The

Masquerade Job
The crew is summoned at night by their broker to
the Eclipse, a secret gambling hall catering to wealthy Lord Nicolas
merchants and agents of the Crown on the 20th floor of
the Tower of Dusk, one of the city’s skyscraping towers
Raventree
known as the Tines. The view of the city through the Members of the crew who know about nobles
tinted glass windows is breathtaking, and the crew is led know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
to a private room filled with velvet-lined chairs, where to learn them without making die rolls.
they are offered wine, brandy, and other refreshments. ✦✦ Lord Nicolas is a young, charming lordling
Fine art hangs on the walls, flanked by bookshelves who looks to be preparing to follow in his
holding rare volumes and small carvings and statues. parents’ footsteps as a popular member of noble
Their broker, Maksim Valois, is a tall, handsome man social circles.
with dark skin and a clean-shaven head. His square jaw ✦✦ He is tall, slender, has curly black hair, and a
and piercing blue eyes give him an intensity that, when dashing smile. He has a reputation for having
paired with his impeccably tailored clothing, make him lots of friends around him at all times, and he is
a presence that can be felt as soon as he walks into the generous with his entourage.
room. When he speaks, his voice his deep and smooth;
he is soft-spoken, and never raises his voice in volume or A Little Digging
intensity. He is poise personified. These things can be learned by doing legwork.
✦✦ Lord Nicolas stands to join his parents, Lady
Tell the Players... Mariana and Lord Falkirk Raventree, as stewards
Before the Job begins, give the players a very brief précis of a significant fortune in Elderland holdings.
of the proposed Job so they can decide on the kind of ✦✦ He has shown exceptional acumen for commerce
characters they want to create: and politics alike, even at a young age, and has
wintered in Elderland, learning to administer his

“ This Job involves kidnapping a young noble

lord from a masquerade ball.”
family’s finances and estates across the sea.
✦✦ His early successes have only fueled his desire
to prove to his parents that he is a worthy heir
The Basics to their business, and is constantly looking for
opportunities to impress his parents with deft acts
The characters learn these essential pieces of
of political or financial manipulation.
information after accepting the Job.
The Score: The outcome the Vespers seek is having Deep Secrets
Lord Nicolas Raventree, the 19-year-old scion of an Members of the crew can learn these things by spending
influential noble house, delivered to a Vesper safe house. Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork.
Time Limitations: The crew has three days (six
✦✦ Lord Nicolas and his friends (a collection of
segments) to pull off the Job, with a masquerade ball
other noble lords and ladies around his age) have
taking place during the final segment (nighttime). The
somewhat recently developed a fascination with
Vespers wish Lord Nicolas to be taken from the ball
séances. What began as a simple interest in taboo
in order to cover the kidnapping and give them time
and occult subjects has over time grown into
to secure him before his usual entourage notices his
something of an obsession for Lord Nicolas and
absence. If there are fewer than four crew members, the
his companions.
crew has four days (eight segments) instead.
✦✦ Lord Nicolas and his coterie recently attended
The Broker’s Reward: If the crew succeeds in the Job,
a séance at a Gravedigger funeral parlor in the
they receive 1 XP tied to the Vespers.
Highroad Barony, at which one of his friends saw
Extra Respect: The crew can earn 1 extra XP if, at the
something that drove her to madness, forcing the
end of the Job, the nobility believes that Lord Nicolas
young woman to be institutionalized. Lord Nicolas
fled the city of his own accord for some reason.
and his companions covered up the truth of what
Extra Respect: The crew can earn 1 extra XP that
happened, claiming that the young woman was
tied to the Vespers if, at the end of the Job, the crew also
found in here maddened state outside of a poppy
delivers new blackmailable information about someone
den. Lord Nicolas and his companions have sworn
influential at the masquerade ball to the Vespers.
each other to secrecy over the matter.

2
The Masquerade The Guest List
Members of the crew who know about entertainers Members of the crew who know about merchants
or nobles know these things. Otherwise, they can do know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
legwork to learn them without making die rolls. to learn them without making die rolls.
