Under An Atomic Sky - Wk. 4
Howdy Skrappers! I just wanted to share a recap of the hexes I posted on Bluesky for Week 4.
[#3040] Ozzy’s Discount Bargain Market
The relatively intact remains of this pre-Blast discount store (“Ozzy’s Discount Bargain Market - We dare you to find a better deal!”) is the flagship store of a derelict strip mall. Ancient cars and trucks have been pushed to the edges of the parking lot, forming a makeshift bulwark against the roving packs of Troggos from the remains of the nearby developments.
In the last few weeks, this store has become the so-called stronghold of Warhog Ozymandias (arrogant, bloodthirsty, demagogue) and his crew. Originally a small gang, Ozymandias has developed a cult of personality and has brought dozens of raidahs under his banner. He has promised loot, stims, and flesh to anyone who is willing to join him when he marches on Gridtown [#3038].
The Warhog’s real name is Jerry and he’s a former resident of Gridtown (he saw the name “Ozymandias” in a pre-Blast comic book and thought it sounded cool. The connection to the store name is a coincidence). Outwardly his campaign against Gridtown is designed to appeal to the greed and bloodlust of his subordinates, but what no one realizes is that Ozzy only wants to get revenge on Supervisor Dustin, who turned down his romantic advances over a decade ago.
Warhog Ozzy has 30 Raidahs under his command, although at any given patrols of 1d8+2 Raidahs are out in the wastes looking for supplies (or people to rob). The whole army is held together by Ozymandias’s reputation. If anything were to sully his image (or if he, y’know, died) the raidahs will devolve into infighting.
There aren’t any guards - after all, who’s gonna fuck with thirty well-armed and bloodthirsty raidahs? Every few days 2d6 Troggos wander too close to the store, prompting Ozymandias to send some soldiers out to deal with them (there’s a 3-in-6 chance the Troggos will attack when the Skrappers are nearby).
Ozymandias’s Raidah - HD 3 / Med Armor (d4) / Spear (d6) or SMG (d6)
Sadistic and opportunistic! Never pass up the chance to inflict pain.
Loyal to Ozymandias… until they learn the truth about their boss.
1-in-6 chance they’re armed with a Grenade (d6).
Increase HD by 3, equip with a Mighty Fist* (d6, relic) and give the Splatterpunk Perk for Warhog Ozymandias.
*Found in the Skrapper’s Handbook.
[#3038] Gridtown
The main settlement in Quitter’s Respite, Gridtown was built up around a skrapper camp on the road to the Maze Mountains. The Handymen, descendants of an HVAC repair center, ran the first cables up to a nearby S.A.F.E. The town grew and came to be controlled by the four groups that founded it: The Handymen, the Black Eyes, the Petes, and the Eastsiders.
Gridtown proper is a ramshackle mix of tents, shacks, and stacked stone buildings. To the south, somewhat hidden in a small valley, are large corn fields nestled between twin rivers.
Powers:
The Handymen: The rulers of Gridtown, led by Supervisor Dustin. They control the power line that runs between Gridtown and the mountain S.A.F.E. Run Gridtown with an iron fist.
The Black Eyes: Originally a biker gang with a taste for adventure. Before the Handymen came to power, the Black Eyes were on the verge of a violent takeover. Now they function as enforcers for Supervisor Dustin.
The Petes: Wanderers who once followed a preacher named Pete. Peter saw the potential for farming between the rivers and got to work. They say he died after the first proper harvest, and now his followers carry on his work in an almost liturgical fashion.
The Eastsiders: A small caravan affiliated with a precursor to the powerful Water Merchants’ Union. They set up a trade post in the Respite long before anyone else came around and now control all trade in and out of Gridtown, much to the distaste of the Water Merchants.
People:
Supervisor Dustin (tyrannical, ambitious, callous): Head of The Handymen. Easily frustrated but quick to make amends. Concerned about the growth of Gridtown. Worries the power dynamic will break down eventually.
