Gloomtown+Rogues'+Gallery

In Gloomtown, one's status is based on three things: knowledge or access to it, direct lethality, indirect lethality. Having great personal knowledge is fantastic, but having access to a treasure trove of ancient text may well be better, though not necessarily so, depending on the circumstances. Likewise, being able to bring one's targets, enemies, or assailants low is a measure of personal prestige but having the power to cause death and destruction through manipulation, the right pressure here or there, the well-placed word, etc. is also very fine. Below you will find a gallery of personalities that have achieved some measure of infamy in Gloomtown. Many are allied with one of the houses that rule the city, and some are even the leaders of those secretive entities. Others are mercenaries or beings who live in and around the area and who may or may not have particular allegiances to the local rulers. Though you have not met or even seen all of these folks, you have certainly heard of them, and many you not only would recognize on site, but have made the acquaintance of in your time here.

__**House of the Satyr:**__ also known as the Deadly Beauties, Satyr House is indeed people by attractive, sometimes spell-binding creatures. They are deadly indeed, in spite of their love of fashion, art, and finery of all sorts. They are not the dominant house in Gloomtown by accident, and Niobe has retained her power for several centuries, right along with her beauty. It is said that only Gloomskin himself pulls more strings in the city than she.
 * //Niobe//**, House Satyr, Matron. Stunningly gorgeous and utterly debauched. A good time, if probably fatal.


 * Filigree**, Chief Assassin of Satyr House. Rumored to be a dishonored knight from Glamering.


 * //Kaili, the Grey Faerie//**, murderess of Satyr House. Archenemy of Shame of Leech House.

__**House of the Sphinx:**__ the avarice for knowledge possessed by Sphinx House is proverbial. As ravenous as a Sphinx in a library is a common phrase. They are more than willing to kill to gain or keep their knowledge, though they divulge many secrets for a price, of course.


 * //Almenar Bancarroti//**, The Archivist, Patriarch of Sphinx House, in the Catacombs, his personal library secreted beneath the surface of The Stacks. Nearly as reclusive as Countess Rucava.


 * Piera del Montichiari**, Assassin and Senior Researcher of Sphinx House

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__**House of the Razor:**__ reputedly the most bloody-minded of the houses, Razor House is said to display the wrath of the sea embodied in those who are a part of its household. All have stron ties to the ocean and are aggressive enemies.======

//**Lady Merop**//, Matriarch of Razor House. Beautiful, enthralling (she is after all a literal siren) and possessed of an anger when roused to match the fury of a typhoon.
 * //Kalat//**, Chief Sorcerer of House Razor. Very old and powerful. Despises Glabbik Vlissingen of Vulture House.


 * //Erini Eelsister//**, House Razor Assassin

__**House of the Leech:**__ it is said that none of the houses excel that of the Leech for its mastery of death dealt in the darkness. It's bladework is also particularly fine. An old legend about the house is that they are all vampires. Nonsense, of course...


 * //Countess Rucava//**, Matron of the House of the Leech, as depicted in the infamous portrait by Livani Kepos of Satyr House. It is said that there remains a bounty for any that bring the picture the artist or both to Rucava, though collecting it will be a challenge as the portrait allegedly now hangs in the bedchamber of Satyr House matron Niobe. The hatred between the two matrons is legendary as well and it is generally agreed that if the houses ever go to open war it will because of their rivalry.

//**Captain Stromstad**//, Leech House’s Captain of the Guard. It is said he has been thought killed many times over the years, only to defy the hopes of his enemies.


 * //Shame//**, killer of Leech House. Known for her continuing search for the killer of her former partner and lover, Seris the Shade. She suspects that The Grey Faerie had at least a hand in the murder.

__**House of the Vulture:**__ known for their great appetites and powerful, often very large killers. It would be wrong to think them unsubtle or foolish.
 * //Glabbek Vlissingen//**, Patriarch of Vulture House. Some mistake him for merely a fat and pompous merchant. He might better be described as one of the most personally deadly beings in a city of killers. Reputedly deeply in love with Lady Merop of Razor House. She does not return his feelings.

