Wr i t t e n b y M a n u e l

" M a n u F S" S a m b s
Edited by J.C. Thompson
Art by Hariadi, Fasiyati,
Lusiyanto, Paryanto, Aji,
and Eko Gruffyanto
Layout by Morne
Schaap

PERMISSION IS GRANTED TO PRINT THIS EBOOK FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

NO SITE LICENSE IS GIVEN.
Stingers & Spores is published by Twitchy Butcher Studios LLC, Copyright 2021.

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.
peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment
Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or
suitability for purpose of this product.

2
 H i ve r u n n e rs
Introduction
This mini-setting brings the world of Stingers &
Spores into a dystopian future. S&S portrays a
fantasy setting with a mostly positive outlook
on insect life, despite the dangers and struggles.
Hiverunners provides a dark vision of a possible
future for the Insect Kingdoms, many hundreds
of years distant from the events of S&S. Life is
bleak, hope is a luxury unobtainable by most,
and death literally has become a price to pay for
insect-kind to live on.
Yet, there are those that fight the good fight,
however forlorn their cause may seem. The war
may probably never be won, but every victory
in battle makes life just a little more bearable.
The World
Due to a limited page count this
product assumes you already know
how a cyberpunk world works, both
physically and in cyberspace. It will
not teach you about the daily life of
citizens and hiverunners in detail,
or the social dynamics of a corporate
dystopia and how technological
development in full overdrive affects
society.
The same applies to generating full
cyberpunk-themed adventures out of
the short savage tales provided in the
GM section.

“We expose the spider’s lies, but it’s

not enough to just know. We gotta make
people UNDERSTAND, right? A few witnesses
can disappear, but a hundred? A thousand?
Be at our next gig, we’re gonna drop some
bombshells! Their PR won’t sleep for weeks!”
-Danny Z, Punkrock Chirper

3
 Chapter 1:
The New
Kingdoms
Ancient determined the winner. Insects realized their
inherent limitations and sought to overcome

History
Insect life has changed throughout the ages and
aeons. Prosperous during the Dawn. Hunted,
tortured, dissected, abandoned by the gods in
the Age of Bones. Uplifted again in what was
called the Modern Age.
Reunited with their gods, insect-kind firmly
established its right to rule the world once
more, and the Insect Kingdoms rose out of the
dark times of the past to cover the lands. But
this is not where history ends.
them by any means necessary, whether to
conquer or just to survive.
The Fall of
Virtue
Despite many inventions supporting the war
effort, insect-kind may have reasoned and
found a new equilibrium once they realized the
inevitable outcome of widespread warfare. Yet,
it was not to be, as another faction meddled in
the dealings of bugs: the spiders.

A New Who struck the first deal with the arachnids

has been lost to time, but the children of

Modern
Aranid the Wise turned many battlefields, and,
as lifespans passed, the entire insect world.
Spiders supplied highly advanced technology
Ag e to any who would pay the price. Since insects
found themselves entirely unable to reproduce
Uncounted lifespans have passed since the
the spiders’ products, and technology meant
founding of the first Insect Kingdoms. Empires
winning, a spider never lacked customers. By
and realms have risen, just to be ground into
the time insect-kind realized whole kingdoms
dust by either warfare or time. Insect-kind
had become dependent on a steady supply of
flourished across the lands, yet ever increasing
spider-made technological products, it was way
numbers brought with it clashes of opinion,
too late. Both insects and arachnids had become
interests, claims, or a mix of all three, leading
accustomed to the high levels of luxury and
to bloodshed on a scale only whispered about
power which technology granted them, and
in the tellings of the Age of Bones. Entire
neither was willing to give that up.
Insect Kingdoms went to war, and, as happens
frequently during conflict, ingenuity often

