I don't have many homebrew rules suggestions for BitD, partly because the system is already rather "make it your own", but I have come up with a few new factions so far. Here's one I'm going to introduce soon in the story of our tier I Shadows crew, The Irreverent.
The Irreverent do espionage and sabotage jobs down at The Docks, but their hidden lair is situated in Six Towers. According to the rulebook, the factions that lair in Six Towers are the Circle of Flame, the Gray Cloaks and Lord Scurlock. You could very well place the Dimmer Sisters there as well.
I liked the idea of the gang war in Crow's Foot where players can choose a side or play off the warring sides against each other to further their own agenda. So I made a third party1 for Six Towers that could stand their ground against the Dimmer Sisters and the Gray Cloaks.
The Groundskeepers
| Citizens, Tier II | Faction clocks |
|---|---|
| Descendants of the gardeners, houndsmen, and other servants who used to work in and around the mansions of Six Towers, back when it was still glamorous. They still tend to the walled gardens, protecting what they feel is still theirs to tend, and demanding from their neighbours proper respect -- and taxes -- in the name of their old masters, whom they hope will soon return. |
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Turf: three old dilapidated mansions in Six Towers, including gardens, which they maintain to the best of their abilities. They run a protection racket in the surrounding streets, raising "contributions to neighborhood improvements". Some of the local citizens earnestly support them and their cause, preferring the Groundskeepers and the potential return of the nobles to the Bluecoats and cults of Six Towers.
NPCs: Pellard (leader, haughty, proud, traditional), Sanya (second, ambitious, calculating, thorough), Vilca (bloodhound, loyal, ghost-hunting, supernatural)
Notable Assets: plenty long rifles for keeping out pests and trespassers, lightning hooks and electroplasmic ammo for keeping out unwanted ghosts. But most importantly, Vilca is the alpha of a pack of bloodhounds that are gifted with supernatural speed and cunning. Vilca is the only one that can bite ghosts... for now.
Quirks: The Groundskeepers believe that one day, the noble families will return to Six Towers and thank them for their unwavering loyalty. As such they tend to treat anyone from a noble background as a potential heir to the mansions, at least initially. They'll turn hostile as soon as they suspect their potential master doesn't actually have coin and/or wants to loot the old mansions.
Allies: the noble houses of Duskvol, Bluecoats, Spirit Wardens
Enemies: the Forgotten Gods, the Dimmer Sisters, the Gray Cloaks
Situation: Pellard is the only Groundskeeper left who remembers the time when most nobles still lived in Six Towers. He was a teen when the last family moved out. His father started the first generation of Groundskeepers, waiting for the families to come back. Sanya is younger and sees a potential for the Groundskeepers to become a major force in Six Towers, with the Gray Cloaks as their main competitor. So far, Pellard is keeping her in check, but he's getting old and may not have many more years to live. Besides this, the Groundskeepers are constantly busy keeping out cultists and thieves who are interested in the occult potential or left-behind riches of the mansions.
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The Circle of Flame and Lord Scurlock are a bit above our crew's paygrade. They could certainly arise as a complication or Devil's Bargain during play. Pay an extra COIN of tithe, or lose a faction point with them, something like that. But not (yet) as a direct confrontation, unless the players decide to get ambitious. ↩