✦✦ Masquerade balls among the nobility typically ✦✦ The guest list for the masquerade ball would be set
follow a similar pattern: by its hosts, the Dunhaven Bay Trading Company
•• Guests trickle into the party for the first hour. (likely officers of the company responsible for
Hors d’oeuvres, wine, and liquors are served negotiating with the Crown). However, since the
on trays carried by servants throughout the Regent will be attending the ball, the list would
main ballroom. As the guests are technically in be vetted by agents of the Crown, and each
disguise, no herald announces their arrival. attendee would be investigated and approved
•• Roughly an hour into the ball, the musicians well in advance; no attendees would be added
make the switch to more formal dancing music, after that vetting.
signaling to the attendees that the dance floor
is open. Music and dancing continue for two to
A Little Digging
These things can be learned by doing legwork.
three hours. Wine and liquor service continues
throughout this time. ✦✦ Invites to the masquerade ball were sent to each
•• The musicians return to music less suited for attendee after the list was vetted; these invitations
dancing, signaling the nearing of the ball’s serve as a ticket to entry to the ball, and names are
end. Servants trays now carry teas, coffees, and checked against the official list.
alchemical digestifs that quickly counteract ✦✦ Most of the guests on the list are nobles,
the effects of the alcohol served throughout government officials, members of the royal family,
the evening. This continues until all guests and some wealthy merchants.
have departed, which usually takes no ✦✦ The master guest list would be kept by the
more than an hour. Dunhaven Bay Trading Company officers
✦✦ Masquerade balls are notorious for their sexual responsible for planning the ball.
debauchery. While none of the nobles would ✦✦ The names on the list that stand out
be so crass as to do anything in public view, the from the crowd are:
anonymity the masquerade provides seems to •• Lord Nicolas Raventree, the target of the Job
strip away inhibitions and embolden nobles for •• Senator Wolfgang Sadana, a politician
the evening, encouraging them to seek out private from Little Taona
locations for brief masked trysts. •• Tomas Cooper, a commoner
✦✦ This particular masquerade ball is being hosted •• Dalya and Romelle Van der Skar, foreign nobles
by the Dunhaven Bay Trading Company, who •• Lady Eliza Beaumont, whom none of the crew
owns the Greenhouse, in honor of the Regent’s have ever heard of
birthday. It is a fairly naked attempt to curry favor
with the Crown.
Deep Secrets
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending
A Little Digging Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork.
These things can be learned by doing legwork.
✦✦ One name was added to the guest list by
✦✦ The Regent will be attending the ball for only a the Crown during the vetting process: Lady
brief time; she is scheduled to arrive during the Eliza Beaumont.
initial hour of the ball, stay through the first dance, ✦✦ Two invitees were added to the guest list after
and then retire for the evening, after which point vetting: Dalya and Romelle Van der Skar. They
the party will resume for the adults. While she is were added by a bribed clerk in the Dunhaven
in attendance, security will be extremely tight (all Bay Trading Company office, and the bribes came
attempts to sneak, lie, or otherwise deceive anyone from a wealthy merchant known to be an agent of
in the main entertaining areas of the ball during Elderland powers.
this time should have three disadvantage dice on
the roll due to the increased security).

3
The Greenhouse Tomas Cooper
Members of the crew who know about merchants or Members of the crew who know about commoners or
entertainers know these things. Otherwise, they can the military know these things. Otherwise, they can
do legwork to learn them without making die rolls. do legwork to learn them without making die rolls.
✦✦ The Greenhouse is a venue in the Ridgeberger ✦✦ Tomas Cooper is a former soldier who left the
Barony, a merchant district in the northern reaches Crown’s service and became a bodyguard for
of the city. It is reputed for its scenic views of the House Raventree. He has a scar that runs from
city and the ocean, and each room in its interior the corner of his mouth all the way back to his
is decorated with alchemically-enhanced flora, ear, the puckered skin pulled tight, giving him the
instilling a sense of being in a vast, indoor garden. appearance of always having a grim half-smile.
A Little Digging A Little Digging
These things can be learned by doing legwork. These things can be learned by doing legwork.
