LORDS OF DRUMTOWN - The Setting

 The wild frontier settlement of Drumtown sits undefended and open for exploitation. The army of killers and their vicious Lord that once ruled have been drawn out into the Ash Wastes, to an uncertain fate. Through luck, invitation or happenstance, your Gang has arrived in town and sees a wealth of opportunity, territory and cold hard cash ripe for the taking!

DRUMTOWN sits on the outer edges of the Palatine Cluster, built into the decommissioned and partially ruined remnants of a great Promethium Refinery. It was from this original purpose that the settlement draws its name - uncounted stacks of promethium barrels that now form parts of the structure, barricades and defence from the elements. In place of walls and stairs, the occupants have used dozens of promethium drums filled with ash, duracrete and in some cases, congealed promethium. 

Drumtown has existed as long as the refinery has been abandoned, its sturdy structure giving ample protection from Wastes beyond. Other, less obvious advantages maintained its relevance...

The Pipelines - huge pipes ran from the refinery into the Hives of the Palatine Cluster, now dry in the Great Cycles since the cessation of work. Now they are used by smugglers and undesirables, accessed through the refinery and giving a direct route into Hive Primus without having to suffer the scrutiny of the Enforcers or toll collectors. House Delaque has long held court in that nightmare labyrinth of tunnels and tubes. 

The Railhead Terminus - due to a clerical error decades past, a trainline still operates into the depths of the refinery. Protected and maintained with religious fervour by the Guild of Conveyance, the train offers more legal and luxurious passage from the Wastes into the Hive, and is used by many merchants and Guilders to keep the settlement alive. House Orlock is often employed to enforce the tolls here. 

The Red Pits - once one of the immense loading docks, House Goliath and the Mercator Sanguis converted the zone into a brutal arena, beyond the reproachful eyes of the Imperial House. They have long been a major attraction drawing fighters and wealth from both within and without the Hives. 

Lake Suffering and the Fisheries - the reason for the closure and the collapse of Promethium Refinery can be seen in the grotesque Lake Suffering. Although barely visible from orbit, this foul open air sump is the result of a hideous accident that saw millions of gallons of promethium and unrefined filth pour into the Wastes, dragging half of the refinery with it. House Cawdor and many other miscreants spend their short lives on and around the Lake, looking for treasures and creatures that might be worth some coin. 

The Court of "Helmawr" - once married to a fifteenth cousin of Gerontius and not even a true Helmawr by blood, Noble Lord Collodus Helmawr held court in Drumtown for many Great Cycles , and brought with him wealth and resources nigh unseen by the wretches of this blighted settlement. His court of discarded, disowned and forgotten Nobles sit in the centre of the refinery, protected by an army of mercenaries and corrupt Enforcers. Regardless of their fall from the graces of Hive Primus, they are still of Noble blood and hold themselves far superior to the scum that surround them. 

Despite this façade of faded grandeur and indolence, Lord Collodus defended his realm with a vicious aggression - something that has led to disaster as raids by Ash Waste Nomads drew him and most of his mercenary killers out into the Wastes - to a doom many can guess, but none can confirm.