Bullrich and Partners Ltd (Blades in the Dark)

This is the wiki page for a Blades in the Dark campaign following the exploits of a daring gang of smugglers, with the alias Bullrich & Partners Ltd., in the haunted city of Doskvol.

The Crew

The gang known as Bullrich and Partners Ltd are a small group of smugglers based in Crow's Foot. Their first main haul has included obtaining a full crate of demon larvae from a Dagger Island merchant (the shipment was originally intended for the Dagger Islands embassy). The larvae are known for their hallucinogenic properties and are used as exotic drugs among the upper echelons of Doskvol. The main distributor of the drugs is a shifty disgraced Iruvian nobleman called Rolan (he has ties with the Red Sashes).

The crew has recently acquired a front operation (formerly in possession of the Fog Hounds) in the form of an import/export company (re-)named Bullrich & Partners Ltd. This company is operated by Arvus Bullrich (a veteran of the Skovlan wars).

Tocker Vale

A former Akorosi factory worked with Union ties. He has turned to crime after the unjust treatment he received at the hands of Lario Tellis the owner of the factory. He murdered Lario and his mother, Roslyn Kellis, has put a price on his head. He has a sister, who still works at the Kellis steel factory. Moreover he has ties to the fledgling Steelworker Union.

Zamiro Jayan

An Iruvian moustachioed gentleman. Works undercover in a hotel in

The story so far

Your crew is caught up in a perilous (and possibly pro table) situation in the Crow’s Foot district.

Roric, the ward boss who ran the criminal operations in Crow’s Foot, has been killed. People say it was his second-in-command, Lyssa, who did it. She now controls Roric’s impressive gang of cutthroats, who call themselves the Crows. Can Lyssa establish dominance over the district the way Roric did? When Roric died, the peace he had brokered between two enemy gangs fell apart. The Lampblacks and the Red Sashes have once again exploded into open war on the streets. Will their old feud finally be resolved with bloodshed?

Factions

The Lampblacks (Tier II)

The former lamp-lighter guild, turned to crime when their services were replaced by electric lights. Their HQ is located in the office of a coal warehouse in Crow's Foot. Bazso Baz is the notorious boss of the Lampblacks. He is known for being charming and ruthless, as well as for his passionate hatred of Mylera Klev, the leader of the Red Sashes.

Bazso Baz took a liking to Zamiro Jayan. He treats him in an amicable manner and fancies him as his protégé.

The Lampblacks have the shady surgeon Dr. Crawl Coleburn on their payroll. He is known for his skills of treating gunshots and stabwounds throughout the underworld of the city.

The Red Sashes (Tier II)

Originally an Iruvian school of swordsmanship, expanded into criminal endeavors. Their leader is Mylera Klev. Most of their students come from rich Iruvian families. They have recently started a war for dominance with the Lampblacks.

The Crows (Tier II)

An old gang with new leadership. Known for running illegal games of chance and extortion rackets. Historically they have been the Wardens of Crow's Foot for a long time and some of their elements have taken over parts of the administration of the district. Most gangs in the district pay fealty to them. This is about to change, however, as they are currently embroiled in a vicious civil war, after their former leader Roric was viciously murdered by his second in command Lyssa.

The Fog Hounds (Tier I)

A crew of rough smugglers looking for a patron. Most of them were former cargo haulers, who got put out of work by the new cargo rail lines. They used the import/export company Bullrich & Son Ltd. as their front (leveraged through dirt that they had on the family). Rumor has it that another smuggler gang took this from them. If true, they are sure to look for revenge.

Notable members: Tick-Tock (hardened Skovlander thug, cold, brutal, volatile), Bear (second, fierce, moody, brash)

Dagger Islands Embassy (Tier I)

A loose confederation of rivalling merchants, hailing from the mist soaked Dagger Islands. Rumor has it that someone lifted a crate of exotic contraband (containing illicit drugs or something even worse) from one of their warehouses. Word on the street is that they pay well for any hints.

Bluecoats (Tier III)

The City Watch of Duskwall, tasked with upholding the law. Known as the meanest gang in the city. Corrupt, violent, and cruel.

