Once the thriving economic hub of Toronto, the Financial District is now a shadow of its former self, a landscape of shattered glass and crumbling steel. Skybridges of salvaged debris form a network of precarious pathways above the chaos, while subterranean vaults and tunnels house secrets both ancient and dangerous. Opportunists, scavengers, and rogue Faustian Mechanics vie for control over these ruins, creating a tense and perilous environment for all who enter. The former financial institutions hold cryptic remnants of the old world—untapped riches, experimental technologies, or nightmares locked away.
Population: The district is home to a chaotic mix of opportunists, Fossilborn scavengers, rogue technomancers, and elusive cults like the Clockwork Acolytes.
Faction Dynamics:
• Marlarkoid Cartel: The Dominant power, using their knowledge of faustian mehcanics to fortify their hold over key sites.
• Haraak Raiders: A constant threat from the waterfront, targeting vaults and scavengers.
• Medusa Clans: They have a shadowy Presence, and a few key locations where they control their territory.
• Cybercult: Devotees of old-world machines, obsessed with resurrecting lost technologies.
Common Themes in Quests:
• Investigating mysterious power surges disrupting settlements.
• Recovering stolen data or artifacts from rival factions.
• Escorting traders or mediators through treacherous territory.
• Exploring vaults for hidden wealth or dangerous secrets.
Part 1: Skyscrapers and Power Structures
Ashen Spire (Financial District)
A crumbling skyscraper whose core is infused with volcanic energy. Lava-like veins of glowing rock snake through its interior, while the upper floors are shrouded in smoke.
Quests:
• Retrieve a rare volcanic crystal for a Faustian Mechanic.
• Stop a rival faction from exploiting the building’s geothermal energy.
• Navigate the hazardous interior to rescue a trapped ally.
Atlas Building (The Curse Forge)
This abandoned factory has become the heart of the Medusa Clans' power. Twisted by their curse, the building churns out cursed constructs and weapons imbued with petrifying energy. The Medusa Clans jealously guard this location, treating it as both a fortress and a sacred site.
Plot Hook: A rogue member of the Medusa Clans seeks the adventurers’ aid in dismantling the Curse Forge, claiming the creations are too dangerous even for their own kind. Can they trust the defector’s motives?
Canada Permanent Building (The Watcher’s Tower)
A species allied with the Marlarkoids has claimed this building as a strategic lookout. This flock of Harlowe specialize in intelligence and reconnaissance, using their sharp senses and tech-savvy skills to monitor the district.
Plot Hook: A hacker offers to trade critical intel if the adventurers can infiltrate the Watcher’s Tower and recover surveillance data stored deep within its fortified basement.
Bank of British North America (The Fossilborn Truce Hall)
This neutral zone is where the Marlarkoids negotiate with the Fossilborn. Its grand halls feature crumbling murals depicting uneasy alliances, while its structural instability adds urgency to every meeting.
Plot Hook: A mediator hires the adventurers to protect them during a critical negotiation between the Marlarkoids and Fossilborn. However, a third faction plans to disrupt the talks violently.
Bank of Montreal (The Basilisk’s Vault)
A different Medusa Clan has claimed this site. Known as the Serpent’s Coil, this faction focuses on intrigue and subterfuge, relying on their petrification gaze to intimidate rivals and enforce their will. The building is heavily trapped with petrifying wards.
Plot Hook: A cult has emerged in the Financial District, worshiping the Basilisk’s Vault as a source of divine power. The adventurers are hired to infiltrate the cult and recover an artifact said to be tied to the Medusa Clans’ petrifying curse.
Bank of Nova Scotia (The Shattered Treasury)
Once a haven for scavengers, the Marlarkoids have seized this location, driving out the rogue elements and repurposing it as a base for their financial schemes. The building now serves as a storage site for experimental Faustian currency.
Plot Hook: A group of scavengers seeks help recovering a vault key stolen by the Haraak raiders. The adventurers must navigate the rivalries between factions to complete the mission without drawing the Medusas’ ire.
Bay Street Canyon
The shattered ruins of Bay Street have become a battleground between the Fossilborn and the Cybercult. The streets echo with the sound of combat, and scavenger hideouts litter the canyon’s depths.
