City Of Red Waters

What is this?
City Of Red Waters is an additional setting supplement for the Blades In The Dark roleplaying
game. It includes all the additional material you need to run a game of Blades In The Dark set in
the city of Inverrouge as well as three new types of Crew to inhabit it.

It is written by Ashton McAllan. This is an alpha playtest version. As such this document is
subject to massive change in future versions as needed. City Of Red Waters is delicate text that
mixes a lot of themes and influences and walks a lot of tightropes which means that it will need
calibration throughout the drafting process. In that spirit you are strongly encouraged to send us
your feedback, questions, suggestions, and criticisms. We also appreciate your patience and
understanding while we get some things wrong during that calibration. We're trying to make
this supplement as rich, exciting, inclusive, and alive as possible and we'd love your help in
doing that.

Welcome to Inverrouge
The land here is rich from a hundred thousand years of care and a hundred years of blood.

Inverrouge is a vibrant colonial city on the mouth of the river Sange. Its music, cuisine, and
culture are the envy of the modern world. Amongst dark trees courting still waters, and against
the backdrop of green rolling hills, the city delights itself with intoxicating local produce and
drapes itself in finery from every corner of the world. At night it erupts into a cacophony of
lights and music in a dozen clashing styles. Meanwhile its dark heart lurks in the swamps, in the
shanty towns, in every bite of gluttonous pride. Here in the city of red waters there are
opportunities for decadence, ambition, and monstrosity in equal measure for those who can get
away with it.
A Short History
Although the lands have been inhabited by its indigenous peoples since before the last ice age,
the city itself was founded as a French colony in the 18th century, some dozen or so decades ago.
It flourished rapidly due to its important trading position on the mouth of the great river Sange,
the fertility of the surrounding lands, and its easy access to labour from French convicts, West
African slaves, and indigenous captives.

After a half century the now prosperous colony was purchased on behalf of the British Empire by
the Inverrouge Company, an investment company created with the intention of transforming
the colony into a new world utopia. This transaction included the emancipation of all chattel
slaves, for which slave owners were compensated at near market value. The use of convict
labour,sharecropping, and the violent oppression of indigenous peoples, however, has continued
under British rule.

As the city ventures forward through the nineteenth century, under the guidance of Governor
Fraser and lavished with ever richer prosperity by the massive steamships making port at the
river mouth, its reputation for entertainment and indulgence only grows.

Heritage
Heritage in Inverrouge is complex and multifaceted. Choose where your family is from but also
how you came to be here. Are you indigenous, connected to the land since before all recorded
history? Were your family settlers, claiming the land for themselves with flags and guns? Were
you or your people brought here in chains, either for crimes committed or for the colour of their
skin? Were you simply migrants, lured across the sea by the promise of work and opportunity?
Are you the first of your family in Inverrouge, do your people have roots here now, or are you
just passing through on the river tide?

Background
Academic: A scholar, researcher, professor, or student from Baudin university, a philosopher or
journalist etc.
Labor: A servant, a factory worker, a coach driver, a docker, a sailor, a
Law: An advocate or barrister, an officer or inspector of the Inverrouge Foot Police, a prison
guard from Stillwater prison, etc.
Trade: A shopkeeper, a merchant, a skilled crafts-person, a shipping agent,
Military: A redcoat, a mercenary, an intelligence operative, a strategist, a training instructor, etc.
Noble: A dilettante, a courtier, the scion of a fallen house, etc.
Underworld: A street urchin, gang member, young thug, or other outcast who grew up on the
streets.
Technology
The city of Inverrouge is a bustling and prosperous colonial metropolis of the mid to late 1800s.
It is a city built no only on agriculture and labour but also on the broad shoulders of modern
technology. Steamships passing up and down the mighty Sange power the trade that makes
Inverrouge the cosmopolitan city that it is. Inverrouge university is a hive of research and
experimentation. The streets of Fraser Gardens are paved with bitumen, lit with electric street
lights, and home to several electric and petroleum powered automobiles. All of this and more are
possible in Inverrouge thanks to the philanthropy of its wealthy elite and investment from The
Inverrouge Company, who believe in transforming Inverrouge into a city of the future. Access to
the wonders of this technological age are, naturally and unfortunately, limited to those with
means enough to afford such things. The majority of folks in Inverrouge still dine by candle and
lamp light and earn their daily bread either by the sweat of their own brow or by working great
machines owned by the city's industrialists.

The Essence of Life

You are in your blood.

All that is sacred, beautiful, mystical of you; your spirit, your soul, your essence, runs through
your veins, hot and red. Every adult and child, every priest and sinner, lives in their heart,
reaching out into the world with eyes and hands.

Blood is the essence of life and soul. The strongest of magics and mysticism are centered on it,
and it runs thick in the streets, swamps, and valleys of Inverrouge. It seeps into the soil and
fertilizes the famous produce of the area. It spills on cobblestones and coalesces in the cracks of
the city. Ghosts walk as living smoke through alleys and swamps, conjured by blood left
uncleansed. Demons hide in murky depths, lured by blood in the water.

Whispers and leeches are well familiar with the scent of iron on the air, and the stain of red on
skin. Cutters and hounds know its weight. Slides, Spiders, and Lurks know to keep their hands
clean.

Overindulgence And The Vampire

Everything in Inverrouge has the taint of blood and earth, especially that which calls to us.
Various vices have differing tiers. Your starting vice is considered tier 0. When you roll to
indulge your vice, you clear additional stress equal to the tier of the vice you are indulging.
Any time you overindulge in your vice in Inverrouge, you gain a new vice from the next tier of
the vice list. The tiers of the vice list describe your increasingly specific and less socially
palatable tastes. If you overindulge when you already have 5 vices, you gain an unquenchable
taste for blood, the essence of life itself, transfer your character to the Vampire playbook.
In Inverrouge vampires must drink blood as it alone is the essence of life.

Vices:

1. Faith, Gambling, Luxury, Obligation, Pleasure, Stupor, Weird

2. Fruit, Sweets, Music, Cheese, Tobacco, Spirits, Sex
3. Wine, Meats, Painting, Sculpture, Fortune-telling, Bondage
4. Gold, Jewels, Fine Cloth, Blood Sport, Cocaine, Domination
5. Cannibalism, Torture, Opiates, Seances
Ghosts, Demons, and Devils
The Eucharistian Church call all things supernatural "Devils" and rebukes them as evils which
must be eradicated where they are found. Reality is, obviously, more complex. Supernatural
forces can largely be divided by their origin and their morality is unique to each situation.

Ghosts are the echoes of human lives. When blood is spilled or curdled, it sublimated into a kind
of smoke which carried some elements of the mind and form of the person it was. These ghosts
usually destabilise physically and emotionally with the passage of time but particularly
traumatic deaths or strong forces of character can create more enduring presences.

Demons are spirits of the natural world, sublimated from the elements, flora, and fauna of the
area. They are widely varied in form and disposition, though generally rarer in highly urbanised
areas. Indigenous groups have traditionally worked to maintain negotiations with these entities,
working with some and keeping others at bay. The disruption of these traditions by colonial
invasion has eroded or destroyed these bonds.

These relationships were largely conducted through complex ritual. Such rituals allow
communication with both ghosts and demons. Demons can lend supernatural power to humans.
The various new spiritualities of Inverrouge are rapidly discovering and developing rituals of
their own to communicate with and access the power of the supernatural.
Crews
Roots
Bloody Farmers

The people of Inverrouge live a life of decadence, but only you know the true cost.

When you play Roots, you earn xp when you take human life and tend to your farm.

Instead of claims, you have a plots where you grow your product. When you meet the
requirements of an inactive plot, start a six segment long term project. The plot and grants its
bonus while the clock is full. Each plot clock ticks down one segment at the start of downtime. If
this makes the clock empty, the plot requirements need to be filled again before any more ticks
can be added. When you make a Long Term Project roll to tend to your plots, you may spread the
ticks from your success among the different plots clocks as you like.

