voidheart-symphony

ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal

• One of the rebels has their welfare claim denied, and overhears a
conversation between their assessor and The Representative.

• One of the rebels strikes up a conversation with a woman in tears outside the
local courthouse, and she tells them of what just happened to her.

Shard Aesthetics

The Representative’s shard is a seemingly endless office building, with doors
and windows that seem to shift and move as you traverse it. If you listen closely,
you can just about hear whispers of half-truths in the distance.
At the shard’s heart, a courtroom grander than even the most extravagant of the
City, where a throne sits next to an old three-legged stool facing the judge’s
bench. It’s there the Representative’s Avatar sits, ruling over his domain.

Avatar Qualities

Red Tape Courtroom Files
The Representative carries The Representative rules The Representative is a
a spool of red tape that can the courtroom, bending meticulous researcher,
be used to confuse and the very walls and and equally adept at
bind the rebels. furniture to his whim. weaponising that
knowledge.

Attempt to bind a rebel. Obstruct the rebel’s Use a dark secret as
Hide in a flurry of tape and movement with shifting leverage against a rebel.
prepare an attack. desks and tables. Learn from a rebel’s attack,
The courtroom rearranges to perfectly dodge it next
itself, preparing to strike time.
the rebels.

Break: The spool breaks, Break: The courtroom is Break: Losing the
scattering the ribbon littered with broken primary tool at his
across the battlefield. furniture. disposal, the
Representative grows
violent and rage-fuelled.

251

ThE SoCiAl MeDiA MoGuL

By Freyja Erlingsdóttir

It started as a college project.
A cute electronic yearbook with
photos, basic information, and
space for fellow students to write
comments. When those posts
drove a fellow student to suicide,
it sparked awareness in The
Mogul that there was power in
what he had made, and the castle
took hold in his mind.
Today, having an account on the
social media giant made from
the bones of this yearbook is
practically mandatory, and
having an account means signing
over more than you know about
yourself. Thus is spun the
spider’s web, and it hungers.

Tier: 3 The Mogul knows the castle, and aims to sit at its very centre. He
knows everything his agents know, but this is not mutual. His agents
are blind in one eye. His hackers have the ability to sense secrets by
scent and sight and find cracks in any defence, and the Mogul’s Hound
can smell data trails, hunting quarry via security cameras and phone
GPS, though most often she is kept back guarding the Mogul’s shard.

Drive: He seeks to know everything, about everyone, both past and future. Thus
Panopticon he shall control everyone and everything: enemy, rival, and ally alike.

Plan: He plans to insinuate himself into every system in the world. When
laws are unwilling, his Black Hat hacker puts pressure on lawmakers to
adopt “security solutions” by attacking hospitals and power plants.
When competitors arise, his White Hat hacker “exposes vulnerabilities”
and encourages adoption of his apps and firewalls instead.

252

ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal:

• One of the players (or one of their contacts) becomes aware of constant
surveillance, or stops one of his hackers from cracking a system.

• The White Hat recruits a player to help stop a malicious attack, but shows too
much of their hand.

Shard Aesthetics

The Mogul’s shard is navigated like a nightmarish webpage, its pixel brightness
made up of thousands of tiny eyes tracking every move. Adorning its walls are
paintings that play like videos when someone draws near, showing lies and
propaganda with snappy editing and friendly colours. The shard overwhelms with
information; every wall a memory from a relative, every tile a post you’ve made.
His minions take the form of faceless stalkers with camera lenses for eyes, dog-
shaped automata who track your shard browsing history, and ambushing
popup ads with hidden blades. Treasures include details of the Mogul’s
activities in exhaustive detail, and scraps of information about him, his eyes
blacked out in every photo.

Avatar Qualities

Panopticon Data Web Subtle Knife
The Mogul hungers to The Mogul’s lair is The Hackers have hidden
know everything with covered by entrapping knives. The Tracker has
his eight secret eyes. webs, each strand four fangs. The Mogul
seemingly sentient. has eight claws.

Neutralise a skill or Be a sticky nuisance. Stab the vitals.
advantage. Obstruct paths.
Know a rebel’s secret. Constrict and suffocate a Strike from stealth at a
Rip into a rebel’s memories. rebel. distracted target.

Bleed a rebel over time.

Break: Crash the local Break: Burn away to Break: A thousand
network, breaking the reveal a direct path to invisible strands fill the
battlefield apart. the spider. air, cutting those who
move too quickly.

253

The Stained Glass

By Tetra Saturn

When a corporate-focused political
party wants to gather the support of the
marginalised, someone needs to make
the most beautiful promises. When
bad publicity rears its head, someone
needs to smile for the cameras. When
anger and disappointment bubble,
someone needs to take the fall
without letting the curtain slip.
The Stained Glass knows just the right
words, has just the right style, and
often is just clueless enough to make
the grift work. They give a friendly
face to faceless corporations. They
gather support, they take the blame,
while the engine keeps running
behind them. They are backed by
countless organisations,
individuals, structures, privileges.
At once they are merely a mask for
others, at once they hold absurd
power, station, and popularity.

Tier: 3 The Stained Glass is a Monarch of the castle. They are aware that the
castle grants them power and they are grateful for it. They see the castle
as something wonderful and sacred to defend. An entire squad of their
agents can manifest broken rules or procedures into physical
consequences. They wear badges and pins that reflect terrifying forms.

Drive: They’re driven to maintain the way things currently are – to feel they
Emblem are doing the right thing in the broken system they love so dearly.

Plan: A turning point is arriving, a chance to lose or bolster the support they
have gathered. They are tidying away the mess while preparing a nice
arrangement to put on display.

254

ExAmPlE VaSsAlS

Reveal

• A rebel (or one of their contacts) is hit hard by a negligence or disaster that
the Stained Glass is sweeping under the rug.

• One of the Stained Glass's agents comes to a rebel (or one of their contacts)
with a deal with generous strings.

Shard Aesthetics

The Stained Glass's shard is immaculate. It showcases what the traditions they
uphold find beautiful, while staying hip to the current times. Under the surface
is something else, murkier and abyssal, but it's unclear whether even they know
what lies behind the wallpaper.
Their minions are secretarial staff made of glass, mimics, and liquid light
security guards. Treasures are things that bring them reassurance (favourable
news articles), keepsakes of important connections, and things that remind
them of the past – old books, faded photos, etc.

Avatar Qualities

Resplendent glow Stacks of History Heavily Connected
The Stained Glass is Documents in piles The Stained Glass can
always illuminated by around their office awaits summon the weight of
dozens of gothic the Stained Glass's call. their corporate backing
windows, whose light with a phone call.
twists to their whim. Bind a rebel with a rule,
hurting them if it’s broken. Demolish part of the
Form a reflective shield. arena.

Transform part of the Requisition a piece of the Summon a gargantuan
arena. rebels’ gear. edifice to crush them.

Create an illusion of safety Push a rebel into danger. Increase gravity's pull on a
hiding incoming harm. rebel.

Break: Become a maze of Break: Erupt into a Break: Spill oil and
images that the Stained vicious storm. deadly chemicals.
Glass phases through.

255

EnFoRcErS

ThE MoDeRn GoEtIa

The castle seeps into the Vassal’s mind through its cracks: their regrets and
frustrations, flaws and shortcomings. Their Drive is the most Void-touched
part of the Vassal’s mind, and it’s through this channel that their Avatar is
empowered (see p. 226), but as the connection between the Vassal and the
castle deepens it’ll find other flaws and embody those too.

These lesser flaws are the shard’s Enforcers. They’re an immune system for
the shard, ruling its minions and hunting down invaders. As the Vassal grows
closer to the castle and rises in Tier, more Enforcers form within their shard –
one per Tier, each with its own fiefdom.

Here you’ll find 21 Enforcers, each an inverted arcanum. In a tarot draw, an
inverted card is one drawn upside-down, and may be read as a blockage or
imbalance of that card’s energy; here, each card is a complex, delusion or
fixation in the Vassal’s life – and the Enforcer it births within the castle.

