And he brooded from the parapet of his waste treatment plant

[Leviathan of Maddoc]

So I'm planning encounters in the Cadiz game and I'm struggling with the idea of 2nd republic buildings being used in the medieval setting.

One of the main characters is a Baron who lives on a broken wind farm in a castle that used to be the administrative building of the farm. He lives there for the same reason a lot of folks on Cadiz occupy 2nd republic ruins, they're tougher than anything that can be easily built with the technology abundant on the planet. But how do I describe to players what this castle looks like?

Would they instinctively understand that it used to be an office building?
Should I describe the building as being beautiful and strange on the outside but ill-proportioned inside?
Should I just describe the building as being a repurposed building of 2nd Republic construction?

Another location will be a 2nd Republic optic's lab that's been overgrown and decayed by a voracious jungle. The site is supposed to be a remote and eerie location feared by locals. Where do I start with a description? Dome? towers? I like the idea of the site being a corporate flagship building, Something showy and stylistic with a large pool that was once the huge projector for the corporation's dynamic holographic logo. What would 500+ years of neglect do to Maxcrete and Durasteel? Do you think much of the interior would stay airlocked and preserved?

[Angelman]

I don't think anyone can answer this for you as it is largely about your taste on the matter. That said, I think it is a good idea to underline the setting by focus your descriptions this way. That said, personaly my philosophy is always that unless the point is to keep the players in the dark, then much more is gained from explaining the context to the players (if only in hints); if you explain a wicked building, then its just that, a building, but if you explain the building with context that it is 2nd Republic, it becomes much more awesome for the players. ("Whaaaat? This grand hall has survived for a millennia only to be converted into the Reeve master's hoverbike garage?!")

[Danos]

I like to describe Second Republic buildings very factually, and then watch the players try to figure out what the building used to be before it got repurposed.

[Leviathan of Maddoc]

I'm a bit concerned about how far to go. The more detail I put into a setting the more my players will suspect plot importance. I guess I'm trying to conjure a short and sweet description that conveys that these are places where the failings of the second republic have carved out niches for the better or the worse.

[Leviathan of Maddoc]

Also I'm a bit stymied on the idea of the vast megalopolis ruins. Cadiz is supposed to just have endless sprawls of housing and industry from the Second Republic that was partially constructed and then abandoned. Now it's occupied by Decados serfs and lesser lords. So what does that look like? I imagine that there are some large buildings but mostly it's a sea of 1 and 2 story buildings. Every once in a while there are hubs of the buildings with rebuilt roofs and lamp lights that surround areas that were once parks or other open ground where farming can be done. Water is drawn from wells carefully dug between utility tunnels. Lots of scrapyards full of bundles of fiber optics and old fixtures. How do you imagine the simple folks of Cadiz live in these maxcrete ruins? How do Decados lords draw income from these lands?

[Bertjammin]

[Leviathan of Maddoc]

Oddly I had a very similar image in mind. I figure centuries of sunlight would bleach out almost all color until the buildings were bone white maxcrete and oxidized metallic. Maybe they'd have a few open utility boxes mounted to the walls but otherwise very much like desert ruins. I expect settlements would fly fairly high flags to help travelers find them as it would be difficult to keep line of sight in the jumble of buildings and landmarks would be difficult to come by.

[Angelman]

You could also go the opposite direction; since people have probably invented non-fading paints and very resilient/self-healing buildings (drawing carbon straight out of the air for instance) by the TL8 heights of the Second Repulbic, you might end up with a sparking new look to the millennium old buildings. The lord's castle, which was once a car company's office building or whatever, could be a ridiculously prestine, semi-aware arcology with solar power fuled tech systems and big on self defense.

[Bertjammin]

[Angelman]

Yeah, its a concept most befitting guilders and al-Malik worlds (particularly Criticorum). And to play my own Devil's Advocat, although 2nd Rep buildings might be totally awesome, they probably also requires high tech maintenance. High tech things cause high tech problems, and all that.

in any case, there is room for all variations in FS, and in the end the GM must chose whatever fits his/her game best. That said, I like the idea of a VIP NPC living in a high tech building with a bonkers AI managing the place. The building could double as the lord's butler, or something.