Specialty
What kind of produce do you supply?

Meat: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Fish, Offal, Smallgoods

Alcohol: Wine, Beer, Spirits
Flora: Fruits, Vegetables, Sugar, Flowers, Tobacco, Cotton
Animal Products: Milk, Cheese, Eggs, Leather, Wool, Silk

Contacts
Baptiste Villemont, An Ecstatic Preacher
Rosette Lawson, A Gregarious Grocer
Gustave Cienfuegos, An Unscrupulous Butcher
Marie Cable, An Experimental Doctor
Alexander Morel, A Corrupt Alderman
Ester Bedeau, A Reclusive Farmer
Upgrades

Roots Rigging
One carried item is concealed and has no load. For example,
you could carry a load of drugs or a weapon, perfectly concealed, for zero load.

Rituals Of Earth and Blood

Your farm counts as a sacred and arcane workshop for occult practices and rituals.

Elite Thugs
All of your cohorts with the Thugs type get +1d to quality rolls
for Thug-related actions.

Elite Rovers
All of your cohorts with the Rovers type get +1d to quality rolls
for Rover-related actions.

​Sustained
Each PC gets +1 trauma box. This costs three upgrades to unlock,
not just one. This may bring a PC with 4 trauma back into play if you wish.

Plots
A Simple Fare
An Innocent
-1 heat per Score.

A Staple
A Hardened Worker
+1d to resistance rolls to endure exhaustion.

A Bounty
One Who Made Themself Wealthy
+1 Coin per score

A Companion Product
A Supporting Spouse
When you assist you can add +1d or increase effect.

A Luxury
One Who Was Born Into Wealth
+1d for acquire assets rolls.

An Addiction
A Vice Purveyor
When you roll to indulge your vice, roll twice and choose your preferred result.

A Morish Delight
A Thrall
When you roll entanglements, roll twice and choose your preferred result.

A Seasonal Treat
A Witch or Priest
Gain +1d to Engagement where your job involves attending a seasonal event.

An Invigorating Sample
A Lively Youth
When you push yourself for +1d you may spend 1 additional stress to also increase your effect
level.

A Foreign Delicacy
A Traveller
+1d to Gather Information rolls.

A Religious Meal
A True Believer
Crewmembers gain +1d to reduce heat if they use religious contacts.

A Poison
Someone Terminally Ill
Crewmembers gain Fine Poison as gear.

A Filling Portion
A Glutton
You may keep up to six coin on your person.

A Beautiful Dish
A Preternatural Beauty
Crewmembers gain +1d to Sway when entrancing or deceiving.

A Well Aged Treat

A Mentor
Gain +1xp when training.
Special Abilities
Anointed
You gain +1d to resistance rolls against supernatural threats. You get +1d to
healing rolls when you have supernatural harm.

Locals
During downtime, take -1 heat. When your heat is 4 or less, you get +1d to
deceive people when you pass yourselves off as ordinary citizens.

Shadows
Each PC may add +1 action rating to Finesse, Prowl, or Sway (up to
a max rating of 3).
Each player may choose the action they prefer (you don’t all have to choose the
same one). If you take this ability during initial character and crew creation,
it supersedes the normal starting limit for action ratings.

Exquisite Delights
Your produce is exquisite. The product quality is equal to your Tier +2.
When you deal with a crew or faction, the GM will tell you who among them indulges in the
pleasures of your product (one, a few, many, or all).
The quality of your product might be used for a fortune roll to find out how
impressed a potential client is, to find out how enthralled or incapacitated a user
is in their indulgence of it, to discover if a strange variation has side-effects, etc.

As One
When you do violence or perform a ritual alongside your cohorts, they get +1d for teamwork
rolls (setup and group actions).

Ritual of Bleeding
Each PC gains an additional vice: Bleeding. This vice is indulged at your farm in secret and you
take minor harm when you do so. One cohort may be present for the ritual and gains +1 quality
(max rating of 4) until the start of the next downtime.

Dark Clientele
Through arcane ritual or hard-won experience, you have discovered how to
prepare your product for sale to ghosts and/or demons. They do not pay in coin.
What do they pay with?
The GM will certainly have an idea about how your strange new clients pay,
but jump in with your own ideas, too! This ability is usually a big shift in the
game, so talk it out and come up with something that everyone is excited
about. If it’s a bit mysterious and uncertain, that’s good. You have more to
explore that way.
Emcees
Partygoers, hosts, and socialites

This is a town filled with revelry. Most enjoy it. You climb it.

When you play Emcees, you earn xp when you rise in social standing or notoriety.

As Emcees your connections are your most important asset. Turf is not a physical location but
rather a connection to an influential NPC including notables from tier 3+ factions or a Wealth 2+
Regions. Establishing your hold on this turf involves building a strong relationship with such an
NPC and retaining it either through mutual respect, fear, of fiscal influence.

Hunting Grounds:
Choose a preferred operation type:

Refined: The intellectual and the tasteful engage in the appreciation of the finer things in
life.
Debaucherous: Targets are engaged in the pleasures of the flesh.
Spectacular: All eyes are on entrancing performances and wondrous displays.
Clandestine: Hidden plots and passions play out in alleyways and behind drawn curtains.

Contacts
Isadora Delatte, An Exquisite Caterer
Alexandre Lambert, An Enigmatic Magician
Esther Hart, An Adventurous Heiress
Barthelemy Brown, A Talkative Valet
Oscar Bloe, A Drunken Official
Catarina Laroche, A Genial Steamboat Captain

Upgrades
Emcee Rigging: One carried item is concealed and has no load. For example,
you could carry a load of documents or a weapon, perfectly concealed, for zero load.

Full Pockets: You always have someone's favourite thing on hand. +1d to any action when
sweetening it with a gift or bribe.

​ Elite Rooks: All of your cohorts with the Rooks type get +1d to quality rolls
for Rook-related actions.

​ Elite Skulks: All of your cohorts with the Skulks type get +1d to quality rolls
for Skulk-related actions.

​Calm & Collected: Each PC gets +1 stress box. This costs three upgrades to unlock, not just one.
Claims
Informants: You get +1d to gather information for a score. Your eyes and ears on the streets are
always on the lookout for new targets.
Vice Den: Any time during downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. You earn coin equal to the
highest result, minus your heat.
Personal Clothier: You get +1d to the engagement roll for social plans. You always arrive on the
scene in the most current and alluring fashion.
Envoy: You get +2 coin in payoff for scores that involve high-class clients. This well-connected
liaison will help arrange for a better payoff from rich clients and move high-class goods.
Side Business: Any time during downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. You earn coin equal to the
highest result, minus your heat. What kind of legitimate business is this? How do you get paid in
secret?
Secret Pathways: You get +1d to the engagement roll for stealth plans. You might have access to
long-forgotten underground canals, rooftop walkways, or some other route of your choosing.
Luxury Venue: +1d to Consort and Sway rolls on-site. Silks, paintings, and crystal impress the
clientele.
Information Business: Any time during downtime, roll dice equal to your Tier. You earn coin
equal to the highest result, minus your heat. You keep secrets for some high paying "clients."
Cover Operation: You get -2 heat per score. The cover of a legitimate operation helps deflect
some of the heat from law enforcement.
Interrogation Chamber: You get +1d to Command and Sway on-site. Grisly business, but effective.

TURF x 4
Special Abilities

Troupe Performance
Whenever you lead a group action or receive assistance from a crewmate in creating a
distraction, take an additional +1d.
What kind of performance are you known for?

Hungry Friends
You have a deal with the demons of the rivers and wilds. Any bodies dumped into their domains
simply disappear.
If there are no other witnesses bodies dumped this way do not count as killings and thus do not
increase heat at the end of the score.
What do these deals look like? How did you strike them?

Persuasive
Each PC may add +1 action rating to Command, Consort, or Sway (up to a
max rating of 3).
Each player may choose the action they prefer (you don’t all have to choose the
same one). If you take this ability during initial character and crew creation,
it supersedes the normal starting limit for action ratings.

