The city that is also a corporation.
Mathersport is run purely for profit, and every citizen is shareholder and employee. Most everything here is fresh, new, and shiny; the city is just decades old, and the Mathersport Corporation only recently purchased full independence from Alba.
Though Mathersport’s citizens are primarily recent transplants from Alba, most of their ancestry is from Mavidris, the land on which Mathersport was built less than a generation ago. There is an uneasy dynamic between the “Loyal Sons of Mavidris” / “Complacents” who have lived in Mavidris for dozens of generations without leaving, and the “Dispers” (Diaspora) / “Builders” who immigrated to Alba seeking opportunity then (generations later) returned to found Mathersport. They share the same race, the same heritage, and even the same ancestors (past four generations or so) but their values couldn’t be more different.
Any “Builders” who become unemployed are banished to join the “Complacents” outside of the city. Only employee-citizens are permitted to live within the city; in fact, the unemployed are occasionally killed as an example.
The city uses the most modern and efficient street lighting, architectural styles, and devices. Most of the city is taken up by factories, warehouses, port facilities, and construction sites. Though Mathersport values innovation and modern technology, it only cares for that which is profitable or efficient. There’s very little actual tinkering or research going on here, but economic and financial innovation is paramount.
Mathersport Citizen Heritage: Recent immigration (5th Wave) from other regions of Terra Trema, especially Alba. The city’s founders were descendants of Mavidri peoples (Mavidris is the region Mathersport now controls) who emigrated to Alba then returned generations later. All Mavidri peoples (the culturally opposite “Loyal Sons of Mavidris” who never left Mavidris, and the “Builders” who returned from Alba) were 2nd Wave Vasa Lothrans. Mathersport has a secretive gnomish minority. (Origins unknown, but thought to involve teleportation.)
Population: 2 (45x) Mathersport's population of employed citizens is growing rapidly, both from external immigration, and as the local "Loyal Sons of Mavidris" join the ranks of the "Builders" by gaining jobs in the city.
Cultural Influence: 2. Culture is not an easy commodity to buy or sell. Mathersport's council of vice-princes has no interest in investing in cultural production at this time.
Economic Influence: 17. Every merchant in Terra Trema is wondering: 1. where this city came from all of a sudden, and 2. how can they get a piece of this money-pie? Mathersport is both city-state and corporation, and the Corporation is currently raking in profits. Through shrewd trades and financial maneuvering, the city's founders built a small trading house into an economically mighty city-state. To be fair, much of this growth happened in Alba before Mathersport was even founded; the Mathers Corporation was a powerful force when the founders claimed (stole?) their ancestral lands and built a city-state there.
Mathersport has cornered the market on a half-dozen commodities and floods the global economy with cheaply-manufactured goods, putting many foreign businesses on the defensive. The city has some factories, but its vice-princes prefer to outsource simple production work when possible, to save money on wages. Mathersport consumes and exports the crops and resources of Mavidris, which it has claimed.
Profit is the only motivation that matters to the ruling elite. Most citizen-employees don't share this opinion, but the specter of unemployment (which brings exile, or possibly execution) drives them to be competitive and productive above all else. All citizens are well-paid, and there are no poor people in Mathersport. At all. No, really. Wages are high, and the unemployed are exiled or executed, unless they are wealthy enough to pay a leisure-time tax. It's not the most empathetic way to run things (in fact, it's blatantly heartless) but it keeps the city clean, maintenance costs low, and profits high. Therefore it is, obviously, the right thing to do. The vice-princes agree, and so should you.
The government of Alba is kicking itself over selling Mathersport its independence. They should have been charged more money! They should never have been let go! We should reconquer their new city! No, we should assassinate their princes! No, blockade their harbor! No, just invest in them! There has been great discord in the Albish advisory parliament as of late. Alba lost many of its greatest business minds when the Mathers Corporation left the restrictive environment of Alba to build their own city-state.
