The Upomachy

The war beneath the streets, a conflict between criminal organizations in the city of Haenor in the empire of Endruin in the industrial era, is a battle between local criminals and a major, international criminal syndicate.

In 1831 SE, the criminal Brightfire family is trying to take over the illicit affairs of Endruin. The Brightfires, an international crime syndicate, has sent some of their forces into Haenor, the largest city in Endruin, a major port city, and the last hold out in the empire not under their control. Haenor is a critical seat of power in the empire, a major slaving port, a major trading port, and home to the continent's second largest stock exchange. The Brightfires have bought an alliance with the local police and certain businesses. But they still have to face off against the local criminal organizations for control of the city's underbelly.

About 200 years ago, other international criminal organizations were driven out by the local organized criminal group known as the Grith ("sanctuary"). The Grith is run by four figures of hidden identity - the Counterblast, the Quaedam, the Abdit, and the Cang. Each of them controls a fourth of the city's crime, with a loose agreement not to fuck with each other that isn't always honored. Under threat of Brightfire invasion, they are probably going to reunite... unless there's an effort to stop that.

The Grith is split into four parts: the Blue Grith, the Green Grith, the Violet Grith, and the Red Grith. The Blue Grith is a network devoted to freeing slaves and prisoners, protecting the underclasses, and plundering the vaults of the rich to feed the poor. The Green Grith are ecoterrorists opposed to the industrialization of the city. They want to reclaim the city for nature itself. The Violet Grith see themselves as a law and order unto themselves, existing outside the rules of the city, keepers of secrets and information. And the Red Grith are everyone else - the criminals seeking to survive against the brutal realities of Haenor's vicious ruling class. Each quadrant has its own rules, but they all agree on keeping Haenor for Haenorians and Endruinites.

To unite these disparate parts, the Grith made an agreement contingent on requirements made by each quadrant: the Blue Grith required no Grith may buy, own, capture, or sell slaves. The Green Grith required that no Grith may poison the water, sky, or earth. The Violet Grith required that no Grith may share their secrets. And the Red Grith required that no outside criminal organizations may have territory in Haenor.

PCs would be criminals of the Grith, embroiled in the nascent Upomachy. Each player would be a different kind of criminal and of a different segment of the Grith (unless there's more than four players).

Introduction
Setting
Characters