Duskvol in Darkness campaign log

[Starfox]

I've been running a summer campaign of Blades in the Dark set in the default setting of Duskvol. The PCs run a hawker gang set on the hulk of a wrecked leviathan hunting ship, gradually turning it into a nightspot extraordinaire - well, that is the goal. The Nightmarket district is dominated by the Bluecoats, who the crew pays off after each score, something that will turn out very well.

The crew:
Milos the cutter, a bravo from Iruvia and the leader of the crew.
Charles Boeuff the Whisper.
Betsema the Slide, an ex-prostitute recently escaped from her pimp.
Scarlet "the Scar" the hound, who does Darklands excursions with Sister Thorn to relax. Also Iruvian.
"Pums" MacHeath the Lurk noted for his devotion to the Church of the Ecstacy of the Flesh.
Barnabas Fell, Leech, ex-military surgeon, war veteran.

We were often able to do two scores in each four hour session, noted as A and B in the log. Me and two of the six players had played BitD before, the other four were new to the game but RPG veterans.

Episode 1: Ghost of the Smith​

A group of strangers down on their luck found themselves in Nightmarket, some having recently come to town, others close to being pushed out of town. The one thing they had in common was that they had a target painted on them, by tough local youth who didn't like visitors.

Digging into who they are, the core of this half-formed gang seemed to be the spider Rook "the rat" Tarasov and his two frenemies, Lena "lethal" Voss a blade girl and Cutter Jim, a scrappy smith's apprentice. Charles Boueff did some investigation in the ghost field and found a ghost entangled with Cutter Jim, his former master when he was a smith's apprentice. A plan was made up. The group would attack the gangers as they were setting up their attack, having a party in their lair to build morale for the attack. Barnabas Fel set up some drugs for Betseba to trick the gang to consume. Betseba had been pressured to work for them, and pretending to give in, she infiltrated the party and put the drug in the punch. When the party was getting wild and some partygoers suffered hallucinations, Charles Boueff released the angry ghost! Pandemonium ensued as panicked gangers staggered out into the hands of Scar and Milos. Scar smacked the runners as they escaped, while Milos ended up in melee with Enzo "Echo" Mario who went down to the tall Iruvian's mighty cudgel, but succeeded in leaving an ugly bruise on Milos' cheek.

Episode 2: Spanking the Monkey​

Looking for a contact at Gaddoc Rail, the crew is distracted by a pair of gaudily dressed girls receiving a package at the station. It was common knowledge in the crowd that the delivery was for Pux Bolin at the Harping Monkey. Realizing that this was probably a package of Iruvian wines, the crew decided to rob the Harping Monkey.

Mr Fell was acquainted with Pux Bolin as one of his customers, and so knew the place well. Security was pretty lax, but the strongbox has a good lock that Pux Bolin always carried on his person. Pux Bolin and some of his staff sleeps in the bar at night. A plan was quickly formed. Betseba got herself hired for a spot to sleep in, and drank the two tootsies under the table. Once the bar closed, the rest of the gang moved up to the front door, avoiding some Tooties loitering in the street. Pums made quick work of the strongbox, and behind a false wall found some letters in Iruvian and Pux Bolin's cash. The letter was a request that Pux Bolin keep an eye on Naram Sin, a member of the Red Sahshes gang. Mr Fell took the opportunity to douse the bar's stuffed monkey on a concoction of his own invention, that will cause it to gradually shed its hair.

Stealing the cash and wine but leaving the letter, the crew exfiltrated and only had to deal with a bossy Bluecoat patrol on the way back.

After a week or so a problem occurred, the Sultan's Dream's contact with the Fog Hounds got arrested. With the help of Petra the clerk, a "fine" was paid and he could resume working. The Fog Hounds appreciated this quick action and relations improved.

