The Underbelly
The Vale's rot under the carpet - The Underbelly is filled with The Scum of the society on the Flipside[1], it's inhabitants, also known as Scum, are outcasts from society surviving an overwhelming debt, and battle with lyfe itself, making ends meet by making shady dealings with Flipsiders.
Flipsiders in town, as in, the Keep, Church, and Towners, know of the Scum's existence. Depending on the morality of the characters, they can see them as what they wish: Scum, parasites trying to live off of The Vale's resources and coin, or fellow men and women who are just so truly down on their luck, beggars and vagabonds who just couldn't afford to lyve Flipside, and instead turn to this lyfe.
One thing is for certain: The Underbelly is so deep, the only Patron that hears the Scum, is Necra.
The Roles
| ROLE | PQ REQUIREMENT | Description | Expectations | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GUTTER KING | 110 | You built something down here. Not a Kingdom - nobody'd call it that. But it runs, it pays, and when you say 'do it', people do it. The Keep above think they own this town. You own what's underneath it. Keep the Scum in line, keep the Flipside from burning you down, and don't get careless. | Manage The Scum. Keep relations stable. Don't piss the Keep off. Don't leave the hideout unless you really have to. Send your goons to do the dirty work for you. Convert people to Scum (willingly). Cry at the end of the round in OOC that your faction was fucking useless and didn't get the maximum reward tier. | DUKE |
| SCUM | 50 | Work for the Underbelly. Break legs, move cargo, disappear people, or keep the Flingers safe. It doesn't pay well, but it pays, and it beats starving Flipside. The Gutter King expects results. The kind that don't require explaining. | Protect the Underbelly. Protect Flingers by setting up ambush spots. Have Ultimate Swag. Play Dice with your fellow Scum in the common area. Gamble. Get skullcracked by the eventual Keepoid Deathball. Die and then salt in LOOC. Be the biggest threat in the server, technically. | HARD |
| FLESH TRADER | 65 | Organs fetch a good price if you know who to sell to. Kidneys, spleens, an appendix - nobody misses the small things. Arms and legs do pay better, but the paperwork gets complicated. The Trader takes what you bring. The Excidium already wants you. Try not to make it worse. | [1]Traffic Organs. Traffic People. Kidnap People. Get arrested by the Keep for those crimes. Get eventually bailed out by your Boss. Do it again. They don't arrest you and instead kill you now. Die and then salt in LOOC. | EXPERT |
| FLINGER | 55 | Coin is the only God worth worshipping, and you've devoted your lyfe to it. You have access to goods nobody Flipside can acquire legally, or easily - and a list of clients who will pay anything not to have their name associated with acquiring them. Keep it quiet. Keep it profitable. | Be the Emissary for the Underbelly. Be the sole reason the Underbelly has coin to begin with. Become completely untraceable with your hat that magically hides all your features. Get arrested anyway somehow, even though the guard cannot see your name, descriptors, gender or race. Give non-Scum fetch quests. Make a ton of coin. | THE STEWARD BUT HE'S ACTUALLY USEFUL FOR ONCE |
| RIPPER | 70 | Medicine for coin. Surgery for more coin. You'll do what the clinic won't - pull a crossbow bolt without asking how it got there, stitch a face closed that shouldn't be walking around, and charge accordingly. The Pestran relics you carry are not strictly legal. That suits everyone just fine. | Be the Underbelly Dr House. Revive the Scum that died for the 4th time in a row now. Give that person that's totally not a bandit an organ that makes them The Terminator - except if he was made out of paper, and fucking useless. Make potions. Sell two exclusive potions - one is all the healing pots combined, but it drains stats, and knocks you out, and the other is just giving someone a fever. Have the Flinger sell your potions. | MORE MOUSE BITES!!! |
I am X, what do I do if I see Scum?
This table should help you decide what your character should do.
THE LAWS OF THE SCUM
(these can be treated as game rules, but also an unspoken law between Scum. The Gutter King makes sure those are enforced)
- Scum aren't murderers or rabid, mindless heretics. They wish to survive, and pay off their debt. They respond to The Gutter King first and foremost.
- Scum will not dealmake with Bandits, period. It's already a stretch for them to do so with Wretches. Bandits look to steal our way of lyfe, by taking our coin that we could instead use to pay off our debt.
- Scum are very hesitant on selling their incredibly expensive ranged weapons. They will never sell weapons to foreigners(wanderers) or bandits.
- Strength in numbers. Generally, the more Scum, the easier it is to pay off the debt, and operations become a lot easier.
- Based on the above, Scum should look to protect Flingers and Rippers. Most importantly, the Gutter King. Though, if they have a gun, they should look to be ambushers, rather than chasers. Losing that weapon and getting it in the hands of Bandits would be devastating.
- Finally, the ordeals of the Keep and Church do not concern the Scum. They should concern themselves with their own people, the debt, and their survival. You can only break this rule if the survival of the Underbelly is at stake, for example, a Lich attack, or a vampyre takeover. The Gutter King decides what is best.
THE DEBT
Scum are stricken with a fat debt they have to pay off if they wish to 'greentext'. The more Scum present, the harder the debt becomes, but the higher the rewards will be.
