A Guide to the Ork Underground
The Ork Underground is a city within the city, an entire world beneath the streets of the Seattle metroplex.
No one knows how far the Underground extends; parts of it run under the streets of Downtown, Tacoma,
Everett and even the Puyallup Barrens. Not every part of the Underground is connected to the rest, and not
every enclave or community is unified under a common cause, but the surface-dwellers tend to lump all
residents of the real Seattle underworld under the Ork Underground label.
The Seattle Underground came into being in the nineteenth century, when a wave of renovations paved over
sections of the city in the area that is now the Downtown district. Entrepreneurs ran the old buildings and
basements as tourist attractions n the twentieth century, but most of the city’s residents either ignored this
part of the city’s history or remained blissfully unaware of its existence.
The Night of Rage revived the importance of this buried city. When they escaped the burning warehouses
by fleeing into the storm drains and sewers, thousands of metahumans discovered the ancient basements
and old buildings that had been buried by new construction and also by ash and lave in Puyallup. Many
chose to stay and settle there, renovating its old buildings and repairing the existing tunnels. The orks and
dwarfs also built new tunnels and restored damaged sections of the Underground, expanding it under much
of the downtown area and building connecting tunnels to other underground regions.
In the 2030’s, a schism developed between Underground orks and dwarfs that resulted in the violent expulsion
of the dwarf minority. The Underground has been the domain of orks and trolls ever since.
>No surprise there. The so-called schism developed because the dwarfs in the Underground did all the work
building and expanding the tunnels, while the ork majority took all the credit, appropriated most of the resources
and generally treated us "halfers" like drek. We were the brains of the operation, and when the trogs figured that
out, they got scared and pushed us back to the surface. I’m just waiting to see how long it is before the tunnels
and renovations they’re trying to maintain without our expertise collapse on their fragging heads.
>--Mogar
Today the Ork Underground is home to many orks and a few trolls. There are far too many different enclaves,
each with unique politics and customs, to describe here; anthropologists have written entire books about the
Ork Underground and places like it. Suffice it to say that there are many different sections of the Underground,
not all of which are known to people living above them.
Getting There
There are 22 known public entrances to the Underground -- the only safe ones for non-orks to
use -- and an unknown number of miscellaneous ventilation shafts, private entrances, power conduits,
sewer and storm drain portals, and similar such accesses. The official tour entrances are inside the
Big Rhino (in the basement of the Seattle Utilities Building at Seneca and First streets) and the basement
of Lordstrung’s Department Store (at Fifth and Pine): this area is called The Mall (by breeders) or
Bazaar (by Underground residents), and is the most well-lit area (and safest for breeders, keebs, and halfers).
It functions as a bazaar— one of the best black markets in the Sprawl— with a number of
permanent shops and semi-permanant stalls. It sports many garish murals and contorted statues for tourists to
gawk at, and any number of trashy carvings, cheap trinkets, and brightly colored souvenirs are available here.
The Bazaar is located in a huge cavern, running roughly 200 meters by 100 meters, besides the main tunnel
leading in from Lordstrung’s, there are 20 – 30 exiting passages, some of which are located on a balcony
which extends along three sides of the cavern located roughly 7 meters above the floor. The walls are fronted
by a series of restored 19th century storefronts, dating back to the old Seattle before the streets were covered
over, but the bulk of the sellers are located in a veritable maze of semi-permanent and temporary stalls set up in
the middle of the cavern.
The stores in the Bazaar are not equipped to take electronic credit, but there are three Currency exchanges located
in the Bazaar which are more than happy to convert electronic nuyen to Underscript (the "official" currency of the
Underground). Contrary to it’s name, Underscript is in the form of coins, stamped out on old fashioned machines
located in a secret location. The current value of Underscript is 1/25th of a nuyen (1 nuyen = 25 Underscript), the
currency exchanges will buy back Underscript at a rate of 30 Underscript for 1 nuyen. The value of the currency
really doesn’t fluctuate very often (the orks stubbornly refuse to adjust the value of the money).