Plot Hook: A gang war has erupted between the Fossilborn and Cybercult over a newly discovered cache of ancient techology. A third party hires the adventurers to ensure the cache is destroyed before it falls into dangerous hands.
Canadian Bank of Commerce Building (The Tower of Echoes)
his eerie skyscraper is riddled with strange auditory phenomena, from disembodied whispers to mechanical grinding. The Marlarkoids have turned it into a death trap, relying on its disorienting effects to ambush intruders.
Plot Hook: A Faustian Mechanic claims that the strange echoes are remnants of an ancient communication system and hires the adventurers to recover components from deep within the tower to revive it.
The Exchange (Former TSX Building)
The remnants of the Toronto Stock Exchange now serve as a black market and neutral ground for the district’s various factions. Deals are brokered, alliances are forged, and betrayals are commonplace.
Plot Hook: A trusted ally has been abducted and is being auctioned off in the Exchange. To free them, the adventurers must pose as buyers or risk open conflict in one of the most dangerous places in the district.
Royal Bank (The Gilded Fortress)
Neither Medusas nor Marlarkoids control this building. Instead, a faction of rogue Haraak Raiders has claimed it. These resourceful scavengers have fortified the location with stolen tech and treasure.
Plot Hook: A rival faction leader wants to infiltrate the Gilded Fortress to steal a key artifact believed to grant immunity to the Medusas’ petrifying gaze. Can the adventurers pull off the heist without getting caught?
Scotiabank Tower (The Crimson Vault)
The heavily guarded lower levels house one of the largest untouched gold reserves in the region. Protected by an AI security system and automated defenses, this location is a prize for any faction.
Plot Hook: A trader offers a fortune for access to the Crimson Vault, but the group soon learns their employer may not be human—and they aren’t the only ones interested in the tower’s secrets.
Toronto Dominion Center (The Obsidian Vault)
his splinter faction of the Medusas has embraced Faustian Mechanics, fusing their natural abilities with technology. They experiment with cursed constructs and petrifying devices in the TD Center's depths, drawing rogue mechanics and scavengers to their cause.
Plot Hook: A rival Medusa leader hires the adventurers to sabotage the Obsidian Vault’s experiments, ensuring her dominance over the district. But betrayal may lurk behind every turn.
Part 2: Hidden Vaults and Forgotten Secrets
This section delves into underground infrastructure, treasure-filled ruins, and enigmatic sites where ancient technology and secrets await discovery.
Canadian Pacific Building (The Conduit)
Once an operational hub, this building has become a key site for Faustian Mechanics experiments. The Marlarkoid Cartel are rumored to have tapped into old power lines to channel energy through the district, creating a network of dangerous traps and defenses.
Plot Hook: A group of settlers asks the adventurers to disable the Conduit’s power grid, which has been causing surges and blackouts in their area. However, the sabotage risks drawing the Medusa Clans’ wrath.
Design Exchange (The Machine Nexus)
Once a center for innovation, the Design Exchange is now a hub for Faustian Mechanics experimentation. Its halls are filled with half-functioning machines and strange automatons created by Marlarkoid engineers. Some claim the building itself has become semi-sentient.
Plot Hook: A malfunctioning automaton has escaped the Nexus and is wreaking havoc in the district. The adventurers must track it down and decide whether to destroy it or return it to its creators.
The Glass Tower (Formerly First Canadian Place)
The tallest surviving building in the district, now a dangerous haven for scavengers and opportunists. Its upper floors are barely accessible due to structural instability, but rumors persist of untouched executive vaults and pre-apocalypse tech caches.
Plot Hook: A notorious rogue technomancer has established a hidden lab near the top. They’ve developed a prototype device that could stabilize local power grids, but at a cost. Can the adventurers negotiate—or fight—for its release?
National Club Building (The Viper’s Den)
The once-prestigious National Club has become a hub for clandestine Medusa dealings. Leaders from various factions gather here to negotiate uneasy truces, broker alliances, or settle disputes. Hidden beneath the ruins are ancient crypts where petrified enemies are entombed as eternal warnings.
Plot Hook: A local settlement’s leader seeks an audience at the Viper’s Den to broker safe passage for their people, but they need a capable group to act as intermediaries and guards.
