Query! So the Lampblacks are dead. Killed to a man by the Red Sashes (multiple fortune crits by the Sashes). This leaves the player crew in an awkward position, as they had allied with the Lampblacks right before their demise. One of the potential scores available was doing a job for Lord Strangford. During the negotiations with Strangford the Spider pushed hard for a condition of taking the job being his assistance against the Red Sashes. This was a desperate limited sway roll (that could go very wrong), the spider pushed for effect, was assisted by the slide and on three sway dice rolled 3 sixes. So! What would you have given the players?
Query!
Query!
It sounds like the the Spider ended with Great effect (limited + push + crit) to get the Lampblacks who are now dead to help them fight the Sashes, yeah.
The Lampblacks (unless this changed in you game) are friends with the Gondoliers (Tier III, know secrets of the canals, and are also enemies of the Red Sashes), Ironhook Prison (Tier IV, probably have at least a few important Red Sashes inside), and the The Fog Hounds (Tier I, but friends with the Leviathan Hunters and able to survive in the deathlands).
I think it’s fair to say that any of these three allies might be looking for payback against the Red Sashes and could very easily be persuaded (since the Lampblacks were so gung ho to help them) to aid your crew in a score against them as well.
They know Margette or Bear? Eisele or Grigs?
Cool! The negotiations were with Lord Strangford specifically for the score he wanted done, hence the extreme risk of pushing hard. But, bringing more allies into the fray is fun idea, I assume as a former Leviathan Captain, Strangford could use the old connections to pass on a “favor” for the crew through intermediaries.
Oh, sorry, I misread the original post. If they made a deal with Strangford to help them fight the Sashes, why is the defeat of the Lampblacks slowing them down? If they were really close it seems like a pretty good revenge angle to hit the Sashes now.
The Lampblacks demise is really the starting point, with the Red Sashes effectively tiered up as a result of crushing them. The crew having taken sides in the war before it went terribly wrong, were suddenly utterly alone, refusing to pay tribute to the Sashes and looking for help. In this desperate situation, the protagonists decide to pull on a thread to Strangford and hope for the best. Which, with a roll of 3 sixes, it did!
Yep, seems like it would be in Strangford’s interest to ensure that no gang gets too strong in Crow’s Foot or the Docks. I could see him lending a hand trying to re-even the scales, knock the sashes down a peg and keep the crime in Crow’s Foot something he can easily manage.
Strangford may not only help them but see them as a perfect fit for another step in his plans. I don’t have the book with me, but I think there are a lot of hooks what he wants (getting rid of Gray Cloaks for example or getting rid of Arcy Keel 😉 ). Be a Patron of the Crew, maybe?