✦✦ In addition to its alcoves and sitting rooms, there ✦✦ Cooper received his scar after taking a slash to the
are three notable locations in the Greenhouse: face from a cutlass wielded by one of the pirates
•• The Observatory: A tall, round tower situated that plague the waters off the coast.
at the cliff ’s edge. A spiral staircase runs up ✦✦ Cooper lives in the commoners’ district called
through the tower, ending in a glass-encased Sevrilla County, in a room he rents above a baker’s
round chamber at the top. It is known for its shop. He takes a gondola to the Raventree estate
stunning 360-degree view of the city and the each day; word is that Lady Raventree does not like
ocean, but is somewhat secluded as it takes looking at his scarred face and refuses to grant him
effort to climb to the chamber. rooms on the grounds of the estate.
•• The Ballroom: The ballroom, found at the
center of the Greenhouse, has tall ceilings and
Deep Secrets
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending
is lit by chandeliers. The majority of the room
Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork.
is actually recessed down nearly 10 feet, with
stairs on all sides leading from the entry level ✦✦ Cooper is a frequent patron of a house of ill repute
down to the dancing floor. This creates a two- run by the Circle, hidden above a tailor’s shop in
tiered shape to the room, though the ringing Sevrilla County. He favors Vladov women who
“balcony” actually the level on which one don’t speak the common tongue. Nearly all of his
enters the room. disposable income goes to hiring their services.
•• The Labyrinth: A library whose bookshelves
are arranged to create a series of winding, Lord Nicolas’s
twisting passages. Most of the books in the
library are horticultural in nature, keeping with
Entourage
the Greenhouse’s theme, and topiaries (kept Members of the crew who know about nobles
alive through alchemical tending) decorate the know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
dead ends in the maze. This is a favorite spot for to learn them without making die rolls.
private conversations and secluded dalliances, ✦✦ Young nobles from influential houses usually
as the maze of bookshelves deadens sound. surround themselves with an entourage composed
Deep Secrets of a combination of sycophants, useful idiots, and a
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending small number of actual friends.
Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork. A Little Digging
✦✦ There are secret servants’ passages hidden behind These things can be learned by doing legwork.
wood panels throughout the Greenhouse. They ✦✦ Lord Nicolas’s entourage includes a merchant’s son
are narrow (larger servants often have to squeeze looking to marry into nobility, a scholarly young
through) but allow for servants to move between woman who studies Taonan folklore, and a young
the social areas and the kitchens unseen. The risk lady whose parents were nobles in the Vladov
of running into a servant in these passages is high. Empire, plus a dozen or so other hangers-on.

4
The Royal Guard Senator
Members of the crew who know about the Crown or the Wolfgang Sadana
Royal Family know these things. Otherwise, they can Members of the crew who know about commoners or
do legwork to learn them without making die rolls. Little Taona know these things. Otherwise, they can
✦✦ The Royal Guard branch of the City Watch will be do legwork to learn them without making die rolls.
providing security for the masquerade ball. They ✦✦ Wolfgang Sadana is the senator of the Emerald Cat
are the most trustworthy and dedicated members district. He was born and raised in that district,
of the City Watch. and continues to live there to this day.
A Little Digging ✦✦ Senator Sadana is in his early 60s, with gray
These things can be learned by doing legwork. hair that still has some streaks of black in it. He
dresses in what look from a distance to be simple
✦✦ The Royal Guard control all three entrances to the robes worn by Taonan commoners; upon closer
masquerade ball, each according to the potential inspection, one can see that his robes are actually
gap it can provide in security. However, other than made of extremely high-quality silk with fine
that, their presence in the main entertainment embroidery along the cuffs and collar.
areas will be subdued; the Dunhaven Bay Trading ✦✦ Senator Sadana is famous for having been born
Company doesn’t want the ambiance of the ball into poverty and rising to an influential position in
disrupted by the presence of armed guards, and the city as a Senator. He frequently tells the story
has ordered social areas of the ball cleared of that his first job was as a curry cook in a dockside
security when possible. tavern and that he earned enough in tips to buy
✦✦ Four Royal Guards will be on duty at the front the tavern and begin his climb out of the slums.
door. One guard will be speaking briefly with
each guest as they enter, looking for signs of A Little Digging
nervousness or suspicious activity. Two more will These things can be learned by doing legwork.
watch from positions flanking the door, while a ✦✦ Senator Sadana was invited to the masquerade ball
third will stand at the bottom of the front stairs to and plans to attend. He will not be taking a date;
watch the coach drivers and footmen. his wife died two years ago, and he has appeared to
✦✦ Two Royal Guards will be on duty at the side be in mourning the entire time.
servants’ entrance. Their instructions will be to ✦✦ The Senator has been overseeing a deal between
only allow previously vetted servants in or out. the Taonan Trade Company and House Raventree
Vetted servants will have temporary alchemical to ship goods from their holdings in Elderland to
tattoos—the royal seal, on the inside of their left New Dunhaven. The Senator will be spending the
forearms—that the guards will check for. party further ingratiating himself to Lord Nicolas.
