BY
DOMINIC COVEY
COVER:
DOMINIC COVEY
CARTOGRAPHY:
DOMiNIC COVEY
ART:
AARON PANAGOS, JOHN LONGENBAUGH
EDITING:
ANDY RAU, CHRIS VAN DELEEN
LAYOUT:
CHRIS DAVIS
PLAYTESTING:
DOMINIC COVEY, CHRIS DAVIS, Chris Derner,, Chris
Hoover, Ryan KellEy, Ethan Ripplinger, Aaron
Wiggins.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
056. Confinement Center (EL 12) 69
057. Scrapyard (EL 13) 70
058. Gas Station (EL 0) 71
059. Android Base Complex (EL Varies) 71
060. Sewer Entrance (EL 12) 75
061. Power Pipeline (EL 10) 75
062. Recycled-organics Plant (EL 18) 76
063. Impound Yard (EL 18) 76
064. Jetty (EL 10) 77
065. Android Waystation (EL 16) 78
066. Isolated Crater (EL 0) 79
067. Marine Institute (EL 8) 79
Pasadena 80
068. Foundation Outpost (EL 2) 81
069. Lost Foundation Fortress (EL 11) 82
070. Great Park (EL 0) 85
071. Altadena Police Station (EL O) 85
072. Cave Of Eternal Life (EL 3) 86
073. Porn Set (EL 0) 87
074. Arboretum (EL Varies) 88
075. CalTech (EL Varies) 92
076. Crash Site (EL 5) 94
Domain Of The Flesh Eaters 95
077. AA Emplacement (EL 0) 96
078. Ghoul Hideout (EL Varies) 97
079. Construction Robot (EL 1) 97
080. Tribe Of The Burrowers (EL Varies) 98
081. Willowbrook Medical Center (EL 5) 99
082. Ulgar’s Tribe (EL Varies) 100
083. Abandoned Community (EL 0) 101
084. Pestilent Ones (EL Varies) 101
085. Lost Mutagon Graveyard (EL 0) 101
086. Pit Of Horrors (EL Varies) 102
087. La Mirada Police Station (EL Varies) 103
088. Gang Hideout (EL 3) 103
089. The Vast Ooze (EL 15) 104
090. Chop Shop (EL 0) 104
091. Enemy Position (EL 9) 105
092. Underworld Sightless Stalkers (EL Varies) 105
The Necropolis 4
The Ruin At The End Of The World 4
What This Book Is - And What It Isn’t 5
How This Book Is Presented 6
Introduction 6
The City Map 7
Travel On The City Map 9
Balance 11
Adventure Hooks 11
Getting Into The City 13
The Reaches 15
001. Cartel Outpost (EL 4) 16
002. Lost Merchant Caravan (EL 0) 16
003. Abandoned Homestead (EL 0) 17
004. Free Range (EL 5) 17
005. Ruined Homestead (EL 6) 17
006. Farm (EL 2) 18
007. Camp Of The Shadow People (EL 7) 19
008. Den (EL Varies) 20
009. Camp Of The Destined (EL 6) 22
010. Village Of The Rat People (EL Varies) 23
Dead City
25
The Hive 40
023. Chemical Plant (EL Varies) 42
024. Madman (EL 3) 42
025. Hive A (EL Varies) 43
026. Desolation (EL 0) 47
027. Hive B (EL Varies) 47
028. Bug Bridge (EL Varies) 48
029. Hive C (EL Varies) 48
030. More Desolation (EL Varies) 49
031. Hive D (EL 14) 49
032. Burning Buildings (EL 15) 49
033. Primitive Tribe (EL Varies) 50
034. Hive E (EL Varies) 50
035. Serpent Pit (EL 8) 51
036. Army/Navy Surplus (EL 4) 51
037. Dying Tank Bug (EL 12) 52
038. Traffic Jam (EL Varies) 52
039. Whittier Police Station (EL Varies) 52
040. Ghoul Town (EL Varies) 53
041. Ancient Battleground (EL 0) 55
042. Institute Of Entomological Studies (EL 0) 55
043. Crashed Chopper (EL 0) 56
044. Enemy Droids (EL 11) 56
045. More Enemy Droids (EL 11) 57
046. Battlefield (EL 0) 57
047. Cult Hideout (EL 0) 57
048. Mission Of St. Michael The Archangel (EL 0) 58