What does an Enforcer do?

Fight the rebels. Each Enforcer is a terrifying monster and fierce foe, with three
Qualities at their disposal. As the rebels raid the shard, the Enforcers loom over
them – stalking distant hallways, rousing fear and violence in the minions, and
filling the labyrinth with the noise of their approach. As a reaction, the
Architect can describe the Enforcer’s approach or even have them ambush the
rebels – particularly after a miss on Travel the Labyrinth or Find Shelter. And
if the rebels beat them, they’ll find it easier to move through this shard.

Strengthen the Vassal. Each Enforcer is a channel through which the
castle’s power flows into the Vassal, and while they’re at large in the shard
they lend the Avatar one of their Qualities.

Blight the world. Any time the Vassal’s clock fills (p. 38), the Architect picks a
surviving Enforcer to leave the shard and cause problems in the mundane
world. These problems are supernatural, but not blatant: the Enforcer can
spread a bizarre pox, wear a not-quite-perfect human disguise to corner a
rebel in their workplace, or cause freak weather disasters – but they’re not
going to be a shrieking demon throwing fire down main street.

While an Enforcer is breaching, the Architect gets one Breach Reaction per
player. These can be spent at any time to hurt the rebels, picking an Architect
Reaction (p. 206) appropriate for the Enforcer’s attack. Rebels can fight back,
and although it’ll be tough defeating it here is as good as defeating it in the
castle (see Violence in the City, p. 48). The Architect can also spend a Breach
Reaction to drag all rebels present in the scene into the castle, trapping

them there until they either defeat the Enforcer or find a way to escape.

256

The Grinning Machine0
ThE FoOl
The Fool, Inverted

The Vassal is erratic and wild, driving towards multiple goals with no long-
term plan. They come out intact but leave the lives of others in ruins.

DESCRIPTION

A shimmering digital smear of flickering screens and glitching output; a
golem of static and noise. It moves in a juddering, unpredictable fashion
and takes wild lunges towards its prey; its body is semi-real, and flickers in
and out of space as it is attacked.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Machine manifests as ominous, threatening messages
that flash on computer and TV screens – disrupting a rebel’s workplace.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar’s face shifts and changes to the
Familiar Faces of the rebels’ loved ones as they speak.

Digital Projection Familiar Faces Distraction Swarm

The creature amplifies The Machine’s screens Around the arena,
its size with the aid of a flicker with the grinning surfaces flicker and
semi-organic projector faces of people the stutter in strobe patterns
hidden within its body. rebels know and love. that disorientate
and confuse.

Stretch a limb across the Flash a loved one’s face in Jump from one screen to
arena. the path of an attack. another.

Flicker out of existence for Show images of harm Blind a rebel with flashing
a few moments. coming to a contact. lights.

When broken, the When broken, piercing When broken, the arena
creature is reduced in laser-light spears from is pitched into darkness.
size, but seems much cracked screens.
heavier and vicious.

257

The Knight of Endless Summer1
ThE MaGiCiAn
The Magician, Inverted

The Vassal is thick-headed, unobservant, over-confident, and completely
unaware of their own ineptitude; they bluster through life unconcerned
with the impact that they have on others.

DESCRIPTION

A bellicose ogre with a grotesquely oversized mouth. The Knight is a
hedonist, and is never able to satisfy its hunger for meat, physical
pleasure, or loud noises. It is an idiot, but a powerful one, and its inability
to conceive of its own defeat can be a strength.

Breach

When it leaves the shard, a district of the city is struck with a vicious heatwave.
Unable to sleep, people start pointless fights and mess up simple tasks.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar holds a Hammer of Consumption, the
hilt of which sears and cooks the Avatar’s hand as it’s used.

Armour of a Hammer of Consumption Noonday Banner
thousand Julys
Thick plates of steel Nothing stops this This silken banner shows
that turn aside attacks hammer; it desiccates an idealised image of the
with ease. whatever it touches, Knight that fuels its self-
and smashes it to dust. assured nature.

Channel burning heat into Wind up a colossal swing. Send out blinding rays of
any weapon that hits the sunshine.
armour. After winding up, smash
down, dealing great pain Shake off doubt or
Smash a rebel with a and disintegrating gear. weakness.
gauntleted backhand.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
corpulent body of the Knight furiously Knight realises that
Knight burns with a attempts to gain maybe it could be
furnace heat, revenge against the defeated, and it gains a
exhausting all those person who broke it. cruel humiliated spite.
around it.

258

2 The Bound Demon
ThE OrAcLe
The Oracle, Inverted

The Vassal seeks approval from multiple outside sources, and is trying to
keep too many people happy at once to maintain a sensible outlook.

DESCRIPTION

A tangle of muscular limbs in a broadly human shape, topped with a bald
head that cries out in muffled anguish, its mouth sealed over with flesh. It
is bound by thick red ropes that extend out to the edges of the arena and
wrench the Enforcer into a variety of stress positions.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Bound Demon manifests as a swarm of pecking,
screeching birds; each of them has red string tied around their left leg.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar has a harness made of Red Ropes that
contorts them into impossible positions to evade incoming attacks.

Red Ropes SPIKED COLLAR Keen Eyes
The crimson ropes that The creature’s leather The Demon’s mouthless
restrain and steer the collar is spiked on both head bears two wildly-
Bound Demon move sides. It digs into their oscillating eyes that
and twist of their flesh and drips blood hunt out weak spots in
own accord. down their body. its opponents’ defences.

Grab a rebel and yank Use pain to drown out any Stare intensely at a rebel.
them close. other distraction. Strike away the rebel’s

Pull the Bound Demon Leave slick pools of blood protective gear,
lightning-fast across the across the arena. enchantments, cover, etc.

arena.

When broken, they whip When broken, the mad, When broken, the
around the arena and tie unrestrained enforcer creature’s true “head” is
up rebels. becomes enraged and revealed – an eyeless,
vengeful. ravening mouth between
its shoulder blades.

259

The Bounteous Harvest3
ThE GaRdEnEr
The Gardener, Inverted

The Vassal has begun a systematic campaign of betrayal against those who
have aided them in the past; they are willing to burn any bridge to get ahead.

DESCRIPTION

A great and rusted machine, brimming with spinning blades – like three
combine harvesters crashed into each other at once and then got up and started
walking. The deafening noise of screeching metal alone is hard to endure.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Bounteous Harvest takes on the form of a literal
blight: crops die, trees wither, plants dry and food spoils.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar holds a single harvester blade,
rusted but wicked-sharp, clutched in one bleeding hand.

Harvester Blades Incomprehensible Monochrome Grass
Machinery
A whirling, sparking The arena sprouts with
mess of scything blades A forest of hissing hip-high grass as white
that constantly spins and pistons, rattling chains, as paper, converted to
hungers. and spinning dials. stinking, blood-red oil
as the machine moves
through it.

Tear at a rebel with Fling gears and parts Cut rebels with razor-
spinning blades. across the arena. sharp grass blades.

Chew through a barrier. Cannibalise itself to repair Coat a rebel with blood-
damaged components. red oil.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
blades spin loose and machine catches fire machine begins to
embed themselves in the and the blaze spreads spark and screech even
walls and floor of the around the arena. louder than before.
arena.

260

The Master of Our Desires 4
ThE AuTeUr
The Auteur, Inverted

The Vassal is desperate not to disappoint someone – and they’ll never feel
like they’re living up to their imagined expectations. A desire to impress
has turned toxic and bitter, and the person they’re trying to make an
impression on may not even know they exist.

Description

An idealised marble titan clutching a bronze sword; its body looks like the
person the Vassal would like to become, and its face is a flat mirror on support
struts. As it moves, the stone around its joints cracks and scrapes painfully.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Master is as a hulking figure in a barely-convincing
human disguise. They corner the rebel, throw them an improvised weapon
of some kind, and order them to fight. Killing them doesn’t always take.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar wears the mirror-mask
fashioned into a Venetian style.

