Gargoyle Paris

NGR knows that there is a gargoyle presence in the area that once used to be the Pre-rifts City of Paris. What they have yet to realise, is that what they are seeing in Paris is an elaborate façade put on for their and other onlookers benefit. The NGR military has so far failed to correctly estimate the real number of the gargoyles present there, their purpose or power.

What has been occurring in Paris is a show put on to cover what has been going on underneath the surface. For the Paris Metro survived the coming of the rifts virtually intact and has been drastically extended and altered to suit the gargoyle purpose. The Paris Metro is an ideal gargoyle habitat in the Rifts world. Chamber after cavernous chamber now extends deep into the bowels of the Earth, safe from prying eyes and enemy action. The true number of Gargoyles and their allies in this area has been kept well hidden and even today remains a mystery, so much so that even the most pessimistic estimate of their number by the NGR falls pathetically short of the actual number. An error which nearly cost the NGR it's very existence.

Nor is the NGR aware the extent of mutual co-operation there truly is between the gargoyles and the blood druid enclave in Paris. A long term strategic alliance has been struck up which creates a force of far greater capability than the NGR has estimated.

The gargoyles partners (the brodkil and Mindwerks in particular) have started to find out about the Paris union and are concerned about having been kept in the dark so easily but also for not being 'invited to the party' by their so called allies. This news just added to the mistrust between them, for the monster nations already blame each other for the failure of their assault on the NGR.

The pre-rifts surface metro lines, which ran around 50-100ft below the surface, have long been destroyed and their remnants are part of the disguise. All NGR investigation teams have seen are disused and blocked tunnels, totally oblivious to what lies further underground. Deeper underground around the deep pre-rifts metro lines and even deeper than those tunnels, the gargoyles have built a home for themselves. Thousands of gargoyles crawl all over the underground network and in a number of places huge nest areas have been set up. Skyscraper and pyramidal skeletons rise 100's of feet high from the depths of the earth in these chasms. These are made out of metal or stone and this is where the gargoyles live and train as warriors. These chasms have been hewn out of the Paris metro, going deeper than even the deepest tunnel of the pre-rifts metro. Is it a 1000ft deep or 2000ft or even more?

It is in this relative safety that the gargoyle numbers have grown, unnoticed by friend and foe alike. It is here that they build their war machines, using slave labour, humans, d-bees and whatever else that falls into their clutches. The factories on the surface are a bonus, but again they are for show. Those surface construction facilities being damaged during the recent NGR assault were not even a setback due to the factories underground remaining intact.

These are highly organised, well disciplined and motivated gargoyles, security is tight. Loyalty is all and infighting is not tolerated. Slave escapees don't get far and are ruthlessly hunted down in the maze of tunnels, some dying of starvation being lost in the endless maze of tunnels and never reaching the surface.

Security in the underground network is iron clad, and the further you go the more secure it becomes. On the surface close to the tunnel network entrances and exits, there is a lot of hidden security in place from surveillance to anti missile defence systems. These gargoyles are trained to watch without being seen. Magic and psionics are used in tandem with technology to keep the gargoyles secure. Apart from these there are gargoyle eyes and ears on the ground. They also use "Seekers" and other creatures, much like humans use guard dogs. There are many defensive measures in place but personnel mainly provide protection near the surface. This is another precaution so that no suspicions are raised on why the underground tunnels are so heavily guarded.

Only when the underground network is fully threatened will the hidden defensive systems on the surface and in the surface tunnels be brought online. The recent NGR assault did not threaten the underground tunnel network and as such its defensive systems weren't engaged. The Gargoyles went and faced the NGR forces well outside the city limits. This was to stop any damage being done to the underground network, as well as to keep its existence a secret.

Everyone is in communication with each other and their command. There is a command structure and various protocols/drills in place to deal with different situations that may endanger the tunnel network. One of the most surprising things is the discipline shown by these gargoyles. There is no break from it, and if it happens, which it rarely does. The punishment is severe but is accepted without any qualms.

