Automata
Automata is loaded with two things: red tape and nifty mechanical oddities. The one, in my experience, tends to outweigh the other. It’s worth a visit to see if anything catches your eye, but if you see a modron and a formian in the same street you’d best clear out of the way. They won’t automatically get into a scuffle, but the chances are high enough I wouldn’t take the risk.
This is the gate town to the plane of absolute law and it certainly looks the part. Outside the city walls you may find a few perfectly straight roads cutting through fairly bland fields of the Outlands on their way to Rigus and Fortitude. There is also one large road commonly referred to as Modron Way that leads straight out of the gate to Mechanus towards the Spire - the same route the modrons took when last they marched. The entire city is laid out on a strict grid of streets and blocks, and lodged firmly in the center of the outline of a small wheel. Automata is not a walled city. The buildings are all made of the same grey-red stone, cut into identically shaped and sized small blocks. The streets are paved in the same perfectly squared stone. Throughout the entire city the buildings are made of ninety-degree angles, each designed to match with the other. The blocks in this town are identically sized, and strictly laid out in a proper and sensible zoning system.
By sensible of course, we mean overly designed. A block may be dedicated to breweries, and the next block over dedicated to making kegs, and so on. Each block within the city has been given its purpose and only there may the activities associated with it occur without incurring a fine or worse. At least this means that one can easily find a service you need, if you need a carpenter you simply go to the carpenter’s block. Unfortunately you won’t find any need to shop around - all the prices in Automata are as controlled as the zoning districts are. Prices are fixed in this town, so it doesn’t terribly matter who you get to do your work for you - they’re all the same. Of course, while this may protect the lesser skilled in a craft, guaranteeing them a certain income - any true expert in his class may wish to move elsewhere to where he can command better prices.
The people of Automata are just as orderly as the city. The petitioners of the place dress uniformly alike in red robes and generally make every effort to appear to be identitcal to each other. They say this promotes a unity of thought and action within the town. The more mundane races such as humans and dwarves are also common in the city, though they tend not to dress all alike - thankfully. There are a large number of modrons here, generally coming and going on their assigned tasks in the city and elsewhere. They do not number as many as they did in the past, when the last Modron Procession left Mechanus and marched straight through the city, but they are still a sizable percentage of the city. In addition, there are a large number of formians that have made kip in this town securing their own zone within the city. The rest of the population is mostly of a lawful nature, including raksasha though not many of the fiends hang out in this berg. Those of more chaotic alignment, while not outright rejected by most of the populace, will swiftly find life in the city too frustrating to stay for long.
The city has swollen in recent years with the influx of Guvners and other refugees from the Faction War in Sigil. With the new population growth, the town has experienced a boom and is becoming ever more attractive to the interests of traders and merchant houses such as the Planar Trade Consortium. Of course luckily the influx of people has been a fairly even mix of lawful and non-lawful, so the town has yet to slip over the edge into Mechanus.
Everything about this town, at least on the surface is orderly and planned. Every new business must wade through months and months of paperwork to open. Each major business deal and contract must be registered with the city government. In fact, all transactions within the city are to be recorded and noted and authorized, though most of the more common ones, such as buying food or housing are considered to be pre-authorized by the license of the business to operate within the strict parameter of city law. Waivers and contracts are commonly seen throughout the city as the residents and businesses of the place have no interest in getting into a tangle with the bureaucracy of the place. Whatever the transaction, if asked the government of the city should be able to track down the relevant details of it.
The city is governed, at least on the surface, by the Council of Order. This triad of representatives consists of a representative from the town guard, from the craftsmen, and from the temple districts of Automata. These three individuals are the final decision makers within the town, and are the ones whose seals verify the lawfulness of all above ground laws and contracts. However, with all this visible orderliness, one would think that the gatetown was in extreme danger of slipping right over into Mechanus. There is a second source of ‘law’ within the city that prevents this from occurring.
The current members of the Council of Order are: Captian Arstimis, a githzerai and leader of the Town Guard. Pelnis the Clockmaker, a clockmaker and one of the best craftsmen in the city. And Scrafil, priestess of Lei Kung, a tifling.
The Council of Anarchy, a triad of thives, rogues, and scuffians run the seamy underside of Automata. The underground passages, built from tunnels and forgotten buildings long built over top of are ruled by this Council. What is declared illegal above ground, the Council of Anarchy has declared legal below. Below the surface, there is no need to sign a waiver before buying a meal from a bar, nor any need to observe proper procedures for obtaining alcohol or anything else for that matter. It is the existence of this Council, and its underground community that keeps Automata from sliding entirely into Mechanus. This is the Council that rules the night and the below ground, watching over the rest of the city’s activities and giving their approval for them.