High Society
It’s all about who you know. Take -1 heat during downtime and +1d to gather
information about the city’s elite.

Professional Drunks:
Your crew is well acclimated to liquor. +1d to saves against poisons and intoxication. +1d to
study, sway, or consort with intoxicated targets.

Discerning Customers
Your keen eyes can spot quality when they find it and know how to negotiate a bargain. When
you roll to acquire an asset, take +1d.

Mere Magic
Your crew are proficient with slight of hand, misdirection, and at least some elements of the
occult. Crewmembers may mark special armour to increase the effect of a Prowl or Finesse action
to great when producing or hiding an object or person in an instant.

River Of Blood
The Ready Oppressed

These pasty rich bastards have built a life of luxury on your suffering and you will not let that
stand.

When you play the River Of Blood, you earn xp when you successfully foment, murder, or
overthrow.
Instead of claims you have a river of names and the penalties they apply to you until they are
washed away with blood. Whenever one of the people listed in the river dies, colour over them
and their associated penalty in red as they both no longer exist.

Playing this crew type is a more difficult experience for players who want more challenge.
Hunting Grounds
Choose a favoured operation type:

​Murder: Taking the life of a single enemy or target.

Battle: Defeat an enemy with overwhelming force.
​Sabotage: Hurt an opponent by destroying something.
Redistribution: Snatch goods or people by force for your own use or ransom.

Contacts
Jacques Baillie, A Patient Arms Supplier
Benedict Hero, An Adventurous Ship Captain
Mathilde Soulie, A Privileged Servant
Augustin Pomet, A Soulful Priest
Antoine Roche, A Harried Nurse
Nannette Lalande, A Mother Of Many

Upgrades
​ Improvised Rigging: Two of your carried items are improvised uses of common items. You could
carry a two weapons or wear normal armour, and have it appear perfectly innocent to
inspection.
​ Jailbird Contacts: Your Tier is effectively +1 higher in prison. This counts for
any Tier-related element in prison, including the incarceration roll (see page 148).
​ Elite Thugs: All of your cohorts with the Thugs type get +1d to quality rolls
for Thug-related actions.
​ Elite Skulks: All of your cohorts with the Skulks type get +1d to quality rolls
for Thug-related actions.
​ Hardened: Each PC gets +1 trauma box. This costs three upgrades to unlock,
not just one. This may bring a PC with 4 trauma back into play if you wish.

Claims
The Surgeon General: Never roll more than 1d for Recover rolls.
The Chief Legislator: Never roll more than 1d for Long Term Project rolls.
The Detective Inspector: Never roll more than 1d for rolls to reduce heat.
The Chief Magistrate: You get +1 heat per score.
The Editor In Chief: You gain a maximum 1 rep per score.
The State Treasurer: You get a maximum of 2 coin in payoff for scores.
The Influential Banker: The crew and it's members are limited to holding 2 coins on hand each.
The Land Owner: Take -1 to command, consort, and sway rolls when interacting with members
of the middle or upper class.
The Cartel Leader: Acquire assets rolls are always rolled with 0 dice.
The General: Your cohorts are always considered tier 0.
The Mayor: +1d to Entanglements rolls.
The Governor: Do not take 1d for luck for engagement rolls.
Special Abilities
Fight With Tools
You are experts in jury rigging and repurposing of everyday items. When you acquire non-
weapon assets, increase their quality by 1.

Together We Rise
When you make a group action, the effect level is increased by 1.

Nobodies
Take -1 heat during downtime. You get +1d to deceive people when you pass yourselves off as
servants, labourers, or the lower classes.

Forged In The Fire

Each PC has grown used to harsh punishment. You get +1d to resistance rolls.
This ability applies to PCs in the crew. It doesn’t confer any special toughness
to your cohorts.

Saboteurs
Each PC may add +1 action rating to Hunt, Prowl, or Wreck (up to a
max rating of 3).
Each player may choose the action they prefer (you don’t all have to choose the
same one). If you take this ability during initial character and crew creation, it supersedes the
normal starting limit for action ratings.

Deadly Focus
When you set out to murder one of your Claim targets, take +1d to the engagement roll.
This ability applies when the goal is to murder a Claim target. It doesn’t apply to other
operations you attempt that may involve that target.

Red Wave
Fear is as good as respect. Every 3 Claims counts as 1 turf.
The maximum wanted level is 4. Regardless of how much turf you hold
(from this ability or otherwise) the minimum rep cost to advance your Tier
is always 6.

Community
Each PC gains an additional vice: Companionship, which you indulge by spending time with those
close to you. When you indulge this vice and perform an act of service for your companions, you
don’t overindulge if you clear excess stress.
Who holds your humanity in their hands?
Regions
Highwater
Highwater is wealthiest district of Inverrouge. Built on the highest part of the main island, the
streets are wide and the grand stone buildings are dressed in pale colours and elegant filigree.
Fashion dominates the streets, flaunting status and wealth and ostracizing those without. The
stores in Highwater are specialty stores selling expensive and tailor made goods for wealthy
residents.

Landmarks
Cathedral of St Peter
Grandiose, elaborate, and placed at the highest point of the main island for all to witness the
glory of God. Burials in the graveyard around it regularly turn up bones from those already
resting in this holy place.

The Marina
Stowed in the calm between highwater and Government Isle, the Marina hosts the small private
vessels of the city's elite.

Government Isle
A small grassy island set apart from the main island of Inverrouge housing the Governor's
mansion as well as several official buildings and the colonial treasury.

Charity Hall
The city's grandest ballroom and social venue. Utilised often by the Philanthropic Society,
Charity Hall is the location of all the city's most important occasions excepting only those held in
the Governor's own mansion.

Notables
Mayor Austen Cheval
Mayor of the city and popular social icon, throwing huge public parties and events at his own
expense. These extravances allow him to mask his vampirism and prey on his victims unsullied
by the rumours that trail him. (Grinning, Flamboyant, Meticulous)

Madame Isobelle De Barbary

A landowner, socialite widow, and inheritor of a sizable fortune of sugar plantations. De Barbary
is seen at all of the most important parties and gatherings throughout and around Highwater.
Rumoured to always know the right person for solving any problem you might present to
her. (Graceful, Perceptive, Disarming)

Chief Magistrate William Pike

The highest voice of justice in Inverrouge, Magistrate Pike is weary from having hanged too
many men. His position, however, demands that he hang yet many more. (Weathered, Mournful,
Resigned)
Details
Buildings
Grand stone edifices. Pale colours and elegant filigree. Balconies and porticos lure bypassers into
shopfronts and mansions looming like Carrollian garden beds.

Streets
Wide streets paved with large smooth flagstones and populated by statuary, topiary, and
pedestrian gentry.

Scene
The public avert their eyes as a group of finely dressed young socialites pour out of a coffeehouse
mid-morning, blearily dispersing towards their homes, speckled with yelling and laughter, after
another night on the town at their family's expense.
Riverside
Riverside is a shanty town on the water's edge housing many of the city's poor, packed tightly
together and sprawling out onto the river itself on stilts and pontoons.

Landmarks
Grave Street
A neighbourhood built on the site of the the original Inverrouge graveyard, its headstones sunk
into the mud, its bodies emerging from the earth in bones and pieces. Spiritualists, healers, and
fortune tellers all speckle the streets among the homes of the poor.

Wetrot
A neighbourhood of improvised shacks stretching out over the open water on stilts and bouy.
Several barges and small boats have been knitted into the fabric of the streets and walkways
over time.

The Common Home

A collection of houses all grown together and now providing shelter to the homeless outside the
city's institutes, all sharing meals and care together. Frequently raided by redcoats for
harbouring fugitives.

