The crooked alleyways and seedy taverns of the slums are frequent destinations for urban adventurers.

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Sights & Sounds

A warren of ramshackle shanties stretches as far as the eye can see.
The river winding through the slum is now little more than a channel of sludge.
Mountains of garbage and filth form miniature ranges across the slums.
Thick, stinking smoke coils up from the dung fires the slum dwellers use for cooking.
Colourful rags hang from crisscrossed lines of frayed rope, strung between shanty roofs.
Gaggles of dirt-crusted urchins stream through the streets, playing among, and on, the refuse piles.
Crows swarm so thickly over a mound it is impossible to tell if it’s rubbish or a body.
The skeleton of a horse lies half-buried in the muck, buckteeth grinning at passers-by.
Plump, hairy rats, sold for a copper apiece, sizzle on skewers over nearby fires.
The path ends in a wide cesspool; rodent corpses, faeces and scraps of food float within.

Businesses

Shortchange (moneylender) provides loans of all amounts at suspiciously reasonable interest rates.
Paddock’s (warehouse) contains several blocks of private storage spaces for local merchants.
The Drabs (gang hideout) is a well-hidden den for the area’s primary gang that collects a “toll” from anyone passing through their territory.
The Blocks (slaver) has a constant procession of bodies brought up to be sold to the highest bidder.
Churnup (mudraker) scrapes through the mud and muck of the slums for any possible scrap that could be sold for the smallest profit.
Netter (bounty hunter) is the nickname of the fighter who combs the slums for hideaways and runaways with prices on their heads.
Made to Fit (tailor) is overseen by a surprisingly dapper young man with a keen eye and hands that deftly wield needle and thread.
No Nails (cobbler) sells shoes of wood, rope and almost any other substance besides leather or cloth.
Whereyago (guide) provides guides who’ll take visitors anywhere in the slums for a fee. For a double fee, they’ll even bring their client back.
Bloodleech (healer) is where only the most desperate go for healing thanks to the surgeon’s horrific techniques, doubtful skill and ceaseless drug use.

Folk of Interest

Lasbet Wentom (CE female human thief 1) is a wily child who runs in an urchin gang of pickpockets, doing anything necessary to survive.
Skabra Grel (LG female half-orc cleric 1) uses fire and water to cleanse the slums, though the magic tends to get away from her and cause occasional hazards.
Brichit Thobeos (LG male gnome) uses his architectural prowess to help shore up and rebuild the shanties and shacks.
Corhik Davino (CN male dwarf) hobbles around the slum, dragging one lame leg as he searches for anyone willing to hire him.
Stanth Alddra (CN male human thief 2) is rumoured to be the Beggar King; he wears a ragged cape and an eye patch embroidered with a crimson bowl.
Taelia Cunnel (CE female half-elf) will sell anything to anyone and gladly takes orders for custom deliveries, no matter the cargo.

Adventure Hooks

No one knows what started it, but a small fire has turned into a massive blaze. It threatens to consume the whole slum, if not stopped.
The characters are approached by someone who wants to hire them to track down and return a slave believed to have fled into the slums. The slave could have stolen something from his owner, or could even have eloped with one of his impressionable, young romance-obsessed daughters.
A wealthy patron has brought a wagonload of fresh food to hand out to the slum’s folk, but he’s being attacked by a hunger-crazed mob. He sees the characters and screams for help. If the characters help, he might employ them again, and prove to be a useful contact.
Dozens of guards tromp through the area, clearing out the slum with merciless, violent efficiency under the local lord’s orders.

Credit

This is a short system-neutral extract from Urban Dressing: Slum Town by Josh Vogt. The book is available from Raging Swan Press in 5e, Pathfinder First Edition, Pathfinder Second Edition and OSR editions.

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