Necromunda

Necromunda is a world which features in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 setting, and in particular its Necromunda skirmish-level wargame.

Description
A planet of the “Hive World” classification, Necromunda was once a lush paradise not unlike prehistoric Earth. However, centuries of unrestricted industrial activity have changed its nature beyond all recognition: what was once fertile farmland and forests stretching as far as the eye could see is now nothing more than ash wastes ravaged by powerful chemical storms, its oceans and lakes which formerly teemed with life now vast toxic reservoirs filled with the effluence of countless years of manufacturing outflow. What little life does exist in these wastelands is mutated and deadly, preying on anything unfortunate enough to be caught outside of the Cyclopean Hives which dot the planets’ surface.

The Hives
Most life on Necromunda exists within the confines of the Hives, a handful of massive concrete and steel termite mounds scattered here and there. These structures are thousands of years old and their topmost spires tower many miles high; a trillion souls - and countless more, less savoury creatures - are said to inhabit each one. Within a Hive there exist uncountable levels, although there is a very definite social hierarchy, with the richest and most powerful individuals occupying grand suites at the summit of the spires. Beneath these reside the working class people, along with the great factories and power plants which the Hives rely on for their material wealth. At the bottom of the heap is the Underhive, the remnants of the original habitations, largely forgotten, and slowly being crushed by the sheer weight of the structure which they support. Surprising as it may seem, there is an even lower part to the Hive: at the very lowest point lies the Hive Bottom and Sump, areas inhabited by the worst kind of mutant and monster, a place where civilised people would never dare to tread.

The Spires
The topmost levels of the Hives are known as the Spires. There, the ruling class enjoy an unbelievable level of extravagance, with whole sections of the structure devoted to opulent mansions and the like. There are also personal spaceports for the wealthiest of the wealthy, chambers devoted to their governing bodies, and even great balconies and gardens (protected from the ravages of Necromundan weather, of course) devoted solely to the enjoyment of the upper-class elite. The Spires are so high that they pierce the toxic cloud layer which covers the planet for most of the time.

Hive City
Below the Spires and above the Underhive rests the Hive City. This is where the bulk of the human population resides, slaving day after day in the numberless Manufactories, smelting pits and assembly houses. Most of the inahabitants of Hive City work their entire (albeit short) lives here without ever seeing the light of the sun, so expansive is the area encompassed by a Hive.

A popular pastime amongst the residents of a Hive City is watching the blood sport of Pit Slave fighting, where slaves who have been augmented with industrial-grade power tools are set against each other in a fight to the death.

The Underhive
What remains of the first structures to be built on the sites where the Hives would rise now form their lower levels. These domes and blockhouses are a mess of old streets, tunnels, abandoned factories and other buidings. Whilst a dangerous and haphazard place to live, some humans (and other, less savoury creatures) manage to eke out an existence in the Underhive; indeed, it is not uncommon for the dregs of society to band together and form small fortified communities in the more stable parts, although the Underhive is subject to occasional “Hive quakes,” minuscule settlings of the structure as a whole which can cause incredible devastation to the people who live there.

Hive Bottom
Below even the level of the surrounding land lies the Hive Bottom. A tangle of old buildings, half-destroyed factories and disused access pipes, the Hive Bottom is an incredibly dangerous place to enter, and very few even consider doing so. However, for those brave or foolhardy enough to do so, it can be a treasure trove of wealth, as there still exist domes and facilities which hold forgotten technology or rare spices and medicinal fungi ripe for the taking. Of course, an adventurer into into these parts must be ready to face all manner of hungry mutants and degenerate monsters in order to claim his prize. ..

The Sump
The Sump consists of a great mass of toxic effluence which has seeped down from higher levels over the millennia to engulf the very bowels of a Hive. Almost nothing is known about the creatures which inhabit the Sump, as entry to this area is a virtual death sentence.

Denizens

 * Ash Clams: Carnivorous mollusc-like Creatures found all across Necromunda.
 * Brain Leaves: Parasitic plants which are capable of taking control of human bodies.
 * Icrotic Slimes: Another parasite which can cause the gruesome death of those whom it infects.
 * Lashworms: Worm-like carnivores who hide in the deepest crevasses.
 * Milliasaurs: A species of voracious centipede which inhabit the Underhives.
 * Ripper Jacks: Another lethal species from the Underhives, Ripper Jacks have been known to make their way into Hive Cities.
 * Scalies: A relatively stable strain of Abhuman which live in secretive clans in the Underhives, but have been known to ally themselves with the scavenger populations which also call those places home.
 * Bull Gorg: A Pit Slave who made a break for freedom and led a rebellion amongst his compatriots against their former masters, then carved out a brief empire in the Underhive.