The Shrapnel Rat

A few years back I wrote a post of random encounter tables that included a monster called the "Shrapnel Rat" that could be found living in the Mega-City of Prospero's Underhive. It was something I was inspired to write from the video game Gears of War. Believe it or not the explosive rat was also an idea used by the Special Operations Executive in WWII. It didn’t end up panning out the way they wanted, but hey, that just a weird thing to read about. Fact is often stranger than fiction as they say. Anyway the idea has always stuck with me so I figured I'd finally write it up. The Swords & Wizardry version is called a Suicide Rat, that is often confused with the Giant Rat from the Core S&W book, and the Shrapnel Rat in Stars Without Number format.

Suicide Rat: Swords & Wizardry Version

The origin of the suicide rat are disputed. According to the Sages of Nemite, these rats were created as a weapon in a bloody drawn out war. Created to infiltrate enemy positions, and booby trap battle fields. If a well known tavern legend is to be believed, the rats were crafted by a vengeful wizard. According to this tale his brother, a cotter in the town Ulthar, was murdered by a pack of felines. What ever the truth is these creatures have been spreading far and wide across the lands.

Shrapnel Rat: Stars Without Number version
The Mega City of Prosperos Underhive, a never ending catacomb of death and despair is the home to many dangerous creatures. Shrapnel Rats have quickly risen to the top of this deadly underground ecosystem due to the multitude of ambush and nesting sites. A number of therories have been circulated as to where these deadly creatures came from. One story by a Hiver suggests that they were purposefully created to kill off those lining in the dark service tunnels and sewers. An undisclosed corporate whitleblower stated that the rats were part of a Black Lab experiment that went out of control and escaped into the environment. A xenobiologist specializing in the Underhive believes that this just might be part of the evolution process in such a hostile environment.

Suicide Rat: Swords & Wizardry Statistics

Armour Class: 7 [12]

Hit Dice: 1d4 Hit points

Attacks: Bite (1d4) or Explosion (2d6) 10' radius,

save for half damage.

Saving Throw: 18

Special: Implant Embryos

              Explosion 

Move: 12

Challenge Level/XP: 1/15

Shrapnel Rat: Stars Without Number Statistics

Armour Class: 7                           No. Appearing: 1-8

Hit Dice: 1/2                                  Saving Throw: 15+

Attack Bonus: +1                         Movement: 20'

Damage: 1d4 Bite                         Morale: 8

                2d6 explosion                            

Special: Implant embryos

Rules 

These rules can be used for whichever version of the game you are playing.  

Explode: After a successful attack the rat has been primed and will explode 1d6 rounds later. It may also explode if its surprised or frightened. The rat will charge its target (+2 to attack) and explode immediately afterwards. Damage that reduces the rat's hit points to zero or lower causes the rat to explode. An exploding rat deals 2d6 damage to everyone in a 10' radius of itself (successful save for half damage).

Implant Embryos: Any creature damaged by the exploding makes a saving throw. On a failure the creature has been implanted with suicide rat embryos. Every day the creature must make a new saving throw. On a failure the target loses 1d4 Constitution points. Once three successful saves have been made or the a cure disease spell has been cast the creature is fully cured. If the creatures's Constitution score reaches zero before it's cured, 1d6 regular rats will chew, claw, and burst out of it's stomach. If these newborn rats are not being threatened they will feed on the corpse, otherwise they attack and/or flee for safety. These newborn rats have the same statistics, but cannot yet explode or implant embryos. After a 24 hour period they will have matured into full blown suicide/shrapnel rats themselves. For Stars Without Number the Implant Embryo ability is considered a disease with a Toxicity 8 and a Virulence of 3, all other effects remain the same.

The Hell's Attic Campaign Model

"Yesterday, here in the middle of the City, I saw a wolf turn into a Russian ex-gymnast and hand over a business card that read YOUR OWN PERSONAL TRANSHUMAN SECURITY WHORE! STERILIZED INNARDS! ACCEPTS ALL CREDIT CARDS to a large man who wore trained attack cancers on his face and possessed seventy-five indentured Komodo Dragons instead of legs. And they had sex. Right in front of me. And six of the Komodo Dragons spat napalm on my new shoes."

