Suggestions for getting back in the Spirit Wardens favor?
My open table (20-player) group just hit their 9th session and everything is going well (out of game; in game, they keep making powerful enemies).
They’re a group of Hawkers with the Ghost Market ability and they’ve gone above and beyond to irritate the Spirit Wardens who are now at -2 status.
At -2 status, the Spirit Wardens are cracking down on the group’s ghost clients and are quick to show up anytime the crew’s Whispers summon / command ghosts.
The Spirit Wardens are a clear natural enemy but very powerful enemy (Tier IV) and not a foe that can be easily bribed or coerced. Any suggestions for how the group might erase some of their negative status with the Spirit Wardens?
A long term option is a series of scores around helping the Unseen infiltrate the Spirit Wardens and then using that influence to provide cover for the crew… but that’s a long term play.
The Spirit Wardens have lots of enemies (from page 296: The Dimmer Sisters, Gondoliers, Lord Scurlock, The Silver Nails, The
Unseen, Path of Echoes, The Reconciled.) Maybe they could make an offer to go after one of these groups to re-gain their favor. It’s selling out to the MAN of course, but hey, a hawker’s gotta hawk.
On the other hand, they could try to put pressure on the SW to easy off. Maybe get in cahoots with one of these factions and start making demands that they lay off or things will escalate. Could work…maybe.
Along with Sean Nittner​’s ideas there’s also the Canter Haig school of thought where, the spirit wardens can’t be everywhere at once, so if the hawkers can just cause more chaos and get other factions to cause more cause the wardens might have to spread themselves too thin to be as bit or an issue, it doesn’t necessarily ease tensions but it changes the amount of pressure the spirit wardens can put on them.
Also they might not be easily bribed or coerced but that doesn’t mean they can’t be. Maybe it’s time for the hawkers to engraciate themselves with a magistrate with exotic tastes or depency problems and have their new future friend use their Tier IV status to bribe and coerce for them.
Potentially they could also try to take on some scores specifically targeted at framing another faction for things they’ve done in the past. Maybe if the crew can set up a believable fall guy the wardens can be contented.
Thanks Sean Nittner Chris McDonald!
Great suggestions – I’ll definitely offer them up to the crew