Sydney

Once the vibrant beating heart of Australia, Sydney in 2040 is a city on the brink of collapse. Its iconic skyline, once a marvel of human engineering, is now scarred by the shifting tides of global politics, corporate control, and the toxic presence of supernatural forces.

The Corrupt Megacity

Sydney is no longer a bustling metropolis but a vast and sprawling urban wasteland where the rich live in fortified skyscrapers, and the poor scavenge the forgotten streets below. In the years following the cataclysmic events that tore Australia apart, Sydney became a haven for corporate powers and criminal syndicates. The once-pristine beaches are now polluted with the remnants of corporate greed, while the city's famous landmarks are little more than decaying symbols of a forgotten age.

The Apex Consortium, a shadowy conglomerate that controls much of Sydney’s infrastructure, keeps the city’s corporate elites insulated from the violence and poverty that plague the lower levels. They run the seedy underbelly through a network of black-market dealings, making vast profits from both legitimate and illicit enterprises. At the top of the food chain, the Yakuza, backed by powerful corporate interests, conducts operations in the dead of night, dealing in everything from human trafficking to illegal biotech experiments.

Supernatural Presence

Sydney’s supernatural history runs deep, far beyond the scientific understanding of its people. The Great Below, a sprawling underground network of tunnels, catacombs, and hidden chambers, is rumored to house ancient artifacts and forbidden knowledge. These subterranean depths are said to be a place where ancient gods slumber—gods whose influence has slowly begun to seep into the streets above. Strange cults and rituals thrive in the shadows, offering sacrifices to these dormant beings in hopes of gaining power. One such cult, known as the Children of Dagon, seeks to awaken the sleeping gods and flood the city in an apocalyptic tide.

But there are darker forces at play—The Ratkin, a mutated, sentient race of humanoid rodents, have taken refuge in the sewer systems beneath the city. They thrive on the decay and corruption that permeates Sydney’s underbelly, seeking to disrupt the balance of power by sowing chaos and fear. The apex predators in the city have made uneasy alliances with these creatures, but no one truly understands the full extent of their influence.

The Struggle for Control

Sydney is locked in a power struggle between corporations, criminal syndicates, and those who refuse to bow to either side. The Chinese Triads, in collaboration with the Seoulpa Rings, have entrenched themselves in Sydney’s vast underworld. They run highly profitable operations in smuggling, gambling, and weapons trade, often clashing with the Yakuza for dominance over the city’s black-market economy. These groups are in an unspoken, precarious alliance with the Apex Consortium, but beneath the surface, rivalries simmer, and betrayal is always one step away.

Meanwhile, Sydnians, those who still remain loyal to the city’s original spirit, form resistance groups known as the Tides, pushing back against corporate corruption and supernatural threats alike. They are known to raid corporate strongholds, sabotage shipments of illicit goods, and expose the truth behind the syndicates’ dark dealings. Despite their noble cause, however, they are often met with overwhelming force, as the city’s security forces, under the control of the Apex Consortium, wage war against them.