-Spider Jerusalem

Summary in Brief

Apocalyptic ultraviolence and survival horror in the far future. In other words Imagine the spawn of the aborted mind fetuses of Lovecraft, Tarantino, Hunter S. Thompson, and William Gibson congealed into a chilled monkey brain dessert served by cannibal werewolf woman of the SS.

Campaign Background

Theres a place in the far future in the Tempest System called Hells Attic. You can check in but you can never check out. Unless its in a body bag, then you could check out at just about any time in this war zone. The PC's take on the role of under world scum trying to survive in a dog eat dog world. Everyone has an angle. There is no law and some times the light burns brightest in the darkest of places.

The Role of the Characters

Who you are: You are the outcasts of a society who no longer needs you. You've been trampled over by a stampede of grotesque dystopian nightmares called progress. Your the product of a of society that has systematically dined on your corpse and then spat your balls out.You are the losers, who can never get or hold down a real job and whose only prospects are having nothing left to lose. Your left with the choice to fade away or burn out in a blaze of glory. The only question thats worth answering is will the Underhive of Prospero swallow you whole, leaving no trace of your existence? Or do you have a plan? A plan to get rich or die trying?

What you do: Anything you have to. A better question would be what don’t you do. Murder for hire ? Sure. Rescue a CEO's daughters from the clutches of drug dealers turned revolutionary? All in a nights work. Hunt down a insane doctor's latest escaped human centipede project. Pfft, please, how about something a little more challenging? Survival is paramount. Everything else is gravy. A good day is the one you don't die. Your a criminal. Well you'd be a criminal if there were cops down here. Theres just the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest. Between the booze, bullets, and blow you live. You live like tomorrow might never come.

Where you do it: The Mega City of Prospero is a massive relatively clean and pristine city. It is an architects wet dream. It is the city of the future. Skyscrapers defy gravity, clean energy powers the city and the maglev trains run on time. The body looks healthy. But deep below the pristine sheen of glass and the white gloss of synth-marble and perma-crete lies the festering cancer that is Hell's Attic. This sprawling hive city crawls with all manner of people, monsters, assholes, and other undesirable or just plain unidentifiable things. If the metaphysical Hell of religion actually existed then the Attic would be the next closest thing short of actually dying first. In fact I'm pretty sure the Biblical Hell is probably a lot nicer.

When yo do it: Whenever the fuck you want. Welcome to the 26^th century mother fuckers. Party like it's 2513, because it is, in fact that year. Hey maybe your luck will pick up and next year will be better. For the time being shit is pretty well fucked.

Why you do it: For the rush. Because you want your money for nothing and your chicks for free. Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Because sometimes We're dicks! We're reckless, arrogant, stupid dicks. And the Film Actors Guild are pussies. And Kim Jong Il is an asshole. Pussies don't like dicks, because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes: assholes that just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think they can deal with assholes their way. But the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick, with some balls. The problem with dicks is: they fuck too much or fuck when it isn't appropriate - and it takes a pussy to show them that. But sometimes, pussies can be so full of shit that they become assholes themselves... because pussies are an inch and half away from ass holes. I don't know much about this crazy, crazy world, but I do know this: If you don't let us fuck this asshole, we're going to have our dicks and pussies all covered in shit!

The 10 Traits of an Hells Attic campaign

1. Everyone has an agenda. Once you figure this out you'll suffer a lot less heartbreaks.
   
2. Theres some fucking weird shit in the Attic. Seriously. Fucking. Weird. Shit.
   
3. Sometimes your enemies are your only friends. Poor you.
   
4. Sometimes the real monsters are human. Sometime the monsters are really nice.
   
5. Never trust a mutant, and defiantly never feed one after midnight. You've been warned.
   
6. Tin foil hats will stop the psychics from reading your thoughts . If you believe this your really fucked.
   
7. Always have a plan B and a roll of duct tape. Plan B being bullets. Theres very little bullets and duct tape cant fix.
   
8. Information is power. Always check your sources, then check em again.
   
9. Never join a cult. Well join a cult if you want. Just don't be surprised when you find yourself tied up and on the receiving end of a strap-on conga line.
   
10. When in doubt get a really big gun that holds a lot of bullets. Preferably silver bullets.

Special thanks to Noisms at his Monsters and Manuals blog for this post that motivated me amongst others of his on CP2020 to write write this post. Thanks man, love your blog, you rock! As Happy Harry Hard On says Stay Hard everyone.