Marble Skin Great Sword Mirror-Mask
A mask that reflects the
A tough stone skin A blunt, heavy, bronze viewer, idealised: calm,
capable of turning aside sword that the creature fitter, healthier, and
blades and bullets alike. swings with ease. more productive.

Shatter weapons that fail Hit a rebel with crushing Showarebelhowthecastle
to break its skin. force. could make them perfect.

Turn aside weak or diffuse Smash through cover or Amplify a rebel’s self-
blows. scenery. image anxieties to an
incapacitating degree.

When broken, the When broken, the giant When broken, great
cracked giant lunges punches a hand into the shards of mirrored
after the rebel who ground to begin pulling glass fall from the
caused the damage to up another blade. ceiling of the arena.
exact a terrible revenge.

261

The Throne5
ThE SaGe
The Sage, Inverted
The Vassal believes that there is a right and a wrong way to do things, and
those who step outside the clearly-marked boundaries of society deserve to
be ostracised, punished and exploited.

DESCRIPTION

A winged figure with six heads – some beasts, the others human – that
speaks with the voice of the Vassal. It is righteous to the point of madness,
and anything that disagrees with it (or stands near it, in the case of rebels)
is to be destroyed as an abomination against the Vassal’s internal reality.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Throne manifests as a far-right website espousing
fiercer laws against the rebels’ communities. If investigated, the identities
of the contributors and owners of the site are completely manufactured.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, the Avatar bears the Phoenix Wings
as a tattoo of wings across their shoulder blades.

THUNDERING VOICE RIGHTEOUS HANDS PHOENIX WINGS
Great burning wings
One of the heads The pristine hands of smoulder and spread
proclaims the majesty the Throne are capable ashes throughout the
and indomitability of of ripping apart arena as the creature
the Vassal, at a volume anything it dislikes. swoops into battle.
that ruptures eardrums
and causes nosebleeds.

Deafen rebels across the Burn a grabbed rebel with Fly out of attack range.
arena. angelic fire. Leave a burning trail

Call for aid from across the Tear a chunk of the rebel’s across the arena.
shard. power out of their body.

When broken, the other When broken, the When broken, they’re
heads mourn the loss, ground where they fall replaced with
weeping a river of tears cracks into a great spasming, unstable
that floods the arena. chasm. wings of pure fire.

262

6 The Unconjoined
ThE LoVeRs
The Lovers, Inverted

The Vassal is heartbroken, and their devotion to the person who left them
has become poisonous and harmful.

DESCRIPTION

A monstrous creature with gangly limbs that drags the carcass of its conjoined
lover behind it as it fights. Pathetic, certainly, but it perceives almost any
activity as a threat to its lover, and will fight viciously to defend their honour.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Unconjoined manifests as a series of unexplainable
bitter reprisals similar to those performed by a bitter ex-lover: vandalism,
arson, theft, and so on.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer is alive, The Avatar carries with them the ghostly
spectre of their dead lover, hovering in the air behind them.

Leather Veil Dead Lover Bonding Ring
As the Unconjoined
peers out through this The dead lover whispers Fuelled by twisted
veil, the world becomes words of longing and adoration, the creature’s
eerily sombre. regret that rid it of fear, wounds knit closed as
pain, and doubt. long as it wears the ring.

Stifle sound, heat, and Shake off distractions and Seal a wound shut around
motion. doubts. a weapon.

Sense the immaterial and Receive a warning of Retreat to regenerate from
invisible. surprise or ambush. attack.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
creature sees itself for creature undergoes the regeneration goes into
what it truly is, and heartbreak of loss a overdrive, and the
tries to claw a new veil second time, and lashes Unconjoined manifests
from the face of the out in blind terror. huge cancerous
offending rebel. growths of muscle.

263

7The Copper-Caged Wolf
ThE ChArIoT
The Chariot, Inverted

The Vassal wants to move, to take action, to be dynamic and
unconstrained; this enforcer was born of that frustrated impulse.

DESCRIPTION

A crackling beast made of solid lightning, bound and imprisoned within
an articulated cage of copper wiring. It paces its cell, waiting for its chance
to escape and rejoin its pack in the clouds.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Wolf manifests as a vaguely lupine storm cloud and
howling winds. This lightning storm ravages the city, flooding the parts of
it one of the rebel calls home.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar crackles with the electric power of a
Voltaic Beast.

Faraday Armour Voltaic Beast Storm’s Howl
The winds serve the
Coils of copper cage the Once freed, the wolf wolf, deafening and
beast in a metal shell. revels in its newfound, pummelling the rebels.
ozone-scented glory.

Lash out with sparks. Bolt across the arena. Deafen them.

Bat them aside with a paw. Breathe in deep. Scatter them.

Electromagnetically grab After breathing deep, Cover the arena with fog.
a weapon or item. exhale a torrent of plasma.

When broken, the When broken, storm When broken, the
Voltaic Beast is freed clouds start randomly winds lift the wolf to a
and leaps across the striking the arena with safe refuge to let it lick
arena lightning-fast. lightning. its wounds.

264

The Untamed Fire8
Strength, InvertedStReNgTh
The Vassal is destroying everything in their path; they are exerting their
will on the world with little thought as to consequence or outcome but
relishing in the power they can exert over others.

DESCRIPTION

A great feline beast built from steel and chains that houses a barely-contained
continual explosion in its centre. The metal that makes up its body is under
so much tension that it screeches and sings whenever it moves, but it’s
mostly drowned out by the furious roar issued forth from its terrible jaws.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Fire manifests as a bulldozer; there’s no driver, and it
doesn’t have any markings indicating the place of its manufacture. It will drive
itself into a location important to the rebels, and smash straight through it.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a pendant holding a
scintillating gem containing an echo of the Eternal Combustion Engine.

ETERNAL COMBUSTION STEEL CLAWS SPIKED TAIL
ENGINE A bundle of chains and
Twisted, juddering, pistons that can fling
A roiling, screaming, red-hot forelimbs of hissing shards of iron
chaotic explosion in the steel and hate. across the arena.
centre of the creature.

Open a vent to unleash a Shred through a rebel. Fire a fusillade of iron
gout of flames. Leave ragged, molten shards.
Raise the arena’s rents across the arena.
temperature to a Lash out at a rebel behind
sweltering heat. the Untamed Fire.

When broken, the fire When broken, the When broken, the tail
rages out of control, creature howls and shifts spasms wildly and
and the detonations into a bipedal giant. lashes around of its
tear chunks out the own accord. The
floor of the arena.

265

9 Misanthrope
ThE HeRmIt
The Hermit, Inverted

The Vassal’s self-reliance has become toxic and unhealthy. They no longer
trust others, and obsess over planning for every eventuality.

DESCRIPTION

The arena is bare aside from a table at the centre, holding a note that reads
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. When the rebels read it, the
room transforms into a nightmarish maze of traps, blind alleys, pitfalls,
sentry guns and mirrors. The enforcer themselves – a pallid bundle of skin
and wires – is in a hidden compartment nearby.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Misanthrope manifests as a trap placed somewhere
important to the rebels. They’re designed to maim, not kill – razorwire nooses
around limbs, acid, holes deep enough to fracture ankles on a fall, and so on.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a cog on a necklace that
commands the Manslaughter Machines hidden around them.

MANSLAUGHTER HALL OF MIRRORS SENTRY GUNS
MACHINE
The labyrinth is ringed Vintage machine guns
Beneath the shifting with mirrors that bristling with cameras
floor of the arena is a confuse and mislead and twitching in search
vastly complex array of rebels into making bad of a target.
cogs and engines that decisions.
power the deadly traps. Unleash a fusillade of
Shift to separate the bullets.
Build a new trap to match rebels.
the rebel’s strengths. Feed a rebel’s location to
Use images of other rebels the other systems.
Catch a rebel’s limb in its indangerasbaitforatrap.
gears. When broken, the
When broken, razor- Enforcer leaves their
When broken, every sharp shards of mirror hiding place with a slow-
trap in the arena is line the arena. firing rifle whose bullets
triggered at once. pierce walls and armour.

