DEATH BY CORIUM LIGHT

A Darwin’s World Adventure v1.0

Creator: Dominic Covey The ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are Trademarks
Writer: Dominic Covey owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used according to the
Editor: Chris Davis terms of the d20 System License version 1.0a. A copy of this
Additional Editing: Charles Rice, John Shaw, Don License can be found at www.wizards.com. Portions of this
Kiesling work are derived from the d20 System Reference Document.
Cover Art: V. Shane
Interior Art: V. Shane Dungeons & Dragons(R) and Wizards of the Coast(R) are
Layout: Chris Davis Registered Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, and are used
with Permission.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2 18. BOOBY TRAPS 28
CHAPTER 2: LIL’ VEGAS 4 19. DRAINAGE PITS 29
KEY TO LIL’ VEGAS 6 20. BODIES 29
A. WALLS 6 21. VEHICLE GARAGES 30
B. GATES 6 HABITAT LEVEL 30
C. SHOPS 6 22. HABITAT AREAS 30
D. DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS 8 23. ELEVATOR BOTTOM 32
E. BORDELLOS 8 EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVEL 32
F. CORONADO 8 24. TECHNICIAN BREAKROOMS 32
G. BARRACKS 9 25. BODY 32
H. DOC HACKSAW’S 9 26. INFIRMARY 33
I. LIVESTOCK 10 27. MINI-ROVER 34
J. WAREHOUSES 10 28. EQUIPMENT STORAGE 34
K. VEHICLE YARD 10 29. BLOCKED SHAFT 34
L. CLEAN QUARTER 11 30. MONITORING STATION 34
M. PALACE HOTEL 12 31. SECURITY STATION A 35
N. POWER HOUSES 14 32. CONTROL CENTER A 36
O. FOSTER’S SHACK 14 33. MAINTENANCE SHAFTS 36
P. TORAK’S HOLE 15 REACTOR SERVICE LEVELS 36
Q. HIRELING BARRACKS 16 34. STEAM DUCTS 36
R. CORIUM WAREHOUSES 16 35. HOLE TO REACTOR 36
S. ORE EXTRACTOR 16 36. FLOODED TUNNELS A 37
T. DRILL SHEDS 16 37. FLOODED TUNNELS B 37
U. CORIUM MINES 16 38. FLOODED TUNNELS C 37
V. GRAVEYARD 17 REACTOR LEVEL A 38
W. RAVAGERS’ CAMP 17 39. SECURITY STATION B 38
CHAPTER 3: THE CORIUM MINES 18 40. ANCIENT RESCUE PARTY 38
KEY TO THE CORIUM MINES 20 41. SKELETONS 38
1. MINE TUNNELS 20 42. CONTROL CENTER B 39
2. STOPES 20 43. TURBINE CHAMBERS 41
3. MINING PITS 21 44. WEAKENED WALKWAYS 42
4. WEAKENED TUNNELS 21 45. VENTILATION SHAFTS 42
5. BRUTALITY 21 REACTOR LEVEL B 43
6. RAT ATTACK! 22 46. CONTROL CENTER C 43
7. RAT PASSAGES 22 47. FUEL HOLDING CHAMBER 43
8. SUPPLY STORES 23 48. COOLING POOL 44
9. OLD FREIGHT ELEVATOR 23 49. REACTOR CORE 44
10. ABANDONED SHAFT 24 REACTOR LEVEL C 45
LOWER MINES 24 50. LOST MINERS’ TOWN 45
11. MINE SHAFT 24 51. SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY TUNNELS 46
12. DEEP MINES 25 52. FISSURE 46
13. PRISONERS 25 53. GENERATOR ROOMS 48
14. GUARD POST 26 54. LABYRINTH 49
15. ELEVATOR SHAFTS A 28 55. QUEEN’S CHAMBER 50
16. ELEVATOR SHAFTS B 28 CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE 50
GARAGE LEVEL 28 APPENDIX I: NEW ITEMS 51
17. ACCESS PASSAGEWAYS 28 APPENDIX II: SLAVE PRICES 51

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Death by Corium Light is a Darwin’s World
adventure suitable for characters of levels 8-10. The CHARACTER HOOKS
Corium Mines of Lil’ Vegas are one of the most
infamous locations of the Twisted Earth. Word is There are three main ways for characters to get
spreading across the wasteland about this near- involved in Death By Corium Light. Keep in mind
legendary source of corium, a vast pit in the earth that these are only the most obvious means of
from which the priceless glowing stuff seems to flow employing this adventure in an ongoing campaign,
in endless quantities – and people are coming, from and with a little tinkering and adjustment, the setting
near and far, to earn their share working the mines. of Lil’ Vegas (and the infamous mines) could be
But there is a secret that few people know, and even tailored to fit in any region (and at any point in the
fewer live to tell about – people aren’t leaving town, campaign) the GM desires.
and what few visitors manage to escape are telling
tales of slavery, suffering, and thousands being Captives! If you are running a lower-level game,
worked to death. Not that this bothers most people, Lil’ Vegas can prove to be an extremely difficult pit
but then there are those stories of strange creatures from which characters will inevitably try to escape.
living in the tunnels of the mines, stories that are Low-level wanderers, travelers, and character-types
threatening to topple it all… come to Lil’ Vegas all the time, investigating rumors
of the great corium mines and the widely acclaimed
“beauties” that are there for all hands to enjoy.
USING THIS ADVENTURE Profiteers, scavengers, and opportunists alike come
from near and far to Lil’ Vegas with each new rumor
Death by Corium Light is a site-based adventure. of corium veins and abundant women…but few ever
It is a non-linear scenario in that it has no specific escape once the harsh and twisted truth is revealed.
storyline the PCs need to adhere too. The adventure Player characters could be among the poor souls
hooks presented within this module are just suggested who come to Lil’ Vegas and find that the promise
ways to get player characters involved in Lil’ Vegas of untold wealth is, for the most part, a cunning lie
and it’s vast complex of corium mines. to draw in outside labor, and that Lil’ Vegas is
While there are a number of story arcs far more wretched than they ever dreamed.
in “Death By Corium Light,” GMs Forced into slavery (either by being
should not feel tied down by these tricked by company-store “payment
threads alone. The adventure itself plans” during their stay, or outright
is designed to allow different abduction by mine press
styles of play and even different gangs), they will enter
types of groups. Death by the mines not as visitors
Corium Light is just as useful but as slaves. For these
as a city sourcebook, lower-level parties
capable of being a the going will
permanent fixture in be extremely
any Darwin’s World tough, but the
campaigns. potential to
GMs should have a move among
copy of the Player’s the miners as
Handbook, Dungeons equals (and possibly
Master’s Guide, and rally them to fight
Monster Manual published back) could be the
by Wizards of the beginnings of
Coast®. In addition, an epic-style
Death by Corium rebellion in
Light requires the the City of
Darwin’s World, Corium.
Terrors of the
Twisted Earth,
and Metal Gods
sourcebooks.

2
Hired Guns. Unless you plan on altering the nature Reclaimers. An alternative to running Death By
of this adventure somewhat, PCs of higher levels Corium Light is possible for characters that belong
should not generally face the threat of becoming to one of the major factions of the Twisted Earth (see
slaves to Big Ben and his establishment, since it Darwin’s World Complete for more on these pseudo-
is obvious (by their equipment, ability to protect societies and post-Fall brotherhoods). Those who
themselves, and sheer appearance and grit) that the serve a “higher purpose”, such as the Foundation or
local guards and soldiers wouldn’t stand a chance Brethren, might be attracted to Lil’ Vegas in pursuit
against them. PCs of higher levels (10+) are likely to of the technology that no doubt exists beneath the
find the constabulary of Lil’ Vegas to be nothing more surface in its ancient mines (it was once, after all, a
than suspicious onlookers, and the threats and devices gigantic nuclear power complex). The Foundation
used to snare lower level outsiders won’t be used on for one seeks all kinds of technologies, and the
them. Big Ben and his men know whom they can secrets of nuclear power generation that could be
tangle with and whom they can’t. Competent PCs potentially discovered among the mines would be
who look tough, or make a point to show they have priceless to them. Similarly the Brethren might have
considerable skill, just aren’t worth the trouble, and thought of this as well, and sent agents to infiltrate
after a few days most leave anyway once they realize the mines and destroy them (through sabotage) so
the truth behind Lil’ Vegas. that the lost secrets within remain buried for eternity.
Of the few powerful characters (and NPCs) Another group that might send its followers (PCs)
that come and go through Lil’ Vegas, Big Ben as envoys or agents would be the Brotherhood
often invites the most promising-looking to be his of Radiation, who in their twisted vision see all
“guests” at his saloon/mansion. Tough guardians things radioactive as “holy”. Guided by the stories
and raiders get offers of employment as hired guns of limitless corium, and the knowledge that there
or “troubleshooters” in the mines (breaking up was once a great power plant below the town (and
discontent miners, killing those miners who rise to virtually tons of nuclear fuel), they might send trusted
charismatic prominence, etc). Scavs may sometimes members there to also infiltrate the town and scout
be offered regular pay for keeping an eye out on out the mines.
the trade routes and, if possible, to raid independent There are already at least two “cells” of major
merchants to help line the coffers of Ben’s treasury. factions operating in Lil’ Vegas, and these might
Skilled, high-level thinkers who can’t be outright serve as inside contacts for a more powerful group
enslaved will be given offers of employment (no (e.g. the characters).
strings attached, believe it or not), either in the
capacity of doctors, mining engineers, or town
planners. Likewise, traders who appear tough may
also be courted to act as emissaries for Ben or to go
to nearby settlements and convince them to pledge
their youths to service in the mines.
Thus it is clear that though weaker individuals are
often swallowed up by Lil’ Vegas, more powerful and
difficult wayfarers and travelers are not. Big Ben
doesn’t want trouble, especially with those visitors
who are either too tough to tangle with, or have an
allegiance to one of the wasteland’s major groups.
For these he puts on his best airs, courts them with
clean water and gorgeous harem girls, and tries to
win them over with promises of long or short-term
employment.

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 CHAPTER 2: LIL’ VEGAS
Under the distant glimmering stars the dry scrub RANDOM ENCOUNTERS IN LIL’ VEGAS
country seems to go on forever in uneven rolling
plains, ringed in the distance by the dark black d12 Event
contours of ancient mountains that grow darker as 1-2 Guard Patrol
the night’s cold color deepens. Splashed across 3 Obscure Message
the floor of this canyon country, up ahead between 4-5 Whore
the weaving flats and blasted hills, is an oasis of 6 Warning
surprising color that gleams like a handful of dropped 7-8 “Desertion”
gemstones clustered together on the earth’s floor. 9-11 Gossip
From afar they seem like pinpoints of alluring light, 12 Press Gang
and the sounds of motors, clanging metal, ghostly
laughter, and eerily disjointed player piano music Guard Patrol: Walking the streets the PCs pass a
seem to emanate from this center for miles around. guard patrol of 1d3+1 surly watchmen that eye them
The sounds attract, the lights bring attention and suspiciously, muttering in a taunting tone how they’ll
draw outsiders in. But as one nears, the image of “get them” in the end. The guards will not cause any
this desert city becomes much clearer. The city is real trouble, but will shadow the group to make them
a squalid one, a town that was once a village, built uneasy, or stand idly by while troublemakers annoy
up on crumbling skeletons of ancient buildings, an or interfere with the group’s progress.
Old West ghost town refurbished through the ages to
defy time and the hard plains elements. A pathetic Obscure Message: The party passes through an
wall, stacks of tires and rusted old cars surround it. alley and spots, scrawled on the wall, a message in
Strung from nearly every stretch of wall and along paint, tar, or even human blood (in Unislang). The
the narrow avenues of town is a belt of colored message, whose author is nowhere to be seen, reads:
lights, Christmas lights that flicker, fade, and throb “FLEE NOW. THEY’RE WATCHING YOU.” If
brighter like a pulsing, erratic heartbeat. The sound this is rolled a second time, the message elsewhere
of electricity hums in the background of everything reads: “ONCE THEY HAVE YOU YOU’LL
here, drowned out only by the choking motors of NEVER ESCAPE.”
generators among the poorly-lit neighborhoods, the
drunken laughter spilling out from the barracks of Whore: The PCs are approached by sickly-looking
miners, the run-down sound of Wild West piano young furniture that offers to share herself for the
players from the many drinking establishments, and evening. If they seem interested, the woman refers
the all-too familiar weeping and sobbing of the slave them to a bordello (up the street) where they can meet
population of women and girls that keep the town in in a few minutes. The offer can be genuine, it could
spirits. be a means to distract the group from something else
Welcome to Lil’ Vegas, boomtown of the Twisted going on (like robbing their abandoned mounts), or
Earth. the woman could have been paid to lead the group
into an ambush by a press gang (see below).
Lil’ Vegas: (Resurrectors; ruled by local dictator);
AL NE; 800 cp limit; Assets 70,000 cp; Population Warning: The PCs are witness to an old man,
1,750 (twice that in transients and slaves); Isolated bearded and mangy, being dragged off from his
(first-generation mutant 150, second-generation shack-like home towards the distant glow of the
mutant 1,600). mines up the hill. As he is being forcefully dragged
Authority Figure: Governor Big Ben, male away, the sickly man spies the PCs, and with eyes
second-generation mutant Guardian4/Thinker8. wild with anguish he screams to them: “Go now!
Important Characters: Governor Big Ben, male Run as fast as you can! The mines! They’ll never
second-generation mutant Guardian4/Thinker8; Sloan let you leave!” The man, a local miner whose spirit
(Governor’s bodyguard), male second-generation has yet to be fully broken, is badly beaten by the
mutant Guardian 9; Mandarin Joab H’an of The guards before being dragged off unconscious to
Clean, male second-generation mutant Trader12. the mines. If the PCs intervene, they will confront
Others: Typical guards, Gu3 (200); mine guards, a typical guard patrol that is in no mood for the
Gu3 (85); mine patrol leaders, Gu5 (15); Janissaries sentiments of outsiders…
of The Clean, Gu5 (30).
“Desertion”: Laughter, commotion, and a series of
shots ring through the air, somewhere near the edge
of town. The PCs happen to be in the area, and spot
a group of guards and horrified locals watching as a

4
distant figure attempts to make a run for it. Already since then, while some even whisper their bodies
having scaled the walls of town, he has made it have been found, eaten up by a strange acid and their
almost one hundred yards into the desert – and the innards “sucked away”. Anyone speaking of these
guards are taking pot shots after him, placing bets stories had best be warned – Big Ben has ordered
on who will drop him. The PCs, confined to ground such “provocateurs” and “panic-peddlers” to be shot
level (the guards are on a nearby tower or building on sight.
top), can only stand helplessly by as the fleeing
figure is eventually shot dead. If the PCs stay after 3. Late at night, just about a week ago, a group of
the guards leave and inquire about the situation, the Big Ben’s guards were seen dragging some “thing”
frightened locals will not speak to them other than to into Doc Hacksaw’s for an examination. Apparently
say the poor escapee truly believed “death is better they brought it up from deep in the mines, but who’s
than this.” to say what it really was; Doc isn’t talking, and the
soldiers burned the thing up that very night in a nice
Gossip: The PCs overhear a miner, visiting scav, little bonfire behind the clinic.
or town matron gossiping (in a bar, bordello, or
fetching water). The GM can use this as a means of 4. A rumor has been circulating that one of Big
introducing important – or misleading – information Ben’s most valued slaves, a demolitions expert by
to the group, with appropriate Gather Information the name of Arlon, recently disappeared. Though
checks for each item. Example rumors are given in no one is allowed to talk about it in public, the story
the sidebar. goes that after they forced his daughter into a local
brothel, Arlon slipped into the mines with a crate
Press Gang: Lower-level groups only. Sometime of explosives (meant for opening up a new tunnel
during the night hours, as the party walks the streets system). He is now planning to bring the entire
(or beds down in some lice-infested hovel), they operation to a halt (through sabotage) if Ben doesn’t
see a large group of figures coming their way (or, let the population go free. It’s no wonder Big Ben
in the latter case, come barging through their door), has ordered anyone spreading these stories shot on
armed with clubs, rope, and staffs. The group will sight…
be roughly double the number of PCs, of varying
levels (50% of them will be typical guards), intent on 5. Big Ben was once a miner himself, but he used
sacking the PCs for recruitment into the mines. The guile to trick the gangs into making him “governor”.
gang will immediately attack, sadistically and without Now he’s no better than the scum he once served, and
mercy, until either driven off (losing 1⁄4 their number) has sold us all out to play “prince” of this wretched
or the PCs are subdued, stripped, and robbed. They place. He keeps a particularly sadistic mongoloid
will then be moved on to become part of the faceless brute at his side at all times, a fellow by the name
work force of the corium mines… of “Sloan”, who’s probably the best shot in all of
the Forbidden Lands. His reputation alone (and the
Encounters that might tip the group off too early as power of Lil’ Vegas) has kept raiders, the bigger
to the nature of Lil’ Vegas (or that might lead to a factions of the Outside, and rivals away for at least a
sudden and violent turn of events) should be reserved generation.
for when the adventure is soon to begin – and should
depend on what course the GM wishes to take the 6. Despite the fact that no other Outsiders have
scenario along. made a claim on Lil’ Vegas, the Clean are here to
stay. Big Ben invited those high-and-mighties in a
few years back, and now he and the Clean emissary
RUMORS are practically best buddies. Don’t expect mercy or
sanctuary from the Clean – they’re so bent on getting
1. Stories have been circulating for months of the corium out of Big Ben’s pockets (and staying in
“winged beasts” haunting the mountains by night. his good graces) that they’ll sell you out without a
Scavs from the hills report finding fellow vagrants second thought.
and old hermits dead, torn to pieces and eaten, their
remains just left among the slopes and ravines outside 7. Some people are saying there are agents from
of town for the buzzards to pick clean. the Outside in Lil’ Vegas. A rumor has been
spreading that the Foundation, in all their “glorious
2. Recently there was a rash of terrifying reports revelations”, have discovered some information that
from the mines that Big Ben was quick to hush-up, the mines hold a vast repository of ancient knowledge
since the miners were beginning to get too scared somewhere in their deepest depths. They’ve no
to go back into the depths. The stories began when doubt sent spies and agents to infiltrate the mining
a few miners came out of the tunnels a while back camps, and will probably try to overthrow Big Ben
screaming of “horrible floating aberrations” infesting when he’s weak. No doubt once they’ve taken
the lower mines. A few miners have gone missing over the Foundation will expel all local labor and

5
 bring in their own goons for what they consider an from five to ten musket-armed guards and watchmen.
“archaeological expedition” into the mines. Humph. The gates are usually open at all times, and anyone
They’ll still need knowledgeable miners as guides! is permitted entrance into the city by the overly
hospitable and friendly watchmen. They are quick
8. There’s a nice new piece of furniture at the to explain how one finds work in Lil’ Vegas, quick to
Coronado, a girl by the name of Xea. Big blue direct the newcomer to the nearest brothel or drinking
eyes and a lot of spirit still in her. A night at the hole, and quick to secretly report that new blood has
Coronado’s going to set you back, though, so you’d come, arranging an ambush for those who look like
better save up your corium if you plan on paying her they have the “right stuff” (for mining).
a visit… Some do manage to elude the curse of Lil’ Vegas;
a handful seem too useless, too diseased, or too
badly mutated to be effective workers and miners.
KEY TO LIL’ VEGAS The soldiers drive such worthless scum out on sight,
either jeering them off or simply shooting after them.
A. WALLS More powerful groups (those that look exceptionally
The walls that surround the town of Lil’ Vegas are a tough) are regarded carefully and cautiously, and
poorly thought-out attempt at keeping the populace never interfered with. Only these few are allowed
safe from predators in the wild. The wall ranges to come in and leave with any image of what life is
from eight to twelve feet in height, running the length really like in this Hell on earth.
of the city in an uneven and chaotic stretch. The wall … Typical Vegas Watchman/Guard, Guardian3
itself varies in composition, including the hollow (200): CR 5; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation
wrecks of old cars (doors welded shut, cabin and Mutant Resurrector); HD 3d10+3; hp 19; Init +6
engine block filled with rocks to weigh them down), (Dex; Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 19 (+2
concrete highway dividers, piles of rubber tires, old Dex, +3 studded leather; +4 protective dermal
wooden roadblocks, overturned mining carts, gigantic development); Atk Whip +5 ranged 1d2S; or black
sections of concrete pipe, boulders, corrugated iron powder rifle +5 ranged 1d12; SQ Defender; AL LE;
sheeting, etc. SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1; Str 15, Dex 14, Con 13,
Towers rise every now and again from the walls, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12.
these being little more than scaffolds with ladders, Skills and Feats: Intimidate +2, Knowledge
roofs, and railings (or are themselves just the flat (technology) +2*, Listen +4, Spot +8. Alertness,
tops of buildings). Barely able to stand a strong Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
wind or sandstorm, these are not shelters but rather Possessions: Whip, black powder rifle (20 shots),
lookout posts to watch the distant horizon for coming communicator (walkie-talkie; 1 in 5 guards will be
caravans (and raiders) – and to provide a vantage so-equipped), studded leather armor.
point for marksmen to shoot escaping slaves and Mutations and Defects: Multi-Faceted Eyes,
disenchanted miners. Protective Dermal Development, Sensitive Sight,
Out from the walls, anywhere from twenty to one Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin Imbalance, Bizarre
hundred yards distant, can be found sun-bleached Pigmentation (sickly pink to mottled freckling),
and vulture-picked bones of all kinds. All were once Mongoloid.
captives or “residents” of Lil’ Vegas, having died
trying to flee. This “belt” of corpses is only visible C. SHOPS
from up close, and attempts are sometimes made The streets and alleyways of Lil’ Vegas pulse with
(once a month or so) by the establishment to bury multi-colored light bulbs and the sound of misery
those remains that are most prominent to keep the mixed with absolute ecstasy. To newcomers this can
secret of the city intact. be a dizzying maze of sights and sounds, decorated
with all the flashing colors of a carnival at night, and
B. GATES populated by degenerate mining folk and the sadistic
The gates of Lil’ Vegas are lit by coils of Christmas guards who keep them in line.
lights, shiny hubcaps, and other trinkets that give What outsiders might consider a “shop” can be
the place a glamorous appeal to the primitives of seen in a handful of stores intermingled throughout
the wasteland. It simply looks inviting, and over the Bordello District of Lil’ Vegas. Most have been
the gleaming neon that proclaims “Welcome to Las converted from old stores or the abandoned buildings
Vegas” (pre-war creations, salvaged and put back from before the Fall, the owner’s scavenging neon
into operation), dim lights pour down over a crude signs, posters, and patchwork lettering like pack
painting of a nude woman enticing the onlooker with rats from the older ruins of town. At night many of
a flicking tongue, naked body, and legs spread wide these signs are hooked up to the same power lines
awaiting his…”companionship”. Few can resist the that supply the Christmas lights with energy, lighting
curiosity that draws them in. Even fewer manage to them up like the billboards of old Broadway to lure
escape when the awful truth becomes all too clear. customers in from neighboring streets and alleyways.
The gates are guarded night and day by anywhere The stores in Lil’ Vegas are 100% owned and

