An Introduction.
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YOU HAVE ONE NEW MESSAGE: 'intro_circumstances.bxv'
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Omae, it's Null Kit. I know you just got here from Seattle, but our mutual benefactor wanted to make sure you were up-to-date about Raleigh. I cooked up an FAQ with another mutual acquaintence for you to look at in your spare time, it'll give you a rough idea of where to start and some basic userkeys for browsing the DataCache. If you've got questions, leave a message or mail my comm-number. With regards.
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Shadowrunning in Raleigh: A Primer
What have I been connected to?
You're currently on the Stand-Alone DataCache, a secluded piece of military-grade hardware converted into a repository of relevant information on Raleigh and its current power-players. It's not directly connected to the grid and uses throwback hardware to keep it hidden from prying eyes. It's not even close to completion, but it should give you the leads you need to get some reliable work and avoid the less friendly elements. Your first connection needs to be within a few meters of one of the receivers, but once you've been authenticated you should be able to access it from anywhere in the public grid, just make sure to double-check your access-credentials and make sure you're not hitching a ride to anyone we shouldn't want looking at our stuff.Who's in charge of this cache?
The cache is officially the collective property of the Cabinet, a veteran shadowrunner-group that's been operating in some form or another under the orders of our fixer and founder, the Barkeep, for around seven years and counting. Should you ever come to meet him, it will likely be at the same place you connected to this cache, in the back rooms of the 7 Bones Gastro.What's Raleigh like?
If you've seen one sprawl, you've probably seen them all, but to summarise the differences between Raleigh and other cities of its size, let me break it down:Raleigh's growing...
For decades, the city's been sitting on its laurels as a middling city in the CAS, having been discouraged from thinking bigger in the aftermath of the failed Forestville renovation project that turned one of its communitiess into a hellscape not dissimilar to Seattle's Redmond Barrens. However, the introduction of not one, but two arcologies along with Saeder-Krupp's renovation of the city's main airport has reignited the city's ambitions towards being recognised as a full-blown sprawl, pushing through years of stagnation to begin countless construction/renovation projects, leading us to the second point...Raleigh is dense...
Even by the standards of sprawls, there's a perpetual and almost comical disparity between the scope of Raleigh's gnawing hunger for growth and the available room to accomodate it all: Horizontal floorspace is at a premium, crowds of commuters are thick enough to need police-conductors to keep the flow moving, and in many places it's cheaper to simply build another floor above or below than it is to expand outwards, to the point that the city council eventually constructed an entire second floor to their city-center just to give themselves a precious little more room to breath. Raleigh as it is exemplifies the moor of nature abhoring a vacuum, and empty space is a luxury second only to untampered drinking-water.Raleigh hates the status-quo...
Raleigh is, paradoxically, a city both stuck in the past and clamoring for progress. Electric cars are commonly re-shelled to look like vintage jalopies, two-hundred floor megabuildings painstakingly veneer themselves in art-deco styles, and the proverbial man on the street is advocating for new and unprecedented laws in an attempt to return to the 'good old days'. Any corp wanting to sell in Raleigh is stuck in a balancing act of bringing the next new big thing while also coating it in the facade of comfy nostalgia of a time that never existed, and political groups representing a myriad of policies all want to prove themselves as being the 'true, original spirit' of the city. As you'd expect, this further pushes and provokes the numerous ideological clashes in Raleigh's citizenry, which takes us neatly to the final point...Raleigh is full of guns.
You might think to yourself, "Of course Raleigh's full of guns, it's the CAS!" but it's more than that: Even by the standards of the CAS where firearm-legislation is far more permissive than in the UCAS, Raleigh is rife with guns and people ready to use them, from salarymen carrying a dinky little Insurance 10 in their shirt-pocket to the city's nameless, unwritten militia of enthusiasts keeping their porches peaceful with a corpsec-grade submachinegun hanging from a tactical sling at their side. Raleighites embrace the maxim of an armed society being a polite one, and are more than willing to share that philosophy with any Shadowrunner unfortunate enough to think they can intimidate a local the same way they could with the comparatively helpless desk-jockeys back in Seattle. Be smarter than that, chummer. Right now, people are keeping quiet but everyone knows the whole city's in a chaotic state of change and disagreement. The city's politicians have ground themselves to a halt in arguing over new legislation, and it would be a mistake to assume something you see today is certain to be the same way tomorrow, but trying to force the issue by yourself is going to backfire spectacularly if you don't have the power to back it up. It's also perpetually cold as drek, but that's for another cache.Who should I know?
