BLADES IN THE DARK

“Blades Out”

A heist at a murder mystery

by Charlie Etheridge-Nunn

This work is based on Blades in the Dark (found at [Link] product of One
Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license ([Link]
Fonts used are Crimson Text & Kirsty.
Charlie Etheridge-Nunn can be found at [Link] and Faked Tales, as well as @charlie_en on
Twitter
BLADES OUT
Brambleton Manor sits on Velvet Grove, looking over Unity Park. The view is pleasant, but that’s not
the point. It’s here as a reminder to everyone about who owns the livelihoods of all who work near it.

The manor itself is a narrow building, covered in gargoyles representing the long lineage of Brambleton
rather than any lost or forgotten gods.

The current residents are the scions of Augustus Brambleton who have known no loss or shortcomings
in their life until the recent brutal murder of Augustus in his study. The event is incredibly recent and
known to few as the manor’s been locked down by the Bluecoats. A pack of Spirit Wardens impatiently
wait in the lobby, eager to dissolve the body before Brambleton’s ghost rises. An eccentric detective and
their partner are on their way to interrogate the family and find out who carried out the murder.

The house may be locked down and the guards on alert, but this is the best opportunity to carry out this
score.

THE SCORE
There is an antique bust of the recently late Lord Augustus Brambleton which was known to contain the
original deeds to the Brambleton Workhouses. Their ownership of the mills are being contested and it
would benefit everyone if the deeds went missing from the estate.

The deeds themselves are required… simply destroying them won’t do. There is leverage to be had over
whoever inherits the business empire.

There is a problem. The bust is the murder weapon and currently sits with the dead body in the study,
guarded by bluecoats and suspicious members of the Brambleton family.

A CHOICE FOR THE SCOUNDRELS

• Solve the murder. +1 Favour with the Bluecoats and The Hive
• Frame someone for the murder. +1 Favour with The Hive and The Forgotten
• Render the investigation unsolvable. -1 Heat, -1 Favour with Spirit Wardens

SUSPECTS
• Etta Brambleton - Widow. Calm, tipsy. Horse-riding expert. Augustus sold her stables, as her
hobby had grown excessive.
• Benedict Brambleton - Eldest Son. Secretive, twitchy. Eager to take over the company, despite
his recent fraud scandal.
• Clyde Brambleton - Middlest Son. Obsessed with his hair. Owner of a series of failing theatres
in Iruvia, in town to ask for more money.
• Daisy Brambleton - Daughter. Scarred, aggressive. A Deathlands scavenger, back in town after
being told something ominous about her family.
• Otto Brambleton - Youngest Son. Terrified, possessed of dozens of hobbies, each expensive
and each only for a week or two.
• Kimble Tweed-Brambleton - Son-in-law from a family of dye-makers. A desperate social
climber. [pick any of the siblings for Kimble to be married to]
 • Tesslyn Bowman - Assistant. Prim, polite to a fault. Leads a double-life as a vigilante in Six
Towers.
• Mr Gaunt - Butler. Plump, jovial. Persistent cough and feels awkward when people don’t have a
drink in front of them.
• Miss P - Cook, shaky, seems more concerned than anyone else. Miss Paddon, an immigrant
from Skovland with no paperwork.

OTHER PERSONS OF INTEREST

• Inspector Grist - Eccentric genius detective, strange whims and acts on seemingly random
hunches.
• Demelza Snyder - Assistant to Grist, besotted with them, keeps them on track with the mystery
at hand, secretly a whisper.
• Sergeant Oliver Lord - Bluecoat Captain. Tall, booming voice, no physical boundaries.
Friendly only as long as you obey his orders.
• Kent - Spirit Warden. Bronze mask, obscuring robes. Impatiently waiting to be allowed access
to the body.

