These quiet solitary individuals appear to many as nothing but mere highway junkies for whom speed is the ultimate high. Anyone who thinks it is all just speed and adrenaline knows nothing of what it means to be a Runner. These 'speed junkies' are the only contact between the Undercities, a vital cog in man's survival. As part of the great Undercity plan there are no legal methods of contact, this reduced plagues, civil unrest and was instigated to guarantee the survival of at least one Undercity. This might have worked for a few centuries after the Fall but now as the Undercities descend into disrepair this hardwired computer directive is sealing thier fate.
Undercity technology is heavily regulated, their Overcomputers regulate certain innocent technologies that hold the clues to research into other technologies, however due to a millenium of separation each Undercity has slightly different regulations. Runners help to fill in these blanks by allowing designs to be exchanged between Undercities. Most of these discoveries are innocent enough, however it has been known for Undercity operatives to seek out developers and coerce them into ceasing their research.
Runners smuggle people, scientists, the technological item itself, drugs, rare stones etc. Whatever an employer is willing to finance.
Most runners drive highly modified cars transporting small goods between Ninteen and the other northern continent Undercities. Generally each runner only transports goods over one leg of the journey, between major towns, very few Runner's dare run the Gauntlet along the Crone's Road past Sixteen.
Some Runners drive water tankers between Hangman and Four. Some have even been known to trek overland on foot under the nose of the Circle from Twelve to Nineteen and some cross the desert on camel between Ten and Nine. It all depends on where the work is and what transport they can afford.
Generally a Runner drives and concentrates only on the road. Runners are required to drive very fast for many hours at a time, so in general they are calm quite and reserved. Runners prefer to drive around trouble rather than standing and shooting at it. The best Runners speed around trouble and realise that shooting at it just attracts attention. Runners hate guns and those that wield them.
Most do their own mechanical work. Trusting your life to someone else is a different matter when demons are involved.
A suicidal profession, Guns provide the muscle to a Runner. A Gun deals with the trouble that cannot be driven around. Guns far out number runners however their mortality rate is quite high. Guns also provide a second service, they arrange jobs for the Runners. Most employers are convinced, that some form of muscle is required to negotiate the demonground. It is actually quite hard for a Runner to get work without a Gun to 'protect' their cargo. In some cases the Gun may not even be able to shoot straight but they have enough 'show' to convince an employer.
Gun's rarely wear any form of restraint on runs, feeling that the freedom of climbing out windows to shoot at pursuers far out weight the possible safety benefits. Most Guns wear reinforced motorcycle leathers and therefore can take a bit of gravel rash. Gun mortality rates are very high and most Runners would not think twice of leaving behind a fallen Gun.
In recent years the two or three car convoy has become popular. It was not an idea conceived by a Runner but rather opportunistic Guns. It does almost guarentee the success of one of the Runners so it has been developing a bit of a following.
These machines start life as ordinary Undercity commuter cars. They are repaired and modified by dedicated mechanics with salvaged equipment discarded from the Undercities. The original engines are modified way beyond their original specifications in some cases replaced by large truck motors and occasionally something salvaged from Demonground. The ultimate goal is speed. The less time spent in Demonground the better. The Sixteen gauntlet is roughly 600 miles. between 4 and 8 hours is a lifetime in demonground. Most runs are done at night when the air is coldest and the cars fastest. Fuel is always a problem, the higher speeds use more fuel but get you clear of the 'grounds' quicker.
Runners use alcohol to power their cars, farmers grow grains that are fermented and distilled to provide the alcohol. Hangman is a small farming based community on the edge of demonground, where most of the fuel is produced. Gauntlets Gate is the last fuel stop before the crones road but due to the towns lack of reliable water it gets its fuel from Hangman.
Cars tend to be heavily modified large cars, vehicles that will be stable at high speed and absorb the occasional impact without being terminally damaged.
Two and more car convoys are becoming more common. At one time it was only the 'runner' and his car. Increased 'protection' seems to be the major selling point not actual success rates.
Runs are mostly done at night. The air is cooler and the cars less prone to overheat and the denser air provides more horsepower and better fuel economy. Generally Demons that hunt at night fear the lights and will scatter from it. Shapes can always be half seen exiting the road or by the sides as they pass and occasionally in the mirror behind, seeming to give chase. They of course can always be 'felt' chasing, even by the most magically inept.
