a small urban otherspace inspired by Neverwhere

This was used in a miami game but can fit anywhere and be tweaked.

Otherspace: The Underneath.

There is a small alleyway that can barely fit two people side by side. It’s called the Alley of Askance and it doesn’t appear on the maps becuase it’s just the space between buildings. it got the name because for some reason, the graffiti here is all questions. Every sprayed or chalked peice is “Who is she?” “What is known as Arcturus?” “Who is the Comte?” “Why did he have to die?” and so on. In fact, as you walk down the wind takes o a kind of whispering voice until eventually those who know the way…
Well, the best way to get there is to be invited by the Corporal or the homeless. If invited, a creepy old woman will hobble up to a random patch of brickwork and pull out a massive old civil war sabre, probably worth a pretty penny to a museum. She will score three great lines on the brickwork in the shape of a doorway and knock three times, then turn around anticlockwise while whispering “friend or foe, nowhere to go”. The door will be opened from the inside with a small shower of plaster and brick, sometimes by another homeless man or sometimes just by itself.
Now you have to descend the steps. The air in here is clammy and heavy, the light gives up after a few feet and the spiral goes very steep. The old woman will tell you to keep close and ignore the children. After a short time, a ball will bounce past (up or down the stairs) followed by a young boy in old clothes, who will ask you for the way to the train station. More children will appear, some running past and some stopping to ask desperate questions through their tears. you can see them even in the dark and as each one takes a hold of you, your body becomes colder and harder to move. One young girl will scream “dont look at me!” until either you are dragged down or you shake them off- the old woman will probably find you and hold your hand until the bottom. Compasses feel really heavy here and the needle will point directly at the person holding it.
At the bottom a heavy old door swings open to reveal a train platform. it is covered in dark red stains (a la silent hill) and everything is rusty and foul smelling. there are signs but none of them have words on.
In a minute, a train will arrive, pulled by an old civil war era engine. The open carriage that stops usually has some hay with a horse (one guy saw a massive iron clockwork horse), a large throne of rags and a handful of people. On the throne sits the Corporal, who wears civil war uniform and is old and ugly with a massiv beard. he can barely see and his jester, dressed in even older gear, will anounce your arrival, usually in a strange way. (eg, an urbanomancer may be called by the name of one of the Three Kings, a personomancer as No Face and always ‘from the Overneath’… eg, “Sir, presenting the Winged Woman from the Overneath!”

The old corporal can tell you anything that the homeless know and has limited cosmic knowledge. he takes a great interest in people and will usually try to help anyone polite who speaks to him nicely. he squints and splutters and always asks how the war is going even if you try to explain the date etc (and yet he could tell you that Traiman the Cliomancer lives in the new beachside flats.. weirdo)

The corporal will not raise a hand to defend himself but if you do attack him, the door to above will simply not open again and the train will leave the station. if you are aboard, say hello to eternity as a jester.

Rumours persist that the door to above can open up in other places that askance alley, making this a good way to move undetected. some say that with permission the train will take you to any station in the city, but this will require hard bargaining.

To get in by yourself requires a sharp weapon to scratch a door and to have been forgotten by someone important. if youre very popular, you can never enter unaided. the weapon must have drawn blood and you must whisper the phrase, as well as spending three minors. the homeless need not spend a thing, but those who enter all the time without paying in some fashion (coins on the steps, charges, a gift for the corporal) will find themselves unable to enter.

… okay guys hope you like it, it has lots of potential for expansion and change. anyone who has seen neverwhere will be familiar with the idea.