4
The Rise of
Industry
With these rapid technological advances and
the ever growing industrialization of most
Insect Kingdoms came equally massive changes
in the lives of all modern insects. Combined
with other factors, electricity caused by far
the most alterations of insect society. Barely
any insect alive today remembers the humble
origins of the new technological civilization,
back when pedal-powered generators were
used to light the streets of only the biggest
cities, and communication gear relied on hand-
cranks and crude cables. These days a bug’s life
is dominated by technology in every aspect.
The spiders refined and perfected their craft
over many life-spans. They may have started
with almost primitive implements, barely
capable of generating enough heat to smelt tin,
but through research and determination they
now produce a vast amount of high-tech parts
required for every-day life. When demand
skyrocketed, the spiders also realized they
didn’t have to fabricate every item themselves.
All they had to do was make critical components
impossible to recreate by insects.
Modern spiders produce a comparably tiny
amount of hardware and electronics while
insect labourers slave away in huge factories,
and accounting bugs keep the flow of resources
organized. The kingdoms of old are mere
shadows of their former glory. While kings and
queens still sit on thrones and guild masters
still wield influence by determining which bug
is able to even apply for certain positions, the
spiders hold all true power, consolidated in vast
organizations they call corporations.
The Price
of Power
Only the children of Aranid know the secret
of how to produce the parts necessary to keep
modern society alive, so they are free to set
the price. This quickly led to a problem, as
the traditional physical currency was hard to
transport, harder to store, and impossible to
5
keep for extended periods of time before the
seeds would start to rot.
The spiders countered this for a while by
issuing paper and plastic currency tokens
called C.O.B.W.E.B.s, certificates of balance
within economical banking, or “cobs” for short.
This system lasted for many life-spans, but the
continued rise of corporate power soon required
an easier to use financial system, unhindered by
the restraints of physical tokens.
With the emergence of mycospace, the spiders
transferred the world of finance into a purely
digital form. Cobs were replaced by the
Synthetic-Electronic Economy Denomination,
or S.E.E.D. ($). Cobs are still around, but they
only see use in shady deals involving criminals
to avoid financial tracing. For the most part,
seeds once more make the world go round.
Beyond vast amounts of worldly wealth,
the spiders are literally paid in blood. Every
corporation follows their own specific rituals
for sacrifices to their executive spiders.
Underperforming at your job, failure at
delivering a project on time and in budget,
infractions against established corporate
etiquette - these things can now literally make
heads roll. Some corporations even went so
far as to establish it as an honorary goal to be
chosen, mostly as a reaction to escape attempts
of a boss spider’s next meal.
The New
Rulers
In the wake of industrialization, all of bug
civilization underwent a rapid transformation.
The Insect Kingdoms still exist, but their
importance has diminished massively, in some
instances to the point of window dressing.
The maps still show the borders between
kingdoms, but any real power is wielded by
spider-led corporations. Kings and Queens are
allowed to hold court by the corporate masters
located in their domain, but many a ruler has
ended as a meal for daring to make a grab
at actual influence. In these modern times,
kingdoms are barely more than convenient
ways to section a map.
The guilds fared only mildly better. With most of
their knowledge being obliterated, superseded,
or made straight up irrelevant by technological
advances, they now cling to whatever shreds
of power the spiders allow them to gain. The
position of guildmaster still exists, but only as
a mere title given to high-ranking executive
bugs who oversee research, development, or
production. It’s mostly used in the performing
arts departments of the entertainment industry,
and some smaller manufacturers of high-end
luxury goods claim the title for their CEO.
Most employed bugs work for a corporation.
The biggest of these companies are directly led
by the children of Aranid, with most higher
management leadership positions and all
C-levels filled by spiders. Smaller corporations
may either have a spider only fill the role of
CEO, or not even that, if the company is too
small to be meaningful in the eyes of the spiders.
Technically, all corporations belong to a
kingdom and pay tithe to their ruler. In
6
practice the spiders dictate the terms of these
arrangements, and most of the money goes
straight back to the corporations who provide
all kinds of services for the kingdom.
The
Ad ve n t o f
Mycospace
The ever increasing industrialization quickly
showed the inadequacy of bookkeeping using
traditional methods and actual books. The
amount of data storage and processing needed to
ensure smooth operations grew exponentially,
and even the most cutting edge inventions of
radio transmissions couldn’t satisfy the demand
for information transfers. The spiders set out for
an even more modern solution.
They found the answer in the ever-present
mycelia. By infusing the fungal strands with
their own technology, the children of Aranid
crafted organic cables capable of transporting
vast quantities of information in the blink of
an eye.
What started as a reasonably simple network
to quickly process information soon grew to
immense proportions. Cities interconnected
with each other, and webs of mycospace cables
spread throughout the landscape, hidden safely
underground by digging bug teams.
As they did with all of their inventions, the
spiders kept improving and evolving their
information networks. Even insects with many
legs quickly ran into their limit for data entry
and processing. After intense research crunch,
bug scientists developed the first ever insect-
computer-interface. It was a highly invasive
process which essentially re-wired a bug’s
ganglia to fully override their perception with
signals sent from or to a computer. Needless
to say, the first “volunteers” went absolutely
insane within a few flaps.
The interface technology got refined over time,
and the computer systems received sculpted
visuals to reduce the confusion of maneuvering
through a virtual system with only your mind,
assisted by tools on a mycospace deck.
Today it is almost trivial to have modified
mycelia strands fused to a bug’s ganglia,
allowing them to connect into mycospace with
their mind.
A N e w Wa y
of Life
The life of the average corporate workforce bug
is ruled by fear, thinly veiled by complacency
born out of convenience. The fear of losing
status in the company, being no longer able to
afford amenities, or messing up hard enough to
earn a ticket into a spider’s lair, is what keeps
corporate workers going.
With the introduction of electrical lights the sun
lost her meaning as the rhythm of life. As street
lamps and more powerful spotlights became
widespread, diurnal insects shifted their cycles
to regular short pauses for sleep, replacing
their habits of old of sleeping during the night
7
and being active during the day with a new
lifestyle to meet the ever growing demands of
productivity.
Nocturnal insects quickly became second class
citizens, damned to find work underground, or
on the outskirts of sprawls. The spiders were
happy to keep insect-kind separated and foster
animosity between diurnals and nocturnals.
At the same time they designed ways to tap
into that vast night-dwelling workforce at will,
which led to the development of support gear
enabling nocturnal bugs to walk the daylight
streets. Since these items needed to be custom-
made for each bug they were expensive at first,
but they quickly caught on as a fashion trend.
Now it’s a common sight to see bugs of all kinds
wear these so-called shades, which come in a
vast variety of styles and designs.
The ancient means of transportation proved
to be highly inadequate to handle the sheer
volume of ressources, trade goods, and insects
needed to be shipped to and from cities. The
first powered wagons were crude contraptions,
using the wind or hand-turned cranks to
generate power for small motors. Now these
vehicles have evolved into slick and energetic
machines. Powered by high-capacity batteries
they can easily traverse huge distances at almost
breakneck speed, either by land, sea, or air.
While airborne insects still carry the advantage
of versatility and numbers, many insects have
taken to the skies by sky car, cloud cycle, or
helicopter.
C o r p o ra t e
Life
The rise of corporations brought with it drastic
changes to insect society as a whole. On the
lower end of the new corporate world, small to
midsize companies tend to stick with the old
ways, and they are usually populated by a single
type of insect. There exists a threshold, though,
which requires companies to employ a mix of
different species to survive on the open market.
This threshold depends on the specific market
segment the company wants to cater to, but all
big corporations employ a vast array of different
insects across many species to stay competitive.
A small anthill may be run as a company,
churning out clothing and accessories to feed the
latest fashion trends. The corporation defining
those trends, however, will count a huge variety
of species among its workers, strewn over many
locations.
Opportunistic companies not willing to
fully sacrifice their independence often form
conglomerates with other companies. The
conglomerate allows for ease sharing of
goods, services, and funds, while keeping the
individual companies mostly autarkic.
At the highest end of the scale lies the corporation.
This moloch of an entity is technically still a
company, but has grown to a size so large it rivals
some cities. Smaller companies are swallowed
regularly by corporations, and even if some are
allowed to keep their own valuable branding
they are slaves to their new corporate masters
in anything but name. Corporations keep
offices in multiple cities and subsidiaries spread
their influence even further. Lots of kingdoms
outright allow corporations to set their own
laws and police their workers themselves.
Into the
S p ra w l
Every part of the insect world adapted
to corporate culture in some way. Mixed
neighborhoods became the regular way of
life. Ever increasing demand required boosted
productivity, which led to focused settlement
at key points of the landscape. Huge sprawling
masses of buildings started to grow and creep
ever outwards.
As a direct result, food production had to become
highly managed, as nourishment was essential
for productivity. Full hives of bees relocated,
their main product of honey becoming a valued
commodity. At the same time the demand for
