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Mamma used to say: "There's more than one way to tan a hide."

Technological gadgets. Cybernetic Implants. Bio-Ware. Designer drugs that gift temporary powers. For the past hundred years or so, the Tinker's Union has helped shape the world with their technological marvels, making augmentations of all kinds available for the betterment of mankind. The crux of their combined achievements are most certainly the city of Titan's Fall. By itself it could be the crowning technological achievement of Man. The city of opportunity, order, and justice... If you're wealthy enough.

If the Tinker Tech world of gadgets wasn't enough, there's the Espers and Deviations.

Deviants are humans who have diverged from the evolutionary path and developed super-human abilities. These powers appear to come in unlimited variety, however Deviant abilities are currently understood to be hereditary, and carry an identifiable genetic marker. People with powers lacking this gene are classified as Espers, and their powers are generally assumed to be psychic in nature. Powers that can't clearly be defined, and are anomalous in nature are also typically categorized as "Esper" abilities.[Courtesy of SkeletalPrince]

According to the most recent census, there are approximately 30 million Deviations worldwide, and though the accuracy of that number is subject to question, almost 30% of that number are registered Espers. There could be many more that are unregistered, in hiding, or on the wrong side of the law. These powers come in all shapes and sizes, and groups often form around corporations and government or other organizations, Paragons and Villainous forces alike.

Lastly there's the rumors of the Arcane. Not much is known to the general public about the Arcane World, mainly just rumor and superstition. Agents of the Arcane tend to keep their dealings quiet, and are very secretive about their knowledge. If you're in, however... then you know.

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Titan's Fall is a mega-metropolis located in what used to be the Dallas / Ft Worth area of Texas. It was to be the site of Mankind's first fusion reactor. Reports claim that the area was struck suddenly by an unidentified object from orbit, critically damaging the facility and causing a critical meltdown. Only due to the efforts of renown hero and Templar, Titan were the majority of the people both at ground zero, and in the surrounding areas evacuated.

The loss of life was minimal thanks to the Templar and the evacuation. However the environment was critically damaged, and the mass electromagnetic surge wiped out electronics for hundreds of miles, further muddying the record of events. An unparalleled catastrophe that left a crater encompassing the entire Dallas / Ft worth area, no less than a hundred miles wide of unfathomable depth.

It was dubbed The Texas Abyss.

Rather than let nature and disaster keep that chunk of land, the Tinker's Union, Templar, and a number of corporations set themselves to building a newer, bigger Metroplex suspended over the corpse of the old on massive plates. A feat of engineering like no other. While the East Coast's Atlas City claimed the honor of mankind's first fusion reactor, everything is always bigger in Texas.

At the center of the city is the world's first Arcology, Templar Tower. A staggering alabaster tower at the city's center, over fifty-six kilometers in diameter at its base, and nearly ten kilometers tall above the surface. A structure so massive, they had to reroute air traffic to accommodate it. It's host to the majority of the population of the area, as entire cities are encompassed within its many floors. While much of the industry and corporate buildings encompass the surrounding areas, and exterior suburbs have formed around the rim of the city, pretty much everything you could want or need is located within the Arcology. It boasts bleeding edge hydroponics, generates its own power, and of course has its own economy. A truly self-sustained nation within the city where nothing is beyond your grasp, and they named the greater area after the hero that was instrumental in saving the lives that helped create it.

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Templar tower is it's own microcosm within the City. A completely self-contained nation within the city that grows and produces its own food, generates its own power, and has its own economy. Live, work, and play in the cityscape of Floor 42, where the temperature is always a balmy 76 degrees. Take a walk in idyllic Errant Park. Shop for fresh produce in the local Hydroponics Market.

The inside of Templar Tower is a simulated heaven with perfect weather, the occasional scheduled rain shower, and its own residential and shopping districts. Some of the younger residents have been living in the Arcology long enough to have never seen the outside world. There's just... no reason to go out there! In fact, it's better than the outside. On the surface it appears to be an idyllic paradise, where people live their lives in peace in the absence of crime or strife... or so we'd like to believe.



