Post by Kyria on Jan 21, 2010 21:38:35 GMT
Moscow, Russia
The Environment
The Mafia owns Moscow. There is no question about it. Every house, every shop, every cracked paving stone you walk on is owned by the Mafia. Even if you let out a building to others, you and your tenants still have to pay extra for the privelige of being allowed housing. If you dare complain about the holes in the walls and roof, you get moved on into worse conditions at twice the price, so you keep your mouth shut and take what you can get.
The power in most buildings comes from geothermal electricity generators that were created during the war by mutants and humans who had the foresight to see what was coming. The use of electricity is fully automated, and each building gets a ration. If the ration is used up, the building and the people in it suffer.
You're lucky if you can find a loaf of bread for under 300 roubles, but then, you're lucky if you can find a loaf of bread. Everything is scarce in Moscow, be it jobs, food, cash, warmth, or honesty.
The winters are long and cold in Moscow, the temperature never going above zero from October through to April. For the most part it hovers around minus twenty degrees. Even during the summer months, it is rare to see the temperature go past the ten degree mark. It is too cold for much rainfall, with most of the precipitation falling as snow or hail.
The power in most buildings comes from geothermal electricity generators that were created during the war by mutants and humans who had the foresight to see what was coming. The use of electricity is fully automated, and each building gets a ration. If the ration is used up, the building and the people in it suffer.
You're lucky if you can find a loaf of bread for under 300 roubles, but then, you're lucky if you can find a loaf of bread. Everything is scarce in Moscow, be it jobs, food, cash, warmth, or honesty.
The winters are long and cold in Moscow, the temperature never going above zero from October through to April. For the most part it hovers around minus twenty degrees. Even during the summer months, it is rare to see the temperature go past the ten degree mark. It is too cold for much rainfall, with most of the precipitation falling as snow or hail.
The People
Fire mages or people who can control heat are highly valued in Moscow for their ability to provide heating and melt the snow. Equally, earth mages and menders are in great demand because they are able to repair houses and roads that are broken up by the cold conditions.
There are hundreds of people unable to afford housing who live on the streets in mass camps, huddling together for warmth in the outer edges of the city. Many people live in small, more separate camps in the same area, and rely less on the city and its corrupt way of life and more on their own skills - they hunt for food, grow vegetables that they protect from the elements with magic and the Mafia with raw violence. Some will sell their produce and gains to shops in the city for money to by amenities for their makeshift homes, but most can barely provide enough for themselves.
The Mafia itself, now essentially the government, hires people to farm and hunt, because trade relations between countries and cities are poor. These people are provided with everything they need to complete the jobs they are given. For the hunters, this includes skis, and the farmers are given snow shoes. Both of these are rare commodities. Many people who live outside of Moscow or who are not as fortunate as the farmers and hunters create their own makeshift equipment which is usually prone to breaking.
There are hundreds of people unable to afford housing who live on the streets in mass camps, huddling together for warmth in the outer edges of the city. Many people live in small, more separate camps in the same area, and rely less on the city and its corrupt way of life and more on their own skills - they hunt for food, grow vegetables that they protect from the elements with magic and the Mafia with raw violence. Some will sell their produce and gains to shops in the city for money to by amenities for their makeshift homes, but most can barely provide enough for themselves.
The Mafia itself, now essentially the government, hires people to farm and hunt, because trade relations between countries and cities are poor. These people are provided with everything they need to complete the jobs they are given. For the hunters, this includes skis, and the farmers are given snow shoes. Both of these are rare commodities. Many people who live outside of Moscow or who are not as fortunate as the farmers and hunters create their own makeshift equipment which is usually prone to breaking.
General Information
13% Human
40% Mutants
47% Magic-wielders
Currency: Roubles. Massive inflation means that there are roughly 100 roubles to the pre-war GB pound or 60 to the pre-war US dollar.
The Rest of Russia
Imagine Russia with its larger towns converted into threadbare villages and the villages eradicated. Most of the country is uninhabited and most people moved south to avoid the cold which often proved impossible to survive.