Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The gangs of SD: The Pit Lords

A gang of pit slaves who've turned the tables on their former masters and all other slavers: the Pit Lords



D) The Pit Lords
-          The gang: A decade ago, the Jackhammer gang controlled most of the Park area. At the height of their power they started using the old, abandoned SD Zoo to cage their slaves and the captives from their raids. Soon enough the guards began staging gruesome fights, first pitting their prisoners and slaves against each other, later also against deadly wasteland creatures that the gang captured for this purpose. The stories of these spectacular pit fights quickly spread, gaining such popularity and infamy among the SD raiders that the Jackhammers opened the Zoo to the other gangs. Quickly it became the prime gambling hole to make some fast money as well as slake one’s bloodlust. As the number of fights rose steadily to keep up with demand, the Jackhammers started raiding for slaves frequently, training them to become pit fighters, and began breeding their own mutated animals.
       Eventually each night three matches were staged: the first a group free-for-all, pitting five men and women against each other, last one standing wins; the second a creature feature, throwing a few men with simple weapons against giant mutant animals; the last of every night a one-on-one melee between the winners of the fights from previous days. The slaves were offered only one way to regain their freedom: a fighter could go free if he or she won twenty matches. After more than two years, finally one man rose to the challenge, a crowd favourite with the pit name Bonebreaker. In his twentieth fight, he managed to defeat a giant Radscorpion, armed with nothing more than a net and a spear. However, the promised freedom proved to be a lie. When the guards escorted him back to the slave cells deep in the bowels of the arena, Bonebreaker overpowered his jailors. He then headed straight for the Zoo’s beast master, slew him and his men and proceeded to unlock all the animal cages, allowing them to make their way into the arena theater. While the creatures ran amok and kept the present raiders occupied, Bonebreaker freed the other slaves. Those raiders that were left after the animals tore into them were then quickly dispatched, and the slaves proclaimed themselves to be the new pit lords. The Jackhammers soon enough retaliated in force, but the former slaves managed to hold the Zoo, and though they lasted for a few years still, this embarrasing defeat signalled the beginning of the end for the once mighty Jackhammer gang.
 The pit fighters chose Bonebreaker as their leader, and he would lead the gang to prominence in the coming decade. The Pit Lords’ ferocity in battle was matched only by their hate for their former masters and all other slaver gangs. However, in their view even those who had merely condoned the slaving trade were equally at fault, and almost from the start they turned their wrath upon all raiders and gangs indiscriminately.
 The Pit Lords, though generally ill-equipped, are all excellent melee fighters, their burning hate the only weapon they need. They are also known to unleash their cage-bred creatures on unsuspecting neighbouring gangs, before the fighters begin their assault proper. They show no mercy to the defeated, taking captives only to throw them to the animals (Radscorpions, Giant Mantises, Molerats, Gecko’s - even a pair of Deathclaws) they once more began breeding in the Zoo. Captured slaves however are freed of their bonds, though the Pit Lords demand one thing in return: the freed slave must become part of the gang until he or she has killed twenty slavers, and may then choose to leave the gang, or stay. Slaves who refuse are hanged as ungrateful cowards and traitors.
 The Pit Lords distinguishing gang mark are the numbers XX in red paint, reminding their fighters of their blood debt of twenty kills. Many fighters also keep a running tally of the number of men they’ve killed, making notches on their weapons, clothing or armor. Some of the more brutal fighters have each kill tattooed on their body, or give themselves a scar for each one. Those who reach their twenty kills and stay with the gang get the honorary title of Champion. The Pit Lords are, apart from the Jetheads, the only major gang to accept mutants, counting several Ghouls and Super Mutants among their ranks.
 Once they enter the gang, each member renounces their former birth or slave name, and takes on a name in the fashion of the pit fighters. When trapped and outnumbered, Pit Lords take their own lives when possible, rather than fall into the hands of their enemies.
 After the death of Bonebreaker in the Convent ambush, they are now led by Steelfist, a one-armed giant of a man. As Bonebreaker before him, Steelfist renounces Barbatus’ dominance over SD and the Pit Lords, professing that the Pit Lords will never again serve a master other than themselves.
-          Turf: The Pit Lords have taken SD Zoo as their territory, and so far none of the other gangs have managed to challenge their claim. Most of the old Zoo is overgrown with weeds and crumbling, but the have kept the remaining pens and cages in good condition.
-          Influence: The only thing despised more in SD than a slave, is an unruly slave. Tales of cannibalism and lycanthrophy are spread about the Pit Lords, and none of the major gangs want any dealings with this gang made up of escaped slaves. As they are a force to be reckoned with however, none of the gangs go out of their way to actively provoke them. When Barbatus promised the Pit Lords a parley on equal footing with the other gangs, the gang readily accepted. Though Steelfist continues the same line as Bonebreaker, he lacks the iconic status of the Pit Lords’ liberator, and many suspect the gang will weaken itself and fall apart before too long under their new leadership.

Pit Lord
St d8, Ag d8, Vi d8, Sm d6, Sp d8
Fighting d10, Small Guns d4, Intimidate d10, Taunt d8, Notice d8, Stealth d4
Pace 6, Run d6, Toughness 7(1), Parry 7
-Leather Armor (+1)
-Brass/Spiked Knuckles St+d4
-Dagger St+d4
-Cleaver St+d6
-Spear St+d6, Reach 1, Parry +1
-Sledgehammer St+d8, Parry -1

Pit Lord Champion
St d10, Ag d8, Vi d8, Sm d6, Sp d10
Fighting d12, Small Guns d8, Intimidate d12, Taunt d10, Notice d10, Stealth d6
Pace 6, Run d6, Toughness 7(1), Parry 8
-Leather Armor (+1)
-Sledgehammer St+d8, Parry -1
-Hunting Rifle 24/48/96 2d8 RoF1
-Double Barrel 12/24/48 1-3d6 RoF1, 1 action to reload
-MP9 10mm SMG 12/24/48 2d6 RoF3

Steelfist (Wild Card)
St d12, Ag d8, Vi d10, Sm d6, Sp d12
Fighting d12, Small Guns d4, Intimidate d12, Taunt d12, Notice d10, Stealth d4
Pace 6, Run d6, Toughness 10/11(+2/+3 vs Energy Weapons), Parry 7
One Arm
-Metal Armor (+2/+3 vs Energy Weapons)
-Gladiatorial Helmet (enclosed) (+2)
-Power Fist St+d10


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