recreational substances skyrocketed. Alcohol
and both organic and synthetic drugs became
available widespread to keep the workforces
entertained.
As the demand for living space in these massive
cities quickly outgrew the capabilities of
natural features, buildings had to be devised
8
and erected to house ever growing workforces.
Ants and termites worked tirelessly to build
accommodations for countless other workers.
The sheer numbers of bugs suddenly
concentrated in almost unreasonably small
areas also brought social challenges on a scale
unheard of before. Guards had to organize
into highly effective policing forces, and many
corporations hired combat-capable bugs as
private security forces.
Managing nigh uncountable numbers of bugs
living in close proximity required bureaucracy
and many services, simply to keep the emerging
sprawling cities from collapsing under the
physical and metaphorical weight of their own
denizens. Obviously this gave rise to another
wave of companies and corporations providing
these services, further feeding the circle of
demand and expansion.
Wherever services could not reach, failed, or
proved ineffective due to mismanagement or
underfunding, organized crime flourished.
Criminal organizations were all too happy
to earn money and gain influence in the
undersupplied districts of the sprawls.
New Divide
of Power
With the rise of corporations and corporate
life, the old ways lost their meaning and died.
Religion in any aspect took the hardest hit.
Worship of the old gods faded quietly, and
while it never got explicitly forbidden by the
spiders, they worked hard to supplant it with
corporate propaganda and lifestyle.
Afterall, when AgriCorp provides highly
effective irrigation systems and Evergreen
Chemicals sell potent fertilizers, guaranteeing
high yield crop harvests, why would a bug pray
to Plimyrial?
Religion didn’t vanish completely, but it
has become little more than a fashion trend.
Corporations produce merchandise for any
occasion, and for most bugs prayers are
now little more than traditions with barely
remembered origins.
Priests still exist, but for the most part they
celebrate customs which haven’t held true
spiritual meaning for the longest time. It is rare
to find a cleric capable of actual miracles.
In contrast, other types of magic are in high
demand and virtually guarantee high paying
positions on the corporate ladder. Alchemists are
highly sought after for anything from research
and development to specialized production
lines. Chirpers dominate the charts of every
music genre and talent scouts are always on
the hunt for the Next Big Thing. Monks of the
War Path are hired by law enforcement special
units, corporate strike teams, or as bodyguards
for high-level executives. Wizards cover a vast
spectrum of employment with every corporation
eager to grab a freshly trained spellcaster fitting
their unique needs.
Beyond the
C a ra p a c e
The discovery of the bug-computer-interface
opened the floodgates to an undreamed of branch
of technology. Soon after the development of
the first functional datajack scientists began
experimenting with different applications of
spider-technology-infused tissue. The resulting
contraptions were crudely made at first, most
little more than devices bolted onto an insect
with holes drilled into their shell to feed the
cables through.
Over time, and through many horrible
experiments, implants as insect-kind knows
them today developed out of the early rough
prototypes. Many corporations offer a vast
amount of modifications to every bug willing to
modify their own body and able to pay the cost.
Some corporations even offer implants as part
of long-term work contracts.
S ta t e o f
A f fa i r s
On top of everything lie the children of Aranid.
Their power is absolute, and their influence
stretches the world like an invisible web. They
shaped insect society to do their bidding, and
they have no intention of letting go of even the
9
slightest shred of control. This does not lead to
peaceful times. These spiders vie for the good
graces of their mother, Araknorg, jealousy
being as much of a driving force to them as
determination. Corporations war with each
other regularly, both on the market and on the
actual streets. Espionage, sabotage, and (in rare
cases) open hostilities are tools of the trade of
every corporation which can afford it.
In the old days it was unthinkable for a cult to
operate in the open. Now the spiders foster a
cult of personality, and the attention their fans
give them borders on worship. Some of these
cults are little more than gangs, nurtured by
shadow deals and kept as unofficial enforcers.
The guilds are no more. Companies,
conglomerates, and other forms of corporations
have taken their place. For most bugs, the
corporation is home. Lower level workers
may get fired and switch jobs, but higher
tier employees, like managers, executives,
researchers, or team leaders, are often born
into their corporate family. They get raised in a
closed system filled with constant brainwashing
and work there until they die.
Old Foes
and New
Enemies
Insects in these modern times face many
dangers still during their lives. While some
dangers could be negated through technology,
many old and some new foes present a real
danger to insects of all kinds.
Gangs of outlaws roam both the vast stretches
between cities and the actual streets of the
sprawls. They steal whatever they can find and
almost no inter-city transport leaves without an
escort. Funds generated from blackmarket sales
of stolen goods means these gangs usually are
well equipped and heavily armed.
Hornets and wasps got hit the hardest by the
emergence of firearms and ordnance. While in
the days of old they ruled the skies with terror,
now they need to plan attacks carefully if they
don’t wish to run into volleys of machinegun
fire and anti-air rockets. An organized swarm
still presents a deadly danger, but many failed
raids and thousands of dead warriors forced
these raiders into new ways of life. These days
many hornet and wasp swarms earn their keep
as combat forces and mercenaries.
While the children of Aranid control and
run the world through corporations, their
cousins of Saltican and Theraphas lineage have
proven most useful as agents and enforcers.
Every insect cowers in fear when the brood of
Theraphas sends a deathsquad, and many who
thought to escape their debt, or sell company
secrets, found themselves outrun and trapped
by a descendent of Saltican. These cunning and
brutal spiders seem content with serving their
Aranidian superiors in exchange for upgrades
to their innate skills.
With the spiders now ruling over insect-kind,
vertebrates became the new horrors that lurk.
The sprawls grew into molochs, powered
by technology and fueled by everpresent
expansion-driven propaganda. Where insects
were formerly divided into small settlements
and modest cities, the sprawls now house
millions of insects, and the vertebrates noticed.
It is rare for one to attack a sprawl, but when they
do the destruction and death toll is immense.
Specialized units of armed forces, equipped
with the heaviest weapons known to insect-
kind, patrol the borders of known vertebrate
regions.
Measures
of Control
It seems impossible for any organization to keep
track of all the dealings going on in a sprawl.
True enough, the spiders realized long ago
that absolute control was an unreachable goal.
They settled for the next best thing - control of
everything they deemed important. To achieve
this goal they implemented various systems of
checks, reviews, and enforcement.
Each bug is issued with an ID at birth. This ID
stores their identity in digital form, like their
species, name, address, place of work, kingdom
of origin, issued licenses, and much more. The
ID is stored on a small chip. Losing this chip and
10
getting it replaced is a bureaucratic nightmare,
so virtually all insects and spiders get their ID
implanted or otherwise permanently attached
to their carapace. The information on the ID
chip can be accessed via handheld scanners
from close distances, which makes it easy for
patrols or scan drones to verify if a bug is really
who they say they are.
The ID system is tightly interwoven with all
aspects of modern life. The ID chip identifies
the wearer, but also holds bank account data so
it can be used for easy payments. This of course
makes an insect almost digitally transparent.
Targeted advertisement is omnipresent.
Outsiders
Within
Every system has cracks. The sheer size of the
sprawls and breakneck speed of technological
development inevitably leads to droves of
insects being fired and not able to find a new
job, their knowledge and skills made obsolete
by new inventions. Others choose to simply
not follow the laws set by the spiders, instead
taking by force what they need to survive. And
then there are those who see the system for what
it truly is, a giant web of servitude, obedience,
and oppression.
The unemployed are of little consequence to the
spiders. In time they may even become useful
again, filling work slots in new factories where
production requires little to no skill. Until then
they are relocated to huge slums, out of sight
and out of mind.
Outlaws presented a problem in the past, but
the rulers adapted, as they always do, and now
these gangs of lawless insects are a working
part in the big plan of control. These gangs
are allowed to roam the slums and the lands
surrounding the cities, ensuring a measure
of fear of leaving the sprawl or even just the
protected zones. Companies providing security
earn small fortunes protecting the rich and
powerful, and destroying a gang only gives
another band of outlaws space to rise.
It is the third group that is both inherently useful
and extremely dangerous to the spiders, made
up of those who understand how the system
works and decide to both not be a part of it and
actively work to dismantle the reigns of control.
H i ve -
runners
Many insects live outside the system, but only
a small percentage choose to work it for their
own goals. They take the jobs registered insects
cannot or don’t want to do, providing deniable
assets for corporations to run their shadow
wars. These bugs are known as hiverunners.
To what end is very individual, be it building
a small community within the lawless areas of
a sprawl, supporting a family, over to straight
up revenge, or the dream of open rebellion.
Hiverunners follow their own morals, which
makes them both useful tools and the stuff
of nightmares for the spiders. A hiverunner
understands they are often being used by those
in power, but they do what is necessary to
further their own goals. Many clerics, having
witnessed the decline and perversion of their
faith, are now found among the hiverunners.
Ingenuity is one of their biggest assets. Faked
ID chips, unregistered weaponry, illegal
surveillance and burglary equipment, highly
modified mycospace decks, these are just tools
of the trade. A true hiverunner knows they have
to stay one step ahead if they don’t want to end
up as a casualty report, or a meal.