266

10 The Jigsaw Man
WhEeL oF FoRtUnE
Wheel of Fortune, Inverted

The Vassal is unable to take control of their life. They perceive the world as
a jumble of stress and noise, and as such, they exist in a constant –
perhaps entirely imagined – struggle for survival.

DESCRIPTION

A rapidly-forming and reforming cluster of semi-solid threat imagery; a
storm of data in the rough shape of gangly, too-tall humanoid with a
predator’s grin. Its body is a staccato flicker of teeth, blood, and fire; its voice
is the roaring calls of a dozen apex predators overlaid atop one another.

Breach

Outside the shard, the creature becomes a dog, a fox, a coyote – some local
predator that could seriously hurt an unwary human. They’ll hunt one
rebel in particular, attempting to do as much damage as possible before
they’re driven off or killed.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar’s throat glitches and twists
and their voice has a subharmonic Bass Roar.

THREAT STORM BASS ROAR HUNTER’S TEETH

The creature’s very body The Jigsaw Man’s The creature’s teeth
is a barrage of growls turn your latch onto its prey and
instinctively upsetting stomach and make your lash it from side to side.
imagery. hairs stand on end.

Overwhelm a rebel with Send visceral fear through Tear a chunk out of a rebel.
sensation. a rebel’s system.
Grab onto a rebel with
Reshape its weaponry. Pinpoint rebels with echoes. piercing fangs.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
images slip off the discordant screech is no creature uses its arms
thing’s pallid skin and longer terrifying – but to fling opponents into
display themselves it’s sharp, and loud to the walls and floor of
brightly on the walls of the point of pain. the arena instead.
the arena.

267

The Burdened Wretch11
JuStIcE
Justice, Inverted

The Vassal is drowning in self-loathing. They see themselves as the lowest of
the low – and, as such, all their transgressions against others are justified.

DESCRIPTION

A slug-like creature with a vaguely humanoid head; diseased-looking organs
shift underneath a bulging translucent skin, and a dozen arms line its
flanks and scratch with torn fingernails at anyone who comes near. It carries
a lashed-together ball of rusted junk and leaking canisters on its back.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Wretch manifests as pollution, rust and decay; it targets
areas open to the public – community gardens, parks, and playgrounds.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar carries their own Bundle of Burdens:
an overstuffed satchel containing many useful (and useless) items.

ADDITIONAL ORGANS BUNDLE OF BURDENS A DOZEN HANDS
At least three extra On occasion, the Wretch They grasp and claw at
hearts and more lungs reaches into the stack of the rebels, drawing
than it strictly needs supplies on its back and them towards a blunt-
make the Wretch retrieves something toothed maw on the
extremely hard to kill. useful or dangerous. creatures’ underside.

Spew out corrosive acid. Hurl a bomb. Grab a rebel and pull them
Discard a damaged limb Throw out a cloud of under the Wretch.
blinding, acrid gas.
to reveal a backup. Savage a grabbed rebel
with endless fangs.

When broken, hissing When broken, the When broken, the
bile and stinking pus bundle comes loose and Wretch wails and cries
pools across the arena. rolls towards the rebels. so loud it makes noses
bleed and eardrums
rupture.

268

The Dyspeptic Spectre 12
ThE VaGaBoNd
The Vagabond, Inverted

The Vassal is making the same bad decisions over and over as they refuse
to examine the broader impact of their actions.

DESCRIPTION

You can hear this thing grinding its teeth before you ever see it. A knot of pallid,
skeletal-thin limbs dangle from a huge, bloated head that moans in perpetual
discomfort as it floats unsteadily through the sky. Advertisements – some
you recognise, some you don’t – are reflected in its glassy, mismatched eyes.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Spectre manifests as a malformed humanoid that
hides in a covenant’s house and tempts them into making those same bad
decisions. They’ll get back together with their unstable ex, pick up a drug
habit, gamble, buy things they don’t need to fill the void, and so on.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar bears dozens of
grasping hands lying in wait beneath their clothing.

Grinding Teeth Huge Eyes Grasping Hands

Huge worn-flat molars Its eyes can trick anyone A writhing nest of
grind against each who looks into them double-jointed hands
other in the back of this into making impetuous that quest disgustingly
thing’s jaw. decisions. inside mouths and ears.

Grab armour or a weapon Askarebel:whichofyour Pluck out vocal cords or
and grind it down. alliesdoyouhatethemost? plug eardrums.

Grab a limb in its teeth. Implant recklessness Poke and prod painfully.
Bite down on a grabbed in them and tick a gauge.
Hold a rebel with its gaze.
limb.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, they drop
spectre’s off-putting blinded beast flails off from the central head
moan turns into a full- recklessly about. and skitter around.
blown scream of pain.

269

13 The Blind Gaoler
DeAtH
Death, Inverted

The Vassal is bound by indecision, resisting change that would free them
from toxic relationships or life patterns.

DESCRIPTION

A towering figure dragging heavy padlocks on chains behind them,
scraping their shoulders against the ceiling. Their head is enclosed in an
armoured helm, itself triple-locked, and their presence turns the land
around them to stinking, waterlogged mud.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Gaoler manifests as a tall blindfolded man. He has a
keyring on his belt that can unlock or lock any door, usually choosing doors
that would cause the PCs the most trouble.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Indolence Charm appears
on the Avatar as a similar, if smaller, necklace.

Armoured helm Chains and Padlocks Indolence Charm

Deflects attacks unless Heavy enough to crush A faintly-glowing charm
they’re focused on the a ribcage and swung of bone and barbed wire
weak spots – the with terrifying force. hung around the
padlocks and the hinges. creature’s neck.
Smash down on a rebel.
Head-butt a rebel. Sap a rebel’s energy.
Wrap around defences
Shrug off a blow. and obstructions and pull Slow nearby projectiles to
them away. a sluggish crawl.

When broken, the When broken, you When broken, the
furious, enervating learn that they were for charm goes out of
gaze of the giant blazes your safety – the gaoler control, and the whole
across the arena. speeds up significantly. arena becomes a
flooding quagmire.

270

The Hungering Furnace14
TeMpErAnCe
Temperance, Inverted

The Vassal is consuming everything around them in a heedless rush for
overindulgence. Anyone who dares to oppose them is quickly cast aside
after their usefulness has been exhausted.

DESCRIPTION

A mechanical behemoth that looks a little like a steam train with great steel
limbs instead of wheels. Towards the front of the creature, an opening to a
smoking furnace in its belly is ringed with grasping mandibles.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Furnace takes the form of a swarm of insects: termites,
ants, silverfish, woodlice, and so forth. They infest a building important to
the rebels and chew it apart from the inside.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar’s innards
and Fiery Belly glow through their skin.

STEEL PLATING HOOKED MANDIBLES FIERY BELLY
Inch-thick plating Barbed forelimbs that A furnace that belches
protects the Furnace’s snap closed around forth huge gouts of
more vulnerable areas. attackers with flame and smoke.
mousetrap quickness.

Trap a rebel between a Retaliate immediately Fill the arena with smoke.
wall and its bulk. against attack. Send out a jet of flame.

Steadily and implacably Pin an attacked rebel
charge towards a rebel. against its iron skin.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
reduced weight allows Furnace bleeds molten creature becomes
the creature to leap and metal from its desperate to add more
skitter around the shattered mouth. fuel to the fire.
arena, clinging to walls
and ceilings like a
spider.

271

15 The Gracious Lord
ThE DeViL
The Devil, Inverted

The Vassal sees themselves as a capable and fair leader, but in reality they
are cruel exploiters of weakness and need. They maintain a network of
sycophants and dependents to protect themselves from criticism.