Notables
Maria Laronde
A travelling pharmacist who checks in on families throughout riverside, providing what
medicines and care she can. (Harried, Concerned, Direct)

Cane and Able

Scavengers and fishermen selling what they find washed up and tangled in the river.
Occasionally willing to go scavenging deeper into private property if the prize is worth it.
(Opportunistic, Sniggering, Principled)

Details
Streets
Black mud underfoot. Wooden walkways over still water. Trees hanging fronds into walkways
and littering the ground with leaves. Mosquitos and croaking on the night air.

Buildings
Flaking paint on damp wood walls. Greasy windows and creaking doors. Grand porches on tiny
cottages. Lean-tos and shanties tangling together in alleys.

Scene
A collection of community members gather around a large cooking pot to contribute ingredients
to a shared meal. A soothsayer ruefully casts cards on a rug for a pregnant young woman. A
rotten lean-to creaks and collapses into the water.
Via Dolorosa
In the lee of the main island, Via Dolorosa is the red light and entertainment district of
Inverrouge. Charitable homes for destitute women have been reclaimed by their wards as venues
for small business and personal entertainment. Bars and Clubs have sprung up from abandoned
homes and paddleboats line the waterfront hosting parties and gatherings through lazy days and
drunken nights.

Landmarks
Grand Innocents' Theatre
A playhouse and burlesque venue famed for its grandiose sets, costumes, and melodrama. The
theatre hosts lavish afterparties and lazy salons with adoring fans but the players often retreat
into their tight knit and secretive clique when the festivities are done.

The Austrian Bride

A paddlesteamer and party vessel, often filled with raucous laughter and music as it idles around
swampy waters of the Sange.

The Olive Garden

A rocky garden of olive trees that languishes quietly during the day but fills with street
performers and food vendors as the sun sets.

Sorrow Street
One of the city's wider roads and main thoroughfares, Sorrow Street runs through the heart of
the district named after it. The road is often the main drag for markets, pageants, and street
festivals.

Notables
Mr Nancy
A street magician and entertainer that delivers on the wonder he promises to the crowds he
gathers. Has a reputation for being less kind than other practitioners of magic behind closed
doors. (Carnivalesque, Entrancing, Shadowy)

Queenie
A dilettante and unaffiliated groupie trading up on attention to establish herself as a minor
celebrity among the arts crowd. (Painted, Alluring, Innocent)

Gaston
An acrobat and performer, appearing in a dozen shows in both the street and various theatres
throughout town. Would be one of the city's most recognised faces if he weren't so plain.
(Genuine, Sturdy, Tireless)
Details
Buildings
Elaborate gothic decoration and rich deep colours. Heavy curtains of velvet and silk guard
moodily lit dens of entertainment in all its forms. Ornamentation and fresh paint applied
haphazardly across the board to make each establishment an entrancing feast for the eyes.

Streets
Half sunken cobbles and broken stones litter muddy gravel roads. Posters and flyers for
burlesque shows, seances, and brothels are plastered on walls and windows alike.

Scene
Colourful lanterns and large fires paint stooped trees and drunken buildings in dancing lights as
the young and the foolish make merry to an intoxicating song in the darkest hours of the
morning.
Grocers' Row
Grocers' Row is a market district, sprawling out from the central market building, filled with
stalls of fruits and vegetables, cheeses and smallgoods, fish and wines. Hawkers call out to
passers by, tempting them with sweet and savoury samples of every kind.

Landmarks
The Zoo
An underground arcade filled with people trying to sell trinkets, fake antiques, and caged
animals of many different kinds from blanket stalls set upon grimy cobbles.

Central Market
Filled with noise, activity, and the aromas of every kind of local produce. The ever turning dance
of crates and pallets provides ample opportunities for the movement and exchange of other
goods to go unnoticed.

The Old Slave Markets

An expansive brickwork market hall once built for the sale of human lives now lies dormant on
most days. During festivals and public gatherings, however, it swells again with the press of
bodies and a cacophony of voices.

Wellstreets
Many of the merchants who have made their fortunes in Inverrouge have opted to keep their
family homes, coating them in opulence. Narrow streets and dense home compounds are filled
with luxury furniture and bustling with servants.

Details
Buildings
Deep red brickwork and heavy iron braces. Twisting hallways and courtyards between walls
knitted into great complex compounds.

Street
Streets and alleyways littered with crates and wagons. Stalls lining the sides of buildings under
awnings and lean-tos litter produce into the streets.

Scene
A spruiker calls out the various accolades of their produce in an attempt to drown out their
neighbours. A cat is shooed away from a display of sausages.
Notables
Bully and The Marquis
A pair of stray dogs loved and respected by the community. They make their home in Grocer's
Row so that they can receive the adoration of fishmongers and butchers alike. (Grumbling,
Crotchety, Dozy)

Julien Doll
Editor In Chief of the Inverrouge Herald, the city's premiere newspaper. Built the newspaper up
by hand by cultivating a strong network of influential connections throughout the city.
(Hardened, Cynical, Demanding)

Thomas Petherick
A travelling bookseller appearing at different markets and alleyways each day of the week.
Trades in rumours and gossip as much as the written word. (Dishevelled, Keen, Wry)

Euprosine Cole
Matriarch of the Cole farming family and well known for the sound of her booming voice calling
out across the central market. Always knows what's best for you and doesn't take no for an
answer. (Boisterous, Coddling, Harsh)
Docklands
The docklands are the industrial center of Inverrouge. Steamers make port to load and unload
cargo. Warehouses and factories bustle with activity both in shipping and various forms of
production. Sailors and workers alike stream between work and rest.

Landmarks
Waterfall Station
Inverrouge's primary rail depot. Named after the stormwater canals that drain into the river
nearby. Great iron bridges connect the station to the mainland rail line.

St Alban's
A formerly Catholic church that now houses worship from a wide variety of different faiths,
caring for the space together as a community.

Magdalene Home for Destitute Women

An institute created by The Inverrouge Company to house homeless and fallen women from
throughout the city. The accolades it receives for rehabilitating and reforming its wards are
overshadowed by rumours of incarceration, forced labour, and torture within its walls.

The Stacks
A center for mechanised industry in Inverrouge. The Stacks is a compound of interconnected
factories sharing steam engines to power their endeavours. Also colloquially known as the
manglehouse for its rate of industrial accidents.

Details
Buildings
Soot cloaked factories and warehouses. Towers and smokestacks and machinery all piercing
roofs and walls with no regards for presentation or sense.

Street
Bustling with bodies and overrun with carts hauling goods to and from the waiting steamers.
Pavers black with soot and tar, soft and sticky under foot, staining boots and coathems.

Scene
Dozens of men move across a docked steamer like ants in a storm as they haul goods into carts
and warehouses. Horses and livestock low and buck in their pens as they wait to be transported.
Notables
Ellen Fraser
A fence and pawnbroker and an addict of several substances. Always happy to take merchandise
off anyone's hands or pass it on for cash. Buys and sells almost anything if you're not fussy about
the margins. (Twitchy, Joke-Cracking, Avaricious)

Mathilde Duval
Runs the Rum'n'Monkey a bar specialising in providing strong liquor to the sailors, dockhands,
and workers of the area. Harder and meaner than any of the river toughs that waltz through her
door but always offers a scar-lipped smile to those that pay their tabs. (Mercantile,
Accommodating, Brutal)

Joseph Levy
A hard nosed inspector of the Inverrouge Foot Police with few friends and in fewer pockets.
Strict to the letter of the law except for a bloody brutal streak when dealing with smugglers, for
whom he has a particular distaste. A few related "accidents" have seen him serve his own time.
(Restrained, Dogged, Unstable)
Seafront
The seafront is a long sandbar that separates the Sange from the ocean for several miles leading
up to the mouth. The ground here is all sand and makes for poor foundations and the sea and it's
winds buffet this thin slice of land regularly. Few make their homes in the rickety draught
haunted wooden shacks here apart from the fisherfolk and those that can't afford to squeeze a
life somewhere else. At night, however, between the chills and shadows, deals are done where
words are whipped into the sea and prying eyes are stung with salt and sand.