6
operated by the establishment of Big Ben, and that don’t look worth the trouble are allowed to buy a
as such all prices are steeply set and ruthlessly few things before being shooed on, but those marked
regulated. Store “owners” are really just old men for abduction (to be forced into the mines; the guards
or disheveled women who have found favor in and shopkeepers have a kind of secret set of hand
the governor’s eyes and earned the “privilege” of signs and body movements that let them know who
working as a proprietor (it’s a lot easier work than is selected and who is just trash to be kicked out of
mining). town after a night or two) are offered the better goods
These stores run the gambit from groceries (selling and informed of the “payment plan”…
jerked beef, water rations, milk, fermented goat’s The “payment plan” is an option made available
milk, and even bottles of cheap corn liquor) to outlets to those who have the potential for working the
of basic living supplies (blankets, soap, shears and mines. Whether they came here to mine or not, the
razors for shaving, anti-lice powders and salves, community wants them to stay. The shops, stores,
etc). Some other stores are more specific, and even drinking pits, and bordellos will all honor a man’s
cater to outsiders; these buy and sell junk items and word when he says he’ll pay, giving him a month to
cheap “luxuries” as well as things like canteens, come up with the money for all of his expenditures.
boots, sunhats and sunglasses, compasses, etc. None Therefore, a newcomer to town will find he can
of these items are manufactured here, only traded. womanize, get drunk, etc. and have a month to cover
Though a world-wise scav may recognize some of his debts. It sounds like a great deal – but of course
these were the prized belongings of fellow scavs, it’s not. When it comes time to pay, the shopkeepers
and would never have been willingly traded away. In (with a few guards) come to collect, having a running
essence, anything the establishment confiscates or tally of the customer’s outstanding debts. Then they
takes from those who fall prey to the town’s press inform the poor fool of something called interest
gangs, end up on display here. – 50% interest, accumulated monthly.
The businesses offer fresh drinkable water to Obviously no one ever manages to pay, and they
sandwalkers and scavs, and other cheap thrills like soon find that the law in Lil’ Vegas states that if you
real alcohol, some drugs, and “tourist-tickets” good can’t settle your part of a bargain, it’s off to the mines
for four free women in the bordellos – all marked with you then and there.
anywhere from 110% to 200% normal cost. Those

7
 D. DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS show visible signs of contamination); malnutrition,
Often an extension of the town’s bordellos, Lil’ Vegas nervous collapse, and drug-use are rampant.
has numerous places where miners can come to eat Prostitute prices vary between 20 to 200 cp a night,
and drink. These establishments range from open- depending on the quality of the “furniture” and the
air kitchens where the miners get their daily meals, given establishment.
generally consisting of nameless gruel, hunks of
unidentifiable meat, and flatbread, to more expensive F. CORONADO
places that seem more like real “bars” than the rest. The brothel known as “the Coronado” happens to be
Potent fermented milk (a popular drink throughout one of the largest and most decrepit in Lil’ Vegas.
the Twisted Earth) usually being sold by the jug, and It’s also the most popular. Miners, soldiers, and even
drunkenness is commonplace. Brawls, stabbings, and Big Ben make appearances here to mingle among
shootings are equally frequent in these places. Some the rundown Old West-style bordello rooms and bar,
places have row upon row of miners grabbing quick where girls perform perverse versions of stage shows
meals before vanishing into the mines; others are for spectators every night of the week. Outside the
made up to resemble “saloons”, offering fermented place looks like a Wild West whorehouse (in much
drinks or even real alcohol (invariably watered down) need of paint), but a bright blue neon light crafted
– and the chance to gamble in a semi-luxurious in the shape of a pair of feminine legs in high heels
atmosphere with whores to fawn over the luckiest – and kept buzzing on all night - can be seen at least a
of the lot. Prices vary accordingly, ranging from half dozen alleys away. Beneath this, visible only by
preposterous to insane; but considering the lack of the light of the neon sign, are painted the words “The
any other form of entertainment (besides consorting Coronado” in fanciful lettering. Piano music playing
with the local womenfolk in the established automatic tunes from bent and chipped rollers
bordellos), much money is bled from the mining continue to pour out notes that are eerily distorted
population back into the hands of the men who run and strange, their historical significance to a long-
the city. gone era all but lost on the brain dead inhabitants of
the town.
E. BORDELLOS The Coronado has roughly thirty to forty girls at
The bordellos of Lil’ Vegas are renowned and any given time, usually the better looking daughters
much touted throughout the Twisted Earth as being and wives of miners or outsiders who manage to get
some of the best and most degenerate known. Not sucked into the quagmire that is Lil’ Vegas. To pay
surprisingly, the truth of these “legends” is not quite increasing bills (if not outright stolen and enslaved)
what one would imagine, much to the disappointment they end up selling themselves here. Whenever a
(or horror) of those who’ve given up everything just particularly attractive girl rises to prominence, Big
to come and experience their dark delights. Ben usually seizes her (who is often among the
It’s true enough that Lil’ Vegas has at least one crowds on rowdy nights) for his harem. Otherwise
bordello for every other building in town, but they serve the highest-paying soldiers and miners (in
they range from the common swill pits to the rare, that order).
grandiose “palaces” of pleasure (more suited to the The Coronado is not a good place to make
image promoted by the town’s leaders outside its trouble; guards and soldiers are everywhere, and
walls). All are stinking, filthy places of slavery and the atmosphere is always one of tense excitement.
degradation, each a monument to human cruelty, Women being a rare commodity, paying men are
greed, and savagery. often willing to get violent to stake a claim for the
The occupants of Lil’ Vegas’ bordellos are a mixed night. The girls too are often afraid of trouble as
population of adults, children, and elderly, man and well, since they know it will mean their lives if blame
woman alike. That’s right, both genders, all ages. is traced their way.
The law of Lil’ Vegas is simple – if you cannot GM’s Note: One exception to this rule is a girl
work the mines, you work the bordellos to serve by the name of Xea, who has been working at the
the miners. There is no exception, and if you try to Coronado for only a month. Xea came here with
escape you are shot. Like in the stories that bring her father, Arlon, both naively believing the tales
the outlanders in with dreams of erotic reward, the spread about the mines and seeking a better life
bordellos are crammed to the rafters with furniture through honest labor. Her father was an expert in
– but the furniture is not always what it seems. mine demolitions, having worked in other mines for
Old, disease-rife women, younger girls beaten the Cartel, and carried with him a kind of knowledge
black and blue by drunken patrons, and men cleverly that had always guaranteed them safety and security.
(or not so cleverly) dressed as women crowd the bars Here, however, they were quickly enslaved when
that make up the bordello district. Their prices vary, Arlon made his disgust for the condition of the
but inevitably the furniture turns over every dime to operation too public; he was dragged off to work for
the house, getting only food, shelter, and the ever- Big Ben as a much-needed specialist against his will,
elusive promise of freedom in return. Disease afflicts and she to the Coronado to work as just another piece
about 90% of the workers (though only about 10% of furniture.

8
 Though she has suffered tremendously here, she further other than to relate the rumors of “strange
has so far refused to give up. She knows her father creatures”, and the probable presence of radiation
is still alive, and has hung all her hopes on the dangers.
rumors that one of Ben’s workers has stolen a crate
of explosives and slipped deep into the mines. She G. BARRACKS
knows that the runaway was her father, and that he is The miner barracks are a separate part of town,
probably at the end of his rope. She is desperate to isolated by walls and old crumbling buildings. Here
find him and together possibly hatch a plan to escape. the community is a practical place, run almost like
To this end Xea will try to make contact with a military camp. Miners are crammed into ancient
any group or individual that looks even remotely buildings of stone or wood (or even corrugated
compassionate – they stand out, after all, among the metal), sleeping in rows of bunks, in hammocks, or in
crowds of leering molesters at the Coronado. She is the shadow of ruins like refugees of some great war.
not above using all of her charms to secure some kind Men do their own laundry in open sewers, sometimes
of loyalty from the chosen PC. She may even try to cook their own meals in communal fire pits where
learn something about him or his companions, and they congregate bemoaning their fortunes, and look
use that information to blackmail them into working forward to weekends when they are released like a
for her (for example, if they are spies for an outside horde of jackals into the Bordello District to spend
group and carelessly mention it, she will threaten to their pay.
expose them if they don’t agree to save her father). The barrack houses are not uniform, their
Xea only knows that her father is in the corium occupancy ranging from 5 to 50 miners. Some
mines, and little else. She knows there is likely to are open hovels occupied by a different group of
be at least one exit out of the mines besides the main miners from one night to the next. Some have been
entrance – possibly other elevator shafts or even “claimed” by a certain group and outsiders are not
ventilation ducts that might have gone unnoticed welcome. Most miners who come to Lil’ Vegas soon
by Big Ben. Growing up the daughter of a traveling realize the necessity of “friends” and form into tight,
miner, she knows a little about the layout and violent clans, and bickering and bloodshed is not
features of old reactor complexes. Some may even uncommon when resources are scarce - or when the
lead miles underground to emerge at places far from workers get bored.
town, allowing them to go in, find her father, and By day this district is barren, since the miners
escape without having to come back and face the descend into the mines to work. Even at night, a
consequences. large number of the miners are still in the mines, so it
As for her, Xea has resigned herself to staying, is obvious that there isn’t even enough room for the
since it is almost impossible for a good-looking piece current population, let alone for newcomers. That
of furniture like herself to escape without detection is why death among newly arrived miners is always
(she’d certainly be seen on the streets). She just great.
wants to know her father got out alive, and maybe Every fifth barrack house has been converted into
some day, when things change (when Big Ben is a sick house for miners who are dying of radiation-
overthrown), they can come back and get her as well. related illnesses. These places are like the hovels of
… Xea, Thinker3 (1): CR 5; Medium-size lepers, for they are given no medicine or even water
Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant Visionary by the establishment (though old friends may visit
Reinventor); HD 3d4-3+3; hp 12; Init +1 (Dex); Spd to care for their dying comrades, sneaking portions
20 ft; AC 11 (+1 Dex); Atk Unarmed +1 melee 1d3- of their own rations in a futile attempt to keep them
1; SQ Knowledge; AL NG; SV Fort +0, Ref +4, Will alive). Slaves cart dead bodies out daily, sometimes
+2; Str 10, Dex 12, Con 8, Int 17, Wis 13, Cha 14. a dozen or more each morning, to be taken to the
Skills and Feats: Bluff +8, Concentration +5, Graveyard and disposed of.
Craft (tinker) +11, Heal +7, Knowledge (local) +5,
Knowledge (technology) +7, Listen +4, Profession H. DOC HACKSAW’S
(entertainer) +5, Sense Motive +4, Spot +4. Fertile/ This store looks to be one of the oldest buildings
Potent, Skill Focus (craft, tinker), Toughness. in town, an old run-down barber’s shop done in
Possessions: None. the ancient style. A hand-painted sign in flowery
Mutations and Defects: Accelerated White Blood Old West lettering proclaims this simply as “Doc
Cell Activity, Neural Empathy, Negative Chemical Hacksaw’s”.
Reaction, Unstable Neural Activity. Doc Hacksaw is the resident “juju man” of Lil’
Xea does not have a perfect, foolproof plan for Vegas, ostensibly an “employee” of Big Ben and
saving her father, but she knows one or two relatively his gang, but also allowed, to some degree, to sell a
loyal miners (who either adore her so much that portion of his stock to the few who come and go from
they’d do her a favor if she asked, or have strong town – for tremendous prices (see Area C for details
sympathies against Big Ben and the establishment) on these pricing policies; Hacksaw is no different).
who can smuggle the PCs into the mine under the Treasure: Hacksaw’s stock consists of typical
guise of laborers. Beyond that she cannot help any wasteland juju, including a virtually unlimited stock

9
 of juju salve, infusion of valor, oil of remedy, and mining: large-scale drills, drill bits, gas-powered
purgative. He also has a reserve stock of advanced, electrical generators, spare parts, thousands of yards
scavenged medicines, but these are kept under lock of timber for shoring up mine shafts, tar and grease to
and key for the treatment of the establishment’s provide flexibility for the same, tens of thousands of
soldiers. This supply includes 120 ready syringes, yards of copper wiring and insulation, and countless
three doses of hemochem, one dose of hercurin, other supplies. Other warehouses in the quarter
eighteen doses of K-O shot, 55 doses of rad-purge contain foodstuffs and water supplies (brutally
shot, 23 doses of stimshot A, eight doses of stimshot regulated by the governor’s cadre), and other goods.
B, and three doses of truth serum. A few of the old warehouses at one end of the
A character offering at least 200% the listed price compound are open during the day to permit the
(in corium pieces; he’ll accept 100% the value in slave population in. These warehouses have been
rare or unique trade goods like advanced weapons, converted into small-scale “factories”, producing
gizmos, and especially arcanum) may be able to goods needed for the operation of the mines. One
convince Doc Hacksaw to part with these latter factory produces an abundance of rope (hand-woven
supplies, but the final decision is up to the GM. by what few women and children escape the brothels,
GM’s Note: Some of Big Ben’s men showed made “undesirable” by physical deformity or
up at Doc Hacksaw’s a week or so ago, hauling the disease) for shoring, carts, lamps, etc. while another
stinking carcass of some strange creature with them – manufactures musket balls for the local guard. One
apparently from the mines. Though they wanted the warehouse is used to process meat from the livestock
Doc to examine the thing and figure out what it was pens (a very nasty business, even more primitive than
(a heliogryph), Hacksaw was at a loss to identify it. the ghastly conditions that were so abhorred during
If the PCs come asking about the rumors of creatures the Industrial Revolution), while yet another sends its
in the mines, a Gather Information roll (DC 18) will girls out by day to collect manure and human waste
get the doctor to admit the stories are true, and even to bring back and form into flammable fuel “cakes”
go so far as to vaguely describe the thing that “the that are a growing part of the Twisted Earth economy.
authorities brought in for dissection”.
a Warehouse - Drill Machinery
I. LIVESTOCK b Warehouse - Gasoline/Oil
This area has been set aside for the raising and c Warehouse - Vehicle Parts
grazing of livestock, a small population of cattle d Warehouse - Lumber
jealously hoarded by the ruler of Lil’ Vegas. Favored e Warehouse - Animal Feed
servants and slaves tend to this herd (having proven f Warehouse - Pump Equipment
themselves in some manner to be loyal and, more g Warehouse - Foodstuffs
importantly, having had their will to escape broken), h Warehouse - Water
equipped only with long sticks for herding and i Warehouse - Raw Metals
directing the animals. Slaves in the pens are 100% j Rope Factory
likely to alert guards of intruders, escaped miners, k Slaughterhouse
and even their own kind in an effort to improve their l Manure Processing Plant
lots even further, and thus no sanctuary is to be had m Leadworks
among the herd or herders. n Miscellaneous Storage

J. WAREHOUSES d Warehouse Doors: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 5; hp

The warehouse district is a simple affair kept lighted 20; Break DC 25; Open Lock DC 20.
by orange globes from the tallest of pine poles. In
the shadow of the Clean and brothel quarters, only K. VEHICLE YARD
local guards and soldiers walk these streets with any This protected yard contains most of the town’s
regularity. operable vehicles, used in the rare war actions to
The warehouses of the district are uniformly large defend the community against outside attack. Most
cinder-block constructions from well before the Fall. of these vehicles are rusted, covered in dust and
They were used for a similar purpose then, as storage dried mud, but kept in working order by a handful of
bunkers to house heavy machinery and equipment on skilled slave ‘mechs (these folk are not even allowed
the surface while the great underground reactor was to leave the Warehouse District, for whatever reason,
being constructed. Over time the old equipment was and eat, live, and die here exclusively).
lost, scrapped, or stolen, but the buildings remained The impressive fleet of Lil’ Vegas includes seven
in relatively good shape. As the town grew with motorcycles (hp 35 each), ten racers (hp 40 each;
a population of miners, the warehouses originally all have light frames), two small cars (hp 45 each;
served as bunkhouses before being converted back both have hoverfans and kicker modifications), five
into large-scale storage spaces. medium cars (hp 65 each; all are armored), three
Now the warehouses contain the resources of the large cars (hp 75 each; all are armored), and three
entire community, including heavy machinery for pickups (hp 95 each; all are armored, with mounted

10
weaponry (heavy crossbow)). elite than the local constabulary (who are almost
The yard is generally guarded by anywhere all hired thugs and ex-raiders themselves), and thus
from four to ten guards at a time. The fleet, due their presence on a hunt might mean the difference
to increasing fuel supplies (thanks to a bustling between success and failure.
economy in Lil’ Vegas), is often gassed-up and sent Though Joab H’an is officially neutral, his orders
out to kick up dust around the valley for the benefit are to preserve relations with the governor at all
of raiders (including the Ravagers at Area W) to see costs, for the good of the Clan, and to keep the
for miles. A show of force seems to work better than corium flowing into Clean coffers. This has not
anything else to keep them at bay. Only half of the been a problem, since he himself is something of a
fleet is ever sent out at once, however, unless the sadist in any event, and the suffering of the miners
town is actually threatened. has not interfered with his conscience. Furthermore,
by becoming fast friends with the leadership of Lil’
L. CLEAN QUARTER Vegas, he has managed to ensure that no other Water
The Clean dwell in a whitewashed compound of Clan dare come near the city for fear of being utterly
their own among the squalid streets of Lil’ Vegas, but destroyed in the takeover attempt. The governor, for
separated by walls from the mass of miners, slaves, his part, is fully agreeable to the outrageous prices the
and captives. White banners snap and whisper in the Clean offer him, knowing that not only can he afford
wind as they roll off of towering flagpoles, marking their price, but also by being an agreeable customer
this part of the city as belonging to the great Water the Clean will stay, bring water, and offer protection.
Clans. Ironically, though many who try to escape No one loses.
flee to the familiar banner of the Clean for sanctuary The Clean receive a great amount of corium each
or protection, the Clean close their gates and look week, piled up and shipped out on Clean caravans
down from an unmoved perch as they are caught, every two months to distant Trade City. The corium
slaughtered, or beaten back into the mines. slated for the Clean is stockpiled in the Clean
The Clean were the first major outside group to compound (the mandarin and governor may be
come to Lil’ Vegas, though the outpost is still little friends, but they still don’t trust each other), and only
more than that – an outpost. Only about thirty moved when a heavily-armed Clean caravan arrives,
warriors from the ranks of the Clean patrol the walls like clockwork, at month’s end.
and water warehouses, and within there is but a minor … Typical Janissary of The Clean, Guardian5
staff to see to the needs of the local mandarin, Joab (30): CR 7; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation
of the powerful H’an. Mutant Resurrector); HD 5d10+10; hp 37; Init +7
Nonetheless the Clean have dedicated themselves (Dex; Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 16 (+3
to maintaining good relations here in Lil’ Vegas, Dex, +3 studded leather); Atk Scimitar +6 melee
relations which do not seem to be likely to change 1d6+1; or sport rifle +8 ranged 1d12; SQ Defender,
for a good long time. The Clean have provided a called shot (+1d6); AL LN; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will
great service to Lil’ Vegas in the form of a steady +1; Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12.
source of water (otherwise non-existent in the dry Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +2, Intimidate
hills), and in exchange have been given a huge share +3, Listen +3, Ride +4, Spot +3, Wilderness Lore
of the corium being extracted from the earth. This +1. Alertness, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot,
has been beneficial to both parties; the Clean receive Power Attack, Precise Shot.
an obscene (and unbalanced) share of the corium in Possessions: Scimitar, sport rifle (20 shots),
exchange for water (upwards of twenty times the studded leather armor, four doses of juju salve.
price charged elsewhere), and the establishment of Mutations and Defects: Interior Moisture
Lil’ Vegas receives water – which means they can Reservoir, Multiple Stomachs, Sensitive Sight,
support a larger and larger population of slaves, Bilirubin Imbalance, Critical Vulnerability, Cystic
miners, and hired guns. Fibrosis.
The Clean remain distant to the actual mining … Mandarin Joab H’an of The Clean, Trader12
operations and the cold brutality that surrounds them, (1): CR 14; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation
paying polite (yet deliberately superior) lip service to Mutant); HD 12d6; hp 42; Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20
the local ruler. In fact, though he attempts to portray ft; AC 16 (+1 Dex, +5 ballistic nylon armor); Atk
himself as too dignified and noble to be involved in Masterwork scimitar +9/+4 melee 1d6-1; or sport
the affairs of the mine, the mandarin has on occasion rifle +10/+5 ranged 1d12; SQ Protector, spit polish,
been the guest of the governor of Lil’ Vegas at his ear to the ground, money talks, going once (x2),
“saloon”, and it is rumored the men have become sucker every minute, read the signs; AL LE; SV Fort
close friends. If need be, the mandarin of the Clean +4, Ref +5, Will +9; Str 8, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14,
operation would certainly employ his personal guard Wis 13, Cha 18.
and the local Clean resources if the governor asked Skills and Feats: Appraise +10, Bluff +14,
for it, even in tracking down runaways or defending Diplomacy +14, Gather Information +8, Innuendo
the city against raider attack should the need arise. +6, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (mutant lore) +4,
The Clean soldiers are much more practiced and Ride +5, Sense Motive +11, Spot +5. Expertise, Far

11
 an obese overlord appropriately
named Big Ben, is perhaps the
most cunning and cruel the city
has ever seen – polite and genteel
when it suits him, and downright
evil when the need arises. The
shocking fact is that Big Ben was
once one of the many miserable
miners, a knowledgeable foreman,
but through bribery and treachery
he managed to turn his back on
the suffering of his fellows and
instead come to run the operation
in Lil’ Vegas. Considered by some
to be a turncoat and traitor, he is
nonetheless rabid to maintain his
position of superiority over the
entire town.
An air of turn-of-the-century
piano music shrouds the Palace
Hotel and the glow of Christmas
lights at all times. The best-looking
“furniture” (all genuine women),
the best scavenged alcohol, and
anything resembling real artifacts
from the past are to be found
here, and only here. The place is
preserved very much like an Old
West saloon, and the leader of Lil’
Vegas attires himself like a wealthy
Old West tycoon. Big Ben is an
enormously-fat man of no small
Shot, Home School’d, Leadership, Point Blank Shot,
intellect, who prefers to wear suits reminiscent of a
Silver Tongue.
riverboat gambler of the Old West – none of which
Possessions: Masterwork Scimitar, sport rifle (20
fit him well, revealing huge portions of blubbery
shots), ballistic nylon armor, electronic notepad,
pink skin where the garments fall short of modesty.
power cell, four doses of juju salve, one dose of
Still, the leader of Lil’ Vegas completes the image
sleeping potion.
with huge cigars, fancy pocket watch, and a fancy
Mutations and Defects: Interior Moisture
white hat. Here, at the Palace Hotel, he is protected
Reservoir, Multiple Stomachs, Sensitive Sight,
by the most loyal hired hands and local thugs, and
Bilirubin Imbalance, Critical Vulnerability, Cystic
it is here that the governor meets with emissaries or
Fibrosis.
prospective new “hires” (that is, hired guns or others
who are too threatening to simply press into slavery,
M. PALACE HOTEL
and thus must by necessity be given an offer of
The so-called “palace” is, in fact, the converted
money to ensure their loyalty).
remnants of an Old West saloon and hotel that once
Big Ben is famous throughout the wasteland
stood on a hill overlooking the town nestled in the
(remarkable, since he is otherwise quite similar
Vegas valley. This historic building was refurbished
to so many other petty dictators) for one thing in
a long time past because, even though decrepit, it just
particular – one of the largest harems of well-trained
looked the most fanciful of all the wrecked ruins in
concubines this side of the Big Rocks. About two
the old town and was thus most suited to house the
dozen of the more attractive specimens dwell in his
town’s most prominent figure.
parlor, poker room, or piano lounge, either drunk or
The Palace Hotel has passed into the hands of the
only vaguely conscious thanks to the heavy opiates
local leadership since wasteland gangs first settled
he sedates them with. Ben is quite well known for
here and wrested control of the mines from the
being a generous master to those who are deserving
corium prospectors of the hills. Though leadership
of his thanks, receiving one or more of his harem
has often shifted by brutal coups and revolts, power
girls as an added reward for certain services rendered.
has pretty much remained in the hands of the most
This could range from uncovering a plot to overthrow
brutal and crafty personality in Lil’ Vegas. Today’s
him, revealing the identities of malcontents among
situation is no different, and the current governor,
the miners, or thwarting sabotage attempts in the