Brawler Hank (blowhard, self-important, self-conscious): The boss of the Black Eyes. Pretends to be more important than he is - everyone knows he’s little more than Supervisor Dustin’s lapdog.
Father Waylon Pete (firebrand, elderly, humble): The level-headed and considerate head of the Petes. Father Waylon is concerned that the Black Eyes have been getting out of hand and wants to see the Handymen’s control reduced. To this end he is working with Drake and Dazzer Pete to distill ethanol pure enough to run a generator.
Drake (intelligent, calculating, over-confident): The ambitious leader of the Eastsiders. While brilliant, many people think Drake’s out of his league trying to play the same political games as Dustin and Father Waylon. The ethanol refinery is his baby and he’s working very closely with Dazzer Pete to bring the project to fruition.
Dazzer Pete (literal-minded, diligent, verbose): A wanderer who joined up with the Petes awhile back and managed to get an old still working. He’s been working in secret with Drake (with Father Waylon’s permission) to upgrade the still to produce ethanol. Hasn’t made hooch in a few weeks, which Frank-O has begun to notice…
Places:
The Shop: Handymen Headquarters. Combination of cafeteria, dormitory, workshop, and supervisor’s office. Houses the power substation distributing electricity across town.
Trading Post: Small outdoor bazaar style "general store." Essentially a collection of mostly revolving merchants. All pay fees to the Eastsiders.
The Still: The local watering hole. Offers all kinds of corn-based spirits. Rooms are a bit cramped, but reasonably priced. Run by Frank-O (gregarious, insightful, tough) an elder Black Eye who gets his hooch from Dazzer Pete. Those in the know can pick up stims here.
The Barn: A bucolic red barn restored to pre-Blast condition. Sits in the middle of the cornfields. Part farmhouse, part church, part actual barn.
Powder Kegs:
Eastsiders and Petes working on ethanol distillation to push out the Handymen. Maybe the fucked with the wire. Maybe they accidentally fucked with it more than intended.
Raidahs are making camp at Ozzy’s [#3040]. They’ve scavenged before, but now there are dozens of them seemingly staying there. Town leadership wants to deal with it, but are split between brokering a treaty or making a show of force.
The S.A.F.E. wire is fucky and power’s been unreliable. Not bad enough for the Handymen to send a crew to brave the haunted S.A.F.E [#3037]
Stim-use has exploded in the poorer parts of town, resulting in an increase of crime. Supervisor Dustin seems to brush it off, but other town officials want to find and destroy the source [#2840].
Outlaws robbed several merchants before disappearing to the north. A few were killed by town guards and a captured member claims the rest of the gang is fleeing to the Maze Mountains. There’s a 500 skrap bounty posted for the raidah leader: Reno.
[#2734] Shining Triangular Monolith
At the end of an ancient game trail cutting through the forest is a completely smooth, triangular monolith. Its surface is unmarked, unmarred, and polished to a mirror finish. The air in the woodland glade hums and vibrates as if alive and the wildlife in the area looks and sounds more vibrant. Touching the monolith causes it to sing out audibly. All creatures who hear it must make a Weird Test before falling unconscious for 2d6 hours. Those who succeed awaken well-rested with the note stuck in their head like the most annoying earworm and the Songs from Beyond Mutation (details below). Those who fail wake up with a splitting headache and are deprived until they get a full night’s rest.
If a creature learns all nine notes, they gain the Surreal Song of Creation Mutation (details below).
Songs from Beyond: You’ve joined the great intergalactic chorus, sweet child! X times per day you can choose to roll with Weird instead of another Ability when making an Ability Test or Attack, where X is the number of Monoliths that have imparted their note upon you.
Surreal Song of Creation: You’re a maestro of the great intergalactic chorus! 9 times per day you can conjure material from nothing, shaping it into a form of your deepest desires. You can create any item (including a relic) with a Ud4 Usage Die. After 1 hour it disappears, returning to stardust.
A single Pilgrims of the Surreal Song, who simply calls themself The Caretaker, tends to the monolith, cleaning it whenever needed. They live out of a small yurt and are friendly toward anyone who respects the monolith.
