Imagine a city

To build this campaign from the ground up, the first step is to start with a city. A city not unlike the Denver Metro area. A relatively dense inner core, but surrounded on 3 sides by a vast amount of modern suburbia.

To the west of the city is a large mountain range, semi-populated, with only 1 major travelling route up into the mountains. To the south is some foothills, littered with some formerly exclusive gated suburbs, then some smaller bedroom communities, with a major highway to travel on. To the East is plains, lots of ranch land and some small farming communities. To the North is a mix of ranch land and foothills.

There is a major semi-elevated highway travelling east. Along with a variety of county roads connecting ranches and farms. It will all seem familiar to a group from El Paso County waking up near that major highway. However, as they begin to travel west they will being to notice the subtle differences.

The road signs will be in a familiar language that they will determine to be Latin. The architecture of the farm building they first see will be different from what they are used to. When they hear the first communication from the natives it will be in Latin, not any modern language the characters will know.

They will discover the city name is Mons Montis Porta, or Mons Montis as it's citizens call it. The city is a major gateway for the locals into the mountains, and on the other side of the large range is a lush land leading to the sea. But that is a discovery for another day.

Unlike our cities built on grids, this city design was originally a wheel and spokes, then gradually more wheels of varying sizes, getting connected. There is no linear design, save for a few major elevated highways. There is a major river bisecting the city north to south, with creeks and canals leading off it.

Most citizens live, work and play within their Affinitas (the wheels mentioned above). Each of the seeming suburbs will be found to be separate areas.

However, the outlying areas, including the ranches and most of the outer suburbs, are abandoned. Emptied in the face of some major disaster. So there is a swath of these empty houses and communities, left to decay, and in some cases populated by squatters.

These are the main features the characters will encounter as they make their way into the city core. My goal is to establish an atmosphere and theme for what the characters will see. It is not to map everything out, there is no reason to do that. The players will get their chance to develop in their own mind how it all looks and feels.