[Volker]

I agree but for another reason. An axe - throwing minotaur appears to be a cool sight

[Volker]

Hello, boys!

I think we can soon launch that thing. Since I have some time today in the evening I thought of fleshing out our hood. Jack didn't post today, but if I know you right I don't think you would mind playing in Kathmandu, so I'm going to write its history today.

Kathmandu's going to be flooded by cheap old shit from everywhere else. To represent this, I'll adjust the setting rules for equipment:

Instead of 1500 we have only 1000 each. As a group we'll have additional 1500.
All gear you could aready find in SR3 is half the price.
All gear that was available in SR4 is normal price.
All gear that is new in SR5 is 40 % more expensive.

Availability is capped to 8 instead of 12.

If you need me to check on your stuff I can do that for you. I have CR e3 (but not e4).

I also looked over your characters.

@Jack_Spade

I count 22 Attributes. Did you spend Karma to increase some stats?

Did you buy 2 of the 3 Specializations with Karma?

I didn't check the qualities, I just trust you on that.


@Novocrane

I count 17 Attributes. Did you buy one with Karma?


I count only 22 Skill points. Did you forget that you get 4 skill points free because of the setting special rules?

Did you use up your 20 free Karma for Interest Skills?

I didn't check the qualities, I just trust you on that.

@gilga

I count 23 Attributes. Did you spend Karma to increase some stats?

Did you forget your free 20 Karma for Interest Skills?

I didn't check the qualities, I just trust you on that.



Now, I'm gonna eat Dal Bhat and then I'll throw myself into the history of Nepal's capital!

[Volker]

I don't know where my today's morning's post went, so I'll have to set the deadline anew:

SgtBoomCloud and saithor, please make yourself perceiveable within 18 hours. Someone else is also interested and we're just about to start.

[gilga]

Updated char sheet - to include everything. including 20 free knowledge karma.

== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Lucky
Movement: 10/20
Karma: 28
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0 
Human Male Age 17
Height 170 Weight 70
Composure: 10
Judge Intentions: 11
Lift/Carry: 5 (30 kg/20 kg)
Memory: 5
Nuyen: 60

== Priorities ==
Metatype: C - Human, Dwarf, Elf, or Ork
Attributes: B - 20 Attributes
Special: E extra - Mundane (0)
Skills: D - 26 Skills/0 Skill Groups
Resources: E extra - 1,500¥ (0)

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3 (from karma)
AGI: 5
REA: 5
STR: 2
CHA: 6
INT: 5
LOG: 2 (from karma)
WIL: 3
EDG: 7

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                10 + 1d6
Rigger Initiative:         10 + 1d6
Astral Initiative:         
Matrix AR Initiative:      10 + 1d6
Matrix Cold Initiative:    5 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative:     5 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         10

== Limits ==
Physical:                  4
Mental:                    4
Social:                    8
Astral:                    8

== Active Skills ==

Con                        : 4 [Seduction]          Pool: 10 (12)
Disguise                   : 2                      Pool: 7
Gymnastics                 : 1                      Pool: 6
Impersonation              : 3 [Human]              Pool: 9(11)
Palming                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Perception                 : 1 [Visual]             Pool: 6 (
Performance                : 4 [Guitar]             Pool: 10 (12)
Pistols                    : 4 [Tasers]             Pool: 9 (11)
Sneaking                   : 1                      Pool: 6

== Knowledge Skills ==
Alcohol                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Arabic                     : 1                      Pool: 6
Architecture               : 1                      Pool: 6
Art                        : 3                      Pool: 4
Bars and Clubs             : 1                      Pool: 6
English                    : N                      Pool: 0
Gangs                      : 1                      Pool: 6
History                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Music                      : 6                      Pool: 11
Or'zet                     : 4                      Pool: 9
Politics                   : 1                      Pool: 6
Religion                   : 1                      Pool: 6
Shadow Community           : 1                      Pool: 6
Spirits                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Sports                     : 1                      Pool: 6
Sprawl Life                : 1                      Pool: 6
Street Charity and Shelters : 2                      Pool: 7
Street Drugs               : 1                      Pool: 6

== Contacts ==
Jake-Fixer (2, 5)
Jake runs a local gang that control this neighborhood. He always asks for little services and Lucky cannot refuse otherwise he cannot play there. Jake pays nuyen that is usually enough for a few weeks of a warm meals and cold showers - Lucky loves being clean.

pops (1, 6)
‘pops’ - his guardian angel in the shadows, pop is a shadow of his former glory but he is still more dangerous than the average ganger. People should know not to mess with Lucky.

