Hsi Tsang
Hsi Tsang is a major producer of rice and is renowned for its many marketplaces where everything is available if you are willing to pay the price. Hsi Tsang is officially a free city and not part of the Dominion. In reality, it is an anarchic, cobbled-together settlement dominated by an oyabun. The Oyabun, in turn, owes respect to the Lord Chancellor of the Mekong Dominion. This effectively makes Hsi Tsang an AST city.
No structured law exists — except when the Lord Chancellor is annoyed enough to bring in his troops — so codes of personal honor and respect are quite strong here. The people of Hsi Tsang are rigidly polite and expect the same from those they meet. Anyone who constantly insults strangers and conducts himself in a brash manner tends to vanish quickly (and quietly) from the streets.
Since nothing is illegal here, numerous despicable enterprises operate out of the city, including slavery rings and fraudulent investment companies. Hsi Tsang slavers are generally viewed as the lowest of the low. They organize the kidnapping of women, children and some men from various points across Terra Nova, primarily the Badlands. These captives are then brought to Hsi Tsang for sale at private auctions. Invitations to these auctions are difficult to acquire and may only be obtained after an average of three established customers vouch for the new client.
False investment schemes are also big business in Hsi Tsang. Since local companies are beyond the reach of the law, many small firms specialize in convincing people to invest in bogus schemes. Most rip-off victims have little recourse except to whine about the lawlessness of Hsi Tsang.
No major manufacturers operate in Hsi Tsang, but countless little nameless factories produce shoddy goods that initially appear to be expensive products. This junk can be seen in less reputable shops across the Allied Territories. Hsi Tsang is home to Nemmelworth’s Gear and Merchandise, a small vehicle and weapon shop that specializes in stripping, rebuilding and customizing Heavy Gears. They are especially well known for their work on Hunters, Jägers and Prairie Dogs. These jobs are usually done for Badlands residents, ESE freelancing gladiators or the rare mercenaries who can afford to maintain Gears. NG&M also have facilities for scratchbuilding machineguns, autocannons, rocket pods and bazookas and some high quality communication systems. They must “acquire” any other weapons or electronics systems.
A rival of NG&M is Keimuri Custom Motorworks, a similar vehicle shop run by Liayna Keimuri (a.k.a. Lili the Wrench), an enigmatic Northern expatriate. Liayna does not mention her past much, but rumor has it that she used to be a senior vehicle designer for Northco.
Keimuri mainly specializes in producing highly customized motorcycles.
Hsi Tsang is also the home of the Mercenary Guild, a brokerage firm for mercenary contracts. The Guild has a strong monopoly and has been known to send mercenaries to destroy any competition. Independent groups are tolerated by the Guild if they pay the brokerage house a 100 dinars per month per trooper “freelancing fee.” Otherwise, the bully boys are likely to show up and try to break your legs — or worse. The Mercenary Guild is probably the closest thing Hsi Tsang has to a police force (which is not much).