[Freeport/Savage Worlds] Skulduggery in Freeport (1 Viewer)

voidstate

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Herein lies the only record I have my grandfather and what I suppose are best described as "his accomplices": a collection of cuttings from Freeport's Shipping News, the island nation's best (and only) daily circular of the period.

Why he should have kept these ragged strips of newsprint all these years, I can only wonder for they appear to incriminate both him and his associates in all manner of dastardly schemes, crimes and black-hearted adventures. An old man's pride, perhaps? Or a safeguard against betrayal by his one-time allies?

I'm tempted to term the collection a rise to riches, but in reality it is probably better termed a a descent into sin. May God rest his soul.

In any case, a man of my position within the Church cannot be found to have had an ancestor of such base cunning and so assign them to this casket, where they may be discovered when even my modest fame has passed.

(signature indecipherable)

Archbishop of Canterbury
 
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voidstate

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Monday June 11th, Year of Our Lord 16--

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The Bloody Vengeance, flagship of infamous orcish pirate Scarbelly arrived in harbour yesterday to the dismay of many an upstanding citizen. Equally famed for his utter lack of fear and never taking prisoners, Scarbelly has left many of Freeport's women widowed in his long and bloody career.

The Shipping News joins the bereaved in asking "why is Scarbelly allowed in port?".

One widow, Luciana Estanzo, dared to speak out. "There iz pirates and there iz pirates. Everyone he know this Scarbelly only keep one line of ze Pirate Code - to keep 'is bloodshedding at sea. And only do zis because he need somewhere to sell iz booty. Is a disgrace, that what it iz. I spit on 'im and all 'is crew."

Harsh words indeed, but who can blame her. More on this story inside.

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A bright future was cut short yesterday evening when James Harris, star pupil of the Freeport Royal Academy of Fencing was was kiled by an unknown assailant on the Field of Honour

Witnesses describe how the duelling ace was first distracted by the womanly charms of a mysterious femme fatale before an unknown assailant ran him though in a most undignified manner.

Said Master Meakes, Carpenter, "there had been a disagreement over this pretty young lady... then she suddenly bared her charms so to speak, and me a married man, but as I told my wife, who can blame a red-blooded man for looking. That Harris certainly did. Next thing we knew, that duellist bloke was on his knees whimpering 'mummy...' while blood splashed out of his groin like slops form a fishwife's gut bucket. And my wife still won't let me back in the house. You ever tried sleeping on a carpenter's bench?"

The assailant is described as "tall and handsome with a finely-trimmed beard and moustache" and was earlier seen entering the Field of Honour with a moustachioed older man and a shady-looking goblin.

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"There's no law against gambling. But there is against thievery and I'll see that cur hang till he pisses blood," fumed Judge Drent yesterday after a humiliating robbery at gambling den, The Mouth of Hell.

Although guards gave chase the robber illuded them in the back alleys of Scurvy Town.

He is described as "tall and handsome with a finely-trimmed beard and moustache".

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Our reporter was on the scene last night when three mysterious figures were seen carrying a heavy chest out from its place of concealment on Seelie's Pier in the Docks.

What was in the chest we wonder. Smuggled goods? Buried treasure? Slaves even?

The Shipping News is keen to know more. If you spotted the tricky trio and their larcenous luggage, call in at our offices and let us know.

The pair are described as as a tall and handsome young man with a finely-trimmed beard and moustache, an older gentleman with large moustachio and a shady-looking goblin.
 
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voidstate

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As you may have surmised, the characters in this game are hardly the heroic kind. We have:

Jack Jacob Murish: Charming but dim rogue and conman. Claims Skitch is his pet but really it's the other way round. Has an eye for the ladies, fine clothes and the nearest exit (in approximately that order, and no - he doesn't have three eyes).

Skitch: Goblin. As it says on his sheet, character - gobinish, appearance - goblinny. Would sell his own grandmother for a stick of rats. Has got Jack addicted to snakeweed.

Mister Mycroft: An old lag with an eye for quick profit and a thirst to get it quickly spent. Despite appearances, Mycroft has an honourable streak, if only applicable to other thieves.