The current members of the Council of Anarcy are: Leggis Scrog, a githzerai crimelord. Ravis Corcuncewl, a vagrant who spends much of her times in the higher levels of the Complex. And the erinyes Aurach the Fair.
There are a number of powers of Law and Order who have major temples within this city. They are all within a four square block in the city, labeled the temple district. The largest temples here are dedicated to Lei Kung. Additionally, temples to Azuth, Lu Hsing, and Forseti may be found there as well. In addition to religious interested, there is a very strong Guvner presence here. The Guvners withdrew much of their headquarters to Mechanus and Automata after leaving Sigil, and this gate town is packed with even more of these lawful berks than before the War. The Guvners have within the last five years managed to get entire blocks of the city rezoned for their use, based on documented evidence of over population within the areas of the city previously held by the faction.
The biggest event in recent history has been the march of the modons. This massive migration of modrons from Mechanus came early, in an unprecedented moment of ‘randomness’. The march simply poured out of the Gate without warning, spilling into the unprepared city. Massive property damage was the result as the modrons simply ignored any efforts to guide their movements and stomped their way out of town. After this, the city decided to tear down the parts of town that had taken the most damage, building the road now known as Modron Way - so that the next time, in a few hundred years, the modrons went marching - they could do so without damaging the city.
As can be expected, above ground the city is heavily zoned - broken into distinct districts which are dedicated to specific purposes within the city. These districts may be as small as a block or half a block, to entire square sections of the city. The major districts are the Governmental District, the Religious District, and the Business District. Below ground the city is much more loosely organized, a tangle of tunnels and markets, bars and smoke filled chambers.
The Governmental District
This district takes up the entire upper left hand corner of the city. The buildings here are nearly identical to one another, with new floors added to buildings when their duties within the city exceed the space they have. The buildings are uniformly red-black stone, with minimalist decoration but surprisingly large and sunny windows. In fact, even the interior layouts tend to be the same, so if you’ve seen the inside of one building you can generally find your way around any other. The doors are constructed on a very large scale to accommodate the largest of patrons to the governmental offices. Each building is clearly labeled with its name and position within the grid of the district on all four sides, as assistance to visitors to the city who are looking for the Office of Visitor Affairs. A map of the district grid, labeled with the names of each building can be found posted beside the front doors of each building as well.
It is a common site to see young children running throughout this section of the district, with bright blue and white caps on their heads (or attached to a wing or antenna in the case of the less humanoid). These runners are couriers who swiftly deliver forms, and triplicate copies of paperwork throughout the district. There is a 5sp fine for unduly delaying the travel of a runner on duty. Intentionally harming, or killing, a runner is subject to additional sentencing above what the crime itself will normally warrant.
The largest building within this district is the Office of Civic Affairs. This four story building holds the offices of all three members of the Council of Order, and their attendant staff, and their attendant staff. The staff of these buildings are the people responsible for he day to day running of the city as they handle all requests and forms that are delivered to the Office of Civic Affairs, returning the forms to owners if they are misfiled or otherwise unable to be processed, filing them to the correct office if they can be handled by others, or compiling them into the daily agenda for the Council of Order to address and vote on.
The next largest building within the district is the Office of Visitor Affairs. This office provides legal and social counsel for non-residents of Automata. They issue permits for visitation within the city and provide a pamphlet summarizing relevant laws for those who have never visited Automata before. At a mere 53 pages it’s a fast read. Visitors are required to present themselves within forty eight business hours to receive their visitor authorization and record of passing or leave the city. The Office of Visitor Affairs also provides lawyers and other legal services for visitors who have registered themselves within the city and encounter trouble, allowing the visitor to continue with their activities outside of Automata while the office handles any legal proceedings in absentia. A canny cutter will still keep a close eye on things, to avoid having their legal counsel make poor decisions on their behalf. The Office of Visitor Affairs does employ some of the most skilled Guvner lawyers though, so for the most part the advocates provided are excellent.
The Religious District
Like most religious districts of most cities, this entire section of the city is dedicated to temples. The temples are constructed of the same red-grey stones as the rest of the city, but here the sculpture and decorations are much more extravagant. While the temples pay additional taxes and the exterior decorations must pass the requirements of the City Planning Association, the worshippers here consider it well worth it to be able to tell which temple belongs to which power. Of all the districts in Automata, this is the one with the greatest to offer in terms of artistic sculpture and architecture.
