location:york

This is an old revision of the document!


York (Grey Sector)

:!: Logo Pending!

York is a city-state of Albion, situated in the tundra spread across the southwest area of Nalbin. It is also called the Grey Sector by locals thanks to the chilly weather and expanses of taiga.

This city on the tundra was founded shortly after the conclusion of The Old War in PA 0. The Grey Sector was originally intended for no purpose, sporting wild boreal forests, winding rivers, rocky outcroppings, and thin soil. Localised terraforming attempts failed at first, as the weather proved a nuisance to machinery. Its connection to Orbital Object Null was situated just shy of the middle-point of the area. Around it and upon relatively solid ground, the city-state of York was built.

Shortly after building lodgings and infrastructure begun in PA 0, solutions were floated to combat the sector's infamously temperamental weather. The first, proposed shortly afterwards was the design of hulking 'brick like' buildings of stone and steel - foundations striking into the land - and each building fastening to each other; Rooted all in place, and connected by 'plug and play' infrastructure. Once 'rings' of these brick buildings were erected and layered atop each other, a logical conclusion became apparent: It involved building massive domes, capable of rendering its interior suitable for habitation, while leaving the Object Null Node out in the open. From there, it was possible to render portions of York within the rings much more pleasant.

Even so, you don't come to York to admire the blizzards.

York's demographics are mostly human, with other humanoid aliens who thrive in cold conditions present. Amongst humans, the cultural demographics are primarily Hagbloods and Greasehearts. The presence of Hagbloods goes back a long way due to magic colleges being established locally after the Old War concluded, and Greasehearts were responsible for erecting the protective domes over populated areas and creating the industry to support it. Other cultures have enclaves here and there, but deign to live outside of the domes of York.

The outlook of York's populace is a traditional-leaning, and conservative outlook amongst residents whose families have direct connections to the Old War - either affected by it, participating in it, or building a future out of it. Expatriates and travellers who come to York for the universities and rich magical culture are steadily introducing liberal ideas, but they are resisted by the traditionally inclined Governor and political establishment. The most common crimes include public nuisance, arson, a blanket of magic misuse laws, and contacting Weird Things without proper protections.

Notable People

The following player character and non-player characters are natives of York:

  • Politicians
    • Ulysses Vernon - The current Governor of York. A Hagblood man connected to an influential family of magicians, whose ancestors provided Gavin the Younger with their services and skills during the Old War. For their efforts, the family was awarded knighthood, and currently enjoys political office. Ulysses is the latest heir to govern, showing interest in topics such as freedom, magecraft, and making York a more attractive place to live in.
    • tbd - (someone contrasting or complementing vernon goes here)
    • tbd - (token weirdo/humorous goes here)
    • tbd - (someone dead, (in)famous, and suspected to be undead or otherwise not dead)
  • Businesspeople
    • Terrence McCann - An industrialist and a contender for York's governance. A Greaseheart man whose family was responsible for building the first countermeasures to York's harsh temperatures. The McCann family's innovations were since refined by others into the flexible domes currently used throughout, and the McCann family business became a secondary, but long-running player in York. Terrence has aspirations to go for the position of Governor, but his word as a businessman in McCann Metals is better respected.
  • Celebrities
    • Crunch Fistkick and Crush Footpunch - Real names Pierre and Adrian Brewer, Crunch and Crush are a brother-pair of outlandishly manly celebrities, renowned for being typecast as the largest, muscular, and most intimidating bad guys on screen. Together revelling in the image of being huge and full on. On set, they often compete against each other playfully if they are within shouting distance. It isn't uncommon to see them get injured when they try to one up each other in front of the camera. A solution was soon found: Don't cast them together. People are unsure of whether these two are serious about being so manly, but they sure look like it!
    • Jessica Stowe - (owns Stowe Citadel, write on that later. something something )
  • Other
    • Bridget Kuniklo - The local contact and reporter for Astro News Radio, responsible for collating and transmitting local news broadcasts to Astro. Bridget is a plain looking lady in her mid thirties, known for the distinctive beanie and goggles she wears on cold days. She is surprisingly deadpan on camera

York's economy is reliant on its trade of refinery and exporting of metals. York's forests provide lumber, which is refined into timber and shipped throughout Albion. The attraction of working with heavy machinery drew throngs of Greasehearts willing to put their back into working with foundries, mills, and getting it moved. York also shares close trade ties with Longuyon for its raw materials. Once prepared and packed onto a train or through Null, the products are exported primarily to Regum, Iwerddon, Myrddin, and back to Longuyon.