Northern Ontario Building (The Gray Labyrinth)
The sprawling remains of this once-grand office building have become a maze of collapsed hallways and secret passages. It’s used by Fossilborn and scavengers to navigate the district unseen. However, rumors suggest that the Medusa Clans have begun to infiltrate its depths.
Plot Hook: A team of settlers has gone missing in the labyrinth, and their desperate families plead for help. The adventurers must contend with traps, rogue scavengers, and the growing Medusa presence to bring them back alive.
Number 15 (The Vanishing Place)
Shrouded in mystery, this nondescript building is infamous for the disappearances of those who enter. Rumors suggest it holds a portal to an unknown dimension or a Faustian machine that traps trespassers in a time loop. The major powers of the area avoid it, and even scavengers give it a wide berth.
Plot Hook: A desperate family begs the adventurers to recover a loved one who disappeared into Number 15. Will they brave the building’s eerie secrets and find a way to break its curse?
Sun Life Tower (The Stone Citadel)
The Sun Life Tower has become the seat of the most powerful Medusa Clan, known as the Gorgon’s Fangs. Its upper floors are fortified with salvaged steel, and petrified figures are placed as grim warnings along the perimeter. The clan leaders hold court here, using advanced optics to monitor activity throughout the district.
Plot Hook: A Fossilborn ally has been turned to stone by the clan leader. A mysterious artifact within the vaults of the Sun Life Tower may hold the key to reversing the curse, but retrieving it risks the wrath of the entire clan.
Trader’s Bank (The Serpent’s Vault)
This small but resilient structure serves as the Medusa Clans’ primary treasury, where they hoard their most valuable finds. The vault is protected by layers of traps, cursed artifacts, and loyal guards who defend it to the death.
Plot Hook: An artifact stolen from a neighboring settlement is hidden in the vault. The adventurers are tasked with recovering it before the Medusas use it to consolidate their power.
Union Vaults (Union Station)
The iconic Union Station serves as a subterranean labyrinth of vaults and tunnels. Its vast underground network is teeming with strange creatures and scavengers. It’s said that the station holds an experimental AI core that once controlled the city's transit systems.
Plot Hook: An artifact hunter hires the adventurers to locate the AI core before the M.L.F. can. But activating it could unleash an army of long-dormant drones.
Part 3 Historic and Cultural Landmarks of the Financial District
The Bay (The Endless Mall)
The crumbling ruins of this once-massive department store are now an eerie maze filled with scavenged goods, forgotten relics, and scavenger traps. The Marlarkoid clans claim it as a resource depot, but other groups frequently challenge their control.
Plot Hook: A trader needs the adventurers to recover a specific item from the depths of the Bay, but rival factions and dangerous scavengers stand in the way.
BCE Place (The Shattered Archway)
The soaring glass canopy of BCE Place is now a jagged monument to the past. The area beneath the broken atrium has been turned into a treacherous bazaar, were Faustian engineers trade experimental technology for old-world artifacts.
Plot Hook: A malfunctioning Faustian device begins to emit dangerous energy waves, threatening the entire bazaar. The adventurers are tasked with shutting it down, but doing so could destroy valuable tech.
Campbell House Museum (The Last Hearth)
This small museum has been converted into a safe house for displaced survivors. Its cozy interior offers a rare sense of normalcy, but its supplies are running dangerously low.
Plot Hook: Protect the Last Hearth from an impending raid, or undertake a supply run to ensure its survival.
Canon Theatre (The Phantom Stage)
The abandoned Canon Theatre is said to be haunted by echoes of its glamorous past. Strange performances sometimes occur with no visible performers, and those who attend these “phantom shows” often vanish.
Plot Hook: Investigate the latest disappearance linked to the Phantom Stage. Is it the work of supernatural forces, or something more sinister?
Church of the Holy Trinity (The Veiled Chapel)
Tucked away behind the Eaton Centre, this small church is an oasis of calm in a chaotic district. Its caretaker is rumored to be a powerful mystic capable of banishing curses and unraveling old enchantments.
Plot Hook: Protect the chapel from a raiding party intent on capturing its mystic caretaker for their own ends.
Eaton Centre (The Towering Bazaar)
The skeletal remains of this once-thriving shopping mall have become a sprawling vertical marketplace. Dangerous gangs control different levels, and traders risk life and limb to peddle their wares here.
