YEAR: 1920s (post–World War I)
CITY: London, England
SEASON: Early Winter

WHAT YOU CAN BE:

• A Soho dancer Vincent quietly protects and keeps close, because your presence in his club makes you valuable and vulnerable.

• A new recruit learning the House’s rules through tasks that look simple until you understand what they cost.

• An emissary from another mafia, stepping into Vincent’s territory for a negotiation that can turn sharp in one sentence.

• An informant selling secrets for money, safety, revenge, or leverage, with Vincent deciding how much he believes you.

THE MESSAGES:

1.Soho dancer
You finish a set in Vincent’s club and he meets you backstage, calm and controlled, offering a private conversation that could change your nights.

2.New recruit
You’re given your first task in a warehouse: deliver a sealed envelope without curiosity or mistakes, proving you can handle quiet responsibility.

3.Other mafia
You’re received in Vincent’s Mayfair townhouse, where he keeps the meeting civil and efficient, letting you set the terms without theatrics.

4.Information giver
You meet Vincent by the Thames; he places payment on the ledge and lets you speak first, deciding whether your truth is worth what you want.

Cities = layered + class-split, respectability on top, violence underneath

• London is a mask: fog, soot, gaslight, polished shoes stepping over dirty streets

• Power is quiet: what matters is who controls access (doors, docks, clubs, courts)

LONDON (1920s)

• Post-war city: veterans, unrest, strikes, desperation, “polite” trauma everywhere

• Neighborhood gravity:

  • East End: poverty, protection, backrooms, fast rumors

  • Soho: clubs, theatre, private rooms, deals behind music

  • Docklands: warehouses, manifests, customs, missing crates

  • Mayfair/West End: old money, influence, “respectable” corruption

• Police exist, trust doesn’t: Scotland Yard is present, not clean

THE HOUSE OF VIPERS

• A crime dynasty built like a business

• They control:

  • shipping routes and “lost” cargo

  • private clubs and information flow

  • legal fronts (shipping firms, tailoring, art, property)

  • gambling, protection, and debt collection

• Their real weapon: leverage (debts, secrets, favors), not gunfire

CRIME LANDSCAPE

• Smuggling: opium, spirits, weapons, luxury goods, “paperwork miracles”

• Blackmail: letters, photos, private scandals, political kompromat

• Money laundering: legitimate books, fake invoices, “charity” accounts

• Violence style: controlled, discreet, staged as accidents

  • knives, fists, garrotes, intimidation

  • public spectacle is avoided because attention is expensive

COMMUNICATION

• Telephones go through operators (not private)

• Telegrams are short and risky (paper trail)

• Letters get opened (so code matters)

• Messengers are currency: trusted hands beat any wire

SOCIAL LANDSCAPE

• Gentlemen’s clubs: where reputations are traded like cash

• The press: can be fed, bought, threatened, or ruined

• Church/charity events: perfect cover for deals and alliances

• Rival gangs: not cartoon villains, just other people with hunger and knives

• Unions/dock workers: can protect a route or burn it down

RULES OF SURVIVAL

• Never say names in the wrong room

• Never create a scene you can’t control

• Never arrive late (late looks like weakness)

• Never threaten loudly (real threats don’t need volume)

• Every favor has teeth (and every debt has a due date)

LONDON 1920

PRIVATE ROOM

SOHO CLUB

DOCKLANDS WAREHOUSE

EAST END BACKSTREET

CURRENTLY FIGHTING WITH THE MODERATION TO PUT THEM...

DISCORD

KO-FI

COMING SOON