12
mines. Possessions: Hi-powered automatic rifle +2 (90
Besides the sheer numbers of watchful guards and shots), targeting scope, stun baton, chain shirt, power
hired guns walking the halls, the Hotel is not much beltpack, communicator (walkie-talkie), two doses of
of a fortress. The governor would most likely flee stimshot B in ready syringes.
back into town, to the stockade of the allied Clean, if Mutations and Defects: Protective Dermal
his life was actually somehow threatened here. The Development, Shriek, Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin
hotel itself, though rich with luxuries, has no real Imbalance, Bizarre Pigmentation (melanin blotches),
resources or stockpiles of supplies worth ransacking. Mongoloid.
It is merely the residence of a very despotic leader. Sloan is Big Ben’s personal bodyguard, and
However, the governor does have semi-complete probably the town’s most crack shot. Feared by the
maps of the entire network of known tunnels that miners, whores, and fellow soldiers alike for his
comprise the Upper and Lower Mines, which may be cruelty and sadism. For fun he sometimes shoots
of great value to infiltrators and saboteurs (or future random people from high on the hilltop-overlooking
dictators of Lil’ Vegas). town; when drunk, which is frequently, he ruthlessly
… Big Ben, Governor of Lil’ Vegas, Guardian4/ beats his whores and engages in brawls with his
Thinker8 (1): CR 14; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd men, sometimes to the death. His skill and savagery
Generation Mutant Resurrector); HD 4d10+8d4+12; have only made him all the more appealing to Ben as
hp 71; Init +6 (Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; an enforcer and guard. Characters will likely meet
AC 16 (+2 Dex, +4 protective dermal development); Sloan whenever visiting Big Ben (as guests or as
Atk Stun baton +10/+5 melee 2d6; or high-powered captives), and he will certainly be there to guard his
revolver +12 ranged 1d10+4; SQ Defender, boss if things hit the fan.
knowledge, dirty fighter, inspire skill; AL NE; SV GM’s Note: Characters of appropriate level and
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +2; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int reputation may end up here looking for work, either
13, Wis 8, Cha 17. on their own or after being cordially invited. Such
Skills and Feats: Appraise +6, Bluff +8, Craft meetings are usually quite relaxed, with games of
(mine technician) +14, Diplomacy +8, Gather cards (Big Ben knows how to play old-style faro, if
Information +6, Innuendo +6, Intimidate +6, anyone cares to join him), drinks, and subtle displays
Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (technology) +8, of power. Big Ben likes to impress.
Listen +1, Profession (miner) +4, Sense Motive +4, Though you are free to come up with any number
Spot +1. Exotic Weapon Proficiency (stun baton), of short or long-term employment offers from Big
“Feel” For Weapon (revolver), “Feel” For Weapon Ben, the most obvious is the tracking down of Arlon,
(stun baton), Improved Initiative, Leadership, Point his prized thinker-slave who deserted and fled to
Blank Shot, Room-Broom, Skill Focus (knowledge, the bottom of the corium mines. What’s worse, Big
technology), Skill Focus (craft, mine technician), Ben will explain, is that he took with him a crate of
Super-Charismatic. high explosives meant for constructing a new tunnel
Possessions: Hi-powered revolver +2 (20 rounds system. Rumors are spreading that Arlon is going
of glazer ammunition), stun baton, magnetic shield A, to blow up the mine if Ben doesn’t “free the people”
two power beltpacks, communicator (walkie-talkie), and step down.
four doses of stimshot A in ready syringes, two doses Big Ben is intent on not only resolving the situation
of rad-purge shot in ready syringes, Stage IIC access before the rumors get out of hand and the miners
card, valuable maps. start to rise up in solidarity, but also getting the
Mutations and Defects: Protective Dermal explosives and Arlon back in one piece. The latter is
Development, Sensitive Sight, Aberrant Deformity, not necessary, but would be preferable, since skilled
Bilirubin Imbalance, Bizarre Pigmentation (sickly demolitions men are extremely hard to find these
pink). days. Big Ben is prepared to offer 50,000 corium
… Sloan, Governor’s Bodyguard, Guardian9 pieces for the safe return of Arlon and at least 50% of
(1): CR 11; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation the explosives. Half this if the PCs have to kill Arlon
Mutant Resurrector); HD 9d10+18; hp 105; Init +3 to stop the threat. He won’t pay a dime if the mines
(Dex); Spd 30 ft; AC 21 (+3 Dex, +4 chain shirt, are destroyed in the effort. Big Ben makes this very
+4 protective dermal development); Atk Stun baton clear up front so that no one can call him a cheat later
+11/+6 melee 2d6+2; or high-powered automatic rifle on. He gives the PCs free reign of the mines in their
+17/+17/+12 ranged 1d12+2; SQ Defender, called effort to pursue Arlon, but will pretend not to know
shot (+2d6); AL NE; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +4; Str anything about the “strange creatures” in the mines,
14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8. and will not provide maps or offer any supplies to aid
Skills and Feats: Gather Information +1, them.
Intimidate +9, Listen +6, Sense Motive +3, Spot +6. Big Ben sends word ahead so that mine guards
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (stun baton), “Feel” For will know the PCs by their faces and names, and not
Weapon (auto rifle), Improved Initiative, Point Blank attack them if they pop up in strange places all over
Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Rip A Clip, Room the mine complex.
Broom, Weapon Focus (auto rifle).

13
 N. POWER HOUSES infested elevator shaft. He also recognized that many
These so-called “power houses” are simply small of the vertical shafts being used by the miners might,
wooden or corrugated iron sheds that house a single in fact, lead directly to the complex below, but he
petrol generator. Situated throughout the city, these never had the chance to explore them himself.
sheds produce just enough juice to keep a certain Foster still keeps an eye on the mines, and always
quarter, or stretch of wall lighting, lit. has his ear to the local rumor mill hoping to pick up
A typical shed is operated by a single slave or on stories of strange discoveries, objects recovered
“retired” miner (one who somehow managed to get from the depths, etc – at which time he will probably
too old to work without dying from radiation or head up to the mines himself and try to infiltrate them
black lung), called a “tender”. His job is to keep the to find out the truth behind the stories. Until then, he
motor running, feed it gasoline, and repair if need be. is content making maps from memory of the mines,
Most (80%) tenders are loyal to the establishment, if bribing guards and miners to smuggle out items of
not out of fear and tradition then for sheer concern particular interest to the Foundation, and sending
for their future, and will report trouble accordingly. messages via hidden radio to a distant Foundation
Tenders are permitted to carry weaponry, usually contact in far-away Trade City.
an axe, club, or even a sawed-off shotgun. Guards … Foster, Foundation spy, Thinker6: CR 9;
are never far from a powerhouse, so there’s always Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant
the possibility of back-up if a tender gets into any Guardian); HD 6d6+6; hp 27; Init +0; Spd 30 ft;
trouble. AC 10; Atk Submachine gun +3 ranged 1d10; SQ
A powerhouse, if sabotaged, could provide an Knowledge, dirty fighter; AL LG; SV Fort +3, Ref
ideal distraction for would-be escapees, since a gas +5, Will +4; Str 12, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 15,
explosion (and fire) is not a common occurrence in Cha 7.
Lil’ Vegas. Skills and Feats: Appraise +12, Bluff +9,
Concentration +4, Decipher Script +9, Gather
O. FOSTER’S SHACK Information +9, Heal +5, Innuendo +1, Knowledge
This place looks for all the world no more special (local) +8, Knowledge (technology) +8, Listen +5,
than the dozens of metal-and-wood shacks and sheds Profession (miner) +5, Search +7, Sense Motive +7,
that line the alleys of this part of Lil’ Vegas. Locals Wilderness Lore +5. Exotic Weapon Proficiency
are vaguely aware of the old man who lives here, and (laser pistol), Improved Hit Dice, Run, Skill Focus
mock him as little more than a tender with a liking (bluff), Skill Focus (gather information), Track.
for isolation and privacy. Possessions: None (see below).
The owner of this shack is a man known only Mutations and Defects: Inherent Immunity
as “Foster”, an old man with a wrinkled and (radiation), Neural Shield, Bilirubin Imbalance,
weathered face who, despite his advanced age (50), Underdeveloped Organ (liver).
is surprisingly fit and healthy. Foster claims to be To those who earn his trust, Foster can be a great
a tender, having served the Lil’ Vegas mines for 30 friend, providing shelter in his shed (no one would
years, and given a nearby powerhouse (see Area N) suspect old Foster of hiding wanted men), food and
as his to upkeep. Foster is not keen on visitors, and water, and some medical care if needed (see below).
usually either ignores of shoos off those who grow If PCs happen to be members of the Foundation, and
too curious as to what he does in his shed during the come to Lil’ Vegas on some kind of mission, Foster
day. will likely be their contact (and his shed their safe
Foster is, in fact, an agent for the Foundation (see house) during their “visit”.
Darwin’s World Complete for information on this Treasure: Foster keeps a few precious objects
highly-technological organization), sent a few years in his shed, in a strongbox beneath some cleverly
back to infiltrate the city and keep an eye on the placed floorboards. This stash contains a submachine
operation going on in the mines. Foster began first as gun, 90 rounds of hollow point ammo, four doses of
a miner, using his time in the tunnels to make mental stimshot B and two doses of rad-purge shot in ready
maps, observe conditions there, and keep an eye syringes, a wound-healing medi-spray, three sticks of
out for any entrances or unseen passages that might dynamite, two satchel charge Bs (for sabotage), rope
lead deep into the suspected reactor complex below. and spelunking equipment, a pair of binoculars, a
The Foundation, obsessed with technology and communicator (two-way radio set), and an electronic
reviving the “way of the Ancients”, were particularly notepad (with maps). These latter two items have
interested in finding out all they could about the full power cells to keep them operational. He has
monumental reactor beneath Lil’ Vegas, which they also been given a Stage IIC technician-level access
suspected might still contain numerous artifacts – if card to permit him to explore the reactor complex
not the secret to reviving large-scale nuclear power (though he has never used it). Finally, the strongbox
generation techniques. also holds a sack containing 450 corium pieces to
Foster worked as a miner for nearly 5 years (not cover expenses and bribes.
the 30 he suggests), but only ever found one “secret”
passage – the Abandoned Passage that led to the bat-
14
P. TORAK’S HOLE … Brotherhood of Radiation agents, Guardian3
On the outside this building looks like many of the (4): CR 3; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation
run-down and ramshackle Old West facades that line Mutant Ritual Preservationist); HD 3d10+3; hp 28
the dirty alleys of Lil’ Vegas, but it just so happens each; Init +6 (Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft;
to also be one of the favorite bars in town among the AC 16 (Dex, chain shirt); Atk Short sword +5 melee
roughest and most degenerate mining folk (and a few 1d6+2, or pulse laser rifle +5/+5 ranged 2d10; SQ
visiting outsiders as well). Defender; AL LN; SV Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +2; Str
“Torak’s Hole” is usually crammed with miners 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
and a few other patrons (mostly voiceless scavs Skills and Feats: Gather Information +3,
who’ve been forced to visit Lil’ Vegas out of a Knowledge (technology) +6, Listen +3, Spot
shortness of supplies) between mine shifts getting +3. Exotic Weapon Proficiency (pulse laser rifle),
drunk, enjoying various games of oft-violent chance, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Rip A Clip,
or mingling with the dusky-skinned and unhealthy Room-Broom.
whores that frequent the place. The interior is Possessions: Short sword, chain shirt, pulse laser
deliberately dim with heavy smoke from exotic pipe rifle, one power clip, one dose of juju salve (weapons
weeds, the only glow being that from the vivid green and armor kept at Torak’s).
and fluorescent orange drinks served at the bar. Mutations and Defects: Inherent Immunity
Torak is a well-known personality in Lil’ Vegas, (radiation), Neural Empathy, Neural Telepathy,
easily recognizable from the crowds. He is tall, lean, Alopecia, Bilirubin Imbalance, Cystic Fibrosis,
and roughly middle-aged, his head completely bald - Under-Developed Organ (voice box).
but his eyes glimmer with interest and quiet appraisal Torak is actually a spy for the Brotherhood of
of all he meets. Torak claims to be a bartender and Radiation, sent here years ago to attempt to appraise
nothing more, but he shows a particular interest in the mines and the corium rumored to be within. The
the stories of miners and, in specific, the things they Brotherhood sees Lil’ Vegas as a potential religious
have seen in the deepest mines. But Torak is no site of great significance, possibly rivaling the City
storyteller himself. He is enigmatically quiet most of Lights itself, for beneath the mountains lies one of
times, merely serving weird drinks from behind his the largest nuclear power complexes ever built. The
bar while listening in on the conversations of patrons. stories of radioactive corium (often considered holy
It is unusual that no one has yet noticed the small by the Brotherhood), and the sheer amounts Torak
group of like-minded fellows that often gather in his has witnessed being brought out weekly, seems a sign
bar at night, between mining shifts, to share drinks. to the Brotherhood that Lil’ Vegas is holy ground they
What’s also unusual is the fact that, to date, no one cannot leave in the hands of careless “unbelievers”.
seems to have paid any mind to the fact that they, too, Torak’s mission is currently to keep an eye on
are all bald… the progression of things; in specific, the balance of
… Torak, Brotherhood of Radiation spy, power and the force through which Big Ben rules.
Thinker4/Trader3: CR 7; Medium-size Humanoid The Brotherhood has sent him a few agents to aid
(2nd Generation Mutant Ritual Preservationist); HD him, and these men not only have begun exploring
4d4+3d6+7; hp 40; Init +4 (Improved Initiative); Spd the upper mines (masquerading as miners), but also
30 ft; AC 10; Atk Short sword +3 melee 1d6-1, or have gotten a fair estimate of Big Ben’s numbers
pulse laser rifle +4/+4 ranged 2d10; SQ Knowledge, (soldiers, stockpiles, etc). The Brotherhood is
protector, spit polish, ear to the ground; AL LN; SV planning sometime in the future a forceful takeover
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4; Str 9, Dex 10, Con 12, Int of Lil’ Vegas, a “crusade” to liberate the holy temple
14, Wis 14, Cha 13. that it represents. Torak and his men are there to pave
Skills and Feats: Appraise +6, Bluff +8, the way, but for now they are biding their time.
Concentration +8, Diplomacy +3, Gather Information Treasure: In the cellar of the old saloon Torak
+10, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (technology) keeps a secret supply (Search check, DC 25) of
+6, Sense Motive +7, Spot +4. Brew Potion, Exotic weapons and equipment for his cell. This secret stash
Weapon Proficiency (pulse laser rifle), Improved contains twelve doses of rad-purge shot in ready
Initiative, Leadership, Silver Tongue, Skill Focus syringes, four pulse laser rifles, eight full power
(gather information). clips, four chain shirts, an electronic skeleton key, a
Possessions: Short sword, pulse laser rifle, two full Geiger counter, two power cells, a power beltpack, a
power clips, magnetic shield A, full power beltpack, box of eighteen light rods, and an autograpnel.
three doses of sleeping potion. This cellar also contains a still and ramshackle
Mutations and Defects: Inherent Immunity brewery (for brewing corn liquor and other weird
(radiation), Neural Empathy, Neural Telepathy, drinks), as well as a “laboratory” (more like a witch’s
Alopecia, Anaphylaxis (fur), Bilirubin Imbalance, condemned workshop) where Torak can brew
Photosensitivity. primitive potions, like the sleeping potions he may
slip into a drink to incapacitate would-be moles, as
well as thunderstones and smokesticks.
Though Torak must turn over most of his profits

15
 to Big Ben (he is, after all, masquerading as one of infirm family members of the mining population sort
them), he skims off just enough to keep his agents out the corium from the gangue (useless rock).
supplied with the things they need. The premises The work here is crowded, noisy, and at least once
contain no less than 500 cp at any given time. a month one of the miners falls or is drawn into
the extractor and crushed to death. But the process
Q. HIRELING BARRACKS goes on. The masses of workers forced to work the
Big Ben, the cruel and despotic ruler of Lil’ Vegas, extractor are almost completely deaf, and a large
is always looking for men to guard his town and concentration of guards move among them now and
the precious corium mines that keep him rich and then to make sure they’re not stealing corium for
powerful. Word in the wasteland is that the obese themselves. Those that do are shot on sight.
overlord has a standing offer for any man who can
bring his own gun and can prove he’s a crack shot. T. DRILL SHEDS
Those men that come to Lil’ Vegas to hire themselves These are similar to the warehouses in the Warehouse
out inevitably end up in the company of Big Ben, to District, and are used to assemble many of the
be looked over and their values appraised (Big Ben’s machine parts kept in the more distant part of town
looking for a particular “breed” of mercenary scum). before being moved underground for final assembly
Should characters manage to find work under Big and installation. These warehouses are filled with
Ben, they will be quartered here among rows of extension drilling machines, “donkeys” (large static
barrack houses (similar to those of the miners, but engines), water-fed drills, and other forms of heavy
without any restriction on movement in and out, and mining machinery.
an almost total lack of disease among the barracks).
Living in these wood, brick, and concrete structures U. CORIUM MINES
are street watchmen. Mine patrollers, and wall Two gigantic concrete tunnels, each thirty feet high,
guards, as well as members of Ben’s personal guard head right into the mountainside at this point. Banks
are also housed here. Typical pay is 25-50 corium of long-dead fluorescent lights run the length of these
a week, payable in liquor, water, whores, or raw tunnels as they go horizontally underground, leaving
corium. enough room beneath for trucks, bulldozers, and
other heavy earth-moving equipment to pass into the
R. CORIUM WAREHOUSES complex.
These stone buildings are used to store corium A faded sign above each tunnel reads (in Ancient)
extracted from the mines, before shipment and sale “WELCOME TO FOUR-STATE NUCLEAR
elsewhere. Fogged up, dirty windows high up on the POWER FACILITY, LAS VEGAS, NEW
walls (30 ft. above ground level) reveal a bluish glow MEXICO”.
from within – making it obvious what is kept inside. Outside of the tunnels a virtual tent encampment
The warehouses are all rather sturdy (compared to has been set up, with rail tracks leading from the
other buildings in town), kept under lock and key, and tunnels out into the bright sunlight. Here, scores of
heavily guarded (two to three guards per building; laborers sort through gangue brought up from the
either at the front door or patrolling the top of the mines, extracting in rusted old rock-crushers minute
building for a better vantage point). Like the guards amounts of corium ore for the establishment. Mining
at the mine entrance, a few will have communicators carts, and hand-drawn wheelbarrows, continuously
for raising the alarm should there be an attack or come in and out of these huge passages in a steady
infiltration. stream, bringing the priceless stuff out at a regular,
d Warehouse Doors: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 5; hp hourly rate.
20; Break DC 25; Open Lock DC 25. The camp is not just overflowing with workers
Treasure: At any given time, a particular night and day – it is also patrolled by a large number
warehouse will contain 2,000 to 7,000 corium pieces of guards, soldiers who have orders to shoot on sight
in stacks, sacks, and chests (actual wooden chests, any miner or miscreant even looking suspicious.
camping coolers, wicker baskets, etc). Thieves are executed immediately in Lil’ Vegas.
Workers from the mines are also searched here, near
S. ORE EXTRACTOR the gates leading back to the city, every day to make
This is simply a huge, rusted, monstrous machine sure they aren’t holding onto any corium (this is, of
that chugs and roars day in and day out, filling the course, a quite thorough and nasty full body cavity
background of Lil’ Vegas with a perpetual moan. The examination).
“beast” stands almost a full story high, with ladders, At any given time there will be from 35 to 60
steps, and ramps leading from ground level to its guards moving through the crowds of workers,
summit. Workers from the mine continuously ferry among the grinding machinery, along the rail tracks,
mine carts (or “trams”) from the tunnels to this point, or standing atop nearby shacks and buildings for a
dumping corium-laced rock into the opening at the better vantage point on the goings on in the yard.
top. Gasoline-powered, the extractor grinds down
the rock and ejects it at the bottom, where young or

16
V. GRAVEYARD … Typical Ravagers, Raider5 (18): CR 6;
Evidence that the glittering allure of Lil’ Vegas Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant
hides a very dark secret, the graveyard is larger Radicals); HD 5d10+10; hp 37; Init +2 (Dex); Spd
than the town itself, sprawling out of town and 30 ft; AC 16 (+2 Dex, +3 studded leather, +1 chains
into a nearby valley. Here the dry sand and loose & chaps); Atk Spiked chain +8 melee 2d4+4; or
soil contains a virtual city of the dead, composed submachine gun (or auto rifle) +8 ranged 1d10
solely of the thousands of miners that have died in (1d12); SQ Chains & chaps +1, boarding party; AL
the mines (either from cave-ins and gas explosions, CE; SV Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +0; Str 16, Dex 14, Con
or through long-term exposure to radiation), and a 14, Int 9, Wis 8, Cha 12.
small population of other slaves such as servants Skills and Feats: Jump +5, Knowledge (vehicle
and furniture worn-out over time or killed trying operation) +3, Spot +1. Marauder, Rip A Clip, Road
to escape. All told there are nearly eight thousand Warrior, Weapon Focus (submachine gun or auto
graves in the “yard”, few if any bearing a headstone rifle).
or monument to their passing. Vultures, rats, and Possessions: Spiked chain, submachine gun or
pathetic mutant coyote scavenge this charnel valley automatic rifle (60 shots; 50% are jacketed rounds),
night and day. two irritant gas grenades, studded leather armor,
two doses of juju salve, binoculars or spyglass (one
W. RAVAGERS’ CAMP out of every three), gas mask, two gas mask filters,
Not shown on the town map is a location several communicator (walkie-talkie), power cell.
miles distant among the mountains, a hidden Mutations and Defects: Accelerated White Blood
encampment of raiders from the infamous super-gang Cell Activity, Interior Moisture Reservoir, Serrated
known as the “Ravagers”. This camp was ordered Dental Development, Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin
set up by the unknown figure who rules this savage Imbalance, Cystic Fibrosis, Negative Chemical
army of road-warriors, to keep an eye on the city of Reaction.
Lil’ Vegas and report on the traffic coming in and out Treasure: This is a rather modest encampment,
of town. but they keep a good supply of munitions here “just
There are around eighteen Ravagers at the camp. in case”. These stores include some 3,000 rounds of
There will usually be anywhere from four to six submachine gun ammo (about 50% jacketed), 3,000
members of the gang on patrol in the immediate rounds of automatic rifle ammo (50% jacketed), 200
vicinity, with another four at various secret lookout rounds of machinegun ammo, ten fragmentation
posts along the nearby ridges and canyon walls, grenades, twelve irritant gas grenades, eighteen
watching Lil’ Vegas and the approach of merchant sticks of dynamite, and enough foodstuffs (goo tubes
caravans through the flat country beyond. The and preserved snoffle hog meat) to last two months.
remainder stay in camp, among camouflaged tents The vehicles used by the Ravagers include two
that conceal various stolen supplies, arms and motorcycles (hp 42 and 35), three racers (hp 40
munitions, and the Ravagers’ vehicles. each), two medium cars (hp 70 each), and a pickup
Characters may stumble upon the Ravager camp if (hp 114). All of these vehicles are equipped with
they wander the hills before going to Lil’ Vegas, or armor spikes, while the pickup and two medium cars
may even fall prey to the raiders once they flee the are also armored. The pickup also has a mounted
city at the adventure’s conclusion. The Ravagers here weapon (machinegun), usable by one of the crew. All
or no better than the rest of their organization, and three racers are equipped with a light frame and are
will likely torture and rape any and all who fall into used as scout and pursuit vehicles to hunt down prey
their hands – after extracting any useful information (or those who’ve seen too much of the camp to let get
about Lil’ Vegas, Big Ben’s forces, etc. away).

