Shadowrun Sprawls

Atomix Voodoo Fast-food Café

Atomix Voodoo Fast-food Cafe is actually a prototypical fast-food stand positioned on the corner of two medium sized thoroughfares in a very tough part of the Sprawl. Its name derives from its two owners: a dwarf named Atomix and a large Jamaican male named Voodoo. A few tables are out front, and usually a few rather mean looking individuals are always in line buying something. Actually, the fast-food stand is a front for Atomix and Voodoo’s real business --- arms and artifacts sales. Atomix is a world class armorer and mechanic, while Voodoo is a very adept houngan.
The front works because Voodoo is actually also a great short order cook. The cafe has two menus, the regular and the special.
If anybody orders from the regular menu they get food.
But the special menu are all just code names for arms or artifacts. The price is 100 times the price listed on the special menu. Example: An extra Banger super-Spicy Submarine sandwich (Panther Cannon) with extra hot sauce (phosphorus grenade) three crunchy meatballs (fragment grenades) three orders of Long Fries (three boxes of sniper ammo) and two Czech coffees (two kilos of C4 explosive).
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Beth’s Cafe

The first Beth’s opened in Seattle in 1954. It started off as a little hole-in the wall, and worked it’s way throughout the entire building, and into the buildings next to it. Now it takes up a bit less than half a block. Beth’s is unique in the fact that it still has the atmosphere of the late 1940s-50s. You can still sit at a stool at the bar and watch the cooks make grease fly, you can sit in a booth with your friends and order one of their world-famous 12-egg omelets, and split it between 4 of you (unless one of you is a troll, they can generally eat 2 by themselves), you can even draw a picture with crayons and stick it up on the wall, if you feel so inclined. The employees are generally friendly, as are the regulars, and there is always a spirit of humor in the air. Beth’s is one of the last places to actually have a jukebox, offering an assortment of out-of-date music that’s sure to please just about anyone. The Beth’s Cafe location in Seattle is on the west side of the 7300 block of Aurora Ave. N., Just northwest of Greenlake. There is a Beth’s Cafe located in just about every major metroplex, though the location is up to the GM.
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Blitz!

Blitz! is a basic description of what your senses undergo when you enter this club parked on the fringes of the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco. The floor is composed of translucent tiles that flash to the beat of the music in every color imaginable and then some. Two of the walls are made up entirely of tridscreens, and no two are tuned to the same broadcast. The displays are linked to a timer that randomly switches all broadcasts to a different monitor every five seconds. See something you want to watch for a bit? Good luck.
The thundering music is provided by the speakers that comprise the far wall, with the center section being a single woofer nearly twenty feet high and just as wide (mind your heart). The lights hanging from above are all different colors and strobe to randomly selected patterns that change every five seconds or so.
When you approach Athea, the short, blond female bartender with the tragically thinning hair, be sure to ask for the ask for the special of the house: their famous Blue Martini. Oh, and watch out for Menna and Rosie, perhaps the fattest set of twins you’ve ever seen: they may ask you to dance...
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CPR 121

This is a computer lab located on the Local University. Located in Cooper Hall, this serves as the place where many a paper is written and printed. It also serves as the gateway for many aspiring deckers. There are only a few decks here, and what there is ain’t much, but it is better than hurtling your way around the Matrix. If you get to know the attendants on duty, you can usually pull a little after hours work. Rumor has it this is the very same room that Piper Flatline used to work out of.
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Dockside Tavern

The Dockside Tavern is located in the warehouse district of the docks. The outside is covered in rusted metal sheeting, dilapidated wood, and graffiti. No sign or other markings indicate the club, one has to know where it is. Upon entering through the saloon type doors, one sees a cozy, dimly lighted English tavern style bar. The interior is tastefully done in a maritime motif, and the spirits and music are excellent. The Tavern itself is a meeting place for freetraders, smugglers, pirates, and raiders. The owner, Matt "Broadsides" Blackwell, is a jolly sort who turns into a monster if angered. In general, the place lends itself to drunken carousing, gambling, merrymaking, and . . . other pursuits. It also is a place to conduct illicit business discreetly. Its pierside location make it easy to access by boat, car, or aero. The clientele tend to be a rough, rowdy, and mean bunch, so attitude is important.
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The Epicenter

The Epicenter is a local meet.
It is based in a block that has been partially destroyed, so only the outer walls remains standing. It is full of people slamming, drinking, fighting, and occasionally doing deals. There is always deafening music and no lighting, which along with the crowds tends to make the place a tad claustrophobic. Sometimes there are gigs or go-gang swap meets, but usually its just packed with slammers looking for an evenings fun... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Five Hands