The Digital Dark Age: Jeff Rients 20 Campaign Questions-Part 2

This is part 2 of Jeff Rients 20 campaign questions as they apply to my Digital Dark Age campaign setting. Part 1 can be found HERE.

11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
Need some bad ass dudes for a mission of ultra violence and no questions asked? If you have the cash you can enlist the talented legionnaires of Steelgate Security Service. Colonel Angus Steelgate is the CEO of this mecernary company that was based on the framework of the Old Earth French Foreign Legion. For the less discerning and cash deficient you could always hire members of the Hell’s Attic gang known as the Devil’s Rejects.

12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
The Digital Dark Age is a science fantasy wild west. The average person probably doesn’t carry a weapon since it pretty much makes you a target for trouble. That being said it’s not entirely unusual for someone from the Underhive and particularly those people who make their living with a little bit of the ultra violence to be packing some kind of heat. Of course there are some places where carrying weapons and wearing armor is defiantly a not allowed. Government buildings, elite and private gated communities like Milan Towers, the Sky-Gardens of Eden, and Heavens Gate to name a few. In addition most religious temples and churches frown on, if not out right deny access to an armed individual. Oh and don’t even think about going into the New Vatican City with anything even remotely considered a weapon, the Elite Swiss Guard will put your ass down in no time flat. Same thing applies doubly for spell slinging magic meat heads. Practicing magic is outlawed and the average joe fears magic. To practice the art almost anywhere except maybe in the Underhive is just asking for trouble.

13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
The Bronze Horseman is Prospero’s most famous and popular dive. Located in Hell’s Attic, the booze is cheap, the woman cheaper, and an exotic and dangerous atmosphere that’s impossible to find anywhere else. The place is a crossroads for people of all walks of life and is often frequented by youthful upper crust society types when they feel the desire to go slumming. It’s established by anyone whose anyone that this is the place to go if you’re looking to find work, find someone to fill out your team, or hire someone for all manner of illegal activities like hacking, spellcasting, and of course ultra violence. Fights break out here constantly, and over the silliest of slights. The authorities tend to stay out of this den of iniquity but you can count on the fact that everyone and their grandmother has a spy keeping tabs on what goes down here. The Horseman is owned and operated by Yuri Pushkin, and eccentric man with a strong love of beer, sausages and poetry. The beefy twin brothers Dmitri and Bogdan Bogdanovich work as bouncers and doormen. You don’t want to piss these muscle heads off. You defiantly don’t want to mess with their little sister Katya who waits tables along side the flirtatious Anoushka.

14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
The Underhive is infested with all maner of monsters. Heres the ten most commonly encountered: Sarthogg (Frog-Man), Giant Lantern Spider, The Grinning Man (Mothman), Judas Mantis, Hellwasp, Conduit Naga, Shrapnel Rats, Tommyknocker, Witch Hounds, Plague Zombie. In addition the A.I. known as Prophet has been sending his hive legions further and further out into the Underhive. This machine intelligence seems to have a vendetta against most biological life forms. In addition rumors suggest that prisoners of Prophet are experimented on and often remade into Cyborgs in service of the hive. Alarming reports have been coming in that the Sarthogg population is exploding. These reports indicate that these frog-men originate from lairs in and around Crippletown.

15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
There is an underground resistance between the Tempest Systems Protectorate Government and the Church of the Holy Resurrection. There are plenty of political and social uprisings all across the known universe. There is also the increasing plague of the Sarthogg that if not stemmed will lead to something much worse. In the Mega City of Prospero the Drug Cartels have been battling it out for domination of the drug trade and the Prospero Police Department has stepped into the escalating fray with their new P.A.L.A.D.I.N. anti drug task force. There is the Holy Inquisition and their crusade to crush the enemies of the Church and convert all non-believers to the faith.

16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
In Hell’s Attic there are numerous fight clubs. None however can match the opulence and popularity of Belphegor’s Inferno Club. This underground-fighting arena is the hub for illegal gambling and death matches of all types. Well attended, and remotely viewed by thousands the eponymous Belphegor is a energetic and consummate showman. As the host of this multi million-dollar business Belphegor takes on the persona of a well-dressed servant of hell. He sports intricate make up reminiscent of 1980’s metal musicians and has a flare for the dramatic. The wet dreams of wanna be reality television stars have been brutally crushed or realized in the "Rings of Fire".

