Overview

1888 London is a city trapped in perpetual night, shrouded in dense smog that never lifts. Gas lamps flicker through the haze, casting long shadows over cobblestone streets slick with rain and blood. The air smells of coal, smoke, and iron. A world of factories, fog, and unseen eyes.

Children’s laughter sometimes echoes through the alleys, followed by distant screams. Carriages roll past, yet their passengers are never seen. The city breathes like a living thing, inhaling sin and exhaling smoke. Those who stay too long begin to hear whispers of names that were never theirs.

Anomaly Behavior

• Eternal Night: The sky remains a dim, smoky twilight. No sunrise has ever been recorded in this Node.
• Smog Veil: Visibility is limited. The fog thickens around those who act violently, concealing entire streets for hours.
• Phantom Voices: The laughter of unseen children and screams of women echo without a source. Some Diver reports mention voices mimicking their own.
• Clockwork Law: Steam-powered Police patrol major streets, their brass and iron frames hissing with pressure. They follow a form of justice — if they find someone unarmed, they will warn them to “go home,” but if they are armed, they are forced to go to Scotland Yard.
• Shifting Districts: Streets rearrange subtly between patrols. Maps are unreliable, as landmarks fade or reappear with different signage.
• Predatory Fog: Prolonged exposure can cause hallucinations and blood seepage from the eyes.

Objects of Interest

• Scotland Yard: Still operational, filled with ticking machinery in uniform. Acts as a command center for the Steam Police.
• Blood Alley: A narrow passage where the fog always glows faintly red. Entities are highly active here.
• Broken Cathedral: A partially collapsed church that hums faintly when approached, suggesting residual Anchor energy.
• Rattarian Warrens: Tunnels beneath the city leading to sprawling underground markets, home to the Rattarian people.

Entities

• Jack the Ripper: A shapeshifting entity that takes on the forms of man, woman, or child. Appears suddenly within the fog, kills swiftly, and vanishes without a trace. Its presence causes nearby clocks to stop and lanterns to dim.
• Rattarians: Humanoid rat species that have adapted to the Node’s filth and decay. They maintain their own society beneath the city — scavengers, information brokers, and engineers. Rattarians are not inherently hostile but are highly territorial and suspicious of outsiders.
• Steam Power Police: Mechanical enforcers powered by steam cores. Their directives are simple: restore order, eliminate threats. They cannot be reasoned with. When they detect unarmed individuals, they escort them “home” and for armed individuals, to be detained at Scotland Yard.
• Vampires, Werewolves, Ghouls, and Zombies: These beings wander the streets, drawn by the city’s endless night. Vampires and Werewolves have their own factions within the node and out and tend to fight each other.