Hamsters in the Walls

"Only hamsters know what evil lurks in the walls of men."
--the prophet "Wireboy," lich hamster

Generations of humans have told stories of the little people. Legends and myth served to illustrate the dangers of angering them or of walking outside at night. Common sense says these are just stories to keep the wayward or disobedient in line with the group.

Few, very few, are aware that these myths and legends are based on a small kernel of truth. The little people have been with us from the beginning, watching from the shadows, the ultimate horror being that for all our size, we are completely unprepared to meet them. Even in a fair fight they can kill us one on one, or thousands at a time. The plague of the Dark Ages was one of their weapons.

We have barely explored our world. Even now, in our havens of high technology, we have but scratched the surface, whereas they have conquered whole regions of the multiverse. Dimension after dimension has fallen to them. In these fallen places they swarm and multiply, bending the conquered to their will.

They are poised at the threshold, hungry for our souls, our size merely another feature to be added to their technology.

[Picture of Syrian Warrior hamster: 6K JPEG]

Fortunately, our world has something none of those to pass before had. We have small but strong allies, unnoticed in the day-to-day turmoil we call our lives. We have powerful friends, most of whom stand no more than six inches high.

History:

The Breachers come to our plane of existence through the cracks in reality. Sometimes they stumble upon a naturally occuring fissure and sometimes they make a hole. They are innumerable in form. The only thing they have in common is their small size. The little people exist, but they are not people.

Some are conquerers seeking to conquer the lands of the giants so that they can use the giants to conquer still more dimensions. Some are the conquered, slaves brought to our dimension to subvert and destroy the human species.

The stories also speak of benevolent little people. These are our protectors, themselves the product of an alien lifeform's manipulation. Their purposes for us are more humane and straightforward. They are hamsters. We provide them with food and shelter and most of the time take care of their every need.

Unbeknownst to us, they return the favor by waging war in the very walls of our homes against an army of tiny horrors bent on our enslavement. The enemy call them "Hoarders." We call them pets.

The FUDGE setting Hamsters in the Walls is a work in progress, but the following are the basic concepts.

  1. Inside most homes, there are cubby holes and false walls that conceal spaces too small for humans to use, but perfect for a small village of friendly aliens or an academy of higher learning for intelligent hamsters.
  2. All intelligent hamsters are psionic.
  3. To become intelligent, hamsters must be "awakened."
  4. The Great City, the first hamster city, is the location of the Prime Gate.
  5. Stats (The Syrian hamster is considered Scale 0)
    1. STR--Strength
    2. AGL--Agility skills (e.g., fighting, dancing)
    3. DEX--Dexterity skills: (e.g., pick locks and pockets)
    4. STA--Health & staying power (e.g., resist disease, endurance)
    5. MIND--Mental skills: (e.g., logic, memory, charisma, willpower, perception)
    6. PSI--Hamstuur skills (see #6 below)
  6. Technology: Crystal-based and fungus-based
  7. The Hamstuur Net

Character Creation | City of Zap oc Tec | Psionics | Weapons

Breachers | Night of the Glass Shadows (adventure seed)

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Text copyright 2000 Todd LaRoche Image copyright 2000 Lily Principe Site maintained by Lily Principe