NCH
New Crobuzon Hero
Unique individuals
New Crobuzon
The Construct Council
A virus in the card and valve
programmed constructs used throughout New Crobuzon as cheap labour caused a
spark of self awareness. Not enough to have an independant intelligence of the
equivalent of a human being in a construct however - but enough for a seed.
This seed replicated to other constructs with the help of human
techno-worshippers. There is a conglomeration of intelligences in one of the
city dumps - various construct parts gained sentients and self awareness to
levels well beyond human understanding. The various constructs of the city,
once the seed of the virus, implanted by the technicians, has grown - are drawn
to the Council and become one with it. Acting as mobile parts to itself - going
out, coming back and reporting/being reprogrammed.
The Council is a
rational amoral survivor willing to make deals in order to continue to exist.
It has the ability to vast thaumaturgical calculations at high speed, and to
build new task-specific constructs that are many times more efficient than
human built equivalents. However it must remain undiscovered at all times. It
knows if the Militia become aware of its existance - it is dead.
Note - By the time of the third book, Iron Council, the Militia
were aware, there were the Construct Wars and the Council was destroyed
(probably). Which led to Golems becoming the new cheap labour force.
Bentham Rudgutter
Mayor of New Crobuzon and Head if
the Fat Sun Party. A driven man, who has forged alliances with races and
creatures that were thought impossible. His various secret dealings, much like
the legal system and life in general in New Crobuzon, are shady at best. His
second in command, likely to take over his position, was killed and possessed
by a Handlinger because he was becoming too much of an annoyance by Rudgutter.
Rudgutter is on negotiation terms with the demons of Hell, Handlingers and
Weavers.
On a personal note - sometime in the past Rudgutter lost his eyes,
and has nothing but empty sockets. It is never explained how this happened. He
is able, through thaumaturgy, to use other people's eyes though. Once they have
been inserted, that is. One of the rumours often circulating the streets of New
Crobuzon is about "The Eye Killer", who removes victim's eyes. This happens
whenever the Mayor's current eyes decay too much to be useful any more.
Eliza Stem-Fulcher
Mayor of New Crobuzon after
Bentham Rudgutter. Also a member of the Fat Sun Party. She was assassinated
during the revolution of the Collectivists by Ori, a Toroan.
The Weaver
Possibly the least understandable
creature and one of the greatest individual powers in New Crobuzon. Currently
there is only the single ambassador in the city - but there are many others
"out there"
Weavers are huge transdimensional spiders. Their concern is
their art, and their art is the weave of the world. They will occasionally do
odd, inexplicable, bizarre and/or violent things to improve the weave. They are
able to move between dimensions - their home being a dimension where the web of
the world can be perceived. Weavers do not possess names as we understand
them.
The Weaver is an excellent McGuffin - and will get players to do
things, or help them at the GMs whim. However - there is always a price (in
Perdido Street station, the heroes discovered the price for being helped, and
to set the weave correctly, was their left ears).
Toro
An insurrectionist and leader of the dissident
group who call themselves Toroans. Cecile is a Remade woman whose crime of the
manslaughter of her baby has sentenced her to have her baby's arms attached to
her face in the Punishment Factories by the magister as a permanent reminder.
She had the Helmet of Toro constructed to give her powers and disguise her
identity in the pursuit of revenge. First mention of her occurs in the first
book, but the group does not form until the third book Iron Council.
After the assassination of Mayor Stem-Fulcher and killing the mayor's lover -
the magister who sentenced her, Cecile passed her Toro helmet to Ori.
Spiral Jacobs
A seemingly homeless derranged old
man that was in Jack Half-A-Prayer's gang of fReemade back before Jack was
captured (20 years ago). He wanders around the city offering information,
advice and occasional funding to various dissident groups throughout the
city.
In actuallity he is the Tesh ambassador and a Hecatomage - one who
knows magic of many different styles. He wanders the streets of New Crobuzon
laying down spiral glyphs in a long ritual designed to bring destruction to the
city during the Tesh War. His aid to dissidents is a red herring, a way of
keeping the government and citizens busy so they don't realise his intent.
The final spell calls forth a non-corporeal life force that will give the city
a tremendous ablife intent on killiing its inhabitants. The ritual itself
causes killing illusions (called Haints) to appear randomly throughout the city
as it nears completion.
While Spiral Jacobs is casting the ritual, he
cannot be hurt with physical weapons of any sort - including magical physical
weapons. All such attacks will miss.
Isaac der Grimnebulin
Lin
Mr. Motley
Too Too Abstract Individual Yagharek Not To Be Respected
Armada
Bellis Coldwine
The Lovers
Uther Doul
Johannes Tearfly
A naturalist, bound on a sabbatical to study the fauna and flora of far flung Nova Esperium
Tanner Sack
A Remade convict, deformed by grafts of tentacles dangling from his chest.
Shekel
A cabin boy.
Silas FennecA spy for New Crobuzon.
The Brucolac
