11/23/2025 – Swyvers – Crown Heist on Widowmaker Bridge

Summary

Maise’s Gang came off a recent baby-snatching caper in the sewers and learned from their fixer, Mr. Tweed, that the ratfolk were boiling toward war. Feta the Fallows had sniffed out the stolen litter and was ready to blame his rival, Rattigan, for the missing pup Lucky kept. With the city’s underbelly ready to erupt, the crew went hunting for coin and met Mick the Fence in a grimy tavern. Mick dangled a prize: a royal crown out for polishing at Silas Sparkles’ and due to cross Widowmaker Bridge at dawn. He warned of decoys, twitchy Sparkles, and the Black Hand sniffing around, then took a silver tooth for intel on the carriage and its stop at the toll.

The gang sketched plans, then cased Silas’s shop in the deserted mayoral district. Through barred windows they spotted a guard, a decoy crown in a box, and a hidden floor hatch likely holding the real thing. They failed to meddle with the hatch, but quietly sabotaged the carriage’s rear door so it would open under a careful pull. With hours left, they shifted the play to Widowmaker Bridge.

There, Maisie Faye sweet-talked the toll man with promises of a fortune and lured him under the bridge. Nabi finished the deed and sank the body, while the others slipped into the booth to pass as collectors until dawn.

At first light, the armored carriage rolled up: a driver at the sticks of two clanking horses, guards hanging from the sides, and Silas inside. Archie stalled over a sudden “new toll” while Lucky eased the rigged rear door and slipped in. Silas caught him and tried to cut a deal, but Nabi crashed in to smother the shout. Steel flashed. As Silas scuffled with Nabi, Lucky cracked the hidden compartment, lifted the velvet-bagged crown, and dove out the back.

The driver snapped the reins and the guards swung down to chase. Lucky sprinted through the press of buildings and lost the pursuit, while Nabi lit a bottle and hurled flame to break contact. The crew scattered clean and later regrouped with Mick, forcing him to pay the full 300 shillings for the crown. Mr. Tweed arrived with grim news: Feta had found the pups, one short, and now called it a provocation. With the Black Hand slighted and ratfolk readying for blood, the gang’s score had set the table for a city on the brink.

OUTLINE:

Sewer Fallout and the Need for a Score

• Mr. Tweed warned Maise’s Gang that Feta the Fallows had found the stolen rat pups, all but the one Lucky kept.
• Tensions between Feta and Rattigan sharpened, with war in the tunnels likely.
• The gang decided they needed money and cover, fast.

Mick the Fence and the Crown Job

• In a dingy bar, Mick the Fence offered a heist: steal a royal crown returning via Widowmaker Bridge at dawn.
• Intel: driver, two guards, Silas Sparkles riding inside; narrow bridge; possible decoys; Black Hand interest.
• Mick accepted a silver tooth for the carriage’s overnight location and route details.

Casing Silas Sparkles’ Shop

• They scouted the mayoral district shop: barred windows, a guard inside, and a dog on the premises.
• Spotted a decoy crown on display and a hidden floor hatch likely holding the real crown.
• Failed to compromise the hatch but subtly sabotaged the carriage’s rear door to open on a tug.

Tollbooth Takeover and Dawn Ambush

• At Widowmaker Bridge, Maisie Faye lured the toll keeper away; Nabi killed and weighted the body.
• Archie and Lucky occupied the toll booth to play the part until dawn.
• At first light the carriage arrived; Archie stalled over a sudden toll while Lucky slipped into the back via the sabotaged door.

Heist, Escape, and Aftermath

• Inside, Silas tried to cut a 60–40 deal; Nabi grappled him, taking a wound.
• Lucky opened the hidden compartment, secured the velvet-bagged crown, and bailed from the moving carriage.
• Guards pursued; Lucky outran them, and Nabi threw fire to break contact.
• They forced Mick to pay the full 300 shillings.
• Mr. Tweed returned: Feta had recovered the pups one short, calling it a provocation; Black Hand ire loomed; war felt imminent.

NPCs:

• Bridge Beggar: A wary, hungry soul who knew when to run. He fled the scene before the dawn fray.
• Carriage Driver: Stone-faced operator of the mechanical horses, quick on the reins and quicker to leave trouble behind.
• Feta the Fallows: Ratfolk power with a mean memory and sharper claws. He recovered the pups, found one missing, and called it a provocation.
• Mick the Fence: Slimy, gap-toothed broker of stolen goods who underpays when he can. He set up the crown job and tried to skim the payout until steel and stares changed his mind.
• Mr. Tweed: Streetwise fixer who keeps an ear to the midden and a warning on his tongue. He tracked the ratfolk fallout and cautioned the crew about a coming war.
• Old Toll Keeper: Lonely night man at Widowmaker Bridge who took a shine to Maisie’s fortune pitch. He never saw the blade under the span.
• Rattigan: The big cheese of the ratfolk’s rival faction, blamed by Feta for the missing pup. He denied involvement as tensions rose.
• Silas Sparkles: Twitchy jeweler and transport client guarding the crown. He tried to cut a private 60–40 deal in the carriage and drew blood when the grapple came.

