I got a Hawker crew with a Leech and a Whisper, they are interested in working towards their first Vice Den, but first they want to have some turf. The book already states all claims are taken by another faction, my question is
“How could a Leech and a Whisper gain a new claim through means that are not immediately conducive to violence?”
It’s less of a question of how could they avoid risk, but how could an scenario of taking a claim through non-violent means manifest. I am sure it can be done, I just fail to see many ways it could manifest so I turn to the community.
Thanks!
. They could alter the legers and get the payments coming their way instead, they could buy it from who currently controls it. They could blackmail, or any number of soft power options. Hell, they may even be able to seduce their way into it. At the bottom of the whole thing it is run by people, and all the tricks they can do can be used in them.
Earlier versions of the QS had an excellent table (which is hopefully coming back…?). It was called “Turf Claims”:
“For each, answer the question: What kind of operation would result in this claim?”
Then there were several tables like this one:
“Extortion
1 A Bluecoat officer looks the other way around here…
2 A merchant or shopkeep provides assistance or cover…
3 A real estate mogul ‘loses’ a few deeds…
4 An influential noble sees things your way…
5 Citizens fear you and fall into line…
6 Solo criminals shift their loyalties around here…”
I find those very useful because of the big questions “what may be a turf and which crew/faction has it right now” and there’s a lot here which you can take not only be violence but by other options as well.
John Harper I’m not 100% sure if we had that topic already. If not, PLEASE bring back that table it was/is awesome and helpful.
Taking a page from feudal government, the faction that owns the turf can assign it to the crew to manage as a boon, and to solidify their loyalty. Also, the feudal system is built on trading freedom for protection, so it’s possible that the kind of protection the claim needs is from deep skimming, or unbalanced trade, or competition, and the crew can rebalance the conflict there.
You could have a faction moving a different direction, so they are selling off assets to cover costs because they’re at war somewhere, or trying to get something else, so they’re releasing non-essential assets to people like your crew in exchange for assistance towards their new alignment.
You could have a big faction or personality taken down, and a feeding frenzy as the underworld fills the vacuum, and making a pitch as non-violent (but protective with specialized skills) would appeal to some people.