17
 CHAPTER 3: THE CORIUM MINES
The infamous corium mines of Lil’ Vegas are known local labor, volunteers from across the wasteland,
far and wide across the deserts of the Twisted Earth and slaves condemned to the mines from nearly
as perhaps the deadliest mines currently in operation. every corner of the Twisted Earth. The local pool is
Ironically, they are also by the far the single-most considerably smaller than the rest of the work force,
productive of corium mother lodes, a fact that has but they are by far the most skilled in mining, having
meant death and misery as much as it has meant descended from mining lineage. Outsiders, such
profit and wealth for those who work it’s ever- as desperate scavs and other would-be adventurers,
expanding labyrinth of abyssal tunnels and caverns. come to try a hand and are, by and large, swallowed
No one is quite sure when the great corium mines up by the mines or drowned in the quicksand of
were first started, but they have been in operation company-store policies that rule Lil’ Vegas. Slaves,
for at least a number of generations. Now what sold by the Clean or Cartel to the city leadership by
were once primitive tunnels carved by desperate the score, are thrown in and pushed into the deepest
bare hands have become a virtual maze of horizontal depths, worked to death or simply forgotten, destined
tunnels, vertical chutes, descending ramps and to die in unlighted narrows almost a mile beneath the
passages, all of it shot through with haphazard air earth.
holes and narrow ventilation shafts that just barely No one who comes to Lil’ Vegas, with thoughts of
make existence in the mines tolerable. Tolerable, making it big, ever leaves. The town itself is a death
but not healthy, for the deep earth of the mines is trap, a vice, that draws in the dreamers and either
dangerous in many ways: cave-ins due primarily to breaks them into miserable conformity or spits them
the lack of engineering knowledge by the miners out as radiated and cancerous corpses.
and their corium-hungry overseers are extremely
common, explosive or lethal gas pockets are not
unknown, and the corium itself – so prized that THE DEPTHS
men expend their lives trying to find it – can be a
deadly substance. The soil and rock, laced with During the time of the Ancients, the area around Lil’
radioactive elements from the powerful reactor that Vegas was hand-picked after years of painstaking
once powered the region, is itself the leading cause research to be the site of a massive nuclear reactor
of death among the local population. But for every complex that would provide enough electricity to
hundred miners that die young, ill, and cancerous, meet much of the power needs of a four-state area
there are a thousand more willing to take their place (New Mexico, northern Texas, Colorado, and western
in line deep in the corium mines. Kansas). Geological conditions were right for the
That is the nature of the Lil’ Vegas corium mines; construction of a gigantic underground complex
a massive operation fueled by a combination of that would, with planning, be ideal for this colossal

MINING CORIUM
Corium is mined regularly from the Lil’ Vegas mines, itself being the single most productive source
(to date) of corium in the American Southwest. Corium, as described in the Darwin’s World rules, is a
metallic amalgam of graphite, spent but not necessarily non-radioactive uranium, and other metals and
minerals that once comprised the reactor core, casing, pipe work, etc. When the entire core melts down,
the extreme temperature literally molds all of these elements together into drippy, fluid-like ooze that, over
time, cools in a manner not unlike lava.
In most cases corium simply cools into solid rock and is almost impossible to “mine” with the tools
available after the apocalypse; however, when water vapor or certain atmospheric elements enter the
process, the cooled corium is flaky, forming into “bubbles” of rock or scale-like formations. It is this form
of corium that is most easily mined, since it breaks easily from the mass in manageable portions. These
nuggets, shaped like scales, are used exactly as is by merchants and traders across the wasteland.
Corium is itself radioactive, but on the scale of a few “coins” this radiation is negligible. A large
mass, however, presents a possible threat to long-term living, and exceptionally large flows can generate
tremendous Rad levels - and heat - that can be fatal. In the mines, the heat aspect of corium (with no
means of escaping) can cause spontaneous fires and disastrous conflagrations depending on the conditions,
one of the major hazards of the “trade”.
Corium is also slightly luminous, giving off a white, blue-white, or green color (depending on the
specific minerals that compose the given strain of corium). This is one of the reasons it is so admired as a
currency, since it cannot be replicated (or at least no one has figured out how to do it yet). In some corners
of the wasteland corium is used as a light source, but usually only among more mutated communities.

18
project. Located deep underground, this reactor shown here are only a fraction of the true depth and
complex would not mar the landscape, would be extent to which the miners have been driven to extract
immune to attack or overland disasters (such as flash the corium ore from the earth. Should the PCs return
floods, tornados, etc), and once it had outlived its to Lil’ Vegas at a future date, or pursue adventures
lifespan would be deep enough to simply bury whole in other parts of the mines; the GM should use this
without worry that future generations would stumble section as a base from which to create new tunnels
upon it and plumb its depths. and encounter locations.
No one knows what happened or how it fared, but
when the Fall came the great facility was buried as LONG-TERM CONSIDERATIONS OF THE MINES
a mass. Its machinery collapsed, was shaken apart, No one seems to have put any thought into the long-
and erupted. Steam created by the nuclear reactions term effect the corium boom in Lil’ Vegas might
of its numerous “light water” reactors (ironically, do to the fragile economy of the Twisted Earth.
the cheapest, and oldest technology available) Currently corium is used as a fledgling currency
violently exploded, causing a massive collapse of in many places across the wasteland, but one of
almost 75% of its tunnels and vault-like chambers. the few things special about it is that it is rare and
Since the upper reactors failed first, these caved-in impossible to produce in any quantity. It has no other
and buried the relatively intact complexes below real value, other than creating a modest luminosity.
– sealing the engineers and plant workers in under With the size and amount of corium pouring out
an unimaginable weight or stone and fiery debris of the Lil’ Vegas mines, there is a very real danger
well in excess of 3000˚C. Deadly radiation spilled of destabilizing corium’s value in the next few
throughout the complex, seeping into every stretch years. Since more and more of it is being bled into
of it and killing anything that might have remained. the wastes with each passing month, it is entirely
Vibrations caused by the inevitable meltdown of the conceivable that with the collapse of corium as a
core further brought about its destruction, until at last currency Lil’ Vegas (like any other boomtown of the
the entire atomic project was silenced under a million Old West era) will dry up and turn into an abandoned
or more tons of earth. ghost town, albeit one with a rich – if miserable -
Many generations later, rag-clothed wanderers, history.
corium prospectors, came to the region following
ancient tales of a mighty reactor complex buried
beneath the hills. Over time these intrepid HEAT AND RADIATION
prospectors found the remnants of ventilation chutes
that connected the lost reactor complex to the surface, IN THE MINES
and began the first mines to delve deep into its
radiated depths. Heat and radiation are two constant dangers in the
The amount of corium in the Vegas “mine” was corium mines of Lil’ Vegas. The GM should be
beyond all imagining. The total collapse and eruption aware that while the specific adventure locations
of the unstable cores during the last earthquakes detailed below will specify the various dangers from
of a century past had allowed molten corium from heat and/or radiation, the vast complex of tunnels will
six of its eight reactors to literally fill entire tunnels have varying levels of hazard as well. This section
and passages with the precious stuff. Like lava is meant to give general guidelines on how to handle
tubes, these concrete tunnels and maintenance heat and radiation in your game.
passages became channels for the glowing, radiated As one descends into the depths, heat levels
graphite alloy, expanding and moving towards the increase not only due to the number of human bodies
surface. These first veins of corium blew away the working in the mines but also the growing abundance
expectations of the prospectors, who, in their haste of corium in the rock – which, being radioactive,
and excitement, foolishly made the outside world also imparts an innate heat to the tunnels that builds
aware of the great wealth to be had beneath the hills. steadily over time.
Their luck and fortune did not last. Raiders,
and outsiders, came and destroyed the camps that UPPER MINES
dotted the hills. Prospectors were either slain for The upper mines consist of what was once one
what corium they had on hand, or were eventually of the reactors of the Four State Nuclear Facility.
enslaved to work the mines by the more far-sighted During the collapse and melt down, the entire upper
of raider gangs. complex caved in, sealing off the reactor complex
There is untold amounts of corium still to be had below it (i.e. the reactor detailed in Death By Corium
beneath Lil’ Vegas in the mines – and everyone Light) from the surface almost entirely. It has
knows it. So far they have only scratched the surface. taken generations of mining through the collapsed
bedrock, uncovering the fragments of lost tunnels
This adventure only details one specific portion of and passageways, to locate the levels and shafts
the vast complex (one of the eight original reactors) connecting this buried upper reactor to the one sealed
that comprises the mines of Lil’ Vegas. The portions – relatively intact – far below.

19
 Even at its shallowest, the heat in the upper mines work-gangs that stumble onto them). The average
is already enough to affect workers. A character in take, however, is phenomenal, usually being around
the 90+ degree conditions of the first 100 ft. or so 8,000 to 15,000 corium pieces each week.
of mines must make a Fortitude save every hour For more information on heat, see “Heat Dangers”
(DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or sustain 1d4 in Dungeon Masters Guide.
points of subdual damage; -4 to the save if wearing
armor or heavy clothes. Characters reduced to
unconsciousness start taking normal damage (1d4 KEY TO THE CORIUM MINES
points per hour).
The radiation in the mines begins to increase 1. MINE TUNNELS
to noticeable levels around 75 to 125 feet, getting The two huge tunnels that lead from the surface
increasingly more dangerous as one descends into horizontally into the mines of Lil’ Vegas soon
the depths of the corium mines. At this level the converge into one gigantic stope (see below), but
radiation is roughly 50-75 Rads in many places, quickly branch off into countless tunnels and shafts
though some areas are completely free of radiation that linger in random directions throughout the next
altogether. 100 feet or so of mine depth. Metal tracks, laid into
the ground where there used to be paved roadway
LOWER MINES (for heavy vehicle passage during the time of the
The lowest level of the mines consists mainly of Ancients), allow ore from deep in the mines to be
ventilation shafts and upper corridors of the ancient transported up along these arteries to the surface.
facility that flooded with molten corium during Miners and guards are often entering and exiting
the melt down. While here the corium is far more the mines, making stealthy intrusion a must (GMs
abundant, the temperature is of such a critical level may require Move Silently or Hide checks to avoid
that fires and death by asphyxiation are treacherously being discovered).
common. In this heat, a character must save one
every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 for each previous 2. STOPES (EL 6-8)
check) or suffer 1d4 points of subdual damage (with These large chambers were once work pits, but
the same minus for wearing heavy clothes or armor whatever traces of corium ore led the miners here has
Those reduced to unconsciousness start taking normal long been mined out. These caverns are now used
damage at a rate of 1d4 per 10-minute period. Any to house machinery moved from outside warehouses
damage suffered also brings on fatigue (-2 to Strength and sheds into the mines. Most of these machines are
and Dexterity until able to cool off). dormant, waiting to be assembled, or consist of gas
Radiation levels here are much higher than upper generators to help provide lighting further on down
levels, and deaths among workers who brave these the line.
depths are significant. Rad levels range from There will generally be 1d3 guards on guard here
100-300 Rads in various “hot spots”. The typical to protect the machinery from the tampering of slaves
weekly take, however, ranges from around 5,000 to or would-be troublemakers. In the event of a hostile
7,500 corium pieces, making the risk to human life encounter, the guards will call for help.
worthwhile. … Mine Guards, Guardian3 (varies): CR 5;
Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant
DEEP MINES/REACTOR COMPLEX Resurrector); HD 3d10+3; hp 33 each; Init +6 (Dex;
The deepest part of the mines are just called the Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 19 (+2 Dex, +3
“tunnels” – the remnants of ancient cooling vents studded leather; +4 protective dermal development);
and concrete tunnel work used to transport water and Atk Whip +5 ranged 1d2S; or shotgun +5 ranged
other necessities for the plant’s operation. Many of special; SQ Defender; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +3,
these tunnels were completely flooded with corium Will +1; Str 15, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha
during the meltdown or simply collapsed. Those 12.
that still stand are in danger of caving in all the time. Skills and Feats: Intimidate +2, Knowledge
Weakened structuring from the original catastrophe, (technology) +2*, Listen +4, Spot +8. Alertness,
as well as decades of mining and blasting on upper Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
levels, have left these the most treacherous tunnels Possessions: Whip, shotgun (20 shotgun shells),
in the complex. On average, a substantial number of studded leather armor, light rod.
miners are killed every month by flash-fire (due to Mutations and Defects: Multi-Faceted Eyes,
the heat), unexpected pockets of radiation, or massive Protective Dermal Development, Sensitive Sight,
cave-ins. Needless to say, only the worst workers, Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin Imbalance, Bizarre
weakest slaves, or most hated prisoners end up Pigmentation (sickly pink to mottled freckling),
working these mines. Mongoloid.
Rad levels in these depths range from 50-100
Rads on average, but pockets from 750-1500 Rads
are frequently uncovered (much to the dismay of the

20
3. MINING PITS working in areas such as this, stripped down and
The PCs are likely to pass several of these, whether chained to one another in loose “gangs”.
they are infiltrating the mines in secret or enslaved
with the rest of the tormented souls of Lil’ Vegas. 4. WEAKENED TUNNELS
Each of these is a chamber of varying length, width, Though seemingly ordinary to the untrained eye,
and height, carved out of solid rock by hand to to any character with 4 or more ranks of Profession
extract minute flecks of corium ore for the benefit of (mining), or Craft (mining engineer), these tunnels
Big Ben’s ruthless authority. show obvious evidence of being extremely weak. A
At any given time, one of these areas will have modest-sized explosive charge (one stick of dynamite
anywhere from 20 to 30 miners/slaves toiling at the or more) would certainly be enough to cause a
rock, either chipping away directly or lugging off localized cave-in (perhaps involving 20 to 30 feet of
large rocks to load carts for transport to the outside. tunnel) to seal the passage.
In addition to these miserable souls, there will be
the equivalent of three patrols (a dozen guards) 5. BRUTALITY (EL 9)
overseeing what is going on. Up ahead the PCs hear the sound of miners chipping
The PCs are unlikely to need to attack these away at stone, followed by the railing of whips and
congregations, since the miners are already subdued the sadistic shouting of mine guards. Suddenly there
into submission, and the guards are quite numerous. is a crack of musket shot, a row of laughter, and
Each of these areas is also in close proximity to miserable sounds of weeping – before the whipping
another, meaning that any combat will likely draw and chipping of stone begins once more.
more. If they do attack, the statistics for mine guards Entering onto the scene, the PCs see a broad tunnel
can be found below (Area 5). where a large group of a dozen miners works, on
GM’s Note: PCs that have been captured, either their skinned and bloodied knees, at the command
in the mines or in Lil’ Vegas, will invariably end up of a smaller group of musket-armed guards. Two

21
 frightened miners are carrying the dead body of a 6. RAT ATTACK! (EL 8)
miner –shot through the back of the head – away as Up ahead the tunnel is lit by a chaotic flash of white
the PCs emerge from the darkness. light and filled with sudden screams of panic. As
Should the PCs attack, the miners will be taken off- the PCs round the bend they come across a startling
guard, but once they realize they are not miners, they scene – a pack of mangy, limp-bodied miners under
will fight back. If the PCs work for Big Ben, the men attack by a virtual swarm of humongous rats. But
simply sneer and go about their work. these are not just large rats, the kind seen scavenging
… Mine Guards, Guardian3 (4): hp 33, 33, 28, everywhere on the Twisted Earth – these are naked,
and 20 (see Area 2 for statistics). pink and writhing, with deformed yellow fangs
… Mine Patrol Leader, Guardian5 (1): CR 7; and claws and pasty white eyes that almost seem to
Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant glimmer with a blind thirst for murder.
Resurrector); HD 5d10+5; hp 51; Init +6 (Dex; The four miners have accidentally broken through
Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 20 (+2 Dex, +4 one of the walls into the remnants of an ancient
chain shirt; +4 protective dermal development); Atk ventilation shaft, stirring up the irradiated occupants
Short sword +8 melee 1d6+3; or shotgun +7 ranged within – a large festering mass of mutated dire
special; SQ Defender, called shot (+1d6); AL NE; SV rats. As the characters arrive, half the pack will
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1; Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13, Int concentrate on the miners (killing them in two
8, Wis 10, Cha 12. rounds), the rest moving to swarm over the new
Skills and Feats: Intimidate +4, Knowledge “prey”.
(technology) +2*, Listen +4, Spot +8. Alertness, … Dire Rats (26): CR 1/3; Small Animal; HD
Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, 1d8+1; hp 5 each; Init +3 (Dex); Spd 40 ft, climb 20
Room Broom. ft; AC 15 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural); Atk Bite +4
Possessions: Short sword, shotgun (20 shotgun melee 1d4; SA Disease; SQ Scent; AL N; SV Fort +3,
shells), chain shirt, two light rods. Ref +5, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 1, Wis
Mutations and Defects: Multi-Faceted Eyes, 12, Cha 4.
Protective Dermal Development, Sensitive Sight, Skills and Feats: Climb +11, Hide +11, Move
Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin Imbalance, Bizarre Silently +6. Weapon Finesse (bite).
Pigmentation (sickly pink to mottled freckling), If any of the miners manages to survive the attack,
Mongoloid. they will thank the PCs for saving their lives before
fleeing back towards the surface. If the PCs ask,
Once the mine guards are killed, the miners will the men will explain the general locale, even giving
be in a state of shock and surprise – no one has stood direction to the Old Freight Elevator (see below), and
up for them before. Overcome by a rush of emotions giving a warning about some figure known only as
(joy, appeased vengeance, and then the realization the “Torturer” who resides there.
they could be in big trouble for what happened), they
thank them briefly before taking off to other parts 7. RAT PASSAGES
of the mines. If any of the PCs mentions Arlon, The broken section of wall the miners punched
either by name or by description, a few of the miners through leads to what immediately appears to be an
(before fleeing) will acknowledge they knew him, unnatural series of tunnels; these are no more than
and point the PCs in the direction of Area 9, the old 4 ft wide, but perfectly square in shape and smooth,
freight elevator leading to the deeper mines. They with a metallic “skin” (aluminum-sided ductwork).
will mention that Arlon escaped with a crate of The tunnels stretch off in each direction from the
explosives and is probably planning to seal the mines entry point, but thereafter seem to turn in weird
indefinitely. Although they stand to be buried with directions and into endless darkness.
him if he succeeds, the miners seem almost proud to This marks the beginning of a maze of air ducts
die in such a fashion, especially since it will mean the and atmosphere-control tunnels that riddle this entire
end of Big Ben’s hold over the town. level, connecting to the levels below. There are
None of the men is willing to accompany the virtually miles upon miles of tight, lightless passages,
characters on their escape, since the mines are all leading horizontally, diagonally (steep or shallow),
they’ve ever known. They believe any escape, other and vertically throughout. Some ducts have caved-in,
than death, is ultimately impossible. blocking passage entirely, and others lead down to
Treasure: The guards have in their possession the first few levels of the ancient reactor complex that
a small wooden crate containing five sticks of is the source of the corium in the mines.
dynamite, but they will not use the explosive for If the characters choose to follow these tunnels,
fear of collapsing the place. The miners have also they will soon find that they are tight, hot, and not
managed to loosen no less than 460 corium pieces easily navigated. In addition, huge mutated rats live
from this deposit, lying in loose piles along the in vast numbers among the tunnels and pipes, making
cavern’s length. nests throughout and scrambling to the attack when
the smell of fresh prey reaches them. Encounters
with rats should be in numbers ranging from 20 to 30
22
 these high temperatures.
This place is dominated by
working men, moving carts from
the shaft and breaking the ore
within down into smaller chunks
to be hauled out. A huge cage
of roughly worked iron fills one
side of the room, where a band of
malnourished and naked slaves
languishes in sweat, blood, and
misery.
Every now and again workers
will be ordered to pull at a huge
sturdy rope and pulley system
over the shaft, and minutes later
a large metal and wood platform
(“elevator”) will rise from the
darkness with anywhere from four
to a dozen miners on board with
more rock and ore from the depths.
The cycle then begins anew.
Overseeing this part of the mines
is a particularly huge member
of the Vegas governor’s mining
operation, a man known throughout
the mines solely as the “Torturer”.
This huge mutant shouts in a
rolling, thunderous voice whatever
commands need be heard, shocking
the workers to get a point across
or simply to inflict suffering upon
them. He keeps nearly a dozen
at a time, but all told there are at least a thousand or
of them caged for his personal amusement, drawing
more living in the darkness.
them out to shock, rack, or torture in other ways. The
Due to the restricted space, medium size creatures
screams, cries, and hoarse-voiced wails of dying men
suffer a –2 to attack rolls and cannot use large
often issue from this place into nearby tunnels and
weapons.
down the main elevator shaft.
… Dire Rats (1,000): hp 5 each (see Area 6 for
Unless they are recognized as working for Big
statistics).
Ben, when the PCs enter the Torturer and his four
bold-natured guards will immediately attack. Slaves
8. SUPPLY STORES
and miners will scamper in terror, afraid of stray
This roughly hewn alcove lies off one of the mining
fire as much as the wrath of their brutally sadistic
tunnels, and is filled with a pile of hastily stashed
“foreman”.
mining equipment. This equipment consists of
… Mine Guards, Guardian3 (4): hp 33, 33, 32,
two-dozen shovels, picks, and hammers, coils of
and 32 (see Area 2 for statistics).
rope (roughly 300 ft in all), three small casks of tar,
… “Torturer”, Guardian7 (1): CR 9; Medium-
various 10 ft lengths of lumber (for shoring), a box
size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant Resurrector);
of iron nails, and some half dozen lanterns (no oil, or
HD 7d12+7; hp 82; Init +6 (Dex; Improved
corium, within).
Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 20 (+2 Dex, +4 chain shirt;
+4 protective dermal development); Atk Stun baton
9. OLD FREIGHT ELEVATOR (EL 10)
+11/+6 melee 2d6+5; SQ Defender, called shot
This huge vaulted cavern appears to have once been
(+1d6); AL NE; SV Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +1; Str 16,
a part of the original mine complex, being large
Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 10.
enough at least for the passage of heavy dump trucks
Skills and Feats: Gather Information +8,
and the like. The far wall contains the beginnings of
Intimidate +10, Knowledge (technology) +2*,
a humongous shaft that leads down into a vaporous
Listen +3, Sense Motive +7, Spot +3. Alertness,
darkness from which an eerie bluish light is only
Improved Hit Dice, Improved Initiative, Marauder,
vaguely noticeable. Here, too, the heat is much more
Power Attack, Weapon Focus (stun baton), Weapon
significant than elsewhere, and it is obvious that the
Specialization (stun baton).
shaft (and the depths beyond) is the originator of
Possessions: Stun baton, power beltpack, chain

23
 shirt, two doses of juju salve, one dose of infusion of Spot +11.
valor, two light rods. The eight mighty bats look almost like draconian
Mutations and Defects: Multi-Faceted Eyes, things of ancient myth, draped in their long leathery
Protective Dermal Development, Sensitive Sight, wings and peering through half-closed eyes of the
Aberrant Deformity, Bilirubin Imbalance, Bizarre darkest gleaming color. Faces look like the warped
Pigmentation (dusky violet freckles), Mongoloid. vestiges of the most horrific mutants – or worse,
Treasure: The “Torturer” keeps a few articles on demons – filled with fangs and uplifted nose, with
a nearby wooden table and among the scraps of the ears that suddenly unfurl like a second set of wings as
guard’s corner of this place. These include keys to they detect the approach of intruders.
the “cage”, a communicator (walkie talkie style; it is The gigantic shaft certainly is large enough for the
tuned to the frequency of the guards at the surface), creatures to fly about unimpeded, and they can also
33 shotgun shells, an extra power beltpack (full navigate the tunnels through which the PCs came.
charge), a cardboard box containing three light rods, This shaft could be conceivably be used by the
and a trio of corium lanterns. PCs to access the reactor complex, below, but the
GM’s Note: This elevator shaft is the major access elevators (and the main elevator cable) fell away long
point to the lower levels (at least in this corner of the ago. It would require a difficult vertical climb (DC
mines). To have them lowered into the mines, the 25) of almost 400 ft to reach the Vehicle Garage.
players will have to have a sizeable number of slaves GM’s Note: Should the characters slay these
(one slave for every two PCs on the lift) operate the creatures, one and all, they will have done the
pulley and ropes. The workforce needed could easily community of Lil’ Vegas a favor. These gigantic
be taken from the slaves in the Torturer’s cage. creatures have taken to fluttering through the mines
and out one of several lost ventilation shafts to the
10. ABANDONED SHAFT (EL 8) surface, flying free at night and preying on lone
The passages leading to this distant part of the tunnel corium prospectors, hermits, and wandering livestock
complex appear to have been abandoned long ago, for the past few months. There death will put an end
though it seems such a waste considering the efforts to a rash of bizarre reports of night-flying creatures
made to blast them. But invariably the walls have bringing death to the mountains near town that
been stripped of corium, mining equipment cleared, have gotten the locals (and even the establishment)
and the way left lonely in the wake of whoever worried for their lives and sanity.
retreated from this place.
The passages continue on for a good while before
they become much more cluttered and oppressive. LOWER MINES
Old mining equipment is found lying abandoned
where the workers inexplicably dropped it, as if 11. MINE SHAFT
fleeing some terrible thing deeper along the route. This is the primary means of reaching the deepest
The maze of passages comes to an end where the levels of the mines; a previously existing elevator
tunnel suddenly breaks through the wall of a huge shaft, 20’ x 20’ wide, that provided access to the
four-sided shaft (perfectly square) that extends reactor complexes numerous levels. This shaft, in
upwards and downwards. A decidedly abnormal particular, was discovered long ago and was naturally
blue glow can be seen leaking upwards from far utilized as a means of exploring deeper levels.
below, and the heat in the shaft is considerably more A winch-powered elevator platform (thrown
noticeable than the mines behind them. together out of metal and wood) provides access up
Above can be seen the support-laced roof of the and down the mighty shaft. The elevator can hold
elevator shaft (which this obviously was once), up to a dozen Medium-sized creatures in relatively
where the huge rusted machinery of the elevator lift safety, but it must be pulled up and down from above,
mechanism can be seen hanging, along with coils, slowly and cautiously (see Area 9).
ropy electric wiring, and insulation tubing. The elevator is mainly used to ferry miners down
Considering the poor lighting, mess of wires, and to the deepest mine level, and bring ore and dead
rusted machinery dangling from the top of the shaft, workers back up to the upper levels.
it will be difficult for the PCs to notice the creatures Characters looking over the edge of the elevator,
(requiring the PCs to Spot them at DC 16) that also as they descend (assuming they have some means of
dwell here, hanging upside down from the same going down), will notice a deep blue glow coming
supports that hold the lift mechanism in place. from far down the shaft. The heat, too, seems to
… Dire Bats (8): CR 2; Large Animal; HD be channeled upwards along the contours of the
4d8+12; hp 44, 43, 42, 41, 40, 40, 39, and 25; Init mineshaft, adding heat to the upper levels of the
+6 (Dex); Spd 20 ft, fly 40 ft (good); AC 20 (-1 size, entire mining complex.
+6 Dex, +5 natural); Atk Bite +5 melee 1d8+4; SQ GM’s Note: Any confrontation on the lift, as
Blindsight; AL N; SV Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +6; Str it is being raised or lowered, is a potential hazard
17, Dex 22, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6. since the platform is only about twelve or fifteen feet
Skills and Feats: Listen +11, Move Silently +11, across – leaving room for passengers to slip or fall off

24
and down the shaft. If there is a lot of commotion on being so deep in the mines and the miners can’t
board (such as melee combat, or a dramatic shifting escape without getting past the “Torturer” on the
of weight), GMs might force passengers to make level above. The miners and slaves are so weak
a Balance skill check (DC 15) to stay on. Those from the heat and radiation sickness, not to mention
that fall will likely be killed from the drop (20d6 malnutrition and delirium that they will not react to
damage). the passage of the PCs.

