The place you’ve been told about is in a bombed-out condo in former Williamsburg, Brooklyn: part burnt husk, part flourishing anarchist commune, and secretly, part Sentient refuge. The condo, nicknamed The Tower, consists of floor after floor of squats, hydroponics and vertical farms, tent cities and DIY labs, bristling with antennae, solar panels and scavenged parts and is home to hundreds of humans and anthroids alike.
And on the 20th floor, a place called ALLOY: an under-the-radar club frequented by all manner of Sentient sympathizers of one kind or another, owned and operated by Sentients, where one can find a wide array of unique experiences, from experimental electronic music to mind-altering metaviruses.
Williamsburg in 2071 is, at first glance, a war-torn wasteland: empty shells of towering apartment buildings, glaring holes punched through by bullets, missiles and RPGs, dust and debris left over from the deadly conflicts of decades past. But underneath the veneer of crumbling decay, there is life—vibrant, self-organizing life.
The Tower shows little outward sign of habitation unless you look closely, spotting the arrays of DIY solar panels and greenery sprouting from vertical farms. The residents of The Tower try hard to stay hidden from the NYPD, though for the most part the police have little interest in this part of the city.
The ground floor features a colorful plethora of murals, paintings and tags and an open construction lift that travels up and down along the side of the building (the original elevators having long since fallen into disrepair).
Most of the floors are occupied by tent cities and elaborate (even ingenious and beautiful) communal kitchens, living and recreation areas, and hydroponics and vertical farms.
The condo is inhabited by a wide range of people—human and anthroid—from different places and backgrounds, though most are Nation of New York natives. Ages span from newborns to the elderly and everything in between.
On the 4th Floor, the Railyard Collective meets regularly to discuss community projects and catch up on local happenings.
On the 21st Floor, you can find a camp of refugee Sentient anthroids, trying to scrape together a life of their own, huddling around what available power sources they can find.
As this is mainly an anarchist commune, the PCs can travel freely wherever they want and will generally be welcomed as long as they are respectful and kind.
At the lift landing on the 20th floor, Martin the Bouncer stands outside a plain, unmarked door. He’ll let most anyone in unless they’re cops, soldiers, anyone too inebriated or violent-looking, or anyone corporate-looking—especially if they have to do with anthroid manufacture.
Inside Alloy is a deep pulse of continuous electronic music and all manner of lights, fog, lasers and holographic projectors. Immediately upon entering, consider distributing 1 or 2 Emotion Levels to the PCs.
Alloy, the owner and bartender, and Alana, his friend, are highly attuned (and welcoming) to newcomers and will quickly notice and greet the PCs.
The Sentient club owner / main bartender. Sells alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks to humans and Image to anthroids.
Full chrome, but with more than a few scratches and dings. Alloy has seen practically everything you can expect to see at an underground anthroid club—and quite a few unexpected things.
Alloy is always happy to meet new Sentients but is understandably cautious about drawing attention to his establishment—he once narrowly escaped a Division 5 Sanctor by playing dead in a pile of anthroid parts and remains secretly shaken by the experience. As a result, he greets newcomers enthusiastically but not without a hint of skepticism. He worries that Division 5 could find out about his place any day and force them even further underground.