Skip to main content

The Transit Network

The Lines

"The road is yours to wander. The line is the city's to keep - and it keeps to its schedule whether you are aboard or not."

Scattered across the world map are stations: places you can stand on and, for a fare, be carried directly to another station of the same kind. Where your own vehicles trade speed for freedom, transit trades freedom for speed and safety. You go where the line goes - but you go fast, you spend no energy, and the dangers of the open road cannot touch you while you ride.

The five lines

Each kind of station serves its own network. Stand on one, open the departures board, and choose where to go.

LineStationReachesCharacter
BusBus terminalAny other bus terminal, directThe flexible everyman's line - slower and cheaper, but a single hop from any terminal to any other.
TrainTrain platformAlong the rail network, through transfer stationsFast intercity travel; routes follow the rails and pass through junction stations.
MetroMetro platformWithin the cityThe intra-city line - short, frequent hops between districts.
AirportAirportAirport to airport, over the mapThe fastest way to cross the continent; the route arcs overhead rather than hugging the ground.
FerryFerry dockAcross the waterThe only line that crosses open sea, linking docks the roads cannot.

The network at a glance

Every active line drawn over the world it crosses - stations sit at their real map coordinates and each line follows the ground it actually travels. Toggle a network on or off, hover a line for its time and fare, or click through to the full route.

Savanna CoalitionWildoria Free CityMadagascaBengal RepublicSwampBamboo EmpireIcebladeWildoria Free City CentralSavanna Coalition RailMadagasca RailBamboo Empire RailSwamp Rail HaltBengal Republic RailIceblade RailWildoria Free City InternationalSavanna CoalitionBengal RepublicMadagascaIcebladeMadagasca Cape FerryBengal Eastport FerrySavanna Southport Ferry
Bus is the safety net

The bus is deliberately the most forgiving line: any terminal connects directly to any other, no transfers, no rails to follow. It is slower and cheaper than the train or the plane - the line you take when you just need to get there and do not want to plan a route.

Buying passage

Boarding a line costs a fare. Each route sets its own price, and many routes accept payment in one of two ways:

  • Coin - the standard fare, paid from your purse on boarding.
  • A ticket item v2.0.0 - where a route accepts it, you may instead spend a single matching ticket (such as an airline ticket) in place of the coin fare.

Whether a route takes tickets is a property of that route, not of the line as a whole - the departures board tells you the price and the accepted payment for each destination.

What you give up, and what you gain

The transit bargain
  • No energy spent - the line carries you; your reserve is untouched.
  • No road encounters - while aboard a scheduled line you are safe from the dangers that stalk the open road. A warrant cannot be served on you mid-journey.
  • No weather penalty - the line keeps its schedule through any storm or darkness.

In exchange, you travel only between stations, on the route the line defines - not to any hex you please.

On the map

While you ride, your character follows the line on the world map: rail and metro trace their tracks through the transfer stations, the ferry cuts across the water, and a flight arcs between airports rather than crawling hex by hex. Each line draws in its own colour, so a glance at the map tells you which network is carrying you.

For travel that goes wherever you point it - at the cost of energy and exposure - see Your Own Vehicles.