Factions
Who's Side Are You On?
The Brass Screw Confederacy has convened year after year for ages. This unique gathering has served a peaceful conflux of time travelers and denizens, merchants and aristocrats, bodgers and pirates. They've all coexist in a comparatively harmonious if heterogeneous maelstrom of interests and intentions….
Until now!
The simmering pot reaches a jolly boil, spilling over into good-natured antagonism in the streets of Port Townsend. Allegiances will surely be tested, with opportunities for intrigue and alliance. Will you join the Outcasts in their struggle for recognition amongst the traditional authorities? Are you a Cog dedicated to the new Sciences and all they promise? Or ally yourself with the Aetherists, the force of order and tradition responsible for the grandeur and stability for which our fair city is renown?
The Aetherists - Port Townsend's ancient ruling class. These secretive masters have manipulated the subtle arts of Aether to protect their little town and maintain its place at the nexus of the time-space continuum (Port Townsend) for centuries. Aether powers much of the city and propels its magnificent airships, the cornerstone of commerce . Their authority has provided prosperity and security enjoyed by the citizenry. The Aetherists have a complicated relationships with the Fey and are reputed to have mystical powers.
The Cogs - With machinery and "Science," the bodgers and makers are ushering in a new order. Marvelous technologies have introduced advancements and marvels, but also threaten the long-established order. Their marvelous devices harness the old forces in heretofore unfathomable ways. Ray guns, automatons, and mechanical contrivances are transformed the humdrum world with innovations that promise a New Age of human exploration and discovery.
The Outcasts - Not everyone abides between the complex balance between Aether and Steam. The Aetherists research and exploration opened the world to strange creatures previously only the stuff of legend. Arriving in our world, for generations they have provided the military and labor that maintained the peace. The Bodgers created automatons to do their bidding, many so lifelike as to be barely discernible from humans. These monsters, spirits and constructs served as advisors and laborers, but recently they have stepped away to form their own Code. Now collaborate as a loose-knit tribe, they are beginning to speak with a voice of their own and demand autonomy and equality.
What's afoot
When you arrive at Brass Screw High Command, you'll have the opportunity to align yourself with one of the three factions. You can also, of course, content yourself to watch them squabble in the streets as you sip your tea.
Sophisticuffs is an on-the-streets, 2-second duel played out with cards. You're invited to pick up a deck at High Command. The rules, such as they are, are almost offensively simple and you'll find yourself brawling in the streets in no time, meeting new friends and mocking them in their defeat.