First of all the Five Hands has nothing in common with the Hands of Five. The Five Hands is a big house of entertainment, you get everything you ever dreamed of as long as your credstick lasts. It’s your choice what you want and how much you’re willing to pay and that’s what you will get... .
For the hungry there are several restaurants for every taste (Chinese, Indian, elfish, Amerindian, bavarian, steakhouse, lobsters and many more).
For the tired there are masseuses, a swimming pool, some resting places and a hotel (whose offers range from coffins to the king-suite).
For the hot there is a gym with trainers for your personal workout. You’ll find dance-floors where you can dance to everything from waltz over Rock’n Roll to the Darwin Bastards (if it was ever meant to danced at).
For the thirsty there are several pubs or bars one for cocktails, one for Irish beer, one for German beers, ... Each of them styled in the typical manner. But in the 16th floor you’ll find the bar that gives you everything.
For the weary there are a simema, a theater, a jazz-forum you can even get fulfilled you sexual dreams.
But you have to know where to go: The elevators (after you passed a combined security check of sight, hands, chem-sniffer, emd and astral) are only marked with symbols (e.g. a sax for the jazz-forum, chop-sticks for the Chinese food, ... .[it’s open to the fantasy of the GM])
You get really everything there but when you finished enjoying the Five Hands you can do business also there. The conference rooms are guarded with everything that manpower, electronic and magic can do. (After the Cobalt-Marie has got under a cloud recently the Five Hands got more clients). Each of this rooms has a big table with chairs around. Within the table are (one for three seats) computer displays for ordering something from the other branches of the Five Hands (e.g. a Nasi-Goreng with Guiness served by a nude elven-boy). Additionally every room is equipped with rudimentary computer gear for your use. If you need more just call the room service.
But never ever dare to mess up with the golden house rule : FIVE HANDS IS NEUTRAL GROUND.
Rumors saying that the Yakuza and the Mafia are doing business here and do not break the rule can be confirmed. Even the megacorporations seem to obey the rule ... but rumors that the UCAS and the salish-shidhe Government meet here for doing business is certainly a fairy tale (or not?).
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The Forge

It’s night, the neon is flashing, the air is electric, a high night life feel. People move unhurried, many stagger as they move to their final destination for the night. The man in front carries a heavy guitar case, he take a left down an alley, the dark silent feel of closed shops. He is following a whisper, a whisper that has been flowing through the city for a few days now. "The Forge is open", "Thursday for the Jam". The Bass gets louder, he ignores it, its not the kinda thing he’s looking for. He takes another left, over the two drunks that lie there. The faint sound of guitar echoes down the 2m wide ally. Pinned to the heavy black wooden door on the left is a tattered bit of A4.

The Forge
Tonight--The Jam
All Welcome
Free if yer gonna play
He pushes the door, The sound of raw blues hits him almost as hard as the heavy blue smoke. What looks like a young metaller stands up. The man lifts his guitar case and nods, the metaller stands aside.
He surveys the room. A scattered set of tables, perhaps 20 people. A small but friendly stage, more of a step than a stage, fit maybe two. The forge fire flickers that and the candle the only lighting. She sings "Mohma, I ain’t gonna let that man mess me around". Bob sits in the corner with his tea and ever present joint. Bob’s the manager and compare, an old Dwarf, his hair long ago migrated down the back of his neck and onto his chin. He hands the stranger the joint, "you wanna go on next?".
The Forge is a meeting place for buskers, they arrange pitches here, swap information. If you know who to ask you can find out pretty much any thing that happen on the street. Buskers are every where and they are very good at watching. But there also many old boring stories to be told. Bob will know everyone who come in and makes it his business to know anyone new.
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Inner Circle

This is a sprawl like no other. Magicians, Street Sams, or other meat based runners have no hope of entering, since it doesn’t really exist. Deep within the far reaches of the matrix, there is a place that is virtually identical to real life and this is where the hottest of the hottest deckers hang out to exchange the latest in information, programs or anything else that may be converted to an electronic medium.
Like in real life, there are ‘shops’, ‘taverns’, and motels where a technomancer may arrange for a meet - the Inner Circle is so realistic, one may even purchase ‘real-estate’ and own a dwelling within it. Just don’t forget that you’re in the matrix while you’re here, or things could get nasty (i.e.. Starve to death without even knowing about it).
The cowboys who have created this little area within the net frequent a ‘bar’ labeled as the Inner Light because the building literally glows from the inside out, making it an impressive sight to see. To meet with them, you better have something more to offer than just a friendly hello.
Oh, and watch out for the IC, its a real killer.
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The Habitat

