Blades in the dark: Servants of Halthar

Game Master Meetch

Lord Scurlock provided us with an old snuffhouse of his. The kind of place that doesn't show up in records. The front entrance is hidden between two taller buildings. It had a sequence lock on the door--a brick and mortar facade--but it hasn't worked in ages. The wall just swings in with a firm push. There is also a back exit for disposal, which only opens from inside.

The interior is decorated for entertainment with dusty old cathouse chairs and a huge central fireplace. Most importantly, the floor is carpeted with Lord Scurlock's memory commissioned artistic rendering of the night sky. A dense band of stars runs along the main hall. It's name and our place in the cosmos forgotten.

Most importantly, the floor is carpeted with Lord Scurlock's memory commissioned artistic rendering of the night sky.

I love that one part of the book is “maybe he’s a vampire” and another part says “he’s for sure a vampire”

Dimmer sisters, hands down.

Are we going to have a cats vs birds situation? If a magpie ends up on our stoop, it's war.

Well... about that altar... did you know that the spirit wardens don't actually destroy most of the paraphernalia they get in raids.

Anyway, Velaris decided to liberate one of the altars languishing in their impound (well, actually various pieces of 6, Halthar is rather particular.) it was close, very close, but he doesn't think they saw his face.

Also, remind me who the Greycloaks are... I don't think I encountered them in my IRL game.

Grey Cloaks are a group of disgraced Bluecloaks framed for a crime they didn’t commit, so they’ve turned to a life of crime to take over Six Towers.

The cult was instructed to perform a series of open-air bonfires forming a pattern of our sacred constellation from which we get our sigil across the Coalridge district, at least consuming one building so that our sigil would be visible from the sky. As the buildings burned and we watched from a nearby hill, we noticed that the fires were spreading peculiarly. They spread to form the pattern few would recognize and we found ourselves feeling belonging and as though we were accomplishing something important. Being in the Coalridge, fires were none too suspicious so any investigation was dropped, at least for now.

Ok! As soon as Derz finishes his sheet, we’re good to go.

Derz, let me know if you have any questions!

Ok, I think I'm done.

Tarnikos

You seem to have forgotten to add 4 dots to any skills (can't go over 2)

Maybe some in: survey(reading situations), command(for intimidation and threats), wreck (if you want to smash s~&% and cause environmental damage), Consort(if you want some more social skills, or to give yourself some bouncer experience)

(or pick other stuff, just throwing out what I've seen cutters do mostly.

Thanks Tarnikos. Please make sure to fill out your sheet

One last bit of business.

Your crew begins with two coin.

You’re operating on The Dimmer Sisters’ turf.

You have three choices:
Give them 1 coin in exchange for giving you room to work.
Pay then 2 coin as a show of respect and gain +1 status with them. 
Keep your money and take -1 status with the Sisters.

You also owe Lord Scurlock for his generosity in providing a safe space for your lair. He likes you and you have +1 status with him.

You can pay him a coin to pay back his generosity and get +2 instead.

I’ll let you all hash out how you want to spend your initial coin.

Additionally:
Mateas Kline, your favored contact, is a noble from Severos who also worships Halthar and has made a name for himself in Duskvol. He’ll offer guidance and support, but isn’t especially well connected. His...erratic business practices makes him ill-regarded by The Hive (and you take -1 status with them due to your association with him) but he is well liked by the Severosi consulate (who give you +1 status due to your connection with him).

Lastly:
Velaris
Has Halthar commanded anything from you this evening?

Hutch is in no hurry to pay off the sisters, but would bring up sending a formal thank you to Scurlock.

I'm also in the "Lets not stiff the vampire who tends to deliver TPK's" group

Also, I think Halthar's command is likely to be our first mission.
so, do you think we were commanded to rid a neighborhood of heretics (a turf grab) or an acquisition, knicking something off Lord Strangford? group question

Another vote for "be nice to Lord Scurlock". Briar doesn't care much for The Dimmer Sisters, so she's fine with the crew to be at odds with them.