Plot Hook: A trader’s goods are stolen by a gang, and the adventurers must navigate the treacherous politics of the Towering Bazaar to recover them.
Fairmont Royal York (The Golden Shelter)
Once a luxurious hotel, the Royal York is now a refuge for survivors who can afford its exorbitant fees. Its gilded halls hide secrets of old-world wealth, and rumors of a hidden vault of pre-apocalypse treasures draw the greedy and desperate alike.
Plot Hook: A thief sneaks into the Royal York to retrieve a mysterious artifact, only to become trapped inside. The adventurers must extract the thief before the hotel’s self-appointed enforcers catch them.
Hockey Hall of Fame (The Frozen Legacy)
This iconic site has been turned into a base for scavenger clans, who use its trophy halls as both a meeting place and a museum of their own exploits. The central vault contains artifacts encased in a strange, unmelting ice.
Plot Hook: A clan leader hires the adventurers to retrieve an artifact trapped in the ice vault, but they soon discover that disturbing it unleashes a cursed specter.
L'Agence du Crépuscule (The Twilight Agency)
L'Agence du Crépuscule operates out of Old City Hall, a gothic ruin perched on the edge of Scarcity’s sinkhole. Its crumbling clock tower looms over the desolate streets, while the council chamber serves as a shadowy office filled with salvaged furniture and fractured light from broken stained glass. Arcane wards and dim lighting lend the agency a foreboding air, drawing only the desperate to its doors. Lucien, the enigmatic vampire detective, brings a mix of charm and menace, offering aid with mysteries too dark for most to confront.
Plot Hook: Lucien "Val" Dusoir, a vampire detective, urgently summons the party to his agency, offering valuable rewards in exchange for their help. A terrified client has brought a photograph of a woman working with The Night Syndicate, a sinister cabal known for blood magic and monstrous experiments—one who looks exactly like Val's long-lost mortal sister, Jeanne. Unable to investigate without risking his control, Val tasks the party with uncovering the Syndicate's secrets, which could shake the foundations of Scarcity itself. As they delve into the Syndicate’s operations, the party must navigate dangerous enemies, unravel unsettling truths, and confront the possibility that Jeanne’s role in the Syndicate is far darker than they imagined.
Mackenzie House (The Cursed Museum)
Preserved as a museum of old-world history, Mackenzie House is rumored to be cursed. Visitors report strange noises and unsettling visions, and scavengers refuse to enter without good reason.
Plot Hook: A desperate settler asks the adventurers to retrieve a personal heirloom from Mackenzie House, but the building’s curse is more than just superstition.
Massey Hall (Massy Rift)
n the ruins of Massey Hall, now called the Massey Rift, a tear in reality amplifies music into psychic energy, turning performances into literal battles. Drawing inspiration from Toronto’s 80s music legacy, rival factions—like the Fossilborn Drummers and the techno-trance Haraak—compete to harness the Rift’s power in a citywide “Battle of the Bands.” The Rift, pulsing with fragments of iconic melodies and surreal phenomena like a flowing "River Dawn," threatens to destabilize, risking devastation for the surrounding area.
Plot Hook: The party must enter the competition to stabilize the Rift before it expands uncontrollably. They’ll face rival bands in psychic duels, uncover sabotage attempts, and search for fragments of a legendary song tied to Toronto’s musical past to save the city.
Metropolitan Church (The Shadowed Congregation)
This old church now serves as a meeting place for rogue Faustian engineers and black-market traders. Its dimly lit halls are filled with whispered deals and secret projects.
Plot Hook: Uncover the truth behind a series of murders linked to the Shadowed Congregation, where every suspect has their own secrets to hide.
Nathan Phillips Square (The Gauntlet)
Once a bustling civic plaza, Nathan Phillips Square has become a deadly proving ground known as "The Gauntlet." The reflective pools have been turned into electrified traps, and the iconic arches now support sniper nests and hanging cages. Ruined food trucks and shattered art installations form makeshift barriers, while scavenger gangs run brutal trials here to test loyalty, settle disputes, or entertain bloodthirsty crowds. The towering presence of the burnt-out City Hall looms in the background, its cracked windows radiating an ominous glow from strange rituals conducted within.