There is very little Matrix service in the Ork Underground, and few places have cellphone repeaters installed.
(The Bazaar is one exception.)
Further away from the Mall, there are ornate friezes and filigreed arches, many of which date back to the
time of Dwarfs living in the Underground; some are the work of current residents showing their civic pride.
>The dwarfs still know some secret entrances into the Underground, ones even the orks don’t know about. My dad
showed me three half-completed tunnels and expansions that are still accessible from the surface with a little work
– and he didn’t know about every one of them.
>--Wheeler
>You guys make it sound like an ork version of Tir Tairngire, where nobody can get in, and if you do get in you can
never get back out. The Underground community is pretty much like every other metahuman neighborhood. Sure,
we’re isolated by choice because it’s just easier that way most times, but we can’t live with no contact with the folks
topside. Our economy relies on people working on the surface, and we trade a lot with a limited number of shops
and distributors who are only interested in our business, not our race.
We don’t keep people out for some sinister reason. It’s just that opening up the entire Underground to tourists would
be the same as asking corporations to let people into every area of their facilities; some parts you live in, some parts
are where you store stuff you don’t want people to see, some parts you conduct government business in. You don’t
complain that you can’t just walk right into people’s houses on the surface, but if we made all the entrances public
knowledge, that’s what would happen!
>--Shirley 2
Society
In the face of a common threat— the society in the upper world— most of the residents of the Ork
Underground get along fairly well. There are many thieves down there, but they don’t often steal from the
poorer residents: in the surface world, there’s plenty of space to run in, and such thieves abound, but the
Underground is more constrained.
The Ork Underground is also fairly sympathetic toward shadowrunners. For a price, runners can hide out from the
authorities, stash gear and loot, and generally rest and recover from shadowruns in certain parts of the Underground.
The orks also maintain convenient smuggling pipelines for moving goods and people through Seattle without drawing
attention. These illegal operations help support the Underground’s meager income from "legit" sources like
junk-collecting, talismongering, and tourism.
>In general, the Underground is more open to outsiders than you might think. It seems they’re not so much interested
in keeping us out as in making sure we understand the value of what they can offer. In my experience, a bribe of some
sort can get you just about anything you need; if you can offer nuyen, a favor, if you’re kind to one of the residents-just
like the wage slaves in a corp., if you treat the orks in the Underground like real people, then they are far more willing
to listen to what you have to say, and even accommodate your request.
>--Argent
>I know one or two chummers who wear an old-time penny on a thong around their necks that they say represents sort
of a permanent pass into the Ork Underground. According to what they say (and there’s really no percentage in them lying
to me about it), they can show up at any entrance to the Underground and get in. Of course, what they don’t tell me is
what they get once they’re inside. Could be anything from an audience with the Council to a free meal or doss, or just
passage from one area of the city to another. They also don’t tell me how they came to have these supposed passes, either.
That’s what I’d really like to know.
>--Nightrunner
People
The Trogs, looking dangerous in their red armored jackets and black jeans & t-shirts, are the gang that claims the
Underground as territory, and they often serve as a de facto police force that discourages people from criminal activities
they don’t profit from. They have recently instituted formal accounting procedures for customers paying protection
money, and serve as a broker of jobs— targeting people who don’t pay— to thieves.
The Underground attracts many beings that are not comfortable in
sunlight: ghouls, wendigos, vampires, and dzoo-noo-qua. (The
creatures bearing HMHVV have to watch their steps: most Trolls have an
intense dislike for the dzoo-noo-qua that they could potentially
become, and of the vampires and wendigo that could render them into
such beasts.) Ghouls are occasionally tolerated, though they seldom
survive being caught eating residents of the Underground or their
friends.
Places of Interest
The Ork Underground connects with the outside world through pedestrian
entrances and ventilation shafts. (There are a number of buildings in
Seattle providing discreet ventilation access, and establishing these
is a way of currying favor with the folks underground.) There are
very few vehicle entrances: internal combustion engines are frowned
upon in the Ork Underground, and the usual transport down there is the
occasional electric trolley that used to be some other sort of
vehicle. (One of the entrances is in an underground parking garage on
the outskirts of the downtown area, and there are folks who live in
the Underground and have permanent parking passes for this garage.)