N = Scum Count
| Tier | Scum Count | Formula | Total Owed | Triumphs | PQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (easy) | 1-3 | 250xN + 250 | 500 to 1000 mammon | +10 | +0.1 |
| 2 (medium) | 4-6 | 650xN | ~2600 to 3900 mammon | +15 | +0.3 |
| 3 (hard) | 7-10 | 700xN | ~4900 to 7000 mammon | +20 | +0.5 |
| 4 (expert) | 11+ | 1000xN | over 11000 mammon | +25 | +1 |
Partial payment drops effective tier: 75% is -1 tier, 50% is -2 tiers. Below 50% counts as debt not paid. Above 50% counts as partially paid until 100%. Scum cannot fall below tier 1 - as it is the minimum.
Gutter King also gets a bonus of +1 triumph per 2 living Scum if at least 50% was paid.
Spoiler Area
New Items
Scum get access to exclusive items.
| Role Exclusive? | Cost (mammon) | Stock | Name | Description | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | 20 | 5 | marked coin | A ziliqua with a small notch cut into its edge and a dark stain pressed into the face. It means nothing to most. | Allows non-underbelly roles to freely use the Doorman and access the Underbelly. It's one-time use per coin, however. |
| Yes - Scum | 85 | 1 | Defacer | Knuckles hardened with ancient alloys and Steel. Hits harder, breaks faster. | A variant of Steel Knuckles. Less durability but a bit more damage. |
| Yes - Scum | 120 | 2 | Reinforced Firing Pin | Hits harder. Fits any underbelly firearm. Apply it to the gun. | Makes any underbelly have +5 force. |
| Yes - Scum | 130 | 2 | Filed Sights | Tighter Spread. Easier to put the ball where you want it. Apply it to the gun. | Reduces aim time for any underbelly gun. |
| Yes - Scum | 150 | 2 | Baffled Powder Sleeve | No more smoke cloud after you fire. Apply it to the gun. | Removes the smoke cloud upon firing a weapon. |
| Yes - Scum | 180 | 2 | Extended Cylinder Plate | One more round in the chamber. Apply it to the gun. | Adds +1 bullet capacity. |
| Yes - Scum | 750 | 1 | The Gut Spiller | A Scum's favorite weapon. The backbone of a deal gone wrong. Modified and fabricated by my mates in Kingsfield. | A six lead sphere capacity pistol based on the old Runelock of the old Inquisition. |
| Yes - Scum | 1100 | 1 | The Venator | If you've got a message to send, this is the ticket. A bolt racked rifle capable of shooting thrice before needing a reload. | A bolt-action rifle with 3 lead sphere capacity, based on the flintgonne. |
| Yes - Scum | 1500 | 1 | The Devastator | What the hell are you planning on taking down with this? Zizo? BAHAHA! | The most devastating gun in the game, arguably. A rusty, iron modified blunderbuss, filed down to a small barrel to reduce spread of the grapeshot. It has a fat cylinder able to hold two grapeshots. It doesn't require ramming from the ramrod, but it does require blastpowder. If a limb is damaged hard enough, the Devastator can blast it clean off. Though, this gun is prone to misfire and malfunction, more so than other guns. |
| No | 60 | 1 | capocollo | Etruscan, freshly off the caravan. We beat up like 5 wise guys for this. | The wise guys will call this gabagool. Very good food, for the price. Even better if it's from a shipment. |
| Yes - Flinger | 120 | 1 | Tipped Hat | Nobody's seeing that face. Nobody's knowing that name. | Completely masks name, gender, race, descriptors, everything - except what you're wearing, of course. |
| Yes - Flesh Trader | 200 | 1 | Suffocator | Load it with Zizo's bane, then press it onto an unguarded face. A moment's hesitation is all it needs. | A zapists favorite item in the entire game. Attack with this item on someone's head - while it's completely unprotected - to slap it on them. They have about 3 seconds to get it off, otherwise they will pass out. They can roll a CON check to completely bruteforce through the knock out, otherwise. |
| Yes - Ripper | 80 | 2 | Voss Serum | A pale little bottle. Slips into a drink without a trace. The body does the rest. | Inspired by a loving Kingsfield Potion maker - it's a poison that makes a person have a fever. It deals periodic toxin damage, and makes them sweat. It goes away by itself, or with treatment. |
| Yes - Ripper | 80-280 | 1 | Mysterious Organ | Varied | Depending on the tier, it gives critical weakness, then clumsy, then narcolepsy in that order. However, you get healing to brute, oxy, fire and bloodloss. The higher the tier, the better the healing. |
| Yes - Ripper | 150 | 1 | Blood Red | Whatever's in this, it isn't wine. Don't let anyone drink it unless you want to watch them fold. | It's literally strong red + normal red + holy water, except it drains -3 to all your stats for 5 minutes, and knocks you out for 1 minute. An amazing emergency heal. |
| No | 280 | 1 | Golden Cockroach | Drop it on the floor of a vault and walk away. Don't ask how it works. | Every cycle(90 seconds), spawns between 12 to 20 gold coins (120 to 200 mammon). It has a chance, however, to notify the steward of your tomfoolery. It can only be placed in a vault (steward's, or nightmaster's).
A special interaction happens if it triggers the alert in the Steward's vault. |
- ↑ Topside, The regular inhabitants of The Vale.
