View source for Faerinn/The Landing Visitor’s Guide to Which of its Roving, Numerous, Deadly Gangs is Killing You During Frontier Days

A small troupe of performers break away from the Frontier Days preparations to set up an elaborate marionette stage of the Mayor’s office in miniature. After their work is done several break off to hand out various parchments to passersby during the performance. Each depict a print of a stylized Rone the Third throwing a punch. There are four variations of whose chin received these blows and being propelled forward by the force of the strike: Mother’s, Barnon Slim’s, Stephos DeArchon’s, and Grishom Stone’s.

Through a mixture of puppetry, Gnomish engineering, alchemy, and illusions they put on the following display.


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An armored figure dressed in all white crashes through the windows of the Mayor’s office and lands on her desk in a heroic pose. Their features are masked by the, well, the literal mask and hood. The Rone marionette faced the audience.

“Hello, I’m Rone,” a voice said from behind the set, “the third iteration of a masked vigilante used in the past by various powers to do murders under guise as justice. But you know what they say? Third time’s a charm!”

“I’m here today to deliver an important message to Frontier Days visitors for identifying the numbers, deadly, roving street gangs in the Landing,” Rone added, “Are you on West Ring Road or in the Bank, and you see this woman offering to reunite you with a lost loved one in exchange for partial castration?”

A marionette in the visage of Vlashandra was lowered down from the ceiling and stood idly in place.

“Then she’s with the Lich King. His only goon we have seen is this woman so we can only assume that they all have their faces surgically altered to look like Magister Svala’s. After initially conning the whole town, this group has not really done anything. If you see them they are most likely shopping for groceries for that big feast Lich King Barnom Slim promised us.”

“Are you on North Ring Road, perhaps beside the smoldering ruins of the Militia Barracks?” Rone continued, “And see someone in shabby grays possibly melting people with a hand pylon?”

A marionette dressed in Knave garb was lowered from the ceiling to stood next to Vlashandra.

“That’s a Knave, in more ways that one! They are the most numerous and well funded of our gangs with the largest territory. They are led by a mysterious figure named the Knave who is probably Stephos DeArchon. Maybe, Amos the Lion. Likely both. In a couple of days, without intervention, the Mayor will be forced to place one of them on the Town Council!”

A marionette dressed in feathers and a beak was lowered from the ceiling next to the Knave.

“And this. This is a Rook.”

“They are at least native to this area’s sewers. They can be found on South Ring Rd, in Shantytown, and by the Alchemist. They are lead by Mother who a lot of people in this town likes, despite the fact that her predecessor used child as sacrificial shields. But maybe the current Mother won’t do that, and she promises freedom for everyone from the Empire. Just keep in mind, death is a type of freedom!”

A grey-armored bloodguard with Grishom Stone’s face was lowered down from the ceiling on hard to spot strings next to the Rook.

“And this,” Rone points,”Is a Blood Guard of the Cult Blood to the Blood Son of the Blood God.”

“This particular sect asks ‘what if God was one of us’? What if the worst person you know stumbled upwards into sorta godhood, and then sent the second worst person you know to promise to heal your crow’s feet? That’s Grishom Stone and Malluch! They only control the Brass Tower and have the smallest numbers, but its quality over quantity here. Not quality as in having any worthwhile traits, but quality as in a handful of basically unstoppable killing machines.”

The five marionettes bowed to the cheering audience before crashing through the Mayor’s remaining windows and ceiling to escape.


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The performers continued handing out flyers to the dispersing crowd before taking down their stage and moving on to the next Square.