Miska Fredman is making a lot of good maps, and is kind enough to share the low-res versions with us on his website. One of his releases is labelled Space Cantina, but to me this is a future-metropolis dive bar, or perhaps a “bar and grill”. That kind of place that is nested somewhere in a city block, that really earns it name by being an assortment of tight packed rooms. And sometimes, a future ends and becomes another´s nuclear-blasted past. Yep, I am talking Mutant Future(tm) again here. Lets relocate that place into a ruined city and fill it up with some Morlocks, shall we? It may then serve as a sidequest or quick-and-dirty one-shot-session.
Of course, I can neither add nor edit Miska´s map here (after all, it is HIS intellectual property and this has to be respected), but if you look at the map (or buy it for personal use from him), you will know what the following paragraphs are all about:
The situation: a not-so-far-away a Morlock “village” has dug itself a tunnel into the reefer of an old dive bar [I do not use the secret door in the map, but treat it as a normal door and the lowest rooms as the cold storage rooms]. After they secured the location, they started to comb through the surrounding ruins in search of technological artifacts and meat, and even set up an outpost with a “search team” in the old bar. During the day, these Morlocks all whole up in the barricaded bar, and during the night most of them venture into the ruins while some stay back to guard their “outpost”, as well as the loot they stash in there.
The following paragraphs describe the Morlock Dive in a room by room fashion, as the characters would find them during a daytime raid. A separate paragraph describes the changes that need to be applied during sundown and the hours of the night.
Entering the dive bar: the double doors of the entrance area are closed, but not locked. Instead, a broom stick was used to bar the doors from within. They can be opened with a a Force doors test (-1), but doing so has a 1 out of 6 chance to wake up everyone inside(+1 for every attempt after the first). If this happens, the individual “monsters” each need a couple of rounds before they are awake and ready. If a fight breaks out inside the bar, they WILL wake up.
The small windows to the lower area have been nailed shut from the outside, but this barricade is easy to remove with the right tools (and the wood is decayed to the point that one may just kick it in). Wiggling through the narrow windows into the room is a different matter: a human sized character will need three rounds (during which the PC is helpless; two rounds with help from the inside). Bulky armor may make it impossible to squeeze through (GM´s call).
The whole bar is dark. The monsters inside do not need any light source (thermal vision) and thereby do not use any.
The entrance area contains the rotten remains of an old wardrobe, some paper-and-plastic junk that piles up against the walls, and not much more. Those who look at the grimy floor may find old blood stains and traces that something has been pulled over the ground a while ago (the Morlocks drag their loot sacks and their victims through here towards the main area). A simple push door leads to the toilets (A), and another double door into the main area.
Toilets A: This used to be the “man´s room” (with basin and urinal), separated from the part with the “main facilities” (which were “uni sex”) by another push-door. Heaps of wastepaper are stored here, and separate urinals are used by the Morlocks as toilets (the wastepaper is used for “covering up”). The room STINKS accordingly and flies buzz about.
Toilets B: This area is used as a “sick bay” by the Morlocks. Currently, one lone wounded Morlock rests on a filthy old mattress and waits for his wounds to get better (only 3 hit points left; he suffered multiple wounds from a conventional gun, perhaps a full automatic weapon). If he isn´t getting better soon, he will be treated as “provisions” by his peers instead (and knows it). The Morlock is unarmed and the characters have a 4 out of 6 chance to surprise him. If interrogated, there is not much that the Morlock may reveal to the characters (due to the language barrier), but the PC my learn the number of Morlocks in the bar (by sign language and showing fingers to indicate numbers). If he wakes up, the Morlock will need six rounds to get up and ready, and but will be reluctant to join any fight unless the odds seem favorable. Otherwise, he will try to flee.
The main area consists of the guest area, a raised area with a few tables and a door to the back rooms, and a small stage for life performances.
The tables and chairs of the raised area are now used to block the door to the back rooms, and two large Albino Apes (20 and 18 hit points) made the stage their lair (where they rest on an assortment of old, blood-stained rags). If the Albino Apes wake up, they will be ready to fight within a round, but will at first move between the stairs and tables and wait for opponents to show up (and may Surprise the characters). Unless of course, the Morlocks already engaged an enemy, in which case they will simply join the fray. If a melee takes place between the tables of the main area, the Albino Apes gain a +1 bonus on all attacks against PC without an DEX bonus (or a bonus equal to the character´s DEX penalty, whichever is greater) as they use the close quarters and their own agility to their advantage. During a fight, the apes will make LOTS of noise and the smaller Albion Ape from the lower area will join after two rounds (and perhaps surprise the characters from behind) while the Morlocks backstage will enter combat after 1d4+1 round (the GM may roll separately for each Morlock or roll for them as a group).
Backstage: a group of five Morlocks made this room their home. Aside from the erstwhile furniture, old (and now filthy) mattresses have been brought into this room. The Morlocks stash some of their recent finds in here, too. Among them are…
#2d6+10 mechanical wrist-watches (each worth 50 sp)*
#3d6 bottles of super-glue (each worth 5 sp)
#5d6 cans of soda (each worth 2 cp)*
#1 submachine gun (without ammo)*
#6 different automatic pistols (partially disassembled, for parts)
#2d6 pairs of sturdy worker gloves (each worth 2 cp)
#1d6 gauss pistols, with 25 shots of ammo each, but no battery
#3d6 hand-held communication devices /w battery (low!)