Lei Kung’s temple dominates the district. His temple is built of the darkest of the red-grey stone that the city could find, with relief carved pillars at the front depicting storms, thunderbolts and the cries of the damned. It’s a cheerful place really. The head priestess here is Scrafil, who is also on the Council of Order.
The temple to Azuth is catty corner in the district, near the border with the Guvners and right across the street from the Guvner’s magical labs. This temple paid quite a lot of jink to be allowed to break from the red-grey look of the rest of the town, and flies blue and white banners on its walls. The priest here is Temith, a high up greybeard sage from the Prime. while a little cranky in the morning, he routinely teaches magical theory with the Guvners.
Lu Hsing’s temple doesn’t stand out in the least. If anything one could almost mistake the place for yet another governmental building, if it weresn’t for the fact that it’s in the temple district. This is only fitting for a temple of a god dedicated to law and bureaucracy. The priesthood here regularly looks askance at the temple of Lei Kung, considering their high priest, Zhung Yin, much better qualified for the position that Scrafil currently holds.
A of law and judgment, Forseti’s temple has little to make it stand out save for a series of carved knotwork animals on the front façade. His temple is one of the smaller in the town, but it offers housing and additional mediation for visitors to the town who find themselves in a legal bind.
An oddity on the edge of the district is the shrine of Anubis. Its keeper is an elderly man who lives in the shop directly above the shrine.
[i]The Business District
This is the district that houses the majority of banking and business within the city. From the south side, where rows on rows of shops and stalls provide a brisk if impersonal shopping experience, to the north where the money changers and banks take up entire blocks - this is the district where all merchants and shoppers come. The markets to the south are strictly divided in terms of what they are allowed to sell, and are restricted entirely to finished goods as opposed to services or speculative goods.
Towards the middle of the district one may sell raw materials such as grains, cloths, or livestock - though those items are specifically to be stored in the Warehouse district. As a result of these restrictions in these shops, a confused visitor may find himself wondering what all the fuss is over the buying and selling of little white tickets. Speculative buying of goods is strictly controlled within Automata, as there is no desire to encourage poor decisions based on luck or hard sells. As a result, in the dead center of the raw goods district there is a wall covered with a spongy material on which is posted the daily price restrictions on raw goods sold within Automata as determined by the Office of Economic Affairs.
On the north end of this section of blocks may be found the major banking and money exchange facilities of the city. These banks are able to store money or goods within their vaults, though if one needs quick access to either it may be better to store them elsewhere. The banks are worse than the office of the governmental district when it comes to queues and waiting rooms. However, they are quite safe, requiring multiple forms of identification for the more secure accounts before access may be granted. Exchange houses may also be found here, using the exchange rates as published weekly by the Office of Economic Affairs.
The Clerk District
This district is located directly south of the governmental district. It is not a place where clerks are required to stay, but instead is where the majority of them work. This district is where the vast majority of long-term records may be found, organized by year and originating office. Records are moved to the clerk district after they are over five years old. A record of the move, referencing the new storage location of the folder is left in its place.
The Guvner District
This is the new ‘home’ of the Guvner faction within Automata, located directly south of the religious district. This is an expansion of the district the Guvners held in the past, which was only a single block. Now that they have had more of their faction members make their way to the city after exile from Sigil, the Guvners have expanded to take over four entire blocks. The buildings on these blocks are divided for the use of the faction into labs, teaching facilities, records rooms, and barracks. The Guvners of Automata are led by the factor Gerhman d’Torh, an assaimar hailing from Arcadia. He reports directly to the high-ups on Mechanus.
The Warehouse District
This district is where all the raw goods and livestock that are sold in the business district are stored. All items here are registered, their owners noted, and slips issued to allow them to be sold in the business district. Considering the nature of some of the goods stored here this district has been placed downwind of most of the city near the edges to allow easy transportation of live goods.
The Formian District
To the south west corner of the city, a new district has been established for the queen, and extended family of a small formian hive. The Hive Mother of this hive spent years working her way through the legal system of the city in order to secure permanent residency for herself and her collection of soldiers and drones. The Hive of Automata as it is called, is a peaceful group that has made every effort to allow the exterior of the buildings in this district remain as they were before the formians moved in. On the inside however is an entirely different story. The Queen, Shivresztha, managed to obtain building licenses for the Hive allowing them to create a honey comb of corridors within the buildings and beneath the streets of their district. While they strictly observe the borders of their district, the formians have built their Hive downwards, and are quite protective of their privacy.