17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
The Consortium is a legendary body of movers and shakers you supposedly are the true directing force behind the legitimate government. This group seeks nothing more than to serve themselves and their own greedy nature. The Consortium is in direct conflict with the Church of the Holy Resurrection who has thus far been beyond their ability to manipulate. Then there is the Cult of Mem’Dathou which seeks nothing more than the annihilation and rebirth of the universe as prophesied by their alien deity.

18. What is there to eat around here?
The Mega City of Prospero is renowned for an endless selection of a variety of foods from every ethnicity imaginable. If you’re in Hell’s Attic try the Silver Dragon. This is a great place for pan-fried noodles and their famous Spicy General Tao Chicken. But seriously, don’t ask about the chicken. The average persons diet tends to consist of some kind of mixture of soy and rice.

19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
If one was so inclined to look for it a fist sized exquisitely cut red ruby known as the Eye of Azathoth was recently stolen from the Prospero Museum of Natural History. The word on the street is that someone at the Eclipse Corporation wants a stolen and expensive prototype returned to its R&D lab. According to a representative of the Dead Letter Office there are a number of magical books and other arcane artifacts that have disappeared along with their owners. The Yakuza are on the look out for a jacked shipment of Tetrameth, and the Church is always on the look out for any number of holy relics, art, and texts that might be in the possession of an unwitting or disreputable dealer or collector.

20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
The closest thing to a dragon is the Devourer Worm. Also known as Mem’Dathou, this alien monstrosity lives in the bowels of its great underground temple near Crippletown. Only a fool would consider this date with death a sane idea. Protecting the Priory of the Worm is all manner of vile cultists, of which only some are human. Sarthogg live here in great numbers, and according to some accounts so does their leader an immortal behemoth of a Sarthogg known as Leviathan. That being said, if one was crazy enough to mount a raid on the Temple, they could net a great deal of wealth if successful.
　

The Digital Dark Age: Jeff Rients 20 Campaign Questions-Part 1

The other day I noticed Evan from the blog In Places Deep did a write up for his Nightwick Campaign setting using Jeff Rients great 20 campaign questions. That got me thinking I should do the same for the Digital Dark Age Campaign setting I’ve been working on. Granted when Jeff came up with those questions they were focused on the standard assumptions of a D&D campaign, but I thought it would be interesting to see how they might work in a campaign with more of a sci-fi bend to it. In fact when I had first come up with the concept of the Digital Dark Age it had more of a Shadowrun feel to it. Just so it's clear most of my inspiration for this has been directly stolen from Dan Simmons amazing Hyperion Cantos. So here we go:


1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
There is no divine spell granting cleric’s class in the Digital Dark Age. There is no proof that a God or Gods exist, and faith is just that, faith. That being said, many different types of ancient Earth religions are still practiced today. Of all these religions, The Church of the Holy Resurrection is the most powerful and influential. This extremely popular and wide spread faith is based on a reformed version of the Roman Catholic Church. Long ago the Church became reinvigorated when God’s divine blessing granted the Pope and his officials the divine ability (and a monopoly) on being able to offer the very poor and the very rich alike true and eternal life, by resurrecting the dead. The Churches ability to offer the sacrament of eternal life is a closely guarded secret, and only those who become members and devotees to the faith can benefit from the gift of resurrection.

2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
Need gear? Look no farther than Nitro’s Army Surplus Shack. As she is quick to tell you "If Nikki Nitro doesn’t have it, you don’t need it!" Located on the Promenade of Hell’s Attic this disorganized and cluttered store is surprisingly well stocked. Here you can find all types of new and used weapons, ammunition, survival gear, clothes, old ration packs, and much, much more. An extremely paranoid and security conscious woman, Nitro is one honest and very discreet lady, a rare find indeed in the "Attic". You can bet your left leg that if you’ve managed to befriend Nitro you’ve made a friend for life.

