Combat Zone
This article is about the article is about the overview. For other uses, see Combat Zone (disambiguation).A Combat Zone (also spelled as combat zone) is a term used to describe mostly abandoned, half-destroyed, crime-ridden areas of urban sprawl. These Zones appeared during the first half of the 21st century, and by 2077 many of them still continued to be present.
Overview
A Combat Zone refers to any urban area which has been mostly abandoned by the local government, and where law enforcement agencies have limited to non-existent power, making Combat Zones lawless "no go" areas where gangs are usually in control of large territories. For these reasons, traveling into or through Combat Zones is not recommended.
These Zones essentially represent an unspoken treaty, where municipal and corporate forces won't bother gangs and criminal groups as long as most of the violence and bad behavior stays within the designated area. Most Combat Zones are born from poor communities where policing became too expensive or dangerous. Cities first ramped down law enforcement activities in those areas, then ceased them altogether as municipal budgets tightened and ran to deficit. Those unfortunate enough to live in such areas found themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty and violence from which few can escape.[1]
During the late 1990s, Detroit's Combat Zone was walled off with ubiquitous twenty foot concrete abutments, and was declared a minimum security state prison.
Night City's 2020 Combat Zone used to lie somewhere in South Night City, with its blocks and blocks of burnt out wasteland. There was no clear definition between the residential area and the combat zone, as things just tended to degrade gradually, getting worse and worse until the neighborhood was finally at the level of a post holocaust hellhole. By 2045, much of this area became known as the Old Combat Zone. From that place, during the Time of the Red, it spread out into a series of Combat Zones that took much of the southern areas of the central city.[2][3]
Blocks
A One Block, Two Block, etc. is the slang term used to refer to those neighborhood blocks near a Combat Zone. As the Zones grow or shrink, the numbered Blocks also change, with a Block Two transforming into a Block Three if the Zone gets smaller, or a Block Two transforming into a Block One if the Zone gets bigger. The number means how far from a Combat Zone the block is. A Block Two is two blocks away from the Zone for example.[4]
Known Combat Zones
North America
- New York City
- Manhattan (2020)[5]
- Unnamed zone in Chicago (2020)
- Unnamed zone in Detroit (2020)
- Night City
- Combat Zone (2020)
- Combat Zones (2045)
- Pacifica (2077)
Europe & Middle East
- Unnamed zone in Istanbul (2020)
- Unnamed zone in Marseilles (2020)[6]
- Berlin
- Pankow (2077)[7]
- London
- East End (2020)
Asia
Oceania
References
- ↑ Countdown to the Dark Future (#58-#64)
- ↑ MACDONALD, M. Home of the Brave. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1992. (p.123)
- ↑ PONDSMITH, M. Night City Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1991. (p.171)
- ↑ PARKER, J. et al., Data Pack. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2021. (p.2)
- ↑ MOSS, W. Land of the Free. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1994. (p.11)
- ↑ RAMOS, J. Eurosource Plus. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1995. (p.36)
- ↑ CHIBA 11
- ↑ BORELLI, A. Edgerunners Inc. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1995. (p.53)
- ↑ PASQUARETTE, C. Pacific Rim Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1994. (p.122)