A Dark Cloud Over London

Campaign Aspects

Status quo

• A Hairline Fracture (Legacy)

Crow’s prophecy of a final battle between the Kerberos Club and a world-destroying Queen Victoria and his actions to prevent this future have started to curdle in the minds of the club-goers. Usual rules of diplomacy – avoiding religion and politics – are becoming increasingly honoured in the breach, and discussions of patriotism vs. class loyalty, mysticism vs. mechanisation, Queen and Country vs. abolitionist principles and predetermination vs. free can be heard in the clubrooms at all hours. So far, it is all talk. So far, believers trust Crow is the answer and skeptics think the fad will blow over.

• The Signs of the Phansigar (Dilemma)

Everyone in London has heard of the Thuggee and their particular murderous modus operandi -- death by garrote, usually in the form of a yellow scarf, knotted in the center to crush the larynx of the victim. Until recently, the Thuggee were little more then bogeymen for Londoners, even those who have spent some time in India. A spate of murders has changed all that. Experts have determined that these assassinations were not the handiwork of a copycat, but rather show all the signs of authentic Phansigar craft.

Places of Interest

• The India Club: A gentleman’s club where foreign office staff, East India board members and grand old military men can make the true and terrible decisions of Empire.
• Little India: A de facto ghetto comprising only a few blocks near the London docks, this humble area is the center of Indian immigrant life in London in 1860, the first foothold of an ever-increasing population. Its residents are by-and-large arrived within the last 2 years, and so have brought much of their home life -- their food, their mores, their religion, and their gods -- with them.
• Mister Peng's Exotica: Situated in the heart of Chelsea, this modest storefront masquerades as a purveyor of exotic trinkets from China; its primary source of revenue, however, is a high-grade opium much favored by 'enthusiasts' from all around London. Its 'private viewing rooms' in the back are, in their way, every bit as democratic as the Kerberos Club itself, where bohemians, otherwise respectable ladies, underclass hoopleheads, and gentlemen of 'refined' tastes congregate.

The Club

• Agenda – To Save the Union: The Club has reached a consensus intended to paper over the growing iriitabilities – wherever possible and not too much effort, Club-members will work to prevent this proposed Southern Confederacy from coming to be, or at least from becoming it’s own state, or at least from allying with England. Then the whole time-paradox headache and ethical issues can be ignored.
• Strange – The Chrono-Tuner: It holds to reason that time-travel leaves its mark, even if the time machine is destroyed. The room where Crow first arrived continues to hum with a strange melodic frequency, and some say that at night, they see strange shapes moving in the shadows. One elderly gentlemen swears he saw a dinosaur being ridden by a Mongul charge out from the room, glance around and charge back in…