Out of curiosity: how many people have Lord Scurlock as an open presence in Duskwall, or do you keep him as some kind of mysterious shadowy presence manipulating things from the shadows and through the underworld through arcane means?
Personally: I’ve made mine the head of a Hull-creating company.
In my campaign he’s a friendly contact for the crew’s Whisper and is something of a recluse, usually sending his hull servant Mr. Clicks in his stead. He’s shown up in society twice for really lavish galas or important political parties across over a year of sessions.
Our running joke is he’s not a vampire in the same way the woodworker in Brave wasn’t a witch.
The Whisper in my group also took Scurlock as her friendly contact, and she decided at character creation that they were lovers who were being kept apart by Setarra’s meddling. Our Scurlock is very much out of the limelight, mostly keeping to himself and working on god knows what. He’s the subject of about a million rumors — about the only thing I’m certain of is that he’d love to find a way to disentangle himself from Setarra while maintaining his power. I wonder if he’s just paying our Whisper lip service so she’ll help with the Setarra thing…
I’ve been seeding our sessions with news about the upcoming Barristers Ball, a yearly event honoring Duskwall’s lawyers, magistrates, etc. Really it’s just an excuse for all the elite and nobility to get together and rub shoulders. The crew has decided to buy their way in, working under the assumption that there will surely be something worth stealing. I’m planning on Scurlock being there in one of his rare public appearances, which surely won’t cause any problems for our Whisper…
The Scurlock in my session ebbs and flows with public influence, but is tied in firmly with the Inspectors and Bluecoats leadership so he can flaunt the law and get away with it, and anyone who crosses him gets into legal trouble.
I had an adventure where the crew helped him fake his death AND frame a gung-ho inspector in the process.