In addition, York is famous for hosting a handful of magic schools. They were built shortly after PA 0 as monuments to victory. Many Albionites flock to York for its magic tuition, and other magic-derived services such as divination, apothecary, and transmuting. Scores of casters meet twice-yearly in loose convention at Solstice and Equinox. In doing so, they the town a tourist and business attraction. However, this concentration of power also attracts attention from unwelcome influences, such as Weird Things, fiends, or malign spellcasters.

Common Occupations

The following occupations are synonymous with York's residents.

NameTypeDescriptionPay per annumNotes
Forge WorkerResourcesResponsible for smelting ore into ingots and sheets of metal, and recycling other metals for reuse.AC38000.00 to AC85000.00Hazardous, but a good way to stay warm.
LumberjackResourcesLives away from home for extended periods to cut down trees, eat lunch, wear high heels, suspenders and a - wait a minute.AC40000.00 to AC76000.00Lives out in the woods, and expected to survive alone.
MagisterMagicResponsible for teaching a curriculum of basic magic use, rituals, and identification to students.AC35000.00 to AC80000.00Proficiency in spellcasting and people skills required.
Resource TraderCommercialSells processed materials to market for a variety of industries.AC23000.00 to AC81000.00Economics and financial acumen a must.
Sawmill OperatorResourcesCuts lumber into timber, then pre-treats it and ships it off to various industries.AC28000.00 to AC60000.00Usually in demand.
Service SpellcasterMagicSells magic spells as a service, and other magic-related items to the public.AC50000.00 to AC100000.00Requires good connections and magery.
Wilderness RangerCivicPatrols the taiga for pest species, monitors the state of the wilderness, and scouts for bandits.AC43000.00 to AC75000.00Hazardous. Arctic survival skills desired.

To the exterior out in the taiga, York's exterior buildings look like grey bricks of slate and concrete, shaped to interlock and lay against each other. Antennae protrude from the edges and extremities, blinking with bright red signal lights. Narrow windows look outside, made of transparent sheets of aluminium, double-paned as glass. Most of the structures stand upright, or tilt at up to a thirty degree angle. Larger structures are created by placing 'bricks' of buildings together, interlayering with each other, and covering holes. Spacecraft hangars and landing pads into York are often at the top levels of these buildings, or into holes between the bricks.

These buildings are sometimes spotted alone in the tundra, but once these 'building bricks' form a ring or some other complete circuit by using the land, it becomes possible to construct a climate control dome between them all…

Creating the Dome

Viewed from above, these buildings often look like a series of circles and other interlocking shapes, designed to keep the biting wind and rain of the tundra out, and create a controlled environment. Underneath this dome, artificial weather creates semi-temperate conditions, and better soil. Heat is recycled from industrial processes, in addition to providing power. The exterior domes sport solar panels, alongside fusion power for York's city-state.

Under the Dome

Buildings built under the dome are usually constructed from brick, stone, and concrete. The design cues can usually be described as soft brutalism. Integrating the shapes, brickwork, and fortress-like appearance, but using vibrant colours in the stones and bricks - concrete serving to break it up. Large buildings often cluster together, leaving walkways and streets between them, broken up by open plazas, roundabouts, and parks.

Between each series of larger building clusters, there's space for residential developments, with buildings rarely exceeding ten stories in height, and homes ranging from two-storey townhouses to bungalows. The design and aesthetics usually comes down to personal preference, but Greaseheart and Hagblood building styles are frequently seen.

Under the dome, getting around is easy on the ground, with well made roads and cars and raised light rail. The main limitation of having domes to protect from the elements is ponderously slow air traffic. Air transport is this way for safety reasons, as heavy freight can often be disrupted by an aerial collision, and cause chaos on the ground.

However, driving a wheeled vehicle out from under the dome leads to a slightly more intense experience, as snow and rain can make highway driving hazardous. If they go offroad, they have to contend with boggy soil and thick forests. Out here, its safer to use an air vehicle, and flying over the treeline is a common scenic route.

Snow Trains

“I like trains - there's ain't much that can stand in front of them and keep on rollin'. A moose will collect yer truck, and good luck with the geese if you're flying your load!” - Jabbo Tultmann, Train Engineer

These heavy, industrial, diesel and plasma fuelled trains follow tough rails. All aspects of the train, its various carriage types, and the tracks are built to prevail and plough through extreme weather.