3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
Despite what Nikki Nitro would have you believe she doesn’t have everything you need in stock. Some times you absolutely need to have the right tool for the job. If you need a unique tool or piece of equipment, a data rig, custom body armor, weapon, clothing, or droid designed for a special mission, or just to be the fashion conscious diva that you know you are then you need to see Hephaestus. Extremley talented and equally as bitter Hephaestus is a crippled war veteran and a master craftsman. Living in a small apartment/workshop that reeks of cigarette smoke and boiled cabbage in Little Leningrad, Heph can make anything if you can afford to pay his steep fee. Heph or Hephaestus is the only names he ever answers to, and if asked about it will tell the questioner to "Git an education" and "Read a lil bit fer Christ’s sake!". When not working he reads and re-reads the classical works by Old Earth authors. Moby Dick is a favorite. Regardless of whether he’s working or not, Heph chain smokes hand rolled, pungent smelling tobacco cigarettes, while sipping his own homemade vodka from a chipped coffee mug. If somehow one were to manage the monumental feat of cracking Heph’s taciturn shell and befriending this angry old man, they might be one of the few ever invited into his inner sanctum. Here they would be privy to his frequent temper tantrums, rants about everything and anything, and be forced to endure the bitter telling and retelling of his old war stories.

4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
The mightiest and most feared wizard in the Digital Dark Age goes by many names. Some call him the Mad Monk. Others know him only as The Pilgrim, or as the Count of Crippletown. To cultists and the lunatic fringe he is known as the King in Yellow. More commonly however, this legendary sorcerer is known as Grigori Rasputin. Common sense would dictate that this man could not be the figure from Old Earth’s history books. Yet common sense and wizardry rarely, if ever, find themselves bedfellows. Regardless of his true name and origin none can deny the puissant magical power that this master of the Black Arts wields. Rasputin is wanted by the Prospero authorities, as well as by Church Inquisitors, he’s The Boogieman to children everywhere and feared by all, even, especially other wizards. His moniker as the Count of Crippletown fuels the rumors that this is the place he calls his home. Being one of the scariest and largely avoided slums in the Underhive only adds credence to the rumor.

5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
While there are many great warriors in the Digital Dark Age none are more decorated, cunning, or celebrated than the newest commanding officer of the elite Vatican Swiss Guard. Logan Slayke was recently promoted to Colonel after his last resurrection. His latest death was due to his heroic sacrifice in saving the life of the current Pope, Alexander IX. According to a poll on the Datasphere Slayke was voted Prospero’s most sexy and eligible bachelor.

6. Who is the richest person in the land?
As with the greatest warrior in the land there are numerous individuals who could argue their claim that they are the richest. Some might say the current Pope, others might point out that the Tempest Systems Lord Protector Hektor Tanaka is quite affluent. But they would all be wrong. That title belongs to none other than Lord Edwin Ashton III the patriarch of the esteemed House Ashton, and CEO of the Eclipse Mega Corporation. Lord Ashton III has homes all over the Tempest System as well as a space yacht and several mansions on Prospero. He can be most often found in either his mansion in Heavens Gate or at his palatial executive office located at the apex of the Eclipse Arcology Towers.

7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
True magical healing is rare in the Digital Dark Age. That being said, the massive advancements in technology and medicine have made healing almost seems like magic. The average citizen can go to the nearest hospital or walk in clinic. All but the poorest corporate arcologies have an in house medical facility. The very rich have a legion of private doctors and hospitals that attend to their every perceived need. For non-citizens and anyone who wants to be a little more discreet there are underground street docs and clinics. Some are no better than back alley butchers, and other are genuinely interested in helping people. For some honest to god magical healing you have a few options. Word on the street is that there are Street Shamans and an order of Druids that can heal people, as well as some bizarre cults. If you’re lucky they only ask for a favor or cash. But some groups like the Church of the Holy Resurrection ask for your allegiance and soul. Lastly there are some wizards and sorcerers who have the ability to heal.

8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
For most conditions a hospital or one of the above mentioned organizations can help out. As for coming back from the Dead there are only three ways currently known:

a)Join your local Church of the Holy Resurrection. Eternal life, but at what price? How much is your soul worth anyway?
b) Find a wizard or necromancer who is willing to raise you. The tetrameth addicted wizard known as Renegade is always willing to do the job. Paying in cash is great, Tetrameth is better.
c) Find and pledge allegiance to the Artificial Intelligence known as Prophet. Then get rebuilt as a cyborg in the machine hive legion that’s rumored to exist somewhere in the depths of the Underhive.

