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Most large settlements have a sewer—without such, life quickly becomes unbearable as thousands of residents tip their waste into the streets. In a subterranean world of dubious attraction, adventure can still lurk within.

The Sewers

Cemetery Junction: One of the largest chambers in the sewers, this place is the confluence of several wide channels. Four stone pillars hold the ceiling aloft. The chamber lies below the cemetery; sometimes, old graves collapse and deposit their mouldering contents into the chamber.
The Falls: Here, the sewers issue into a lower section of tunnels. The effluent falls over a ten-foot-high weir, which lies behind a series of iron portcullises; strange things sometimes get caught in the bars. Scavengers come here to look for lost or accidentally discarded treasures.
Wide Street: This is one of the sewer’s main arteries; the channel is wide enough to fit a rowboat or similar craft. Rumours abound that smugglers and thieves use it to move their illicit goods.
Dead Man’s Fall: Four years ago, a man was found here; most of the bones in his body were shattered as if he had fallen from a great height—which is odd as the ceiling here is barely 12 feet high.

Major Locale Features

The sewer passage has an arched ceiling and is almost 20 feet wide. Walkways run on either side of the sewer’s sluggishly-flowing channel.
The “water” in the sewer has almost reached the level of the walkway running alongside it.
The ceiling is barely three feet above the sewer channel; marks in the ooze show where human-sized and smaller creatures have scuttled along the walkway.
The water tumbles over a five-foot-high weir. The sound of falling water fills the air.

Minor Locale Features

Sludge and other pieces of noisome rubbish cover the sewer’s walkways, making them slick and slippery.
An iron ladder fixed to the wall leads upwards to a small door in one wall. The door is sized for a crawling human.
Booted tracks in the mud and slime show where four human-sized individuals walked. Part of a wall has collapsed, covering a patch of walkway with rubble.
An unlit, empty lantern stands on the walkway. Scuff marks in the muck and slime further suggest its owner fell—or was dragged—into the sewer’s foul waters.

What’s Going On?

The water level in the sewer is low, which has exposed patches of glistening “mud”.
The water level is high, and it is flowing swiftly. The sound of running water echoes through the space, and it is hard to hear normal conversation and other sounds.
Strange sounds echo through the sewer from up ahead. A roaring sound could be the sound of water falling over a weir or the call of some fearsome, slimy predator.
Suspicious ripples mar the surface of the sewer water. A perceptive character also spots a few bubbles rising to the surface. What lurks within?

Other Folk

Risto Himottu (N middle-aged male human) works to keep the sewers clean. He is grizzled and filthy, and he is half-drunk when encountered. He knows the sewers well but only helps those who help him. Human kindness died within him a long time ago.
Sihvo Ilmatoivia (CN young male human) lives in the sewers—sort of. While exploring a year ago, this urchin found an old cellar. The cellar is bricked up from above but accessible from the sewers. Sihvo is a petty thief, and his home is filled with his haul. He is mouthy, supremely confident and—although he won’t admit it—desperately in need of a mentor.
Tahlys Plyoninn (NE female half-elf) follows the characters. She saw them enter the sewer, and her interest was piqued. She is a thief and is always on the lookout for easy scores. She won’t attack a large group—she’s not insane—but will take an opportunity to steal from them or the people they are fighting.
Daladin Lerlig (CE male gnome) lurks in the sewers waiting for a contact to bring him a vial of poison. Daladin is an assassin preparing for his next job. He is disguised as a sewer worker, but perceptive characters might spot the several daggers he has hidden about his person. He is friendly, but if he becomes suspicious of the characters, he marks them for death.

Credit

This is a short system-neutral extract from Urban Locale #18: Sewers by Robert Manson.

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Urban Locale: Sewer