ITEMS:

• Armored Carriage: A steel-ribbed coach with a rear door and mechanical horses on poles, tight enough for guards to hang and hard enough to crack.
• Crystal Ball: Maisie Faye’s polished focus, perfect for fortunes and misdirection in equal measure.
• Lockpicks: A lean roll of slender steel, good enough to tease a saboted latch and crack a hidden compartment under pressure.
• Molotov Cocktail: A bottle, a rag, and a spark—the kind of fire that ends a chase before it starts.
• Silver Tooth: A gleaming payment Mick couldn’t resist, cheap for the secrets it bought.
• The Royal Crown: The true prize—velvet-bagged, bright as treason, and worth a city’s fury. The decoy in the shop was meant to fool worse thieves.
• Velvet Crown Case: A plush bag that masked the crown’s weight and gleam long enough to disappear into the crowd.

LOCATIONS:

• Mick’s Bar: A poor, dirty tavern thick with smoke and schemes, where bad deals are made and worse ones are taken.
• Silas Sparkles’ Shop: A barred, grimy jeweler’s in the mayoral district, hiding a guarded workshop, a safe, and a concealed hatch beneath the floor.
• The Midden: The ratfolk’s rank, twisting undercity of pipes and runoff, where grudges ferment and armies gather.
• The Palace: Seat of royal pageantry and the crown’s rightful home, where guards triple when something goes missing.
• The Toll Booth: A cramped wood-and-iron box perched at the bridge’s crown, paper-stuffed and perfect for a quick impersonation—until dawn.
• Widowmaker Bridge: A narrow, rickety span over the reeking Rickery Rapids, with a cramped toll booth and buildings crowding both banks. One wrong step drops you into filth and eels.

FACTIONS:

• Peelers and City Watch: Law in blue coats and hard boots, always a step behind and twice as heavy-handed when crowns go missing.
• Ratfolk Clans: The warrens’ many nests under Feta the Fallows and Rattigan, now a breath away from bloodshed.
• The Black Hand: A ruthless crew who expected the crown score and won’t like being cut out.
• The Royal Household: Stewards of the palace and symbols its regalia; they take thefts of crowns personally.

QUESTS:

• Black Hand Blowback: Stay ahead of the rival gang who expected the crown and may come collecting in blood.
• Keep Clear of the Peelers: Avoid identification after the tollbooth swap, the dawn chase, and the missing toll man.
• Raise the Stolen Rat Pup: Lucky’s kept one pup; keeping it fed and hidden may decide future friends or enemies beneath the streets.
• Rat Pup Fallout: Survive the consequences of the stolen litter as Feta the Fallows and Rattigan edge toward war.
• Steal the Crown on Widowmaker Bridge: Lift the royal crown from Silas Sparkles’ carriage at dawn and fence it before the city wakes.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Archie: A street artisan and child of a failed actor, Archie wears the city’s grime with a professional air. He reads people as easily as he reads a ledger and favors forged papers and clever disguises over blades. During the crown job he helped scheme the toll plan, stalled the carriage with a sudden “new toll,” and aided the sabotage that opened the carriage at dawn.
• Lucky Clover: A smooth-talking former bootlegger trying to keep coin flowing for a demanding son, Lucky trusts his instincts and a fast pair of feet. He plays friendly at the table and ruthless at the score. At Widowmaker Bridge he slipped into the carriage, outfoxed Silas, cracked the hidden cache, and escaped with the velvet-bagged crown ahead of the guards.
• Maisie Faye: A fortune teller with a crystal ball and an unwavering belief in its truths, Maisie Faye works people as deftly as any lock. Her faithful mutt, Krusty, is never far from heel. She charmed the toll man into leaving his post and kept the booth cover steady while the rest of the plan unfolded.
• Nabi: Broad-shouldered and self-assured, Nabi carries himself like a man licensed to bear arms and expects the world to step aside. Subtlety isn’t his first tool, but resolve is. He silenced the toll keeper beneath the bridge, grappled Silas in the carriage, took a wound, and later hurled fire to scatter the pursuit.