Blades in the Big Easy, Episode 2
Quick refresher, our intrepid band of Smugglers are:
-Merresh Jeshahn, an Iruvian Slide
-Sheha Gorat, a Tycherosi Cutter
-Unna “Madame Moon” Helles, a Dagger Islander Leech
-Murdock “Scales” Deepscourge, a Skovlander Whisper
And, introducing:
-Gideon, a hunchbacked Akorosian Hound
Quick recap: last episode the crew did the Blood in Crow’s Foot starter. Bazso hired the squad to move a spirit essence distilling rig to the docks, just after Bazso’s own men ‘liberated’ it from the Red Sashes.
For episode 2, I explained how claims work and indicated that there were two immediate options: Turf in the form of a watering hole frequented by the Gondoliers (who the crew have -2 status with), or a Luxury Fence controlled by the Red Sashes (who the crew are still at 0 status with). The crew opted to go after the Luxury Fence, a wine merchant named Rickard LeNez (table joke: Ricky the Nose) who uses his business as a front to move stolen paintings and high end spirit essence.
Gathering info, the crew discovered that a) LeNez has a mistress he puts up in Silkshore b) LeNez’s main source of profit was acting as a middle man for the Red Sashes’ essence trade, which is currently disrupted and c) the Lampblacks are also currently interfering in LeNez’s legitimate enterprises.
The group developed a deception plan to have Unna hit LeNez with trance powder while he’s on his way to see his mistress, then have Merresh and Murdock step in to ‘save’ him from being drugged. LeNez’s good favor earned, they’d have a moment alone to deliver an offer the merchant can’t refuse.
Complications entered the plan when LeNez was accompanied by two Red Sash bodyguards. Unna managed to push herself to hit all three with trance powder. Merresh managed to finesse all three into an alley, where Sheha and Gideon quickly dispatched the Red Sashes (in a non-lethal and only mostly crippling fashion). The crew than managed to calm down the drugged LeNez and leverage their dirt to win him over.
Highlights:
-Gideon, our new player, managed to get a ton of great info from his friend Steiner, the assassin.
-LeNez initially refused the offer, terrified of Melara Klev’s revenge. Merresh retorted by saying “we also have friends in high places” at which point Gideon, concealed on a rooftop, put a crossbow bolt precariously close to LeNez’s personal bits.
-Murdock, whose enemy is Lord Scurlock, started a long term project to learn more about vampires.
-Unna, Sheha, and Gideon hatched a plan to reduce heat by spreading rumors about a fictitious gang composed of the crew’s rivals. They managed to knock their heat down to zero, but I started a campaign clock called “Self Fulfilling Prophecy.”
Other Thoughts
-I may be guiding the crew to do more set up and legwork before scores than the game really requires, but I think it really delivered a quality session.