12. DEEP MINES 13. PRISONERS (EL 9)

Solely corium lamps, emitting a dim light that barely This small cavern is heavy with the stench of death
frosts the curved and unnatural surfaces of the tunnels and echoes with the quick beating of hammers and
and caverns with their weak luminescence, light the picks on stone. Lit only by feeble blue corium
tunnels here. The weak, almost rat-like bodies of light, the only thing visible is the sight of crouched,
dying miners and slaves from the wasteland crowd naked figures in chains, working the solid rock
in these tunnels, knees and feet broken on the jagged like a writhing mass of worms. A pair of huge
rocks and shards of chipped concrete, living out their guards watch with sadistic smiles, every now and
last days. again stepping forward to lash the bleeding backs
PCs may move relatively unseen in these tunnels, of these men for apparently no other purpose than
since guards are few and far between - none like entertainment.

25
 As the PCs enter, one of the miners – a gigantic, sour. Though he won’t admit it, the Clean actually
badly beaten individual - breaks his chain with his accused him of being involved in the murder of a
pick and turns to kill the guards. A second slave Clean emissary to the raider gangs of the Forbidden
(this one smaller, and marked with the pale skin and Lands. Sold into slavery as punishment, Rider was
platinum hair of an albino) joins him by bulldozing brought here where he was thrown into the corium
one of the guards and jumping on him as he stumbles. mines to be worked to death. The only thing that
Taken by surprise, the slavers are unable to prevent has kept the stubborn, albino-skinned scav alive is
the rest of the miners from taking advantage of the a burning hatred for the Clean, and he has sworn to
chaos and running for their lives. escape this hell and return to avenge the past three
The two miners will attack the guards whether or years of bondage and brutal torture.
not the PCs help. If they are on the side of Big Ben’s If the PCs assist Jon and Rider in their escape
men, the former (“Jon”) will then turn on them in a attempt, both will be grateful and want to repay the
fit of rage; the latter will simply flee. Jon will always PCs in their own particular way. In a simple gesture
fight to the death. Jon will pledge to join the PCs in whatever task they
… Mine Patrol Leaders, Guardian5 (2): hp 50 are undertaking in the mines (short of working for
each (see Area 5 for statistics). Big Ben). If they decline his offer, Jon will take his
… Jon, Guardian6 (1): CR 7; Medium-size pick and run off towards the surface, attempting to
Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant Primitive); HD find a way out on his own.
6d12+6; hp 65 (down to 37 from beatings); Init +5 Rider, for his part, will admit that he is a tracker of
(Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft; AC 11 (+1 some skill, and may be able to lead the PCs across the
Dex); Atk Heavy pick +11/+6 melee 1d6+6; SQ wasteland once they’ve escaped the mines. This will
Defender; AL N; SV Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +2; Str 18, be an especially attractive offer if the PCs are escaped
Dex 13, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 8. slaves or runaways, since without adequate supplies
Skills and Feats: Climb +7, Listen +4, Ride +5, on their own they will need a skilled forager to find
Spot +4. Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Hit Dice, food and water as well as keep an eye out for other
Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus dangers such as radiation and raiders. Rider will
(heavy pick), Weapon Specialization (heavy pick). honor any deal if it involves his freedom, but will
Possessions: Heavy pick, rags. leave the group to fulfill his own destiny once they
Mutations and Defects: Aberrant Endoskeletal reach any kind of community outside of Lil’ Vegas.
Encasing, Increased Body Density, Cystic Fibrosis, Treasure: The miners here have managed to
Negative Chemical Reaction. extract some 855 corium pieces from this particular
Jon was captured among the wastes and sold to deposit, lying in a single mining car on the north side
the mines as a slave, fetching a high price for his of the cave.
strength, stamina, and skill with a pick. Though big
he is not dumb, and though the mine guards have 14. GUARD POST (EL 10)
tormented him and derided him for his primitive At the end of the mines is a small cave, apparently
background and broken speech, he has been plotting hollowed out by miners and not quite natural. Here
revenge – and escape – for weeks. a pair of corium lamps illuminates a small group of
…Rider, Scav8 (1): CR 10; Medium-size nervous-looking guards, clenching firearms tight,
Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant Visionary watching the opposite side of the room. The break
Reinventor); HD 8d8+8; hp 70 (down to 30 from in the rock reveals an entrance to the upper reaches
beatings); Init +7 (Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 30 of the buried reactor complex. Upon hearing of
ft; AC 16 (+3 Dex, +3 Canny Defense); Atk Heavy the discovery of a heretofore-unknown part of the
pick +6/+1 melee 1d6; SQ Nature sense, sneak attack complex (deeper than the caved-in upper levels,
(+2d6), radiation sense, canny defense; AL CN; SV which took years to excavate), Big Ben ordered a
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +2; Str 11, Dex 16, Con 13, Int number of scouting parties to go in and explore…
12, Wis 16, Cha 8. none returned. For the time being a number of guards
Skills and Feats: Appraise +3, Bluff +4, Gather have been posted here to make sure no one slips out
Information +4, Hide +5, Intuit Direction +10, and into the new areas, and to kill anything that might
Knowledge (mutant lore) +2, Move Silently +7, Ride rise from the dark depths and into the mines.
+8, Search +3, Spot +10*, Wilderness Lore +14. The mine guards are filled with fears as to what
Improved Initiative, Marauder, Mounted Combat. might have killed their comrades and the slave parties
Possessions: Heavy pick, tattered wide-brimmed sent to explore. Rumors speak of strange “floating
Stetson, rags. things” that drool acid and slime. They are not
Mutations and Defects: Advanced Sensory Control taking any chances, and will fire at anything coming
(sight)*, Inherent Immunity (radiation), Albinism, through.
Cerebral Susceptibility. When the PCs enter, the guards will be facing the
The man they call “Rider” was a wandering scav opposite direction.
captured by the Clean in Tucumcari, the fabled … Mine Guards, Guardian3 (6): hp 29 each (see
“Trade City”, ostensibly after a business deal went Area 2 for statistics).

26
 ELEVATOR SHAFTS
Shaft Garages Habitat Emergency Serv Reactor Serv Reactor A Reactor B Reactor C
A Y* Y - - Y* - Y
B Y* Y (ends) - - - - -
C - Y Y - Y* - Y
D - Y - - Y - Y**
E - Y Y* - Y - Y
F - Y Y* (ends) - - - -
G - Y (ends) - - - - -

* Elevator doors on this level are intact, requiring a Stage IIC access card to open.
** Elevator bottoms out at the Lost Miner’s Town (Area 50).

Treasure: One of the guards has a communicator parts of the facility that are not detailed in Death By
(walkie-talkie) with a full power cell, for contacting Corium Light. The actual depth of these shafts is left
the “Torturer”, above, with any sightings and regular to the GM’s discretion.
reports. A single corium lantern lights the place.
There is also a small box in the cavern containing a 16. ELEVATOR SHAFTS B
loose collection of supplies, comprised of seven light As Elevator Shafts A, except these shafts do not go
rods and 87 loose shotgun shells. up, but rather descend from this level into deeper
depths. There are enough pieces of elevator lift
15. ELEVATOR SHAFTS A machinery affixed to the roof of each shaft to make
Massive stone shafts extend at these points up (and the attachment of ropes and grappling hooks a
down) for as far as the eye can see. From below one relatively easy task. They are still strong enough
of the shafts, emanates an eerie bluish glow, evidence to support a great deal of weight, short of an intact
that the levels below are flooded with solidified, elevator.
super-hot corium. The elevators no longer exist, The dimensions of each shaft are otherwise the
having plummeted long ago. same, as are Climb DCs. Each shaft provides access
Each shaft is 20’ x 20’ wide. The nature of the to different levels of the mines and reactor complex;
shafts permits heat from below to carry up into the for ease of reference, each elevator shaft has been
mines above, adding to the temperatures that afflict given a letter to clarify which levels it grants access
the miners. Most of these shafts connect with the to:
tunneling of the Lil’ Vegas miners, and as such any d Steel Elevator Doors: 2 in. Thick; Hardness
exceptionally loud noise (GMs discretion here) has a 25; hp 90; Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30.
good chance of attracting some kind of attention from
the mines above.
Climbing from this level to any spot above requires GARAGE LEVEL
a vertical ascent of at least 200 feet. Climb checks
should be made at DC 25. 17. ACCESS PASSAGEWAYS
Treasure: Every 30-50 ft, there will be a small The majority of tunnels and passages were designed
corium deposit left over from when many of these to permit the passage not only of engineers and
shafts were flooded (before the cooling corium technicians throughout the complex, but also
receded to deeper depths). Such deposits will contain industrial-sized robots and golf cart-sized mini-
50-75 corium pieces worth of the ore, but would rovers. As such they are generally broad, sturdily
require chipping away at in mid-air - not a likely constructed, and easily navigable.
idea. These patches do, however, provide irregular In some places the walls, floor, and ceiling of
lighting (hemispherical globes of faint illumination the passageways may have suffered considerable
that reach out 5 to 10 feet from the shaft walls) up damage. In these cases, movement is reduced to
and down the shafts. 3⁄4 speed for vehicles and ground-based robots (no
GM’s Note: These shafts are the same as the modifier to other forms of movement, however).
Mine Shaft (Area 11), having existed long before the
mines were first created as part of the massive reactor 18. BOOBY TRAPS
complex. Many of these are still intact but remain to The passageway here has been booby-trapped by
be explored or fully utilized. Some are very weak, Arlon in his “madness” (i.e. desperation). Hidden
and the use of an elevator (as in Area 9) might in fact out of sight, in a pocket of shadows, he has placed
cause a catastrophic structural collapse… a small amount of the explosives he stole from Big
None of these shafts connect to the levels of the Ben, hooked up to a nearly invisible tripwire.
reactor complex, instead connecting to long lost

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 x Explosive Trap (Satchel Charge B): CR 3; with water A metal grating covers pits, but there
no attack roll necessary (6d6); Reflex save (DC 22) is a 50% chance that any grating, when crossed, is
to take half damage; Search (DC 22); Disable Device weak enough to break (thus dropping the passerby
(DC 22). There is a 35% chance that the explosion down the pit below). Any water accumulated in
will cause a 10 ft. long section of the passage to the drainage ditch is tainted with impurities, and
collapse at this point, permanently sealing it off. therefore not a suitable source of drinking water.
x Runoff Pit (80 ft. deep): CR 4; no attack roll
19. DRAINAGE PITS necessary (8d6); Reflex save (DC 20) avoids; Search
A number of these pits were created with the original (DC 25).
complex, designed to channel runoff waters that are a
natural occurrence in any underground construction. 20. BODIES (EL 8)
They are found throughout the complex, on almost all Up ahead the stench of death is easily recognized, as
levels. are the squeaks of numerous rats. The tunnel, once
Each pit is 10’ x 10’, and eighty feet deep, with illuminated, proves to be a saddening scene, with the
sheer slick walls. The bottom is either completely badly rotten remains of nearly a half-dozen humanoid
dry or filled anywhere up to one-fourth the way figures scattered all around. It appears the men were

29
 a mining party from the mines above, sent on an
exploratory foray into the strange, smooth halls (the HABITAT LEVEL
beginnings of the complex), but whatever killed them
is anyone’s guess. 22. HABITAT AREAS (VARIES)
A pack of truly enormous mutated rats (even larger This comprises a vast complex of halls, corridors,
than those seen in the mines), bald as moles and with rooms, and recreation areas set aside for the
eyes the color of runny egg yolk, are feasting on the engineers and technicians of the plant during off-
last fleshy vestiges of these lost miners. As the PCs duty hours. Even now the lighting is still subdued,
come across the scene, these abnormally aggressive suggesting that this complex was used for relaxation
creatures scuttle forth to attack. and off-duty pursuits. Sliding doors, see-through
… Enormous Dire Rats (9): CR 2; Medium-size plastiglass wall sections, and automatic lights (that
Animal; HD 5d8+10; hp 41 each; Init +1 (Dex); Spd come on when a life form passes by) add to the eerily
40 ft, climb 20 ft; AC 12 (+1 Dex, +1 natural); Atk automated nature of the maze.
Bite +7 melee 1d8+4; SA Disease; SQ Scent; AL N; Characters wandering this area will find long-
SV Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2; Str 18, Dex 13, Con 14, abandoned recreation areas, break rooms, mess
Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 4. areas, lavatories, rest bays - even a cafeteria. Doors
Skills and Feats: Climb +15, Hide +9, Move automatically slide open as if by an invisible hand,
Silently +4. Weapon Finesse (bite). and automatic lighting sputters and blinks on as they
Treasure: There are three heavy picks and three move down halls or into new chambers. Still, the
shovels among the corpses, a 30 ft. coil of rope heavy smell of rot hangs oppressively throughout
(with a grappling hook on one end), as well as the the place, and the seeming void of skeletal remains
remains of three corium lanterns (one is missing the suggests something other than the original inhabitants
corium chunk used to light it; the others are intact recently perished here…
but so covered in debris that they must be fished out Areas marked a are rest bays; these uniformly
and cleaned off to once more shine again). One of consist of four separate beds in small individual
the figures wears the tattered remnants of a suit of alcoves (with room for a small TV and personal
studded leather armor (still usable), with a shotgun belongings) connected to a small relaxation chamber
but apparently no ammunition. A Search check (DC – table, magazine/newspaper rack, and automatic
18) is required to find a handful of 2-8 shotgun shells coffee machine. None of these areas is likely to have
in the darkness nearby. anything of interest, though the GM may assign a
10% chance per room of a single minor or moderate
21. VEHICLE GARAGES (BURIED) find from the Artifacts table (generally manuals with
The doorways to these places are all wide open, topics related to plant operations, electronics, or
revealing a cold dark abyss beyond. Lights brought computers).
by delvers reveal what must have once been a Areas marked b indicate intersections where the
series of giant storage areas, and between widely corridor is filled with a grotesque, stinking refuse
spaced pillars of towering concrete stand the rusted – badly decayed, almost completely unidentifiable.
and worthless remains of huge transport trucks, The remains appear to be those of a strange creature,
bulldozers, and open-topped mini-rovers (glorified jellyfish like in composition, with no distinct organs
golf carts for transporting personnel throughout the now that they have deteriorated so badly. These are,
complex). The elevators that brought these vehicles in fact, the remains of heliogryphs that wandered
to these depths (for excavation, or transporting from below into the habitat areas at various times,
large amounts of goods to supply the plant’s 5,000+ destroyed by the hover sentries (see below) that
population of engineers from distant places) have stumbled onto them during their patrols. A character
been buried under literally hundreds of tons of rubble can make a Knowledge (Mutant Lore) check, DC 22,
from the shafts above. to identify these creatures.
Treasure: None of the vehicles in any of these Areas with a c indicate meeting rooms, conference
bays are operable. There is a small connecting rooms, or generic areas, all of which are empty
chamber (marked a) that leads to the vehicle except for old furnishings. Mess areas are marked
bays, where mechanics kept supplies to do minor with a d and sit off the main cafeteria e. The mess
maintenance on the vehicles. This side chamber areas are simply large cafeteria-style eating areas
is still intact and contains a full set of masterwork with dinner tables, fold-up metal chairs, etc. Long-
mechanics tools (offering a +10 competence bonus decayed foodstuffs and scattered utensils litter these
to Craft, Mechanics checks) and a rack holding eight places without purpose.
vehicle power packs (these powered the exclusively Area e, the cafeteria serving the technicians
electric vehicles used in the reactor complex tunnels). barracked in this part of the complex, still has a
There is also a fire extinguisher on one wall. minimum of power due to certain backup systems
and the efforts of a single, determined robot that

30
still “dwells” here. The irregular strobe lighting is, however, wild, and will attempt to force platters
of malfunctioning salad bars and covered buffets of non-digestible swill (looking not unlike soiled
poorly lights it. The robot caretaker in question black oil in overflowing soup bowls) on any life
is a large metal oval on wobbling legs, complete form entering the cafeteria - where it waits diligently
with two manipulative arms and a head made to behind the a la carte line. If the characters refuse
vaguely resemble a human – though over time the their “required nutrients” the chef will go on a
plastic faceplate has peeled off to reveal a cold metal veritable rampage.
beneath. Treasure: Behind the cafeteria, in the cold, dark
… Robo-Chef (Automaton) (1): CR 1; Medium- kitchens are to be found vast supplies of what were
size Construct; HD 1d10; hp 10; Init +1 (Dex); Spd once foodstuffs to feed the engineers and technicians
20 ft; AC 21 (+1 Dex, +10 natural); Atk Slam +5 of this branch of the plant. Most of these foods
melee 1d6+3; SQ Berserk, command level (IC), have spoiled or succumbed to age, but there are 24
damage reduction -/5, elemental immunity, fearful ready meals of various flavors and 50 goo tubes
presence, repair vs. healing, sputtering death; AL LN; (not-so-yummy green flavor) in one semi-functional
SV Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 16, Dex 12, Con -, commercial refrigeration unit.
Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1. Among the halls, and in a number of rest bays, a
Skills and Feats: None. large number of hover sentries continue to patrol in
The “chef” is programmed to keep the cafeteria search of survivors, roughly in groups of 3-4. These
running and to keep foodstuffs fresh. The robot appear as small spherical hovering craft, perhaps one

31
 foot in diameter, with a single glowing red light in Radiation at the bottom of Reactor Level C shafts is
the front and a small antenna apparatus. They float 800 Rads. The value of the corium deposits at these
anywhere from three to six feet off the floor as they depths ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 cp.
rove about. The sentries are still looking for organic
life to “rescue.” They direct, in Ancient, to the
nearest elevator – all of which have long collapsed. EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVEL
They are of no other help.
GM’s Note: Since they are frightful to behold, 24. TECHNICIAN BREAKROOMS
there is a good chance a character might, in a panic, There are a number of these alcoves situated
fire on the hover sentries. If such is the case the throughout the complex; each is barely a 10’x10’
hover sentries will take the entire group of characters room, connected to the passageway by a sliding door
for terrorists (probably the culprits behind the (no access card required); the wall that separates the
facility’s catastrophic melt down) and will use lethal chamber from the hallway is set with a long plasti-
force from there on out to hunt the entire group down glass window that allows passerby to look in (and
throughout the whole complex! All the sentries are occupants to look out).
linked through remote computers and will thus bring The room itself contains a table, chairs, cupboards,
all of their numbers to bear in the search for the and shelves. One side of the room is a miniature
“enemy”. kitchenette (for preparing meals), the other has a
… Hover Sentries (24): CR 2; Tiny Construct; television set (though they no longer receive any
HD 2d10; hp 20 each; Init +2 (Dex); Spd Fly 40 reception, of course) and magazine rack.
ft (perfect); AC 24 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +10 natural); The actual contents of these rooms will vary.
Atk Laser pistol mk2 +6 ranged 2d10; SQ Berserk, In most cases the magazines, newspapers, and
command level (IIIC), damage reduction -/5, foodstuffs will have long deteriorated to nothing, but
elemental immunity, fearful presence, repair vs. with luck searchers may find one or two things of
healing, sputtering death, magnetic shield A; AL LN; interest (Search check, DC 15):
SV Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +0; Str 12, Dex 15, Con -,
Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1. Roll Finds
Skills and Feats: Built-In Weapon (laser pistol 1-4 Nothing
mk2), Computer Link, Infra-Red Photoreceptors,
Internal Power Source, Remote Computer Link,
5 1d2 rad tabs
Robot Armor (Light). 6 1d2 light rods
7 2d3 readi-meals (assorted flavors)
23. ELEVATOR BOTTOM
These areas mark the bottoms of the vast elevator 8 Communicator (walkie talkie; random
charge remaining in power cell)
shafts of the Lil’ Vegas corium mines. Though
each shaft continues upwards to a dizzying level, at 9 Stage IIC access card
this point all that can be found is the wreckage of 10 Roll twice (ignoring results of 1-4)
fallen debris, stone, the remnants of elevator cages,
and dozens of shattered skeletons (miners who fell 25. BODY
working the shafts for corium residue). A badly-rotten body lies against one wall here, the
Treasure: Most of these shafts are filled with light of its dimming corium lamp still illuminating
corium deposits. A given elevator bottom will have its withered flesh, full of oversized maggots and
200 – 800 corium pieces worth of rough corium. Bits unnatural-looking worms as thin as spaghetti noodles.
of broken equipment fill the area too; a search check, This is the body of a miner who either attempted
DC 25, will find something of value (a pick, shovel, to escape the hell of Lil’ Vegas on his own, or got
rope, or working corium lantern; GM’s discretion). separated from his work party, got lost, and found his
GM’s Note: On Reactor Level C, where the last way down here by pure accident. Whatever the case
of the elevator shafts come to an end, the shaft floors the man perished alone, leaving only his body and a
are filled with corium to a height of anywhere from few telling items.
5 to 10 ft. No broken equipment will be found at Treasure: In addition to a corium lamp, the
these depths, and the corium itself is still hot enough corpse has in its possession a heavy pick, an empty
to keep the corium semi-liquid (like hot, thick mud). waterskin, two light rods (one used, one unused), a
The extreme heat at this level deals 1d6 points of sack filled with 800 corium pieces, a charcoal pencil,
damage per minute (no save), and a Fortitude save and a hand-written note. The note (in Unislang,
must be made every 5 minutes (DC 15, +1 per and written with the rough charcoal pencil) reads:
previous check) or sustain 1d4 points of subdual “Strange hovering metal things in the tunnels above;
damage; this save is made at –4 if the character even stranger fleshy things floating below. And the
is in heavy clothing or any sort of armor. Those telltale glow, I think it is the source of the red fever.
wearing metal armor or coming into contact with the So thirsty. Don’t think I’ll make it.”
corium itself are affected as if by a heat metal spell.