“The Cocoon? Sure, I’ve heard of it. Hiverunner

club, deep in the Rot Zone. Heard it's built on the
ruins of some ancient tavern or something. Kinda
exclusive. Knowing the right someone might open the
doors, or pulling off a spectacular op. Great hub
to do business, get in touch with a fixer, or just
hang out with other 'runners… if you can get in.
RCPD can’t touch it, it’s in the Rot Zone, after
all. And spiders are too smart to kill the hand that
lets them do the shady deals. Of course, it being
located where it is, good luck even getting there.
Say, you wouldn’t be interested in buying a safe
route ticket…?”
-Skitters, Roach Hustler

11
 Chapter 2:
R i s e C i ty
In the beginning, there was the tree. It stood
proud and tall, the king of a large clearing deep
within the forest. Within its crown of deep green
leaves, branches grew heavy with fruit. The
tree’s bark, covered with moss and mushrooms,
provided cover and sustenance.
The very first building of what was eventually
to become Rise City was an inn, nested into the
strong roots of the tree. A simple place where
travelers could relax and refresh, the inn grew
popular quickly. Insects crossing the clearing
directly, instead of circumventing it, found
shelter and rest halfway.
Soon other trades offered their services, working
bugs started to settle with their families, and
before long a town sprang up around the roots.
This humble beginning is now lost to time and no
insect beholding Rise City could ever imagine it
being anything but the buzzing sprawl covering
Insects range in size by a lot more
than humanoids in other cyberpunk
settings. It may be best to just
gloss over the size of buildings
and transport ways, unless it is
dramatically important to define.
To draw a real-world analogy, a
group of heroes can easily consist of
mice and elephants. The important
thing is for everyone to have fun.
Details like how doorways look in a
world with size differences like these
can take a backseat.
12
the tree from root to crown, housing close to a
million insects from ants to zorapterans.
A Modern
Moloch
Rise City, nicknamed The Spire by its
inhabitants, covers an entire tree, starting down
at the roots and sprawling upwards into the
branches of the treetop. Historical quarters have
long disappeared, making way for efficient city
planning – as long as it kept the poor out of
sight of the wealthy.
A sturdy outer shell protects the city against
attacks and weather. This shell is more or less
well maintained, depending on the importance
of the underlying area.
The city is divided into zones. Most are open
and traffic can flow freely to and from them,
making personnel and freight transport quick
and efficient. Only the most expensive or
lawless zones are fortified even on the inside,
with any crossings being well guarded by either
law enforcement or private security forces.
T ra n s p o r ta t i o n
The highways tunneling through the mass of
buildings easily accommodate even the biggest
insects, but the emergence of powered vehicles
all but destroyed the profession of transport
bugs. Connection corridors are wide enough to
allow small to medium sized bugs to fly. The
focus of transportation has shifted towards
vehicles, though, and these days any insect
who can afford it prefers to drive or fly. Freight
13
transport to and within the city has become
the domain of trucks and trains, with hauler
bugs only loading and unloading the endless
demand for materials and goods at the target
destination.
Public transportation is widely available.
Companies run taxis and buses, with expensive
express services offering flight routes. Areas
with high crime rates see only infrequent
transportation service. The fully lawless zones
see none at all.
Rise City International Airport was built into
the treetop and is considered one of the trickiest
and most dangerous approaches a pilot has
to master. While this protects the airport and
planes from feral raids or birds, it also gives
the airport a bad reputation for high chances of
accidents. For this reason all but the most time-
sensitive long-distance travelers prefer to take
the train.
These arrive at Rise City Central Train Station,
which is also the only train station of the city.
Departing their train deep within the roots,
passengers then need to take a bus or taxi to
reach their final destination.
Insects capable of flight are free to climb the tree
on the outside of the city. Hatches and openings
dot the outer shell, allowing flyers and vehicles
easy access to the inside.
Zones
Governing hundreds of thousands of insects
requires well maintained structures. For this
reason Rise City was split into municipal
administrative zones, simply called zones by
most bugs. Most zones are not geographically
determined, but cover areas designed for
specific functions. Bugs live in habitat zones,
work in industrial zones, and seek relaxation in
entertainment zones.
The physical location of a zone within the city
is a good reference for its importance, funding,
and level of safety. The zones highest from the
ground are the most expensive to live in. For
this reason ascending the spire is a common term
used for rising up in status, even if the bug in
question does not actually relocate. The lower
on the Spire a bug lives, the less they earn and
14
the lower their status in overall society is. This is
called topside and rootside, depending on how
high on the tree one lives.
The same goes for living or working on the outer
shell or inside close to the tree bark. Shellside
locations are vulnerable to attacks and weather,
so they are considered less valuable. In contrast,
any place barkside will automatically fetch a
higher price, as it is secure and close to the main
transport highways.
Exceptions exist, of course. Shellside treetop
zones close to the airport or beehives are almost
unaffordable. Lots of corporations outright
own buildings there, housing the upper
echelon of their management in these luxurious
apartments.
Ad m i n i s t ra t i o n
and Public
Services
Rise City is governed by a mayor, supported
by a city council. Each zone has a seat on
the council, as do certain corporations for
providing exclusive services. In theory the
zone seats are given to officials elected in their
respective zones. This is true for most lower tree
zones, but those seats also hold little real power
within the council. Any non-corporate seat
with actual clout has a predetermined holder,
usually chosen by the spider rulers of the city
or other corporations. Corporate seats are held
by whomever the corporation deems worthy to
represent its interests.
Citizens of Rise City pay taxes to the city.
Technically so do corporations, but due to legal
tricks and loopholes all high tier corporations
pay mere peanuts, leaving the brunt of taxation
to be felt by small companies and the vast
masses of workers. Naturally this leaves the city
massively underfunded and public services are
a highly visible indicator of the city’s financial
circumstances and priorities.
Public services vary in quality depending on the
location of the zone one is looking at. Lower tree
zones barely see trash collection, water tends to
get rationed, and power lines are often broken
causing blackouts of entire blocks. Social
services like schools or administration are
notoriously short-staffed, as are Rise City PD
precincts. Zones near the top enjoy spotlessly
clean streets, well mannered RCPD officers, and
even the students whose parents cannot afford
a private school receive a high-grade education.
To S e r ve
and Protect
Effectively policing an entire sprawl is close to
impossible, so the Rise City Police Department
doesn’t even try. Their main focus are the habitat
and work zones of high value citizens, upper
class entertainment areas, and major transport
hubs. Any sizable corporation employs its own
private security force, as do the wealthy to
protect their homes.
PMCs and security forces are omnipresent in the
upper areas of the city. An entire hive of hornets
is dedicated to the defense of Rise City. They
are called the Metro Guard, but are an army in
all but name. Smaller security outfits operate
throughout the city, protecting corporate
habitats, offices, and industrial buildings. The
city’s lower areas depend on making deals with
gangs or criminal organizations for protection.
The notable exception is Rise City Central
Station, which is guarded by Black Knight,
a highly capable private security firm under
contract with the city.
Medical services are available to those who can