What is our crew called, by the way? "Servants of Halthar" is a bit obvious. Something about stars, but not actually containing "stars"? Shards something?

Just a reminder: Scurlock is not expecting money and he already likes you. Paying him will make him extra like you.

Not paying the Dimmers will piss them off.

Yeah, Servants of Halthar is just a placeholder. Feel free to pick something else.

Yeah... I'll be honest, I like Chaos, and the Dimmer sisters being pissed at us creates interesting conflict.

Who else is noticeably active in Six Towers?

The Church/Cathedral of celestial Splendor

The Exemplar Shards. Shards plays into the idea that the stars were scattered, and the world itself is broken. Exemplar because we are showing others the way.

I would not pick a name that obviously pegs us as a religious cult.

Are we hiding our cultishness?

Also, we wanna drive out some Heretics, or steal something nice?

Steal something nice to increase our funds and consolidate our power.

Are 2 in Skirmish, 1 in prowl and 1 in command not 4 points in skills?

I'm generally a fan of not dying immediately unless we're playing paranoia. Making good friends with the vampire seems like a worthy investment, and I'm fine with stealing. As for hiding our cultishness, that seems like the better idea to me, but Halthar isn't a god that nobody has ever heard of either so I don't know if it's really that important.

You start with three points placed (in your case, Skirmish 2, command 1. Then you get to place 4 MORE points. You placed 1 in prowl. You have three left.

1 should reflect your Skovlan heritage, 1 should reflect your criminal background.

The other two are just whatever. So long as no stat has more than 2 points.

You also place an extra point in Attune, Study or Sway (and the stat you choose can go to three)

Hutch isn't too worried what we're called except to avoid scrutiny on allegations of occult activities. That sort of thing would be illegal. Don't want to give folk the wrong idea.

Suggestions:

Boreal Beacons,
Lone Stars
Lamplights
Black Chandlers
Diamond Shards
Cosmic Echos

Black Chandlers

I thought that said “Black Chandlers”

“Could I BE more eldritch?!?”

I'm totally against pissing off the Dimmer sisters. That's not going to end well for any of us. I think we should pay them off. Worst comes to worst, I will gladly donate part of my coin from the first heist to pay the group back.

As for our first mission, cadavers aren't going to animate themselves, so we should probably steal something, especially if we can pin the theft on another group of people we dislike.

I have, for example, a certain person that I would be more than happy to pin the theft on.

Ok, I got it. It's all on the sheet now.

Ok, I just need to know if you’re paying The Dimmers, Scurlock or both.

Sounds like both.

I'm not against paying both.

On a different note, can someone explain how the Hound's hunting pet is supposed to work? What stats does it have? I found very little info on cohorts in the book.

Sure! He’s an expert hunter, which means he rolls dice equal to your tier +1. Right now that’s one die for all non-shooting Hunting rolls.

I see you wrote “ghost horse” on your sheet. There are four reasons why that won’t wirkZ

A horse is not a good hunter, but an owl or a dog or cat might be. You’re describing a mount.

Having a mount requires the stable crew upgrade.

And horses are terribly rare, so you’d probably need a goat instead.

Regardless, “ghost pet” is its own Hound special ability, so you’d need a regular pet, not a ghost one.

You should choose a non-ghost hunting pet (think the animal companion from the Ranger playbook in Dungeon World). The less conspicuous, the better. You could have a trained cat stalk your prey, but a wolf will be spotted quickly and likely shot by the city guard.

Let's go with a cat then. The ghost horse was actually suggested by a friend who had played BitD before. *brb, murdering friend*

What’s your cat’s name?

P.S. to Briar and Tarnikos:

Don't forget to add your bonus point from Chosen. You can add one point to Attune, Study or Sway.

The cat's name is Simon.

Adding my bonus point to Study.

What a great name for a cat! Simon is "gear" though he doesn't count against your load. You can bring him with you on jobs but you don't have to decide you've brought him until you actually need him. He can assist you in group actions or do his own thing. A cat would probably be good as a look out (yowling when he sees something) or a distraction.

