Random fun question: There are a lot of different factions in Duskwall. I expect most of us will have the Redsashes, Bluecoats, LampBlacks, and the Crows in our games. What other factions have shown up in your games? What other factions have you created? What are they like?
The Hive is setting up a combine in 6 towers (The 7th Tower). Ulf is dead but his people are still around, the Beserkers. There’s something like a weird wandering acting troupe or something like that called the Midnight Players if I’m not mistaken. And we have Mr. Higgins, the devil who is taking over the city, has given us jobs, and who we recently realized has been playing us all along. Of course, we’ve seen others, but not as much.
The Wax Masks. It’s not people, it’s bottles of spirits smuggled in from Iruvia, under the command of a spirifer called the Wax Mask. He pulls spirits out of local bodies and puts in his people, so he can have spies anywhere and he’s got an endless supply of muscle who drive their bodies like they stole them.
Of course, he had a really bad day when the Unrecommendables located his lair, slipped in, snagged him out from under his security, and escaped with him. They sold him to the Dimmer Sisters, who have… questions about his foreign techniques.
Turns out the whole point was the Wax Masks were after the leviathan blood to make better quality lightning oil than their local brands. They were targeting the illegal underworld trade to steal the blood from that, bypassing the tariffs and trade restrictions between governments. They were sent by a highly placed aristocratic house back in Iruvia.
Since their leader was snagged by unknown assailants and has not resurfaced dead or alive, the spirits naturally assume the Crows were behind it, and they are hitting them hard. We also do not know the fate of “the Bin,” a barge in their base with about 200 bodies in something like comas, ready for use.
If left in bodies too long, the Iruvian spirits are going to start melding with them, becoming vampires.
The Catfish Crew was named for the tavern they hung out in. They were Skovlanders, the leader was a weedy but clever fellow protected by sword maidens and big burly warrior types. They managed a modest business of leviathan blood smuggling, and a few other sidelines.
When the Unrecommendables approached them, it was by participating in the knife fights that liven up a dull evening in the common room. (They got carried away and killed a guy, but whatever. It was a less litigious time.)
The crew didn’t like what they had to say, and tossed them off the roof of the second storey to slam down on the cobbles far below. One of them bounced off a bluecoat wagon; they complained of crime to the bluecoats, who laughed (as they were on the payroll.)
Sadly, the Unrecommendables are unlikely to ever get around to dealing with them any more, as Inspector Kiva has dedicated herself to dismantling the leviathan blood trade in Crow’s Foot and she’s already crushed their crew in the process.