and Lazarus are common sights in the more expensive buildings.
Recent History: Recently, a high-rise exploded. Looks like someone dumped explosives in the foundation when it was being poured. No one knows who was behind it.
Random Location #1: (12) EuroBank: Literally the mint. Money spent in Night City, both physical and digital, is made there in an AI-controlled process.
Random Location #2: (28) Worthy Housing: Cargo container housing for FBCs. High ceilings and oversized doors.
Old Japantown
City Manager: Adriane Casselle. Both City Manager and branch manager of Sanroo’s Pacifica Confederation operations.
Population: Surprisingly diverse considering the name. Central point of the Iron Sights/Red Chrome Legion war.
Security Provider: Kimen-Gumi. The Tyger Claws security force is present but are apathetic protectors.
Recent History: There’s been a rise in cancer rates. Yay!
Random Location #1: (7) The Grateful Crane: Used to be a bank. Now a guerrilla garden. Damaged crops are dumped into crane machines, where the public can plink down eb for a chance at real food.
Random Location #2: (22) Segotari Station Japantown. Neutral town for the local gangs. They know one more scuffle will shut the place down.
South Night City
City Manager: Garven Haakensen. Better at making deals and lining his own pocket than he is at running his district.
Population: Home to people pushed there or kept there by the system.
Security Provider: Scythe Security. Just got the contract. It doesn’t have the personnel, the firepower, or the money needed to do the job.
Recent History: Zoner-led protests turned into a clash with the NCPD at the border between South Night City and The Glen.
Random Location #1: (Not on Map) Duck. Duck. Dead! An ever moving maze where a circus of Bozos runs “contestants” through impossible traps and choices.
Random Location #2: (3) Container Mart. A stacked “strip mall.” Hair care, dentist, bodega, braindance “travel,” fiber crafts, and shaved ice laced with drugs.
Port of Night City
City Manager: Fleet Captain Angela Ng aka Calypso of the Thelas Nation.
Population: Thelas present on rotation, working class folk, Russian transplants.
Security Provider: The Thelas Marines, but when trouble breaks out, every Thelas nomad is obligated to put down their cargo and pick up a weapon if needed.
Recent History: Last year, a DT&R Flotilla attempted to force its way into the harbor without paying the Thelas a fee. The nomads won the short battle and even repaired a DT&R ship after.
Random Location #1: (10) Mestnyy Bank. Run by the Consortium as a “way to give back to the community.” Sometimes “loses” records of loan payments when it needs a client to do something.
Random Location #2: (5) Flotsam. A floattown off the coast of Night City and as close to a permanent settlement as the Thelas have. Anchored by three larger ships: the OGV Lund, the Rose, and the Sakata Maru.
Reclamation Zone
City Manager: Santos Dorado. Born on the rails with a heart that beats to the rhythm of old steam trains. Led his people in the transition from nomads to reclaimers.
Population: Mostly members of the Dorado clan, but also others who work for NCART or nearby businesses.
Security Provider: Los Perros Guardianes. Volunteer militia. They patrol and keep order with the help of K-9 units.
Recent History: Kill Krashers keep hitting the district from the east. Some suspect Gavin Haakensen is behind it.
Random Location #1: (2) County Cars. Worn-out NCART cars hauled together and divided to create cube hotel-style bunks.
Random Location #2: (8) McGee Speedway. Everyone who can operate a vehicle in the Reclamation Zone eventually takes a spin on the track to test their driving muscles in duels of speed.
Old Combat Zone
City Manager: Brick Coleman. Born here. Raised here. Left to become a merc. Came back with plenty of money and a dream to integrate the OCZ into Night City proper.
Population: Split along generational lines. The older residents, known as the Faded, want to keep the OCZ to the OCZ and the rest of Night City can go to hell. The younger residents, known as Edgerunners Inc (ERI) want to integrate their home into the city proper before the city claims it for development.