Tammie (3, 4)
Tammie is the local copper, she likes Lucky and tries to get him to stay out of trouble. Tammie obviously treats Lucky differently. Lucky is among the few in the streets that agrees to talk to her. She also always brings something hot to eat. One of the times, she even gave lucky two front row tickets to a rock concert. It was the best day of his life.

== Qualities ==
Emotional Attachment
First Impression
Low Pain Tolerance
Home Ground (Karthmandu) - free
Pacifist I
== Lifestyles ==
Street  1 months

== Armor ==
Armor Jacket                        12
Helmet                              2

== Weapons ==
Tiffani-Defiance Protector
   +Gecko Grip
   +Laser Sight
   Pool: 9 (11)   Accuracy: 6   DV: 7S(e)   AP: -5   RC: 1
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 4   DV: 2S   AP: -   RC: 1

== Gear ==
Ammo: Taser Dart (Tasers) x10
Guitar

== Nuyen Expenses ==
3/7/2015 4:28:19 PM       120          Starting Nuyen

== Description ==
Lucky is a young male human of average height he has long dark hair and dark eyes. He is skinny but relatively healthy. he wears a worn down leather jacket and a matching hat. If you see’s lucky without his guitar - you know something terrible must have happened he protects his guitar with his life. He has a star shaped necklace that he never takes off - and he usually also has a teaser on his right hip - trying to deter gangers from messing with him.


== Background ==
Lucky, yes this is my name. You got that right, just Lucky no family name because have no family no point in faking it. I live in the streets where I play my guitar all day and make enough money to find something to eat.

I want to become a great performer but honestly I’ll settle on making it to my next birthday. I am 17, I still carry a necklace that was abandoned with me. I want to know what happened to my parents and why they left me to die on the street. I survived because an old Samurai took me under his care and brought me to an orphanage and kept visiting me.

I call him ‘pops’ because one of his cyber eyes is so old it keep ‘poping’ out. pops was once a shadowrunner, a great warrior but he put so much metal in his body it is impossible to hug him, hold his hand or look into his eyes. There is a real person in there, I am sure. ‘pop’s never talk to me more than one word. ‘eat’... ‘take’ but he is involved in my life ever since I can remember myself. He is very sick, and his augmentation barely function anymore, he barely makes it on his own yet he never forgets my birth day.

I hate myself for thinking it, but sometimes I wish ‘pops’ would find my parents and use his implemented shotgun to blow their heads out... This is not like me, I have a teaser - I am not stupid but I could never bring myself to kill anyone - this is how you become messed up like ‘pops’.



reliable         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
curious         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
social         little     o  o  o  o  o  o  o   o  O    very much so
loyal         little       o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
disciplined      little   o  O  o  o    o  o  o  o    very much so
authoritarian      little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
violent         little   O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
proud         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
easily hurt      little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
careless         little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
self-confident      little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O    very much so
conceited         little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
honest         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
self-disciplined      little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
playful         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
determined      little   o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
calm         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
exhibitionistic/open-minded   little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O    very much so
diligent         little   o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
trusting/naive      little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
good-hearted      little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
helpful         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
sensitive         little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
polite         little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
patient         little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
a morning grumpiness   little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so

Questions

What’s his reason to be a shadowrunner?

He is not seeing himself as a shadowrunner - he does whats needed to survive.

What would make him end his career as a runner?

A record contract - he wants to be famous.

Would he ever kill? For what reasons?
He will never use lethal force - and only use non lethal force for self defense.

Would he rob an old lady or a beggar? In what situation?
Not unless he is very hungry and the need is great.
 
How does he appear to strangers?
He blends in, super friendly and confident.