The Habitat is a very private club just east of the zoo, located in the interior of a heavily forested park. Its exterior is hardwoods carved in relief sculptures of woodland and jungle scenes (usually of predators stalking prey). The only lighting outside is provided by torches. Everything about the outside says luxury, but in a eerie archaic way. People walking past claim that the music is heavily percussion based, usually with primitive motif. The parking lot is filled with expensive cars. Membership of the club includes scholars, ‘runners, cooperators, and underworld figures. None knows the membership requirements. The owner, Castillano Falsone (a known high level fixer), says the club is dedicated to fun and nature appreciation.
GM Note: The Habitat’s members are all Weres
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Heaven’s Door

"Mama, take this badge from me,
I can’t use it anymore.
Its gettin’ dark, too dark to see,
Feels like I’m knockin’ on Heaven’s door."

These words from a classic old folk song adorn an ornate brass plaque hung in the foyer of the bar known as Heaven’s Door, open only to members and their specific guests. The clientele, for the most part, consists of disgruntled law enforcement officers who have tired of the beaurocrats in the government complaining about crime in the streets and then turning around and cutting the police budget. Some members, of course, are retired from the police force, but still keep in touch with their old friends and contacts.
Upon entry, one is required to check their gun and badge along with their coat. Only the bouncers, mostly people who were kicked off the force for being too violent, are allowed to carry weapons, though they’re rarely needed.
It is not specifically a fancy place, but nor is it totally casual. There is usually a broad mix of styles, from the mock-Elven to the classic Mafia-style suits. Any type of drink is available, and it is not unknown for a member to have the bartender (a large, hulking bald man, almost Troll-sized) drug their guests’ drink, usually with some type of truth serum. Most kinds of food are available, mainly depending on who the cook is that day. Steak is common.
The furnishings are as varied as the rest of the place—not a motley miss- matched collection, but if you look carefully you’ll notice that most of the decor is made up of things that aren’t usually seen together. The walls are paneled with real wood, and most of the furniture is wooden as well (mostly appropriated during raids on rich criminals, and "lost" if not needed as evidence).
Besides being a gathering place, this is also a meeting place, where officers can meet with reporters, fixers, or other contacts "off the record" and either leak things or find out what the word is on the street. Innumerable cases have been solved within these walls before any evidence was even collected.
Every so often the management will hire a band to play, varying in style like everything else. But always, without fail, the last song of the night will be that classic folk song "Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door."
NOTE: The song was written by Bob Dylan, and has been covered by a hell of a lot of groups including Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, and Guns ‘N Roses. My theory is that it will continue to be covered by group after group, and enter folk status around the same time as The Awakening.
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Megamother Bloze Bar & Grill

Known to its usual crowd of customers simply as The Megamother, this hangout is common to students at the University of California in Los Angeles (CFS). For the most part, there are two main groups: Wizzers and Deckers (meaning, simply, students from the school of Magic and students from the school of Cybernetic Navigation.)
For the Deckers, there are a lot of high-quality "pay phones" which consist simply of a jack for your Cyberdeck and a slot for your Credstick. (Prices are lower than other pay phones due to the sheer volume of use.) It is not uncommon for beginning Deckers to stay there for days—the bartenders understand, and have even been known to enter Cyberspace themselves to remind the Decker to jack out and eat something, or to pay their bar bill.
On the Magic side, major magic is not allowed in the bar, due to general agreement. Pity the poor schmuck who tries to get out of paying their bill through the use of magic—any other mage notices, and the consequences are dire.
In general, The Megamother looks like any other popular place—its clearly a bar, plus flashing lights, a bit of a dance floor (usually used to project 3D images of some Decker’s project), and some tables scattered around. The food is mediocre, and the drink is usually watered down, but nobody seems to mind.
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Mike’s Place

Mike’s Place is a two-story nightclub on the edge of a university. It caters to the university crowd and has a live band every weekend. The bouncer is chromed and is able to manhandle the most rowdy of customers. The bartender, an older man named John Doe, mixes the drinks strong. Every Thursday night is Happy Night and the drinks are half-priced. On the weekend, beer busts are not uncommon if the band is expected to be good.

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