#3d6+6 power cells (still in package)
#1d4+1 power packs (each has only 3d6% of the original charge left)
#1 minifusion cell*
#1d4+1 “Ernies”*
#2d8 rolls of ion bonding tape
#2d4 rubber bands, each 2m long
One of the Morlocks (their leader) wears a ballistic nylon vest (AC: 4) and fights with a fire ax (1d8 dmg) while another found a stun rifle and figured out how to use it (3d4 shots left). The others fight with improvised spears (1d6 dmg). If the Morlocks are attacked in their sleep, they need 1d4 rounds to get ready (after surprise wears of). If they wake up due to a fight with the apes, they will take 1d4+1 rounds (as they first assume that the bigger ape is attacking the smaller ape again).
The lower area is dominated by four large supporting pillars that make it hard to have an overview. Most of the old tables and chairs are still at their place, but a few lie scattered and broken on the floor. Behind the bar a large cooler, a dispenser, two kitchen sinks, a (now empty) rack and a multi-tier baking oven can be found. The latter was used to prepare warm snacks. The Morlocks found out how to operate it on a power pack (which may be found on the ground next to it) and use it to prepare their food (often: meat). Futher, a small Albion Ape (10 hit points) sleeps behind the counter: the dominant male does not tolerate it near the stage.
If the barricades are removed from the windows and daylight falls into the room, the small Albion Ape will wake up and be ready after 1d6+2 rounds. If it wakes up due to loud noises, it will be ready within four rounds, but will not attack unless other Morlocks and/or Albino Apes are already fighting.
In a far corner behind the counter also lies a Mr. Ipsy: a simple robot that used to serve as a bartender (“Mr. Ipsy, make me tipsy!”). It looks like a plastic manikin with a light blue shell and a friendly, flexo-plastic face. Well, it used to look like that till the Morlock bashed it till it stopped moving, pried the face off, removed its robo-eyes and the chest-plate to get at the internal parts. Now, the steel-skull and the empty eye-sockets are revealed, as well as the all-to-human looking teeth and lots of wires that stick out were parts have been removed. If somebody fumbles with the robot (or stumbles into it), it will suddenly shake, shamble, wiggle and throw sparks for 1d4 rounds (Saving Throw vs Stun, or the character counts as surprised). An atomic battery may be salvaged from it.
Backroom A: When the piled-up furniture is removed and the door behind it is opened, a reek of urine and blood wafts out. The PC will hear some bone-chilling groans from inside of the room as soon as the door is opened. The room is empty but for the tables, on one of them lies a man. Or, what is left of him. The Morlocks have cut away both of his legs and one arm by now (they eat flesh) and kept the rest of him “for later”. The stumps have been bound with rubber bands. The screaming of the man annoyed them, so they ripped out his tongue. The poor devil is scared out of his mind, and if the characters rescue him it will take a couple of days till his sanity begins to return. Who he is, is up to the GM.
Backroom B: in the second backroom cowers a young woman (Rita; level 1 NPC), a little older than 20 years, in a dust-and-dirt stained overall. She was captured by the Morlocks as well, was witness to what they have done to the man in Backroom A and is scared to death. Rita broke a table in her room to create an improvised club (1d4) and will attack the first character to enter the room out of panic. A reaction roll with a result of “Good” or better is needed to calm the young woman down. If the PC manage to do so, free Rita and defeat the Morlocks, she will claim all the loot marked with an asterix (*) as her own (“that was what I had with me as the Morlocks captured me!”). It is up to the players how they treat her claims, but if they point out that she owes her life to them she will part with half of her loot willingly (but not the submachine gun).
Storage Room A used to hold the majority of drinks and other supplies. Most of it is gone now. A lot of empty or gone-off bottles of beer and other beverages now fill the racks, as well as moldy cardboard boxes with table napkins, cleaning tissue and other supplies. Those who search the room will find a bottle of (still good) Synthihol.
Storage Room B and C used to be the cold storage rooms, with the room downstairs being the main storage while everything that was needed for an evening was stored in the smaller, upper room (for easier access). The whole area is now covered by a black mold that is largely inert, but still unhealthy if inhaled. As every surface is covered by it, any movement inside this area will lead to an exposure. Those exposed to it must pass a Saving Throw vs. Poison (one at first exposure, one at (-1) after each turn of exposure). Those who fail will develop a bad cough that will grow worse when the character undergoes any strenuous activity (-1 to all rolls and tests). Each day, an infected character needs to pass a Saving Throw vs. Death. On a success, the infection is expelled from the body. After two failures in a row, the character will begin to cough up blood (1 point of damage each day) and won´t heal naturally anymore. A Filter-Dose will cure this condition.
Storage Room C (the room downstairs) includes the breach and the entry to the tunnel the Morlocks used. Following this tunnel will lead the PC into the territory of the Morlock village (or into a region that “borders” on it: like the sewer tunnels or a network of maintenance shafts.
During the night three of the Morlocks (the leader, the one with the stun rifle and another one) will leave the dive about an hour after dusk. They won´t return until two hours before dawn. The remaining Morlocks will spend their time in the main area and inspect artifacts, but will always have their weapons ready. The Albino Apes will roam through the bar, and will sometimes chase another all over the place.
Gregorius21778 