What kind of relationship does he have to:
… animals? - loves dogs wish he had one.
… orks/trolls? - fear them unless he knows them. It is difficult to trust them.
… dwarves? - indifferent
… elves? - envy them.
… women? - women are evil - they are attractive tough.
… foreigners? they tip well - he trust them.
… men? - friendships mostly.
… other people in general? he seeks social connections this is the essence of life for him.
… his own religion? - what is this religion thing? does it comes with free food ? I am in.
… other religions? -    what is this religion thing? does it comes with free food ? I am in.
… his family? No family he loves his contacts - really love them and would go out of his way to protect them.
… magic? - Magic is evil - combat magic is demonic.
… his friends? - all he got.

Which kind of social ties are there?
Friendships mostly -

When would he call someone a friend?
After they got drunk together.

Is he prejudiced? In what way?
He somewhat fears women, orcs/trolls and magic in that order.

Are there some important events in his past?

He can't get over not knowing his parents, he want to know why they left an helpless baby on the street to die.

Is he in love?
nope... but I want him to fell in love

Is he in a partnership or even married?
nope
What frightens him?
Women, trolls/orcs and magic. But his deepest fear is losing his guitar.
What’s his greatest ambition?
To be a famous performer - pop star.

What drives him on?
The desire to meet new people and to fulfill his needs, comforts, sleep in a real bad, shower, drink somthing good - have sex he is totally after the comforts and pleasures of life.

What his greatest advantage?
He is always happy - even under pressure even hungry in the morrning in the evening when afraid... even when sad he can done his happy careless face and play like nothing happened.
What his greatest disadvantage?
He cannot use violence any sort of it.

What’s his Achilles heel?
Steal his guitar and he loses his mind.

What makes him furious?
Touch his guitar !

What does he love?
Anything fancy he'll risk his life for a good night sleep or an access to an exclusive night club.

Which kind of persons does he fancy?
Dangerous and charismatic.

Name 5 (±2) persons who matter in his life + a short descirption!
Loves his contacts - pops and Tammie - loves his gang and completely loyal to them.
They fill the role of a family to him.

[Jack_Spade]

@Jack_Spade

I count 22 Attributes. Did you spend Karma to increase some stats?

Did you buy 2 of the 3 Specializations with Karma?

I didn't check the qualities, I just trust you on that.

Hi,
yes, I bought Logic and Charisma for 10 Karma each, I also bought for 5 Karma the Leadership, Negotiation and Etiquette skill group.

Here the costs for the qualities:
Agile Defender (-3)
Daredevil (-6)
Dependent (Nuisance) (3)
Did You Just Call Me Dumb? (3)
Ex-Con (15)
Hawk Eye (-3)
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker) (4)
Quick Healer (-3)

Also I did already vote here,
but as you correctly guessed, I am totally ok with Kathmandu 

I'm a bit under time pressure today (only 5.5h sleep, followed by 8h forest work and now I'm supposed to GM for my RL group  ), but I'll post a revised gear list and a back story on Sunday.

[Volker]

Don't hurry! I just wanted to determine the setting so that you can write your backstories and I can flesh out the background. I'll check everything tomorrow. I guess we'll be able to start in a couple of days.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Hey Volker.

I'll say again how much I appreciate being invited to be a part of this Pbp.  Unfortunately, with my situation as it currently is, I do not think I will have a character up by the stated deadline, and I do not wish to keep an already sizable group waiting.

Perhaps consider m as an alternate for the time being? either way, again, thank you

[Volker]

I think this plot will be more open than typical shadowruns so I assume that there will be possibilities to join at a later point.
Can you estimate how many weeks your situation is going to stay the way it is?

@all
I'm finished with Kathmando 2075 but it's only a German excel sheet right now. Since it's midnight I'm going to take a nap now, and bring it in a nice legible (English) format tomorrow. I hope you like my Kathmandu 2075!

[Volker]

Okay, thanks!

Kathmandu's backstory will be online in a minute. In the meanwhile, here are the stats for Khukuri knives:

Khukuri:
Accuracy: 5
Reach: -
Damage: (Str+2)P
Avail: -
Cost: 40

[Volker]

Hello, folks!

The history of Kathmandu is finished. What else do you need: A description of the different districts, a short description of life in general. Something else?

