Nalaam-Ur, The City of Steel

(An idea for a BLAME! style RPG.)

NALAAM-UR
THE CITY OF STEEL

It all dates back to the forgotten ages of humanity. Decadent and proud we were back then, bending the backs of the less fortunate to do our work. The Kobold-kin, the Orc, the beast, the Elf and Dwarf. We drove them out of their forest and mountain homes into waiting shackles. We could not build forever though, and soon enough we fell apart to war against one another. Of the warring factions there was a powerful sect of Metallic Magi, specializing in works of steel. Their greatest idea was a great weapon to be built above the world in the airless void above. And so it was built, fully almost a fourth the size of the world. And they struck their foes, and a battle was fought. All sides lost that day, as Nalaam-Ur, the City of Steel, plummeted to the earth.

The machine struck our world with such force to push it many miles down into the mantle itself, blasting off the other side of the world with wondrous and horrible dances of fire. From what we know, only those within the City of Steel at impact survived, and of those, the vast majority are what were known as the "Slaves" of the Metal Magi.

Nalaam-Ur
Terrestrial Megapolis
Population- approx. 17,000,000
Human 1%, Fey 15%, Kobold-kin 20%, Orc/Ogre-kind 35%, Dwarves 3%, Gnomes 2%, Elves 4%, Other 30%

The world of Nalaam-Ur looks like an orb with a titanic white cube embedded in one side, spanning almost half the planet. The other side of the planet resembles a gouged out valley of volcanoes and methane seas.

Humans, rare as they are, are hated by all others as the scapegoats of all ill will. The most expensive resource of the land is a rare one: Dirt. Sold by the handful, all fruit and vegetables are rare and expensive delicacies. Meat, whether by cannibalism or the cooking of beasts of beef and pork, is also high priced. Currency is measured in dirt, barter and seeds.

Settlements are few and far apart, and usually mobile.

Ex. Places
Pipes are filled with either Oil, Water Vapor, Liquid Water or Chemicals.
Galleries of pipes and valves
Hangars of cyclopean machines long dead
Great pistons slamming rythmically against gaskets in the floor or ceiling, covered in oil. Or, resting pistons.
Lakes of Oil or chemicals.

Ex. Creatures
Chromites- Swarms of tiny metal beetles that swarm over everything and eat all biological matter.
Lumites- Rare gnat-like creatures that are frightened easily by quick movement and loud noise. As a reaction to fear, their wings create sparks, possibly igniting any nearby flammable substance.
Minotaurs- Rulers of the Deep Mazes
Polyps- Vaguely Biological masses of moss-like growth and bubbling matter that cling to the surfaces of the city in the high up areas above the atmosphere. As one ascends the many floors the air gets thinner and life more sparse. The pinnacle of the city is a great citadel of gleaming silver, undamaged in the slightest. It is said the King of Steel still rules all metallic things from this citadel.
Dryads- Substitute tree for a pillar or a polyp mass.
Nymphs- 2 Types: Oil & Earth, Oiads and Taiads. Oiads have skin of pitch black, and feed on those they drown in their oily demesnes. Taiads tend to well-hidden gardens of plants and dirt, gathering energies to make the crowning achievement of any Taiads life: a Tree.

Ex. City
Firstbreak- A mobile city of steelsmiths and merchants, Firstbreak follows the dirt, preserving and storing it for sale and use. The town is ruled by an Ogre known as Tural.

Silia's Fall- A great chamber, many miles around, sits in some forgotten part of the city. With a ceiling over 500ft tall, Silia's Fall is most notable for the colossal tree reaching out from roof to dirt floor. Its great roots are said to extend many miles all around and the Nymph who created the tree, Silia, is said to have become one with her creation.