//**Blade Maw Ravener**// of Vulture House. It is said that there are only four of these horrific creatures in the household and that each cost Patriarch Vlissingen dear. It is also said that they were made by the necromancer Vihari the Flayer that they and came directly from his infamous laboratory within the Hungering Barrows. The sheer terror of unleashing one, much less four of these abominations, has cowed many a would-be enemy.

__**House of the Spider:**__ notorius users of poisons and esoteric magics. Also, each one is utterly mad, though they may not always appear so.


 * //Minas Achar//**, Patriarch of Spider House, one of the Rimimbi folk, diminutive, plotting, long-fingered, has a long lower body like that of a centipede, and frighteningly skilled in sorcery, utterly mad. (It is said the Rimimbi are an offshoot of a coupling with Zuvai and Finnowin. Others say, Zuvai wishes, and that Melchior Id created them years ago but that things went awry in their making. Whatever the truth, the Rimimbi are very few in number, invariably insane, powerful wizards. They also all have the upper body of a humanoid, and the lower body of either an insect, arachnid, or fish.)


 * //Valerie Kyne//**, House of the Spider. One of the least disturbed of her house, which is to say she is mad as a hatter.

__**Mercenaries and Killers for Hire**__
 * //Lady Iriya Ocktyabirskiy//**, Commander of the mercenary Hawkstrider Brigade recently returned from the Siege Lands where it is rumored they were employed by the House of the Sphinx. Fought in the army of Highlord Rom Galich against that of the infamous Ghost King Mortobon. Why is unknown.


 * Tabi**, agent for hire. He is one of the Druseri, a race that enjoys the ability to radically evolve throughout their lives, not only gaining skills and powers in the process but often enduring great changes in physical form. Tabi, for instance, now primarily uses his over-developed ( a recent development) claws to rend his enemies. The small rod you see strapped across his back is actually the weapon of his friend Moro who fell into the Sea of Wings during a naval battle some years ago. Tabi does not believe such a resourceful adventurer as Moro could possibly have been killed and searches for him throughout the region in hopes of returning the scepter to its master. He works for info that can help him find his friend.

//**Kajaran**//, the Walking Hill, one of the race known as the Maruf. Like others in Gloomtown, he is searching for things of great value. In his case, he seeks the Medallions of Yakmach, relics of his people that hold the key to an even greater treasure. He is known to have found four. How many others there are he will not say, and few know the lore of the Maruf, though it is certain that such information is available in the city. He works for the houses when he needs a lead in his search and not otherwise. Though not a bloody-minded fellow, killing for gain does not seem to trouble Karajan's conscience. He hails from a place called Dasht-e-Lashka that lies between the lands of Far Magog and the Stormshatters of Thrym.
 * Savakoski**, Monsterslayer, Killer for Hire, and Reigning Champion of The Sands arena. Will not work against any house. Rumored to be searching for lore leading to a great treasure of his people. Rewards in the arena are paid by the houses and almost always in information or assassination contracts.
 * The Knight of Blades**, origin unknown, mostly does work for Sphinx House, though a frequent visitor to the balls held within The Painted City, particularly those held at the manor of Lady Esmereld Kite.


 * Kang**, Killer for Hire. Some speculate he is an outcast from Argent. Usually works for the more subtle houses when they want to leave a mess; dislikes Vulture House for some reason.


 * Geraku**, Mercenary Killer from the lands of the Red Crucifixion. Has worked for several of the houses and a number of private individuals.


 * Xanik Fel**, Mercenary Assassin out of the lands of Zukov. Will not work for the House of the Leech. You do not care for him as you have previously had a run in or two, verbally.


 * //Tengiz the Bull//**, mercenary out of the lands of Vor. Currently unemployed and recently, indeed surprisingly, recovered from wounds suffered during an attempt to become the Champion of The Sands arena.

__**Other Personas**__
 * //Lionel, Lord March//**, self-proclaimed Darkhunter and nobleman not known to be affiliated with any house in the city. From Craghold in the lands of Melhausen. Famous for killing six different assassins who tried to collect the bounty on his head during the first few months after he arrived in the city. It is not believed that further attempts on his life have been made. He is pictured her with Young Yeller, one of several different kinds of hounds that always seem to be nearby and who are one of the main reasons March is hard to catch unaware. Why he is here remains a mystery.


