Shadowrun
This page is for our California Free State Shadowrun game. A work in progress.
F.A.T.E.
The characters work for the Federal Agency for Thaumaturgic Exploration, F.A.T.E., a division of the California Department of Homeland Security (CDHS) responsible for the investigation of unexplained phenomena usually related to Awakened activity, advanced technology, or both. The administrator of this organization reports not only to the CDHS but also directly to the President of the California Free State, Charles Ellison. The division is largely autonomous from the CDHS itself, though from time to time it enlists the help of the CDHS for additional manpower or investigative assistance.
Due to the highly important (and highly classified) nature of their work, their budget is largely a blank check from the CFS government.
(I was doing some reading and a bit of thinking about our organization, considering it doesn't seem like our organization would be overly supported by the megacorps and the Sacramento government is mostly controlled by the agribusiness corps it makes sense for FATE to be outside of Sacramento to avoid the agricorps and Sacramento puppet government. So I was thinking a bit about how we get our funding and justification, looking through a few things I came up with a few little ideas.
Basically the President (or some other figure in the government) supports the formation of FATE and gets corporation funding privately from a few corps that are more or less opposed to the agricorps that run the rest of Cal Free. A few corps that come to mind are Lockheed, who would like our general opposition to Ares and therefore support FATE and our presence in San Fran instead of the capital. Also, Horizon which is a huge media corporation that would dislike the general Sacramento racism that is supported in the valley and is HQ'd in the area. Horizon is also mentioned as being interested Technomancers so might be interested in our existance. Novatech is another competitor of Ares that might like to see us exist and has a San Fran HQ.)
Characters
- Kumiko Nakamura (Player: Tony)
- Kefeng Yau (NPC)
- Anastasia Ellison (NPC)
Minor NPCs
Charles Ellison (Human Male, 49)
- Charles Ellison is a wealthy businessman and politician and currently President of California Free State. In his career he has served on the board of directors of Apple Computer and Novatech until both companies were absorbed by Ares and NeoNET respectively. After the matrix crash of 2064 he went into politics and became a leading figure in California's Technocratic Party. He narrowly lost the 2066 Presidential election to the Green Party's Arthur Newman. In a bitter rematch, he was elected President in the 2070 election.
Evander (Van) Radcliffe (Dwarven Male, 31)
- Van Radcliffe is FATE's resident grease monkey. He got his start at his dad's mechanic shop in San Jose. He could bring broken engines, transmissions, and other car components to life even if they were in the terrible condition. His family made a tidy profit utilizing his skills. Van still enjoys the mechanic's life in FATE, fixing up vehicles (among other things) for the agency. Dr. Yau even has some special projects for Van to work on.
Hector Radcliffe (Dwarven Male, 31)
- Hector is Van's identical twin brother. He is also very technically adept, and is FATE's go-to rigger. Between Van's mechanical expertise and Hector's rigging expertise, the two make quite a team. While Van is soft-spoken and easy going, Hector's personality is more troublesome. He struggles with a BTL addiction and is known to have a short temper.
Setting
Current Year: 2072
Economy
- Agribusiness is largest industry
- Silicon Valley - no longer the tech capital of the world, but still prominent
- Ares Macrotechnology has lots of popular support and government influence
- Aztechnology is banned from CFS, though they are suspected of operating under a shell corporation called Pyramid Operations.
- Knight Errant security (a subsidiary of Ares) is used in most of California, with the exception of San Francisco. Lone Star is primarily used there (the Japanacorps aren't big fans of Ares running security in SF).
- 5 CFS dollars ($) = 1 nuyen (¥)
Prominent Corporations
- Ares Macrotechnology (CFS Divisional HQ: Cupertino)
- Ares Arms California
- Knight Errant of California (HQ: Sacramento)
- Leviathan Technical (HQ: Scotts Valley)
- Osprey Technical Publications (HQ: Los Gatos)
- Silicon Valley/Apple Computer Products (HQ: Silicon Valley)
- Owns Edwards AresSpace Base, north of Los Angeles
- Largest spaceport in the world
- Owns China Lake/Inyokern Test Range, north of Los Angeles
- Novatech (CFS Divisional HQ: San Francisco)
- Renraku Computer Systems (CFS Divisional HQ: San Francisco)
- Pyramid Operations (shell of Aztechnology) (CFS Divisional HQ: San Francisco)
The North
- Disputed territory with Tir Tairngire.
- Hestaby resides on Mount Shasta
- Redding is a Free City - that is, it does not pay taxes, is not represented in CFS government, and is left largely to its own devices by both CFS and Tir Tairngire.
Central Valley
- Relatively tranquil (the word relatively is key here)
- Sacramento is the capital
- Maglev service between Reno, Sacramento, Oakland, and San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco city proper is heavily restricted, much like Manhattan in the UCAS. Special clearance is required to entire the restricted area. South San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland are the major population centers surrounding San Francisco. Though less segregated than in the past, there is still a lot of class warfare and racial tension in the region.
- The Yakuza and the Triads have a significant presence
- San Jose is now the largest city in CFS in terms of population, as many Californians from moved north when the PCC invaded southern California.
The South
- Los Angeles was annexed by the Pueblo Corporate Council in 2061.
Government
- Compared to the rest of the world, CFS has a fairly stable democratic system. Though under the guise of free elections is a world of backroom deals and corporate influence. Let's call it a pseudo-democratic corporatocracy.
Foreign Relations
- UCAS - very good relations, largest trading partner, strong ally. Many citizens would entertain the idea of rejoining the UCAS.
- Aztlan - hostile relations
- Pueblo Corporate Council - hostile relations
- Tir Tairngire - uneasy mutual distrust
Largest Cities
- San Jose
- Oakland
- Sacramento
- San Francisco
- Fresno