049. Homeless Camp (EL 7) 59
050. Gun Emporium (EL 4) 59
051. The Great Crater (EL Varies) 60
Los Angeles Harbor 62
052. The Harbor (EL Varies) 63
053. Hidden Skael Enclave (EL Varies) 67
054. Watchers From The Deep (EL Varies) 68
055. Harbor Sewer (EL 5)
012. Diseased Beasts (EL 6)
28
013. Diseased Ruin-pickers (EL 7)
29
014. Diseased Crater (EL 8)
29
015. Raider Stockade (EL Varies)
30
016. Sharkey’s Auto Repair (EL 5)
34
017. Golden Dragon (EL 9)
34
018. Ghost Raider Tribe (EL Varies)
35
019. Hidden Paradise (EL 0)
36
020. Angel Stadium (EL Varies)
36
021. Uncovered Find (EL 0)
38
022. Lost Settlers (EL 2)
39
69
2
011. Sanctuary (EL Varies)
26
Domain Of The Broken Ones 113
093. City Of The Broken Ones (EL Varies) 117
094. Hills Of The Broken Ones (EL Varies) 125
095. Village Ythra (EL 8) 125
096. Village Tamaris (EL 12) 125
097. Village Mansu (EL 12) 126
098. Village Horeak (EL 8) 127
099. Village Varia (EL 6) 128
100. Village Golgarus (EL 12) 129
101. Oracle (EL Varies) 129
102. Village Of The Carrion Knights (EL Varies) 131
103. Wall Crawlers (EL 10) 131
104. Carrion Raptor Nesting Ground (EL 9) 132
105. Artillery Firebase (EL 18) 132
106. Foreboding Ruin (EL Varies) 133
107. Horrors (EL 9) 134
108. Place Of The Sky Watchers (EL Varies) 135
109. Broken Ones Camp (EL 15) 136
110. Amazon Fortress (EL Varies) 137
111. The Old University (EL 0) 139
112. Coliseum Of The Wild Men (EL 20) 140
113. Place Of Ancient Ghosts (EL 7) 141
114. Savage Village (EL 10) 141
115. Coast Of Skeleton Ships (EL 8) 142
116. Fields Of Fire (EL 17) 142
117. Slave Quarries (EL 18) 143
118. Junkfields (EL Varies) 144
119. Crashed Airplane (EL 2) 144
120. Cyrus’ Crib (EL 0) 145
121. Mutagon Lair (EL 16) 145
122. Watering Hole (EL 11) 146
123. Biodiversity Studies (EL 0) 146
124. Chang’s Imported Fruits (EL 0) 147
125. Fort Lox (EL Varies) 148
126. Fort Kishar (EL Varies) 149
127. Fort Mogo (EL Varies) 150
128. Fort Jugal (EL Varies) 151
129. Temple To The Serpent Gods (EL 0) 152
130. The House Of Satan (EL 0)
133. Washed Ashore (EL 0) 158
134. Lost Corium Mine (EL 0) 159
135. Chemical Crater (EL 1) 160
136. Sweat Shop (EL 0) 160
137. Ruins Of Lax (EL Varies) 160
138. Overrun Position (EL Varies) 161
139. Radio Tower (EL 12) 161
140. Fallout Shelter (EL 12) 161
141. Slaughter Scene (EL 0) 162
142. Water Treatment Plant (EL 14) 162
143. The Ark (EL Varies) 163
144. Redondo Beach Community Hospital (EL 2) 172
145. Lomita Police Station (EL 0) 173
146. Nesting Cliffs (EL Varies) 173
147. Enviro-commune (EL 0) 174
148. Palos Verde Coves (EL 3) 175
Downtown 176
149. Church Of The Queen Of Angels (EL 20) 177
150. Palace Of Ancient Kings (EL Varies) 179
151. The Great Library (EL 17) 180
152. Recording Studio (EL 0) 183
153. Los Angeles Times (EL 0) 184
154. Murder Scene (EL 3) 184
155. Shopping District (EL 10) 185
156. China Town (EL 15) 185
157. Dodger Stadium (EL 0) 186
158. Downtown Battleground (EL 16) 186
159. Subway Entrance (EL 15)
187
173. Acid Waste (EL 1) 204
174. Poisoned Waters (EL 8) 204
175. Black River (EL Varies) 204