The environment is heavily regulated in order to preserve the media-perfect Disneyland-esque appearance, but underneath the shiny coat of paint it's just as grimy as the outside world. While violent crime is virtually unheard of inside, the bureaucratic machine is hard at work scheming its morally ambiguous dealings and dirty politics. Trafficking of the dangerous, incredibly popular, highly illegal Better Than Life neuro chips is an epidemic in the tower.

Sex with the hottest Celebs? Scaling the peaks of the Himalayas? Want to find out what it's like to be Super? Not edgy enough? Want to know what it feels like to kill someone? Be a predator of the innocent? Nothing is off limits when it comes to BTL, and all from the comfort of your favorite chair. The un-regulated rush of some of these "fantasies" is so addictive that many who get hooked end up spending most of their time chipped. BTL addicts commonly die from starvation or dehydration because they forget to un-chip and take care of themselves.

Most are found drooling in their apartments from the neural burnout of chasing bigger and better highs, or driven to madness from the blackest content.

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The exterior plates are home mainly to the corporations and their related industries, with entirely Corporate owned towns, or Corpo Estates built around them. The largest of which encompasses an entire plate. Secret wars are fought over the Corpo territories, and espionage is the major industry.

Ares Laser Technology owns the entirety of the Sector 7 plate. Ares isn't the only weapons manufacturer in the Corporate Kingdom, but they are the largest, having cornered the market in laser and directed energy weapons. It's speculated that the CEO is a Tinker, as while the majority of the products are serviceable by experienced technicians, the rarest and most expensive of Ares' designer weapons can only be maintained by the CEO himself.

Ares has spread to the absolute edges of the Sector 7 plate, and tensions are extremely high along their borders where they constantly threaten to absorb smaller corporations and take over their territory.

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The UnderCity. It goes by many names, but there is only one unifying word to describe the crater beneath the city:

Slums.



The truth is that the wealthy can afford luxuries that aren't available to the citizens in lower income brackets. Amenities such as sunlight, clean air, personal transportation, and the protection of the Templar. A large portion of the lower middle-class, and other under-privileged people lives in the Abyss: the massive crater beneath the plates. Slum cities have formed underneath the city where people who can't afford topside luxuries have gathered. They form a ring around the core tower, extending roughly half-way into the depths. While the crater does continue to extend as far as one dares venture into the black, it's generally accepted that nobody crosses the border into the Graves, where the ruins of old Dallas are located. From the border you can still see the support base of Templar Tower reaching into the abyss, where most of the Arcology's hydroponics and other support systems are located.

Some even speculate that the building reaches the planet's core.

The UnderCity is also plagued by regular attacks of mutant swarms that crawl out of the Graves. They typically claw their way out of the ruins in rough intervals of two to five weeks. The more powerful creatures sometimes make their way to the surface, though often they are swiftly eliminated by Corpo squads or Templar before they can cause any real harm. Oddly, these attacks aren't really seen as a bad thing. See... meat, and other livestock resources, like bone and leather, are extremely scarce and expensive in the UnderCity. Some brave soul discovered that the meat from these creatures is free of parasites, won't make you sick when properly cooked, and doesn't taste half bad! If you're really lucky you'll get one that tastes just like surface beef. The Hunt has become a fiercely competitive event and squabbles sometimes break out over choice cuts and materials. Nothing goes to waste, however: even the creature bones are useful for structural reinforcement.

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Currency makes the world go round... but not every economy is made equal, even in Titan's Fall. Within the Arcology, expect to pay for goods and services with the Standard Credit (SC, Cred, Crypto), just as you would pretty much everywhere else in the world. SC is a generally accepted crypto-currency which more or less replaced paper money: the result of standardizing the global economy. It's accepted pretty much everywhere worldwide, and there is typically no reason to convert it into other foreign currencies. SC is typically held in a secured digital wallet, however can be transferred to a "CredStick" to be transported physically. Another useful feature of theirs is that CredStick transactions are anonymous and untraceable.

While SC is generally accepted in the Corporate Kingdom, most Estates prefer you exchange your SC for the local currency. Most Estates in the Corporate Kingdom run on Corpo Scrip, the currency Corporations pay their Wage-Slaves with. Each Estate typically has their own Scrip, usable anywhere! ...At least within the Estate that the scrip originated from. Scrip is worthless outside of the Estate where it was originated, and converting SC to Scrip is generally accepted to be a one-way transaction. Besides cluttering digital wallets, Scrip can also be useful for garnering favors with specific Corporations, or trading for small amounts of Clat at the Halcyon Horde.

