This article is about the location in Cyberpunk RED. For the area it used to be in 2020, see City & Corporate District.The Hot Zone was the area of Night City most affected by the 2023 Holocaust. During the Time of the Red, this sizable metropolitan area was a blasted terrain full of wrecked, twisted skyscrapers, burned-out vehicles, and entombed bodies of the unlucky.[1]
Overview[]
The only things one could find in the Hot Zone were ruins, radiation and death. Anyone that went into the irradiated wreckage was probably either a ganger, suicidal, or had driven there to find something that was hidden in the endless debris.
The Night City Health Department usually reminded people that the Hot Zone was not safe for unprotected occupation or travel, and they had to make sure when entering the Zone to be properly equipped.
The City Council considered this area to have a threat level of "Combat", which basically meant it was one of the worst places in the city, where people died, and no one cleaned it up afterwards.[1]
History[]
The Hot Zone used to be the central city corporate district before the nuke of 2023 completely destroyed the whole area. In the following years, much of the wreckage was bulldozed into the bay as fill.
By 2045, its remainders were still a haunted landscape of wrecked buildings, burned-out cars, and buried bodies within the rubble. Although the radiation had dwindled during the years, it was still present during that time, and most people abandoned the area to the worst of the gangs.
Several employees of Merrill, Asukaga & Finch were diagnosed with radiation sickness after handling gold that was transferred to a Night City branch vault, as they were unaware that the gold was radioactive. During the Time of Red there was an increase in radioactive precious metals showing up across the city and on the Black Market due to scavvers raiding the Hot Zone. Several banks and financial institutions begun mandatory testing for all valuable metals prior to allowing them into any branch office.[1]
Locations[]
Map of the Hot Zone in 2045.
Notable Gangs[]
- Lightning Cats
- Maelstrom
- Reckoners
- Scavver groups
Notes[]
- It wasn't uncommon to find clients of the Short Circuit bar hauling in wrecked tech from the Hot Zone to tinker with in the booths.[1]
- "Hot Zone Divers" was a long running reality show about a group of "salt of the earth" nomads who retrieved broken tech in the Hot Zone to sell it at local Night Markets. It was well known that none of the cast were actual nomads and the Night Markets were all corporate sets.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2020. (pp.295–298,274,312,429)