afford them. Walk-in-clinics exist mostly in the
low income zones, their services and equipment
are second rate at best, and you are required to
pay up front. Most decent clinics operate on
an appointment basis. Only the wealthy truly
enjoy high end healthcare and those doctor’s
practices don’t even open the door for anyone
not referred to them by a trusted source or
another patient.
Zone
Ratings
Rise City consists of numerous zones. Most hold
no relevance in the grand order of things. Zones
get merged, split, redelegated, or changed
otherwise on a regular basis at the whim of
15
the city’s overlords. The higher up in the tree a
zone is located, the higher chances it has to be
established and stable.
Each zone is given a designation and security
rating by the city. Designations vary wildly
from colorful names like The Rot Zone to
simple numbers like Zone 23. The zone’s rating
encompasses the presence, quality, and reaction
times of law enforcement and/or security forces,
and overall quality of the denizens’ life.
Z ratings are a warning. There is no law in
these zones except for the one you can make
yourself. Law enforcement does not patrol here
and private security is only seen in the form
of escorts if a convoy needs to cross a Z zone.
Gangs and other criminals rule these streets,
unhindered by city authorities as long the chaos
stays contained in the Z zone.
E rated zones usually border on a Z zone.
While technically not lawless, E zone RCPD
precincts are hopelessly lacking in funds, staff,
equipment, and work ethics. Crime is rampant.
Simply walking the streets during dark cycle
can be a lethal danger. Paying protection money
to a local gang is common. Industry in E zones
provides only the worst, most dangerous, and
lowest paid jobs available.
D and C zones are protected and patrolled
by Rise City PD, more or less regularly. The
vast majority of zones are classified as D or
C. Their apartment blocks house workers and
lower management types. Industrial zones
contain small independent companies and the
subsidiaries of subsidiaries of subsidiaries of
corporations.
B zones, besides providing a never-ending
source of bee jokes, provide those who can
afford it with a taste of the good life. The streets
are cleaned regularly, police and security forces
are a well-dressed common sight, and most
crime is white collar. Insects living here are
mostly middle management, but some hyper-
specialized workers can afford the high rent
and cost of living of a B zone. Industries focus
more on research and administration to keep
noise and pollution levels low.
A zones house the elite, in both insect and
corporate form. Upper management and C
levels reside here. Industrial sectors consist
of corporate headquarters and their most
prestigious research facilities, in addition to
production of mostly small luxurious amenities.
And of course no successful spider would ever
be caught dead making their home anywhere
but in an A zone.
N o ta b l e
Zones
H o n e y Z o n e ( A)
Bee swarms had always enjoyed the location of
the tree as prime real estate for hives, due to rich
fields of blooms and flowers within the clearing
surrounding the tree. Over the history of Rise
City multiple swarms set up hives in the treetop
and this collective area is now the Honey Zone,
a major provider of high-quality nurishment.
Security is omnipresent. The hives train
and maintain their own standing forces for
protection, though they hold good relations
to the RCPD. The same can not be said about
their wasp and hornet neighbors. Zone border
clashes are common, but both sides use it for
training purposes liberally.
R i s e C i t y A i r p o r t ( A)
The airport is nested deep into the branches of
the tree’s crown. Heavy security consisting of
wasps and hornets protects the perimeter at all
times. These forces have access to the heaviest
ordnance and they train to repel both insect
and avian attacks, which pits them against their
honeybee neighbors in border clashes from time
to time. Not that they mind.
Corporations usually provide their own
small security details for traveling VIPs, but
permission to bring armed bodyguards into
the airport terminals is prohibited to all but the
most powerful of corporations. Naturally this
does not apply to spiders.
Wa s p a n d H o r n e t
H i v e s ( C t o A)
Each hive is both its own company and
constitutes its own zone. The quality of these
16
zones varies a lot. Hives under long-standing
contracts with other companies or corporations
or the city enjoy a constant cash flow and can
afford good services for their citizens.
Swarms who survive on short term contracts
or mercenary work usually have a hard time
keeping up civil services on decent levels for
anyone but the higher echelons of power.
In both cases wasp and hornet hive zones are
very dangerous to operate in. These insects in
general are capable and dangerous opponents.
Enforcement spending is universally the last
funds to be cut in a wasp or hornet hive in times
of economic hardship.
Spider Zone (A+)
The home zones of the local spiders are both
the smallest and most protected zones in Rise
City. Virtually all of them are located topside in
the tree, all nested barkside and well fortified.
Security consists of hired top level mercenaries
and highly trained spider combat troops.
Operations in these zones are the stuff of legends
and countless young idealist hiverunners died
in a vain attempt of penetrating the city’s true
seat of power.
Rise City Central
S t a t i o n ( A)
Despite the poverty of all surrounding zones
Rise City Central Station is kept clean and
orderly by a special contingent of Rise City PD’s
finest. The station’s role as the main transport
hub for people and goods is apparent. Guards
are well trained and equipped, heavily armed,
and widespread surveillance keeps reaction
times lightning fast.
Cargo Halls (C)
The vast halls surrounding Rise City Central
Station act as a store buffer for the endless
stream of goods entering or leaving Rise City.
Most halls are secured only by rudimentary
surveillance and occasional patrols, but high
value freight is often protected by hired
mercenaries or corporate security forces.
The Red Zone (D)
Located neatly between Central Station and the
barkside highways lies The Red Zone. Any form N o ta b l e
of entertainment known to insect-kind can be
found here and bugs of all standings mix and C o r p o ra t i o n s
mingle. One might just as well find a group of
farmers spending their 3 hours of monthly leave and
here, as also small groups of topside managers
out for a thrillride under the thoughtful gaze of Organizations
their bodyguards.
Agricorp
The Rot Zone (Z) This corporation produces close to 50 percent of
The history of this zone could be traced back Rise City’s required food supply. They own the
to the founding of the actual city, if anyone vast majority of outlying fields, greeneries, and
cared to look beyond the literal warzone of greenhouses. Their biggest competitors are the
gang violence it is today. The tree’s roots Honey Collective and Malus Incorporated, who
act as a natural barrier for this outside zone. hold the other 50 percent of the market with
Shielded from wind and regularly flooded by honey and related products, and fruit harvest
rain, the very ground of the Rot Zone gave it from within the treetop.
its name. Only the most desperate insects live
here. Spiders who aren’t high enough on the RCPD
corporate ladder to warrant regular sacrifices
The Rise City Police Department, despite its
often raid the Rot Zone for food or sport.
name, is not a governmental branch, but a
corporation. Each zone administration negotiates
The Fields (E) terms with RCPD precincts within their borders.
Structures and settlements have long outgrown Depending on available funding this results in
the protected area between and beneath the varying quality of law enforcement service.
tree’s roots. Sprawling both upwards and Most hiverunners clash with the RCPD on a
outwards, Rise City has claimed the near regular basis. Regular foot patrols are reasonably
vicinity of the tree as well. Endless rows of easy to avoid or deal with, of course always
fields and greenhouses provide food and other
materials to sate the city’s endless hunger.
Many workers live in cramped camps, toiling
away under intense deadlines. Many gangs
operate openly, but as long as the shipments are
delivered on time nobody at city central cares
how many insect workers overdose every day.
The RCPD uses precincts here as punishment
transfers for members who messed up.