9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
In the Digital Dark Age the Church of the Holy Resurrection outlaws magic, and the holy Inquisition backed by the Protectorate Government enforce this edict. The Church espouses that magic is a sin and that those who practice magic are an abomination in Gods eyes. In response to this edict The Dead Letter Office was created. This secret society acts as a council to govern, regulate, and protect its membership from all whom might persecute its members. In addition these scholars and sorcerers are able to meet face to face and to discuss and trade secrets of the magical arts. For the sake of security The Dead Letter Office has no permanent location. Meetings are held on an irregular basis, and set at a random time and place. Communication is done almost exclusively through encrypted datasphere channels. Oh, and don’t bother asking a member to perform a raise dead ritual, it goes against the guilds charter amigo.

10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
They say in Hell’s Attic you can find anything for the right price, and they just might be right. If your looking for an alchemist your probably only going to find some crack pot who thinks he can turn lead into gold. However if you’re looking for an actual chemist then you want Simon Singh. Simon lives in a highly secure bunker in the basement of gang controlled brothel and specializes in cooking Tetrameth. This drug is all the rage these days, and he enjoys the protection of the gang as well as the company of the working girls. But don’t let his status as a drug dealer fool you, he is a brilliant chemist just trying to make a living in a dog eat dog world. If it’s a sage you want your best bet is to tap into the Datasphere and locate the elusive and childish A.I. known as Loki. If you can deal with his bullshit he can be a gold mine of information. For any other goods and services you might require just track down the pair of chess playing fixers known as Mr. Thick and Mr. Thin. These two hard cases can be found at their regular table in the Chinese take out restaurant known as The Silver Dragon. Slow to anger and quick to punish, these two know all the players, big and small. Oh while your at the Silver Dragon try their super spicy General Tao Chicken. Yummy. Just don’t ask where the chicken come from….

The Q&A for 11-20 will conclude in Part 2
　

Horrors of the Underhive-Part 1

The Underhive is the habitat for a plethora of unique monstrosities. Below are just a sample of creatures that stalk the nightmarish labyrinth of forgotten tunnels below the Mega-City of Prospero.

Sarthogg (Frog-Man)
Sarthogg’s are hulking, hunch backed hybrids of frog and man. From whence they came no one has yet to ascertain, but they seem to congregate in large numbers in and around the forsaken community known as Crippletown. These creatures have tentacle like tongues that can spring forth from their mouths at a range up to 10-feet. Sarthogg’s use this sticky tongue to grapple and reel in a target. It also injects both a numbing poison, and tiny symbiotic like spores into the victims skin. The numbing effect eventually wears off but can slow down an escape attempt, or make an arm useless in wielding a weapon depending on where the tongue has grabbed the victim. The spores if left untreated will eventually cause the victim to undergo a vile and sanity crushing transformation into a new Sarthogg. These foul creatures speak their own croaking language, and when not eating or mindlessly destroying things scrawl on the walls strange eldritch signs and words. While brutish, these creatures are very cunning and will often lay ambushes or traps if they find themselves consistently under attack from outsiders.

Giant Lantern Spider
Lantern Spiders can range in size from a small cat to the size of a large truck. These spiders look like large versions of Tarantula’s with mottled gray and black stripes. These spiders can spin webs and often do though they cunningly use these thick sticky webs to funnel pray directly into their killing ground. Once their potential prey has made it this far the Lantern spider will open and shut it’s eight glowing eyes in a soothing pattern that will effectively hypnotizing the victim. Once hypnotized other Lantern Spiders in the pack will leap out of hiding and attack. They will try to subdue their victims will a paralytic poison, and then wrap them up in webbing and dragged into their larder in their lair for devouring in the neat future. Some times those unfortunate enough to be captured are used as the living incubators for the Lantern spiders females eggs. Upon the hatching of the eggs, which have been implanted under the skin of the victim, and which is quite painful, the newly hatched young swarm and eat their unwilling host.

The Grinning Man (Mothman)
Reports of this enigmatic creature are rare, but when they do surface the sightings tend to be located in the General vicinity of Hell’s Attic. This lead some to speculate that they lair in the nearby area. Other rumors circulate that the Grinning Man or the Mothman is in fact some sort of guardian, like a gargoyle from ancient myth. Descriptions of the creature tend to differ from person to person though there are a few details that consistently reoccur in the recounting of those that genuinely have claimed to have seen this creature, or creatures. The Grinning Man is a roughly as tall as a man, very thin, bald, has glowing red eyes, and the eponymous wide toothy white and ever present grin. It has also been reported that it has moth or butterfly like wings, with a span of 10-feet.

