Les Catacombes

Player Description

Beneath the city of Isarn is a vast amount of fine limestone and modeler's gypsum. Quarries and mines for building materials began almost immediately upon the first wooden fort burning down, and expanded further as the city did. One hundred fifty years ago, after a sudden collapse of a good quarter-mile of street into the mines below, actual mining beneath Isarn was forbidden, and quarriers turned to sites further out from the city for their stone.

However, between the galleries already carved out, the advanced sewers that keep Isarn a comparatively clean place despite even fifty years of the Red Revolution, natural dissolution of the stone, and deliberate tunneling to create new connections, the stone beneath Isarn is riddled with pathways which can get you secretly from one location to another despite all the gangs and government can do -- or can leave you lost for weeks, if not the rest of your life ...

Game Information

Navigating through the catacombs can be a dangerous endeavor, as rock beneath the 19.6 square mile of surface area is riddled with a three-dimensional maze of mines, sewers, and natural tunnels. Though primarily the limestone of which much of the city is built, there are notable intrusions of other types of rock. Though significant mining no longer takes place, new tunnels are dug and old ones collapse or are deliberately blocked off, forcing people to learn new routes constantly. One can, however, get nearly anywhere in the city via the underground tunnels. It is, however, considerably slower than traveling to the same destination above-ground, as one might have to take a round-about route, squeeze through tight tunnels, or change levels multiple times.

While going from well-known surface entrances to public locations (see above) near to them requires no roll, moving beyond these paths always requires a KS: Engineering or a Survival check to navigate. The player must first state what type of route they're travelling by, their starting entrance, and their destination, as well as what type of exit at the destination is preferred. Getting particularly close increases the difficulty of this check.

Route -- DC -- Speed

Public -- 10 -- x1/2

Illicit -- 20 -- x1/4

Discreet -- 30 -- x1/8

Entrance / Exit -- DC -- Know DC -- Distance from Destination

Public -- +0 -- 15 -- 2d6 x 500'

Logical -- +5 -- 20 -- 2d6 x 250'

Unusual -- +10 -- 25 -- 2d6 x 100'

Obscure -- +15 -- 30 -- 1d6 x 100'

Secret -- +20 -- N/A -- N/A

Lost -- +10 -- N/A -- N/A

Special -- DC

Per Surface Mile -- +1

Crossing Under the River -- +5

Close Entrance / Exit -- +5

Very Close Entrance / Exit -- +10

Well-Worn Path -- -10*

Base time to travel from entrance to exit (or destination) is as overland travel (base movement divided 10 in miles per hour for walking, twice that for hustling), with the multiplier applied; exceeding the DC by 5 improves movement speed by one step (1/8 becomes 1/4, 1/4 becomes 1/2, 1/2 becomes 3/4).

Routes:

There are some passages and routes which are well-known, and thus as well-traveled by the public as any back alley (Public); others are known only to those 'in the know', often of criminal spirit (Illicit). Traveling a path to avoid any encounters ('Discreet') can require re-routing on the fly, and are thus even more difficult.

Entrance / Exit:

The handful of public entrances (and destinations) of the catacombs are relatively well-known; logical entrances are those which make sense if you think about them for a moment -- pump-houses, large sewer entrances, a big dark gap in the side of a sink-hole. Checking for knowledge of these entrances can be done untrained.

Unusual entrances are those which are unexpected, or which have particular requirements -- a passage down from a bath-house, a sewer-drain along the side of the street with a few bricks missing, a warehouse with criminal ties.

Obscure entrances are those which would require specialized knowledge -- asking a particular bartender for its use, climbing into a nook of a public statue -- but which are not in and of themselves secret.

Secret entrances are just that -- secret. These entrances cannot be known about by way of the Catacomb Dweller trait; each one requires specific discovery, as each one has been made with effort put towards discretion. A secret entrance never applies the special of 'Close Entrance/Exit', and for those who own or are associated with the exit, it is treated as a Public entrance (for a +0 to travel DCs).

Specials:

Per Surface Mile: The further you travel underground, the more difficult your route becomes, because not all routes interconnect -- so you have to plan ahead. Isarn is 7 miles in its longest dimension, but the catacombs extend roughly another mile around the city, so the maximum distance to be covered is 9 miles.

Crossing Under the River: Several passages of the catacombs cross underneath the Kantele River to connect the two sides; crossing from one part of the city to the other in this manner is difficult, but not impossible.

Close/Very Close Entrance/Exit: Catacomb entrances are rarely within a round's movement, and might require subtlety and discretion (or just running hell bent for leather) to reach. Including this special reduces the distance from your destination for that type of exit by one (for Close) or two (for Very Close) levels.

Well-Worn Path: After going to and from two specific points (such as Jeggare's Haven safe-house and Lily's Sanctum safe-house) a number of times (at least 10), the major passages, twists, and turns become familiar to you, resulting in a reduction to that route's DC. While efforts to avoid others can make this more difficult (i.e. you still have to choose what 'route' you take), you do not have to add any other modifiers (including entrance/exit, distance, or river-crossing) to your DC. If you ever fail your roll by 5 or more, the path has been changed significantly enough that you will have to refamiliarize yourself with the route, though only 3 successful navigations is required.

Getting Lost:

If you fail your navigation test, however, you are Lost, and must try to find your way to a place known to you. First, you must make a KS: Engineering or Survival roll to estimate a location or exit which might be near you; this operates as standard for knowledge of entrances and locations, including the 'Catacomb Dweller' trait's ability to locate the nearest entrance. Once this is done, the character must plot a new path between their current location ('Lost') and their new destination; that can be the same destination as before, or they can simply head to the exit or location they've determined they're nearest.

With a DC of 20 to go from 'Lost' to 'Public' on a Public route, it's no wonder people become permanent inhabitants of the Catacombs.