People and Power

The highways running through the city, underground, weaving in and out, create wind tunnels from the outside: cool fresh air visits the inner hive when the weather picks up, but some areas of the hive are untouched. The problem with stale air is that it causes moisture, and, with the heat of the furnaces below, disease breeds amongst the citizens. With disease comes the sound of scurrying rats, the messengers of death for those who lack fortitude, and so rat-catchers are employed to find the nests and kill them before they carry the next wave of sickness with them. These rat-catchers are very well respected among the citizens, like a milkman and a surgeon combined. If anyone knows the right people and places, the rat-catchers do.

Commoners look upon adventurers like an asset. Although money is money, people are money, too, in the Hive. Gangs and Ministers will snatch for every character they think they will be able to 'convert' to their cause. Adventurers of stature are not commonplace though, although a few have popped up in recent history, they are better known as myths and stories, told to little children when reciting the epics of the great war. The great war produced, it seems, many powerful people. One was called The Red Bull, painted his armour bright red, so that he could stand out among his brethren in an attempt to draw harmful fire away from others and, in a selfless act, toward himself. It was this armour which later allowed him to skirmish through a large meadow of roses, to slaughter 50 men, including the enemy's commander, in a surprise attack which won the war. Todays City Guard Imperial Armour is in the design of his, in memoriam, a stanch reminder of his valiant bravery. Many have forgotten, or choose to ignore this, however, and it is known that some districts are as corrupt as a black-clad rogue.