Pridelands
Ancient gods and modern gangs compete for the souls of the Pridelands. This vast southern region encompasses the former territories of Mexico, the Yucatan, and the Caribbean coast, a landscape where pre-fall Aztec and Mayan traditions have been revived, bastardized, and weaponized by post-fall warlords and cult leaders. Oil wealth funds the violence. Cultural pride justifies it.
Sinking City dominates the center, a massive urban ruin built on ground that its own inhabitants drained into collapse generations ago. Pre-fall buildings have been renovated into castillos, fortified gang strongholds where rival factions wage endless war for territory. To the east, Rising City fills a flooded basin with poisonous water, its small islands connected by oar boats piloted by Lake Rats who control the purification pumps that keep Sinking City alive.
Beyond the scrap walls, the Oil Fields produce the crude that drives the Prideland economy. Small settlements cluster around drilling operations where freedom comes at the price of infected hordes, gang sabotage, and frontier isolation. A train line connects the fields to Sinking City through Iron Graveyard Station, a scrap trading hub built by a former slave.
To the north, Teotihuacan's ancient temple complex houses a Tribe of Seasons that rotates leadership by celestial body. Across the Yucatan Wastes, the coastal tyranny of Calli festers under the King on the Coast, who enforces his rule through heart extraction and bastardized Aztec tradition. Off the eastern coast, Cozumel clings to island life, its fishing and brewing industries threatened by storms that kill a tenth of the population every few years.
No single ruler commands the Pridelands. Power is fractured between gangs, self-appointed kings, and factions that cooperate only when the alternative is mutual destruction. The Federales attempt to maintain order. The Prideland Cartel profits from disorder. Between them, everyone else survives as best they can in a land where oil is worth more than blood, and blood flows freely.
Sinking City dominates the center, a massive urban ruin built on ground that its own inhabitants drained into collapse generations ago. Pre-fall buildings have been renovated into castillos, fortified gang strongholds where rival factions wage endless war for territory. To the east, Rising City fills a flooded basin with poisonous water, its small islands connected by oar boats piloted by Lake Rats who control the purification pumps that keep Sinking City alive.
Beyond the scrap walls, the Oil Fields produce the crude that drives the Prideland economy. Small settlements cluster around drilling operations where freedom comes at the price of infected hordes, gang sabotage, and frontier isolation. A train line connects the fields to Sinking City through Iron Graveyard Station, a scrap trading hub built by a former slave.
To the north, Teotihuacan's ancient temple complex houses a Tribe of Seasons that rotates leadership by celestial body. Across the Yucatan Wastes, the coastal tyranny of Calli festers under the King on the Coast, who enforces his rule through heart extraction and bastardized Aztec tradition. Off the eastern coast, Cozumel clings to island life, its fishing and brewing industries threatened by storms that kill a tenth of the population every few years.
No single ruler commands the Pridelands. Power is fractured between gangs, self-appointed kings, and factions that cooperate only when the alternative is mutual destruction. The Federales attempt to maintain order. The Prideland Cartel profits from disorder. Between them, everyone else survives as best they can in a land where oil is worth more than blood, and blood flows freely.
Geography
The Pridelands encompass a varied landscape including irradiated wastes, oil fields, coastal areas, jungle, and limestone terrain. The central feature is Sinking City, the massive urban center built on the ruins of Mexico City, suffering from catastrophic subsidence caused by generations of over-pumping the water table. To the east, the Rising City basin fills a flooded depression with poisonous water, its small islands serving as living areas connected by boat traffic.
Outside the scrap walls, the Oil Fields stretch across dusty wilderness dotted with derricks and scattered settlements. Teotihuacan occupies ancient temple grounds in the northern wastes. The Yucatan Wastes separate the mainland from Calli on the coast, an irradiated wilderness that makes overland travel treacherous. Off the eastern coast, the island of Cozumel sits approximately eleven miles long and eight miles wide, shrinking slowly under the force of tropical storms. To the west, Tee-Ju-Anna marks the border where Prideland territory meets the cultural influence of Vegasia. The climate ranges from hot and arid in the interior wastes to tropical and storm-prone along the coasts.
Outside the scrap walls, the Oil Fields stretch across dusty wilderness dotted with derricks and scattered settlements. Teotihuacan occupies ancient temple grounds in the northern wastes. The Yucatan Wastes separate the mainland from Calli on the coast, an irradiated wilderness that makes overland travel treacherous. Off the eastern coast, the island of Cozumel sits approximately eleven miles long and eight miles wide, shrinking slowly under the force of tropical storms. To the west, Tee-Ju-Anna marks the border where Prideland territory meets the cultural influence of Vegasia. The climate ranges from hot and arid in the interior wastes to tropical and storm-prone along the coasts.
History
The Pridelands emerged from the ruins of the old world with no unifying leader and no single vision. What filled the vacuum was a collision of pre-fall cultural memory and post-fall pragmatism. Aztec and Mayan traditions, preserved in fragments and oral histories, were revived and adapted by communities seeking identity in the wreckage. The King on the Coast took those traditions furthest, building a feudal tyranny in Calli on bastardized ancient law. Teotihuacan's Tribe of Seasons built something closer to the original spirit, rotating leadership by celestial body in a system that has endured since they resettled the temples.
Sinking City grew into the region's largest urban center by default: it was the biggest ruin with the most resources. The castillo system of fortified buildings evolved as gangs carved the city into territories. When the water table collapsed from over-pumping, Rising City's basin flooded, creating the poisonous lake that now supplies Sinking City's drinking water through a purification process controlled by the Lake Rats.
The discovery of oil in the fields outside the walls transformed the Pridelands from a scattered collection of settlements into an economic force. Factions that had fought over territory began fighting over crude, and the train line connecting the Oil Fields to the city became a lifeline worth killing to control. The region has never been unified and shows no sign of changing. Unity would require someone strong enough to break every gang, every warlord, and every self-appointed king, and the Pridelands have always been better at making those than removing them.
Sinking City grew into the region's largest urban center by default: it was the biggest ruin with the most resources. The castillo system of fortified buildings evolved as gangs carved the city into territories. When the water table collapsed from over-pumping, Rising City's basin flooded, creating the poisonous lake that now supplies Sinking City's drinking water through a purification process controlled by the Lake Rats.
The discovery of oil in the fields outside the walls transformed the Pridelands from a scattered collection of settlements into an economic force. Factions that had fought over territory began fighting over crude, and the train line connecting the Oil Fields to the city became a lifeline worth killing to control. The region has never been unified and shows no sign of changing. Unity would require someone strong enough to break every gang, every warlord, and every self-appointed king, and the Pridelands have always been better at making those than removing them.
