Combat Zone (2020)
This article is about the area in Cyberpunk 2020. For other uses, see Combat Zone (disambiguation).The Combat Zone. [...] A burned-out sprawl of tenements, abandoned factories, boarded up offices and trashed shopping malls, occupied only by the desperate, the devious and the dead. During the light of day, the Zone sleeps under its industrial strength pall of smog. But at night, the Zone comes alive, for it is only then that it's most feared residents venture out of their sweltering sewer holes and rat-infested hovels to howl and prowl.[1]
— Dataterm description, Night City Sourcebook
The Combat Zone was a dangerous lawless area of Night City located in the South City District.
Overview
This combat zone was located in the eastern reaches of South Night City,[2] due south of the W. Gibson Memorial Freeway,[3] and not far from Central Night City, as shown on most chamber of commerce maps.[1]
Closing in from the north, for the first few miles, this section of the city was mostly made up of residential areas; buildings of nearly identical tract housing, interspersed with small businesses. Further south lied the area actually known as the Combat Zone, with its many blocks of burnt out wasteland. There was no clear definition between the residential area and the proper 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.
Night City'a combat zone was never safe. Although it was possible to freely get in and out of it, maybe more than once, but not even the high-rollers at the Hacienda Hotel casino would give you odds on it. Entire security teams had disappeared in the Zone, and not even the NCPD were willing to go down here anymore. The only professional organization that would enter this area was Trauma Team; and even then only with state of the art firepower backing them up.
The only information most people could get about day-to-day life in the Zone came from those who "came back to tell the tale," so to speak. People who were tough enough to survive the Combat Zone didn't really care about small talk, so much of the information was gathered in bits and pieces. What was well-known is that the Zone was home to the worst gangs in the city, including mondo cybered-up boosters, screaming dorphers, crazies, culties, killers, hate groups, and much more.[1][2]
Combat Cabb was the only taxi service in Night City that fully operated within the Combat Zone. Famous for their media franchise, fans of the TV series visited Night City in order to ride one of the cabs into the Zone just to say they had done it. Red Cab only offered up to five miles into this area before dropping someone off.[1][2]
History
1990s - 2010s
Night City's Combat Zone appeared sometime between 1998 and 2000. The corporations and organized crime of that time carved up the city's resources, which resulted in the NCPD becoming completely ineffective. Gangs, backed by corporate and Mob sponsors, established themselves in the suburbs south of Central Night City, those areas that had never had the chance to be added to the original urban plan. In time, these gangs became so entrenched that the only way to remove them would be to demolish the entire area and start from scratch.
There were many discussions on whether or not Night City should had walled it off, much like it had been done in Detroit's combat zone, with its ubiquitous twenty foot concrete walls. But in the end, no agency, either civil or corporate, was willing to take the initiative to began such a massive undertaking.
Over the following years, the Combat Zone kept growing, taking up a significant chunk of real estate in South Night City. NCPD "sweeps" were regular to control the worst problems, but the constant budget cuts made it impossible to keep the peace.[1][2]
2020s
By 2020, the Zone was a few miles of somewhat habitable tract housing interspaced with small businesses that eventually gave way to the burnt out wasteland this region was. Of note, the Combat Zone was seemingly growing yearly, and what was once marginally valuable housing one year could often become another pile of junk in the Zone the following year.
It was pretty well accepted that there was some form of hierarchy among the combat gangs there, with the Blood Razors being at the top around 2020. It was also rumored that something called "RazorBall" was played at an abandoned ice-skating rink, once a month, and had a great turnout among the gangs.[2][1]
It is unknown what happened to this area, but after the Fourth Corporate War, South Night City and much of its surroundings had fully turned into a large Combat Zone.[4]
Locations
- Mediterranean Lodge
- Royale Apartments
- RazorBall rink[1]
Notable Gangs
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 PONDSMITH, M. Night City Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1991. (pp.10–11,34,39,171–172)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Countdown to the Dark Future (#45,#46,#58-#61,#178,#244)
- ↑ PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk 2013: Welcome to Night City. Berkeley, CA, R. Talsorian Games, 1988. (p.9)
- ↑ PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2020. (p.299)
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