Podziemna dzielnica Seattle
Informacje z powieści Never Trust an Elf:
Adam: ork ganger, leader of the Green Band in the Ork Underground
Scatter: female ork rat shaman, unusually small and ugly
Harry: ork, Kham's grandfather, high in the Ork Underground government
Sarah: ork, Kham's mother, old and senile at thirty-five
http://www.amurgsval.org/shadowrun/OrkUnderground.html :
A Guide to the Ork Underground[]
Getting There
There are 22 known public entrances to the Underground, and the number
of miscellaneous ventilation shafts, private entrances, power
conduits, sewer and storm drain portals, and similar such accesses are
probably not known by anyone. The official tour entrances are inside
the Big Rhino (in the basement of the Seattle Utilities Building at
Seneca and First streets) and the basement of Lordstrung’s
Department Store (at Fifth and Pine): this area is called the Mall,
and is the most well-lit area (and safest for breeders, keebs, and
halfers). It functions as a bazaar— one of the best black
markets in the Sprawl— with a number of permanent shops working
out of renovated 19th century storefronts, dating back to the old
Seattle before the streets were covered over. It sports many garish
murals and contorted statues for tourists to gawk at, and any number
of trashy carvings, cheap trinkets, and brightly colored souvenirs are
available here.
Further away from the Mall, there are ornate friezes and
filigreed arches, many of which date back to the time of Dwarfs
living in the Underground; some are the work of current residents
showing their civic pride.
There is very little Matrix service in the Ork Underground, and
few places have cellphone repeaters installed. (The Bazaar is one
exception.)
Society
In the face of a common threat— the society in the upper
world— most of the residents of the Ork Underground get along
fairly well. There are many thieves down there, but they don’t often
steal from the poorer residents: in the surface world, there’s plenty
of space to run in, and such thieves abound, but the Underground is
more constrained.
People
The Trogs, looking dangerous in their red and black, are the gang that
claims the Underground as territory, and they often serve as a de
facto police force that discourages people from criminal activities
they don’t profit from. They have recently instituted formal
accounting procedures for customers paying protection money, and serve
as a broker of jobs— targeting people who don’t pay— to
thieves.
The Underground attracts many beings that are not comfortable in
sunlight: ghouls, wendigos, vampires, and dzoo-noo-qua. (The
creatures bearing HMHVV have to watch their steps: most Trolls have an
intense dislike for the dzoo-noo-qua that they could potentially
become, and of the vampires and wendigo that could render them into
such beasts.) Ghouls are occasionally tolerated, though they seldom
survive being caught eating residents of the Underground or their
friends.
Places of Interest
The Ork Underground connects with the outside world through pedestrian
entrances and ventilation shafts. (There are a number of buildings in
Seattle providing discreet ventilation access, and establishing these
is a way of currying favor with the folks underground.) There are
very few vehicle entrances: internal combustion engines are frowned
upon in the Ork Underground, and the usual transport down there is the
occasional electric trolley that used to be some other sort of
vehicle. (One of the entrances is in an underground parking garage on
the outskirts of the downtown area, and there are folks who live in
the Underground and have permanent parking passes for this garage.)
The pumps— the only thing keeping the Ork Underground from
flooding from the regular rains in Seattle— are almost as
important as the ventilation fans. Some of the areas in the
Underground actually have streams flowing through them on their way
out to the Sound.
There are still tour spots in the Underground where it’s relatively
safe for an unaccompanied Human, Elf, or Dwarf to wander around.
Those wandering outside such trading areas have to be ready to
demonstrate their own toughness. (Those who do so on a regular
basis can gain a grudging acceptance— though they’ll be
tested occasionally by those who won’t believe without personal
experience.)
Hotels
Drac’s Coffins
Coffin Hotel Archetype/Big Cavern Row/Jack “Dracula” Hilborn/Bias against real vampires/LTG #206 (51-1082)
A coffin hotel with a Transylvanian theme: the walls have been etched
to look like the blocks of a stone castle, the coffins themselves are
all glossy black, and a variety of black cats prowl the place to keep
the vermin down. Jack “Dracula” Hilborn is an Ork who is
often seen in sunlight, and has an impressive collection of horror
movies ranging from the powerfully artistic to the amazingly cheesy.
All the accomodations are in Ork and Troll sizes, but that
doesn’t stop the other metatypes from bunking down here and
living off the vending machines when the heat is on in the surface
world.