Landmarks
King's Compound
A relocated cottage, the only real building on the seafront bar. Patrolled by a few dogs and thugs
protecting a stash of small tributes from the various fisherfolk.

The River Mouth

A tumultuous mixing of waters, shifting sands turning up mud and silt. The detritus of life up
river catches and amasses on the shores and attracts legions of seabirds to pick at the scraps.

The Beaching Grounds

A stretch of sand littered with bones and bad smells, where whales, manatees, and other sea life
regularly beach themselves and die. Butchering the bodies is forbidden by Anton King, but
happens all the time anyway.

The Haul Yard

Littered with rusted broken machines, bits of construction material, and the shells of old boats. A
collective storage pile of bits of junk that might come in handy later, away from the waterline for
safekeeping.

Details
Scene
Salt waves lash at the sandbar underfoot as trees and wooden huts groan under the strain of the
wind. Hermit crabs clad in broken bottles scuttle between clumps of razorgrass. Lines and pots
are scattered along the shore, being checked occasionally by the old and the old young. The
smell of fish on a smokey fire snakes its way through the sheoaks as they howl in the breeze.

Street
Sand and razorgrass underfoot. Sparse buildings, sheoaks and wild cypresses at the waters' edge.
All roads lead to water.

Buildings
Driftwood and corrugated iron. Sand singing against walls in the wind. Assembled hastily with
enough strength to withstand some storms and easy to rebuild after the others.
Notables
Anton King
An indigenous local with an eye for the weather. Reads the sea and sky and warns fisherfolk of
storms in return for small tributes and the adherence to certain rules. (Weary, Sarcastic,
Suspicious)

Clip
A scout and scavenger pulling wreckage from the beach for trade and storage, occasionally
setting steamers up to founder or lose cargo through the mouth. (Smiling, Inventive, Restless)
Fraser Gardens
Named after the current Governor, Fraser Gardens is a relatively young affluent suburb,
connected to the main island by the Victoria Bridge.

Landmarks
Baudin University
Named after French explorer Nicholas Baudin, the university is the recipient of numerous
philanthropic grants. The University prides itself on being at the forefront of various highly
experimental fields resulting in a rotating slate of new and quickly abandoned programmes and
buildings.

Sanatorium de St Dymphna
Formerly a women's prison and since converted into a home for the mentally ill and peculiar.
Primarily funded by donations from philanthropists and The Inverrouge Company, It is tasked
with the care of the unstable. Its focus, however, is directed by management towards restraint,
for the safety of their charges and the public at large.

Details
Streets
Streets freshly paved with bitumen and home to horse carriages and automobiles alike.
Palm trees planted for war dead looming behind shale tiled roofs. Electric street lights humming
throughout the night.

Buildings
Red brick terraces, lined with white marble cornerstones. Shale tiled roofs with sharp tin
corners. Rows of houses all alike. Windows like eyes. Wide grass lawns laced with fashionable
decorative flowers imported from Europe.

Scene
A tea-party is hosted in a community garden while pear trees are tended to by employees of the
neighbourhood association. A motor car erupts into cantankerous sputtering and rumbles off
down the street to the disgruntled stares of onlookers.
Notables

Edward Parry
Head of the neighbourhood association, Parry is known for his dedication to community
standards and engagement. As a surveyor he has had a significant if subtle influence over the
development of Fraser Gardens as a whole. (Pedantic, Miserable, Vicious)

Dr. Mary Marshall

Originally a midwife, Dr. Marshall studied in Austria under Gregor Mendel and became a leading
figure in the study of genetics in her own right. Her theories on the genetic patterns of
population groups have been crucial to the development of universal healthcare in inverrouge.
(Condescending, Sickly Sweet, Proper)

Prof. Xavier Sabatier

Dean of Baudin University. Imported specifically for the position by The Inverrouge Company,
Professor Sabatier is the world's leading expert on technopsychic futurology. His ideas and those
of his rotating cast of advisors lead the university in its constant search to break new intellectual
ground. (Idealist, Fantastical, Muddled)
Compass Ranges
The Compass Ranges coddle Inverrouge, wafting smoke and the lowing of cattle on gully winds to
the city below. Farms and fields form a patchwork with uncleared bush, sewn together with
twisting roads and barbed wire fences. Steep slopes and rocky ground make for long echoes and
easy falls.

Landmarks
Judas Creek
Inverrouge's oldest winery, famous for its full-bodied red wines. The Moreau family that owns
the winery are famously generous hosts, regularly inviting guests to notorious parties at their
remote hillside estate.

Details
Buildings
Trails of smoke curling from chimneys of small stone cottages. Sheds built from corrugated iron
and held together with fencing wire. Stone walls and barbed wire fences trailing off into the
bush.

Streets
Narrow goat tracks and pothole riddled dirt roads weave their way between homesteads under
arbor arches. Ferns and bushes fill the scrub at every corner. Views out over valleys reveal vistas
of cleared farmland hosting dairy cows and wine grapes down to the flats.

Scene
A farmer hunts wild pigs through the scrub, rifle in at the ready. Cows graze on steep cleared
hillsides. The remains of a bicycle, tangled with human bones, rust in a creek at the bottom of a
gorge.

Notables
Ol' Annie
An elderly indigenous hunter roaming the bush and farmlands of the ranges. Reputation as the
finest shot with a rifle in the state. Has deals with local farmers not to take their livestock in
return for permission to hunt feral and wild animals on their properties.

Margaret Hall
The longest standing member of the Compass Ranges Women's' Society and winner of their cake
decorating competition for twelve years running. Happy to listen to the problems and woes of
members of her community and always welcomes company with a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Lilybarrows
The Lilybarrows are a vast area of swamp and farmland bleeding into one another. While the
marshier areas are still filled with chaotic muddy terrain, much of the wetlands have been tamed
for agricultural use. Fruit, Wine, Sugar, and Tobacco are all grown in different parts of the region
and livestock graze in the less co-operative areas.

Landmarks
De Barbary Plantation
The largest amalgamated sugar plantation in the state, owned by a single family since the
colony's establishment and now produces sixty percent of all sugar exports. Expanded
dramatically with emancipation compensation payments and still employs many of its former
captives and their families.

The Fairy Grove

An abandoned farm at the far reaches of the Lilybarrows that once grew fruit and almonds when
the colony was first established now stands silent. Its orchards are now tangles of wizened trees
and wild growth. The remote location and rumours of fairies and ghost possession keep it mostly
free from investigation by the outside world.

Stillwater Prison
Build to hold the criminal population of Inverrouge, Stillwater Prison is a fortress of stone in the
marshes of the Lilybarrows. Its population are regularly employed to assist with infrastructure
projects and on nearby farms when workloads are high. It's proximity to untamed swampland
leads to a number of escapes but many such fugitives are never heard from again.

Details
Buildings
Stately farmsteads surrounded by courts and lawns. Scattered sheds filled with produce either
stored for transport or rolling under the many hands of labour. Shacks and cottages nestled on
mounds of stable earth among the twisted trees of the deep swamp.

Streets
Marshy riverside sugarcane plantations bleeding into wide rolling views of vineyards and
orchards. Dirt roads built up above the waterline and picking their way through swampy
overgrowth.