The pumps— the only thing keeping the Ork Underground from
flooding from the regular rains in Seattle— are almost as
important as the ventilation fans. Some of the areas in the
Underground actually have streams flowing through them on their way
out to the Sound.
There are still tour spots in the Underground where it’s relatively
safe for an unaccompanied Human, Elf, or Dwarf to wander around.
Those wandering outside such trading areas have to be ready to
demonstrate their own toughness. (Those who do so on a regular
basis can gain a grudging acceptance— though they’ll be
tested occasionally by those who won’t believe without personal
experience.)
Hotels
Drac’s Coffins
Coffin Hotel Archetype/Big Cavern Row/Jack “Dracula”
Hilborn/Bias against real vampires/LTG #206 (51-1082)
A coffin hotel with a Transylvanian theme: the walls have been etched
to look like the blocks of a stone castle, the coffins themselves are
all glossy black, and a variety of black cats prowl the place to keep
the vermin down. Jack “Dracula” Hilborn is an Ork who is
often seen in sunlight, and has an impressive collection of horror
movies ranging from the powerfully artistic to the amazingly cheesy.
All the accomodations are in Ork and Troll sizes, but that
doesn’t stop the other metatypes from bunking down here and
living off the vending machines when the heat is on in the surface
world.
— Jack Hilborn (01:22:59/01-30-55)
Restaurants & Bars
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service
Large Restaurant Archetype/Storm Drain Way/Tasha Crane, Owner/Bias
against slobs/No LTG #
A cafeteria with good food and a unique theme. The temperature in
there is warm enough for employees to be comfortable without much
clothing, and they are required to wear no shirts and go barefoot.
(The occasional female employee usually has a halter top, tube top, or
similar such gear; most are male and seem to be selected for
“beefcake” potential.) Customers are encouraged to clean up
after themselves; if you don’t like the cleanliness of your spot,
you can grab one of the ubiquitous high-pressure garden hoses and
clean it off. If someone getting sprayed doesn’t like that, they
are encouraged to let you know. After the initial few weeks of
uproar, the place calmed down to its present state of 98% of the
customers cleaning up after themselves.
Hrothgar’s Feasting Hall
Large Restaurant Archetype/Big Cavern Row/Ranulf Erikson, Owner/Bias
against non-Orks and Trolls/No LTG #
A viking-themed restaurant, complete with fake glowing torches
providing enough illumination for Orkish low-light vision. Don’t
start a fight in here, chummers; the employees are tough. The
taxidermed arm over the door supposedly belonged to a real
Dzoo-noo-qua, and was ripped off by Erikson’s cousin Beowulf, an Ork
almost massive enough to be a Troll. Beowulf is the usual night shift
manager.
— Barry (14:36:15/02-03-55)
— Muscles McGee (14:36:15/02-03-55)
Trollstack
Small Restaurant Archetype/Darkbrook Lane/Thrudd, Owner/Bias against
dieters and anorexics/No LTG #
A 24-hour pancake house, named for its specialty, the Trollstack: a
tower of pancakes that will satisfy the appetite of most hungry
trolls. (The usual variety of breakfast foods, like syntheggs and
soybacon and so on, are also available here.) The owner and primary
chef, Thrudd, is a huge battle-scarred Troll with an equally huge
appetite. Customers who have the sense not to be frightened by his
fearsome visage find him a very friendly person, always experimenting
with new dishes.
— Jack Hilborn (01:28:22/01-30-55)
Nightclubs
Maxine’s Bar and Grill
Nightclub Archetype/The Mall/Maxine Norton, Owner/Subtle bias against
non-Orks and Trolls/LTG #206 (59-7734)
Barbecued food delivered by topless waitresses to faux-wood
tables with a view of three runways of strippers in front of a
mirror-backed stage. Three carved stairways lead to private rooms
above. (Shows up in Headhunters, by Mel Odom.)