DESCRIPTION

A sumptuously-dressed figure atop a platform, smoking a cigarette and
idly toying with an ivory-handed hunting pistol. The platform is supported
on the backs of six blindfolded and chained people, either naked or dressed
in silken rags, each facing in a different direction.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Lord manifests as a pathetic, malnourished dog that
follows the rebels around. It howls and barks throughout the night, abuses
any kindness shown to it, and bites the hand that feeds it.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar smokes a cigarette
from a black packet with a gold-embossed Devil symbol.

HUNTING PISTOL HOWDAH CIGARETTE

The sort of thing you’d A raised platform that Plumes of blueish
use to stop a charging allows a superior view narcotic smoke dull
elephant. over the arena and pain and impart strange
provides protection visions to those to
from melee attacks. approach the Enforcer.
Put a bullet directly into a
rebel. Sneer at any attack that Confusearebelwithvisions.
Shoot a weapon out of a falls short.
Hide in a cloud of smoke.
rebel’s hand. Spot the rebel’s movements.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the Lord
Enforcer attempts to people who carried it stops fighting and lights
steal a replacement on their backs leap to another, siccing more
from the rebel with the the Lord’s defence with servants on the rebels.
fanciest equipment. a competitive zeal.

272

Our Lady of the Preemptive Strike 16
ThE ToWeR
The Tower, Inverted
The Vassal is convinced that everyone is out to get them. They see enemies
behind every corner, and lash out in response to imagined threats.

DESCRIPTION

A biomechanical, spider-legged monstrosity clad in pauper’s rags with a
vaguely humanoid torso extruding from a central thorax. It wears a crown
that is ringed with dozens of eyes (some animal) and whirring, clicking
camera lenses; its right hand is a claw that drips with poison that it coughs
up and spits onto it intermittently.

Breach

Outside of the shard, the creature manifests as a swarm of spiders that have
an uncanny knack for finding sensitive information stored on paper and
putting it in places where it will be noticed by others – especially the Vassal.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears The Crown of Eyes,
a jagged loop of silver ringed with blinking red orbs.

Metal Limbs Crown of Eyes Poisoned Claw

At least eight armoured The creature cannot be Wicked-sharp and
legs of brass and steel surprised while it wears dripping with a hissing
that pierce flesh with this all-seeing crown. toxin.
their sharp points.

Impale a rebel. See through any deceit or Cough up a pool of poison
Pin a rebel against the misdirection. onto the floor.

floor. Make a rebel see the others Scrapeashallow,poisoned
as monsters and threats. cut across a rebel.

When broken, the When broken, the When broken, the
controlling wires paranoid visions leak creature starts spitting
plunge into the ground out, and the PCs are the toxin directly at its
and burst from surfaces assaulted by visions of enemies.
all over the arena. betrayal.

273

The Vacuum Abhorrent17
ThE StAr
The Star, Inverted

The Vassal is hopelessly sad. They attempt to alleviate the anhedonia with
anything to hand – drugs, sex, abuse of power, danger – but nothing’s
really making a dent, and their life teeters on the brink of ruin.

DESCRIPTION

An amorphous black smear, a greasy stain on reality, a hole in space that
consumes everything around it. On occasion, the shape rationalises into
the shadowy form of a hunched figure staring directly forwards, rocking
from side-to-side.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Vacuum becomes a torrential rainfall in an area that
the rebels frequent, flooding its streets with water and misery.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears sunglasses
that project an aura of Devouring Midnight.

Devouring Midnight 2D FIGURE NIGHT-BLACK BLADES
The creature is made of
a hungry emptiness From certain points of A storm of scintillating
that sucks in anything view, the smear resolves black crystalline shards
that comes close. into a hunched and that lacerate and gouge.
inhumanly strong and
resilient figure, so thin
it confuses the eye.

Pull a rebel out of cover. Twist reality to escape. Defend itself in a swarm
of black razors.
Devour anything that gets Slice with a razor-sharp
too close. hand. Send a storm out to chase
a rebel.

When broken, streams When broken, the When broken, the
of vicious colour and sadness spreads as an arena sprouts sharp
captured emotion spray ever-encroaching void razor outcroppings at
out of the Enforcer, over the arena floor. random.
staining the arena.

274

Abhorrent Tenebral Wings 18
ThE MoOn
The Moon, Inverted

The Vassal’s fears and anxieties are boiling beneath the surface – they
dread the things that haunt the night beyond their walls. Those fears are
weaponised, now, with this creature.

DESCRIPTION

It's like a neural net trained on deep-sea fish was asked to draw a picture of
a bat. A great rush of wings heralds its arrival, dark and leathery and
abhorrently writhing. Is that its head? It certainly has teeth. Are those its
talons? The eyes make you think otherwise, but you’re seized either way.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Wings are a cluster of night vermin appropriate to
your city. A rebel or one of their Covenants finds their home besieged by
vermin: lurking at the edge of eyesight, chewing at cables, boring through
walls and snapping at heels.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar is shrouded in a Cloud of Vermin.

Beating Wings Chaotic Maw Cloud of Vermin
This creature rules the This orifice – maybe a Vermin surround the
skies, impossible to pin mouth? – is densely beast – flying, crawling
down. packed with bone fangs. and squirming.

Take to the skies. Bite deep and tear flesh. Mob a rebel with a horde
Blast them with a gust of Inject lingering infection. of fluttering wings.
Whisper doubts in a
wind. rebel’s ear.

When broken, it can When broken, the teeth When broken, the
still protect itself by continue growing where creature grabs the
sheltering under the they fell, covering the offender up to seek
crumpled wings. arena with spikes. vengeance for its
children.

275

The Knight of Golden Glory19
ThE SuN
The Sun, Inverted

The Vassal is good at what they do, and they know it. They view most
mundane tasks and concerns as beneath them as they cruise forward,
fuelled by an impenetrable self-confidence.

DESCRIPTION

A lithe, heartbreakingly beautiful figure that stands a little over ten feet
tall. Clad in resplendent armour with an open helm, they are under a
perpetual spotlight, and the area around them is cast into darkness.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Knight manifests as a variety of aspirational adverts that
display human faces idealised to the point of alien beauty. Those under the
advert’s influence will feel worthless and desperate to change their situation.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar wears a breastplate and pauldrons
fashioned after the Armour of Glory.

HEARTBREAKING ARMOUR OF GLORY METEOR SWORD
BEAUTY
The Knight is protected This oversized blade is
The Knight’s face is so by shining steel armour so sharp that the edge
excruciatingly perfect that reflects blows back divides air molecules in
that it hurts to see. on the attacker. a shimmer of sparks.

Ask a rebel: What makes Reflect an attack back. Slice through any defence.
the knight beautiful? Catch weapons in a Leave crackling fire in the
gauntleted fist.
Inflict emotional turmoil blade’s wake.
on any who mar the Crush a caught weapon.
Knight’s beauty.

When broken, they When broken, their bare, When broken, the
lunge at the rebel who scarred torso catches and Knight will switch to a
attacked them in an traps weapons rather brutal grappling style to
inchoate rage. than deflecting them. choke the life out of its

opponents.

276

The Hunter of Witches20
JuDgEmEnT
Judgement, Inverted

The Vassal has taken it upon themselves to burn a perceived evil out of the
world by whatever means necessary. While the thing they hate may be
broadly harmful, the way they go about ousting it is causing untold harm.

DESCRIPTION

An old-school inquisitor wearing black armour, a long coat and a wide-brim
hat, they pronounce judgement on any rebels that would dare invade this
shard. Beneath the coat, they are little more than an assemblage of shadows.

Breach

Outside the shard, the Hunter manifests as a wretched homunculus – little
more than a tangle of meat and detritus – that follows the rebels and
reports their actions to authorities via anonymous phone call.

QUALITIES

While the Enforcer’s alive, the Avatar has a Bloody Left Hand, represented
by a set of rings with spikes that pierce the flesh of their fingers.