Put mine into Sway.

Weird and Faith are work. Velaris' Vice is Pleasure. when he needs to blow off steam, he heads over to Madame Tesslyn's, in Silkshore.

He says, before downing a spoonful of laudanum, to ease the splitting headache Halthar's words give him

Any interest in switching your vice from Pleasure to Stupor to account for your laudanum use? You don't have to, but it certainly supports the fiction.

Also, I'm sorry I forgot to ask earlier: Are there any subjects or activities you want us to glaze over or ignore entirely? You can post here or PM me any time if you want us to retcon or veil anything that makes you uncomfortable.

For me, I'd like to not have any violence toward children (so no child sacrifices) and to veil any torture. We can say "I torture that guy" and we'll do a roll and he'll give you what you want (or not), but no need to describe what you're doing or how it affects your target, and you can sacrifice and murder as many adults as you care to.

actually, that sounds good. Stupor it is, I'll find another purveyor.

as for stuff, mostly we won't hit my limit first, but (As you only fail to specify this once) lets just not commit sexual assault "on camera", or even to explicitly off-panel.

As for stuff, mostly we won't hit my limit first, but (As you only fail to specify this once) lets just not commit sexual assault "on camera", or even to explicitly off-panel.

That's one of mine too, but I've played with you enough to know you'd cover that base for me.

actually, that sounds good. Stupor it is, I'll find another purveyor.

No need! Madame Tesslyn's fine establishment rents comfortable and secure rooms for solo activities in case you don't want to get off your head in a flophouse surrounded by crazed zealots who actively pursue the attention of the eldritch horror that plagues your dreams and shackles you to his service. She also does carry-out.

That reminds me: Hutch and Briar, you need to select a purveyor of faith. The purveyor largely exists to act as your "weak link" for the entanglement and creates complications if you overindulge. Perhaps an old Severosi priest may be willing to lead a service in Halthar's honor for a handful of Scales.

The old Severosi priest sounds good. Someone who knows all the old rituals and provides a soothing and reassuring presence. Briar is frustrated that her god does not communicate with her, so the priest keeps telling her that it will be alright, she just needs to keep faith and follow the tenets, say the prayers and do the rituals. It's a comforting routine.

Ok! His name is Montague Arran. He's a kindly man and he doesn't like to ask a lot of questions about what you do. After services, he never makes eye contact with you or the money you leave him. He has a large, faded tattoo of a horse on his forearm.

Velaris: What's your special ability?

Ritual

What ritual do you already know?

Let's do the questions. I ask you:

What does the ritual do and how is it weird?

Then based on your answer, I answer:

What must you do to perform the ritual, and what is its price?

And then with that knowledge, you tell me:

What new belief or fear does knowledge of this ritual and its attendant occult forces instill in you?

As far as what to veil over, (mind you I won't be doing this) violence, regular or sexual, to defenseless people should be something we veil. I get that we're supposed to be terrible people, but still...

The ritual of black mists
this ritual calls up black mists from some forgotten place, to wreathe the target location in darkness, and leave those within it unable to remember names, faces or voices, rendering them eminently suggestible, among other things.

the mists don't behave normally, and exist in the ghost-field as well as the regular world

what'll that take?

Fascinating.

It will take a downtime action, a gallon of ocean water (canal water or river water won’t cut it), the veil of a widow and a happy memory from your childhood, forever forgotten. You burn the veil, infuse the water with the smoke, then drink the water as you recall the childhood memory. The mist you vomit will fill a single glass bottle. Break the bottle to fill a 100 cubic feet with mist.

Mechanically, this would reduce heat caused by eye witnesses (but not heat generated from leaving evidence or gathering information.) Remember: a score without heat is a score without reputation boost.

A cruel GM would fail to mention that all within the mist forget faces and voices. There’s likely a way to make yourself immune to the effects, but it will take a 4-clock special project to research.

What new belief or fear does knowledge of this ritual and its attendant occult forces instill in you?

Is Velaris still point with the roof crew, or can Briar roll Study?