Here you go:

A Really Concise History of Kathmandu
by Bipana Kharki, College of Sociology; Kathmandu University
translated into English by Prakash Shrestha

Paragraph 0: What’s this all about

Namaste! My name is Bipana Kharki and I study the sociology for 4 years. People outside of the Nepal too often do not know about Nepal’s past. This is to give information about our country, and how it came to be so.
To understand the Nepal’s history it is easier if you know the people’s mentality. In short words, most Nepali people leave very much in the present: they do not think much of the past, but also not of the future. If something works today, it is fine. If not, you can do something about it.
Nepali people are very hard-working. They do what has to be done. But most of them don’t use their intelligence to improve their lot. When they copy something from another culture, they don’t try to understand how it works. They just do.
Western people often find this very disturbing. But this is because the Nepali are a very happy people. Problems do not bother them. They just live with them. We can still be happy if something is wrong. We just live on. We love to celebrate a lot. We don’t put stress on ourselves. We take as given what the Gods gave us, and do not always try to change the world. We also are a very peaceful people. This is our biggest strength.

Paragraph 1: The end of the Fifth World

Nepal only opened its borders to the rest of the world in the 20th century. Before, its borders were closed. When in the middle of the 20th century cars and western economy goods came into the Nepal, our culture adapted, but maybe too slowly: modern technology like TV, the Grid, motorcycles, plastic and so on, came to a country that used to do agriculture and traditional handicraft. The effect was the pollution of the water and the soil, but also an opening to the West. Western and Nepali culture melted easily together, and the holy and the profane were much closer than in the West.
Then, in 2008, the monarchy was overthrown. Our beloved king Birendra (holy is his name) was killed, as was the whole Royal Family. This coup d’etat was led and inspiried by the Maoists. After that, there was the instable type of democracy. Although there were elections, the caste system still was very strong. No one who was not either Brahmani or Chetry would not be allowed a mighty position, as before. The first democratic president Ram Baran Yadav opened the Nepal to the West to profit from the Western wealth. And for a while it worked: Many NGOs came to the Nepal to help the people. Nepali young men went to the Arabian countries, to the Israel, to the India and to other rich countries to labour for much money and bring it back to their family, and their great family Nepal. These contracts often were very close to acutal slavery but it helped to sustain the labourers’ families.
Then, in 2010, VITAS erupted in the India, and spread over the world. The Nepali country was hit as one of the first. While in the mountains, the scourge was not terrible, in the Terai region and in the Kathmandu city, it was terrible. Almost every second peoples died before 2011. Despite of the help of the Western countries, Nepali economy went into a great depression. The fault for the desaster was blamed on the new-born democracy. It was followed by protest marches, strikes, and unrest. Only very few more people were killed, but economy and health care were blocked, and the bad hygiene claimed more lives than the violence.
When the Western countries provided little help, there was big disappointment. Slowly people began to turn their backs on the West.
The big temple of Pashupatinath’s crematories didn’t manage to burn severall million people at once. Instead, the people began to carry the corpse of their dead to the district of Battisputali in the West of the Pashupatinath for later burning. But when Kali’s Harvest was over, many people did not remove their dead, and left them there. After that, very poor people used to bring their dead relatives to Battisputali instead of the Pashupatinath to save the funeral costs. To control the income, the priests of Pashupatinath raised the funeral fees, and even less people came here. It became a status symbol to get burned in Pashupatinath. Poor people left their dead to rot in the District of the Dead.

Paragraph 2: Vishnu Awakens (2011-2020)