✦✦ Three Royal Guards will be on duty at the
footman’s entrance. Their instructions are to let no Deep Secrets
one pass through the door. Two stand guard on Members of the crew can learn these things by spending
the door, while a third patrols the yard where the Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork.
guests’ coaches are parked. ✦✦ When Sadana was in his mid-30s, he ousted the
Deep Secrets sitting Senator from the Emerald Cat district
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending using bribes, blackmail, and intimidation provided
Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork. by wealthy crime bosses in little Taona, many
of whom would go on to become high-ranking
✦✦ Four Royal Guards will be disguised as attendees members of the Red Lotus Society once the
of the masquerade ball. They will dress as guests, Arrangement was put into place.
but each will be carrying knives and cudgels ✦✦ Sadana has a history of having anyone who
hidden on their person, and will be watching for becomes aware of his debt to the Society
any signs of strange activity. assassinated. His wife of 25 years was no exception;
though he grieves for her publicly, she was killed
by Red Lotus Society assassins on his orders.

5
The Van der Fume Candles
Skar Sisters Members of the crew who know about alchemy
know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
Members of the crew who know about Elderland
to learn them without making die rolls.
know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
to learn them without making die rolls. ✦✦ Fume candles have alchemically-treated wax that,
when it melts, exudes strong fumes that quickly
✦✦ Dalya and Romelle Van der Skar are nobles from
spread to fill the surrounding area. They are
Elderland who have been visiting for a few months.
typically used to fumigate buildings, driving out
They have been working the noble social circles
pests and killing toxic molds.
but have not endeared themselves to many people.
A Little Digging A Little Digging
These things can be learned by doing legwork.
These things can be learned by doing legwork.
✦✦ Some shady alchemists can be bribed to create
✦✦ The Van der Skar sisters have taken over the estate
fume candles that exude more specialized fumes,
of a New Dunhaven noble family that has been out
tailored to the needs of the buyer. The Right
of the city for a few months, supposedly on holiday
Kind of People sometimes use fume candles to
in Elderland. They receive visitors at odd hours
render guards or City Watch officers unconscious
(men and women being paid to support Elderland
without having to resort to physical violence. This
agendas in the city), and they brought their entire
can be tricky, though, as the fumes can spread
staff with them, dismissing the house staff of the
quickly, so they are best used in a tightly-enclosed,
estate upon taking it over.
remote environment.
✦✦ The Van der Skar sisters recently purchased a large
volume of fume candles from an alchemist in Deep Secrets
the Ridgeberger Barony and had them delivered Members of the crew can learn these things by spending
to the Greenhouse in packages marking them as Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork.
ordinary candles.
✦✦ The Van der Skar sisters recently hired the criminal
Deep Secrets alchemist Velinda Scarborough to create a set
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending of special fume candles. The fumes exuded by
Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork. the candles are harmless and undetectable on
their own. When a reagent is introduced to the
✦✦ The Van der Skar sisters are planning to kidnap
fumes, they mix quickly and turn the fumes into a
Lord Nicolas at the masquerade. Their plan is to
toxic cloud that induces vomiting and weakness.
have one of the sisters (either Dalya or Romelle,
Scarborough also crafted the reagent, disguising
depending on which one Lord Nicolas reacts to
it as a perfume that the Van der Skar sisters can
more) attempt to lure Lord Nicolas away from the
wear. This perfume also protects the sisters from
main party and then poison him. The sisters paid
the toxic fumes, inoculating them against the
bribes to have the fume candles they had delivered
nauseating effects.
to the Greenhouse in several rooms off of the
✦✦ Scarborough is a pure pragmatist, and crafted the
beaten path, and are carrying perfume bottles
fume candles in exchange for a handsome sum
containing the reagent that triggers their poisoning
of money. Though the candles have already been
effect. As he becomes violently ill, they will call
delivered to the sisters, Scarborough is amenable
for his coach to retrieve him from the party.
to crafting more, or creating another batch of the
Agents working for the Van der Skar sisters will
reagent/inoculant perfume, or performing some
have subdued and replaced Lord Nicolas’s normal
other service related to the candles, provided there
driver and footman, and the young lord’s coach
is money at stake.
will be routed to the docks instead of back to his
estate. The driver and footman will then load the
incapacitated Lord Nicolas onto a ship, which will
then set sail for Elderland, where the young lord
will be held hostage.

