The City

**The City** is the name of the futuristic cyberpunk setting for the campaign Horizon. Though it was once the size of a normal city (probably Cairo), the City has grown to span the entire surface of what was formerly called "the Earth", and has expanded to include the sky as well as the underground (also called the Lower City) .

## **History**

> *“The CEOs of AmunTech… recognized the burden that a growing humanoid population placed upon the land and put into motion their vision of a happy and healthy future. They began with… the Upper City… a city that spread from its original location to encompass those around it, then further, across the land, and across the seas. When the only thing left was the sky, they began work on the construction of the SunSphere.” - The Ministry of Thoth*
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### **AmunTech Inc.**

*Main article: AmunTech Incorporated*
Much of, if not all of, day-to-day life in the city is shaped by a tech corporation known as AmunTech Inc. Because of the extent of the company’s involvement, its major title-holding managers are seen by some as god-like. Among the most famous of AmunTech leaders are Geb, Nut, Ra and Atum, Thoth, Khonsu, Osiris, and Horus.

## **Time**

**The Nightly Reset**
Each night, at precisely 12am, consciousness ceases in every humanoid in the City. It resumes 6 hours later at precisely 6am, just as the Sun crosses the horizon to begin its daily ascent. No matter where someone ends their day, they begin anew from their designated starting position (colloquially referred to as a “spawn point”).

**Glitches**
It is possible on very rare occasions to avoid the Nightly Reset. Because of how rare this occurrence is, information about Glitches (and what creates them) is relegated to rumor, and many doubt their existence.

**Travel**
Spawn points function exactly like bedrooms; it is possible to reserve a spawn point ahead when traveling or grab one in a hurry in certain locations. There are spacing restrictions on the minimum distance between spawn points to ensure each person has a suitable area to wake in.

**The Calendar**
*Main article: Horizon Calendar*

An Upper Metropolitan year lasts 365 days over the course of 13 months. The first 12 months are 30 days long and are made up of 3 10-day long weeks, while the 13th month, Bikuji, consists of just 5 days.

## **Climate and Geography**

### **The Upper City**

Due to the SunSphere, the temperature of the Upper City remains mild and predictable throughout the year, with slight rises during the height of Emergence and slight falls during the beginning of Inundation and the end of Harvest. Snowfall is confined to designated regions in the less dense parts of the City.

**The Nile**
The Nile has been remade into a massive, 100-mile-wide channel that bisects the City into two hemispheres. The two hemispheres are referred to as the Western Bank and the Eastern Bank, with the names assigned such that the Giza Towers are the 3 highest points on the Western Bank. Each bank is subdivided into three specialized zones called Upper, Middle, and Lower "mintiqas" (MQs), which are further divided into districts called "jaras"or "taratans" depending on their size.

**The Western Bank**
The Western Bank of the Nile is the primary setting for the campaign Horizon. This bank is home to the three Giza Towers as well the Flood District, a colloquial term for the most interior part of the Mid West mintiqa, which is overrun by flood waters during the Yearly Flood.

**The Eastern Bank**
The Eastern Bank of the Nile is assumed to be composed of features that are largely similar to the Western Bank, though it lacks the distinctive Giza Towers and Flood District. The buildings closest to the Nile are all the same height and seem to form an unyielding wall across the Nile.

### **The Lower City**

> *Exactly 168 years after birth, you are awarded the privilege of entering the Lower City. Managed by the Office of Osiris, the Lower City is said to contain some of the greatest wonders of our land. Those among us who have given back the most to the land are sent by way of the beautiful Nile to the glorious Hall of Maat; the rest of us, of course, are no less lucky, as their journey to the Lower City takes them through some of the most gorgeous caves the land has to offer. - The Ministry of Thoth*
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Very little is known about the Lower City aside from what is proclaimed in legends. It is the home of the Hall of Maat, a glorious judgment hall said to be visited by only the most worthy during their Retirement, and the Office of Osiris, which manages the affairs of the Lower City and traditionally has very little Upper City presence.

## **Satellites**

*Main article: The SunSphere*

**The Sun**
The Sun is a great ball of glowing neon light that is said to be "brought across the sky" by Ra and Atum, them of two names. It ticks rhythmically, shining high above the Nile at noon and hitting the horizon at exactly 6am and 6pm each and every day, each and every season, each and every year, regardless of where in the City one might be.

**The Moon**
When the Sun is not up, the Moon becomes visible. The lunar cycle begins on the first day of each month with the appearance of the Moon on the eastern horizon. Each night, Khonsu, the co-minister of the Ministry of Thoth, ticks the Moon methodically through exactly 1/14th of the sky until it disappears below the western horizon at exactly 12am on the 15th day of the month. In the evening of the 16th day, the Moon rises again on the western horizon, and ticks through its orbit until it disappears below the eastern horizon at exactly 12am on the 30th day of the month. Evidence suggests that the Moon has not always behaved this way, and exactly why AmunTech crafted the SunSphere to behave in this way is the subject of some Upper Metropolitan academics.

## **Languages**

The primary language spoken in the City is formally Common, though other languages are quite prevalent throughout the city. Undercommon features heavily as an informal alternative to Common; and some say that languages like Goblin or Elvish bear some resemblance to languages of old.

## **Races**

Main article: Races of Horizon
Most inhabitants of the City are humans, though small populations of other humanoid races (such as elves and goblins) are not uncommon throughout. With the rise of inexpensive cybernetic augmentations, however, more and more humans are taking on less-than-human appearances, and select populations have been given nicknames based on the style of augmentation.

## **Trivia**

- The City is inspired by the album *Ulysses Dies at Dawn* by the Mechanisms.