After walking in the maze of tunnels, it will eventually occur to a military type that the tunnel network is deliberately laid out for maximum confusion. It is not only good for confusion but is designed for the defender's benefit. The tunnels must be cleared by "hand to hand" fighting. The tunnels aren't all straight, they turn and swerve quickly to limit the effectiveness of ranged weapons in a siege situation. There are blast doors, which get larger and bulkier the further you get into the tunnels, and these open and shut, allowing small areas of tunnels to be sealed off to contain the enemy or turn a tunnel into a kill zone. Sometimes the opening and closing of these doors is used to "Herd" the enemy into prepared Kill Zones. In fact many of the tunnels lead to dead ends or to these prepared kill zones.

The Tunnel Networks contains many security features from overt and covert surveillance devices to overt and covert weapon systems built into the tunnel network. There are also hidden traps in the tunnel network. Some tunnels are designed and/or rigged for collapse to trap an enemy or quickly seal a tunnel.

A perceptive person in the tunnels may notice that there are hidden exits and entrances into the tunnel network. GM NOTE: -55% to best of three rolls to spot these, and that is "IF YOU EXPECT A HIDDEN EXIT IN THAT PART OF THE TUNNEL. These allow you to move from one tunnel into another, or to move up a level or down a level in the tunnel network. The gargoyles use these hidden doors to out flank an enemy. They allow them to get ahead or behind an enemy without the enemy being any the wiser. When in pursuit of intruders, a hunting party may well communicate with those ahead of the prey, and ambushes may well be set up.

The gargoyles have prepared the old Metro network as a mammoth defensive bunker. In fact there are signs that some defensive bunkers were built deep beneath Paris underneath the Metro tunnels and these were completed in the early to mid 2090's! Each underground level can be seen as a separate bunker.

On the surface MDC buildings provide protection for the tunnel network, Underground there is even more protection built into the tunnel network, some of this is the remains from the golden age of man that has been fixed and added to by the gargoyles. Around about 100ft below the surface the first of the gargoyle tunnel networks start, running for 1000's of feet deep underground all across the old city of Paris and even beyond its boundaries. Remember these tunnels are designed for gargoyles, some are large enough to allow Gargoyles in their robots to move through them. The tunnels may suddenly lead to a chasm, to get across these or to go up and down a level the gargoyles use their natural ability of flight.

One of the odd sights people may see as you get deeper into the gargoyle tunnel network, is a giant sized gargoyle made up of metal or stone, could be any material really. This structure will dwarf even the biggest gargoyle, the smallest is likely to be as tall as 60ft. On examination it will become apparent that it is hollow, and a good guess will be that it is used as a prison. Sometimes gargoyles and other sentient beings can be seen inside it, in the legs, arms, torso, wings and the head areas of this construction. Those trapped inside will be in a state of utter terror and panic, irrespective whether they are mortal slaves or gargoyle prisoners. These prisoners often severely injure themselves trying to get out by any means possible.

If the observer is particularly lucky or unlucky depending on how he sees these things he may see crowds of gargoyles gathered around this statue in solemn silence standing at a safe distance. Among this throng there is likely to be a smattering of gargoyle blood druids. Whether the observer realises that they are seeing blood druids, depends on his knowledge of blood druids and mages, as well as how observant he or she really is. After a few morale boosting speeches, confirming what "crimes" those in the statue have done and saying something along the lines of "let them atone and bring strength to the gargoyle empire by the execution of their sentence". At this point the crowd will start chanting, a mage observer at -40% perception roll will suddenly realise that the non mage crowd is opening itself up to mages, who can freely take up double the PPE up for offer from the crowd. The observer may then witness blood oozing out of the structure until the whole structure is covered in this pulsating blood. At this stage an onlooker will describe it as if the structure is on fire. Then all of a sudden, strange creatures will start to peel out of this blood.

Gaesates

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