Vishnu, our highest God, ended his sleep, and his dreams became true. Two kinds of spirits manifested in the peoples (or so they believed: Western doctors explained the phenomenon as UGE and called the babies elfs and dwarves). At first, people are scared of these demon people (rakshasa maanche) but the government defend the UGE babies. They quickly rework the hospitals to “special ashram”, to shelters for the new kind. The new people are the target of hatred and fear, and many mothers bring their children into these special ashram where they are isolated from the world.
The hatred and fear moves from the actual dwarf and elf babies to the democratic rule who defended them. By use of military demonstrations, president Ram Baran Yadav can maintain his rule a little longer, but there is little love for the not-king.
The Awakening was also terrible for the other countries. NGOs cleared their tents, foreign help ceased within the half year. In the same time, mighty mountain and celestial spirits are seen in the Himalaya mountains, and Yetis are said to kill tourist. As a result (and because of bad economy and VITAS everywhere), tourism almost stops at the same time. Without foreign investment and tourism, and after the loss of millions of people, the economy crashes. Individuals go abroad to bring home a little money, and help to build up other countries, while the Kathmandu goes down. Ghettos and Slums dominated Kathmandu, and they still do.
India suffocates what is left from Nepali economy by cheap industry garbage to exploit what little market there is left. People return back to agriculture and traditional handicraft, and finally turn their back on the so-called Western world.

In the meanwhile, magic becomes a part of the world. Unlike in other countries, the Nepali accept magic as natural part of their world willingly. Vishnu is Awake, and his dreams come true. Nepali people are not afraid of change. They just do not pursue it. Especially spiritual people, like the Saddhu and the Yogi, use magic. But also businessmen and bus drivers do magic (and few use it to change their lives). There is a little unrest in the beginning, but soon magic is a normal part of the life.
Slowly, the attitude towards elves and dwarves change. Some are considered to be gods and demons of Vishnu’s dreams and are treated with much respect, or fear respectively. Others are isolited and treated like they were sick people or disabled. Only a few manage to blend in the society. In terms of technology, Nepal remains as it was in the 1980s or 1990s, while on other places ASIST and cybertechnology is invented.
In 2016 a spiritual Chetri Saddhu named Tenzin Chetri uses magic to drive off the Maoists, force the president to step back and proclaims himself king. When only two years later China’s Maoist era goes down and China explodes into the puzzle it is today, king Tenzin (holy is his name) uses his propaganda to make it his victory (while in reality he had no influence at all in China).

Paragraph 3: The Sixth World (2021-2046)