Episode 3a: Sensitive Package​

Looking for ways to expand their menu, the Sultan's Dream found a possible weak link, Martha Gorlace, a member of the Rail Jacks, working at the small parcels office at the rail station. She is the link between the Rail Jacks and the Cabbies when it comes to small deliveries (the Ministry of preservation handles the big items). Casing out Martha, it turns out that she is a brilliant office worker, but prone to hysterics. Trying to be of service to her, it turns out she has promised to help a young nobleman named Orleg Brinshae to elope to his girlfriend in Severos. The problem was how to get away from the footman Turbot whom his family had keeping an eye on him. Mr. Brinshae turned out to be aloft and generally obnoxious, but was intimidated into putting on a disguise as a woman to be smuggled out. After a rather comical series of distractions and a failed double-cross by Martha, who was reduced to hysterics when the Sultan's crew took charge of things. Milos managed to keep her going, and his manly firmness must have impressed Martha, who developed a crush on him.

Episode 3b: Ghost Prescription​

Wanting to profit from their new connection, the crew learned of a delivery of Iruvian herbs to the apothecary Stazia, a respected woman having a respectable business and an enemy of Barnabas Fell. The trick was to intercept the package without annoying either the Cabbies or the Rail Jacks and avoiding the security Stazia is rumored to have. The plan was to use a ghost. A former patient of both Stazia and Fell was a miner in Coalridge that died in a mining accident, buried under loads of coal. The body was never retrieved by the Spirit Wardens but the ghost stayed under the coal. Mr. Boeff took a job to exorcise the ghost, he and Mr. Fell did the job and Fell even gathered some useful components. The ghost was then put into the package to be delivered, and emerged on Stazia doorstep as she was checking the package. Thanks to Mr. Boeff's thorough preparations the ghost stayed in the chest so only Stazia saw it. While she was thus distracted, Pums grabbed the chest and ran, Stazia backing into her house followed by the ghost. Soon after there were flashes and electric sounds from the house, it seems Stazia has potent security.

Episode 4a: Black Magic Coffee​

Laroze the crew's Bluecoat cotnact seemed pleased with the crew and came with a very strange offer. A coffee hut in Gaddoc Plaza has stopped operating, and the higher-ups had pressured Laroze to get it open again. Investigating the place, there was the corpse of Mr Babish the owner killed by blunt trauma. Strangely the Spirit Wardens had not arrived to collect the corpse. It seems the cops had been shaking him down and killed him with a truncheon by mistake. The coffee beans were there and actually quite bad. There was also a ghost that possessed Scar when she tried attuning, making her immediately start brewing coffee, but just pulling her away solved the possession - seems the ghost did not want to go outside the kiosk. Further investigation revealed the coffee is magical and the excellent taste is a supernatural effect. The place was financed by a Mr Tarvel Brinshae who was willing to let the crew run it for him. Easy peasy, but not a lot of loot.

Episode 4b: Bringing Home the Bacon​

The Sultan's Dream crew needed cash to finance their expansion, lots of it, quick, and quiet. Having Milos push Ms Gorlace in Small parcels, the got the shed number of a profitable package inside the rail compound. Sneaking along the coast to the nearest point of the fence to where they wanted to go, the crew was surprised when a bluecoat patrol with dogs came up behind them. Some drugged meat and a stressful escape later, the patrol went past and the crew went over the fence. The area was guarded by towers with spotlights and presumably ranged weapons. There were also carnivorous pigs roaming the compound. A few narrow escapes later and our crew got the goods and were escaping when another spotlight hit them, this time from a boat. Scar tried to shoot out the spotlight, but only succeeded in drawing further attention. Mr Fell dropped smoke and the crew fled in the opposite direction, going all the way around the rail compound. Happy but exhausted, the crew did indeed bring the bacon home.

Epsiode 5a: Make it a Triple​

Three events coincided this week. Tipped off by Laroze, their Bluecoat contact, that the Tootsies would hold a street festival, Pux Bolin of the Harping Monkey had requested protection from the Tootsies who had then assumed control of his place, and the Golden Plum challenged the Sultan's Dream to a cook-off. Trying to strike three birds with one stone, the crew set up the cook-off at the Tootises street festival, adding to the festivities.

Sultan's Dream won the cook-off by quite blatant means, not enough to be proof of cheating, but enough that the cook-off failed as a competition. Still, the crew got lots of exposure and made quite a lot of coin selling street food.