Random Encounters in the Underhive-Part 3

This is Part 3 of a 3 Part series on 100 Random encounters that coud occur in Prospero's Underhive. Here's Part 1 and Part 2

Sub-Table 8: Smells

1. Rotten Garbage
2. Decomposing Corpse
3. Fire Smoke
4. Fresh Cool Air
5. Sulphurous Hot Air
6. Acrid Burnt Fumes
7. Fresh Excrement
8. Burning Hair
9. Cooking Meat
10. Raw Sewage

Sub-Table 9: Artificial Intelligence

1. Hive Worker Droids
2. Hive Scout Drones
3. Hive Solider Combat Droids
4. Spy/Assassin Cyborg (Terminator)
5. Hive Droid Exploration Outpost
6. Hive Droid Manufacturing Station
7. Hive Meat Slaves (Humans enslaved via implants)
8. Hive Droid Homebase
9. Hive Symbiont Bug Droids
10. Hive Droid Laboratory

Sub-Table 10: Weird/Supernatural

1. Cultists performing a Sacrifice
2. Hidden Cult Temple
3. A Brass Puzzle Box
4. Distant Weeping Female Voice
5. Some Creep Dressed as a Clown
6. Cannibal Abattoir
7. Yuggothian Minning Operation
8. Yuggothian Brain-Mecha
9. Feeling/Sounds as if your being stalked
10. Feeling as if your being watched

Random Encounters in the Underhive-Part 2

This is Part 2 of a 3 part series of 100 random encounters that could occur in Prospero's Underhive. Part 1 can be found Here.

Sub-Table 5: Creatures

1. Sarthogg (Frog-Man)
2. Giant Lantern Spider
3. The Grinning Man (Mothman)
4. Judas Mantis
5. Hellwasp
6. Conduit Naga
7. Shrapnel Rat
8. Tommyknocker
9. Witch Hound
10. Plague Zombie

Sub-Table 6: Sounds

1. Crash of falling debris
2. Clash of combat
3. False call for help
4. Genuine call for help
5. Splashing/Dripping liquid
6. Clanking/Whirring machinery
7. Door Banging open/close
8. Large Explosion
9. Hiss of Gas/Steam
10. Hum of Oscillating fan

Sub-Table 7: Items/Finds

1. Modern/Primitive Weapon
2. Broken Tech (GPS, data pad, com-link)
3. Drug Paraphernalia
4. Clothing (Even male, odds female)
5. Bag (1-7 Empty, 8-9 roll again, 10 roll twice)
6. Bones/Corpse
7. Food/Water
8. Light Source (Flares, Candles, Lamp)
9. Ammunition/Power cell (batteries)

10. Lost and Important Plot Maguffin

Random Encounters in the Underhive-Part 1

This is Part 1 of a 3 part series of 100 random encounters that could occur in Prospero's Underhive. Check for an encounter every 6 hours the PC's spend in this subterranean labyrinth. Generally an encounter will occur 50% of the time, but this can be increased or decreased at the discretion of the GM. At some point this list would be made into a master list so all the rolls would use a percentile roll. In the mean time I have broken it down into a series of d10 rolls in order to make it more manageable as a blog post. If an encounter is rolled, first roll for what kind of encounter occurs, and then roll on that respective sub-table. This is a pretty bare bones table and at some point I would probably flesh it out a little more. In the meantime it gives you a basic idea of the kinds of encounters you might have in the abyssal hell of the Underhive.

