Haven
“We built this place with our own two hands, and we’ll be damned if any faction takes it from us.”
Haven is a mid-sized, independent city-state located in the sparsely populated borderlands between the scrap deserts of the Barons and the ordered territories of the Aegis Corporation. It was founded by a coalition of disillusioned settlers, independent prospectors, and retired mercenaries who wanted a place to call their own, free from the wars and ideologies of the major powers.
Description
The city is built around a massive, pre-Cascade geothermal power plant, which provides it with a stable, if sometimes temperamental, source of energy. Its architecture is a pragmatic mix of repurposed industrial modules, 3D-printed ferrocement, and salvaged plating. Haven is dusty, bustling, and fiercely independent. It lacks the gleaming polish of an Aegis city or the orbital access of the Alliance, but it makes up for it with a strong sense of community and a stubborn refusal to bow to outsiders. Its primary exports are geothermal energy (sold to nearby settlements) and the rare minerals mined from the surrounding hills.
Key Locations
The Bounty Board Subsystem is here
The Stuttering Diode
A popular tavern and information hub, The Stuttering Diode is the social heart of Haven’s adventurer and mercenary population. It’s a place to find a drink, a rumor, or a job on the local Bounty Board. See The_Stuttering_Diode for more details.
Vault of the Silent Masters
Located in the foothills of the mountains that shelter the city, this hidden sanctuary is a revered place for the Wayfaring Samurai who pass through Haven. It is a place of training and contemplation, offering access to ancient, sand-boxed AIs. See Vault_of_the_Silent_Masters for more details.
”Scrap & Supply” General Store
- Proprietor: A cheerful, four-armed cyborg named Stitch.
- Description: The largest trade depot in Haven, “Scrap & Supply” is an organized chaotic sprawl of everything one might need for life on the frontier. One aisle might have preserved rations and water purifiers, while the next has high-spec capacitors and bundles of fiber-optic cable. Stitch has a reputation for being able to find almost any mundane item, but for a price. He doesn’t deal in weapons, but he sells all the components a good techie would need to build their own.
”The Last Stand” Armory
- Proprietor: A quiet, imposing woman named Kala, a former Aegis Legionnaire.
- Description: Kala’s shop is clean, orderly, and deadly serious. She specializes in practical, durable, and easily-repaired weapons and armor. You won’t find experimental plasma rifles here. Instead, you’ll find perfectly balanced combat knives, reliable magnetic carbines, and flak jackets reinforced with salvaged mech-plating. Kala is a master armorer, and for a high price, she will custom-fit armor or modify a weapon to a customer’s exact specifications. Her motto is “It works, every time.”
The Wanderer’s Rest
- Proprietor: An elderly couple, Elara and Ben, who have run the inn for forty years.
- Description: The Wanderer’s Rest is the largest and most reputable boarding house in Haven. It offers simple, clean rooms with a guaranteed hot shower and a stable power connection (a luxury on the frontier). The ground floor is a common room and kitchen that serves hearty, simple meals. It’s known as a safe, quiet place to rest between jobs. The rooms are protected by old-school magnetic locks, and Ben is surprisingly quick with the heavy stun-baton he keeps behind the front desk.