Other Places
Fraggin’ Big and Tall
A clothing store for people in Orkish and Trollish sizes.
Xena’s Boudoir
Small Shop Archetype/The Mall/Tanya Gordon, Owner/Subtle bias against
skinny people/LTG #206 (55-2177)
Lingerie for the larger sizes; this place sees a fair number of Human
customers as well, since not all Human women look like anorexic teenage
elves, and the silks and satins here are designed to flatter Orkish
and Trollish women.
Stompers
Small Shop Archetype/The Mall/Jim Phelps, Owner/Subtle bias against
people with tiny feet/LTG #206 (58-4016)
Boots, shoes, sandals, and slippers for feet in Ork and Troll sizes.
This is the place to find fuzzy bunny slippers for someone whose
feet are the size of skateboards.
Give Us Your Quarters
A laundromat and video game parlor; a hangout for many fixers. The
tokens (good for a videogame or half an hour on one of the washers
or dryers) are one of the alternative currencies down in the Ork
Underground.
The Hospital
The Hospital is the only source of regular medical treatment in the
Ork Underground. The main personnel are Rosie, a Trollish Bear
shaman; her apprentice Rick, an Orkish follower of Snake; and Tina, an
Orkish street doc (a second generation shadow cutter) capable of basic
surgery and patch jobs like appendectomies. The Hospital has only a
few rooms— an operating area for Tina, a medicine lodge for
Rosie, and a large space subdivided by curtains for about two dozen
beds.
The Cavern of Waterfalls
The Cavern of Waterfalls is a particularly interesting place: a number
of storm drains in the vicinity broke during the earthquakes caused by
the Great Ghost Dance, and the combination of quakes, subsidence, and
erosion has opened out a large cavern underneath downtown Seattle.
Shamans passing through decided that a place so rich in natural forces
would be an excellent place to site medicine lodges, and the set of
lodges here— all to urban totems like Dog, Rat, Raccoon, Gator,
and Snake— is analogous to the similar spot on Council Island,
Medicine Lodge Hollow. Unlike Medicine Lodge Hollow, some of the
lodges are fully functional... and in regular use by particular shamans.
— Windsinger (11:19:15/01-28-55)
— Bruno the Bonebreaker (14:01:12/01-28-55)
— Snowpaws (15:32:58/01-28-55)
— Windsinger (17:01:00/01-28-55)
The Crying Wall
East 11th Street and St. Paul Avenue
Located in the basement of the Bickson Building near the waterfront, the Crying Wall is a monument to the metahumans who died
during the Night of Rage. Twenty meters long and six meters high, the wall is a bas-relief sculpture carved by ork and dwarf artists
that depicts the events of that terrible night. Because it stands at one of the entrances to the Ork Underground, the orks consider the
wall part of the Underground and guard it day and night. There is a stand in the building lobby where John Q. Public can buy a ticket
for three nuyen, and an escort will take you down to the wall and answer any questions. Because the Underground tunnels opening
off the Bickson entrance are mostly in their original state, this entrance is not open to the public.
>People who figure out the right "toll" for the orks on guard can use the Bickson entrance. It connects to the maze of old sewer
tunnels and storm drains under downtown Tacoma, which stretch up into the Downtown District and include some of the tunnels into
which escaping metahumans fled during the Night of Rage.
>--Fenris
>Some of those old tunnels along the waterfront are still haunted by the ghosts of metahumans killed on that night. They’re terrifying
to look at – most of them are horribly burned, and they despise humans. If you’re a norm, you’d best stay away from those parts of
the Underground. Even the metas don’t go there, because some of the ghosts hate all living things. The atmosphere of hate and rage
has tainted astral space in the area too, making it difficult to assense anything down there.