BURNING TORCH BOOK OF CONDEMNATION BLOODY LEFT HAND
A flaming brazier that
the creature swings in Tearing pages from this The Hunter’s left hand
great arcs. religious text, the is a claw sharp enough
Hunter hammers them to lacerate and tear the
Send out a flurry of into the bodies of rebels. flesh of rebels.
burning coals.
Seal away a rebel’s magic Cut through fetters and
Smash it down from with ‘holy’ prohibitions. bindings.
overhead.
Turn their hammer into a Punch through armour.
Puff out choking incense. burning brand.
Leave a painful slash.

When broken, a burning When broken, book When broken, a lashing
pyre bursts out of the splits apart and the tendril of blood whips
floor of the arena under pages spiral to provide from the stump.
the rebel who broke the cover for the Enforcer.
torch, and the Hunter
tries to tie them to it.

277

ChApTeR 7

ThE CiTy YoU LiVe In



The city itself is another major character in your campaign. It’s a
major part of your aesthetic palette when running this game – the
simple act of setting a game in London instead of Tokyo will have
a huge difference on the characters you’re playing and the
strictures they’re pressing up against (let alone the impact of
setting the story in a different time period than the modern day).
Whether you’re playing in a very familiar city, somewhere else in
the world, or a metropolis of your own creation, here are some
important things to consider:
• What’s beautiful in this city? What makes it worth fighting for?
• What are some of its neighbourhoods? Think up cool places for

the rebels to live in, work in, and visit, and decide on the
troubles they’re currently facing. A varied set of
neighbourhoods helps keep your campaign feeling fresh as you
move from Vassal to Vassal.
• How do the castle’s Vassals move in this city? What are some
ways Vassals might channel the castle to cause misery and
enrich themselves, at each tier of Vassal?
You’ll be able to work those out for your home city better than I can,
but if you want something a bit off the beaten path we provide some
example cities, for you to use directly or draw inspiration from:
• Steel City Punks presents the Sheffield, UK of 1984. As miners
clash with police and new wave musicians push back against
the superficial glitz of Thatcherite prosperity, your rebels have
their own struggles to face.
• Bandit Country swaps out the urban city for a more isolated
setting – the fading towns and peat bogs of rural Ireland. What
can those of you unable to escape their small town do to make
things better? What is it about the bog that draws the castle here?
• Windy City Gothic takes your game into the streets of Chicago,
showing the castle winding through its corrupt political
machine and across its many neighbourhoods.



StEeL CiTy PuNkS

By David Morrison

Introduction

Iron flows in the veins of Sheffield, the hills bleeding into its
rivers, driven by the pounding heartbeat of the drop forges. For
centuries, the skill and ingenuity of artisans in silver and steel
brought prosperity and renown to the market town and clustered
villages nestled in the hills and valleys. But the industrial
revolution put Sheffield on the map. The power of the five rivers,
easy access to coal and iron, and the ambition of powerful men.
Sheffield became a crucible, transforming the labour of its people
into the wealth of nations. Stainless steel emerging from soot-
caked factories, fed by the blood of the earth and men. But there is
turmoil in the castle, and now, in 1984, that change is shaking even
the solid foundations of the City of Steel.

The financial boom of the 80s and the politics of Thatcher and
Reagan are reshaping who holds wealth and power. Old industries
are being forced out of profitability, and those whose livelihoods
are dependent on them are hit the hardest. The government is
pursuing an ideologically motivated clampdown on unions, leading
to the general Miners Strike. Women and people of colour fight to
have their voices heard. And the growing AIDS crisis highlights the
discrimination against the queer community even as it makes it
starker. Against this grim backdrop, people still live their lives and
fight for what they believe in. They’re forging communities,
creating art, grasping at progress, and refusing to be cowed.

This setting is a retro-punk journey to a version of Sheffield, an
industrial city in Northern England, based in reality but shaped by
the baleful influence of the castle. Rebels in the city will have to fight
against grasping industrialists exploiting their workforce to
compete in a market that cares only for profit, a neglectful council
leaving its city to ruin, and the seemingly insurmountable foe of the
Thatcher government, hell-bent on crushing the labour unions.

Places

Castle Market

Sheffield's literal castle, an imposing fortress at the confluence of
the Sheaf and the Don rivers, was a victim of a former power play
– razed to the ground by Parliamentarians during the Civil War.
Now, its remains lay buried under the Castle Market. A concrete
warren of a building, staircases, walkways, and odd passages
surround the central food hall. The wares on sale in the white-
tiled hall speak to the diversity of the town’s residents. Under the
food hall is a manhole that leads to the ruins of the old castle –
and maybe a shelter for those who fight the new one.

Sheffield Town Hall Extension

While the town hall proper is a neo-gothic artefact of the late
Victorian period, the new extension was built in 1977. Colloquially
known as “the egg box”, it was built to last 500 years, and looks like
a bulbous insect nest of concrete and glass. Its dark reflection is a

hive of workers who can reshape people's fortunes with ink and
paper. Corruption lurks at the heart of the hive, bending the workers
to the desires of its Vassal. The Vassal seeks to render the people of
the city into easily controlled numbers, seeing only costs, and
rendering them uniform. They serve their more powerful rulers.

Mine Workings

The city is riddled with old mine tunnels, though no working pits
lie within the city boundaries. Occasionally a sinkhole will open
up, even swallowing buildings whole. Buried spectres of a bygone
era haunt these tunnels, lives sacrificed in the pursuit of wealth
and power. These tunnels may lead to the shards of industrialists,
keen to maintain their link to past glories. Or the ghosts may offer
safety to those who fight the castle anew.

The Leadmill

A relatively new club in an old flour mill (Leadmill is the name of
the street), it opened in 1980 initially as a community centre, but
has grown in fame as a music venue. Particularly supportive of the
local music scene, many of the synth bands the city is establishing
a reputation for play here. It also hosts overtly left-wing political
events. It is a place rebels can come to cut loose after tense
skirmishes with the castle, or meet up with like minded comrades.

Park Hill Flats

A brutalist series of council flats, perched on a hill overlooking the
city. When they were constructed at the end of the ‘50s, clearing
the old tenement slums, they were a utopian dream. Streets in the
sky, where families could live in maisonettes with modern indoor
bathrooms and central heating. But neglect of the buildings and
the council’s byzantine housing practices are isolating the estate
and turning it into a darker, crueller place. People trapped in
concrete cells and despair.

But even as the castle tries to break their will, they cannot truly
break the cosmopolitan community spirit. The flats may well be
home to the rebels and their contracts. They have a presence in the
castle as well, where shadowy figures exploit the fears and
insecurities of those who dwell there, and the shadow image is a
stark tower in monochrome.

The Peak District

While Sheffield is a surprisingly green city for its heavy
industrialisation, with numerous public parks and many of its
roads flanked by mature trees, the city limits also encroach on the
Peak District National Park. Sandwiched between the two
industrial juggernauts of Sheffield and Manchester, the peaks are
an unspoilt swath of hillside and moorlands. The pull of the castle
is weaker here in general, and it provides a spot where rebels can
rest up and heal in moderate safety. Though it is also dotted with
old manor houses, where isolated but powerful shards of the
castle may be found, the vestiges of feudal power.

People

Immigrant Communities

Like most cities, Sheffield has a diverse population. As a large
industrial city, like many in the wake of WW2 its workforce was
depleted. There was therefore considerable immigration by the
so-called “Windrush Generation” – immigrants from the former
British Empire, spearheaded by the arrival of a ship called the
Empire Windrush in 1948. In particular, Sheffield attracted people
from Bangladesh, Pakistan and the West Indies, as well as
significant populations from Somalia, Yemen and Hong Kong.

Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners

A group of mostly working class activists in the queer community,
they banded together to arrange fundraising events to support
striking miners. While initially centred on London, many of its
members had come from smaller towns around the country,
particularly those affected by the strikes. Their efforts on behalf of
the miners saw an increase in queer representation in the trade
union movement, and was an example of grass-roots activism and
solidarity.