I started with an attempt at running Death in Freeport but the PCs are hardly hurrying to discover the fate of poor Brother Egil's lost friend, Lucius. I guess all that traipsing around seemed like too much like hard work even for 20 lords. So after investigating Lucius's hovel, and earnestly promising Egil that they would meet him at the Great Library the following dawn, they have been busy pursuing other adventures.

Notably, while robbing the cabin of their captain, they discovered a young lady. A little charm from Jack had her spilling the secrte that she was the captain's daughter and was supposed to stay below decks for the entire journey. She begged them to take her on a night of adventure in Freeport, and of course they agreed... while plotting to sell her to the first brothal they found.

What else? While looking for a house of ill repute (anf low staffing levels), the captain's daughter caught the eye of a rapier wielding dandy. He called Jack out, offering to fight for the ladies hand. Skitch presuaded the captain's daughter to distract him and Jack stabbed the dandy in a bollocks.

Later, they visited the Mouth of Hell, a blasphemously-themed nightclub where Jack attempted to steal the purse of a fat man weighed down with roulette winnings only to find the captain's daughter had gotten there first.

Cue a chase through the streets of Scurvytown, Jack hot on the heels of the captain's daughter while cowl-robed enforcers from the Mouth of Hell chased him. Eventually the rnforcers were shaken and the girl cornered... where she was in fact Marilise Maeorgan, daughter of Marshal Maeorgan, member of the Captains' Council and general Freeport big wig. Their own captain had been engaged to take the wilful Marilise to school in Europe and she had used the PCs to engineer her escape.

Thinking better of skewering the young scalliwag in front of an interested crowd, Jack and his companions took the fat man's purse and left to find an inn (pausiing only to pickup the large chest of fine clothing Jack had absent-mindedly left on the pier that morning).
 

voidstate

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Changes to the Standard Freeport Setting

The Freeport fof this campaign differs somewhat from that in the book, notably it is set in a much more historical setting. No elves or dwarves or flinging fireballs. It does have goblinoids though as they fit in rather well with pirates.

Changes to the Standard Freeport Setting

A’Val

Freeport is located in the Western Atlantic, right in the path of the trade winds that carry ships between Europe and the Caribbean. It’s position makes it the perfect nexus for Caribbean trade. Plantations find it easier to ship their goods the short distance to Freeport than negotiate with distant Europe, and European traders find having a single location to buy Caribbean produce equally convenient.
Its location also grants Freeport a measure of protection from European governments. None dare invade the island for fear of provoking their neighbours.

The New World

When Columbus arrived in Central America, he discovered the Tavi empire, a land ruled by the anthropomorphii, diminuative men with the features of beasts. Despite their sophisticated culture, the Empire soon collapsed, devastated by disease and the ravages of conquistador greed.

The Tavi appear as short humanoids with long necks and tails, covered in short hair all over hteir body. The similarity of their appearance to the Indian mongoose has prompted the name of mongoose men among the conquistadores.

Very few of the anthropomorphii survive and they are rarely encountered by settlers. Having proven impossible to enslave, the Europeans have driven them into the deepest jungles, deserts and remote mountain areas of the continent, and the lack of resources and constant pressure caused by settlers expanding their lands depletes their numbers with every passing year.

In the northern continent, another breed of man was discovered, the gobelinii. Divided into three races – goblins, snivlings (particularly small and vicious goblins), orcs and uruks (particularly large and vicious orcs), - these primitive peoples are also being pushed from their lands by European invaders. At the moment, the Europeans cling mostly to the Eastern seaboard of the continent and some of the goblin tribes that dwell in the woods there even trade with them. But as each year passes, more Europeans arrive and attitudes are beginning to harden.

Magic

While there are no fireball-flinging wizards, magic is still rumoured to exist. Those who would explore dark texts left by forgotten and ruined civilizations can call on powers fro mbeyond reality. But the price these powers demand is a terrible one.

Few who dabble in the dark arts retain their sanity for long. And most who call on dark magics to increase their own power, end up slaves to the forces they seek to harness.

Despite the risks, cults abound both in Freeport and on the continent. In fact, the persecution of such cults in Europe swells the number of cultists in Freeport every year.

There is also talk of a goblin magic known as voodoo, capable of cruel enchantments devised by the goblins to exact revenge on their larger kin and any others who would cross their shaman priests.

The Tavi, too, have their own magic, although it is a subtle thing, granting them powers of healing and communion with nature.