Then the goblinization comes. The first sightings of orks and trolls were called “Asura” – ungodly demon. But fortunately, although there was little contact with the West, it was their names that were used for these new rakshasa maanche. The canyon between richs and poors gets even bigger. The Pashupathi maanche removed their goblinized “asura bachha” (ungodly children) into quarantene, into the very same hospitals which hosted dwarves and elves. The Battiputali maanche, however, had nowhere to give their children. By a mix of Nepali indifference, our big sense for family and peace and the lack of will to make your own situation better that has become so typical for the Battiputali people, they instead just raise their ork and troll children. Some treated them as their own children, some more like dogs. There were racist riots in Nepal, also, but less bad than in other countries. Metahumans quickly becomes a part of society. In Nepal, there are prejudices and misunderstanding as everywhere else, but there is little violence.
Exile Maoists try again to take over Kathmandu, but they fail due to the resistance of Nepali soldiers, spell-slinging Saddhus and the stubborn passive resistance of the Nepali people. The king, the monarchy and the old world order are celebrated.
Economy slowly recovers but there is no progression. The poverty is overwhelming. Misery, slums and drug abuse grow. Buddhistic and hinuistic cults grow stronger and the people grow more and more sceptical with outside influence. They think that the goblinization comes from the West, as does the poverty. When Nepal was an indipendent kingdom, everything was better, and it was the US who made the Nepali suffer. So people thought. Still, the technology of the last century comes slowly to Nepal and the Grid becomes accessible to more people. In the beginning, people die because of unclean surgery but Nepali doctors soon learn to handle the surgery.
In Battisputali, the District of the Dead, new residents come: ghouls (or vetala). They feast on the flesh of the dead and organize themselves. They present themselves as servants of Kali. The ghouls make the Battisputali maanche – those who cannot afford incremenation in the Pashupatinath – a deal: They would not only dispose their dead, they also take them from their homes – no need to carry them through the city. The vetala would bring biers and wrap the dead in clothes and cover them in marigold and perform all the important ceremonies for free (except, of course, the actual incremenation). It is interesting that not the Hindus are the first to accept this kind of treatment, but descendants of the Tibetan refugees, in memorial of their ancestors’ sky burials (ghouls instead of vultures).
The Himalayan Mountains become nigh impassable for foreigners. The local people worship the gods with sacrifice and rituals but the foreigners do not. The mightiest mountain and celestial spirits of the Awakened world crush the few trekkers that are left and give the mountains back to the gods and their flock. In Kathmandu there is a new religious cult: The cult of Shitala, the goddess of pocks and pistule and disease. Although it is also the goddess of ghouls, it is mostly human (and metahuman) who worship Shitala. These poison shamans (as they call it in English) try to get influence and to make the pollution even worse.
The dwarves (usually identified as the benign magic people of the Yakshas) and the sturdy ork become a part of society, and discrimination is less. Elves try to hide their difference, or try also to melt in society. Even the sub-type of elves which has blue skin is called the Gandharvas (male) and Apsarases (female) and is worshipped as demi-gods. But life is difficult for trolls (the microbusses are to small!). In Narayanthan a huge troll ghetto is now made: The rich people (the Pashupatinath people) more and more move to the borders of Kathmandu, into the hills. While the smog and the pollution is in the valley, the Pashupatinath maanche live in the hills. Troll workers live near the construction sites, and so they make a slum in Narayanthan. Not all trolls accept this fate. A troll leader named Tsunil Prasad Magar takes many of his kind (and also orks and yaksha) to the Langtang area north of Kathmandu, remove their people and make their own living space.
Although the caste system is forbidden since the 1970s (and still is!), King Ramendra (holy is his name) creates a law so that every grown up Nepali citizen has to wear a visible symbol of his caste: a nyagrodha tattoo for the Chetri, the typical hairstyle of the Brahman or the scarf of the Tharu. For special ceremonies this still is necessary but the typical Nepali indifference leads to that the law has little meaning in the real life of our people.
After two years of independence, the India again finds the market of Nepal very attractive. They send massive amounts of cheap industry goods to the Kingdom of Nepal. Also, they make use of cheap labourors: they buy Orichalcum, hand-woven carpets and cheap factory goods and keep it or sell it to the west. Worse, not only the human labour is cheap, but also human itself. Drug cartels, shamanic circles and even universities find cheap test objects in Nepali people. By development aid from the India, the Kathmandu manages to create a network of matrix workstations (although they are not repaired always when needed). Surgery becomes the booming branch of economy: For foreigners who do not care too much for quality, they can get very cheap implants and very cheap price for surgery. In Kathmandu, there are factories for cheap cyberware, too. Also, the black market for organs and slaves is booming.

Paragraph 4: From then to now (2046-2075)

King Kulratar (holy is his name) grants the vetala and all rakshasa citizen rights. This is one of Kathmandu’s most progressive moments. God spirits like Anna purna, Sagarmatha and other mighty mountain spirits are officially granted a counceller’s position at king’s court (although Mt. Everest’s spirit never visited Kathmandu, of course). Many regions of Nepal call for independence. While Kathmandu officially remains the capital of Nepal, factually, Nepal splinters into hundreds of very small states, bringing Nepal on the edge of civil war.
The economy of Kathmandu has a good wind, in the meanwhile: Cheap cyberware products, copied SimSense chips and a booming services market (from barbers to surgeons to prostituation, alas) revive economy. In the meanwhile, the outskirts of Kathmandu wander more and more uphill and become paramilitary sealed-off enclaves for the Pashipathi people. Pokhara University and Kathmandu University are internationally recommended. Still, the ordinary people notices not much of this: the ghettos grow and grow, and only hardly survive with cheap money that comes from Western shadowrunners, sex tourists and drug dealers.
Among the poor people, the Sai Baba cult grows. It is a well-planned sect around the self-announced Yogi Sri Yela Sai Baba. It focusses on children and youths in the slums and brainwashes them to obedient followers. Until now, nobody knows what is this cult’s targets, but they are up to no good for sure.
Representatives of the Gandharva (the blue elves, remember) negotiated with King Kulratar (holy is his name) to allow the Gandharva their own caste. As a result, people treat them with respect, which eventually leads to the downfall of many: Nobody is willing to marry Apsarases (the female elves), take any services from Gandharva or share their table. Thus, many fall into poverty and seek asylum in the slums.
Khukuri weapon foci boom on the world’s markets. Cyberlimps – especially if they are obvious, colorful and prominent – become trendy in Kathmandu.