It's a given, but your first port of call should be to find yourself a Fixer or two, and from there you can find anyone and everyone else you need to get work and get work done. Our Barkeep (as well as his recently procured protoge, Ouzo) is both a capable fixer and source of employment, but his business dealings often utilise his own employees over freelancers like yourself, so your proverbial pickings might be slim. Redhat is of a more eclectic and variable sort, less reliable in his connections but friends with enough of everyone to get you the numbers of important people. Mr. Breaker, found in his appropriately-named establishment, is dependable in finding work related to Raleigh's underworld and pays generously, albeit being equally as punishing towards failure. Same with Aoyama Fudo, and his clan of Yakuza. Lastly, Agitator and (occasionally) Lazulex can be found at Mae's Grub-Hub and Emily Proulx is always present at the Withered Rose, all offering an abundance of jobs that might be more palatable to those of you with allusions of shadowrunning with a moral-highground, with the expected drop in payout. The latter of whom is also both a reputable talismonger (as are the Nuclear Warlocks in the RUG 107.9 Radio Station, if you're willing to visit the barrens) and potential first stop for weaponry: Underneath the Withered Rose lies the workshop of Marcher, a master armorer and gunsmith with numerous connections in arms-dealing, easily able to procure your preferred choice in arms and ammunition, so long as the compensation is right. If you're looking for gats a little less bespoke, then NeuSec are occasionally willing to broker milsurp arms with bulk discounts, if you're found trustworthy. When the inevitable happens and you find yourself injured, two street-docs stand out from the rest in terms of quality and reliability: Frangelico, operating outside of her clinic in the back-rooms of 7 Bones, is a prodigous surgeon and cyberneticist, but charitable services leave her in constant deficit of needed supplies, and might ask of you to provide in return for services rendered. Dr. Mustermann is of similar talents and is far more consistant in his stock of supplies, but his business-relationship with the Black Unicorn Society means you will almost certainly find yourself paying for the services in unusual ways. For Drones and rigging-equipment, see Honest Angie at her namesake shop. For freshly 'liberated' vehicles, pay a visit to the Metal Corsairs. If you want drugs, head to the Juno RA-0 Complex and (very) politely seek an audience with the go-gang/cartel calling themselves the Pack, or ask around to see when Natural Joe is doing another one of his sales. For pertinent information-brokerage and pastries, seek the Baker or contact Quixotic on the Oak City Local-Grid <LINK> . And if you find yourself pinned to the wall by HTR and looking at a stretch in prison, ask for Sugimoto Iwao.Who should I avoid?
Truth be told, it would be easier to list places you shouldn't avoid, but some threats stand out among others: Lone Star still (barely) hold the city's law-enforcement contract, but many businesses have moved over to contracting Dragoon Tactical Investments for their corpsec needs, who despite having a far more modest budget have proven themselves a substantial threat to shadowrunners in Raleigh, in no small part due to a greater degree of professional training and (relative) defiance of standard police/corpsec corruption and bribery. Raleigh is home to many gangs, but some are going to be more dangerous to your wellbeing than others. If you're thinking of living in in the Neuse districts, you're eventually gonna find yourself paying protection fees to vigilante-turned-gang NeuSec or finding yourself the victim of an unfortunate tragedy. The Pack and Aoyama-Gumi might be prime employers, but are just as liable to put you on their proverbial shit-list for any reason that crosses their mind, while the Children of Eden MC will almost certainly put you on theirs if you're not a human or human-supremacist, and the CMNG, who have been slowly attempting to corner the entire market in narcotics and gunrunning, may be just as inclined to use you as target-practice as well as a deniable asset. Stray too far outside the city, and you might find yourself in an entire part of the city to avoid: the Concrete Forest. Once you're out there, you've forfeited any protection civilization offers you, and you risk running into the most feral and violent of gangs, such as the The Howling Blades or the Horse Dancers, who'll happily kill you just for the sport of it, even if they're not feeling greedy. If you have to head out there, see if you can pay off some barrens-guides in the Rampart for some extra safety.Anything else?
I'll be honest chummer, this guide and everything in it is barebones as hell. Shadowrunning doesn't leave as much free time as you want when you're the designated data-gatherer, so I rarely get to study and visit topics of Raleigh that aren't immediately invalidated by the actions of a Shadowrun, and the contributions of my peers only helps so much. If you come across anything that isn't in this cache, consider contributing your information, and you might see some compensation for it.That's about all I've got for this draft. If you have any questions, my comm-number can be found here <LINK>. Good look out there. Kind regards, Null Kit
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