[IC] New Crobuzon & the World Beyond

[GM Marvel]

[OoC:  Unfortunately there aren't any books of laws.  It can be assumed that most laws there are in most fantasy worlds are also here in New Crobuzon.  Except most punishments except for the most minor crimes are ReMaking.  

Remades are a horribly exploited underclass of New Crobuzon. Their condition and place in society is a form of indentured service or slavery (in the city itself as well as in its colonies and armies). The Remade are usually (but not always) humans who are caught up in the criminal justice system and then forced to undergo a capricious and cruel alteration at the hands of New Crobuzon's biothaumaturges. In the punishment factories, the prisoners' bodies are horrifically altered, limbs and other body parts replaced with steam-powered machinery, heavy mechanical metal parts, or grafted together with human or animal components. Live foxes sewn into chests, torsos attached backwards to a horse, tentacles and pistons and caterpillar treads and eyes and lizard claws fitted wantonly wherever they will go; the sadism of Remaking knows no limits. Karl Marx speaks metaphorically of this condition when he famously described exploited workers as, "an appendage of flesh on a machine of iron."

In Armada*, biothaumaturgical practicioners are willing to undo or mitigate the effects of New Crobuzon's Remaking for a reasonable sum, or even to perform the rare Remaking on request. Elsewhere in the world, Remaking is almost unheard-of.

(Horses and other service animals are sometimes Remade with mechanical parts for greater speed or power, but of course these are not sapient.  This is a possible way to enhance mounts and animal companions.)


*Armada is the name of a floating city made up of hundreds of ships, airships and other sea vessels all interconnected, existing as a movable pirate state on the ocean. The ships, the oldest having been part of Armada for more than a thousand years, are mostly built-upon, factories and residences built up on their decks (and in some cases, within their gutted hulls). The city's population is at least a hundred thousand, and is made up of humans, cactacae, khepri, ab-dead, Remade, scabmettlers and many other races. People considered criminals (or otherwise being of lower classes) in their former home states are recast as equals upon joining Armada, and often go on to hold positions of power.

Armada thrives on piracy, and through this method adds wealth to itself. Piracy of the seas also leads to acquisitions of knowledge in countless languages (all books are stolen for the Grand Gears Library), and the growth of Armada's population, for any ship intercepted by Armada's forces is assimilated into the city and its crew and passengers are press-ganged into citizenship for life. The language of Armada is called Salt, a constructed language deliberately made easy to learn, and consisting of vocabulary from the languages of the many races who inhabit the city.  [Salt only requires 1 skill point to learn]

As in the real world, New Crobuzon's judiciary concerns itself primarily with hearing disputes and passing sentence upon transgressors. The judges of New Crobuzon are referred to as "Magisters" or "Magistrates", and all operate under false names to protect themselves from possible retribution. It is implied that they wear masks while holding court.

Punishment at the hands of the New Crobuzon justice system is a harsh and terrifying affair. Crimes ranging from petty theft to murder are almost invariably punished with lengthy prison sentences and Remaking—a grotesque, painful process whereby a person's body is intentionally mutilated.  While New Crobuzon has no designated prison facilities they do have dungeons and holding areas for those Xenian's who can't be ReMade or for individuals that must be kept away from the public.