Word has reached the ears of Supervisor Dustin of Gridtown [#3039] that this monolith exists. She won’t tolerate the idea of people going on pilgrimages to the site or the idea of a faith or kult building up around it. There is a 4-in-6 chance that 1d6+2 Handyman Enforcers arrive in the glade with the intention of killing the Caretaker and destroying the monolith (the latter is a task that will prove quite impossible).
Pilgrim of the Surreal Song - HD 2 / No Armor / Lgt Melee Wpn (d6) or Handgun (d4)
Mysterious, white robed humanoid. Wears mirrored sunglasses beneath a large cowl.
Not particularly violent, but willing to defend themselves. Speak in an annoying, sing-songy way.
1d8+1 times per day, they can treat their HD as 5 for the purposes of making an Ability Check or Attack.
Handyman Enforcer - HD 3 / Light Armor (d2) /
Hammer/Axe (d8) or Laser Pistol (d6, relic), and Dynamite (d6)
Little more than a trumped up, jackbooted thug working for the Supervisor.
Tries to intimidate first, but happy to resort to violence.
Used to beating on civilians, caves quickly to armed resistance.
[#2938] Hangman’s Camp
A temporary camp has been built along the river just south of the mountains. A posse of eight Hangman Bounty Hunters - led by Wolfe (world-weary, twitchy, addict) - is stuck. They’re trying to claim the bounty on Warhog Reno’s crew after their robbery in Gridtown, but the pass is currently being held by raidahs (affiliation with Reno unknown). Wolfe’s already lost three hunters from the ambush, two confirmed dead and the third either captured or left for dead by the raidahs. If the Skrappers are willing to help, Wolfe will split the bounty plus any loot found with Reno’s crew (“The yokels in Gridtown don’t need to know we found their stuff.”)
If the Skrappers agree, Wolfe will recommend waiting until nightfall so they can move under cover of dark. The bounty hunters will spend the rest of their downtime drinking and smoking, swapping war stories with the Skrappers.
If the Skrappers pull their weight and help collect the bounty, Wolfe will be impressed and mention they should look him up in Oasis [#2028] next time they're in town.
Hangman Bounty Hunter - HD 2 / Med. Armor (d4) /
Lgt. Wpn (d6) and Shotgun (d8) or Carbine (d8)
A well-trained, decently equipped bounty hunter.
Prefers not to fight, but willing to throw down.
Tries to take targets alive (more money that way), but anyone who gets in the way is fair game.
Increase HD by 2 and equip with a Laser Pistol (d6, relic) for a Hangman Posse Leader. Wolfe has a bottle of Painkillers (Ud4) a syringe of Morphia (Ud4)*.
*Found in the Stimhead’s Guide pamphlet.
Blues the Automatic Troubadour
The Skrappers hear him long before they see him. Blues the Automatic Troubadour (artistic, friendly, hopeless romantic) absolutely shreds on his guitar, wailin’ and cryin’ with such emotion and power that even the greatest pre-Blast blues musician would weep at the sound. His voice sounds like he smokes half a carton of cigs a day and his fingers move so fast over the strings they’re practically a blur.
Blues is a friendly sort, but packs heat in the form of a revolver on his hip if anyone tries to make a move. He’s happy to have some company and an audience and takes requests - his databanks are filled with over 500,000 different songs and he’s written a few originals since the Blast. Hanging out and listening to Blues for at least a day reinvigorates the soul - the Skrappers gain 1 Grit.
Right now Blues is a veritable tumbleweed, blowing from town to town playing his guitar. Maybe one day he’ll settle down, but he figures that’s a long ways off. If the Skrappers are cool, he’ll hang out with them for a few days and see what kind of trouble they can all get into together.
Blues the Automatic Troubadour - HD 4 / Ceramic Plating (d4) / Revolver (d6)
A wandering, musical robot. Knows more than half a million songs.
Easy-going by nature, but willing to put up a fight.
Charming and well-loved by the people - has the Calming Presence* and Friendly Face* Perks.
*Found in the Skrapper’s Handbook.
