Zone 2: The Drowned District
Updated: 2026-02-26
Mid Underhive
The Drowned District is where the underhive starts to bite back. Partially flooded tunnels, rogue industrial machinery, and toxic spills define the landscape. The rewards are greater here, but so is the cost of failure.
Character
Everything is wet. The Drowned District sits at the level where the hive’s ancient drainage systems failed centuries ago, and the water - if you can call it water - never fully receded. Knee-deep sludge fills the lower corridors. Corroded walkways span pools of chemical runoff that glow faintly in the dark. The walls weep with condensation that leaves rust-coloured stains on everything it touches.
The air is heavy with the reek of industrial effluent and biological decay. Sound carries strangely here - a shout echoes for seconds, but footsteps are swallowed by the standing water. Fungal growths climb the walls in sprawling patches of grey and sickly green. The constant drip of contaminated water is the District’s heartbeat - a sound that drives newcomers mad and veterans barely notice.
Machinery still runs in the deep places. Pumps cycle on and off to no discernible schedule. Processing vats churn with substances no one can identify. The District was industrial once, and the bones of that industry still twitch.
Key Locations
The Spillway - A massive drainage channel, fifty metres across, that cuts through the heart of the District. The water level rises and falls unpredictably. When it’s low, the exposed channel floor is rich with salvage. When it’s high, entire sections of the District become impassable.
Pump Station Theta-9 - An ancient water processing facility still partially operational. The gang that controls it can manipulate water levels in adjacent territories - flooding rivals out or draining passages for access. It hums constantly, a deep vibration felt in the bones.
The Fungal Gardens - A vast cavern where bioluminescent fungi have colonised every surface, casting the space in an eerie blue-green glow. The fungi are valuable to chem-dealers and rogue docs, but the spores are toxic in concentration. Fighters here learn to hold their breath.
The Rust Bridges - A network of corroded metal walkways spanning the flooded lower reaches. They creak ominously under the weight of a single ganger. Some have collapsed; others will. Every crossing is a gamble.
Atmosphere & Narrative Notes
The Drowned District is where the campaign’s middle game plays out. Gangs that have established themselves in the Sprawl push down here for the richer territories, only to discover that the +50% income comes with a price. Fighters get sick. Equipment corrodes. And the things that live in the water are always hungry.
This zone rewards careful play and punishes overextension. A gang that holds three Drowned District territories is stretched thin - every territory needs defending, and reinforcements have to slog through flooded corridors to arrive. The territory cap of 3 exists for good reason.
The Drowned District starts at Contamination 0 but reaches Contamination 3 by the end of Arc III. When that happens, everything changes - the zone gains Pitch Black rules, income rises to x2, and the territory cap increases to 4. The District becomes as dangerous and as lucrative as the Sump once was. Gangs that invested early reap the rewards; gangs that avoided it find themselves locked out of the richest territories in the campaign. These changes are not permanent - during The Receding, when contamination drops back below 3, the Pitch Black rules lift, income returns to +50%, and the territory cap reverts to 3. The waters recede, the fog clears, and the District returns to something closer to its original state - until the next Deepening. See The Deepening for full contamination mechanics.