Clat. UnderCity currency. Short for "Clatter." Clat is a blue-tinged doughnut shaped coin made of a Copper-Platinum alloy. They are generally bound together and transported on ropes of 100. Your Credits and Scrip are worthless in the Undercity, goods and services can only be bartered for with Clat. Good news, however, you can exchange your foreign currencies at the Halcyon Horde for Clat... for a small convenience fee. The going rate of exchange for SC is about 2.125 SC per Clat. Scrip can also be exchanged, however the rate varies wildly depending on which Estate the scrip is good for, with Ares Scrip currently holding the highest value.

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Cybernetic, Bio-Tech, and Chemical augmentations are a fledgling industry. Popular among the Corpo Elite and their retinue, these augmentations range from cybernetic limb replacement, to neural implants, to designer genetic treatments. Even drugs which grant temporary powers are not beyond the reach of the wealthy. While prevalent topside in the Corpo Culture, most of these augmentations haven't yet trickled into the mainstream.

However, that hasn't stopped the rise of the... secondhand market.

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I will attempt to keep this list up-to-date as we add more. For now these are the most relevant factions to be aware of for the purpose of the narrative.

Tinker's Union - A global organization dedicated to protecting the interests and rights of Tinkers. Because Tinkers can create things that nobody else can, they are often a highly sought after commodity amongst organizations of all kinds; Government, Paragon, and Villainous alike. Before the union, Tinkers were commonly fought over, even to the point of war since the country, corporation, or organization that controlled the Tinker-Tech had a decided advantage. A Tinker-Tech weapon gone wrong exposed a terrorist organization when a Tinker made WMD was detonated accidentally in the late 2000s. This event spurned the creation of the Union in order to both ensure that the rights of Tinkers were being respected, and to prevent villainous and terrorist organizations from exploiting them. Once per year, for about two weeks, all the members of the union vanish to a secure, undisclosed location for reasons unknown.

The Templar - A US government operated Superhero Organization, specializing in dealing with Villainous Deviations and Anti-Terrorist operations. While they do operate nationwide, and even assist in other countries when necessary, they are most notable in Titan's Fall where they've more or less become the de-facto keepers of the peace. While they specialize in dealing with super human threats, they are often called upon in Titan's Fall in lieu of the Police to deal with more mundane crimes. It's not in their official capacity, and these calls are often deferred to the police anyway, but having a Templar show up to figure out what's going on and if a Deviant related crime has occurred is far more comforting to the Tower locals than seeing a normal blue Uniform. They are easily recognized by their white uniforms, crimson cross emblem, and Crusader-esque knight motif. While other super-hero organizations do exist within Titan's Fall, with their HQ occupying the entire top 2 floors of the Arcology, the Templar are both the most notable, and have the largest presence in the city.

The Rogue Collective - Calling them a "super-group" would be a... strong overstatement, since the term implies some modicum of organization. The Collective isn't so much a group, as a bunch of Vigilantes, or other Rogue Deviants that have the common interest of making sure there isn't any fuckshit going on in the UnderCity. Not so much Crime-Fighters as they are "Peace Mediators." Most Rogues don't really care about monitoring or curbing illicit activity, since generally speaking the Law is whatever the Horde says it is. Violent crime, however, is a big no-no downstairs, and if things turn violent, you can expect Rogues to turn up to put a stop to it... violently. Some Rogues have taken to patrolling in territories, and the rules are different depending on who's territory you're in. Some Rogues abhor all crime, and will vigilantly put a stop to it anywhere in their territory. Others mainly hunt after a specific kind of criminal. The borders of these territories tend to change, but can generally be discerned by the Rogue's iconography painted onto walls and paths.

The Halcyon Horde - The Undercity Bank... the ONLY Undercity Bank. The Halcyon Horde are the true rulers of the UnderCity, at least in so far as that it's generally accepted that you don't fuck around with them. The Halcyon Horde controls the Clat. They are also the only place in the city where you can convert SC to Scrip, Clat, or the other way around. It's usually much more cost effective to buy Scrip from the horde than to exchange with the Estates directly due to the exchange rates as well. Their rule is generally pretty lax in the UnderCity so long as you don't get in their way, cause trouble, or disrupt their business in any fashion. Getting on their bad side can make it impossible to do any business in the Undercity, however.