Recently they increased their presence around Crow's Foot, after some of their rookies were attacked on a routine patrol at Peddler's Bridge, leaving two of them seriously injured.

Notable members: Officer Dalmot, childhood friend of Tocker Vale (trusting, patient)

Doskvol

The city of Doskvol was established over 1000 years ago as a coal mining settlement on the cold north coast of Akoros. It has withstood the breaking of the world, an attack by a titanic leviathan, massive fires, a plague, a civil war, and legions of angry ghosts. It is a community of survivors. The city is densely packed inside the ring of immense lightning towers that protect it from the murderous ghosts of the blighted deathlands beyond. Every square foot is covered in human construction of some kind—piled one atop another with looming towers, sprawling manors, and stacked row houses; dissected by canals and narrow twisting alleys; connected by a spiderweb of roads, bridges, and elevated walkways.

Doskvol is one of the most important cities in the Imperium, since it is from its port that the metal steamships of the leviathan hunters are launched. The hunters brave the far northern reaches of the Void Sea, far out of sight of land, to grapple with titanic demons of the depths and extract their precious immortal blood—the substance refined into electroplasm, the power source of civilization. All powerful noble families operate hunter ships, each commanded by the scion of their line—and it is by their fortunes at sea and the bounties of blood they capture that the fortunes of the empire wax and wane. The savvy and the ruthless of Doskvol do well to position themselves to profit from this crucial enterprise upon which so many depend—either as an ally or servant of the aristocracy, or by preying upon the corrupted rich and privileged elite.

Crow’s Foot

The district is a crossroads, merging many qualities of its neighboring districts: the illicit vices of Silkshore, the labor and trade of the Docks, the poverty of Charhollow, and the classic architecture of Charterhall. The district is a patchwork, both held together and threatened to be torn apart by the menagerie of competing street gangs and Bluecoat squads that claim every avenue and corner as territory in an endless turf war.

The most striking feature of the district is the central high stone tower, called the Rookery, which serves as the fortress of the Crows. The headquarters of the Red Sashes is located here in a fortress-like sword school. Also the Lampblacks are based in Crow's Foot, their HQ is in the office of a coal storehouse.

The hidden HQ of Bullrich & Partners Ltd. is located in the back of a small accounting firm. The gang uses the surrounding alleyways and canals as smuggling routes.

The Docks

This district of Doskvol is ancient, going back to the days before the cataclysm, when the area was a colony town of the old Skov kingdom. Today, some commerce has shifted to the new electro-rail lines of the Imperium, but the docks are still bustling with cargo haulers, fishing boats, and the prestigious leviathan hunter ships that provide the raw material that keeps the city running.

Silkshore

Criss-crossed by dozens of narrow canals, Silkshore is a district best navigated by gondola, as most visitors to this “red lamp district” do. The brothels, vice dens, food stalls, and exotic shops all perch at the waterside, ready to satisfy the appetites of their clientele, no questions asked. Silkshore is a place of public indulgence and private indelicacy, catering to every pleasure imaginable—as well as some that strain the bounds of fantasy.

Coalridge

The home to most of the machinists, industrial laborers, and factories of the city. It’s cramped, soot-choked, and loud—spewing dense clouds of black smoke, showers of sparks, and burning cinders. The old elevated train lines that once hauled coal now carry heavy equipment and raw materials to and from Gaddoc Station, though many of the ancient tracks and cars have been abandoned to squatters who’ve converted them into makeshift homes.

Brightstone

Home to many of the wealthiest and most in influential citizens of Doskvol. Its streets are broad and paved, under bright electric lights; its canals are sparkling and clean, with perfumed water; its houses are all of fine, pale marble blocks, rich timbers, and intricate ironworks. There are cultivated parks fed by radiant energy; lavish restaurants and cafes; jewelers, tailors, and other luxury shops. Street-side vendors are forbidden here, resulting in a serene, spacious atmosphere, punctuated by the occasional carriage or marching Bluecoat patrol.