As the street festival was winding down, Milos challenged the Tootsies over the Harping Monkey, saying he'd fight a bunch of them at once. Their leader the Coachman didn't take on the challenge personally, but Milos soundly trashed the three Tootises that did fight. At this point the Tootsies humiliated Pux Bolin by throwing him prone at Milos' feet, showing once and for all that Pux Bolin was no longer his own man and now the property of the Sultan's Dream. Perhaps the best use of the Harping Monkey is as a place to advertise the Sultan's Dream, it is a well known if cheap place and often the first stop for Iruvian travelers to Duskvol.

Episode 5b: Iruvian Lounge​

Planning to expand the Sultan's Dream and make it luxurious enough to get Iruvian nobles as guests, the crew decided to create an Iruvian salon. And that means grabbing Iruvian furniture, carpets, wall hangings, and all that sass. Where to get this? Some digging turned up that there is a guest house (the Iruvians call it a "caravanserai") on the Great Canal north of Clerk Street. Various rich Iruvians own apartments here, apartments that often stay empty for years between visits. Target acquired, now the plan was made. Action! Betseba dressed up as a scion of the owning house of the target appartment with Milos as her bodyguard. Presenting her credentials to the matron of the complex, and is let into the appartment by the caretaker. All sorts of furniture was winched down into a barge run by the Fog Hounds. All of this in plain sight during the murk of day. The Fog Hounds demanded that the barge, with Milos and Boeuff on board, hide out until nighttime before proceeding. This was an excellent opportunity for a Fog Hound betrayal or for the law to catch up, the waiting was tense ans stressful Nothing bad happened and the goods were delivered to the Sultan's Dream in a moonless part of the night. Exiting the premises, Betseba got a little bit of help distracting the matron by Setarra, which she would later learn is de Bouef's demon contact.

Episode 6a: Hollow Cultists​

With de Bouef finally back with the crew, a deeper investigation of the Coffee Hut was the thing to do. Setarra, de Bouef's demon contact, was there, enjoying some black magic coffee. She showed the crew that the hut was a spirit well, by shifting them all into another place, a mirror version of the square with many more people moving around. She also warned "never do this in daytime". She then explained her errand. She has a cult very near the Sultan's Dream that has been taken over by outsiders. Get it back for me!

Following Setarra's directions, the crew found a half-drowned entrance into what appears to be the lair of the cult. Infiltrating along with other lay members, they witnessed a terrible rite. The cultists themselves wore robes, but the populace were unmasked. Proceeding inwards, there was a large alluvial cave in three parts; a deep pool in the middle, a wide beach for the lay cultists, and a balcony higher up on one wall. Four cultists stood among the congregation, directing them in a monotonous chant as the chamber filled with the smoke of cheap incense. On the balcony three cultists in finer robes appeared, one of them leading the other two who appeared to be drugged. Shouting incomprehensible words above the chanting of the crowd, the leader of the cult called a monster out of the deep pool, something like a leviathan, a brain coated in slimy translucent skin with tentacles flailing around it. The chanting continued for a long while, and de Bouef could see the monster feeding off the congregation, some of whom collapsed. The monster's tentacles reached out three times, pulling the spirit out of collapsed people and dragging it into the brain to be consumed! At the climax of the ritual, the lead cultist called on the tentacles, who grabbed him, pulling him bodily into the water. The crew managed to catch a glimpse of a ghost leaving the body as it was devoured, moving over to one of the seemingly drugged cultists, possessing them! A vampire! The "drugged" cultists must be hollows! The congregation began to flee, the spell of the ritual broken, leaving the three newly created hollow behind as the prize of the cult.

Scar and Betseba followed the cultists inside, while Mr Fell and de Bouef moved out with the congregation. The inner chambers of the cult was disappointingly bare, just a cavernous main room and a fenced-off alcove holding the hollows. What followed is somewhat unclear (I don't remember the details), but Mr Fell and de Bouef returned, Mr Fell used a prototype spirit lamp to drive the vampire's ghost out of its body, where it was promptly caught by de Bouef. The remaining cultists fled, leaving the crew with four hollow Mr Fell wanted to keep for experimentation. The crew also kept the cave, where cultists gather about once a week guided by the phases of the moon, eager to experience new spiritual miracles.