The Badlands (Z)

All other open areas of the clearing are considered
lawless. Land transports run escorts and the
railway is regularly patrolled, but all other vast
stretches of open land are home to marauders,
bandits, and feral swarms. Navigating the
badlands without an experienced guide is
dangerous business, but expeditions to gather
rare resources can be a lucrative.

17
depending on the zone one is in. If pushed too
far or too openly, hiverunners find themselves
facing the Yellowjackets. This elite unit is
composed exclusively of wasps. Yellowjackets
are the top of law enforcement’s food chain,
called in to handle violent opposition. Equipped
with a full arsenal of heavy ordnance and
extensively armored, yellowjackets swoop in to
end fights. They do not negotiate.
Chapter 3:
C h a r a ct e r
C re at i o n
Hiverunners follows the same process for creating
characters as Stingers & Spores. This versatility is
great, as it leads to very diverse characters, but
could also be used to over-optimise an insect
template. GMs should work with their players
to ensure group constellations which are fun for
all participants.
Modern
Day Insects
Ants adapted very well to corporate life. Every
anthill is either its own company, part of a larger
conglomerate, or a subsidiary of a corporation.
Employer and hive are synonymous for an
ant, and they wear their logo with pride. Their
ability to perform mind-numbing tasks for
extended periods of time make them ideal for
18
The Performers Guild
Contrary to their harmless sounding name the
Performers Guild is a criminal organization with
a high degree of structure and professionalism.
They effectively run the Red Zone in all aspects
of life there. The RCPD nominally holds
precincts in the zone, but unless called by the
Guild they will not lift a finger. Any RCPD
member assigned to the Red Zone is firmly in
the pocket of the Guild.
industrial scale mass production. Due to their
sheer number and easy replaceability they also
rank amongst the lowest paid workers.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Bees also thrive in the modern environment.
Hives are on the forefront of high density
food production and they recruit their own
protection forces from within. Bee negotiators
are highly regarded or feared, depending on
which end of the table one sits.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Hornets and wasps probably are still the closest
to their ancient origins. A few modern hives
relocated into sprawls, where they provide
security and enforcement services. Regular
conflicts with gangs provide them with all the
opportunity they can wish for to satisfy the
demands of their modern warrior culture. On
the opposite end of the spectrum lay the almost
feral swarms who roam the wildlands.
Sprawl hive hornets and wasps have access
to education and training. They are used to
operating in small units for others. Incidentally
this made them even more bad tempered, as
they consider themselves the (almost) top of the
food chain of a sprawl. They replace Enemy
(Major: Hornets and Wasps) with Arrogant,
and Illiterate with Enemy (Minor: Gangs or
Law Enforcement). Wildlands swarms keep the
original Hindrances.
Beetles are spread all over the spectrum of
workers. Strong beetles find easy yet very low
paying work in the transport industry. Big
species can find employment in the enforcement
sector, as can those with effective natural
weapons. Smaller specimens struggle and
either hope education secures them a position
with a corporation, or resign themselves to a life
of begging or crime.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Butterflies and moths fill various roles in a
sprawl. They comprise a large part of armed air
forces, mostly in units which aren’t intended
for intense frontline combat, although they do
serve as scouts for wasp or hornet formations
at times.
Butterflies are ever present in the art world, but
also in media and advertising. Anchor positions
are rarely filled with another species if they aren’t
working as a duo. More ambitious butterflies
prefer a career on the corporate executive
ladder. Moths outside of the military often bear
an only marginal existence. Their nocturnal
lifestyle and either aversion or addiction to light
makes them difficult to employ, even with the
use of shades. Most moths live in deep poverty.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Crickets and grasshoppers have been mingling
with other insects for ages and have no problem
finding jobs. Many of them work either in the
music or entertainment sectors. Grasshoppers are
also a common sight in enforcement capacities,
while swarms of locust gangs are familiar
plagues of the wildlands and sprawl barrens.
19
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Flies and mosquitos, besides ants, constitute
the backbone of the workforce. They are
employed by almost everyone in at least some
capacity and they are simply everywhere.
The docile nature of flies makes them ideal
temporary workers, and entire companies have
formed around bringing the weight of the flies’
numbers to those in demand.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Mantises for the most part found their calling
in armed forces, enforcement, and espionage,
where they provide the finest scouts and
hunters to keep civilized insect-kind safe and
their employers in business. Some mantises
even discovered a new kind of hunt and enjoy
navigating negotiations just as much as difficult
terrain in the pursuit of their target. Mantis
executives are amongst the most ruthless
corporate employees.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Roaches did not fare well under corporate
rulership. Most slums are filled with roaches,
and a “career” as a gang member is often a
roach’s only perspective in life. Certain military
and enforcement outfits use roach packs as
shock troops, but a roach has almost no chance
to actually rise the ranks. Roaches in corporate
jobs are rarely seen outside of the janitor’s
department.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Stick bugs got hit hard by the advent of the
sprawls. While the cities now mean safety
to a certain degree, the loss of their natural
camouflage’s effectiveness robbed them of part
of their identity as a species. For this reason
most stick bugs prefer to live on the outskirts
of sprawls, where they tend to farms, or work
as patient and almost invisible scouts. City stick
bugs try to find work wherever they can, but
most live in near poverty.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Termites prospered like few others. Their high
numbers provide high productivity and any
corporation is hard pressed to substitute for a
few termite departments if they find themselves
without termite services. Mining, tunneling,
construction, production, and armed forces are
just a few areas where termites excel. They take
pride in their work and deal with knockoffs
quickly and ruthlessly. While they had to