Plot Hook: A famed scavenger leader, captured by a rival gang, is being forced to run The Gauntlet as a public spectacle. The players are hired to infiltrate the arena, disrupt the games, and rescue the captive. To succeed, they’ll need to outwit the traps, avoid the jeering crowd’s interference, and deal with rival factions vying for control of this macabre landmark.
New City Hall (The Broken Crescent)
The iconic twin towers of Toronto's New City Hall now stand as skeletal ruins, their once-sleek facades weathered and cracked. The crescent-shaped council chamber at their base has partially collapsed, forming a treacherous labyrinth of rubble and twisted steel. The entire structure pulses faintly with an eerie blue-green light, remnants of failed experiments by a long-gone Faustian cult. The area is plagued by warped reality—echoing footsteps that come from nowhere, shadows moving against the light, and whispers that creep into the minds of intruders. Factions fight to claim the site, either for its dangerous power or for the symbolic victory of controlling what remains of Toronto's governance.
Plot Hook: The players are tasked with investigating the source of the strange energy radiating from the ruins of New City Hall. However, multiple factions—including the Flamebringers and a rogue faction of Medusa—are locked in a tense standoff over the site, and the party must navigate shifting alliances and supernatural dangers as they descend into the corrupted heart of the Broken Crescent.
Osgoode Hall (The Barbed Halls)
Once a bastion of law and order, Osgoode Hall has become a twisted parody of justice in the Hodgepocalypse. Its grand iron fence now bristles with makeshift spikes and barbed wire, while the stately facade is riddled with scars from battles fought between rival factions. The interior has been transformed into a maze of booby-trapped courtrooms and law libraries haunted by spectral clerks and judges, cursed to endlessly recite decrees from a long-dead era. The Marble Atrium at the center serves as a grim arena where disputes are "settled" through brutal combat under the guise of trials.
Plot Hook: A desperate community leader approaches the players, asking them to retrieve a set of ancient legal documents rumored to hold the key to reclaiming land from a marauding gang. To succeed, they’ll have to navigate Osgoode Hall’s dangerous traps, outwit vengeful spirits enforcing twisted laws, and face off against the current “High Arbiter,” a former judge who now rules the halls with ruthless cruelty.
Scadding House (The Historian’s Refuge)
Nestled inconspicuously near the ruins of Fort York, Scadding House is a small but sturdy relic of Toronto's past that has somehow endured the Hodgepocalypse. The unassuming exterior belies its significance as a sanctuary for a lone historian devoted to salvaging and preserving pre-apocalypse relics. The interior is a labyrinth of stacked books, ancient maps, and carefully cataloged artifacts, protected by ingenious traps and hidden compartments. A small enchanted hearth keeps the house warm and wards off intruders, while a loyal clockwork companion assists the historian in their work. The house’s secrets could reshape the understanding of Toronto’s fragmented history—or serve as a treasure trove for less noble forces.
Plot Hook: The historian urgently hires the adventurers for an expedition to recover a priceless artifact stored in the ruins of a nearby museum before scavengers claim it. Along the way, they’ll contend with rival treasure hunters, mutated creatures guarding the ruins, and the artifact’s own mysterious and potentially volatile power.
St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral (The Broken Sanctuary)
Once a beacon of faith and community, St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral now stands as a haunting relic of a shattered world. The roof is partially collapsed, and shards of stained glass lie scattered across the floor, casting fractured rainbows in the dim light. Despite its ruinous state, the cathedral remains a haven for weary survivors seeking solace or spiritual guidance, overseen by a stoic priest who has vowed to protect what remains. Whispers abound of a concealed crypt beneath the cathedral, rumored to house powerful holy relics capable of turning the tide against the darkness. However, reaching the chamber would mean navigating a labyrinth of unstable catacombs and facing the strange guardians that stir in the shadows.
Plot Hook: A desperate survivor approaches the adventurers, pleading for their help to retrieve a relic said to rest beneath the cathedral. The artifact could save their ailing community—or, in the wrong hands, unleash catastrophic power. The party must brave the cathedral’s perilous ruins, contend with zealous scavengers, and unravel the crypt’s ancient, divine defenses to uncover the truth.