 * Jorn Brega**, pistolier and assassin in the employ of Lord Lionel March. It was he who foiled the last attempt on Lord March by putting a bullet through the forehead of the notorious crossbow-wielding assassin, Quick Sny. That the shot was made from a hundred yards away, across several streets, in very poor lighting, and in the middle of a downpour (so the story goes) has added immensely to Brega's standing in the city.


 * //Tianshu of Hob Dolan//**, shaman and soothsayer. Lives near the //Smoke Room// in Shadow’s Walk. A frequent visitor to //The Twitches// and a possessor of much esoteric information.


 * //The Shepherdess//**. Believed to dwell within the foothills of the GargoyleMountains. When she comes to the city it is to make a kill, usually very publicly and with the full force of her booming voice scorning the wrongdoer and explaining for all to hear why he or she has been brought to justice. Her methods are many, however, and it is known that she sometimes appears as a young woman in brown robes or in a long brown cloak and carrying her distinctive staff before revealing her full fury and winged form. She is humorless, arrogant, and judgmental. How she chooses her victims is a matter of great debate and interest in a town so full of sinners. A number of attempts to kill her have failed spectacularly over the years.


 * //Hashaat Hovd, Artificer of the Sphere//**. Above the Sea of Wings, miles from the docks of Gloomtown, but just in sight, a metal sphere of great size hangs in the sky. It arrived five years ago and has remained ever since. It seems that the only occupants of the sphere are the Molion artificer Hashaat Hovd and his mechanical creations. That Hashaat is one of the //Ovidrim//, the tall, smooth-featured grayish-blue race that serve Thrum is clear, though why he is off the coast and what he is doing is not. He occasional visits to Gloomtown flying in atop his golem, Ovuut, an event that raises eyebrows even in this city of cynics. He is known to have been the guest of each of the Houses, though it is said that the Sphinx at least look upon him with grave suspicion, the inquisitiveness of his race beyond proverbial.

__**The Murder Isles**__ The Murder Isles is the collective name for five large islands and two dozen smaller ones that are notoriously dangerous and lie within the Sea of Wings approximately halfway between Gloomtown and the outpost of Sunhaven on the eastern coast of the Desert of Ruin.

The Scar Ogre //**Samaraas the Unglutted**// of the Red Shoal Murder Isle.

One of the yaro folk of the Murder Isle of **Serenity** having reaped the head of a visiting elf.

Raiders of northman warlord **Scarzi Giantarm**, Lord of Iron Dragon Isle in the Murders.

__**In the Borderlands**__ There are three borderlands of particular not in the environs of Gloomtown.


 * Kasir**, to the south, is a land of predator haunted hills and bleak wastes. Tribes of Sharga (jackalmen) are of particular note here.

To the north is **Vaunt**, a petty kingdom recently arisen (80 years ago) within the vast and terrifying forest known as the Moaning. Vaunt himself was a great warrior who is said to have defied the land of the Axeman on a great quest. Whatever the case, nearly a century ago he brought a small army into the Moaning, survived the relentless attacks by aggressive local horrors, and carved out the kingdom that survives today. Though it cannot be described as friendly, the people of Vaunt are at least not psychotic, an all too uncommon feature in the region.

The final borderland is that of the **Gargoyle Mountains**, a dangerous land that comes by its name honestly, possessing the single largest population of gargoyles outside the Baronies of the Lash. Other dangers await travelers through this land, but the traffic remains steady as it is the best route from Gloomtown to the cities of Harlequin to be found overland. //**The Slaughtrix.**// Discovered in the desolate hills of the Kasir borderland south of the city, and dwelling within a series of tunnels recently burrowed into the earth, it is unclear why this species of Voidborn, a murderous kind identified as a Slaughtrix, has arrived in the area and even more so what its intentions are. Rumor has it that agents of Sphinx House have been seen speaking with the creature in the area of Kasir known as the Blighted Hills, but nothing has yet been confirmed. What Gloomskin may think about this incursion is an even greater secret, and the four parties of killers sent to capture or kill the beast have all met with a terrible fate, not only being killed and partially eaten, but being hung among the sparse trees, seemingly as trophies or perhaps a warning to others.