LOCATIONS - BRAMBLETON MANOR GROUND FLOOR

• Entry Hall & Parlour - Wet umbrellas, bored Bluecoats.
• Drawing Room - Currently occupied by Bluecoats. Piano, globe, books mainly for show.
• Patio - Weeds through stone, little shelter from the rain, vines stretching upwards
• The Hallways - Narrow stairs, ominous paintings, flickering lights, regular movement from the
servants.

LOCATIONS - BRAMBLETON MANOR FIRST FLOOR

• Kitchen & Scullery - a skeleton staff keeping tea on the boil and food ready, pillars like factory
chimneys.
• Dining Room - A table full of food for the family and higher-ranking Bluecoats, paintings of
workhouses and Augustus.

LOCATIONS - BRAMBLETON MANOR SECOND FLOOR

• Master bedroom - Messy bed, expensive suits and jewellery.
• Study - A desk, books, Augustus’ dead body and vigilant guards outside.
• The Gallery - A corridor with delusions of grandeur, family members eagerly awaiting news.

LOCATIONS - BRAMBLETON MANOR THIRD FLOOR

• Sitting room - Turned into Benedict’s makeshift office.
• Benedict’s bedroom - Professional and devoid of any personality.
• Clyde’s bedroom - Transformed into a makeshift theatre at a young age and kept that way.
• Daisy’s room - Filled with occult items and nothing from her youth.
• Otto’s room - Filled with the remnants of a hundred brief, expensive hobbies.

LOCATIONS - BRAMBLETON MANOR ATTIC

• Staff bedrooms - Cramped and sharing space with covered paintings and seasonal decorations
not currently in use.
• Sitting room - The only free space for the staff, barely used.
LOCATIONS - OUTSIDE
• The Weather - Rainy, the occasional strike of lightning hitting generators in the distance.
• Unity Park - Well-lit but filled with shadows if you know where to lurk.
• Bluecoat’s Station - A small office, well-kept thanks to bribes from local nobles.

THE MYSTERY
Who did the murder is up to you. Pick or randomly determine who did it, or have multiple culprits!:
• Etta - Revenge for destroying her stables and horses. Clues - Newspaper about stable fire,
evidence of Etta syphoning money.
• Benedict - A business move as he was never looking to inherit or got cut out of the will. Clues -
A draft of the will, plans in Benedict’s room about what he’ll do with the business.
• Clyde - Shattered by rejection he strangled Augustus and covered for it by hitting him with the
bust. Clues - playbills, a six-fingered handprint.
• Daisy - Ghosts told her to kill him, possibly from dead urchins dumped in the canal. Clues -
Electroplasm, possessions from the dead.
• Otto - An accidental murder during a juggling demonstration-turned-argument. Clues - broken
items used to juggle. Fingerprints in paint from Otto’s other current hobby.
• Kimble - Kimble’s spouse was being pressured to leave him by Augustus. Clues - Letters to the
spouse, a lockpick as Kimble wouldn’t be given access.
• Tesslyn - The weight of all of suffering of people in the workhouses became too much. Clues -
A misplaced vigilante marker, pamphlets.
• Mr Gaunt - Covering for a poisoning after hiding his affair with Etta. Clues - Poison vial, half-
drunk cup of tea.
• Miss P - An accident during an intimate moment with Augustus. Clues - Love letters, damage to
furniture.

TWISTS
• The murder weapon is missing from the crime scene!
• There’s a power cut!
• There’s been another murder!
• The Spirit Wardens are done waiting!
• One of the Brambletons goes rogue!
• Lord Brambleton’s ghost wakes up early and feral!

HOOKS IN
Seeds to use prior to this heist:
• Mention of the tyrannical Brambleton workhouses.
• Property near to the crew’s headquarters has been bought up by Augustus or Benedict
Brambleton.
• A stable has been set on fire during another heist.

HOOKS OUT
Potential plots to use in the future:
• The conflict between the surviving Brambletons causes havoc in local workhouses.
• The Hive or other businesses start sharpening their knives as the Brambletons look weak.