The night demons are more ethereal and less tangible than the day demons, half real wraiths and the like. In the day the demons that have managed to break through or possess a ride, wander about. They seem to follow the roads out of Demonground. During the day they search for carrion that has been left along the road. Once they leave demonground they are separated from their 'magic source' and they fade and must give up their 'rides', unless their ride has the magic to sustain them. The few Day demons that are met at night are easily outrun or 'run down'. They also fear and hate the 'noise' of technology something which they do not understand. During the day these metal boxes can be seen from a far, so are not as mysterious.
So long as the headlights are powerful enough the night time is the safest. Unfortunately it is most dangerous when Runners pass each other going in opposite directions. Each runner must drive through the others 'wake'. The demons that have attempted to follow.
Navigation of the demongrounds is nearly impossible during the day. Heat and the nature of Demonground plays tricks on the mind and the eyes. During the day the possessed wander insanely seeking answers or just water and food. The chance of vehicle failure is almost doubled. Engines and transmissions cook, tyres are more likely to overheat and blow out. The heat haze reduces visibility. The required slower speeds makes the run take nearly twice as long. Spending that long in demonground has a bad effect on ones Sanity.
Dragons have also been known to attack cars that travel the open roads during the day and of course anything that flies day or night. They swoop out of nowhere scoop up their quarry and disappear into the mountains. Mostly these are just fairy tales told by old Runners to young Guns when they ask too many questions. However car parts do occasionally get found by Scavengers that have bite marks in them.
Armour and ordinance are heavy. With the considerable fuel that runners must carry the vehicles are already heavy, adding too much armour reduces acceleration and fuel efficiency. Vehicle mounted ordinance again is heavy and firing is very distracting for the Runner, so most do without. Fuel takes most of the boot space so payload area is at a premium to begin with. Speed, cargo and fuel are the most important items. Essential systems are protected, such as engine electrics etc. anything that if damaged would leave the car instantly dead. If the car can at least carry on for another few miles an emergency stop can be made then.
When a runner sets out along the Crone's Road from Gauntlet's Gate they will face several obstacles. Scavengers don't always wait for Runners to wreck before they pick the corpses. Those with vehicles will set rolling road blocks and attack slower runners. They are able to pursue into demonground because of their mobility but at the first sign of 'demons' they will turn around and retreat. During these encounters the Runner must be wary of fuel usage. Through the Demonground 'proper' encounters are actually rarer than most Guns would have you believe but if forced to stop or even slow down it can seal their fate.
Whilst in the Demonground Proper all kinds of strange fates await. Some demons crave the taste of flesh others the last thread of your sanity. The magical instability of the Demongrounds can provide many challenges. Runners have even been know to exit many years after they entered. Most that do lose their way never return.
Most Runners talk of unheard of towns or lonely oases, of meeting strangers with stranger in tensions and of escaping only with their lives.
Transporting goods overland around the Demongrounds can be just as treacherous. The Wizards Circle frowns upon technology and there are places that do not tolerate outsiders regardless of their intent.
The Crone's Road and the others like it are dead smooth and six lanes wide. The roads origins are a bit of a mystery, the tarmac itself seems to grow, heal and regenerate. They will even eventually consume debris scattered across it. There are many theories connected to the roads most of which are quite unnerving. However the most accepted one is that one of the Undercities constructed it in an attempt to establish contact between the various Undercities, however somewhere along the line it was realised that things were not as safe as were first believed and that the roads should be abandoned. Others believe that the Crone of Sixteen had them built to attract people to her.
Once upon a time there was a road that connected the Twincities with Twelve and another to Five but both of these sections have died. The remnants of a road connects Five to Eight but the jungle has taken it back.
Gauntlets Gate Hangman and the Shanty towns provide services and work for the Runners
Half way through the Sixteen Demonground...
"SLOWDOWN YOU FLARGING PSYCO!!!!!!!",
"slow down?...bad things happen when you slow down.",
The Runner muttered, more to himself than to his 'Gun', he kept the pedal pinned firmly to the floor, he knew evil was behind him, he could feel the chill in his bones and feel it gaining on him, even though he couldn't see it in the darkness behind him. He stared deeply into the distance, way beyond the range of his headlights, in the road he could see his future. He new that if he wrecked at this speed they'd be dead, but at least they would be spared finding out what was behind them.