WAKKAPLEX, a fictional sprawl
Wakkaplex is a sprawling chunk of the greater New England megaplex, on the southern tip of Delaware. Home to four million (Not counting the SINless of course), it's an upscale urban area that's never been on the cutting edge, content to have a general bustle away from the high-pressure hustle. Wakkaplex is notable for being a clean city, the mayor of which being a stickler for such things, and a more peaceful 'vibe' then the larger, more dangerous sprawls of New York or Boston. Perhaps its time that the people be woken up...
The Mayor: Harvey Wippleman's a career bureaucrat, originally from the formerly-Canadian section of the UCAS, a birthplace which has long influenced his general sense of calm and politeness for his Metroplex. He's been in charge for nearly a decade, having been elected when the previous mayor Peter “Punchinello” Punchliotti was driven out of office … Ol' Punchinello was a hard-driven force who got everyone through the chaos of Crash 2.0, but his combative style and abrasive personality left him few allies in a time of peace. Harvey is a genuine nice guy, leaving him vulnerable at times to hard-driving personalities, but when he makes a mistake, he'll move Heaven and Earth to fix it.
Anton Rourke, aka The Black Rook, is the top man in the sprawl; an Ares exec in charge of the Sprawl and angling for a seat on the Board of Directors, he's long been considered the man in charge, even if the Mayor technically runs the show. A one-time protege of Damien Knight, Rourke was shunted off to Wakkaplex in the ongoing internal struggles of the coporation and has never found a way back to Detroit and the central halls of power. He bides his time, stirring the pot here until he can find a way back in to the Great Game. Rourke's biggest failing has been his inability to dislodge Lone Star from the city's protection contract. In two years, he'll have another chance to get his “Black Knights” in the mix, so he's actively looking for any leverage he can find.
While Ares remains the top Megacorp in the Wakkaplex, they're hardly alone. Shiawase runs the power grid and sanitation services, making a slow, steady profit, while Horizon's latest WOWW! Trideo channel fights against Rourke's own WWOE for airtime and scoops. Needless to say, any time they can score points on the Black Rook, they'll take it, earning them his anger. Aztechnology has a small branch office that focuses on consumer goods, but generally only operates under other brand names, scattered and hidden all over the city instead of presenting a single office to target. Wuxing and Saeder-Krupp jockey for the ample shipping lanes of Wakkaplex, but both have to deal with the Mob who are quite in control.
MCT stands firmly in second place in terms of prominence, lead by one Mr Yamamoto, an aging old-school salarayman that's perhaps feeling the years a bit too heavily of late. Several younger sharks are starting to circle, but as of yet, he's made no announcement of a retirement. NeoNET has a decent local office, along withRenraku, but the two seem too intent on fighting for third to take a good swing at the larger MCT and Ares sides of things. Evo quietly runs bodyshops across the city's more upscale areas and Meta-focused retail establishments, but has virtually no true corporate presence.
Lone Star is lead by Chief of Police Ichibod Harris. Chief Harris (He loathes his first name) is a close ally of the Mayor's, but his second in command, Tyrell Smith, is chomping at the bit to outfit his boys in heavy gear and deal with problems guns-a-blazing. The Chief has people in his orbit that keep tabs on the shadow scene, with a quiet understanding. As long as crime stays 'honest', he's willing to be tolerant, keeping tabs on excessively violent criminals to round up when a crackdown is needed while letting softer touches slide. He does not abide cop-killers, however, so many Shadowrunners have adopted a 'run from cops' code instead of engaging in gunplay. Many, but not all.
On the magic side of things, no dragons are known to call the Wakkaplex home, nor are spirits particularly ample, but it's said that the original city archetitects, who were Freemasons, tapped into some kind of mana line beneath the city, directing it to some secret location inside the city itself (Most likely the guild hall, but open tours are given there and nothing unusual has ever been seen.) … ongoing rumor is that the Tongs have somehow found a way to tap into and siphon this mana line, but, again, there's no proof of this.
The Mafia are, by far, the strongest criminal organization in the Plex, with infighting commonplace as the five families lack a real outside player to unify them. The Yakuza presence is small, targeting primarily the Megacorporate citizens, while the Tongs are (collectively) the second-largest criminal ring. The Wakkaplex Chinatown is quite large, giving them ample cover, and they have long controlled both the prostitution rings of the city and the traditional drug trade, leaving BTLs to the other syndicates as well as most gambling and protection other than local. As Wuxing has grown larger, so have the Tongs, and it's an open secret that Wuxing is supporting one, the Eight Lotus Petal triad, as their personal army. Recently, there has been an influx in magic in the area, leading to criminal ritual magic that the other syndicates lack.
Downtown is the most active part of the 'plex, filled with skyscrapers (The Ares Tower has a crenulated top and a faux stonework design to emulate the castles of olde) and people, and is quite well patrolled. As the district ends, buildings grow shorter and more apartment complexes and normal business take over, with standard, rather than heavy, law enforcement. The docks area is quite poor and features an uncomfortable blend of mostly-unemployed humans and newly-employed Orks and Trolls, creating racial strife and regular violence. The only area worse off is situated on the northwest side, away from the ocean and river, an area filled with 'Crumbs' .
Fifty years ago, Bright Harvest BreadCo was a major employer, sending their products to stores all over the US of A, but the Native uprising devastated their sources of grain, and the following chaotic years of race riots and Awakening dealt them a foul hand (The grandson of the founder, and his immediate family, all died to VITAS as well, plucking their leadership at the worst possible time) … when the Crash broke out, their automated delivery system and bank records collapsed, ending them once and for all. The hollow skeleton of their company complex and factories still stand today, while the economically shattered area around it is filled with “Breadcrumbs” or simply “Crumbs”, the dregs of society who cluster around the lowest property costs in the 'plex. It's estimated that nearly a hundred thousan “Crumbs” exist, fully half of which are SINless.
Wakka University is the primary college in the area, with an excellent hermetic magical studies program but poor computer engineering, but several smaller Corporate schools exist which take up the slack in that regard. Rourke is a backer of Wakka University and is frequently found at social events thrown there, as well as having two buildings named after him. WU is known to be the central location for environmental and Metahuman Rights activists in the city, who frequently protest Rourke's appearances, with none louder than his daughter Elizabeth, a would-be magician and Wiccan. (Rourke's family is famously non-magical, with no family member ever showing the smallest spark.)
There ya go. About an hour's worth of on-again, off-again typing while making lunch and checking email. It's not flawless, obviously, but there's a short example of something that you could give players. A few plot hooks, some major names, a feeling that the city has some kind of organization and flavor, some good and bad parts, but enough room for players to expand and start making their own mark on things. I hope you enjoy, and keep creating!
