CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE-Society

CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE

© Jerry Harris 2013

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Overview Index

Background Index

SOCIETY

Corp-America society breaks down into four tiers.

The Penthouse: This is where the super-rich, Elites live in their mansions, vacation homes, and swank apartments.  These are the top-level government officials and Corporate executives (The Suits), the quasi-nobility.  This group makes policy and buys votes enact them.

The Burbs: This is domain of the Stiffs and Tools, people who work for a living.  These are the holders of jobs that can’t be done or done well by robots or artificial intelligence.  This group is reasonably well off in their gated communities.  For the most part, they vote their shares or may even sell them, then donate the proceeds.

The Pit: Here’s where the Welfares squat in their slums.  The lower class sells its shares and voting privileges, sell themselves as guinea pigs, engage in paid test marketing, charity, and, of course, stealing, and minor jobs.  They have little in the way of skills or education.  Any jobs they do are of a menial sort by those who can’t afford automation, likely a barter situation for food or housing. 

The Shadows: Here’s where your character fits in, as a Zero.  Your character has no legal identity (Blacked Out) and no inherent rights of citizenship.  This isn’t because they’re illegal aliens.  No, foreigners caught in this country without a passport, are forcibly nationalized.  Your character has undergone Identity Death.  You’ve either voluntarily disappeared from legal society or somebody high up deleted you and you legally ceased to exist. 

While you can’t conduct a legal transaction or hold an honest job, this frees up your character (and other Zeroes) to run the Shadow Market of goods and services.  As your character is conducting all business with fake credentials and hacked com devices, unlike the other tiers, you and your activities can’t be easily tracked.  When your jobs generally involve stealing other people’s money, stuff, and data, with occasional gunplay, this is a good thing.