The Crafts District
Home to the carpenters, weavers, artisans and other craftsmen of the city, this district is the best place to find any household good you could possibly need. Or at least any good that the Office of Guildsman Affairs thinks that you will need. The goods here are sold on a fixed price system, so my advice is to look to buy what you want - you won’t find any better (or worse) price elsewhere. this is also the place to find any gear or mechanically oriented good that you can imagine. everything from complex clocks to spring and wire mechanisms may be found in the crafts district.
The Visitors District
The visitors district is home to the bars, inns, stables and other features of the city that cater to the passers through. Confused newcomers are common here, as are couriers from the business district passing out directions and pamphlets, or conveying messages between the temporary residents of the district and the Office of Visitor Affairs. Every inn and bar within the visitors district is required to post by its door information regarding requirements for visitors to the city to present themselves to the Office of Visitor Affairs. Within this district one may find the restaurant known as The Divine Machine, certified as the finest eating establishment in the city.
The Gate District
Centered directly on the Gate to Mechanus, this district is a complex of buildings, surrounding the gate and preventing direct access to it. The gate may only be accessed with proper permission, and this is the district to get the paperwork cleared in order to use the gate. This process may take quite some time, so it is worth it to come early and bring a bag lunch - the lines can be long.
The Underground
Below the orderly streets of Automata is a complex of chambers commonly referred to as ‘the tunnels’ though the vast majority of it is not actual tunnel. The tunnels consist of a tangled chaos of tunnels, passages, abandoned sewers and buildings. Where a building or basement has been built over above ground, it has been adopted into the below ground network. The size of the city below is almost comparable to that above, though it is deliberately disorganized and so it cannot be broken into discrete districts. There is a loose order, mostly based on the livability and depth of each of the sections of the tunnels. In general, the deeper a tunnel is, and the harder it is to get to it, the more prestigious that particular bit of dirt is. Access to the underground may be found throughout the city, usually in boarded up basements or sewer passages, but the most commonly known access point is the basement of McGovol’s Stabling Establishment. This collection of bar and stable has a staircase that goes straight down to the first level of the Complex. Of course, the stairwell is boarded up during the day, and even during the night it is closely observed by Guvners and the town guards, so those wishing to make discrete visits had best use a different entrance.
The Sewers
The sewers of Automata connect to the tunnels, and in fact the only way to tell the difference between the two is by sense of smell. Above ground is highly organized, and all buildings are built with indoor plumbing. Even the roads are built with ditches designed to swiftly move all refuse below ground - out of sight, out of mind. Of course, below ground the sewers are the lowest of the low places to live. They're near the surface and get the worst of the crud from above. The sewers are not a place one wanders alone, or without a weapon visible. Those who are desperate enough to live here are dangerous folks - and getting cut in this sort of place ain't too nice either. Of course, the biggest worry is the otugs that the Council of Order routinely releases through the sewers to 'clean up the trash'. The Council of Order ain't to particular about if the 'trash' is living or not. As often as the sewers get cleaned out, nothing is permanent in this area save for the stench.
The Complex
Below the sewers and the areas of the city that have been built up by the Council of Order's efforts are remains of a past city which the current one is built on. History is dark on whether the old city was deliberately buried and built atop to 'clear the slate', or if Automata was simply built atop it without anyone from above ground the wiser. The city here isn't nearly as large as Automata proper, and for the most part dirt and debris has filled in behind and above the buildings, but the residents here keep tunnels and streets clear between the buildings so they can move around easily. This city is now referred to collectively as 'the complex', and houses most of the populace that follow the Council of Anarchy. If you're looking for a good night out, or to break a few laws, or more than a few laws - this is where you go.
Free Market
Nothin's free, don't get your hopes up. So called because here is about the only place where you can find even a trace of capitalism, the Free Market is a wide square roughly central to the Complex. In it can be found stalls, shacks and tents filled with illegal and exotic goods selling at whatever price the customer is willing to pay. Often enough, more of the ticket stubs from the Warehouse District above can be found here than can be found in the Business District as the buyers and sellers of these items bicker over their prices.