Security Provider: ERI. Most squads consist of one older, experienced Solo and a team of five to ten newer recruits.
Recent History: Tension between the Faded and ERI is rising, and the presence of the Iron Sights on the north side of the district isn’t helping.
Random Location #1: (1) Alice’s. A brothel run by the Iron Sights on behalf of the Weng Fang Tong. Most clients come from wealthier parts of the city and visit here to avoid their specific kinks being noticed.
Random Location #2: (16) The Warren. A blocks-wide collection of buildings hardened, reinforced, and expanded by the residents until it all became a single megastructure. Visitors are only allowed in the outer sections.
Northside
NorCal Military Base
City Manager: General Ash Giovanni. Advanced in years, he uses a custom linear frame to keep up with the troops.
Population: Everyone on base is a member of the Estero Bay Military Combined Operation Group (COG). Everyone. If you aren’t on active duty, you’re part of the reserve. Even the kids are required to join the “COG Scouts.”
Security Provider: COG Military Police. Cops and soldiers both. NCPD hardly ever sets foot on base.
Recent History: In the past year twenty-nine military personnel were lost to actions against bandits, pirates, and self-replicating mines. An additional seventy-five are MIA due to a ship lost at sea.
Random Location #1: (13) The Potentilla. Five buildings arranged like the petals of a flower. HQ of COG component forces, including Task Force 384, the 157th Tactical Air Squadron, the 223rd Battalion, and the 120.8 Engineer Battalion.
Random Location #2: (14) Post Exchange (PX). The only place to buy groceries and sundries on base. Has a big box store feel. Buy food, get a quick bite, stop by the bank, or cut your hair to regulation.
Watson
City Manager: Lucius Rhyne. The man. The legend. He community-organized his way onto the City Council.
Population: A mix. Night City locals, transplants from elsewhere in the Pacifica Confederation, immigrants from Asia brought over by the Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere (NCCS), and gang members.
Security Provider: NCPD. Excessive force complaints are up 50% since last year’s labor strike.
Recent History: Speaking of, last year Lucius Rhyne organized and led a three day, district-wide labor strike that forced the NCCS to set up something close to free and fair elections for City Manager.
Random Location #1: (13) Megabuilding H10. The only completed Megabuilding in the city (others are at various stages). Home to a radio station, pachinko parlor, salon, electronics store, martial arts studio, and community college.
Random Location #2: (6) Land west of the NorCal Military Base. Home to industrial facilities for companies, including Bodyweight, Gibson Battlegear, Kendachi, Kiroshi, Makigai, and Segotari. Turns into a street racing circuit at night.
Kabuki
City Manager: Yoshiki Murakami. An importer by trade and a strong negotiator who navigates the demands of the various players in Kabuki’s political scene.
Population: Primarily of Japanese descent. A third are young enough that they don’t remember when Old Japantown was just Japantown.
Security Provider: The Kimen-Gumi. They look away from crimes committed by fellow Tyger Claws, unless the public spectacle is so great they can’t be ignored.
Recent History: Tension is mounting between the Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere and their sponsors, the Tyger Claws.
Random Location #1: (8) Kabuki Ceremonial Hall. Considered by some to be the strangest place in Kabuki. A couple can come here for a Christian style wedding, complete with gorgeous dress, cross the space to a Shinto or Buddhist shrine to give proper vows, and then celebrate in the on-site restaurant and spend the night in the on-site hotel.
Random Location #2: (15) No-Tell Motel. A five-story automated motel built to accommodate illicit meetings and illegal transactions. Rent by the hour (10eb) or full day (100eb).
Whew! Next week, we’ll do this again with the Mainland and Southside. For now, enjoy the new art reveal.
Alright, now that J is all wrapped up here, now it’s my turn! Robert here, making sure to let you all know that the Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook is coming back in stock soon! We’re taking early pre-purchase orders for it right now at the button below. The books will be in our warehouse and shipping out mid-April!