When SURGE hits Nepal in 2061, the government is forthcoming and progressive and immediately grants the SURGE babies full civil rights. The most typical mutations are additional pairs of arms, but also animal heads are not uncommon. The 16th Dalai Lama officially accepts Nepal as an ally. Slowly, economy recovers. Kathmandu recognizes the value of know how and invests billions of rupees in universities. The cults of Shitala are officially banned, but they survive nonetheless in illegality. Sri Yela Sai Baba continues to move from slum to slum and “heal” people. The canyon between the Pashupati and the Battiputali grows even more: attitudes, finances, education, chances, habits, habitation – everything is different. The corp Nepalimbs sells cheap cyberlimbs to other countries, with not little success. Among volunteer test persons cyberware upgrades are raffled. Many SURGE kids sell themselves to universities and researchers for money.
In 2073, a special commission to investigate missing tax incomes gets murdered in the village of Sauraha. Immediately, Kathmandu sends an armed division to appeace the village, but other villages of the Terai region, then villages and towns all over Nepal, also join in the war for independence. A bloody civil wars begins, and consumes money and people like a wild fire.

[gilga]

Thank you so much Volker it was super interesting, I liked how you made ghouls part of sociaity rather than zombie apocalypse.

I'll try to find a time to make a short dictionary - because each time I see the translated names it just looks like a blob of letters.

[Jack_Spade]

Nice work Volker. 

Let's see what I can come up with for my character:
Riker (or Rajkumar, but only his mother called him that) is a 16 year old street rat from the dumps of Kathmandu. Born as the bastard son to his native mother and a some westerner, he learned early two important lessons: Nothing in life is free and on the street your particular life is exactly as much worth as you can fight for tooth and nail. This philosophy was reinforced through his obsessive fascination for combat biking. For the past four years Riker kept a job as a bike courier to support his mother and little brother Priya as well as saving up to one day own his own motorcycle. In his circle of friends and acquaintances he is notorious for being reckless, relying on luck and chutzpah, even if a minute of thinking could have provided a better result. "Learning from mistakes is just another word for quitting."

That was the case until last week: Someone stole Riker's most precious possession: His 18 gear mountain bike. Now he is not just a bit desperate but positively homicidal. Worse, the local go-gang thugs are recruiting. Now he is seriously tempted to take part in their brutal initiation ceremony, just to have a shot at riding again...   

Regarding gear:

Since I'm now 500 NY short, I'll ditch the urban explorer suit, reduce the respirator to rating 2 and take armored clothing+helmet instead.

[luckace]

Finally! Took me some time, here is the character, hope I did eversthing right. Backstory etc. follows soon!

Name: Scipio

Gender: m


Age: 18
Metatype: Elf

B Attributes & C Metatype:
Bod3
Agi7
Rea5
Str3
Int4
Log2         
Wil2
Cha5
Edge: 4

D Skills
 
Pistols4
Blades3
Unarmed2
Escape-artist1
Free fall1
Gymnaytics3
Running1
Perception2
Lockpicking2
Disguise4
Sneaking4
Palming 1

Qualities

Ambidextrous (4)
Catlike (5)
Homeground (0)      
Resistance to toxics/pathogens (6)
Natural Athlete (7)
Blandness (
Hobo with a Shotgun (+10)

Gear

Streetlight Special (90)
Khukuri (40)
Hidd. armslide(350)
Leather (200)
Meta Link (100)
3 Smoke-grenades (60)
3 Magnesium torches (15)
60 Ammo (120)
10 gel-ammo (25)

And thanks for theamazing timeline, Volker, I really like it. And thanks for including Khukuris, gives everything a more-Nepali-like feeling 

[Volker]

Thanks guys! It was great fun to work on ktm2075! Maybe I'll find some time tomorrow to give you an overview over the districts. Is there anything else you need? Maybe some words on things like culture, currency and stuff?

@Jack_Spade: You could also ask your teammates whether you can have 500 from the team pool.

@luckace: As I already told you in RL, Scipio is approved of. I hope you enjoy your first character!

[gilga]

Just take from the team pool we're family.