Visitor’s Volly
Best drinks in the city. And of course, the only place where you can get anything from Arborea. Visitor's Volly is actually a fairly friendly place for those new to the Complex to visit, though getting a room to stay here can be difficult if you're not the right sort. The owner of the place, is a alu-fiend named Verie. Verie is a mite picky about who she lets stay as she's had too many folks take an eye to peeling the innocents here. If you want to stay the night you ought to be one of three things - on the side of light, so weak you won't cause any trouble to any of the other goodies staying the night, or such a pity case she lets you stay anyway. Verie has a strict rule against Raksasha, though she doesn't mind if they stick around to drink or catch a sandwich - they can't stay the night under her roof. Amazingly enough and no ones quite sure of the dark behind it, no ones challenged her on this rule in recent memory. Verie will also toss you right out on your tuckus if she catches you casting a detect alignment spell of any kind on her turf, she doesn't take kindly to prejudgemental sorts.
The Sable Pelt aka "Fuzzy’s"
Directly across from Vistor's Volly is "Fuzzy's". Fuzzy's is owned by a raksasha, Lord Aarit Vineetshardul. A reclusive sort he generally spends his time observing the comings and goings of his ornate bar and inn from a balcony above the main floor. This balcony contains only one table, with two chairs and is accessible only by a stairwell in the back - in the Complex only the highest of the high, or richest of the rich are seen taking their meals with the Lord on this balcony. He's only dropped someone over the two story drop once... in recent memory. The Lord is called such out of respect for his personal abilities and power within Automata, but the dark of it is that no one truly believes this cat actually has any remaining title. If he did, he wouldn't be living in the Complex. Who he actually is, and how he lost his title is something he keeps quite mum on. And of course, "Fuzzy's" is not the official title of the place. I wouldn't suggest calling it that openly once you walk in the door.
The Council Chamber
At the bottommost part of the Complex, tucked between and around reinforcing steel girders and crowded with rubble is the chamber the Council of Anarchy prefers to use for meetings. Anyone can visit and listen in, or offer ideas, if they want - but the trip that far down in the Complex isn't nessecarily an easy one. Bribe money is recommended if you want to get close enough to the Council to be heard in this tight little chamber.
The Gate
The gate to Mechanus is right smack in the center of Automata, within the gate district. It is a large gear set on its side and is easily triggered by any individual walking up to it. The key is that permission must be given to use the portal. The rest of the surrounding complex in the gate district is dedicated to giving the correct authorization and creating records of the use of this portal. The district does have a wide gate which may be easily swung open, that leads directly onto Modron Way - this is designed for use in the future event of another modron march.
Rumors and Plots
The formians and the modrons have not been getting along in Automata. The modrons seem to feel the ants are an infestation on their territory and the ants seem to feel they have every right to be exactly where they are. While this is not yet to anything resembling open confrontation, the formians have been steadily working on integrating themselves into the greater “hive” of the city so as to secure their foothold here, and drones are becoming much more common in low level positions throughout the city’s bureaucracy.
In a related issue, since the formians for the most part live underground, the Council of Anarchy has been rather dismayed at the orderly infiltration into their territory. The formians have sealed off the tunnels beneath their district and effectively thrown the Council’s authority out of that area. They have been very precise about not sealing off tunnels that are not directly beneath their own territory, making it clear they consider the district above and below ground, their own. No one knows how deep the ants have gone or how many of them are there, since they are very protective of their home and rarely allow a guest more than a single layer deep within the Hive. There is some worry that if this trend continues, the gate town as a whole could shift, dropping the entire place - formian hive and all - right out into Mechanus itself.
The Council of Anarchy has been noticing certain trends within the office of Economic Affairs, which seem to favor a less kindly attitude within the office. Of late the Council asked for records to ‘disappear’ from the Clerk’s District so that they may study the trail of transactions, Aurach of the Council believes that there may be influence from the plane of Acheron behind certain recent pricing decisions that have been causing hardship within the city. If it is the raksasha, or something worse, the Council of Anarchy is certainly in no good position to do anything about it – but their jink may easily buy someone who is.
Lord Aarit makes a point of running a discrete operation, in which all are welcome to come and conduct their 'private' business - and the tables in his backrooms are favored meeting spots for some of the less savory organizations in the city that operate under the graces of the Council of Anarchy. Of late the Lightfingered House, one of the local gangs of thieves has not been welcome at Fuzzy's though - as the great cat is of the opinion that they have no intention of paying their bartab. He's interested in running a business, and considers their actions disrespectful. Rumor holds that if one inquires with the bar, opportunities for profit may be available in regards to the problem.