176. Ooze Caverns (EL 15) 204
177. Haunter In The Depths (EL 5) 204
178. Trapped Screamer (EL 4) 205
179. Ravening Hound Den (EL 7) 205
180. Larva Cavern (EL Varies) 206
181. Fungus Cavern (EL Varies) 206
182. Trapped Train (EL 0) 206
183. Second Trapped Train (EL 4) 207
184. Homeless Refuge (EL Varies) 207
185. Gang Cache (EL 0) 208
186. Mischievous Runts (EL Varies) 208
187. Injured Wild Man (EL 1) 208
188. Sewer Workers (EL 14) 209
189. Lights In The Deep (EL 6) 209
190. Lost Arena (EL Varies) 209
191. Mutagon Egg (EL 5) 209
192. Tunnel Leading To Station (EL 15) 210
193. Terminus Underground (EL Varies) 210
194. Sewer Exit (EL 0) 210
195. Hive A Tunnels (EL Varies) 210
196. Hive B Tunnels (EL Varies) 210
197. Hive C Tunnels (EL 1) 211
198. Hive D Tunnels (EL 5) 211
199. Hive E Tunnels (EL 14) 211
200. Androids (EL Varies) 211
201. Harbor Exit (EL 0) 211
202. Tunnels To Ghoul Town (EL Varies) 212
203. Tunnels Of The Burrowers (EL Varies) 212
204. Pestilent Ones Den (EL Varies)
160. Bernard Megaplex (EL Varies)
187
Sewers
198
161. Oily Area (EL 1)
200
212
162. Slime (EL 0)
200
205. Secret Tunnel (EL 0)
213
163. Sewer Exit (EL 0)
200
206. Underworld (EL Varies)
213
164. Raiders Underground (EL 10)
201
Factions Of The Necropolis
214
165. Garbage Chamber (EL 0)
201
Random Encounters
221
166. Explorers (EL 5)
201
167. Carousel (EL 9)
201
Radio Messages
235
168. Lost Waste Dump (EL 7)
202
152
Generic Stat Blocks
236
169. Deep Waters (EL 11)
202
Enclave Of The Lost Children Of Man
154
New Creatures
254
170. Waterfall (EL 14)
202
131. No Man’s Land (EL 0)
156
171. Underdogs (EL 7)
203
New Treasure Tables
269
132. Hermit’s Tower (EL 5)
156
172. The Thing (EL 8)
203
3
THE RUIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD
northern mountains, this tale is something they,
especially, will never forget.
Somewhere to the south, over the San Gabriel
peaks―themselves a dangerous barrier, teeming
with hostile mutant life―the desolate dry heights
give way to a place only a handful have ever seen,
a dreamland to some and a horrible nightmare to
others. It is said that over the mountains lies a lost
city, a dead, lifeless megaplex stretching from horizon
to horizon, its towering maze of mile-high ‘scrapers
covered in a layer of grayish dust, with shadows
streaking across hundreds of streets for as far as the
eye can see.
Those few who have seen it, have seen it from
afar, from the great San Gabriel mountains. By
day, the city is often silhouetted by the eastern sun
in all its coppery glory; by night, the blue moon
casts its haunting cerulean light over the miles and
miles of untouchable landscape so far below in the
Valley. Observers skirting the mountains say that
the city is alive, that noise can sometimes be heard
echoing miles within its twisted, glass and concrete
heart―echoing hoots, the distant clang of metal,
and screams. It is no wonder that outsiders from
the wasteland have shunned this haunted place for
generations, and let the San Gabriel mountains lie as
a virgin barrier to the great ruins beyond.
