GLOGtober 2023-2

So it's day 2 of GLOGtober and I'm working on my second post. Statistically, that means that by the end of the month I will definitely have 31 blogposts done. This is how math works.

Prompt 2 is, "A glance at a city that should never have been built." Pretty straightforward.

This looks kinda like Blade Runner

Wonder City, or The City of the Future, or the Tragic Kingdom

Half a century ago, Desmarr Shardtooth's dreams became reality. He had spent most of his life creating industry out of entertainment. The Shard Company had gained a monopoly on amusement in the Ember Kingdom. You could say that every child's smile was another coin in Uncle Shardtooth's coinpurse.

And this was the problem. Desmarr looked around towards the end of his life and wondered - was that his legacy? To be the man who sold joy? Maybe that's enough for some, but Desmarr knew he could be something more. And so he dreamed of the future. And half a century ago, Desmarr Shardtooth's dreams became reality.

When convincing parliament to let you build a "city of the future", it helps to have a track record of turning untested new ideas into success stories. And when convincing parliament to let you make that city nearly autonomous, with power resting almost solely in the hands of the group you founded... well, the only thing that could possibly help at that point would be money. Lots of money. Luckily enough, Desmarr Shardtooth had both, and Wonder City was approved.

Desmarr died of natural causes soon after, handing control, most of his money, and a long, detailed plan over to the Wonder City Foundation.

The city was constructed in a sort of flower shape, with the center tower containing a labyrinthine mess of workshops, bureaucratic spaces, and guard stations. The outer "petals" contain homes, with a large wall surrounding the whole city. Being built as a "city of the future", many parts of the city were enchanted to be automated - trolleys move on their own, the guard constructs require only a few humans to control them, some appliances have arms or legs in an attempt to be more convenient.

Wonder City has two major rules for it's inhabitants: Work for Wonder City or an affiliated company, and always remain "presentable" in appearance and behavior. Anyone who breaks these rules is expelled and blacklisted. In exchange, theoretically, the city provides cheap but ample housing and many modern amenities.

In practice, after the first few years no company has wished to be "affiliated" with Wonder City. It's too expensive, and after a few too many cases of necessary workers and personnel being expelled from the city, no one wants to enter into a contract.

So now the city is almost abandoned. Guard constructs and malfunctioning appliances are a danger to anyone who decides to enter. There are also a few weird animals that have escaped the zoos (there're two zoos in the central tower). The only people remaining are, of course, the board members of the Wonder City Foundation. They cling to the wealth and comfort of their positions, knowing that if any of them act against Dessmarr Shardtooth's wishes the others are certain to turn on them. One fewer board member means one fewer leech slowly sucking the Foundation dry.

This is where I stop talking all story-like and start laying down hard RPG facts. There's a few options for hooks, as far as games in Wonder City are concerned. 

• The Ember Kingdom has hired you as couriers, you have to deliver a message to the Foundation at the top of the tower to let them know that they've been missing payments and Wonder City is no longer autonomous. 
• Someone's father left their masterwork magic sword in their workshop when they got kicked out. They'll tell you where it is if you promise to loot some of the retro-futuristic magitech for them.
• Upon entry and bumbling around a bit in Wonder City, one of the board members sends a singing bird construct that offers to hire you to prove another member defied Desmarr Shardtooth's plans.