Scene
Dozens of workers breaking backs collecting the harvest in the heat. Great wagons piled high
with produce bound for warehouses and markets trundle through the marshes toward town.
Notables

Alphonse Roque
A foreman of the De Barbary estate. Known for his harsh temper and wide reach. Labourers who
speak or act up on the estate are often dismissed from the only work available to them or are
taught heavy handed lessons after dark. Those who do leave to try and find work elsewhere find
the influence of Roque and his De Barbary coin an almost impassable barrier to future
employment. (Suspicious, Boot-licking, Cruel)

Bellevue Brothers
Eugene, Nicholas, and Martin are hunters who roam the wetlands putting down great wild beasts
where they find them, claiming bounties and selling bushmeat and souvenirs of some of the
largest creatures the swamp has to offer. (Crass, Boasting, Reckless)
Factions
The Governor (V)
The official government of Inverrouge. The governor and his ministers oversee all aspects of the
functioning of the city.
Turf: The governor's mansion, clerks' offices, everywhere the light of civilisation shines.
NPCs: Lord Governor Gordon Fraser (proper, jolly, capricious), Adeline Price, executive secretary
(Cold, Efficient, Ambitious), Morgan Hardy, State Treasurer and Minister for Industry & Trade
(Caring, Honest, Exhausted)
Notable Assets: Governor's Isle, authority over Redcoats, the Foot Police, and the colony, the
backing of the British Empire.
Quirks: Technically responsible for the management of the entire colony, many of the governor's
responsibilities are delegated to the city's institutions. This combined with infrequent and vague
communications with the government in London results in an administration that is largely
occupied with pretenses and busywork.
Allies: Redcoats, High Street, Eucharistian Church
Enemies: Captains of Infamy, Brackish Mob
Situation: As various civil rights issues have surfaced in the wake of emancipation and growing
tensions in the city, the Governor is required to pass temporary declarations and seek official
guidance from London to pass into law. Correspondence from London however is growing
increasingly rare and brief leaving the city in an increasingly complicated web of provisional
legal rulings which may be overturned at a later date by official proclamations from Britain.
Mercantile and criminal groups are, as a result, taking advantage of the lack of conviction from
the city's official institutions.

Redcoats (IV)
The military force of Inverrouge and the governor's hand. Loyal and armed, ready to enforce
order wherever it is needed.
Turf: Charged with the protection of the larger Inverrouge area but less active in the more
densely populated areas of the city.
NPCs: General William Kelly, General of the Inverrouge Standing Forces, (Boisterous, Relaxed,
Despotic), Victor Laveau, Quartermaster, (Ink Stained, Irritable, Impeccable), Sergeant George
Irons, Drill Sergeant, (Piercing, Direful, Superstitious)
Notable Assets: A whole armory and standing army.
Quirks: Redcoats are almost entirely imported from Britain and platoons are regularly cycled
between different colonies. Although they may form bonds with locals, most have learned to
avoid getting too attached to anyone.
Allies: The Governor
Enemies: The Inverrouge Foot Police, Captains Of Infamy
Situation: The establishment of the Inverrouge Foot Police has seen a lot of the responsibilities
for policing the city lifted from the shoulders of the Redcoats, but they are still required to patrol
many areas that the foot police do not have the resources to cover. This leaves them enforcing
law and order in many areas while their authority is questioned.
The Inverrouge Foot Police (III)
The police force of Inverrouge. Former slaves and well behaved convicts led by free settlers and
landowners, enforcing the law with their fine judgement.
Turf: Technically imbued with authority over the whole city, their regular patrols only currently
manage to cover Grocer's Row, Highwater, Fraser Gardens & The Docks.
NPCs: Captain Marie Boisseau, Captain of the force (Steely, Wry, Compassionate) , James Connelly,
Detective Inspector (Pompous, Ruthless, Moneyed), Officer Elizabeth Flynn, Former cutthroat
(Cocky, Fidgety, Sly)
Notable Assets: Headquarters in Grocer's Row including offices and gaol.
Quirks: Assembled from mostly from former slaves and convicts, members of the force are
generally either under the influence of their former connections, or looked down upon as
traitors to their class.
Allies: The Inverrouge Company
Enemies: Redcoats
Situation: The Foot Police have only recently been established and charged with the enforcement
of law in the city, a duty previously belonging to the Redcoats. Although well funded and
enthusiastically embraced by some, they are struggling to gain the respect of most in the city.

Captains Of Infamy (II)

An alliance of bushrangers, highwaymen, and outlaws divvying up turf and marks between them.
Turf: All the wilderness surrounding the Inverrouge area and the roads and train lines that run
through it.
NPCs: Captain Kidman, A Warlord (Grizzled, Imposing, Drunk), Captain Reed, A Crack Shot (Wild
Eyed, Transmasculine, Deadly), Captain Hurricane, A Dealmaker (Seditious, Calculating, Ruthless)
Notable Assets: Secret paths and hideouts in the bush, Supplies of arms and ammunition, the
good-will of poor and country folks.
Quirks: Highly educated primarily through oral teaching amongst themselves, even the simplest
of brutes espouse a rudimentary radical anarchist philosophy.
Allies: Dandymen, Boatsmen
Enemies: Inverrouge Foot Police, Redcoats
Situation: With an established reputation for brutality on the roads, the Captains have begun to
take protection money from merchants and organisations to ensure the safe passage of their
staff and goods through their territory. They now face pressure from these groups to accept
payments to actively attack shipments and even in-town establishments of certain other
businesses or factions. Some of these targets, however, are protected by either redcoats or
criminal factions.
High Street (III)
An association of merchants with high status stores along the main drag of town, exerting
mercantile control over the rest of the city's business.
Turf: Shopping and trade districts, tendrils into every cash register and lockbox.
NPCs: Madison Lean, Influential banker and investor (Austere, Sickly, Wooden) , Jean Duval, The
finest tailor in the city (Measured, Androgynous, Sharp), William Eggleton, A baker
extraordinaire (Flowery, Dismissive, Self-raising)
Notable Assets: High Street itself, from Grocer's Row to Highwater, and many other
establishments throughout the city.
Quirks: The shops and proprietors of High Street do swift trade on fads and fashions. As a result
they often themselves end up caught up in trends such as high pants, flowered hats, or musical
door chimes.
Allies: The Inverrouge Company, Inverrouge Foot Police, Boatsmen
Enemies: The Brackish Mob, The Unbroken Bond, The Agricultural Union
Situation: While the oldest wealthy families in Inverrouge continue mercantile legacies from
europe, the prosperity of the city has allowed newer businesses to flourish and compete with old
money. Many of the newer families have started to open stores on High Street despite the
distaste of its longer standing residents. Others, lure traffic away to Grocer's Row, gentrifying the
common market district.

Agricultural Union (III)

Those that till the soil and tend the herds. Hardworking and taciturn. Responsible for the
bountiful and succulent produce of the region.
Turf: Wide open fields, rolling hills, swampy paddocks, and whatever dark wilderness remains
uncleared on their lands.
NPCs: Walter Burleigh, Union Boss, (Stony, Murky, Fermenting) , Sarah Partridge, a helpful
volunteer, (Cheery, Tireless, Uncomplicated), Don, a hunter, (Scarce, Unscrupulous, Dark)
Notable Assets: Huge swathes of sparsely populated land, control over a large section of
Inverrouge's agricultural production, gangs of grumpy farmers with pitchforks and rifles.
Quirks: The union is made up almost entirely of independent farmers, maintaining an
organisational air of hostility towards larger farming enterprises, the merchant the farmers sell
produce to, and the government. Institutional grumpiness is the hallmark of the union.
Allies: Fisherfolk, Captains of Infamy, Boatsmen
Enemies: High Street, Governor, Redcoats
Situation: Larger estates and plantations owned by wealthy families and companies have begun
to take over the farming landscape of Inverrouge, buying out many smaller farms. Those that
refuse hold tightly to the union to resist being forced out of their livelihoods. Those at the edges
of wilderness and swamps are increasingly happy to seek deals with criminal or supernatural
factions to keep the march of capital at bay. Some have long standing relationships with those
outside society, others will strike up deals with whomever is happy to do a little dirty work.
Inverrouge Philanthropic Society (III)
A social club for the wealthiest of the city's upper class to display their opulence and charity at
fundraisers and fetes.
Turf: A large club estate including a golf course and swimming pools, most of Highwater
NPCs: A bulbous man with a moustache, A dilettante, A gossipy fuckin middle aged twit
Notable Assets: A sprawling clubhouse mansion and estate, vast treasuries of charitable
donations in reserve.
Quirks: Membership of the Philanthropic society is primarily a status symbol among the city's
wealthy and many haven't any idea about how much money they are contributing or what causes
it supports.
Allies: The Inverrouge Company, United Church of Holy Communion
Enemies: Inverrouge Lantern Club
Situation: The Philanthropic Society are partnered benefactors of several homes and institutes
for the destitute and mad across the city alongside The Inverrouge Company. The company's
larger share in these charitable investments, however allows them to have more say over the
way things are run in said establishments. The result is that many of these establishments are, in
the eyes of the philanthropic society, allowing disorder, amorality, and sedition to fester and run
rampant within their walls. The negative sentiments toward the rich are perceived by many of
the society's members as evidence of ungratefulness and that their support should be withdrawn
and the money redirected back directly into further fundraising events such as charity balls and
dinners.