:!: Map pending!

York is divided into three major provinces, and a surrounding wilderness. Running through York is the River Unestam, dividing Valley run and Richard's Lake from Mt. Cranth. Each province of York contains (at minimum) a school, a supermarket, a police station, a fire station, a hospital, a community centre, and the infrastructure and opportunities to find employment. Notably, each providence of York hosts a university of spellcasting tuition: Greyvander Academy in Valley Run, Horrigan University in Richard's Lake, and Ulminster College in Mt. Cranth.

Every neighbourhood across York's provinces contain one or two points of interest. These are locations or buildings known to locals, and interesting enough to attract visitor attention occasionally.

:!: For GMs Each neighbourhood and their locations can serve as plot hooks for roleplaying and adventures.
Let these prompts be your starting points, and diversify from there.

The industrial heart of York, Valley Run is an expanse of domed factories, upon raised and reinforced ground. A skinny river runs deep down the heart. To get to Mt. Cranth, cross the south bridge over the River Unestam. To get to Richard's Lake, there are two bridges over the Lumber's Rapids: The Southwlog and Northlog Bridges.

In addition, at the southern end of Valley Run, there is a floating Orbital Object Null node, where a majority of York's aerospace traffic buzzes wildly, most often going to Ordonlea's Trader's Run.

  • Burgeonwood - In the Northeast of Valley Run and bordering Rightshore is a primordial redwood forest. The mighty trees dwarf the buildings at its edges. York's mark on the forest is the Journey to the Canopy, weaving through the bark husks of fallen trees, through holes in trees, and upwards into the leaves. Up on the mountain is a sunny-looking dome standing out from the snow. The protective shell of the Northstar Observatory's sensors and scopes, observing and recording Albion's space phenomena.
  • Greyvander Academy - By chance, fate, or bloodline, Greyvander ensures all of its students reach their potential, catering for spellcasters whose talents come from within. Greyvander's tuition is conducted outdoors at the York Mage Range, a clearing in the woods northeast with ample space and little of value. Greyvander is also home to the Ring of Fire, a traditional mage's arena. In some matches, obstacles are spirited into the field in a flash, demanding attention and sharp reflexes.
    • Football Team: Greyvander Gorgons (Green and Silver, Scales)
  • Manhaven - Known as the place named by Greasehearts, Manhaven is a gaudy, loud, and flashy place, where ego burns bright and dies hard. Bodybuilders, fitness freaks, and those who must be ripped to do their job congregate at the Iron Church, a 25 hour1) fitness centre which invites all to get strong together. Not far away and at odds with its surroundings is the Practical Person's Library, stocked with instructions, manuals, and guides for living well. Knowledge is power, read a book!
  • Rightshore - This lakeside neighbourhood has a rich industrial history, with a . Floating out by the western point of Rightshore is the flotilla of Daroonga Point. Originally intended to be a dock for yachts, the space had to be utilised as a hiding place during the Old War. The original occupants left the infrastructure behind. One of the largest smelting crucibles in Albion is located in Gladstone Foundry - specialising in fabricating steel for spacecraft hulls.

Orbital Object Null Node

A node connecting to Orbital Object Null is floating here…

d

  • Horrigan University - Founded by a pact of warlocks who aided York for mutual survival, the castle-like grounds of Horrigan University stretch around the mountain. The academic centre on campus is the Library of Others, a building containing volumes on Weird Things, entities, patrons, and other denizens - friendly or otherwise. In an effort to attract scholars and cultivate contemporary sciences, Horrigan hosts a bustling Biology Dome for cultivating and studying exotic flora and fauna.
    • Football Team: Horrigan Harriers (Blue and White, Lancers)
  • Packer's Row - tbd
  • Rittbaster - tbd
  • Skinny Creek - tbd

Looking toward the south-east bank of the Unestam is a pair of sudden mountains, named Cranth North and Cranth South. With their lofty granite spires, they lift the surrounding area up, creating a series of plateaus, safe from the marshier elements of York's landscape. At its heart, Mt. Cranth is York's frontier providence, with tall pines dominating the vista, overshadowed by the stony Cranths. Weaving through and between the mountains are tunnels and bridges - Air vehicles fly above the peaks and safely, or go down the fast way through canyons - buildings stashed into nooks and crannies.

