The City is a large island metropolis eternally shrouded in an impenetrable black fog. The fog limits visibility to roughly a mile in any direction. At one point in The City’s history, the bulk of the civilization lived above ground, in what is now referred to as the Upper City. Since the event known as the Descent, the population has moved into a vast, metropolitan underground cavern system, called the Lower City. Citizens of The City are governed by the Elites, an organization established to uphold the three Laws. The three Laws are ancient Laws established at The City’s founding.
The Descent
Much of The City’s history was lost in the Descent. The Descent is responsible for the fog. The only things which remain from the time before the Descent are the three Laws. Little is actually known about the event itself, but it is this event which caused the massive migration
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 14 - December 24th, 2014 underground. It was also near this time that Tower Ministries was constructed in the center of the island.
Elites
The Elites are the governing class of The City. Each Order operates as part of The City’s enforcement of the Laws. Though all citizens are able to become Elites, and large Elite
recruiting events are common throughout The City, there are minimum requirements for each Order. No citizen is ever conscripted into the Elites.
- Priests
The Order of Priests serves The City as government officials. They are the largest order and trained in a variety of subjects including accounting, business, medicine, education, human resources, politics, logistics, and project management. Each district has several Orders which manage the fluid function of the district’s economic and political system. Priests are the primary support network for Citizen Issues.
Their uniform consists of a black, knee-length robe with a green stole. Status stripes indicating rank are found at the tips of the stole.
Several special Orders of Priests are charged with specific tasks. The Order of
Knowledge maintains The City Network archive in Centrino District. The Order of Unity keeps Unity Garden in Centrino District. The Order of Ages instructs the students going through their Year of Understanding at the School of Ages in Centrino District. The Order of the Hand are trained in all of the medical practices of The City and offer those services to the public.
- Enforcers
The Order of Enforcers is The City’s police force. They are responsible for monitoring the population for potential violations of the Law. Predominately, Enforcers operate on a standard rotation as the rest of The City. They are stationed at fixed intervals with regular patrols. Occasionally, Enforcers are enlisted for specific missions to assist Guardians in the pursuit of Law breakers.
Enforcer uniforms are the most iconic of The City. They wear a two-tone grey, form- fitting military style jacket with folds in the front that form an “E”. They also wear a hexagon shaped hat and a belt which bear the yellow stripes of the Enforcers. Status stripes on the shoulders indicate rank.
- Wakers
The Order of Wakers is the most clandestine Order of Elites. They operate primarily out of Tower Ministries and rarely leave except to oversee projects or to collect initiates. The Wakers are trained in the sciences. They research and develop all of the technology used in The City. They also oversee the development of The City’s food source, using artificially created plants and animals to thrive in the environment created by the fog. Though the Wakers do not practice medicine, this being a task left to the Order of Priests, various divisions of the Wakers also address the science of medicine to develop new treatments.
Under Shadows Game Design Document 1.0
©2015 Caleb Duane Eno. All Rights Reserved. - 15 - December 24th, 2014 Waker uniforms are black, floor length robes with blue stripes running down the back from the shoulders. They wear thick hoods which obscure their faces while in public. Status stripes are found on the top of the shoulders.
- Guardians
The Order of Guardians are charged most specifically with enforcing the Third Law: Remain. While Guardians are sometimes called upon to oversee operations within the Lower City, the majority of their time is spent in the Upper City. They ride specially designed hover bikes to track down and kill anyone attempting to leave The City via The Bridge.
Guardian uniforms while operating in the Under City are very similar to those of the Elites with the red stripes on the hat and belt. On a more regular basis, Guardians wear bike garb, a form-fitting black jumpsuit with a black helmet meant to encourage precision while piloting a hover bike. Bike garb does not bear any status stripes.
- Judges
The Order of Judges is the ultimate authority in The City. They oversee the Tenants of the Law which interpret the Law for daily life. Judges of lower status are assigned regions within the various districts. They are in charge of judging those accused of breaking the Law. The highest ranked judges are granted the honor of serving on The Council of Judges. The Council is directly responsible for maintaining the Tenants and resides near the top of Tower Ministries.
Judge uniforms are many layered robes. They have hoods but only dawn them once judgment has been passed. The Council never leaves Tower Ministries and so is never seen by the general population.