New Wave

While the era as a whole may be more associated with the anger of
punk, Sheffield would become an important birthing ground for
new wave and synth-pop music in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Acts
like Cabaret Voltaire were particularly influenced by the industrial
nature of the city and this shows in their music. Other important
bands from this period include ABC, Heaven 17, The Human
League, and Pulp. The movement is still influenced by the political
nature of punk, but with a more avant garde sensibility, and some
members of the scene may be rebels or contacts.

The Miner’s Strike

The miner’s strike was a general strike called by the National Union
of Miners (NUM) which lasted from 1984 to 1985. It is best
remembered for the uncompromising nature of both sides – the
Thatcherite Conservative government and the union led by Arthur
Scargill, and the brutal tactics employed by the government. Mining
towns were flooded with police who were usually drawn from
external forces, particularly the Metropolitan Police. They used
heavy-handed tactics and violence to break pickets, including at the
infamous Battle of Orgreave, which took place just outside Sheffield.
On top of this they froze the NUM bank accounts, which meant
the union was incapable of financially supporting the striking
miners. This amounted to siege warfare against the miners and
their families, and the economic effect on mining regions was
devastating, persisting long after the strike was broken. It had a
knock-on effect in Sheffield, hastening the decline of the already
struggling steel industry as a major employer.
From the perspective of the castle, the brutal action against the
miners strike represents not only an effort to bring ordinary
people to heel, but a shift in the internal power structure of the
castle itself. The old order of Empire and industry is collapsing,
supplanted by globalisation, finance and media control. Initially
the rebels may engage with the foot-soldiers of the castle –
massed ranks of faceless truncheon-wielding police in a blue wall,
led by horrific centaurs with great clubs. But as they pierce
deeper, they will encounter vulture-headed capitalists intent on
stripping the carcasses of businesses for whatever they can take,
and slimy politician-leeches willing to sacrifice entire
communities to maintain their grip on power.

BaNdIt CoUnTrY

By Espina MacNeill
Welcome to Otterby, North Westmeath, Ireland. Population: 950
and falling.
Humans first set up camp on the shining shores of Lough Liara
about ten thousand years ago, and progress has been slow since.
Across the lake, the fishing village Ballnacut grew into a thriving
town of around 12,000. On this side of Liara, however, we haven’t
had much luck. The town of Otterby once hosted an abbey, a
hospital, an inland port on the Royal Canal, and a breadcrumb
factory, all ruins now. Now all who are left are the old and those
too strange to emigrate. Same as any other small town.
But there's something about Otterby. The castle doesn’t have as
much power here. Castle Shards near Otterby have a moist, filthy
quality to them. Vassals find their powers numbed, their energy
drained, their minions erratic. Why? Mother Bog, my friend,
Mother Bog. You see, our Malnagh Bog is something like a
sponge. She absorbs water, and carbon, and hope, and the alien
evil of the Void. The energy drained from the castle renders the
surroundings a blindspot.
Action is difficult, observation impossible. In other words, the
perfect spot for psychic guerrilla warfare.

Places to be in Otterby

It’s better to be anywhere else, if we’re being honest.

Marnagh Bog
A sodden desert, the shadow that encloses Otterby. Willow trees,
mountains of turf, and stripped cranes. Ancient people built an
oak trackway for sacrifices, but it has since sunk into the muddy
waters beneath. Men from the peat company – not based in
Otterby, of course – mash the bog into compost bags and truck it
down roads that rise and fall like the universal breath.

Barton Lodge
Formerly the Hotel Otterby, but changed after the ‘such a lovely
face, such a lovely place’ jokes became unbearable. Features a fully-
stocked kitchen, two conference rooms, and thirty guest rooms,
all uninhabitable thanks to black mould. Only the bar and the
lounge remain usable, the rest of the hotel quarantined for the
safety of the customers.

The Islamic Cultural Center
An unremarkable semi-detached house. It was meant as a
stopgap: use Imam Khan’s house as a temporary mosque, then
build a better one in Ballnacut. Then the housing market crashed,
so the Muslim population of Westmeath makes do with what they
have. Shoes off by the door, the ablution sink is the first door to
your right, and remember, Mecca is that way.

Leam Hill
A green snake wrapped in gorse and barbed wire, crowned by
three burial sites. These cairns, as they’re called, have kept a stern
watch over Lake Liara for the past few thousand years. A favourite
spot of witches and neo-pagans the county over, and not just for
the delicious mushrooms that grow upon it. The stones catch the
starlight in such an enchanting way...

The Castle in Otterby

Mother Bog shelters all.

Just because this place drains the Void does not mean it is free
from it. Instead, Otterby is a city of refuge for those among the
castle who have angered the castle or been broken by it. The lines
between Vassal and rebel blur in these wild lands, leaving it up to
the involved parties who is friend and who is foe. Remember: the
enemy of your enemy is not always your friend, and never forget
what you're fighting for.

Tier 1: Knights of Otterby
Let’s pretend you’re a Knight. Let’s say you have failed the castle.
Failed badly enough to actually infuriate it. You don’t even know
what you’ve done, but a feeling from the very bottom of your gut
tells you that something very big and very angry is coming for you.
What better place to hide than the bog?

Knights of Otterby are usually on the run, or pursuing those on
the run. Technically the castle withdraws privileges from traitors,
but if you’re in the Marnagh Bog it’s easy to trick the castle, like
stealing electricity from the neighbours. Rogue Knights are
harder to predict than regular Knights, as they are aware that they
have some sort of strange power, but they are even less informed
than rebels about what that means. This makes them more likely
to form cults or gangs, exploiting the bog’s blackspot to create
their own tin Castle out in the middle of nowhere.

Tier 2: Nobles of Otterby
There’s an open secret among Nobles of the castle. After twenty
years of continued exposure, the Void becomes cancerous. This is
a diagnosis no doctor can save you from. The only known
treatment is retirement on the Marnagh Bog. Retired Nobles of
Otterby have even formed a little group called ‘the Brotherhood’,
which has meetings in Barton Lodge every Tuesday. Part of their
charter states they are no longer fighting for the castle, having
already done everything they needed to.

Some Nobles will even introduce themselves to rebels as ex-
servants of the castle and act shocked if there’s a problem with
that. However, the Vassals being Vassals, it’s likely they’ve still got
a couple dread plans on the side. Besides, isn’t it a bit galling that
these guys get to enjoy a happy retirement?
Tier 3: Monarchs of Otterby
There are two shadows crushing Otterby.

First is the True Gardener. The True Gardener is the ‘community
representative’ for the multinational corporation mulching
Marnagh Bog into compost bags. She has made Otterby her white
whale, believing that Marnagh Bog is bindweed strangling the
castle's influence, and by uprooting it she can destroy the rogue
Vassals once and for all. Rumour has it that she's willing to turn a
blind eye if rebels keep ‘murdering the living shite out of’ these
traitors to the castle, which has caused no end of inter-rebel
conflict in the area.

Last, but not least, is the Starlight Usurper. The Starlight Usurper
is old, older than any other Vassal. In a time before time they
betrayed the castle and fled, burying their Shard far beneath Leam
Hill. Some rebels seek to make contact with the Starlight Usurper,
believing them to be the key to defeating the castle for good, but
others are not so sure the enemy of their enemy is their friend.
Translations from the ancient Gaelic are vague, though: the
Usurper could be buried ‘below’ Leam Hill, or ‘above’...

