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Old 09-16-2021, 02:02 PM   #1
Flaco76
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Irving, TX
Default Campaign Idea for Cyberpunk, Space campaigns

So as the Tech Levels advance from 7 and beyond there is going to be a lot of redundant equipment and systems left over. Items too valuable to simply toss into a landfill but too expensive to recycle or maintain. As they are replaced or sold off they are sent to secondary markets, places that do not have the infrastructure or wealth needed to maintain the latest systems. Eventually they end up in the 'Yards'. Cities and settlements built out of and for the dismantling, repairing, archiving, recycling old technology. Everything from appliances to autos to androids to computers to vehicles and (decommissioned) weapons end up here.

Why do they still exist in a age when you can print out or forge new products? The first reason is cost both in time and material, since some parts may require specialized manufacturing or rare materials. All you need to do in many yards is have a permit (or a forged permit), pay for the part or equipment and you take it out.

The second reason is availability. Some corps or countries may restrict or ban certain parts or equipment to be manufactured to create a dependency on updates or licenses from the Mother Country or Home Office. Other equipment or parts may be for items that the Home Office deems dangerous. A lot of military surplus shows up in the yards that has not been decommissioned along with various medical and industrial waste products that have not be disposed of safely.

The third is lost knowledge. As time moves on, manuals and technical designs are lost or corrupted. Designers, manufacturers, manufacturers and engineers die and so the knowledge is lost. Sometimes the only way to build new equipment or parts is to locate old parts, manufacturing equipment and reverse engineer it.

So what started out as a city or village in a Cyberpunk or Near Future campaign over time could become a planet or system with communities, cultures and creature as diverse as any fantasy dungeon. With traps, treasure, curses, lost tomes and all manner of weird and unusual things.
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