somewhat loosen their isolationist paradigm,
termite corporations still foster a culture of a
close-knit family and are notoriously hard to
infiltrate. Termines have no eyes, so they cannot
use shades. A termite can wear expensive
covering clothing to block out the light.
No changes to their archetypes are needed.
Hordes suffer the spiders’ ire every single day.
Since horde insects are notoriously difficult to
control, let alone capture, and cannot be tagged
with ID chips, the spiders decreed them insects-
non-grata. The vast majority of hordes live in
the slums. Only a few lucky chosen ones are
allowed to work in positions where their size
is a benefit, which mostly means low-paying
jobs doing maintenance all over the sprawl. All
others are confined to the barrens or wildlands,
where they either live a primitive life off of the
land, or earn a meager income as gang members
or bandits.
Hordes gain a second free Edge and the Wanted
(Major) Hindrance.
Larvae are considered mostly unusable in
a productive environment. They are raised
in specialized facilities, catered to by their
respective parent species, even highly
productive larvae like silk worms. As such it is
exceptionally rare to see larvae out in the open.
The Larva Hindrance also counts as the Outsider
Hindrance.
New Roles
Consider these cyberpunk tropes when creating
a character. They provide a rough guideline
to use with Sprawlrunners’ Backgrounds and
Goals (see Sprawlrunners, page 8). The roles
found in Stingers & Spores no longer apply due
to the advances of technology and the resulting
changes in society.
Many of the old roles now no longer directly
define a character’s place in a group. Wizards
can make excellent infiltrators just as well as
20
activists or hustlers, for example. Find the role
that defines what your character does, and then
see how they do it!
Of course if you have your own ideas, feel free
to come up with your own roles! Just be sure to
work with your GM and group for a coherent
table experience.
Activist: Rebels with a cause, activists dedicate
their lives to a goal, ranging from the downfall
of all corporations over to the removal of all
spiders from power to establishing social nets to
support the roach population. This role covers
a wide variety of bugs. Ex-corporates can be
found here just as likely as immigrated rural
bugs. What unites them is their cause and the
willingness to reach their goal by any means
necessary.
Hustler: These insects survive on a mix of street
smarts, charisma, and ingenuity. The sprawls
provide many opportunities for a bug to edge
out a living in the low-regulation and lawless
zones. Hustlers are a big role consisting of
negotiators, tradesbugs, con artists, smugglers,
street performers, and other very-much-
unlicensed service providers.
Infiltrator: Anything worth protecting is worth
stealing, and that’s where infiltrators come in.
Their label unites burglars, thieves, smugglers,
electronics and surveillance experts, social
engineers, and any other bug with the skillset
and willingness to “liberate” information or
goods from physical corporate hold.
Jockey: The introduction of powered vehicles
spelled death for the ancient tradition of the
bug bearer in most modern environments. In
their place the jockey rose, specialists capable
of piloting any vehicle or drone in existence.
They provide many services like transport,
surveillance, or combat support.
Muscle: In the old days this role was split into
barbarians, knights, and monks. Modern times
required a modern approach. Muscle characters
provide a team with raw force, concentrated
firepower, and the knowledge when to apply
which, or if to apply it at all. They are Monks,
mercenaries, former members of armed forces
or enforcement, combat wizards, or gangsters.
Musician: One doesn’t have to be a chirper to
be a musician, but it sure makes working that
crowd easier! These insects follow their passion
and refuse to be tagged and labeled by the
entertainment industry. They perform on the
streets and for the streets, finding inspiration for
their music in the active struggle for survival in
a world where corporations hold all the cards.
Operator: Mycospace is rife with opportunities
for those brave enough to venture onto a digital
battleground armed with only their wits and
a mycospace deck. Operators use software to
plunder the corporations’ treasures, either from
afar if possible, or protected by their team on site
if needed. They constantly clash with corporate
security specialists trying to defend targeted
corp systems. Discovering and publishing or
selling the darkest secrets of their marks is a
huge driving force for most operators.
Street Cleric: Every aspect of religion has
been adapted into seasonal fashion trends
and corporate clerics often are little more than
showbugs. Yet in the hope-deprived gutters
21
of sprawl streets faith is sometimes all a bug
has left. Street clerics preach the old faiths,
uncorrupted by marketing. Their powers never
waned, which is a sure sign to them that the
gods are still out there and listening.
Setting
Rules
In addition to the Savage Worlds core rules, this
supplement to Stingers & Spores requires the
SWAG product Sprawlrunners.
Magic uses the rules found in Stingers & Spores.
The Sprawlrunners Arcane Backgrounds and
magical Edges are not available.
H i n d ra n c e s
The Call of the Light Hindrance is not available
as a Major Hindrance to city bugs, as lights are
omnipresent there.
The Parasitic Hindrance is always considered Spores gear rules.
a Minor Hindrance, as multiple companies
provide artificial substitutes or engineered and The following gear is also available for purchase:
farmed replacement nourishment.
Spellbook
Skills and Spellbooks work as described in Stingers &
Spores (page 95).
Magic Weight: 5
Hiverunners uses all skills with the exception Cost: 2
of Psionics, Spellcasting, and Weird Science.
See the Arcane Background Edges in Stingers Shades
& Spores for new arcane skills. Hacking is
These modern-life implements are worn over
considered a Knowledge skill in regards to the
the eyes, either for style, to protect the wearer
Scholar Edge when using the Fast Lane rules.
from light, or both!
Languages are unchanged.
Weight: 0
Magic in Hiverunners does not use the
Sprawlrunners rules and Edges, see the Magic Cost: 0
chapter in Stingers & Spores.
Notes: can be knocked off in combat or rough
Wizards and witches gain a free wizard’s staff situations; Nocturnal and Call of the Light
with the Arcane Background (Magic) Edge. If penalties are halved when worn
their staff is lost or destroyed, they can enchant
a new staff in 1d6 hours. Te r m i t e C o v e r
Crafting poisons requires expensive ingredients. Clothing
This costs LP equal to the Power Point cost
Termites cannot wear shades and so had to
divided by 3 (rounded up), with a minimum
develop their own protection from light. Their
cost of 1 LP per dose of poison.
cover clothing has to be form-fitted to not restrict