>>>>>( You have no idea how many drekheads ask me if I’m a real vampire, or come at me with a wooden stake. No one seems ta clue in to the fact that HMHVV makes Orks inta wendigo, not vampires... )<<<<<
— Jack Hilborn (01:22:59/01-30-55)
Restaurants & Bars
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service
Large Restaurant Archetype/Storm Drain Way/Tasha Crane, Owner/Bias against slobs/No LTG #
A cafeteria with good food and a unique theme. The temperature in
there is warm enough for employees to be comfortable without much
clothing, and they are required to wear no shirts and go barefoot.
(The occasional female employee usually has a halter top, tube top, or
similar such gear; most are male and seem to be selected for
“beefcake” potential.) Customers are encouraged to clean up
after themselves; if you don’t like the cleanliness of your spot,
you can grab one of the ubiquitous high-pressure garden hoses and
clean it off. If someone getting sprayed doesn’t like that, they
are encouraged to let you know. After the initial few weeks of
uproar, the place calmed down to its present state of 98% of the
customers cleaning up after themselves.
Hrothgar’s Feasting Hall
Large Restaurant Archetype/Big Cavern Row/Ranulf Erikson, Owner/Bias against non-Orks and Trolls/No LTG #
A viking-themed restaurant, complete with fake glowing torches
providing enough illumination for Orkish low-light vision. Don’t
start a fight in here, chummers; the employees are tough. The
taxidermed arm over the door supposedly belonged to a real
Dzoo-noo-qua, and was ripped off by Erikson’s cousin Beowulf, an Ork
almost massive enough to be a Troll. Beowulf is the usual night shift
manager.
>>>>>( I’ll bet he had a different name before pulling off that stunt... )<<<<<
— Barry (14:36:15/02-03-55)
>>>>>( Beowulf does a fair bit of independent contracting, too; an excellent debt collector. )<<<<<
— Muscles McGee (14:36:15/02-03-55)
Trollstack
Small Restaurant Archetype/Darkbrook Lane/Thrudd, Owner/Bias against dieters and anorexics/No LTG #
A 24-hour pancake house, named for its specialty, the Trollstack: a
tower of pancakes that will satisfy the appetite of most hungry
trolls. (The usual variety of breakfast foods, like syntheggs and
soybacon and so on, are also available here.) The owner and primary
chef, Thrudd, is a huge battle-scarred Troll with an equally huge
appetite. Customers who have the sense not to be frightened by his
fearsome visage find him a very friendly person, always experimenting
with new dishes.
>>>>>( Thrudd started that place with money he won as a pit fighter. Who knew he was such a good cook? )<<<<<
— Jack Hilborn (01:28:22/01-30-55)
Nightclubs
Maxine’s Bar and Grill
Nightclub Archetype/The Mall/Maxine Norton, Owner/Subtle bias against non-Orks and Trolls/LTG #206 (59-7734)
Barbecued food delivered by topless waitresses to faux-wood
tables with a view of three runways of strippers in front of a
mirror-backed stage. Three carved stairways lead to private rooms
above. (Shows up in Headhunters, by Mel Odom.)
Other Places
Fraggin’ Big and Tall
A clothing store for people in Orkish and Trollish sizes.
Xena’s Boudoir
Small Shop Archetype/The Mall/Tanya Gordon, Owner/Subtle bias against skinny people/LTG #206 (55-2177)
Lingerie for the larger sizes; this place sees a fair number of Human
customers as well, since not all Human women look like anorexic teenage
elves, and the silks and satins here are designed to flatter Orkish
and Trollish women.
Stompers
Small Shop Archetype/The Mall/Jim Phelps, Owner/Subtle bias against people with tiny feet/LTG #206 (58-4016)
Boots, shoes, sandals, and slippers for feet in Ork and Troll sizes.
This is the place to find fuzzy bunny slippers for someone whose
feet are the size of skateboards.
Give Us Your Quarters
A laundromat and video game parlor; a hangout for many fixers. The
tokens (good for a videogame or half an hour on one of the washers
or dryers) are one of the alternative currencies down in the Ork
Underground.
The Hospital
The Hospital is the only source of regular medical treatment in the
Ork Underground. The main personnel are Rosie, a Trollish Bear
shaman; her apprentice Rick, an Orkish follower of Snake; and Tina, an
Orkish street doc (a second generation shadow cutter) capable of basic
surgery and patch jobs like appendectomies. The Hospital has only a
few rooms— an operating area for Tina, a medicine lodge for
Rosie, and a large space subdivided by curtains for about two dozen
beds.