32
26. INFIRMARY (EL 10) skeletons (technicians) has a Stage IIC access card
This place lies open. Inside, what were once stainless in the pocket of his overalls, but otherwise the bodies
steel walls are now streaked with strange black prove to be long dead - and stripped to comfort them
lichen and russet brown molds (all harmless), their in their dying hour. There are a number of expended
patterns on the wall conforming to where old water ready-syringes scattered about, but these are bent
pipes burst behind the masonry long ago. Occupying and useless. The plastiglass doors to the shelves
the center of this chamber is a bank of four man- require a Stage IIC card to open, but inside are to be
sized beds (covered in stainless steel and the shreds found the remains of what was once a well-stocked
of bedclothes), an array of overhead lighting and supply of medications – these consist of ten doses
computer displays, and large stainless steel shelves of hemochem, one dose of K-O shot, three canisters
with plastiglass doors. The remains of disintegrating of wound healing medi-spray, eighteen doses of
skeletons lie on all four of the beds, as well as lie rad-purge shot, and a single dose of sustainer shot,
crumpled all over the floors in neat rows (overflow the latter in its own ready syringe. The remaining
patients from the final hours of the complex-wide medicines are in small glass bottles (except for the
collapse). medi-spray, of course). There are no ready syringes
A pack of humongous mutated rats, of various left in the place, however, just the medicines. There
sizes, congregate here and will move to feed if the is also a diagnostic scanner here, but the beltpack
party enters. that powered it is missing.
… Dire Rats (10): hp 5 each (see Area 6 for The area marked a is an emergency morgue. The
statistics). doorway to this room requires a Stage IIC access card
… Enormous Dire Rats (6): hp 50, 49, 47, 43, to open. Inside the smell of rot has not completely
42, and 40 (see Area 20 for statistics). diminished from the sterile stainless steel interior of
Treasure: There is a 20% chance that one of the this chamber. Wide metal shelves along the walls are

33
 full of heavy black plastic bags (body bags), almost Treasure: A number of old rusted lockers contain
two dozen in all, all of them filled with skeletal no less than four environment suits (one of these,
remains of Ancients who died in the hours after the however, has lost its interior lining due to age and
melt down. None of these body bags has anything of thus will protect for only 1⁄2 the Rads it’s supposed
use in them. to), a crate of twelve light rods, three powerful
d Steel Door: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 25; hp 90; flashlights (each with a full power cell), a dozen
Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30. rad tabs (50% of which are likely to be used up),
a pair of hand-held Geiger counters, and a single
27. MINI-ROVER power beltpack (anywhere from 50% to 100% charge
A small vehicle sits abandoned in the middle of this remaining). In a separate section are kept three acid
stretch of passageway. The vehicle is a mini-rover, resistant shields (treat as large metal shields of acid
a kind of open-topped “golf cart” powered by an resistance) and half a dozen long-handled prongs,
electric motor, carrying four to six passengers (two used in handling radioactive fuel rods and waste.
in the front, the rest in the open back; it provides Furthermore, the storage room also has a single
no cover to driver or passengers) throughout the medical kit on one wall (with the addition of six
complex. doses of rad-purge shot in ready syringes).
Mini-rovers were used commonly to ferry Another locker contains a pair of boron solution
engineers and technicians about. This mini-rover sprays, but being backpack-sized these each contain
appears to have been abandoned for no apparent twice the normal number of uses for such an item.
reason. The electric motor is in working condition, d Steel Door: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 25; hp 90
the entire vehicle being operable. (down to 70); Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30.
Characters may use the mini-rover to transport
themselves (and possibly treasure or supplies) 29. BLOCKED SHAFT (EL 7)
throughout this level of the complex. A single The maintenance shaft here is blocked off by the
communicator (walkie talkie) sits on the front body of a large oval-shaped robot, which appears to
passenger seat, but its power cell has been drained. be repairing a minute portion of a mile-long mess of
The mini-rover is otherwise empty. cables and underground piping. The hulking robot
is immovable (it weighs far too much to budge), and
28. EQUIPMENT STORAGE CHAMBER (EL 5) will not apparently acknowledge the presence of
A heavy lead-colored door closes this room off anyone addressing it (its sensors have deteriorated to
from the passageways outside. A metal slot, such a point that it can no longer recognize sounds or
mounted at shoulder-level, lies beside the portal. A movement – only repairs that need to be completed).
message, painted in Ancient in bold letters, reads The maintenance robot moves at a rate of 5 ft.
“EQUIPMENT STORAGE 54J”. every 10 minutes up and down the passage. At any
Before entering, any character making a Listen given time it will, on a roll of 1-3 on d6, move down
check (DC 21) will hear a strange stumbling from the passage five feet; otherwise it moves back up the
beyond the access door. In addition, there is a passage. Roll every round to see what direction it
barely-audible hum in the air, almost like a high- moves.
pitched siren. Characters will find the robot blocks the passage
Access to this chamber is restricted to the holder wherever it is, and cannot be moved short of
of a Stage IIC access card. The door, however, is destroying it completely. The robot will fight back
malfunctioning, and will open only on a 2 in 6 each if attacked, or strike out with its flailing arms if
time the proper card is presented to it. Other attempts tampered with.
to open the door (including slamming against it) … Maintenance Robot (Industrial Robot) (1):
have a 1 in 20 chance of causing it to slide open CR 7; Large Construct; HD 6d10; hp 60 (down to 57
automatically, before quickly closing again just due to damage); Init +1 (Dex); Spd 20 ft; AC 20 (-1
minutes later. size, +1 Dex, +10 natural); Atk 4 slams +16 melee
Inside it appears very much like a locker room, 1d8+10; SQ Berserk, command level (IIC), damage
complete with steam showers (no longer in reduction -/5, elemental immunity, facing, fearful
operation), dressing room, and locker bay. presence, repair vs. healing, sputtering death; AL LN;
Once inside, there proves to be a single screamer SV Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +0; Str 30, Dex 12, Con -,
here, trapped within. The creature will attack Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1.
immediately as soon as the door slides open. Skills and Feats: Computer Link, Crushing
… Screamer (1): CR 5; Medium-size Undead; HD Strength, Internal Power Source, Multiattack, Remote
4d12; hp 45; Init -2 (Dex); Spd 15 ft; AC 8 (-2 Dex); Computer Link, Robot Armor (Light).
Atk Claw +4 melee 1d3+1; SA Burns, radiation; SQ
Glow, no vitals, undead; AL N; SV Fort +0, Ref +4, 30. MONITORING STATION
Will +0; Str 12, Dex 6, Con -, Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 2. Set into the wall at various points throughout the
Skills and Feats: Listen +2, Spot +2. Alertness, complex are small 5 ft x 5 ft alcoves. These alcoves
Blind-Fight. are generally identical in format - just a cubical

34
niche with a single computer console and interface. This identity card lock is special in that if it does
These stations were set up to allow technicians and not receive a card of the proper level on the first
maintenance personnel to monitor current conditions attempt, it locks itself out indefinitely (even to
on a given level. electronic skeleton keys and other cards), and also
There is a 50% chance that these computers are delivers a jolt of electricity for 2d6 points of damage
still operating on emergency power (roll for each to the would-be intruder.
station when and if the PCs try to access the console). Once inside, it becomes obvious that this was some
A Knowledge (computers) check at DC 25 is required kind of security post, for there is a small area beyond
to wade through the various menus and submenus to with a swivel chair sitting before a bank of television
call up the few bits of information that might be of monitors, and a switchboard covered in a sea of
use. In particular, a successful roll will call up a map lights and switches. Off to the side is a small ten-foot
of that particular level (the GM should use the maps niche, filled with shelves and racks for weapons and
provided, either making a copy or hand-sketching body armor.
one to give the players), with a trefoil-shaped icon in The control panel no longer works, and the lights
any room, tunnel, or passageway marking hazardous have all dimmed to darkness long ago. The panel
radiation leaks and hotspots on that level (75 Rads or once linked to the many cameras of the complex,
more). allowing 24-hour monitoring. The lights monitored
security, fire, and automatic radiation-detection
31. SECURITY STATION A alarms that are placed throughout the complex; this
A faded trim of blue paint on this door reads bank completely shorted out during the melt down
“SECURITY STATION A6”, leading in a broad blue and could not be revived even with extensive repair
band towards a blinking black console at roughly work.
shoulder-level just beside the door on the corridor Treasure: The armory section of the security
wall. This is an identity card slot, which requires a station contains a repository of weapons and devices
Stage IIIC access card to open. kept in this part of the vast underground plant in case

35
 of emergencies – terrorist attack, disgruntled worker, plastic case on one wall (marked with a red cross),
berserk android laborer, etc. The racks contain no but it was looted long ago.
less than three hand stunners, a stun baton, three A Search roll, DC 21, will also uncover a single
automatic pistols (with 270 rounds in nine full computer console that remains intact despite the
magazines), a shotgun (100 rounds in two boxes), damage to the room; a Knowledge (computers)
three civ sec suits, a hand-held Geiger counter (with check, DC 25, can be used to sift through the
an empty power cell), three rad tabs, and a cardboard computer network and call up a digital map of the
crate holding six unused light rods. Also among complex (see nearby map). Unfortunately none of
the lockers are four power clips and a single power the printers in the control room work, so the map
beltpack. cannot be produced in hard copy (therefore, show
d Steel Doors: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 25; hp 90; the map for only as long as the PCs remain in this
Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30. chamber).

32. CONTROL CENTER A (EL 10) 33. MAINTENANCE SHAFTS

This place is a shambles. Large aluminum ductwork Each of these small chambers is little more than
and pipe have collapsed from the sagging ceiling a pillar-shaped alcove that leads up (or down), by
to the room below, smashing the nearly two-dozen ladder, to another shaft, tunnel, or duct. An identity
banks of computers and computer screens that card computer universally controls the entranceway
line the walls of the place. Bright white tiling has to whatever connects these two passages, each with
chipped, cracked, crumbled, and turned ugly over the its own localized power source (in the event there
centuries, giving the place the appearance of an age- was a power failure, the inherent weak point, the
old stack of bones. Chunks of fallen stone, having access ways, would remain locked in place). There
broken through the roof from the complex’s collapse, is a 90% chance that the power source of a given
have further crushed and scattered electronic maintenance entryway will be in operation, requiring
equipment and control computers all over the huge a Stage IIC identity card to open (otherwise it is
chamber. jammed tight). The door itself is a powered steel
This place was once one of many localized control door that runs on narrow tracks, making it extremely
centers, a part of the complex’s enormous “central difficult to damage or blow loose.
nervous system”. Here, a staff of highly-qualified d Steel Door: 3 in. Thick; Hardness 25; hp 120;
technicians and specialized scientist androids Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30.
monitored conditions in the reactor, the steam ducts,
the water tunnels, the deep-earth water pumping
station, the turbines, and the transformer stations. REACTOR SERVICE LEVELS
The images of nearly fifty closed-circuit television
cameras all over the complex could be viewed from 34. STEAM DUCTS
this control center, allowing the accurate and efficient These heavily reinforced ducts were designed to
coordination of efforts in a disaster, or to fight fires, channel the high-speed, high-pressure flow of steam
or simply to supervise the daily operations of this part from the reactors to the turbine chambers above.
of the plant. The tunnels invariably connect to the old flooded
Brittle skeletons lie scattered about the place, tunnels (Flooded Tunnels are shown on the map), but
sitting at old consoles or simply scattered across the since the reactor has been offline for centuries, the
room. The shreds of old white technician’s uniforms steam ducts are almost completely bare and empty
(coveralls and lab coats) lie at their feet, having passageways.
slipped off their disintegrated bodies generations ago. Characters can pass along these ducts for what
If characters linger for more than a single round, seems like miles without encountering anything of
a strange glow begins to emerge from various side interest. Since these tunnels were meant only to carry
passages, followed by an ear-piercing chorus of high volumes of pressurized water vapor, anything
wails… left in the tunnels could potentially be torn loose and
… Screamers (5): hp 48, 48, 47, 47, and 40 (see foul up the turbines. Thus the tunnels are utterly bare
Area 28 for statistics). (except, in a few cases, for the presence of shallow
Treasure: Each of the two dozen skeletons in this pools of cooled water).
room and the connecting computer stations wears
the remnants of a lab coat or technician’s overalls 35. HOLE TO REACTOR (EL 12)
(see the end of this module for the properties of Sinewy rivulets of molten metal flow from the
technician’s overalls). Roughly 20% of these are gigantic maw of this tunnel, but after decades of
still intact. All of the skeletons wear a rad tab, cooling it looks more like a stony river and mud
though 25% are unusable due to previous exposure to cascade frozen in mid-stream. A very noticeable
radiation during the collapse (before they fled here). glow of deep cobalt blue emanates from the warped
There is a single fire extinguisher in a glass case on columns and streams of the cooled stuff, and the
one wall. There was a medi-kit here as well, in a temperature in the tunnel is beyond imagining.

36
 This tunnel was created by high-pressure steam much of a hazard, since the water is relatively cool
from the melting down of the Reactor Core. When (though still warm) and isolated from any life forms
the reactor went through its violent final minutes, a inhabiting the radiated complex. Since the tunnels
column of molten corium melted through the bedrock did not actually enter the core (the water here passed
and forced its way (under the pressure of expansion) near to the core to create steam; the water used in
through the ruptured wall, filling the entire corridor the core proper was channeled elsewhere since it was
like a lava tube. From this point back the entire highly radiated), they are not in themselves radiated
tunnel is flooded with solidified corium. to any serious degree.
This site would be ideal for mining corium (there Living in these tunnels is a group of screamers, the
is a solid, easily-traced vein back to the core), but the animated remnants of the ancient dead who died long
temperatures brought on by the radiated material are ago in the complex. The coming of these creatures
almost completely intolerable. can generally be anticipated, for wherever they go
The extreme heat in the tunnels deals normal along the tunnels there is a telltale glow and the
damage (unlike regular subdual damage from lower twisted, high-pitched “wail” of their radiant, ionized
levels of heat). Simply breathing the air in these bodies echoes weirdly through the shafts.
tunnels deals 1d6 points of damage per minute (no … Screamers (3): hp 48, 45, and 40 (see Area 28
save), and a Fortitude save must be made every 5 for statistics).
minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or sustain
1d4 points of subdual damage; this save is made at 37. FLOODED TUNNELS B
–4 if the character is in heavy clothing or any sort of These tunnels have a steadily increasing temperature
armor. Those wearing metal armor or coming into the deeper they go down. In addition, these
contact with the corium itself are affected as if by a tunnels quickly become so full of water that there
heat metal spell. is no longer space to remain above the surface,
In addition to the heat hazard, there is another necessitating fully submerged movement along its
danger present, that of radiation. This vein connects course.
directly to the great molten reactor core, and thus the In addition, the water itself is of a high temperature
radiation is intense at this point (and beyond). The due to the waterway’s proximity to the corium lodes
rad level in the room is a potent 2,000 Rads, enough of the deep. Anyone swimming through this water
to kill virtually anything that remains for long. suffers 1d6 points of scalding damage per round of
A number of exceptionally large heliogryphs, exposure.
attracted by the radiation, are often found flitting Treasure: Tiny nuggets of quick-cooled corium
about this glowing, abysmal shaft. dot the waterway bottom, where corium leaked
… Giant Heliogryphs (4): CR 8; Huge Aberration; through and, hitting the water, cooled fast into weird
HD 10d8+50; hp 95 each; Init +0; Spd Fly 30 ft and disturbing shapes. These nuggets provide barely
(good); AC 11 (-2 size, +3 natural); Atk 2 acid darts enough illumination to allow swimmers to see as
+5/+0 ranged 2d8; SA Acid; SQ Blindsight; AL N; they go (thus no need for a flashlight, lantern, or light
SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +3; Str 27, Dex 11, Con 20, rods). These nuggets can also be collected; there is
Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 5. a 1 in 6 chance that a nugget or clump of any value
Skills and Feats: Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, (50-80 cp apiece) will be found for every 20’ of
Rip A Clip. tunnel traversed.
Treasure: The vein itself must contain a virtually
limitless supply of corium, enough at least for ten 38. FLOODED TUNNELS C
men to live in luxury for a lifetime (1,000,000 or These tunnels are completely submerged (as Flooded
more cp). Extraction of the ore, survival from the Tunnels B). Characters must swim underwater to
heat and radiation, and the fact that the establishment navigate these waterways to any point along its
of Lil’ Vegas would kill anyone with so much corium length.
– are all difficulties that would have to be addressed At this point the submerged, flooded waterway runs
before this vast amount could be broken down and in close proximity to the ancient reactor core that
drawn out for the profit of the adventurers. once powered four entire states. Needless to say, the
closeness of this tunnel to the white-hot corium slag
36. FLOODED TUNNELS A (EL 8) of the core causes the water to heat up to tremendous
A series of ancient waterways used to transport water temperatures.
from a deep-earth pumping station up and to the Characters will notice, with a Wilderness Lore
reactor core, cooling the core and creating the steam check (DC 15), that the temperature begins to sharply
that generated the plant’s colossal power. Now many increase as they continue more than 10 or 15 feet
of these tunnels have collapsed or simply been cut- down this waterway. If they persist, passage through
off. Though the water recycling has stopped, the the near-boiling waters causes no less than 10d6
water remains in the tunnels, filling them roughly points of damage per round. If the characters manage
halfway, leaving only four to five feet above for air. to survive, they find the temperatures slip back down
Moving through these tunnels should not present to relatively normal levels wherever these tunnels rise

37
 to Flooded Tunnels B - where the tunnel once more
begins to head away from the core area.
Treasure: Chunks of corium along the bottom are
larger and more frequent along this waterway; there
is a 2 in 6 chance of finding a lump of corium slag
worth 100-400 cp for every 20’ of tunnel.

REACTOR LEVEL A
39. SECURITY STATION B
A flecked trim of dark paint on this portal reads
“SECURITY STATION B7”, beside which sits a
blinking console at roughly shoulder-level on the
corridor wall. This is an identity card slot, which
requires a Stage IIIC access card to open.
This identity card lock is special in that if it
does not receive a card of the proper level on the
first attempt, it locks itself out completely (even to
slabs of stone, and badly rusted equipment lies strewn
electronic skeleton keys and other cards), and also
about.
delivers a jolt of electricity for 2d6 points of damage
Treasure: These bodies have nothing of real
to the would-be intruder.
interest. There is a Geiger counter (smashed
This chamber is identical to Security Station
beyond repair), a rusted and leaking power beltpack
A, except that the consoles here appear to still be
(5 charges left; picking up the item proves to be
operating on emergency power; about 90% of the TV
dangerous due to leaking acids, which cause 1d6
screens are filled with static, but a few still monitor
points of damage to the handler), three used light
parts of the complex (including the Vehicle Garages,
rods, one unused light rod, and a smashed electronic
1d3+1 random Technician Breakrooms on any of
notepad (this had maps of the entire complex on it,
the levels, Infirmary, and Control Centers A & C).
but it is now completely useless) with a drained cell
The blinking panel of lights and switches looks like
inside.
a Christmas tree, all lit up with hazard, warning,
and security threat alarms. Characters using Craft
41. SKELETONS
(nuclear technician), DC 18, can use this panel to
Up ahead, in the meager light of whatever sources
discern which parts of the complex have a radiation
they are carrying, the PCs see the remains of several
leak (any locale with more than 75 Rads).
ancient skeletons lying against one wall of the
Any character attempting to manipulate the
passageway, preserved through the centuries in a
security console may make a Knowledge (computers)
position of fear and terror – each lying almost in a
check, at DC 25, to tap into the security network
ball, legs brought up tight to the chest, arms crossed
of the hover sentries in the Habitat Areas. With a
together, in a side-by-side huddle (fetal position);
second successful check (DC 30), the character can
a few are still holding hands. The figures are each
recall the hover sentries back to their recovery bay
cloaked in a fine veil of spider webs and dust, but
– indefinitely if they so desire.
the shreds of once-white overalls prove they must
Treasure: The armory in this station appears
have been Ancients who died, isolated until the air
to have been largely looted during the attempted
and food ran out, among the sealed tunnels of the
abandonment (and sudden destruction) of the facility.
complex.
All that remains is a single hand stunner, 25 rounds
These are indeed the remains of a party of fleeing
of shotgun ammo in a single box, two rad tabs, and a
technicians who had to detour on their way to the
cardboard crate holding a single light rod. Unlike the
elevators when various sections of tunnel collapsed
other security station, there are no power sources in
and the elevators fell to a violent end at the bottom of
the armory.
the elevator shafts.
d Steel Doors: 2 in. Thick; Hardness 25; hp 90;
How they ended up in this part of the tunnels is
Break DC 40; Open Lock DC 30.
unknown, but they obviously died here after first their
light source ran out, then they perished either by heat,
40. ANCIENT RESCUE PARTY
radiation, or lack of food.
At this point there seems to have been a major cave-
Treasure: Two of the four skeletons still wear
in, for huge blocks of broken stone and concrete
clothing that is salvageable. These clothes consist of
fill the cratered passageway here; flow-off from the
a pair of white coveralls with light-reflective plastic
mountain has filled shallow pools with murky brown
strips up the legs and arms, zippered up the front with
water. Figures in faded yellow rubber can be seen
an insulated collar (technician’s coveralls; see New
pinned and crushed under a number of these huge
Items).
38
 In addition to these technician’s
suits, each has a rad tab (used), and an
expended light rod. One of the skeletal
figures has, in one pocket, a cigarette
lighter (44 charges remaining).