6
Lady Eliza For the Judge
Beaumont These notes about the Job include a tally of
enemies, exceptional ways for characters to earn
Members of the crew who know about nobles
heat, and ways for the Judge to spend heat.
know these things. Otherwise, they can do legwork
to learn them without making die rolls. In the execution of the Job, the players need to account
for the following obstacles:
✦✦ Lady Eliza Beaumont is almost completely
✦✦ Lord Nicolas Raventree (use the statistics for
unknown. There hasn’t been a noble Beaumont
the minor noble)
family in New Dunhaven for half a century, and
✦✦ Tomas Cooper, Lord Nicolas’s bodyguard (use the
they have no holdings in the city.
statistics for the bodyguard)
A Little Digging ✦✦ Senator Wolfgang Sadana (use the statistics for the
These things can be learned by doing legwork. scheming senator)
✦✦ The Van der Skar sisters, who will also be trying
✦✦ Eliza Beaumont is 40 years old, handsome and
to kidnap Lord Nicolas (use the statistics for the
aging gracefully, with a husky voice and sharp,
calculating noble for each sister)
predatory eyes. She gives the impression of being
✦✦ Elizabeth Door, aka Lady Eliza Beaumont, who
ever on the prowl for the next pretty young man to
will be keeping a close eye on Lord Nicolas,
act as her consort until she grows tired of him.
as she suspects a plot afoot (use the statistics
✦✦ Lady Eliza lives in a luxury apartment in the Tower
for the Spider)
of Gold, as towering structure that is one of the
✦✦ The size 4 squad of Royal Guard minions at the
Tines in the Volkaiser Duchy. Her apartment is
front entrance.
elaborately furnished, though it looks as though
✦✦ The size 2 squad of Royal Guard minions at
it has not been occupied for very long. There are
the side entrance.
no servants’ quarters in the apartment, and no
✦✦ The size 3 squad of Royal Guard minions at the
servants attend to her. She has few personal effects
footman’s entrance.
in the apartment.
✦✦ The size 4 squad of undercover
✦✦ Lady Eliza is invited to the masquerade ball,
Royal Guard minions.
and was placed on the invite list by someone in
the Royal Family. Minor Complication (Spend 4 Heat)
Deep Secrets Spend heat to introduce this complication only during
Members of the crew can learn these things by spending the final scene at the masquerade ball. Just as the crew
Influence or as a result of rolling boons during legwork. is reaching a precarious point in their kidnapping, a
gaggle of party guests in search of a place to do some
✦✦ Lady Eliza Beaumont is actually Elizabeth Door,
canoodling stumble upon one or more members of the
a Spider. She has taken on her faux-noble persona
crew. Add a size 4 squad of party guest minions to the
as a way to keep close to Lord Nicolas because she
scene, who drunkenly stumble upon crew members and
suspects that one of the cartels is going to target
make an undesireable racket.
him with some scheme, though she does not yet
know it is a kidnapping.
✦✦ Door assumed the identity of Lady Eliza just over a
month ago; her apartment was purchased and her Credits
legal paperwork crafted all in that time. She has Design: Rodney Thompson
spent the intervening time watching Lord Nicolas, Cover Art: Waclaw Wysocki
observing his social interactions, and taking note Graphic Design: Daniel Solis
of anyone that comes into the nobleman’s life. Background Art: Jared Blando
Playtesting: Michael Robles, Tifa Robles, Alexander Theoharis, Tara Theoharis
Dusk City Outlaws, its characters and distinctive likenesses are the property of Scratchpad
Publishing. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United
States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or
artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of
Scratchpad Publishing.
©2017 Scratchpad Publishing, LLC, PO Box 5925, Kent, WA, 98064, USA.