Inverrouge Lantern Club (II)

A members' society of wealthy business owners and aristocrats obsessed with novelty and
spiritualism.
Turf: The club building itself in Highwater, the distribution area of the Lantern Club newsletter.
NPCs: Madame Bouchant, A Seer (Frazzled, Eclectic, Ominous) , Annie Williams, An Enthusiastic
Hostess (Bright, Musical, Tireless), Martin Blatherhorn, A Scholar (Scrawny, Sheltered, Well-
Read)
Notable Assets: Large amounts of disposable income from its members, a treasury of collected
occult artefacts, connections to the trade and business networks of the city.
Quirks: Have recently started publishing a Spiritualism themed newsletter.
Allies: High Street, Smoke Churches
Enemies: Inverrouge Philanthropic Society
Situation: As seances and other occult practices have become popular among members of the
lantern club, some have begun to compete in their expertise. Several members seeking the
adoration of their peers have banded together to practice summoning demons for
entertainment.
The Brackish Mob (I)
Organised crime running extortion and protection rackets across the poorer districts of
Inverrouge with eyes on running the whole town.
Turf: Headquarters in a warehouse in the Docklands. Turf covering most of Riverside and the
Docklands, and parts of Via Dolorosa and the Lilybarrows.
NPCs: Innes "Silver Bullet" Lovine, Convener of the Mob (Cynical, Deadpan, Spark eyed) , "Ace"
Santiago, a hitman (Quiet, Languid, Sadistic) , Elizabeth "Wrecker" Cole, a bruiser (Jovial,
Awkward, Brash)
Notable Assets: A broad protection racket, a modest treasury, a network of thugs.
Quirks: Self styled as an equal brotherhood but kept in line by a rigid unspoken hierarchy,
members of the mob take poorly to anyone who thinks themselves above others.
Allies: Boatsmen, Captains of Infamy
Enemies: Redcoats
Situation: A large number of young indigenous folks have recently swelled the ranks of the mob
due to a sense of disconnection from their own communities. This extra muscle has allowed the
mob to claim large areas of new turf but factions are beginning to form within its membership. A
few have already split off into splinter groups to compete with the mob at the fringes of their
territory.

Club Fantôme (II)

A members club for gentleman thieves and assassins competing against one another to perform
the most outlandish crimes.
Turf: A secret clubhouse behind an upmarket bar
NPCs: The Shadow, A burglar (Eager, Sportsmanly, Primed) , The Viper, an assassin (Leather-clad,
Languid, Piercing), The Mirror, An art forger (Pretentious, Proletarian, Inspired), The Sommelier,
An inventor and arms dealer (Ingenious, Precise, Annoyed)
Notable Assets: A treasure trove of trinkets, prizes, and trophies from a thousand unsolved
crimes. A gear room full of equipment and weapons of every sort.
Quirks: When meeting, all members of the club wear opera masks to maintain the pretense of
anonymity, though most know the identity of most other members.
Allies: The Captains Of Infamy, High Street, Dandymen
Enemies: Inverrouge Foot Police, The Inverrouge Philanthropic Society
Situation: An anonymous benefactor previously unknown to the club, Identified only as "Sir
Lancelot" has proposed a competition awarding a prize of a large sum of money to whichever
club member can acquire the Governor's portrait of the queen. The portrait is hung in the
Governor's office in his private residence which is heavily guarded and is rumoured to contain
some kind of state secrets in its details, frame, or canvas. The proposed competition contains no
stipulations concerning violence or any form of legality or fair play.
Boatsmen (IV)
The hardworking muscle of the steam ships bringing trade and prosperity of varying legality to
the river and the city.
Turf: The river Sange and every port and shore along it.
NPCs: Gabrio Valdez, An industrious captain (Quick To Laugh, Hard Working, Opportunistic) ,
William "Peaches" Morrison, a smuggler (Hearty, Peg Legged, Wise) , Isadore Bic, a docker and
union rep(Wiry, Squinting, Hopeful)
Notable Assets: Mighty steamships and hearty sailors.
Quirks: Superstitious and worldly, sailors of the Sange are familiar with the devils that lurk
beneath it's waters and many more experienced crews have deals in place with one or more of
these entities.
Allies: Fisherfolk, High Street, Captains of Infamy
Enemies: Inverrouge Foot Police, The Governor
Situation: The SS Edith Victorious has been moored in port for supposed repairs for over a year
now. Its crew have mostly moved on to other vessels and no work is being done on it. Deep in its
bowels lies the body of Captain Benedict Soule, slowly succumbing to the demonic curse he
unleashed upon the ship and it's crew.

The Inverrouge Company (V)

The financial backbone of power in Inverrouge, building a colonial utopia in the new world.
Encourages enterprise, propriety, and investment in the public good.
Turf: Institutions of public good across the city, headquarters at company offices in Highwater.
NPCs: George Atkinson, Chief Legislator (Grand, Stony, Measured), Elizabeth Needham, Strategist
and diplomat (Sardonic, Sharp, Watchful), Henry Humphreys, Company Treasurer (Sedentary,
Boring, Flustered)
Notable Assets: Institutions across the city for the destitute or insane which are used to hide
unsightly members of society behind closed doors, some degree of investment in almost all
public and legal private enterprise.
Quirks: Members of The Inverrouge Company are deeply invested in a utopian vision of the city.
Most willfully ignore reality and hide any problems in order to make that vision come true.
Allies: Inverrouge Foot Police
Enemies: The Governor
Situation: The Inverrouge Company was founded to create a utopian city of the future by
purchasing the colony on behalf of the empire and developing its economy and society for the
benefit of all. As realities pile up, however, the situation becomes increasingly difficult to
maintain and news of various scandals are beginning to leak back to London.
Dandymen (II)
Purveyors of fine pleasures in a variety of forms. Tobacco, cocaine, opiates, and liquor.
Turf: Pubs, Bars, Brothels, and Opium dens throughout the city.
NPCs: The Cartel Leader, Erasme Decourmant, an entrepreneur (Ambitious, Hedonistic, Cold) ,
Hugo Bachemin, a personal dealer (Social, Businesslike, Chipper)
Notable Assets: Supply chains for various pleasurable substances. Threads of addiction spun
around influential individuals throughout the city.
Quirks: Many of the Dandymen are caught in their own web of addiction, either spiralling toward
vampirism, or already transcended from their humanity.
Allies: High Street
Enemies: The Eucharistian Church
Situation: Under pressure from High Street and The Eucharistian Church, the governor has been
placing increasingly tight restrictions and bans on many of the products that make up the
Dandymen's trade. To keep business running and cash flowing they've made connections with
some of the less legal factions around the city and are trying to work out how to meet their
demands.