Healing

In the absence of standard fantasy magic, those seeking adventure in Freeport have limited choices if they’re wounded.

There is a Pauper’s Hospital in the Temple Quarter but it’s crowded and far from sanitary, and while Apothecaries’ shops can provide restorative draughts to reduce wound penalties, there are a few doctors, and those there are can only generally be afforded by merchants and the richer of the middle classes. Most people turn to local healers and wise women to bind wounds and provide pain-numbing or healing herbs and poultices. For the desperate, there’s also rumours that some Tavi still dwell on the island, although finding them will be hard enough, let alone convincing them to help an invader.

Temple District

Crowded with places of worship of any sort, the only prohibition in Freeport is against religions that seek to destroy the city. In unique Freeport style, the city has turned Europe’s religious intolerance into a source of profit.

The Temple District is dominated by three main buildings: the Catholic Catedral de San Elmo, the Protestant Cathedral of St. Ernest and the Great Library. Around these magnificent buildings sprawl innumerable smaller places of worship; mosques, churches, chapels, synagogues, meeting houses, assembly halls and temples fill the area, some grand, others little more than shacks.

While rivalries abound in the Temple District – most famously between the two cathedrals – this rarely escalates to open hostility. The authorities do not tolerate religious strife. No clergyman is above a trip to the Hulks and no place of worship above being demolished and the plot sold to another faith for a handsome price (which is why, some whisper, the authorities so gladly shut dissidents down).

In order to ensure that only those places of worship with congregations continue to take up valuable space, the authorities levy a quarterly tax on all buildings here. Because of this, clergy for the minor faiths can be found petitioning for donations (and maybe seeking converts) from dawn to dusk.

The Great Library is a monastic institution, dedicated to the collection of knowledge. It was founded when monks fled to Freeport in possession of valuable scrolls after Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries there. Others fleeing persecution or seeking a safe repository for their papers soon joined them and Freeport welcomed them with open arms as they also generally bought wealth into the city (as did those who come to research amongst the Great Library’s records).

The Alchemists Guild

Alchemists hold a special place in Freeport, as it is they who maintain the great cannons that make the city impervious to invasion and allow it to remain independent of the great European powers. Their prestige is so great, in fact, that they are allowed a place on the Captain’s Council – the so-called Vizier’s Seat –are exempt from taxation and allowed to keep an autonomous compound in the city known as the Vizier’s Guild.

Prompted both by the alchemists’ secrecy and the strange sounds and smells that emanate from the Viziers’ Guild, rumours abound about dark experiments and unholy pacts. Still, none dare raise a hand against members of the guild, they are too well-valued by those in power (and rumours also tell of foul fates that befall those who would harm a Vizier).
 

voidstate

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Session 2

Anyway, on with the action!

Monday June 11th, Year of Our Lord 16--

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Unknown burglars last night infiltrated the City's official auction house and in an orgy of violence, left three men dead and one apparently insane. Among the dead was auctioneer Crask Olberg, struck dead without a single wound being apparent on his body!

The Shipping News can report it has achieved exclusive access to Reinholft Proy, the watchman who's sanity was so cruelly left shattered. Unfortunately he was only capable of delivering two words to our reporter: "bivalvular!" and "beaks!"

Our intrepid reporter has also discovered that there is only one item missing from the Auction House, a lacquered casket belonging to the estate of Mistress Knorbitol, a renowned alchemist before her recent death. The Auction House inventory for that item lists the contents as "bloomers". Could it perhaps contain some description of blooming fungus or flower? And to what nefarious purpose do the burglars seek to put their haul?

Sources close to the Watch tell us the culprits may have left a small clue as to their identities, and that the Watch are confident of imminent arrests.

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A gang calling themselves the Seaside Boys appear to be moving in on the businesses around the Seaside Market. Several stallholders have reported being threatened and protection money extorted.

Last night locals report seeing goblin stallholder, Liz Gizzard arguing with the gang and this morning, her stall, "Liz Gizzard's Living Lizards", was found burnt to the ground.

Said, Mistress Gizzard, "It horrible. Crispy lizard everywhere. What a waste! Everyone know lizard best eaten fresh."

