Urban Shadows Ashes of The Archmage

The landing page for the Urban Shadows game, ashes of the Archmage.

The sudden, violent death of the city’s most powerful sorcerer, the Archmage Ambrose Finch, has left the supernatural factions scrambling for power. Leylines are unstable, old alliances are crumbling, and every faction—from vampires to werewolves to fae and beyond—is maneuvering in the chaos. The streets are alive with danger, intrigue, and the lingering echoes of the Archmage’s last spell.

The City

An Overview

London is a city of old magic, deep shadows, and whispered pacts. The streets thrum with power, hidden just beneath the surface—among the bustling tourists, in the smoky backrooms of pubs older than nations, and in the whispered Latin of a back-alley exorcism. Here, in the heart of the supernatural underground, the balance between factions is delicate, and a single death can tip the scales.

Archwizard Ambrose Finch was more than just a mage; he was a keystone of London's magical order, the guardian of a thousand secrets, the silent broker of uneasy peace. Now he's dead.

Some say his heart simply stopped—an old man finally brought low by time. Others whisper of darker causes. A power struggle. A vendetta centuries in the making. A prophecy fulfilled.

Regardless of the cause, Finch's death has left a vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum. The city teeters on the edge. The wizards of the Circle scramble to hold onto their dominion. Vampires smell blood in the water. The Fae of the Hidden Courts stir, eager to reclaim old debts. The hunters and exorcists sharpen their blades. And in the darkest corners of the city, something old and forgotten stirs, drawn to the chaos like carrion to a feast.

You are part of this world. Maybe you were one of Finch's allies—or one of his rivals. Maybe you want justice, vengeance, or just a chance to carve out your own piece of London's underworld. One thing is certain: the city won't wait. The factions are moving, and the shadows are deepening.

What will you do when the city calls?

Points of Interests

Madam Jojo's

A currently closed and derelict bar that used to be a real community hub in Soho. The Moonrise Group, a development syndicate, are currently exploring their options in terms of development.

The Blackbird

A late-night bar, with many dark nooks for secret conversations, or secret trysts. It is run by Dante Slade, a vampire of some renown, though rumours abound that he serves a darker master.

The Cauldron

A rooftop pub that serves the fringes of both moral and supernatural society. It's seen as a good place to meet, as everyone is so distrusting of one another that no-one could get away with a double-cross.The one thing everybody knows about Seattle, besides the coffee and Bill Gates. Built for the '62 World's Fair to collect and harness the psychic energy of Seattle's mortals. Forget I said that. It has a nice rotating restaurant on top, too.

Factions

Power

The Shrouded Choir

A group of wizards who do magic with souls, are willing to do things others aren't and gain the power from doing so. They have irritated, upset, or angered almost every other faction in the city, but are good enough at hiding their presence that these feuds haven't developed far.

The Order of Saint Martin

A group of immortals who control the mortal art scene from the shadows. They believe that they are the arbiters of what beauty is, and that they are the epitome of that beauty. They have an ongoing feud with The Penumbra Society.

The Circle of Fog

A group of reality hopping mages who seek to control and maintain London's leylines. They use nodes in those leylines to open portals to other realities. Many fey dislike this monopoly on London's magical fonts.

The Westminster Society

A group of mages that see themselves as the natural leaders of the supernatural underground. They seek to arbitrate disputes between factions and put down monsters that can't be reasoned with. Unfortunately with Ambrose Finch's death the society is leaderless, and may fracture into half a dozen sub-sects.

Wild

The Court of Tradewinds

A fae court that has a very limited presence in the city. They back the underdog, the immigrant, and the fringe, though they largely do so through subtle magics, given their limited presence.

The Court of Moonlight

A group of cruel, fickle fae. They feed on fear, distrust, and panic, and are not above using the city's vampires, werewolves, and ghosts to get their fill.

Mortalis

The Waking Network

A loose coalition of survivors, mystics, and hunters that aim to help give people newly ingratiated into the supernatural underground transition into their new life. They have no rivals, per se, but many within the underground see their methods as soft, inadequately preparing neophytes for the reality of their new lives.

Aeternum Solutions

A mercenary outfit who deal with occult issues for silver; a modern-day incarnation of the Knights Templar—a secretive, militarized order loyal to its own ancient codes. They protected relics, guarded bloodlines, enforced pacts, and—when necessary—cleansed corruption with fire and steel.

Unknown

The Moonrise Group

A development syndicate currently exploring their options for Madame Jojo's

PCs

Summary Tables

Stats

Name	Archetype	Blood	Heart	Mind	Spirit	Harm	Corruption
Ashja, the Grand Vizier	The Fae	-1	1	1	1	0	0
JJ	The Aware
Algy	The Sworn
Robin Bellamy	The Spectre
Kayin	The Wizard

Debts

Column owes Row the number in the cell. This is for PC by PC, but sufficiently entangled NPCs may be added later.

	Ashja	JJ	Algy	Robin	Kayin
Ashja	N/A
JJ		N/A
Algy			N/A
Robin				N/A
Kayin					N/A