Equipment movement and as such is rather expensive.

Weight: 2
Ignore the equipment of Stingers & Spores, use
the gear found in Sprawlrunners instead. Cost: 1

Gear should note the Size of the bug who

purchased it, as it won’t fit or be usable by most
Any Sprawlrunners street-vehicle is available as
bigger or smaller bugs. Using gear made for a
a thrust-powered version capable of flight for a
different Size inflicts a –1 penalty per point of
cost increase of 1 LP.
Size difference, or may not be usable (GM’s
discretion).
The listed LP costs apply to equipment for bugs
up to Size 2. Size 3 and 4 gear costs 1.5x the
amount of listed LP.
All melee weapons are available as a Titan
version. This increases the damage die by 1
step, adds Reach 1, Parry -1, and 2 hands only,
doubles the weight, and increases the price by
50 percent. The Strength requirement is raised
to d12, although larger characters can get
around this requirement as per the Stingers &

22
 Chapter 4:
GM
I n fo r m at i o n
The information provided in this chapter
is unknown to the general public and most
hiverunners. Insect-kind believes the spiders
are simply really good at hiding their research
and production secrets. The history of spider-
kind is kept from the public as well, recorded
only in the deepest of vaults and protected by
the most lethal defenses.
Clear and
Present
Dangers
When the children of Aranid rose to power,
they knew how vulnerable they were. Their
magic could only protect them from so much,
and there was no way for them to survive all out
warfare against insect-kind. Their solution lay
within the family. While the children of Aranid
developed technology, their sisters and brothers
found use as a means of protection.
Saltican and Theraphas did not grace their
children with intellect and for the longest time
those spiders were little more than barely trained
guard dogs on very short leashes. Technology
changed that as well, and the outcome was
more effective and horrifying than the darkest
tales of any Chirper ever imagined.
The rise of cybernetics gave the children of
23
Aranid a whole new playground and they
pushed their researchers to the limit in pursuit
of a grand goal - the uplifting of their siblings.
How many spiders died during the experimental
phase is unknown, but in the end an unholy
mix of orbweaver magic and implants gave the
children of Saltican and Theraphas the gift of
intellect.
The ruling caste would never allow their
lower siblings to become a danger, but infused
with dark sorcery and supported by neural
enhancement cybertechnology they instilled
enough intelligence into their cousins to make
them versatile, dangerous, and utterly obedient.
The children of Saltican and Theraphas went
from being barely trainable beasts to becoming
ruthless enforcers, bodyguards, and assassins.
Now no corporate CEO spider would even
think about leaving their home without being
accompanied by at least one of their Theraphas
cousins.
Fabricating
the Future
Many spiders are able to generate electric fields
and Aranid realised that her children could
combine this inborn ability with the gift of
magic she had granted them. While fire is still a
rare and dangerous thing, the spiders are using
electric powers infused with magic to create
technology far more advanced than anything
any insect could dream of. In modern days this
includes microchips, and myco-strands infused
with the spiders magic to produce anything
from cables for data transmission of mycospace
to data-processing-implants.
Without Orbweaver Magic, it is also impossible
for insects to use that technology to construct
their own. For example, spiders build electrical
generators for their insect customers, but these
items cannot be replicated even with access to
electricity. Insect-kind is entirely dependent on
the spiders and degraded to little more than
slaves within their own borders.
Plot hooks:
Hiverunners working in the rural areas around
the tree send reports of increased vertebrate
activity causing a vast amount of destruction
and death. None of these reports seem to be
taken seriously by corporations or city officials.
Dead workers are replaced quickly, but
destroyed equipment and lost troops either take
a long time to arrive or never get allocated at all.
Someone must be profiting from this, but who
and why? Every new attack may yie ld more
clues, but also increase the danger to Rise City.
• Rumors from outside the city speak of
priests with weird powers. These priests
seemingly follow the old gods, but perverted
their teachings into obscene farces. Their
powers also look very different and seem
focused on causing pain and destruction in
all facettes. Any news about this is heavily
24
repressed by official media channels, but
pirate news stations talk about incidents
involving similar magic appearing inside
the city.
• A priest of Folia decides he will no longer
stand by and watch hunger plague the
poor and downtrodden. The priest wants
to acquire the blueprints for greenhouse
control systems. Only spiders manufacture
those, so his plan is to kidnap a spider
manager and force them to provide the tech.
• It just so happens that AgriCorp has opened
a new office in a root side office, but isn’t
finished putting up the full security suite
yet. A dedicated crew with a good plan
might just pull this off.
• Whispers among hiverunners speak of
a new danger lurking in the shadows.
A corporation went beyond what was
thought possible and upgraded some of
their soldiers with enough cybernetics to
otherwise outfit a small army. Now these
merciless killers, dubbed ‘cybugs’, are on
the prowl. Nobody knows their goals, their
allegiance, and if they are even still under
control… or on a rampage.
• It’s election time for an upper tree council
seat. One of the losing candidates isn’t
planning to accept his predetermined fate
and wants the winner out of the race, by
any means necessary.