Fisherfolk (I)
The network of those dredging a living from the waters of the Sange and the coast. Desperate
and cutthroat, the Fisherfolk are deeply defensive of their turf and take poorly to those who
endanger their livelihood or brethren.
Turf: The Seafront and the river's edge, meeting places under bridges and deep in the swamp.
NPCs: Batley, the fisher-king (Bellicose, Massive, Exaggerating) , Free Dan, a river diver (Scar-
covered, Former slave, Moves like water), Maria, remembers the good old days (Sagacious,
Drunk, Has a knife)
Notable Assets: A network of eyes and ears all along the river.
Quirks: The Fisherfolk include a large contingent of the city's homeless. Together they share and
rotated between sleeping spots and guard each others' stashes of personal belongings with some
small measure of honour, though spats and feuds among individuals are common.
Allies: Boatsmen, The Unbroken Bond, The Lake Elders
Enemies: Brackish Mob, Redcoats, Inverrouge Foot Police
Situation: The fisherfolk have customs and rituals to keep themselves safe from the demons of
the river. In recent months however their nets and lines have been turning up increasing
numbers of horrifying creatures. Fish and shellfish emerge with twisted monstrous forms and
strange otherworldly properties, defying the laws of nature and sending men mad. Some
fisherfolk have fled, some have died, others seek help from whatever contacts they can to heal
the river or help them find a new life.
The Unbroken Bond (II)
A support network among former slaves.
Turf: Riverside and black neighbourhoods throughout the city.
NPCs: Jacob Freeman, a warrior and guardian (Stalwart, Looming, Kind) , Amelie Llorens, a people
smuggler (Quiet, Crafty, Short-Tempered), Rami, a young incendiary (Pugnacious, Righteous,
Vampire)
Notable Assets: A secret stockpile of weapons and ammunition.
Quirks:
Allies: United Church of Holy Communion
Enemies: Redcoats
Situation: During the years of slavery the Unbroken Bond stockpiled weapons in preparation for
a violent revolution. After the peaceful emancipation that occurred with the handing over of the
colony, there is now the question of whether to sell the weapons off or use them anyway in the
face of continuing oppression. While the younger folks argue for violent revolution, many older
folks advise restraint.

Smoke Churches (I)

A collection of connected syncretic churches invoking vodun, christian saints, magical forces,
and the ghosts of the dead.
Turf: Scattered churches in converted houses, shrines and altars in homes, the covert spiritual
and occult practice of the city.
NPCs: Lisette Soulie, A Voodoo Queen (Reserved, Enigmatic, Compassionate), Michael Bellows, A
Faith Healer(Ruddy, Suspicious, Sudden) , Benita Cienfuegos, A Crone (Hopeful, Gnarly, Quick)
Notable Assets: Hoards of secrets, sacred texts, and enchanted objects of every kind spread
among disparate churches and practitioners.
Quirks: Each church and practitioner has its own combination of different beliefs and practices
but they are united by bonds of mutual respect and support.
Allies: The Eucharistian Church
Enemies: Inverrouge Foot Police
Situation: Members of the various communities around the different Smoke Churches have been
reporting slowly increasing numbers of possessions, apparitions, and other foul omens over the
last several decades. Recently however even consecrated places and practices have been
infringed upon by the dark forces coalescing in the city, making the Smoke Churches the front
line against whatever is rising up with the damp.
The Lake Elders (I)
The assembled council of elders of the indigenous lake people.
Turf: All of Inverrouge belongs to different groups of Lake Peoples but they have been
dispossessed of it all. Headquarters?
NPCs: Heron, an elder with nothing left to lose, Willow, has mouths to feed, Barracuda, mostly
just watches, Kite, is worried about the treatment of the land
Notable Assets: Secrets of the natural processes and ancient supernatural entities of the area.
Quirks: Although made up of different language groups, they share a pidgin language between
them, made up of parts of all the different languages and now also English and French.
Allies: The Unbroken Bond
Enemies: The Eucharistian Church, Redcoats
Situation: The Lake People are an amalgam of several distinct indigenous nations that occupied
the Inverrouge area before colonial invasion. They see catastrophe approaching from the
practices of the invaders but can't decide among them whether to warn them for their sake, for
the land's sake, or to just let them reap what they sow.

The Eucharistian Church (IV)

Popular christendom in Inverrouge. Teaches the sanctity of discretion, temperance, and the holy
sacrament.
Turf: The Cathedral of St Peter and many other churches throughout the city.
NPCs: Valentin Cavalier, the archbishop, (demagogue, inspired, steadfast), Manette Perrault, A
Community Paragon, (Concerned, Fastidious, Generous), Emily Redwood, an inquisitor and
exorcist (Scarred, Dark, Dangerous)
Notable Assets: A treasury of tithes, large numbers of clergy, church owned wineries.
Quirks: The church's teachings focus on modesty, temperance, and discretion. Its clergy,
however, are famous for their indulgence in fine foods and wines and their commissioning and
collecting of exquisite art, lavish furnishings, and rare artefacts.
Allies: The Governor, The Inverrouge Company
Enemies: Smoke Churches, Inverrouge Lantern Club, Captains of Infamy
Situation: The longer the Church resides in Inverrouge the more it must come to terms with the
supernatural realities of the city. A secret council of bishops has been assembled to recruit and
manage exorcists, inquisitors, and demon hunters from other churches around the world. The
existence of this group is beginning to put dents in the church's facade of pleasant normality and
some members of the council believe that they require much more authority in order to protect
the city from the supernatural.

Appendices
Some Names

Jeanette
Honore Sigur Villemont
Joseph Wright William Sands
Theodule Cofi Monique Pomet
Ishmael Colman Auguste Cournand
David Sainet Nicolas Cleace
Vistoire Burel Raphael Duval
Nicholas Cornelius Teague
Julia Hero Nicholas Todd
Greenwell John Knowler
David Jacobs Samuel Munrous
William Kilby John Jefferies
Suzanne Esteves Samuel Bird
Angelique Lasalle Dominique
Suzanne Tinchant Jane Dundass
Lucy Allen Fuselier
Jacques Ortis Francoise Hart
Eugene Haines Martin Cazelar
John Morrisby Heloise Luison
Armand Forneret Carmelite Granca
Benedicte Martinez Andre Othon
Stephen Lefer Augustin Dumas
Joseph Wright Serafine Legney
Ann Lynch James Bayley
Felicie Beaumond James Hussey
John Spencer Charlle Bason
Charlotte Griffin Catherine Henry
Isadora Faillard Henriette St. Ours
Marianne Soublet Michael Bryant
Susannah Allen Hypolite Croque
Thomas Balding Dominique
William Edmunds Danes Bon
Erasme Ferrer Williams
Peter Morris James Walbourne
Ferdinand Palms Eleanor McCabe
Simon Warbourg Joseph Duplanch
Edward Jones Virgine Passebon
Manon Foucher Charlotte Roich
Louisa Beaumont Gustave Llaire
James Price Ignace Junon
Elizabeth Smith Ayhona Sarasse
Simon Passebon Poupon Howard
Mathilde St. Elizabeth Leonard
Thomas Jones Nathalie Bagneris
Armand Alcee Brown
Mathieu Elizabeth Durand
Xavier Griffiths John Usher
Pedesclaux Perrine Panis
Andre Othon Marianne Dupuy
George List Virgil Dumois
William Haynes William Pane
Teres Heno Benjamin Fentum
Joseph Owen Robert Morgan
Andre Othon Paulina Foy
Robert Nunn Robert Ruth
Eulalie Cazelar Martin Broin
William Eggleton Joseph Wright
Mary Brion Clemence Rey
Heloise Llorens Charlot Questi
Phillipe Burel Christophe
Euprosine Valentin William Chaaf
Bachel Maget Dusuau
Manuel Marie Adele Fressineau
Joseph Valeton Samuel Hall
Stephen Barnes John Munroe
Laurent Roy Francis Fondall
Martha Baker Samuel Wilcocks
Francoise Cole Ishmael Peyton
Erasme Chretien John Carney
Ann Cournand Virgine Mazant
Charles Wilson Delphine Baillie
Elizabeth Bales Suzanne Glevont
Darette Jaces Francis Gardner
Isadora Davidson Aoman Cazenave
William Elliot Agata Ortis
Prosper Montreuil Xavier
Charles Rillieux Tomas Delart
Vincent Dixon Decourmant
Marcel Tiocou William Hawson
Xavier Harang Bernard Denison
Samuel Chinery

Thanks
Emily McAllan
Zev, Jade Sendek, Kirk Nichols.