Stage 2 - The Abattoir

Beyond the door, a sickly odor drifts toward you. It is the thick, oppressive smell of a butcher's stall on a hot day. The sound of dripping liquids and the faint buzz of flies can be heard among the shadows in the room. Chains creak as shadowy bulks suspended from the ceiling swing on their hooks. The wooden floor looks damp and sticky, stained red and brown from blood and rot.

This room is a abattoir, with large ominous hulks of unidentifiable flesh hanging from meat hooks. The carcasses are staggered so that it is impossible to see more than 10 feet in any direction. It is hot and stuffy in here, and the smell is nauseating. The flies will buzz about irritating the characters. If anyone swats one of the insects, it will leave a bloody stain like a blood-gorged tick.

As the team proceeds through the room, the meat becomes more and more rancid, eventually crawling with maggots and dripping a fetid slime onto the sawdust-sprinkled floor.

About 100 feet into the room, the hanging meat will seem to sway unnaturally. Quiet mewing sounds and wet movements come from among the swaying carcasses. As the guards investigate further, they will discover that the meat on this end of the room is not dead.

Large creatures, the size of buffalo, have been flayed alive and hung upside down on the meat hooks. These tortured beasts will paw and claw at the characters as they try to make their way through, crying louder, and leaving swipes of blood and loose slimy flesh on the character's uniforms. Terror throws are recommended. There is a 20% chance that one of the beasts has enough of its claws left that it can cause a highly infectious scratch to the character (abdomen, chest, or arms only). Damage is as follows: scr 1-14; lw 15+.

At about 150 feet into this room, the last member of the party will be attacked by a large human wearing a blood-spattered apron and a rag doll mask, and wielding two large meat hooks.

The following statistics apply:

Butcher:
Movement: 6m/combat round

Actions: 2
Initiative bonus: -
Damage bonus: +3
Damage capacity:
12 scratches = 1 light wound
11 light wounds = 1 serious wound
9 serious wounds = 1 fatal wound
3 fatal wounds before dying
Endurance: 290 Natural armor: -
Attack modes: Meat hooks 30 (scr 1-10, lw 11-14, sw 15-19, fw 20+)
Other skills: Hide 20

A serious wound indicates that the hook has caught around a bone and the butcher will attempt to drag his victim away. A successful STR roll is required to resist being pulled away. If both hook attacks are successful, the player must succeed with an STR/2 roll to prevent being dragged away.

It is the butcher's tactic to capture the character at the back of the party and drag them away into the darkness among the carcasses. He will use his hide ability to evade pursuit as he flees. If successful, the guards have a 50% chance of finding their lost team member, flayed and alive, hanging from a meat hook. Terror throws apply, of course.

When either two of the characters have been lost (or killed) or the butcher is dead, the party will find a large steel door that opens with a spring-loaded bar.

Prison Break

Introduction
Stage 1: Steel Corridor
Stage 2: Abattoir
Stage 3: Above the City
Stage 4: The Slum
Stage 5: Skid Row
Stage 6: Darkness to Light
Ready Made Characters

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