42. CONTROL CENTER B (EL 13)

The white tile of this chamber seems
to be in relatively good shape, as do
the banks of computers that face out
(through a gigantic window) over Area
47, below. Someone has apparently left a
number of light rods and corium lanterns
burning in this place, adding considerable
light to the sepulchral chamber. What’s
more, emergency power (either left on
or re-activated by some recent visitor)
seems to be running through a few of
the computers, as their screens flash
various strings of code, maps, and digital
diagrams of this part of the complex.
A walkie-talkie sits upright on one of
the console, crackling with the muffled
sound of static and the conversation of
the mine guards on the upper levels of the
complex.
Whoever made this mess seems to have
stepped out just moments ago…
What happens next depends on whether
the PCs are here as hirelings of Big Ben,
or whether they come for other reasons.
Since Arlon was able to see them coming
(monitoring the TV screens on one of
the control panels), he will hide in the
shadows in a neighboring room, watching
the group from a concealed position. He
will then attempt to use Neural Empathy
to sense their motives. If they’ve come
serving Ben, Arlon will detect it, and will
immediately start throwing grenades at
them (even into the control center, his
abode, because by now he’s desperate to
thwart Big Ben).
If he does not sense hostile intentions,
Arlon will emerge (stun baton at the
ready) and demand the PCs explain who
they are. The man himself is quite a sight
– clad in a beat-up old environment suit
scavenged from the complex, unshaven
and badly bruised, a harness strapped to
him dangling with scratch-built grenades.
A certain look of desperation glimmers in
his eyes, making it obvious he is a man
not to be trifled with!
Arlon is expecting a party sent by
Big Ben; if the PCs explain they are
escaped slaves, he will welcome them
as “brothers”, share his modest supplies,
and explain his plan (see below). If they
have news of his daughter Xea (see the
 Device +21, Heal +4, Hide
+18, Knowledge (computers)
+11, Knowledge (technology)
+11, Listen +13, Move Silently
+18, Open Lock +11, Search
+11, Sense Motive +6. Exotic
Weapon Proficiency (stun baton),
Fertile/Potent, Improved Hit Dice,
Improved Initiative, Precise Shot,
Rapid Shot, Skill Focus (craft,
tinker), Skill Focus (knowledge,
technology), Vulture.
Possessions: Stun baton,
eight fragmentation grenades,
environment suit, web belt, light
rod, stage IIC access card, power
beltpack.
Mutations and Defects:
Accelerated White Blood Cell
Activity, Neural Empathy, Negative
Chemical Reaction, Unstable
Neural Activity.
Treasure: Arlon stole quite a
few goods from the mine guards
before he fled. These items are to
be found scattered about the room
in haphazard order; 33 light rods,
six light sticks, a communicator
(walkie talkie), four power cells
(one is two-thirds drained), and
a can of boron solution spray
(8 charges left). There is also a
Coronado in Lil’ Vegas), he is overjoyed that she is
small cardboard box containing some stolen medical
at least still alive (albeit even more filled with hatred
supplies – eight ready syringes, 10 doses of rad-purge
due to her fate), and will even go so far as to befriend
shot, and 10 doses of stimshot A (these latter being in
the group.
two separate glass bottles, in liquid form).
If the PCs came here serving a major faction, Arlon
In addition to these supplies are the explosives
will be eager to make new allies and tell all he knows
Arlon stole away to the mines, including thirty
about the complex. He knows about the robots on the
sticks of dynamite, three fragmentation grenades
Habitat Level, the heliogryphs in the Cooling Pool
(in addition to those he carries), and enough plastic
area and below (he suspects there must be a “colony”
explosives to make four more satchel charge Bs
even deeper in the complex, but he’s never seen it),
(which he is currently constructing in hopes of
and of screamers in the water tunnels. He will not
bringing down the complex).
share any of his supplies, and will further state his
Finally, a few of these computers are still in
intention to destroy the entire complex, warning
operation. The screens currently show random
outsiders to flee or be killed in the collapse. If they
images from a handful of security cameras still
attempt to stop Arlon from completing his plans he
operating on this level (these cover Security Station
will fight them to the death.
B, the Turbine Room, and the hallways of Reactor
… Arlon, Thinker8/Demolitions Expert7 (1): CR
Level A). The working consoles also allow someone
17; Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant
in this room to access any maintenance station on any
Visionary Reinventor); HD 8d4+7d8; hp 80; Init +7
level (thus call up overhead maps of all levels from
(Dex, Improved Initiative); Spd 20 ft; AC 15 (+1
the Emergency Services Level to Reactor Level B),
Dex, +4 environment suit); Atk Stun baton +8 melee
though this requires a Knowledge (computers) check,
2d6-1; or fragmentation grenade +12/+12 ranged 6d6;
at DC 25.
SQ Knowledge, dirty fighter, inspire skill, eye for
To those who will listen, Arlon will explain
safety, keen eye, trap making (DC 22), grenadier +2,
his plan. He managed to sneak off with enough
make explosives; AL NG; SV Fort +4, Ref +14, Will
explosives that he can permanently bring down this
+6; Str 8, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 12.
part of the reactor complex – keeping the corium out
Skills and Feats: Appraise +13, Climb +3,
of Big Ben’s hands. It is a desperate, spiteful act, one
Concentration +7, Craft (tinker) +21, Disable
that will simply put Ben back a few years – but it will

40
be a sign to the miners that something can be done to or an inability to bring down the complex as
fight back. planned due to the lack of coordinating blasts (GM’s
Arlon needs help with the final stage of his plan decision).
– placing the four satchel charges throughout the
complex in areas he has guessed are structural weak- 43. TURBINE CHAMBERS
points. The charges must also be timed exactly so This place is lit by a deep bluish glow from below.
they go off all at once. Though he could do this by As characters enter (at a point thirty feet above the
himself with the risk of possible error, now that the ground level), they see that the metal catwalks that
PCs are here (assuming they’re willing to help), the once connected this side of the room with the far end
plan has an even better chance of working. have all fallen away and appear to have been sucked
The four locations that Arlon needs the charges down in the miasma of brightly glowing corium
placed are: Anywhere on the Habitat Level, Control below. From this height, looking down, it is obvious
Center A, Generator Room, and in the Reactor that the corium overflow from the reactor melt down
Core. The last he is willing to do himself, for he made it at least this far, for the entirety of the bottom
believes it will probably be a one-way trip due to level appears to have been flooded ages ago – melting
the impossibly-high levels of radiation there – a last away the machinery, power conduits, and metal
act of revenge that, though it will claim his life, will supports of the upper catwalks and drowning them in
avenge all the miners that have died in Lil’ Vegas. the molten metal goo.
GM’s Note: From here the PCs may have to split The corium flow seems to have seeped into this
up. Unless they’ve already cleared the stated areas of place through a number of ducts and tunnels, filling
potential foes, they could be in for some interesting the lower half of the place up to perhaps 15 ft.
one-against-many encounters; or they could simply Hovering on dangling support structures above this
go and place the charges one by one as a group. If irradiated and brightly luminous flood level are a
the charges are placed individually, each PC must series of gigantic cylinders of rusted blue steel (the
make a Disable Device check (DC 15) to properly huge plant turbines, which channeled steam created
set the timer. If they go as a group they will have to at the core through their fans to generate electricity),
make calculations to account for their progress so that with a maze of tubes and pipes heading off in various
all charges go off at exactly the same time; the DC directions.
then rises to 25 each time a charge is to be set. It is apparent that to cross this chamber, characters
If the characters have enough communicators will have to take their chances at jumping onto the
(possibly taken from the guards throughout the huge cylindrical turbine casings, crawling to the
mines), they can increase their chances by taking opposite end, and attempting the same to get to the
advantage of Arlon’s Inspire Skill ability. By other side of the room. All while suspended 20 ft.
listening to his directions, they will receive a +10 above the glowing corium below.
competence bonus to their Disable Device checks. The room itself poses several problems to
Any failure in setting the charges will result in this course of action, however. First of all, the
either a premature detonation, a failure to detonate, temperature here is intense (save once every 10

41
 minutes, DC 15 +1 per previous check, or suffer of corium found its way down to the bottom of the
1d4 points of subdual damage; those reduced to chasm as well, for a strong blue glow emanates from
unconsciousness start taking normal damage at a rate below, illuminating the creaking catwalk with its
of 1d4 per 10 minute period; any damage suffered ominous blue radiance.
also brings on fatigue). Secondly, the radiation level Various sections of each walkway have been
in this chamber is a steady 500 Rads. weakened by at least a century of acidic runoff water
The closest turbine stands 10 feet from the edge and tremors. After the equivalent of two Medium-
through which the PCs entered, requiring a Jump size creatures pass along a given walkway, there is a
check (DC 15) to reach; even then, a Balance check 50% (+10% every time another person passes over
(DC 18) must be made to avoid slipping and falling after that) chance the metal grating will exhale a final,
off the curved metal surface. Each time they attempt deafening groan before bending at the northern end,
to reach a new turbine they must do the same thing pitching downward, and falling fifty feet to the chasm
all over again (requiring Jump and Balance checks bottom, below.
every time). Approximately 20 feet of walkway will collapse
To make matters worse, water cooled in distant (with the third Medium-size transgressor situated
steam tunnels manages to find its way through the in the middle of the expanse; thus, 10 feet in each
damaged roof, trickling every now and again to direction will fall with him). Any character on the
the white-hot corium below – an occurrence that falling section may make a Reflex save (DC 20)
instantaneously creates a burst of steam that blows to jump at the last moment to an intact side (either
back upwards to the level of the turbines. There forward or back), but if he fails he will fall the full
is a 2 in 6 chance of this occurring for every 5’ a fifty feet to the hard, radiated corium slag below
character moves across the chamber; a gusher of (in addition to incurring 5d6 points of damage, the
steam rises up instantly when this happens, scalding character also finds that the bottom emits a steady
for 1d6 points of damage and forcing a Balance 1,500 Rads). There does not appear to be any means
check (DC 15) to avoid slipping and falling. of climbing back up.
Should a character fall to the corium below, he x Falling Walkway: CR 4; no attack roll
will find the corium is in fact solid (falling damage necessary (5d6); Reflex save (DC 20) avoids; Search
is thus normal – 2d6), but it is also so hot that mere (DC 25);
contact acts as a heat metal spell. Since there is no
immediate way to escape, this could prove a hideous 45. VENTILATION SHAFTS
demise! To cap it off, the radiation on the surface of This rather unassuming grate leads to a 4’x4’ hollow
the corium flow is an elevated 750 Rads – difficult to shaft that starts at a slant directly upwards towards
survive. the surface. The shaft intersects with nearly a dozen
GM’s Note: It is entirely possible that characters other shafts (vertical, horizontal, etc) that at one
getting lost in the steam tunnels (Area 34) might time helped circulate air through the complex via
come out here. However, the three ducts that connect huge powerful motors at various points. This shaft,
to the steam tunnels lead into the turbine housings rather remarkably, remains clear of debris, though the
themselves, so that the PCs will be inside the passage upwards requires a Climb skill check every
turbines. 50 ft (DC 18) to avoid slipping and sliding back
Once the PCs realize they can go no further down down. The total distance between the subterranean
the turbine ducts (they get too narrow west of this entrance to the shaft, and where it reaches the surface,
room to navigate, even by crawling), they will have is exactly 2,000 ft.
to either back track or try to break out of the metal Slipping at any point along this dramatic climb
turbine housing (requiring raw physical damage). would be a disastrous mistake. The aluminum-sheet
The GM should make a note of which direction walls are relatively smooth despite their age, meaning
the characters hack their way out of the housings, that anyone slipping will slide, picking up speed,
because if it is downwards, they have a painful fall until he either reaches a bisecting shaft (falling down
ahead of them… the intersecting duct instead of carrying on) or goes
d Turbine Housings: 1 in. Thick; Hardness 25; shooting out the entrance at the shaft’s bottom – at
hp 50. high velocity.
For every twenty feet of passage a character falls,
44. WEAKENED WALKWAYS he suffers 1d6 points of damage when he finally
The passages here turn from concrete to a simple comes to a stop. There is a 2 in 6 chance, per 20 ft.
broad walkway of mesh iron. The dimensions of the fallen, that the character passes over an intersecting,
corridor also change; the ceiling rises to a height of fully vertical shaft (“pit”), ending his diagonal
perhaps twenty feet, while below the walkway the course and dropping him down that passage instead.
floor drops to a depth of fifty or more. Below, runoff This invariably means death, since these passages
waters from throughout the tunnels drip through the sink to even deeper levels of the buried reactor
flooring into this deep channel, to be swept off to complex (runoff shafts, deep subterranean storage
an unknown destination. Apparently a good degree areas, maintenance passages connecting the eight

42
individual reactors, etc), either to hard stone floors Skills and Feats: Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot.
several hundred feet below or into places where the Treasure: There is a fire extinguisher in a
temperature is so hot (from corium spillage) that fractured glass case on one wall of the control center.
the poor fool burns up before he ever even hits the A plastic box on one wall, marked with a red cross, is
bottom. actually a fully stocked military-style medical kit.

47. FUEL HOLDING CHAMBER (EL 6)

REACTOR LEVEL B This gigantic chamber has the feel of an enormous
but empty indoor pool, its concrete surfaces covered
46. CONTROL CENTER C (EL 10) in stark white tile that shows traces of thin black algae
Like previous Control Centers, this place seems in the corners and the slow signs of decay everywhere
to have suffered a great deal of damage from the else. High overhead, the glass panels of a bank of
melt down. However, the extent of collapse is even windows overlook the place (from Area 42), and eerie
greater here, with entire blocks of stone crushing glowing “things” dance about the central place among
many of the computers and blocking most of the the crumbled ruins.
room off from passage. Water trickles down through This place was once used to temporarily store
dark openings in the roof, creating murky gray pools unused uranium fuel rods before the robotic arm on
of water on the cratered floor where strips of tile have the above track (see map) transported them to the
cracked or been shaken loose. Reactor Core for use. From there, used rods were
This place controlled the intricate operations and moved further down the track and deposited in the
monitoring of the reactor itself, but was almost Cooling Pool (Area 48).
shaken apart during the first fires when explosions The lower part of this place collapsed and filled
sent tremors through the place. However, a series of with rubble during the melt down, sealing off the
glows emanate from the center of the deep chamber, transport pit through which rods were drawn up from
and the strange fluttering of ephemeral wings rises in a subterranean railway (similar to the railway at Area
the air as intruders stumble inside. 51). Living among the barren rubble at the bottom of
A clutch of heliogryphs has settled here. the pit are a number of heliogryphs.
… Mature Heliogryphs (5): CR 5; Large … Typical Heliogryphs (3): CR 3; Large
Aberration; HD 7d8+21; hp 70, 69, 69, 58, and 57; Aberration; HD 4d8+12; hp 40, 39, and 39; Init
Init +1 (Dex); Spd Fly 30 ft (good); AC 10 (-1 size, +1 (Dex); Spd Fly 30 ft (good); AC 10 (-1 size, +1
+1 Dex); Atk 2 acid darts +5 ranged 2d6; SA Acid; Dex); Atk 2 acid darts +3 ranged 2d6; SA Acid; SQ
SQ Blindsight; AL N; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1; Blindsight; AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 19,
Str 19, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 5. Dex 13, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 5.

43
 Skills and Feats: Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot. radiated fuel rods.
Any activity that goes on in this place can be seen … Typical Heliogryphs (5): hp 30 each (see Area
from Control Center B (Area 42), alerting anyone 47 for statistics).
there to the presence of intruders. … Mature Heliogryphs (2): hp 52 and 51 (see
Area 46 for statistics).
48. COOLING POOL (EL 7)
All noise made here echoes until the sound is 49. REACTOR CORE (EL 10)
magnified five times over. The roof is a full forty Access to this central part of the complex is
feet overhead, lined with banks of long-dead lights, actually quite difficult to attain. The reactor is an
beneath which a huge mechanical “crane” (fixed with isolated chamber that, during the collapse, suffered
a heavy robotic arm) lingers, motionless, clogged a catastrophic melt down that either caused the
with detritus and coils of loose wiring – and looking connecting passageways to collapse (from seismic
ready to collapse at any minute. shock), or flooded them with white-hot corium from
Dominating this vast, echoing chamber is a simply the core – making it impossible to access except
gigantic pool of deep, crystal-clear water, motionless through the labyrinth of steam and water tunnels.
and still, from which a deadly cobalt blue glow The reactor is itself more than 80 feet wide and
emanates - with a poisonous fire. Thirty or more 14’ almost 250 feet deep; most of this is filled with pure
tall rods of what seems to be solid metal (actually melted corium, a sea of semi-solidified white-hot
uranium pellets stacked on end inside a thin graphite sludge intermixed with columns of stone, concrete,
cylinder) stand vertically under the surface of the and flash-burned steel metalwork (pipes and hanging
water, completely submerged in its cooling depths, ducts) that rises to within ten or twelve feet of the
but a powerful heat nonetheless radiates throughout uppermost entrances (either from the robot crane
the entire place. causeway from Area 47, or the molten tunnel leading
A semi-circular opening in the floor leads from this to Area 35). A tremendous glow rises from this
huge chamber to a dark, hollow shaft that leads down mess, as does a very real heat that burns the flesh of
into darkness below. those who so much as peer into the core chamber - a
This place is where spent fuel rods (from the character must save one every 10 minutes (same DC)
reactor core) are submerged to cool in a mineral-rich or suffer 1d4 points of subdual damage (again, with
fluid that attempts to dampen radioactivity until the the same minus for wearing heavy clothes or armor).
rods reach a manageable temperature. From here, Those reduced to unconsciousness start taking normal
the huge robotic arm on the crane lifts them, one by damage at a rate of 1d4 per 10-minute period. Any
one, and lowers them into the connecting shaft to damage suffered also brings on fatigue (-2 to Strength
the Subterranean Railway Tunnels (forty feet below) and Dexterity until able to cool off).
where they are loaded on special railcars for transport Furthermore, the chamber emanates a radiation
to another part of the complex. level of no less than 2,000 Rads at all times – lethal
This place is highly radioactive, generating around enough to kill nearly anyone and anything entering.
200 Rads at all times (anyone falling into the water, Except that is, for the gigantic life form that has,
however, will find the radiation spikes suddenly to somehow, come to make the shell of the reactor its
around 3,000 purely lethal Rads). The heat is such home for the past century or so.
that characters must make a Fortitude save every hour This creature is a blob, an enormous, plastic
(DC 15, +1 for each previous check) or sustain 1d4 creation of radiation. Almost like an amoeba of pure
points of subdual damage; -4 to the save if wearing slime, the blob floats atop the surface of the quasi-
armor or heavy clothes. As always, characters liquid corium of the reactor, within reach of the
reduced to unconsciousness start taking normal uppermost tunnels (its protoplasmic “limbs” have an
damage (1d4 points per hour). In addition, the water extraordinary reach). The creature has long fed on
itself incurs 1d6 points of heat damage per round to the odd heliogryph or gigantic mutant rat that has lost
anyone submerged in it because it, too, is close to its way, but it will be more than ready to complement
boiling. its diet with human or mutant…
Despite the tremendous hazards, the strange … Blob (1): CR 9; Gargantuan Ooze; HD
mushroom-like heliogryphs find this place ideal for 4d10+54+40*; hp 121; Init -2 (Dex); Spd 5 ft, swim
the storage of their unhatched eggs, using the heat 10 ft; AC 6 (-2 size, -2 Dex); Atk Slam +14 melee
of the ponds like a super-incubator. It is highly 2d6+14 and acid 2d6; SA Acid, improved grab,
likely that the very radioactive nature of the ponds radiation, swallow hole; SQ Blindsight, camouflage,
is part of the development process of these mutated protoplasmic growth, regeneration 5, resistant, semi-
monstrosities, since eggs laid by the queen are dormancy; AL N; SV Fort +7, Ref -1, Will -4; Str 33,
brought here directly and placed in the water for Dex 6, Con 23, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 6.
maturity. Skills and Feats: None.
At any given time there will be a large number of The blob will consume anything and everything
heliogryphs in this chamber, tending to the two score it can before the party can flee from the place. If
(or more) eggs floating in the pond and among the it manages to grab any prey, in addition to its own

44
radiation and acids it will plunge the poor victim Once they are convinced the PCs do not work for
into the semi-liquid pool that fills the core – a fate Big Ben’s sadistic servants (if the PCs are working
that inflicts 10d6 points of heat damage per round for Ben, then the miners simply attack), the miners
and douses the prey in a radioactive liquid metal of welcome them humbly and beg for news of the
5,000 Rads or more. The GM may also wish to make surface world. Requests for news about wives (now
all items carried or worn save or be destroyed in the serving in brothels), children (grown and enslaved),
white-hot liquid metal. or fellow miners (wasted away or dead) probably
GM’s Note: The pool of corium is extremely cannot be answered, but it is obvious the men have
deep, but the further down it gets the cooler it been here for many, many years. In time, the miners
gets, until it reaches the Labyrinth below. Here will come to explain who they are, how they got
the original melt down caused a structural failure, here, and attempt to trade. Though the miners likely
melting right through the solid rock and into the have nothing that will interest the group, since they
passages down there, but since then the corium has eat only rats and weave clothing out of old rope and
cooled preventing the entire flow from draining into burlap.
those deeper passages. What the miners do possess, however, is a
relatively abundant supply of corium (having found
its way here long ago during the melt down, settling
REACTOR LEVEL C in the deepest parts of the mine) – which they use as
light sources, but which they might also be willing
50. LOST MINERS’ TOWN to trade for basic essentials (food, water, etc). The
Unbelievably, the bottom of this deep elevator shaft miners have been so far-removed from the surface
is lit not by the sole blue light of corium, but also by that by now they would trade virtually any amount
orange torchlight. Those who manage to descend this for the most commonplace goods; PCs could
deep into the mines find what must have once been conceivably get 200% to 300% the value (in corium
the bottom of a broad elevator shaft, but one that has pieces) of any basic item they trade to the community
been hollowed out by natural process and, in some (up to a total of 2,500 cp in trades).
places, by the hands of skilled men. … Lost Miners, Commoner1 (45): CR 2;
The tunnels and caverns that comprise this Medium-size Humanoid (2nd Generation Mutant
deep level of the mines are home to some forty Primitives); HD 1d4+2; hp 4 each; Init +1 (Dex);
or fifty hollow, malnourished miners, living in Spd 30 ft; AC 14 (+1 Dex, +3 hide armor); Atk Short
almost lightless conditions like a separate breed of spear +3 melee 1d8+3; or sling +1 ranged 1d4; AL N
troglodytes. These men comprise a small isolated (or NE); SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +1; Str 17, Dex 12,
community of their own, survivors of the Lil’ Con 14, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 10.
Vegas mines who fled as soon as they had a chance Skills and Feats: Listen +2, Profession (miner) +3,
– finding their way, past great obstacles and dangers, Use Rope +2. Troglodyte.
to the deepest, most treacherous depths of the mines. Possessions: Short spear, sling (20 sling bullets),
The first group of miners who came here decided hide armor.
that the bottom of this extremely deep shaft was Mutations and Defects: Density Alteration,
isolated enough from the mines that the guards would Gamma-Ray Visual Sensitivity, Neural Fear,
never find them here – or take the risks involved Albinism, Cystic Fibrosis, Photosensitivity.
in pursuing them this deep. They carved out a few GM’s Note: This bizarre enclave can prove to
shelters from the rock itself, and over time came to be a device for a number of plot leads or adventure
accept any lost miners or escapees that found their endings. While as it stands the miners are simply a
way here – no questions asked – as part of their new pitiful colony of escapees, creative and cunning PCs
community. might try to rouse them to become a kind of “rebel”
What began as a dozen men has grown into or “partisan” force. It is possible that these miners
something considerably larger, and the tunneling has could be rallied by an unusually-charismatic PC
also expanded as well. “Natural” corium, imbedded (or group of PCs) to rise up and finally overthrow
in the rock, provides much of the illumination for the establishment of the surface-dwellers, or join in
daily life here, but torches and lamps are also kept attempting to at least strike back at pursuing mine
lit to light the deeper tunnels, as well as a few tiny guards hot on the PCs’ trail.
campfires for the cooking of meals (rats). However, the miners have, over time, changed in
When PCs reach this level, they will likely be subtle ways. In addition to becoming troglodilian,
surprised to find a small community dwelling so deep they have also become savages, primitive in thinking
beneath the earth – and startled as dozens of albino and motivations. The GM could, conceivably, toss
figures, armed with primitive spears, emerge from the out the above notion of a possible “friendship”
darkness and into the light, ready to attack. Though between the PCs and these survivors, and instead opt
the PCs may not realize it at first, the men come not for a more macabre situation. The miners, separated
to kill them (yet), but intent on finding out whom for so long from sane pursuits, are now more like
exactly these intruders are. a band of escaped asylum patients, lunatics and