>--Blackstone" Seattle Source book, 2nd edition, p. 44
The Church of the New Baptism
The Church of the New Baptism was founded by a former Mormon
minister, Arthur Durham, who goblinized into an Ork in 2021, along
with a large segment of humanity. His transformation shook his faith,
and for a number of years he just tried to survive in a world
transformed by magic. On the Night of Rage, he experienced a vision
where he saw that goblinization was a new baptism. He spent some time
thinking about this, and worked up his new religion on the following
tenets:
Goblinization is a form of baptism that washes away
all sins; being born as an Ork or Troll is equivalent. The dominance
of Ork and Troll genes over all other metatypes shows divine favor in
passing on this blessing to children.
The forms of Orks and Trolls are given to them by
God (who is always referred to as a female) to make it easier for
them to concentrate on inner beauty.
Orks and Trolls are blessed, and will have a very easy
time of getting into Heaven. The other metatypes have to work very hard
to do so; the easiest way is for one to love and marry an Ork or Troll.
(Polygamy and homosexuality are just fine, as long as everyone involved
loves each other and is willing to formalize their commitment.)
Elves are singled out for temptation by the Devil,
for their beautiful forms can easily distract them from taking care
of their souls.
People who discriminate against Orks and Trolls are
simply clueless, and should be forgiven and given a chance to understand.
Only in extreme cases should they be put down like rabid dogs, and
this should happen in love and mercy, not fear and hatred.
Arthur started out preaching on street corners and in the
Underground, and the Church of the New Baptism has been spreading in
the Ork/Troll community ever since. They’ve had their current
meeting hall in the Underground since 2049. The more
faithful in the Church will accept people of any metatype as long as
they have Orks and Trolls for friends; the rest will only trust a
non-Ork or Troll if they are married to an Ork or Troll. Ministers
are not required to be celibate, and can be of any sex and skin color.
Arthur Durham is getting quite old, and while his vision continues
to lead the Church, there are a number of ministers who emphasize
action against Humanis policlubbers and their ilk.
City Hall
City Hall doesn’t look much like a government building: the reinforced walls and occasional gun
emplacement make it look more like an armed camp. As the de facto center of power for the Ork Underground,
this is entirely appropriate, as rulership is mostly by a combination of acclaim backed by force.
City Hall is comprised of a Council, each member representing an important enclave or community. There are
currently 7 Councilors; representing the Downtowners, the Dockers, the Eastsiders, the Trogs, the Delvers,
Hell’s Kitchen (typically called the "cooks," this regent represents several communities located in Puyallup), and
the Ghouls (actually the Ghoul councilor represents a loose alliance of beings humanity looks down on, including
vampires, wendigo, and others).
People of Interest
Dion "Puffy" Nelson: Fixer
There’s a saying in the Ork Underground, if you want it Puffy’s got it. He was reportedly the biggest fixer in the Underground, acquiring
goods and services for the Underground’s inhabitants and arranging muscle for Fixers from the surface. Puffy worked out of the
TrolleKelder, he had a private room located in the back of the club.
Expeditious
No one is quite a colorful as Expeditious. He dresses in a flamboyant "yes-I’m-a-pimp" style. Typically silk pants, jacket and shirt
(usually in three different colors, or a Hawaiian print shirt) with a white hat with a huge brim with 2 peacock feathers sticking out of
it. His shirts are typically unbuttoned to his navel, and he wears more gold chains than Mr. T ever knew existed. Expeditious is also a
fixer, unlike Puffy he does not acquire goods (either buys or sells), he provides "entertainment." Just about anything that can make
anyone happy, Expeditious deals in.
Economy
The Ork Underground has a strong economy of barter, flavored with
tokens from the Give Us Your Quarters laundromat. Money comes in
from the outside through the shops that tourists visit in the Mall,
the money of topside trogs who like to shop among their own kind,
and the salaries of the few who live in the Ork Underground and
work in the surface world.
Rules
Extending the Tunnel System
Your players may wish to curry favor in the Ork Underground by helping
extend the tunnel system, purchase new equipment for ventilation, ...
Cavern Spirits
Individual residences of the Ork Underground have Hearth Spirits, but
overall the place possesses a Cavern Spirit...
Other Sources
The Shadowrun module DNA/DOA and the novels
Preying for Keeps, Never Trust an Elf, and
Headhunters have some more glimpses of the Ork
Underground.
