OOC - Maelstrom - A Steampunk Project #2

We are off to a great start and the last post will be referred back to for the Delve and Elesium as we expand the world. Let's focus on Dusk now and get it ready for some characters. I have tried to summarise and adapt everything Dusk related from the previous post. If I have missed the mark then feel free to edit and correct, other wise as before add and discuss until with are happy that Dusk is ready to run :)

Really enjoying this guys, thanks for the enthusiasm and imagination!!

Dusk the last bastion of humanity in a broken world. The sprawling city of Dusk squats like a poisonous fat toad at the heart of the desolate Darklands. It’s hulking walls the only shelter from the destructive power of the Maelstrom, a foul canopy of cloud that shrouds the world in darkness.

The city is roughly divided into seven areas:

The Centrum is the commercial heart of Dusk. Greed is good in the Centrum and it is here that the shops, markets and trade guilds can be found. Most notably the Bronze Citadel a hulking mansion that houses the central bank of Dusk.

The Capital District sits across the northern edge of the Centrum and houses the government buildings that grease the wheels of Dusks economy and social structure. The Peoples Palace is the pride of the city, an opulent wonder of metal work and technological artistry. It houses the City Council and the seat of the First Citizen Josiah Hazard. To its immediate left is the Hall of War and to its right the Hall of Order, where the military leadership and law keeping authorities can be found.

Highholm is a vast fortress built directly to the north of the Capital District. It has a haven of the ruling classes and super rich. Highholm is almost a city within a city and while the general population of Dusk scrounge out a living as best they can the people of Highholm live a gluttonous lifestyle by comparison. Wild parties and opulent displays of wealth are the norm in the halls of Highholm.

The Twins is the name given to two relatively wealthy and well ordered Districts that sit either side of Highholm. The Twins are the home of the middle classes, merchants and local leaders. While they have a relatively comfortable existence their envious eye is always fixed on the opulence of Highholm and indeed each other. Petty politics and one-up-manship is the norm in the Twins.

The Steamworks is a huge industrial area that dominates the east of the city. Here you will find the flagesium refineries, power plants, waste treatment facilities amongst a whole host of industrial buildings and work yards. It is from here that the giant tower known as the roost rises up over Dusk. The Roost acts as a dock for the Cities Airships and at its base are the shipyards and warehouses that support the important work of the Skyriders, as well as the Crazy Cog a popular Skyrider haunt. A web of cable cars runs from the Roost to almost every area of the city. Precious food and water is delivered to the Roost in exchange for shipments of Flagesium and it is the Skyriders that make the climb to secure that trade. It in the Steamworks that the dreaded workhouses can also be found where the Slothful are gathered and forced to labour in the factories. Out of the eastern gates runs the railway to the Delve.

The South and West of the City is dominated by the Sprawl. Here the masses live in poverty and unrest. They are kept entertained and distracted lest their wrath bring the city to its knees. Several times the people have risen up and overwhelmed the city, but they have never passed the walls of Highholm. Within the Sprawl there exists some low tech industry and food manufacture but it is meagre in comparison to the Steamworks. The Sprawl is separated from the rest of the city by a polluted river running from the north west to the south east. There are seven bridges spanning the River Styx.

The Rose District is the smallest area nestled on the western edge of the Centrum. It is a hotbed of crime and a vendor of carnal desire and forbidden passions. The wealth and greed of the Centrum brings crime and a mysterious figure known as the Clockwork King is rumoured to run the criminal underworld from within the Rose district.

Let's get stuck in :)