45
 cannibals one and all, and the arrival of the PCs into a cabin locker.
their deep dark den becomes a welcome respite from GM’s Note: Though it may appear to be a way
their diet of rats… out, this is not the most ideal exit from the complex,
PCs working for Big Ben will be given a bounty since the destination of the railway is unknown. The
for the heads of these miners (especially if they’ve GM can deal with this any way he likes, either by
turned into cannibals), roughly 20 cp apiece. having the tunnels collapsed roughly halfway (or
more), preventing further passage, or having the
51. SUBTERRANEAN RAILWAY TUNNELS temperatures increase dramatically as the party goes
A cooler air runs through this deep place than deeper – until it becomes impossible to continue
elsewhere in the mines, which comes as something on. Or, if he’s feeling creative, the GM can design
of a relief. It is abysmally dark here, the cavern a secondary complex of his own, based on features
much larger, echoing with sound and swallowing up of the main complex, and continue the adventure
the illumination of most meager light sources. The there…
ground here consists of heavy industrial-grade rails,
which lead off into a pair of huge gaping tunnels that 52. FISSURE
stretch on into infinite darkness. This place was obviously not a part of the original
This is just the local stopping point for the vast complex – or at least it appears to have been created
underground transit system used to keep the plant in without the explicit knowledge of the plant’s original
operation. The tracks were designed to permit heavy designers. The place appears to be a rough-walled
railcars to carry spent fuel rods from this reactor’s natural fissure, but close examination of the walls
Cooling Pool (above) to a massive fuel- shows that the cavern was created through blasting
reprocessing center at the other end of the complex and heavy drilling machinery. Metal lights, staked
(three miles distant; now long buried). The tracks into the walls roughly twenty feet above, once
and tunnels are still in excellent condition at this provided a minimum of illumination for the engineers
end of the track, but about a mile and a half into the who built it.
tunnels there has been some damage and the state of Row upon row of heavy metal, ceramic, and
the rails is questionable at best… plastic-encased waste drums fill one side of this
There are a number of cars laying lifeless at this gigantic cavern, placed on a baseboard of nickel
end of the track; an open-topped transport car at the plating (mounted on tremor-resistant spring
bottom of the shaft (as if waiting to be loaded up), coils). Makeshift placards show the trefoil symbol
another transport car off to the side on a reserve (recognizable to any post-apocalyptic character as the
track, and a single locomotive. This latter car is an symbol of the “red fever”) on each of these drums
enclosed structure, with a control cabin large enough and at various points on the “natural” stone walls.
to fit six or eight people (usually nuclear technicians) Even more attention grabbing than the illegal
and its own electrical engine. The locomotive is repository of nuclear waste (for, after all, who cares
not currently hooked up to either transport car, and now so far in the future what crimes the Ancients
still has enough power in its battery to travel all the committed beneath Lil’ Vegas?) are the strange lights
way down the track and back. However, getting the that flicker, flit, and dance through the still air of this
rather sophisticated locomotive to operate requires a deep black cavern. At first glance these lights appear
Knowledge, Vehicle Operations check at DC 22 (16 almost like enlarged butterflies, but as one nears (or
if the operator has previous locomotive experience). as the individual “lights” come to investigate those
Once in operation, the locomotive has an electronic who enter their abode), they prove to be diminutive
display panel that monitors the current temperature examples of the heliogryph breed – no doubt
of any rods in its connecting transport car, as well as spawnlings!
the temperature in the railway tunnels (setting off an There are some two or three hundred immature
alarm if it gets dangerously hot in either). The car heliogryphs flitting and buzzing through the air of
discharges a current of electricity through the rails this broad fissure; apparently something about this
which is reflected back (almost like radar), letting the cavern draws them from other places. The minute
operator know if the rails are damaged or weakened heliogryphs (none more than a foot long) do not
up ahead (but only out to 1000 ft). The cabin has attack the characters, but merely flit about them
its own bright interior lighting, and the locomotive and through their midst, as if curiously examining
generates two solid beams of light ahead of it out them, before filling their air sacks and “puffing”
to 200 ft down the track in front of it. At full speed majestically upwards to illuminate the darkness
it moves 200 ft. per round (100 ft/round with one above.
transport car, 75 ft/round with two transport cars). It Should the PCs begin swatting or harming the baby
decelerates at 50 ft/round (25 ft/round with one car, heliogryphs, the creatures will float away, keeping
10 ft/round with two). a safe distance but maintaining their curious bent.
Treasure: There is a fire extinguisher and full They will only really disperse if the PCs begin killing
canister of boron solution spray mounted in the cabin droves of them, flying off into random cracks, holes,
of the locomotive, as well as two environment suits in or exit tunnels to parts unknown. In any event, the

46
 frightening. As the PCs approach
the lights, the “creature” looks up
as if preparing for confrontation.
The “creature” is, in fact, an
ancient laborer android that was
sealed down here centuries ago,
and has survived through a strange
“evolution” (see below). The
android is willing to talk if given
the chance; it is actually quite
surprised to hear voices again after
such a long time, though it will be
unable to speak in languages other
than Ancient and Guttertalk (the
latter is at least understandable to
it).
If asked, the android will relate
a strange story of how it was once
one of at least five hundred labor
android assigned to the Four-State
Nuclear Power Facility, serving
directly under a compartmentalized
command structure of scientist
droids and humans. This specific
reactor complex (“Delta Reactor”)
had 100 laborer androids, 10
scientist androids, and at least 500
humans ranging from technicians to
engineers.
The android will go on to explain
that there was a tremendous
earthquake just prior to the entire
death of these spawnlings will not attract heliogryphs
facility shutting down, an event that eventually led to
from any other part of the complex, since their
a catastrophic melt down. The androids were given
survival (once born) is not the concern of the ‘gryph
the order to remain where they were and fight the
colony.
fires and radiation leaks while the humans attempted
The radiation level in this cavern is a steady 200
to escape to the surface. From here the android is
Rads.
unsure what exactly happened, but it seems there
Treasure: There are nearly 60 individual waste
were a series of cave-ins and many of the humans
drums here that contain high grade pollutants (in
were lost or trapped on various levels, separated from
specific, water and sludge from the reactor itself);
each other.
each drum, if cracked open, would emit a continuous
The android, which identifies itself simply as
2,000 Rads for countless generations. Getting
“G88”, goes on to say that the androids on this level
these potentially deadly “bombs” out of the mines,
got together under the one surviving scientist android
however, is next to impossible, since each weighs
(whom it almost reverently refers to as “Faust 19”).
roughly one half of a ton apiece.
At first they began efforts to dig out the buried
humans, but their scientist leader suddenly stopped
53. GENERATOR ROOMS (EL 11)
them. It argued that the humans were a lost cause,
This huge vault appears to have once been central
that they would soon be dead anyway, and that they
to the plant’s purpose, for colossal machinery hangs
should turn their efforts instead to preventing the flow
from the ceiling, stands imbedded in the ground
of melted core materials from getting out of hand and
(like huge statuary of steel), and lies strewn about.
destroying them as well.
Oddly, as one enters, the sound of trickling water is
Thus the androids abandoned their human masters
only slightly distracting, for more interesting is the
at the order of Faust, and saved themselves. Over
sight of bright lights set up in a rough semi-circle
time, however, the androids grew old – G88 guesses
at the far end of the place, across a narrow steel
it has been at least two centuries since the collapse –
bridge. Here, under the light of portable emergency
and many of the laborers had to be scrapped to repair
lights (on extendable stands) have been set up a pair
others. Throughout time Faust’s concocted plans to
of operating tables, behind which stands a twisted
revive a minimum of power to attempt to extricate
metal and plastic figure so gruesome to behold it is
themselves but to no avail. Many androids were

48
lost in the process, and though a few passages were gray from the heat (translucently revealing a network
eventually cleared (revealing, among other things, the of thin wires just beneath the surface, almost like
bodies of many humans who had suffocated to death), “veins”). This same heat, which certainly deformed
little headway was made. the creature, also caused the cosmetic covering of
That was when strange creatures began to filter its optical sensors (“eyes”) to burn away, revealing
down into the android parts of the complex. Faust burnished silver metal orbs beneath. Its remaining
immediately ordered specimens brought in for body parts are a patchwork of replacements torn from
dissection and examination. Faust tentatively named other androids, leaving it to look like a shambling
them “heliogryphs” (though G88 admits a preference Frankenstein of metal and plastic parts!
to his own name, “avian cnidarian”) and theorized … Industrial Robots (4): CR 6; Large Construct;
that they must have been a product of the extensive HD 6d10; hp 50, 49, 47, and 36; Init +1 (Dex); Spd
radiation still lingering in the complex. 20 ft; AC 20 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +10 natural); Atk 2
Sadly (as G88 puts it), Faust, like many of the older slams +16 melee 1d8+10; SQ Berserk, command
androids, did himself begin to “wind down”. Since level (IIC), damage reduction -/5, elemental
by then G88 was the only laborer left (he motions immunity, facing, fearful presence, repair vs. healing,
to the rubble of metal parts around him, explaining sputtering death; AL LN; SV Fort +0, Ref +6, Will
these are the remains of the other laborers), Faust +0; Str 30, Dex 12, Con -, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1.
turned to him and said goodbye, almost emotionally, Skills and Feats: Computer Link, Crushing
before ordering G88 to download his memory into his Strength, Internal Power Source, Multiattack, Remote
own. Thereafter Faust “expired”. Computer Link, Robot Armor (Light).
Without allowing a moment to ponder the almost Treasure: In addition to the jet welder
human-like behavior of his late superior, G88 picks (flamethrower), the laborer android has a Stage IIC
up again, explaining that due to the fact that he access card, an extra pack of napalm fuel (for the
has “subsumed” a portion of Faust’s mind he is flamethrower), a Geiger counter (empty beltpack still
compelled by his superior’s curiosity on mutant attached), and the equivalent of a grade B android
subjects, and must thus follow his last instruction memory chip (in Craft, Nuclear Plant Operation).
- and that is to bring in any mutated specimens for Lying about this place are enough scavenged
examination and dissection… metal pipes, bars, and sections of corrugated iron as
With that he raises the only available weapon (a to create a roughly 25 foot “bridge” if need be (for
high-power jet welder), and advances on the PCs, instance, to cross the section of fallen walkway in
calling from the shadows a small group of badly Area 44).
damaged industrial robots to join him (these are GM’s Note: The rest of this chamber is effectively
unintelligent robots, not androids, but they follow dead and empty, since the reactor no longer produces
his commands nonetheless). The laborer android steam and the turbines no longer generate any power.
cannot be prevented from doing what he considers
his “duty”, short of commanding him to halt (he is 54. LABYRINTH (EL VARIES)
still allowed a save, since this is contrary to his last The “labyrinth” once comprised miles of tunnels,
program). He will attempt to kill every one of the ductwork, and ventilation shafts beneath the reactor
PCs, drag their bodies back to the makeshift lab, and itself. Many of these tunnels were flooded, filled
surgically peel them apart to examine the effects of with high-pressure steam, or simply served to carry
mutation on their bodies. electricity to various parts of the complex. The
… G88, Laborer Android (1): CR 6; Medium- entire area is a virtual maze of tunnels and shafts,
size Construct; HD 6d8+30; hp 78; Init +4 (Dex); all interconnecting like a great spider’s web. It is
Spd 30 ft; AC 20 (+4 Dex, +6 natural); Atk Slam +10 extremely hot here (due to the proximity to the core),
melee 1d3+6, or jet welder (treat as flamethrower) humid, and the tell-tale glow licking off every stretch
+7 ranged 3d6; SQ Electrical resistance 10, berserk, of wall and from every exposed pipe or grating also
command level (IIC), damage reduction -/5, gives evidence to a strong blanket of lethal radiation
construct, elemental immunity, repair vs. healing, throughout.
sputtering death; AL LN; SV Fort +7, Ref +6, Will In addition to the confusing nature of the maze of
+6; Str 23, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 20, Wis 13, Cha 8. tunnels, corium from the reactor above has in many
Skills and Feats: Ambidexterity, Crushing places melted right through the solid rock (or been
Strength, Heavy-Duty Resistant Coating, Improved channeled through various ventilation shafts by
Hit Dice, Robot Armor (Light). gravity), dripping down from above to form solid
The laborer android looks nothing less than a pillars, columns, cushions, stalactites, stalagmites
monster. The intense heat that blasted the android (indeed, a corium mimic of every natural feature to
during the melt down left its white plastic casing be found in a real cavern complex) throughout the
a total mess, causing it to blister and boil before place. These solid pillars of the invaluable metallic
melting into a featureless plate that has blanched out material give off the strongest glow, casting weird
all of its facial features. Hair, if it had any, fell out shadows through miles of pipe work and multitudes
long ago, and the artificial synthiskin turned dusky of weird louvers, and add to the potent radiation

49
 burning the air of this murky gulf.
It is no wonder that, with all this radiation, This should prove to be an extremely difficult
warmth, and strange glowing, that the labyrinth encounter, and the players should be well aware of
is the heart of the heliogryph colony beneath Lil’ the danger they are in if they advance on the mass
Vegas. Here the ‘gryphs flutter about like white-hot of heliogryphs. Furthermore, the PCs should be
moths against a background of darkness, carefree in aware that there is no real need to violate this deep
pursuing whatever it is they do – searching for food, corner of the mine (short of doing the miners a favor,
stockpiling the remains of prey snatched from the though considering the fact that survival alone is
Lower Mines for later use, or moving eggs to and usually a more important motivation, this shouldn’t
from the Cooling Ponds. be a problem) and stir the queen to action – the
GM’s Note: The numbers of heliogryphs varies consequences of which could be quite fatal.
at the GM’s whim, since this is effectively the heart Treasure: Though seeming unlikely, the
of the nest. The first few encounters will be with heliogryphs have managed to amass a sizeable
smaller groups, but successive encounters (or the treasure in this awful chamber, mainly composed of
further the PCs go into the confused labyrinth) will goods tethered to corpses brought here for the queen
include more and more heliogryphs of increasing size and her mates to feed on. These treasures include
and power. two Stage IIC access cards (a third is melted beyond
use), two unused light rods (a full eleven more, but
55. QUEEN’S CHAMBER (EL 13) these are expended), eight doses of rad-purge shot
The “queen” of the heliogryph colony dwells in a in ready syringes, four doses of stimshot A in ready
deep, distant part of the labyrinth below most of syringes, a dose of stimshot B in a ready syringe, a
the upper pipe work and shafts. The glow here is pocket nurse, a manual (speak language, computer),
quite prevalent, gleaming from every pillar and a canister of boron solution spray (2 charges left),
nearly every exposed surface, offset only where real a pair of communicators (walkie-talkies; no power
metal and stone peeks through. Here there is a near- cells), nearly three dozen rad tabs (all used), a pair of
constant buzzing, a shifting of the suffocating-hot air, Geiger counters, a single power beltpack (half charge
and an overwhelmingly nauseous stench. remaining), two environment suits (two others have
At the center of this place lives the queen, a melted and are useless), a civ sec suit, and a hand-
gigantic specimen of heliogryph surrounded by mates portable welding tool (treat as a flame pistol with
and flitting spawnlings (which are sometimes crushed three full charges left).
as larger ‘gryphs pass by). The queen is constantly The unfortunate part is that everything here is
in the painful process of producing eggs, emitting covered in rotten flesh, crystallized acid saliva (which
the large leathery globules from her dangling set of is now brittle and breaks like glass), and may even
fluid tentacles, to be sucked up and carried away by have been corroded due to the natural excretions of
smaller heliogryphs to the Cooling Pond. these bizarre life-forms, causing malfunction. There
Anything other than a heliogryph is not welcome is a 10% chance that each item, though appearing
here. The carcasses of giant rats, humanoids (miners outwardly normal, has deteriorated from its condition
and slaves dragged from distant parts of the mines), and will malfunction the first time it is used (GMs
and other unidentifiable remains are almost a part discretion as to the effect of the malfunction, and
of the charnel decoration that gives this chamber a whether or not the damage is repairable).
macabre and sickening personality of its own. The
mass of heliogryphs, which consist of the queen
herself, her “bodyguard” of equals, a dozen or more CONCLUDING THE ADVENTURE
mates of proper maturity, and a small number of
comparatively diminutive “servitors”, will scramble The actual outcome to Death By Corium Light
to attack any and all intruders. largely depends on the reasons the PCs ventured into
… Typical Heliogryphs (4): hp 40, 40, 40, and 36 the mines in the first place; if they managed to find
(see Area 47 for statistics). employment under the ruthless overlord Big Ben,
… Mature Heliogryphs (13): hp 52 each (see then their task is simply to find the escaped miner,
Area 46 for statistics). Arlon, and either capture or kill him (and return the
… Giant Heliogryphs (5): hp 110, 100, 95, 95, remaining explosives) for their reward.
and 84 (see Area 35 for statistics). As slaves, the PCs will simply need to escape
… Queen Heliogryph (1): CR 8; Huge Aberration; (probably through the Ventilation Shafts, which
HD 10d8+50; hp 122; Init +0; Spd Fly 30 ft (good; eventually lead to the surface), though there is an
reduced to 10 ft due to obesity); AC 11 (-2 size, +3 opportunity (should they stumble upon it) to link up
natural); Atk 2 acid darts +5/+0 ranged 2d8; SA Acid; with the vengeful revolutionary Arlon and become
SQ Blindsight; AL N; SV Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +3; part of his plan to bring the mines crashing down.
Str 27, Dex 11, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 5. Though possibly more difficult than just escaping
Skills and Feats: Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, from the mines, this alternative has the potential to be
Rip A Clip. a lot more dramatic and, in the long run, fulfilling for

50
those who have suffered in the mines of Lil’ Vegas. Technician’s Coveralls: These clothes consist
If they came at the behest of Arlon’s daughter, Xea, of a pair of white coveralls with light-reflective
they will have further motivation to see this plan plastic strips up the legs and arms, zippered up the
through – especially if they have become attached front with an insulated collar. These suits are not
to the girl and her father, and seek to avenge the only comfortable, but they do nothing to impede
miserable lot Big Ben forced upon their family. movement whatsoever. In addition, the material
Though convincing Arlon not to sacrifice his life of the suits (the fabrication of which is no longer
won’t be easy, it could lead to a heartfelt reunion at a possible using the technology of the wasteland) has a
later date when both father and daughter are freed. special property that blocks out up to 75 Rads.
For those who came here on errands for any of CP Value: 500 cp.
the major factions of the Twisted Earth, there are
numerous possibilities. The information gleaned Environment Suit: The environment suit is a
from the various Monitoring Stations and Control heavy-duty version of the more common radiation
Centers, as well as their own hand-made maps and suit (i.e. NBC suit), built to protect against industrial-
diagrams of the complex, would prove invaluable grade radioactive contaminants and long-term
at least for research - and possibly reconstruction radiation exposure. Environment suits are made
efforts – by the Foundation. Likewise, capture of heavy with lead body panels, utilizing an aluminum
the android, G88 (Area 53), and its vast data bank support frame to evenly distribute weight and a
of nuclear physics and technical expertise would be self-powered internal pressurization unit to keep
an incredible boon to the organization. Agents and out minute radioactive particles (such as dust). An
paladins coming back with such information would environment suit protects against up to 2000 Rads,
certainly be in line for a promotion (or at least a and also has a built-in head-mounted flashlight for
commendation). work in powerless areas. A suit has a limited version
Brotherhood of Radiation forces are probably of an advanced breathing apparatus that operates for
here for the long haul; agents infiltrating the mines 12 hours at a time (recharging itself after 12 hours
will soon find the vast streak of corium deep below takes another 30 minutes). As armor an environment
the earth (Area 35), as well as the vast repository suit protects just like an NBC suit, but the Max Dex
of nuclear waste (in the Fissure), and with this Bonus drops to +0, the check penalty is –7, and speed
knowledge the Brotherhood will likely refuse to is reduced to 15 ft. Weight of the item is 100 lbs.
let Lil’ Vegas stay in the hands of Big Ben forever. Power Source: Beltpack or backpack.
Before long, possibly while they are still there, the CP Value: 35,000 cp.
Brotherhood will make a move to take Lil’ Vegas
by force – an action that would likely lead to an
epic battle among the city streets, in the mines, and APPENDIX II: SLAVE PRICES
possibly even drawing in other opportunistic groups
(such as the Ravagers, who are waiting for the town Should PCs engage in the slave trade, use the
to show weakness for their cue to strike) for a grand following guide to determine slave prices.
finale of large-scale warfare.
Base
Typical slave 100 cp
APPENDIX I: NEW ITEMS Woman or child slave 150 cp
Normal Human 300 cp
Death By Corium Light introduces three new
artifacts, the game information for which is presented Modifiers (to base)
below. Fertile/Potent mutant +100 base price
Concubine +100% base price
Corium Lantern: These items come in a wide High Str/Con +20% per modifier point
variety of sizes and shapes, depending on where High Int +30% per modifier point
and how they were made. Mostly these are made High Wis -20% per modifier point
from discarded kerosene lanterns, the core of which High Cha (male) +50% per modifier point
has been replaced by a solid chunk of corium. The Skilled +20% per skill point
corium in the lamp provides a dim silvery-white Skilled, Technical +40% per skill point
light out to 20’, just like a regular lantern; however, a
corium lantern cannot be extinguished (though it can Multipliers (after modifiers)
be shuttered or covered to block the light). Though High Cha (female) x2 per modifier point
the corium in the lantern is radioactive, the level is High Level x2 base price or
so weak that it is harmless (but is still detectable by multiply by level
mutations or devices that detect gamma radiation).
CP Value: 90 cp.

51
 9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish
OPEN GAME LICENSE updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this
License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a distributed under any version of this License.

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is 10 Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with
Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.

1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark 11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open
owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written
means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations permission from the Contributor to do so.
(including into other computer languages), potation, modification,
correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, 12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the
abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content
transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license, rent, due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not
lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; Use any Open Game Material so affected.
(d)”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the
methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content 13 Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to
does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of
art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination
the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including of this License.
translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically
excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means product and product 14 Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable,
line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it
creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, enforceable.
incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses,
formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other 15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters,
spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or
supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any System Rules Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original
by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign,
motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products Darwin’s World Copyright 2002, RPGObjects; Authors Dominic Covey and
or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Chris Davis.
Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy,
edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of
Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this OPEN GAMING CONTENT
agreement.
Designation of Product Identity: The following terms are designated as
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that product identity as outline in section 1(a) of the Open Gaming License:
contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used Darwin’s Word, Twisted Earth, Denizens of the Twisted Earth, Terrors of the
under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Twisted Earth, Artifacts of the Ancients, Cave of Life, Ferals, Primitives,
Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from Ritual Preservationist, the Ancients, Resentful, Degenerates, Ressurectors,
this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or Visionary Reinventors, Hedonists, Advanced, Good juju, Benders, Brethren,
conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this Brotherhood of Radiation, Cartel, Children of the Metal Gods, Clean Water
License. Clans, Far Traders, Enthropist, Foundationist, the Movement, Paradise
Believers, Ravagers, Savants, Doomriders, Brethren Follower, Brotherhood
3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Force Master, Cartel Trademaster, Foundationist Paladin, Juju Doctor, Sister
Your acceptance of the terms of this License. of the Desert, Death Sentinel, Doom Harvester, Ethereal Flyer, Fraxx Steed,
Gront, Heliogryphs, Mutagon, Othydont, Plague Zombie, Purple Angler,
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this Slime Mole, Shadow People, Utran.
License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free,
non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Designation of Open Gaming Content: The following sections of Death
Game Content. by Corium Light are designated as open gaming content expect for terms
define as product identity above. All illustrations, pictures, and diagrams are
5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original Product identity and property of RPGObjects™.
material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are
Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights Chapter 1: All the text in this chapter content is closed.
conveyed by this License. Chapter 2: All monster, npc, and trap statistics blocks are open content. All
other content is closed.
6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE Chapter 3: All monster, npc, and trap statistics blocks are open content. All
portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT other content is closed.
NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or Appendices: The text of this entire chapter is open content.
distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright
holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game
Content you Distribute.

7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity,
including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed
in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that
Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability
with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work
containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered
Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not
constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner
of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights,
title and interest in and to that Product Identity.

8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly

indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game
Content.

52