Epsiode 6b, Silver Swan Challenge​

Bazo Baz, a pimp and leader of the Nightwives prostitution ring challenged Betseba to a dance-off against her old friend Nyryx. Betseba managed to get Eldrin Prichard of the Silver Swan pleasure barge to host the challenge as part of an evening's entertainment. The first challenge was to get aboard, which required decent clothes and a mask for guests. Scarlett went as a servant, the others managed to get dressed up. After some profitable side hustles the great dance off started. Upping the odds, Betseba bet her own return to Bazo Baz's stable against the freedom of Nyryx, which was greedily accepted. Nyryx could have thrown the challenge in Betseba's favor, but when challenged by her friend she did her best, and the two did a spectacular sexy show for a pleased audience, that threw flowers and coins onto the stage. When it was time for the audience to judge, Nyryx got a lot of applause, but Betseba was still the clear winner. The night ended on a spectacular note and Nyryx followed the crew back to the Sultan's Dream, eager to start as the madam of a new side of the business. Ah yes, de Boueff also found three ghosts feeding of the frenzied audience.

Episode 7a: Herding Cats​

Scar want to trace who killed her old gang, the Proud Pilferers. Their last score which seemingly got them killed was the theft of an artifact, a small cat-headed urn. Trying to find clues in the ghost field, Scar and Boeuff found a vicious dead-end alley, perfect for an ambush, and materialized an echo of how Sable "Whisper" Mortis, known as a respectable denizen of Nightmarket. let her mask slip as she shot "grim" Gordon Hales dead, Scars friend and once the leader of the Proud Pilferers. Scar does further footwork. Now having a face to work off, she realizes the gang that destroyed the Proud Pilferers was the Wraiths, a highly proficient and secretive group of Shadows. She is able to find a safehouse used by the Wraiths and keeps it under surveillance by Valeris, a spy contact.

Episode 7b: Business is Cheap​

Bazo Baz, Betsheba's and Byryx's old pimp, wants to sell his business, and got an offer from Egil Seebriofo, a foolish old noble from up north that wants to run a prostitution ring as a diversion. The deal is to be settled with a money transfer, Seebriofo coming to the Nightwives' (Bazo Baz's prostitution ring) territory in person to pay, escorted by two guards, one with a suitcase cuffed to his hand. The game is set!

An ambush was set up. Scar and Boeuff on a rooftop shot and wounded the guard carrying the suitcase and then rain down a fog from the ghost field to cloud the street. Simultaneously Pums rushed the guard, clipping the chain on the suitcase and running away. Unfortunately there was a counter-sniper! Scar's old antagonist, the bounty-hunter Casta, was on the roof opposite and fired at Scar and Boeuff as they were moving away. Narrowly escaping as Scar got stunned by an electrified bolt from Casta's trademark crossbow, they had no chance to reply in the thickening fog.

The suitcase now safely in their hands, Betseba took the lead and went to the meet with Bazo Baz and convinced him to go ahead with the deal. Moving over to an old church the Nightwives use as a gathering place, she was presented to the ladies and accepted as their new lead. Most of the girls went over to the Sultan's Dream, but the most famous and many of the cheapest were lost in the confusion and became independent.

This allowed the Sultan's Dream to move into yet another area of Nightmarket, improving their status as a gang but spreading themselves out to become somewhat vulnerable. (Sultans dream advanced to tier 2 vulnerable.)

In the aftermath the Bluecoats grabbed Valeris, Scar's spy contact, in the general roundup after a noble got attacked. However, Betseba (?) was able to convince them to get her released as a favor for all the contributions made to the Bluecoat retirement fund. Egil Seebriofo turned up at the Sultan's Dream. It seems Bazo Baz told him that the ambush was just a diversion, a show set up for his amusement, and that the payment and transfer of influence still happened. Seebriofo thinks he now owns the Nightwives, but has no intention of running it in person and is quite happy with the Sultan's Dream taking over the day-to-day operation. He does visit and socialize with the prostitutes, and seems to care a whole lot for their wellbeing while at the same time being convinced that they do what they do for him out of love.

Mr. Fell and Boeuff complete their secret work on the Amazing Soul Extraction Engine (name pending), a machine that can pull a ghost out of a living body! Pums deepens his beleif in the Church of the Ecstacy of the Flesh, who hate ghosts! Will this lead to conflict!? Follow Duskvol in Darkness for the latest developments!