The Cavern of Waterfalls
The Cavern of Waterfalls is a particularly interesting place: a number
of storm drains in the vicinity broke during the earthquakes caused by
the Great Ghost Dance, and the combination of quakes, subsidence, and
erosion has opened out a large cavern underneath downtown Seattle.
Shamans passing through decided that a place so rich in natural forces
would be an excellent place to site medicine lodges, and the set of
lodges here— all to urban totems like Dog, Rat, Raccoon, Gator,
and Snake— is analogous to the similar spot on Council Island,
Medicine Lodge Hollow. Unlike Medicine Lodge Hollow, some of the
lodges are fully functional... and in regular use by particular shamans.
>>>>>( The Caverns are absolutely breathtaking. There are several kinds of mosses that provide some light and the area is incredibly peaceful. )<<<<<
— Windsinger (11:19:15/01-28-55)
>>>>>( Wait a minute. I know this Windsinger slag. He lives out in Redmond about four blocks away from me. How did a breeder like him get permission to visit a sacred spot like that without the shamans ripping him apart? )<<<<<
— Bruno the Bonebreaker (14:01:12/01-28-55)
>>>>>( Oh, I don’t know; maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s a former Wildcat Combat Shaman who can take of himself? )<<<<<
— Snowpaws (15:32:58/01-28-55)
>>>>>( That helped. More importantly, two of the shamans that have Lodges there use the same Talismonger that I do. I simply asked permission to see the Cavern and brought some beer along. )<<<<<
— Windsinger (17:01:00/01-28-55)
The Church of the New Baptism
The Church of the New Baptism was founded by a former Mormon
minister, Arthur Durham, who goblinized into an Ork in 2021, along
with a large segment of humanity. His transformation shook his faith,
and for a number of years he just tried to survive in a world
transformed by magic. On the Night of Rage, he experienced a vision
where he saw that goblinization was a new baptism. He spent some time
thinking about this, and worked up his new religion on the following
tenets:
- Goblinization is a form of baptism that washes away all sins; being born as an Ork or Troll is equivalent. The dominance of Ork and Troll genes over all other metatypes shows divine favor in passing on this blessing to children.
- The forms of Orks and Trolls are given to them by God (who is always referred to as a female) to make it easier for them to concentrate on inner beauty.
- Orks and Trolls are blessed, and will have a very easy time of getting into Heaven. The other metatypes have to work very hard to do so; the easiest way is for one to love and marry an Ork or Troll. (Polygamy and homosexuality are just fine, as long as everyone involved loves each other and is willing to formalize their commitment.)
- Elves are singled out for temptation by the Devil, for their beautiful forms can easily distract them from taking care of their souls.
- People who discriminate against Orks and Trolls are simply clueless, and should be forgiven and given a chance to understand. Only in extreme cases should they be put down like rabid dogs, and this should happen in love and mercy, not fear and hatred.
Arthur started out preaching on street corners and in the
Underground, and the Church of the New Baptism has been spreading in
the Ork/Troll community ever since. They’ve had their current
meeting hall in the Underground since 2049. The more
faithful in the Church will accept people of any metatype as long as
they have Orks and Trolls for friends; the rest will only trust a
non-Ork or Troll if they are married to an Ork or Troll. Ministers
are not required to be celibate, and can be of any sex and skin color.
Arthur Durham is getting quite old, and while his vision continues
to lead the Church, there are a number of ministers who emphasize
action against Humanis policlubbers and their ilk.
City Hall
City Hall doesn’t look much like a government building: the
reinforced walls and occasional gun emplacement make it look more like
an armed camp. As the de facto center of power for the Ork
Underground, this is entirely appropriate, as rulership is mostly by a
combination of acclaim backed by force.
Economy
The Ork Underground has a strong economy of barter, flavored with
tokens from the Give Us Your Quarters laundromat. Money comes in
from the outside through the shops that tourists visit in the Mall,
the money of topside trogs who like to shop among their own kind,
and the salaries of the few who live in the Ork Underground and
work in the surface world.
Rules
Extending the Tunnel System
Your players may wish to curry favor in the Ork Underground by helping extend the tunnel system, purchase new equipment for ventilation, ...
Cavern Spirits
Individual residences of the Ork Underground have Hearth Spirits, but overall the place possesses a Cavern Spirit...
Inne źródła[]
The Shadowrun module
- DNA/DOA and the
- novels
- Preying for Keeps,
- Never Trust an Elf, and
- Headhunters have some more glimpses of the Ork Underground.