Azimuth 2039

Azimuth is set in the year 2039. The trend of corporate conglomeration has continued in a largely unmitigated fashion throughout the last 30 years and has resulted in a culture of corporate governance throughout the world. Major first-world governments remain in place, but functionally only serve to collect wealth from their citizenry according to arbitrary, corporate-influenced rules, and redistribute it by equally arbitrary rules. Virtually every government function has been privatized in most nations, from the military, to the police, to the prison system, and so on. Utilities, infrastructure, healthcare, and nearly all government functions are contracted out to corporations. Approximately 95% of US citizens are employed by major corporations which, in 2039, are corporations whose total assets are in excess of $100 billion dollars. Furthermore, in efforts to stabilize first-world economies and resolve issues of tremendous public debts, which arose in the 20th century and reached crippling levels by 2017, much of the tangible assets of governments, most notably land, but also other assets and forms of wealth, have been transferred into corporate hands. Fully 98% of government land in the United States outside the National Park system was liquidated and sold off to private entities. The National Park system remains intact as a government entity, but it is one of the few left.

Some public positions are still ostensibly out of the hands of corporations. Members of the judicial system and elected officials must resign any corporate positions they have and may not draw a salary from any private source. All of their private assets must be converted to government bonds, treasury bills, or government-issued cash (as opposed to corporate-issued cash) for the duration of their service. This is seen by skeptics mainly as a token gesture, as countless methods of corporate influence are still rife among judges and politicians.

In regions of the world previously known as the third-world, governments have all but disappeared, with major multinational corporations having taken their place. In some cases, entire nations are in the employ of a single corporation. Such is the case in much of Africa. Many of these are companies whose trade is labor, agriculture, or resource extraction. A few nations have staved off corporate influence and retained political autonomy, but those are few and far between, and viewed by most as archaic cultures whose people insist on holding fast to outmoded socioeconomic principles. Because of this, many of these nations are ostracized by the international community and subjected to harassment in the form of corporate embargoes and intimidation.

Game Specifics

Characters created for the Azimuth campaign will begin play with 100 character points. No supernatural or exotic powers will be available for characters. If you have an idea that involves one or more of these powers, I'm willing to listen but, in general, human beings are quite mundane. In addition to the Basic Set, I will be using Ultra-Tech, High-Tech, Bio-Tech, and Martial Arts. The Powers book may be used as well, though it will be heavily limited by the forbiddance of exotic and supernatural abilities. For further guidelines on character creation, please see the Azimuth Brighter Future Program. Additionally, if you wish to make use of the Patron or Allies advantages, the details of such will need to be worked out with the GM. Finally, no character may start play with a wealth level higher than comfortable or lower than struggling.

Certain skills are appropriate for everyone to have in a TL 9 game. Skills like Computer Operations, Current Affairs, Driving (Automobile and/or Motorcycle), and Swimming are all nearly ubiquitous in TL 9 America. Furthermore, given the projected demographics of the United States, it's likely that some degree of Spanish ability will also be almost ubiquitous by then. Likewise, most people have hobbies or interests that can be reflected in skill point expenditures. Unless you have a great reason not to have skills such as these, look to allot about 5-10 points across these areas in whatever manner seems most appropriate to you.

Please see also the Azimuth Character Creation FAQ, as well as the Azimuth Rules Adjustments and Additions.