Crecimiento Empresarial

The polluted waters of the harbor lap against the shore here, where an enormous sewer grate stands collecting rust.

This site marks the location of an entrance to the old Los Angeles sewer system (this leads to Area #201 on the Sewer map). Sewage from the city washes out here into the harbor, but it appears the old grate is firmly rusted in place.

A closer look, however, reveals that the sewer grate is in fact slightly ajar ― as if someone or something forced it open and deliberately replaced it to look undisturbed. The PCs can (if they’re so inclined) move the grate and slip into the sewers here with little effort.

GM’s Note: A mirror ooze, previously living

in the polluted waters of the harbor, has recently slithered here and makes the area its home. When the PCs arrive to investigate the sewer entrance (or emerge from within), it rises from underwater to attack.

Mirror Ooze: HP 60.

Treasure: While living in the harbor, the mirror

ooze unwittingly absorbed some floating junk into its body mass. This consists of a single tennis shoe, an old life preserver, and 1d2 rolls on the Junk table.

056. CONFINEMENT CENTER (EL 12)

Through the ruins you see a large compound up ahead, surrounded by a chain-link fence. Through the fence you see a small group of malnourished and nearly skeletal people ― prisoners of some sort. A group of metal figures stands atop the compound’s central building, apparently watching over their captives. A few other androids march around the perimeter on guard duty.

The Androids have constructed a “confinement center” in this hex, in which they are temporarily

SKAELS

Like the Broken Ones and the Serpent Gods, the Skaels descend from bizarre experiments of the Zoogenic Corporation, based in pre-Fall Los Angeles. To those who don’t know the true aims of that long-dead corporation, these aquatic beings seem to have been engineered to serve as underwater labor, helping to construct vast underwater agro-colonies that once lay all over the Eastern Pacific ocean as part of a long- term effort to multiply America’s capability to feed its ever-increasing population.

The details of the Skaels’ origin remain unclear, but like the Broken Ones and Serpent Gods, it appears they broke free of the laboratories where they were spawned and managed to evolve and develop in freakish ways....

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confining “suspected looters” taken prisoner during their attempt to pacify the city. This location’s existence is completely unknown to the other inhabitants of the city (they believe the androids are killing off everyone and everything they find).

The confinement center was built around an old highway motel, but encircled with barbed wire fences and overseen by android guards night and day. Since most of the androids’ foes have fought to the death, there are only a handful of captives here, mostly former Cartel colonists taken by the androids early in their emergence onto the face of the city. A few other personalities have been confined here as well; see below for details.

The confinement center is guarded at all times by 3

sniper androids on the roof of the central building,

who have orders to shoot anyone approaching the compound and any prisoners who manage to make it to the top of (or over) the fences. In addition, patrols of androids regularly make circuits around the perimeter; at any given time there is a 50% chance that a patrol of 3 security androids is in the area when the PCs approach (roll for appropriate Spot and Listen checks).

Currently there are several dozen former Cartel colonists, wild men, and ghouls imprisoned here, though at any given time there are only 12-14 penned up in the outer yard, living in constant fear of what is going to happen to them. A number of the prisoners are rounded up each day and marched off to work on the Androids’ various building projects (see Areas #061 and #062). Many never return. In truth, the androids have begun to use these captives as disposable labor, put to work building a “power pipeline” to their new base at Camp Pendleton, south of the city. In addition, in the years since their capture, a dozen of the colonists have died from poor treatment; the rest subsist on rats and insects they

manage to catch, since the androids don’t feed them. The colonists will be overjoyed if they are freed, though they have little information, most of it pertaining just to the androids and what they’ve seen. If freed, they can briefly relate the story of the colony’s destruction at the hands of the androids, and mention a rumored “android factory” in the vicinity (though they don’t know its exact location). They can also point out the Power Pipeline construction site at Area #061 and the Recycled Organics Plant at Area #062. If the PCs defeat the androids here and let the prisoners go, the colonists will beg the party to free their other comrades at these sites, before fleeing the city.

GM’s Note: The androids keep more dangerous

prisoners confined inside the main building. These currently include a crazy former raider (strong hero

3/raider 2) from Kruel the Conqueror’s lost empire,

a scout (fast hero 3) sent into the ruins by the people of Sanctuary to report on the Androids’ movements, and a particularly fat ghoul (strong hero 2/tough

hero 2) that was recently captured with two others

of its kind and confined to the same cell. Only one ghoul remains, having eaten the other two to stave off starvation.

All of these prisoners will beg to be released if the party overcomes the android garrison. The raider is insane and runs off laughing, probably ending up joining a group of Ghost Raiders out there in the ruins (if he doesn’t get killed first). The scout thanks the PCs and offers to take them back to Sanctuary (Area #011), where he insists he must go to give an accurate report of what he’s seen. He insists on taking the other Cartel captives with him. The ghoul, if allowed free, offers to join the party, but will only stay for 1d6 days before running off to join others of his kind elsewhere ― taking whatever he can while the PCs sleep.

Security Androids (20): HP 24. Sniper Androids (3): HP 44.

Development: Any attack on the confinement

center raises the alarm. Within 1d4+1 rounds, reinforcements (in the form of 1d3+1 security

androids per round) begin emerging from the main

building to reinforce the defenders outside, and to uphold the integrity of the prison. There are a total of 20 security androids on the site (not including the perimeter patrol).

057. SCRAPYARD (EL 13)

This area appears to be a sprawling junkyard. Old metal cars and trucks lie stacked here and there, collecting rust. A sea of metal bits covers the entire area, along with shards of broken glass and snaking rivers of wiring and metal tubing.

This area was an auto scrapyard during the time of the Ancients. The Androids recently discovered the scrapyard and immediately recognized its value as a source of scrap metal for their production efforts. A number of industrial robots were dispatched here to begin scavenging for parts and scrap, ferrying their finds back to the factory night and day in an unending stream of activity.

Considering its strategic importance to their operations, the androids have garrisoned the yard with a small force of security androids to protect the scrapyard against enemy attack. As a result, in addition to the 4d4 industrial robots found here at any given time there are also 12 security androids,

2 low-level command androids, and 1 high-level command android overseer. These are stationed

around the perimeter of the old yard; eight of the security androids and the two low-level command models are on roving patrol (four androids and one

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command model per patrol), while the remaining androids (including the high-level command model) are inside the compound, ready to react to reports of contact with intruders.

Industrial Robots (4-16): HP 51 (page 59, Metal

Gods).

Security Androids (12): HP 24.

Low-Level Command Androids (2): HP 51. High-Level Command Android (1): HP 73. Treasure: The androids have found a few useful

items among the old car wrecks and set them aside in a small shack. These items include 1d2 multipurpose tools, a basic mechanical toolkit, and an electronic skeleton key. The last item is damaged and must be repaired (requiring a Repair check at DC 15, plus 55 cp in raw materials).