WiNdY CiTy GoThIc

By Adira Slattery
The city is hungry. Its steel is quenched in hog’s blood, hard rivets
weaving through a flaming wreckage. One hundred and forty nine
years ago Chicago burned to the ground and was reforged. The
swamps and wild onions made way for straight planned streets,
tall buildings, slaughterhouses, and rail. Skyscrapers were birthed
here, and then pushed to the limit. Something here wants to tear
down the sky and eat the clouds raw, and the people were more
than happy to feed it. The city of Big Shoulders worked and
worked and worked, and created a modern henge girded in iron.
The hawk wind howls off the lake through the wild skyscrapers.
Piles of snow and hard rain fall in April. At 10 AM on the first
Tuesday of every month, a piercing siren reminds you of the
tornadoes menacing just beyond the border. It’s not called The
Windy City for nothing, and Chicago’s weather is as temperamental
as they come. The people just plow through it all the same, even as
every season is represented during a single week in January. And if
you beat the weather, then you lay your claim: stake out a space in
the winter with a folding chair to protect your shady spot of the
lakefront in summer. Just because the train caught on fire doesn’t
mean you can be late to work – it’s always catching on fire this time
of year. Chicago sneers at weakness, and the castle smiles.
Everybody knows that you’ve gotta “know a guy“ to get anything
done in Chicago. You know a guy for the roof. You know a guy for
baseball tickets. You know a guy for your parking fines. You know
a guy for every little detail. Then when the deed is done, you shake
hands and pass money in your palms without anyone seeing.
Always a little extra. For his mother. For discretion. For protection.
The political machine closes schools for more police academies,
splits the city with rail, and builds ever higher. Luxury apartments
loom over the public waterfront, and highways cut through historic
neighbourhoods to separate the city with red lines. Law abiding
politicians don’t get elected in Chicago. Who would trust a politician
when you don’t know what’s in his closet? With a crooked politician,
the city works. Corrupt politicians just want everything to run
smoothly, so that you don’t notice them giving the big contract to
their cousin. And if it all just works, why mess it up with oversight?
One alderman retires, just elect his even more crooked son.



The Castle in Chicago

The Void bleeds easily into Chicago, and the castle’s Vassals
oversee every section of life. From the cops to the mayor’s office,
everyone bends the knee eventually. The castle touches every part
of life from north to south. More than any other place, the castle is
happy to set up a number of little kings and then have the petty
fiefs fight for its amusements. Only the strong survive in Chicago,
and the strong serve the castle.

The people of Chicago have always found ways to fight back. All
the way back to the Haymarket Affair people have been pushing
back and getting shot, blown up, or jailed. Chicagoans don’t lay
down though; they get right back up, swinging. The people have
taken the worst this city has to offer and come out on the other
side. Neighbourhoods band together and create a better world.
That’s what the rebels represent in a place like Chicago, a way to
break the eternal cycle of graft and abuse.

NEIGHBOuRHOODS

Chicago is filled with neighbourhoods, at least 77 depending on
how you count. Here are just four specific areas to give you a cross
section of the Windy City.

The Loop

Bordered by a circle of elevated train tracks, the downtown centre
of Chicago awakes with a bustle of activity as the sun rises. Lower
Wacker fills with cars whose GPSes don’t work underground, and
Lake Shore Drive accommodates driving 65 on a road designed for
a 45mph speed limit while the cops drive past you going 80. Filled
with activity, Vassals look out over the skyline from corner offices
and dream of higher floors. The courts come into session, and the
trading floor opens. But then, with the setting sun, the castle falls
back asleep. No one is in the Loop after 6PM. Tourists wander the
dark corridors between the skyscrapers and think, “Isn’t this the
downtown? Shouldn’t there be something to do?” But everyone
who lives there has retreated up their elevators to their glistening
apartments, and won’t come down until the sun returns.

West Ridge

Tucked into the very northern edge of the city, this residential
neighbourhood sits peacefully. Touhy and Devon, the major roads
of West Ridge, are both lined with stores and restaurants. While
Touhy is the centre of Orthodox Jewish life in Chicago and
slumbers on the weekend, Devon’s South Asian corridor bustles at
every hour. The multiethnic nature of West Ridge makes it the
most diverse neighbourhood in a city plagued by segregation, and
the castle would love nothing more than to tear it apart.

Gold Coast

Glittering and fabulous, the Gold Coast is where those with real
money live and play. Boutiques and bars create the Viagra
Triangle, where rich older men come just a short way north from
the Loop to meet young and desperate women. The castle has an
iron grip on Chicago, but here it is so powerful that the Vassals
can afford to live a little and flex their power.

Pilsen

Building up in the early 20th century, Chicago needed a massive
influx of immigrants. From German, to Czech, to Italian, to
Mexican, Pilsen has been home to a never ending cycle of
communities calling this neighbourhood home. But now as
society shifts, a new group has been coming in with trendy coffee
shops and upscale bakeries. And the castle is more than happy to
stoke the fires of gentrification.

ChApTeR 8

VoIdHeArT aNd tHe TaRoT



TaRoT TrAnSpOsItIoN

Readers familiar with the tarot may have noticed that the deck
described in Voidheart Symphony isn’t 100% accurate to the arcana
as set out in the Rider-Waite deck. As I made this game, I found
places where the tarot was unnecessarily gendered, or its
archetypes didn’t fully hit what I was shooting for – so I changed
some card names to improve the fit.
If you’d like to use a ‘traditional’ deck with this game, or simply
want to look up what the arcana in this book correlate to, here’s a
transposition guide:

Voidheart Card Traditional Card
Oracle High Priestess
Empress
Gardener Emperor
Auteur Hierophant
Sage Hanged Man
Page
Vagabond Knight
Scholar Queen
Envoy King
Avatar
Ruler

ScEnArIo SpReAdS

So, you’re starting up a new Voidheart Symphony investigation, and
want inspiration for the Vassal the players are investigating, their
particular position in the shadow hierarchy of the castle, and the
resources they can bring to bear both in the mundane world and
in their personal castle-shard. Here’s one method of doing that,
using a standard tarot deck.

Preparation

Get a deck with Major and Minor arcana. Shuffle it, making sure
to get a good mix of upright and reversed cards.

Reading

1. Draw a card for the Vassal’s Tier.

How high up they are in the castle’s ranks.

• Reversed Minor Arcanum: Tier 1 (Knight). Interpret it to
answer: How is the castle nurturing their darkness?

• Upright Minor Arcanum: Tier 2 (Noble). Interpret it to answer:
What responsibility has the castle given them?

• Major Arcanum: Tier 3 (Monarch). If upright, the Monarch is
local to this city; if reversed, they’re brought in from elsewhere
as part of the castle’s plan. Interpret it to answer: What end are
they steering the castle towards?

If their Tier has already been decided, just interpret the card to
inform the answer to their Tier question.

2. Draw a card for the Vassal’s Drive.

Interpret it to answer what the castle promised them, and what their
main impulse is. If you like, you can fit it into this book’s set of Drives:

• Dominion: Power, authority, acclaim.
Impulse: Offer rewards for service.

• Excellence: Become the best in their field.
Impulse: Demonstrate their mastery.

• Insight: Answers to a burning question.
Impulse: Relentlessly pursue any clues.

• Avarice: The finest things in life.
Impulse: Claim other’s most precious things.

3. Deal three cards for their complications.

Interpret these to reveal the ways the Vassal isn’t a perfect vessel for
the castle’s will. These are the ways rebels can fill them with doubt,
nurture a drive to be better, or simply strike at their weak points.

• The first is their regrets – the things they wish had gone
differently.

• The second is their aspirations – their most lofty goals and
noble intentions.

• The last is their cherished connections – the people (or pets)
whose presence they value.

4. Draw cards for their support.

Interpret these cards to reveal the other entities helping the
Vassal.

• One for their mundane connections. These are the underlings
that serve them, and maybe the powers those underlings have
access to.

• One per Tier for their Enforcers. Work out what flaw in the
Vassal each represents, and start thinking about how it may
manifest in the castle and in the mundane world.

5. Draw a card for their danger.

Interpret it to show how they directly pose a threat to the rebels
and their community. If it’s a...

• Covenant’s arcanum: The Vassal is endangering that specific
Covenant.

• Minor Arcana: The Vassal is endangering the systems and
structures that the rebel’s community depends on.

• Major Arcana: The Vassal is endangering an important figure in
the rebel’s community, though not someone they have direct
ties too.