Ares Laser Technology - The largest weapon manufacturer in the city, if not the world. Ares is run by an elusive Tinker that nobody can seem to pin down. Their presence in the Corporate Kingdom is oppressive. They've absorbed all the competing corporations that started out in Sector 7, and have grown to occupy the entire plate. They are constantly battling with the neighboring corporations and attempting to expand across the plate borders. The Ares Sector is almost a nation unto itself, and even has its own police and military forces.

DocWagon - The DEFINITIVE private medical service. Bleeding edge medical technology meets para-military force. Platinum Insurance carriers have the security of knowing that if their life is in danger a hardened squad of pipe-hitting combat medics will hot drop onto their location, eliminate any immediate threat to their person, and evacuate them to safety where they can be treated. Armed with the best training and equipment money can buy, and some of the strongest Deviants, they are not a force to take lightly. Corpo elites and other wealthy well-to-dos that can afford the small fortune it costs for the Platinum level medical insurance can be easily identified by the platinum bracelet which constantly monitors the wearer's vitals. DocWagon's headquarters, private hospital, and motor pool occupy a significant portion of the Sector 3 plate.

Oracles of the One - "Oracles" for short. A quasi-terrorist cult of religious fanatics who believe that Deviations are unnatural, demonic entities that must be purged from the Earth. Recently, their definition of "Deviation" has grown to include cybernetic and bio-technical augmentations. Believed to be the parent organization to the Witchfinder Generals, who operate mainly on the East Coast. Oracles are difficult to reason with, and have taken credit for many hate crimes against the super-human population. Though they are not limited to operating in Titan's Fall, they have become increasingly active there in recent months.

The Rippers - A small, but extremely dangerous gang of "chrome enthusiasts." It's unsure what started them since Cybernetics are mainly found in the Corpo sectors, but this group of augmentation fanatics have a violent reputation for hunting down people with desirable mods and stealing them. The condition of the "donor" is irrelevant so long as the mods aren't harmed. They earned their moniker from from a viral news story covering one of the early attacks, where a Corpo Exec was attacked for his chrome, and left ripped open in the street to die after his mods were removed.

The Cult of Flesh - This pseudo-religious cult worships Bio-Tech, and is constantly seeking to improve their evolutionary status through mutations and bio-mods. They shun cybernetic modification, and as such have an ongoing rivalry with the Rippers. Although the "Apex" among them, or their highest ranking members have the most human appearance, it's usually very easy to identify the rank and file of the cult by counting the number of appendages on a person. More often than not, if someone has any more than the normal amount, they probably belong to the cult.

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Nowhere- A surprisingly well made (and fortified), three story rock club and tavern built in a space between the under and upper city levels. Exclusive in a sense that you are either introduced or invited by one of the regular patrons, it’s considered one of the few corporate free establishments in the city and neutral ground in terms of super and mundane politics and laws. Famous as a den for people looking for odd jobs along with mercenaries and rogue supers looking to sell their services. The bottom floor is a fight club for mundane and super fights alike. The healthy gambling involved in the fights attracts corporate types.

Anyone caught breaking Underground rules will be given one warning before being banned for life.

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Just like in the "real" world, taking the law into your own hands is deeply frowned upon. Having super-powers only compounds the issues, and the population of Deviants is becoming large enough to where handling these issues on a case by case basis is no longer feasible. Some crude laws were slapdashed together as a stopgap while the state and federal governments argue over the best course of action. While the actual socialscape of the 'good Samaritan' is an ambiguous grey mess right now, the law is pretty cut and dry.

• If you do not have a license, you are not a "Hero."
• If you practice "Heroism" without a license, you are a Vigilante.
• Vigilantism is prohibited.
• If property or people have been damaged in an act of Vigilantism, the minimum charge is "assault with a deadly weapon", or "destruction of property."
• If a citizen is killed during an act of Vigilantism, the minimum charge is "Murder, in the 2nd degree."