In either case, drivers and pilots can go offroad or around the mountains on either of the bridges leading into the providence, or near turnoffs the western and north-eastern tunnels into the mountains. Both peaks of Mt. Cranth are chilly and tall enough to have a constant peak of snow, bleeding down to the neighbourhoods in winter, melting away during spring, and flowing into Lake Longthaw and through windy rivers.

  • Goldmeadow - In the middle spring, the fields around this neighbourhood turn gold as they bloom into dandelions, hence the name. In winter, and up Cranth North is Whitefall Slopes, a prime skiing location for intermediates and experts - while up further are death-defying trails. Meanwhile, on the opposite mountain, is the Resort Dacha, an enclave of mountain chalets looking over Goldmeadow, built around volcanic hot springs. The conduct of the staff, and feel of the place are … titillating.
  • Lake Longthaw - A small lake renowned for its fishing, a strip of holiday houses facing the lake, and other tourist attractions. With the fish is Chippy Strip, a marketplace of excellent fish food - the quickest order being fried fish and hot chips. Another attraction are sightings of the elusive Longthaw Monsters; Large, reptilian freshwater creatures capable of surviving the lake's wintery conditions, ducking under the water they see a humanoid. They eat fish, and frequently steal meals from fishermen.
  • Ordonlea - Along the banks of the Unestam and overshadowed by Cranth North is York's trade terminus with Regum, and anything through Null. The clear approach up the river makes it the fastest air and sea route to the ports, called the Trader's Run, always bustling with activity. The most common stop for affluent traders and travellers is the Cragview Inn, a combination restaurant and hotel up a winding mountain path, with a scenic overlook of York from Cranth North.
  • Ulminster College - This college seeks students who wish to learn from those before them. In a word: Wizards, standing together on the shoulders of Albion's greatest minds.
    • Football Team: Ulminster Mindstorm (Red and Gold, Thunderbolts)

An area of unspoiled, tundra wilderness which surrounds York's civilised areas. Host to chilling winds, wild weather. Animals native to the area include deer, elk, bears, wolves, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, frogs, many birds, and the occasional tiger or moose. In the rivers and lakes, fishers are likely to find salmon, trout, eels, and whitefish. The wilderness around York is prime territory for hiking, and many trails are considered scenic walks. However, the extremities of civilisation around York are host to a variety of boreal phenomena: Snow, freezing winds, marshy trails, and dangerous wildlife.

  • Freyr's Fen - Residing just north of Greyvander Academy and over a river, Freyr's Fen is a misty, syrupy marsh, known to produce eerie lights. Authorities claim they're just incidents of self-igniting Swamp Gas, but more suspicious townsfolk believe they are malign spirits trying to lure wanderers to their doom. It's not unusual to spot animals trapped and drowned at the fen's edges. It is possible to glide over the moor using a hovercraft or airbike. Hikers are urged to stay away for their safety.
  • Lumber's Rapids - Named for the frequent occurrences of trees and lumber found caught amidst the rapids, Lumber's Rapids is a fast-flowing river, flowing northeast and towards the edge of Nalbin. Later on down Lumber's Rapids, the river splits into smaller forks and tributaries, leading to a marshy delta near Albion's north pole. In calmer portions of the Rapids closer to the River Unestam, Lumberjack's Logs are often floated or dragged towards sawmills by 'traditionalists'.
  • Ragwood - A skinny and crooked forest populated by birches, pines, spruces, and the occasional, strikingly upright and healthy larch tree. The others don't seem to respect each other's space, growing into and against each other - twisting and curling. A dense and intertwined canopy chokes light, roots plunging deep for moisture. Piercing through the blanket of leaves and providing clearings are Larch Trees. After it rains, fog rolls through Ragwood without fail. Locals suspect the place is cursed2).
  • River Unestam - This large, wide river divides York. It flows from the northeast, with a connection to the lake where Rightshore and Greyander reside. It offshoots into Lumber's Rapids and flows northwest, while the majority of the river continues southwest, reaching through Nalbin, splitting off into the Forks. The eastern fork reaches the ocean into regum, while the southbound one lurches into the inland ocean of Pendragon.

1)
Because it's all about discovering your boundaries, and piercing through them to be!
2)
It's definitely cursed.
  • location/york.1486551885.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2017/02/08 06:04
  • by luca