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Desperately Seeking "Bob": Are you the adventurers I hired to investigate the matter of a missing friend? I can only presume you have forgotten our arranged meeting place - perfectly understandable for newcomers to such a bustling city. Still, I am rather eager to continue the investigation. If you are, or know the whereabouts of, the dashing young man named Bob or his goblin friend, Mr. Skitch, please contact Brother Egil, The Great Library. Unfortunately no reward can be offered but I do have the power to annul up to 10 Lords worth of library fines.

Let it be
known by all who read this that the honour of the house of Harris shall be restored. I, Percival Harris, shall avenge the death of my brother at the point of my rapier. If it is my last living act, I, Percival Harris, do solemnly swear that I shall hunt down the cur who felled my brother. A Harris does not suffer betrayal! Or being stabbed in the goolies while distracted by womanly wiles!
 
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voidstate

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Session 2 - Behind the Headlines

Session 2 - Behind the Headlines

With Death in Freeport clearly not going anywhere fast, this game, I introduced Fury in Freeport, the adventure from the Savage Freeport PDF. This seemed to appeal much more readily to the assorted villains my players had created.

In fact, even when Jack bumped into poor Brother Egil while looking for a doctor, he was quick to give him the slip again as soon as he'd gotten directions and a discount for being in the company of a holy man.

And so it was that that evening (the day having been spent bu Skitch catching rats for Mrs. Plisk at one copper each), they set about breaking into the City Auction House in search of Beedle's red lacquer chest, intent on keeping whatever it contained and possibly leaving Beedle floating in the harbour if he raised an objection. Only things didn't turn out quite as expected.

I had switched the demon for a cthuloid entity (based roughly on the slave race described in Ramsey Campbell's "The Insects from Shaggai") which proceeded to kill or drive insane all the guards in the building while the "heroes" hid behind doors and in plant pots (where Skitch, the goblin, was well camouflaged). Eventually, all other prey having fled or been rendered into fine red mist, the Horror from Beyond Man's Imaginings sniffed out Jack, who was forced to face it... which he did with remarkable aplomb, felling it in a single blow, whereupon it evapourated back to it's own reality.

At which point the guards who had been patrolling outside arrrrived, forcing the characters to grab the chest and flee.

Now, earlier on, the inn where they'd lodged had come into trouble when a local gang, the Seaside Boys, tried to extort Mr. and Mrs. Plisk, the innkeeper and his wife, into paying protection. Seeing an opportunity to earn free lodgings, the PCs had gotten involved, convincing the Seaside Boys they would get their money the next day (and so buying themselves time to make a plan or, failing that, to find another inn). So it was that, as they fled, Old Mycroft had the cunning idea of yelling back, "Ha! You'll never catch the Seaside Boys that easily!", thereby killing two birds with one stone, deflecting attention from themselves and implicating the local ruffians.

Returning hime fromtheir heist, the group opened the chest only to discover it ws not red, as Beedle had described, but green and was filled with nothing more valuable than a mountain of lacy female underwear.

To console themselves, they tucked into a late supper of of Mrs. Plisk's delightful new "chicken" pies.
 

voidstate

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Shipping-News-Headline-07.png


Members of the Blackened Knot, a gang Scurvytowners will be familiar with, embarked on a spree of violence last night. Homes and businesses belonging to Freeport's goblinii population were targeted in for abuse, arson and physical violence in what appears to be revenge for the killing of one of their members.

Said one gang member, "They've had it coming for a long time, those stinking greenskins. You'd think they'd be ashamed, coming here with their diseases and their savage ways but no, they go around murdering honest innkeepers like the filthy barbarians they are. Someone has to make a stand against these scum, and that someone is the Knot."

So far the Watch have failed to react. Do Scurvytowners not deserve protection from the law like anyone else, whatever their race?

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Despite assurances earlier in the week that they had strong leads, it appears the Watch have still failed to apprehend the culprits.

However, in ur role as defender of the people, the Shipping News is launching a campaign to help out our bungling city investigators. Were you in the area on Tuesday night? Did you see anything suspicious. Do your bit for law and order. Call into our offices and let us know.

In the meantime, we already have a lead. It seems that persons unkown were found in the huose of Madame Knorbitol yasterday evening. A concerned neighbour was duped into believing that these shady figures were members of the Watch but the Watch deny any such visit.

The group are described as as a tall and handsome, clean-shaven young man, an older gentleman with large moustachio and a shady-looking goblin.
 

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