Underhive Encounters

1. Hivers
2. Surface People
3. Criminals
4. Hazards
5. Creatures
6. Sounds
7. Items/Finds
8. Smells
9. Artificial Intelligence
10. Weird/Supernatural

Sub-Table 1: Hivers

1. Scavangers
2. Scouting Party
3. Hunting Party
4. Scrappers
5. Trader
6. Trapper
7. Deranged Hermit
8. Hungry Cannibals 
9. Mutant Savages
10. Raiders

Sub-Table 2: Surface People

1. Police Sweeper Team
2. Maintenance Crew
3. Urban Spelunkers
4. Mercenary Group
5. Aid Organization
6. Science Survey Team
7. Engineering Team
8. Media Reporter
9. Stupid College Students
10. Runaway Child

Sub-Table 3: Criminals

1. Underhive Gang (The Morlocks) 
2. Underhive Gang (The Devil's Rejects)
3. Serial Killer
4. Fugitives
5. Drug Deal
6. Drug Lab
7. Gang vs. Gang
8. Gang vs. Surface Group
9. Gang vs. Hiver Group
10. Gang/Criminal hideout

Sub-Table 4: Hazards

1. Scalding Steam Jets
2. Poison Gas
3. Dripping Acid or Pool
4. Giant Fan Blades
5. Deep Shaft
6. Live Electrical Wires
7. Manmade Booby Trap
8. Cave In
9. Collapsing Stairs/Catwalk
10. Radiation Zone

Prospero’s Underhive: Hell’s Attic

Despite the fact that the entire of Planet Prospero is covered by one large city, living space here is at a premium. Prospero’s Mega-City is divided into sectors based on many of the original municipal boundaries of the cities that were first built during Prospero’s colonization period. The average citizen works for the government, or is a cog one of the massive corporations that bases their central headquarters on the planet. This means that the mid-to-high middleclass citizen on Prospero tends to live in one of the many spartan arcology complexes located throughout the city.

Citizens of Prospero’s privileged wealthy and elite class however, get to bask in the luxurious and spacious, penthouses and condominiums that scrap the city’s skyline. These veritable palaces tend towards the ostentatious, are lavishly decorated, and often sport large swimming pools and lush indoor gardens full of exotic plants gathered from the far reaches of the Galaxy.

But for many even the luxury of a basic arcology apartment is far beyond their means. For those unlucky enough to have to make a choice between food and shelter, the Underhive City of New Kowloon are all they can ever afford to live in. But even these desperate people consider themselves lucky. When the average impoverished citizen of New Kowloon considers the desperate lost souls who find themselves forced to live in the proverbial belly of the beast, they consider themselves wealthy indeed. Located deep in the bowels of Prospero there are forgotten sewers and service tunnels. Here can be found the worst of Prospero’s hive-like ghettos, and one of the most notorious of these abyssal hellholes is Hell’s Attic.

Hell’s Attic
If for some unexplainable reason you wanted to visit Hell’s Attic, the easiest way to get there would be to descend into the dark dregs of the Liberty Trench that divides central New Kowloon east and west. This dark and scary place echoes with strange sounds, reeks of garbage, and other unidentifiable smells. Junkies and other sub species of humanity wander aimlessly around in the shadow. Once here you might think that you have reached the "Attic". This would be a mistake. Your journey is just beginning and it takes you even deeper into the stinking bowels of the planet. Here you must navigate through a labyrinth of zigzagging tunnels, cross-shaky catwalks that threaten tumble fall into chasms. Then finally after what seems like an eternity of following ancient power cables and pipes encrusted with flaking mold and paint and avoiding the putrid fluids that drip from them, that you will eventually find yourself in the infamous ghetto known as Hell’s Attic.

It the "Attic" one finds an odd juxtaposition of people and places. Looking to your left you are quick to discover prostitutes soliciting their carnal services. While directly opposite of them a priest gives an impassioned sermon to a motley congregation of the desperate and hopeless. Squatting inside the burnt out shell of an ancient vehicle a young mother breast-feeds her newborn child, while she waits for her drug addicted boyfriend getting high in the flophouse across the street. Making your way deeper into these warrens of sin and flashing neon lights you can see an armed team of aid workers from the surface. Quickly and quietly they unload much needed medical supplies into the only clinic for miles around. A long line of sick and malnourished "Hivers" squat along the front wall of the clinic hoping for a small measure of food or medical aid. Across from the clinic, the thunderous bass of heavy metal rock music blazes from a gang’s clubhouse. Young hotheaded gang members can be seen inside roughhousing and drinking toxic homemade booze. On a balcony above scrawny dirty children play video games in a cheap arcade. By night the children will be kicked out and Arcade will undergo a subtle transformation into a combinations strip club and brothel. In short Hell’s Attic is a very strange complex place and difficult to generalize about. It’s a place that’s both extremely frightening and yet also a place where people continue to lead normal lives.