But it is this place, the great Necropolis, that
persists in legends and myths to this day. Stories
quickly vanishing into the haze of memory tell of
a city that stretches on for days in all directions,
confined only by the great San Gabriels to the north,
bleak desolate heights to the east, and the beginnings
of the dark and ugly sea to the south and west.
Here, it is said, the streets and even the buildings
themselves, rising leagues into the sky, are coated in
a layer of choking, powdery ash―ashes that stories
say are the remains of millions of Ancients who once
Is this the exultant city that dwelt secure;
That told herself, “There is no other than I!”
How she has become a waste, a lair for wild beasts...
– Zephaniah 2:15
world since the Fall. This
book brings together the
in-game history of Los
Angeles with the setting
overview presented
in
Darwin’s World 2
nd
Edition.
The result is a
detailed location which existing parties can visit and
explore, or which can serve as the basis for entirely
new campaigns which cast the PCs as survivors
struggling to make their way in perhaps the Twisted
Earth’s most legendary place: the Necropolis.
Welcome to
The Ruin at the End of the World
, a
sourcebook on one of the most iconic locations of the
Twisted Earth setting: the ruined city of Los Angeles.
Better known as the “Necropolis,” this sprawling ruin
carpets an entire basin for miles in every direction,
nestled against the furthest edge of the known
world. Stories of this legendary place are common
among the nomadic people of the desert; it is said to
be a desolate ruin where nothing lives, where only
the ashes of millions of Ancients―incinerated in
the Fall―fill the streets. Some claim it is a place
poisoned by that ancient war, and to tread there is
to court certain death. Others, the few who have
actually made the dangerous journey across the San
Gabriel mountains to see for themselves, claim it is
not in fact dead, but very much alive. This makes it
no less dangerous, however, for almost universally
these storytellers speak of monstrous creatures
holding a terrible grip over the city, waging constant
war against one another and killing all who trespass
into their jealously-guarded domains.
The Ruin at the End of the World
expands upon
the Necropolis setting as briefly touched upon in the
Darwin’s World 2
nd
Edition
rulebook (pages 206-
216). This setting has a long history with
Darwin’s
World
, first as a play-by-email game run in the year
2000, and later serving as the archetypical “city of
the dead” in the
Darwin’s World 2
nd
Edition
rules,
showcasing the fate that befell the great cities of the
THE NECROPOLIS
It is well known that the world
is a great, endless desert, and
sand the only thing which holds
up all life and all creation. A
great rolling sea, the deserts of
the twisted earth stretch on forever, from east to west,
from the farthest north to the most distant south. Old
rivers and great highways of concrete may have once
crossed this ugly, godforsaken terrain in the time of
the Ancients, but now it is all but a great dust bowl.
But legends sometimes contest that which is
common knowledge, and the legend of the fabled
Necropolis is no exception
―
in fact, it is a story
known to nearly all who wander the wasteland, as far
east as the wind-swept Far Desert, and north into the
rugged, bleak territory of the Foundation and their
stark mountain monastery-fortresses. Though their
litany of somber chanting and pining for Ancient
glories drowns out the violent winds between those
4
WHAT THIS BOOK IS - AND WHAT IT ISN
’
T
While this book covers an entire city and offers a lot of game material on the monsters and other
inhabitants living within it, this book is foremost a broad overview of a single, sprawling adventure
location: the
Necropolis
. An effort has been made to detail the entire city in as useful a manner as possible,
highlighting more than 200 separate encounter areas within, both above and below the city streets. Many
of these encounter areas are linked to one or more of the strange factions that vie for control of the city;
others are merely places where rogue dangers, isolated hold-outs, or lost treasures and curious finds can be
found. As a GM, you will find the city map invaluable in keeping track of encounters and locations.