Military Influence: 10. The simplest, easiest job in Mathersport is "soldier". It's looked down on, but it's vastly preferable to unemployment, and so when an employee-citizen isn't cut out for other work, he or she is recommended to the army. The Army is run for profit, and could be considered Terra Trema's largest mercenary force. It also engages in home-defense, pacifying the "Loyal Sons of Mavidris" who live in the countryside, and guarding its many shipments and caravans. Another important function of the Mathersport Military is serving as a deterrent against Alba reneging on Mathersport's Deed of Independence. The contingencies for Albish aggression range from financial pacification to a meticulously planned invasion of Alba itself. (The Mathers corporation still has holdings in Alba – including a sizable security force and a secret harbor.)
Many of the "Loyal Sons of Mavidris" have, upon discovering how well-paid Mathersport's soldiers are, opted to join the army of the hated "Disper" city-folk. This is one of the main reasons Mathersport can not only survive the hostilities of the disgruntled rural Mavidri, but also control the countryside of Mavidris and harness its resources. It essentially buys off the countryside's young, aggressive men and sends them to foreign lands to fight mercenary campaigns, or (more commonly) as guards for trade caravans and ships. Battalions assigned to home-defense duty are exclusively loyal city-born "Builders".
Defense: 6. Large defensive structures are expensive; Mathersport builds only what it needs. It is keenly aware of Albish naval might, and it has more than a few powerful ballistae and catapults pointed at its gated harbor.
Mathersport's vice-princes are also concerned about the "Complacents" in the countryside, who blather on about stolen land blah blah revenge blah blah. Mathersport has ways of letting them blow off steam without causing any real harm to the Corporation. (For example, buying them off or convincing them to join Matherport’s mercenary army.) In addition, they have built two rings of inexpensive but efficient flame-treated wooden walls around the city. Not sufficient defense against a powerful and organized army, but good enough to keep the angry mobs in the countryside, where they belong. Mathersport places similar defensive wooden walls around its key holdings (mines, lumber mills, factory-farms, etc.) in rural Mavidris.
Mathersport Cultural Stats: (Note: applies only to “Builders” and others living INSIDE the city.)
Government: Corporatocracy: Mathersport Incorporated. All citizens are employees and shareholders. Led by a Committee of Vice-Princes.
Most Common Criminal Acts: career sabotage, identity theft, piracy, fraud, embezzlement, being unemployed and failing to pay the leisure time tax.
Justice: Fairly severe and autocratic/corporate. No death (except for non-citizens – and unemployed are non-citizens), but LOTS of demotion and exile.
Climate: Mediterranean / Coastal India. Warm to hot, seasonal rains, very mild winter.
Nights: Efficient lighting system in place. Some citizens work night shifts.
Food: xxxx
Clothing: xxxx
Festivals & Holidays: xxxx
City Appearance & Architecture: Cost-effective but lavish. The Vice Princes and the Builders Council value function over form – but “impress newcomers with our vast wealth and modern ideas” is an important function of many buildings.
Common Sounds & Smells: xxxx
Governance Building, Iconic Structures & Landmarks: Governance Corporation Headquarters, Insurance Tower, Tower of Accounting, the Mint, Shipyards 1-4, Temple of Industry, Temple of Recreation, the Career Center, Vice-Princes' Dormitories.
Districts, Sectors, Zones, Regions, Wards, and other big places: The Palisades, Warehouse Districts 1-6, Factory Districts 1-3, Morale District, Builders Yards, Cargo Piers, Small Vessel Piers, the Maintenance Tunnels (very clean, orderly sewers). Outside the City: "Complacents" Encampment.
Produces, Exports: Wool, fruit, potatoes, weapons, financial products, contraptions, wine, ships, shipping, logistics expertise
Demands, Imports: leather, cold-weather fruit, stone, all metals and gems, tapestries, luxury goods, hats, dyes, expertise (human resources)
Satellite Cities & Towns: xxxx
Highly optional game-related or story-related material:
Important People: xxxx
Plot Hooks:
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