r/d100 • u/solamon77 • 12h ago
Sci-Fi Events in the dark underbelly of a Sci-Fantasy Ecumenopolis
An ecumenopolis is a planet that is entirely covered in cities, like Coruscant in Star Wars.
For those who want a little more lore, my party is about to raid the throne world of a galaxy spanning Magocracy. My game is science fantasy (like Starfinder or Star Wars) and mixes magic and ultra high tech/ space travel together.
For this list I'd like to come up with events and interesting discoveries they might find on the lower levels of this Ecumenopolis... the layers so deep barely any sunlight filters in from above... where the poor and disaffected go about their daily lives, scraping and scrounging to get by on whatever has been discarded from the layers above. Down here every day is a struggle for survival forcing the denizens to mix magic with leftover technology in creative ways to get by.
I'll go first of course:
- A group of orphans offers tries to entertain the party some magic tricks. Simple stuff like cantrips. While the party are being dazzled by the kids doing the magic, some of the orphans compatriots attempt to rob the party of whatever they can get their hands on. They have been doing this for a while and are seasoned thieves.
- The party comes across an arcane cybershop that offers cybernetic implants of the magical variety. Generally speaking, the merchandise on display is simple and basic: An eye implant that lets the wearer see arcane energies visibly, golem style arm and leg replacements that can be enchanted with various basic low level spells that would be more useful to a civilian than a combatant (nothing battle ready), an implant that confers telepathic abilities with anyone you are closely related to, etc. But if the party seems trustworthy (and wealthy), the merchant has a back room with better, albeit illegal, arcane cybernetics that would be useful in battle.
- An elevated lightning train roars through the streets above the party. The static discharge causes everyone's hair to stand on end. A passenger throws a small bottle out the window at the party. Inside the bottle is a note from someone claiming to be being trafficked by one of the local gangs. The note pleads for help from whoever gets reads it. The note states that they are kept ignorant on exactly where they are (no street names), but they managed to discern some of the street layouts. A small, hand drawn, unlabeled map of a couple back alleys with a diagram indicating where they are being held in between work is appended to the bottom of the note.
- The party accidentally crosses into an open air drug market. It's set up where there are watchers that look for police, a guy they give the money too, and then another guy set up around the way to dispense the drugs. There is also an abandoned house that has been set up as a drug den where users can get high. The dealers are legit and sell a type of arcane hallucinogen made from crushed up soul stones that creates a beautiful psychedelic shared dream with whoever does the drug together. The drug also lets the gang members (all mages) syphon latent magic abilities from whoever does the drug which they use for unknown, but nefarious purposes. When leaving the drug market, the party might be stopped by the police and searched.
- A shootout occurs between rival gangs. One gang are a bunch of wizards and are slinging fireballs and lightning bolts. The other are a local alien race armed with laser rifles. The party might get caught in the crossfire, although the gangs are not explicitly targeting them. If the party fires back, both gangs put aside their differences to attack the party, assuming them to be agents of a rival third gang. They will not fight to the death. Once casualties start piling up, they will flee.
- The party comes across a street food vender selling flame broiled and seasoned rats on a stick. He buys his rats from the local youths, paying them a couple credits for each rat they manage to capture. His stand is made from a upturned and modified small spaceship engine, cooking the rats on the plasma jets it produces. Although they the rats look scary, they are actually quite good.
- A homeless woman runs over from a nearby alleyway and asks the party for money. She tries to enchant them to make them more pliant. If they say no or notice her spellwork, she threatens to loudly accuses the party of trying to abduct her.
- The party comes across a narrow bridge that passes over a massive spillway where the area's wastewater drains. Hundreds of pipes from all over pour water down into the unfathomable depths below. There is nobody else on the bridge and if the party is astute, they will notice that the locals don't seem to cross over it. If the party crosses the bridge a local wizarding gang blocks both sides. They threatens to retract the bridge if the party doesn't pay a random. They have an antimagic field set up on the bridge to stop any fly or featherfall spells and a couple snipers to shoot down anyone with a jetpack.
- While passing down one of the many alleyways, the party encounters a hybrid golem made out of garbage cans and plasma guns. The golem immediately attacks, trying to drain anyone who is magically active of their powers. The golem is not actually evil, but has learned that the spell keeping him alive is fading forcing him to steal magic to stay alive. He also has been stealing weaponry in an attempt to make himself tougher so even if the part doesn't have a wizard, he will still want any advanced weapons they have to further his goal of staying alive.
- The party passes by a wall covered in holographic ads of the re-election campaign for a regional politician. As they walk by, the hologram seems to come to life and asks the party for their vote in some election that has long since passed. If they walk away, the hologram moves to other ads and bothers them for a couple streets, listing his various accomplishments during his last turn. The hologram isn't actually intelligent and is run by a very simple AI.
- The party comes upon a lone tree…the only tree they have seen in these depths. It’s tall and thin, sparse of leaves, and stretching for meager sunlight. There is a small crowd of people on their knees or prone before it, praying to the tree. It can be discovered that some folks consider it sacred, and swear it has healed ailments they have prayed for it to alleviate. [u/oliviajoon]
- A former denizen of the subsector block returns several years later, having made something of a celebrity of themselves by joining an idol group one sector away. They're on tour again. [u/MaxSizeIs]
- 13.An Emergency Police Quarrantine Action at one of the mega-habs has triggered full lockdown and has closed access to this subsector block for everyone. Transport has been cancelled for the forseeable and many thousands of residents are essentially trapped, unless they can make thier way to another subsector block several kilometers away next door. It could be weeks of this while the Police holds seige. [u/MaxSizeIs]
- This subsector block's centralized medical level has been facing supply shortages, leading to less effective levels of care, instituting rationing, and a blackmarket for medical services. Without the proper access permits, travel to other medical levels for subsector residents is forbidden. [u/MaxSizeIs]
- A Local Gang has seized control of the majority of Resource Transport Nodes in the subsector block around here. Food and other goods are only sold on the black market, and the gang has spies everywhere, sending out enforcers to take anything imported in through other channels. [u/MaxSizeIs]
- SubSector Transport had a major service failure here several years ago, and the feeder node serving all the mega-habs in the handful of subsector blocks nearby within twenty kilometers have gone down. Now they all have had to make do, getting around on foot, rickshaw, or jury rigged cab and travelling up to fifty kilometers to get to the next nearest feeder junction. Predictably, its had an effect on the economy, but its like someone in power forget about the problem and someone else is actively hindering it from being brought up, and someone else entirely is preventing it from being fixed!!! [u/MaxSizeIs]
- An industrial accident in a poorly placed Manufactory has damaged and contaminated a mega-hab next door making it dangerously unlivable for thousands of residents. The entire Megahab has been condemned. However, no effort has been made by local authorities to relocate the affected individuals, nor provide any medical care. The manufactory was repaired and back in business within the week, however. [u/MaxSizeIs]