The level of detail provided for each encounter area varies; this book is not intended to be an adventure
per se
, but rather a sourcebook allowing parties to explore at their own pace, and allowing you as GM to
tailor their adventures with a minimal number of pre-set guidelines to restrict you. This sourcebook isn’t
rigidly structured, forcing the PCs to go one way or another; rather it is open and flexible, sketched out
in broad strokes. There is room for you to contribute your own imagination to the mix of encounters and
resident creatures; in fact, inspiring your creativity―and thus making each visit to the Necropolis unique―
is an integral part of the book’s purpose.
Purist Enclave, whose embellishments on my original
designs for those xenophobic
purebloods
have been
faithfully incorporated into this work (even down
to individual NPC names). The other players of
the city’s factions also deserve thanks, not only for
their contributions which made the game fun for
all involved, but for setting the stage for what is
presented in this book.
The Ruin at the End of the World
presents the
Necropolis as it would have looked at the end of the
original Necropolis play-by-email game. It is a city
that is slowly being conquered by several strong
factions, including an “empire” of “beastmen,” a vast
infestation of intelligent mutant bugs, a rising tide of
androids newly created in a factory somewhere near
the harbor, a colony of strange aquatic mutants, and
a small but persevering community of re-awakened
humans holding out in their corner of the city. As
these powers rise, others dwindle and vanish; the
ghouls are scattered but not entirely eradicated, the
Foundationists are now gone (and the Cartel has
likewise abandoned their colonization efforts), and
the would-be “kingdom” of the raider prince Kruel
the Conqueror has been extinguished. And while
these groups are gone, player characters have a
chance to explore the evidence of each community’s
extinction, and discover just what happened to them
in their ill-fated drive to conquer the Necropolis.
For those few who played in the original play-by-
email game, you will notice many major changes.
Hopefully you’ll recognize that these changes are for
the best. A lot has been tweaked and altered not only
to fit within the rules of
Darwin’s World 2
nd
Edition
,
but also to make the setting more enjoyable from the
perspective of a role-playing game (as opposed to a
strategy game). Boundaries are slightly modified to
reflect what this author assumes would be a natural
evolution of the warring state of the city factions;
lived in the Necropolis, incinerated when the bombs
turned the labyrinthine streets and lighted boulevards
into a chaos of fire and brimstone.
Whatever the truth, the city is dark, lonely, and
forbidding. It is seemingly limitless in size. Clusters
of towering skyscrapers, burnt-out, blown-open, and
skeletal in their ruined state, stretch in awe-inspiring
rows, the dead husks of a lost civilization that sought
to reach into the sky and conquer the gods. Beneath
them, avenues and roads, some as wide as major
riverbeds, lie blanketed in rubble; snaking caravans
of abandoned cars from before the Fall; and, of
course, all of it covered in that same, unsettling soot.
addition to giving life to what would become a
“legendary location” of
Darwin’s World
, this early
game helped shape what would evolve into two of
the major factions of the Twisted Earth. Precursors
of the Foundation and the Cartel were among the
groups controlled by players of the game, as were
other factions that were ultimately considered too
Necropolis-specific to include in the eventual release
of the
Gazetteer of the Twisted Earth
. Special (and
long overdue) thanks go to Alex Kashyrin, original
player of the Foundation, whose “vision” for that
iconic group also later came to define the
Revenants
sub-faction as described in
The Foundationists
; as
well as Chris Covey, player of the Hive (and who
coincidentally would go on to lay the groundwork
for the
Dark Paladins
faction of the Foundation; he
also wrote segments of the adventure
Against the
Wastelords
and set the theme for the entire
Wastelords
campaign series, and came up with the idea behind
the “Last God”), and Mlado Spasic, player of the
- From
Darwin’s World 2
nd
Edition
The Necropolis setting first came to life as a play-
by-email game run around the year 2000, in which
each player took control of a community struggling
to survive in the radiated ruins of Los Angeles. In
5
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