Pyre: City in Flames

A world where ambition burns and the dead linger.

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Clinton Hewes made a Move (Dungeon_Mustard GMed) 1 day, 14 hours ago. View Move

Explosion in the Councilmans office!!

Published in the Gaslight Gazette
By: Alwin Elric Thorne

Chaos erupted in the heart of the city’s wealthiest district last night when an explosion shattered the office of the late Councilman Oswald Harrow, a former member of the Closed Council. The blast occurred in Harrow’s private study inside the building of the Ministry of Accounting and Recounting, sending shards of glass raining down on Reaper’s Lane and leaving a gaping wound in the stately building.
Councilman Harrow, a member of the powerful Closed Council, passed away two weeks prior under suspicious circumstances during a public speech. The explosion has only fueled speculation about the nature of his death, especially as early reports suggest the presence of a strange group at the office during the time of the explosion. Guards stationed nearby claimed that right after the explosion, many of the office workers came out of the building under the reasoning that there was a fire, a secretary of late Councilman Harrow claims she saw figures fleeing the scene. In contrast, others reported flashes of lightning and a crackling surge of energy moments before the detonation. 
The Closed Council has called for an emergency meeting, and authorities are urging citizens to avoid the area while the investigation continues. Meanwhile, questions linger: Was the explosion an accident, or the deliberate destruction of evidence? And who, exactly, was in Oswald Harrow’s office that evening?

Victor Blank made a Move (Dungeon_Mustard GMed) 2 weeks, 2 days ago. View Move

Radium for the Masses: The Radium Arms Act Passes!

Gaslight Gazette – Political & Industrial Affairs

By Edmond Thorne, Senior Correspondent on Colonial & Domestic Policy

In a landmark decision, the Imperial Assembly has passed the Radium Arms Act, granting civilian access to radium-infused munitions. Once reserved for military and noble use, these cutting-edge bullets—infused with the radiant power of science—will now be made available to all licensed gun owners across the Empire.

This move, championed by East Donbar Emporio in collaboration with the Luminary Guild, is being hailed as a triumph of progress and self-defense rights. Advocates argue that in an age of rising crime, occult threats, and growing civil unrest, it is only natural that every Imperial citizen should have access to the best tools available to protect themselves and their families.

"A Safer Empire for All"

Representatives of East Donbar Emporio, the exclusive distributor of Radium Bullets, celebrated the act’s passing with a statement:

“For too long, only the privileged and the armed forces have had access to the miracle of radium munitions. But why should security be a luxury? With the passing of this act, the common man will no longer have to rely on rusted steel or outdated powder rounds. The future of self-defense is here, and it glows.”

Already, sales have skyrocketed, with gun shops in Pyre reporting record-breaking pre-orders of the luminous ammunition. Personal defense courses featuring Radium-based weaponry have also sprung up, with the Emporio sponsoring public demonstrations showcasing the bullets’ effectiveness against spirits, rogue sorcerers, and even outlaw Critch.


Latest Journals

2 days, 11 hours ago: Victor Blank wrote a Contract Journal for

Therapy - useful thing or part time activity for the rich ?

I always considered therapy to be a useless thing for rich people, but based on recent events, I decided to give it a chance and sought out a person who makes a living by talking to wealthy people. Who would have thought that in today's world, this could be a way to earn a living?

In any case, I spent about three weeks attending regular sessions. And as hard as it is to admit, my nightmares gradually disappeared. I started sleeping peacefully again. I have to acknowledge that I was wrong about the importance of this profession. Whether it was ultimately worth it—only time will tell.

 2 days, 13 hours ago: Clinton Hewes wrote a Downtime Journal for

Hunted manasion

In the first episode of Dragon Ball Z, our party of six traveled barefoot from Sut Row to Gallowglass Heights to visit a mansion where the lady of the house claimed she was being haunted by spirits. However, the other residents insisted she was simply delusional.

When we arrived at the mansion, the rest of the party entered through the front, while Boulder and I were sent around the back—of course, just our luck. We spoke with everyone in the house but found no solid evidence of a haunting. Meanwhile, I-Jang was busy turning the lady’s bedroom upside down in an attempt to create better feng shui xDD 

At some point, Boulder, Rio, and I wandered into the back garden, where we made a gruesome discovery—a dead body. That was the first time I ever attempted to call upon spirits, and let’s just say neither Boulder nor I handled it very well. I summoned a woman’s spirit, but then, unexpectedly, I also summoned what was likely a fetus, which then materialized into the ghost of a small child. We later learned that this child had occasionally played with the lady’s son.

Things escalated quickly when the boy’s mother appeared as a vengeful spirit, seeking retribution. She burned her husband to a crisp but wasn’t satisfied. We had to weaken her with holy water while playing a chaotic game of “ring around the rosy” to avoid her grasp. Meanwhile, Terry ran outside and shot the corpse tied to a tree, severing the ghost’s connection to the mansion.

In the end, the lady of the house lost her husband—though she didn’t seem too heartbroken about it—and we left her to deal with the aftermath.

That’s all for now, folks—see you in the next episode! 😆

 1 week, 1 day ago: Clinton Hewes wrote a Downtime Journal for

Down time

After we headed back, I wanted to spend some time alone, connecting with myself. What I mean by that is getting to know Percy on a deeper level—who he was when he was alive, what he did, and how he died. I just wanted to talk to him every night about that and build my relationship with him.

In the meantime, I also wanted to roam around the city, visiting the nicer and wealthier districts to earn some money on the side with my card-reading skills. 🙂

That’s all—thanks for listening! ^_^
3 weeks, 3 days ago: Terys Willford wrote a Downtime Journal for

A place to stay

Some time had passed since the last job for the agency and I was looking for a place to stay, also for ectoplasm to feed to my partner and weapon Dexter the Spectral Bane. After obtaining the needed amount of ectoplasm for a month, from the black market, I went looking for a place to sleep. I spent a few nights at some of the many local inns and pubs. I started considering asking the agency for a permanent shelter. A place I could call home for the first time in a long time. Hence I went to the lady who was managing our party at the last job and asked her if there were any rooms available for a somewhat long-term stay. Surprisingly there were, which I was not expecting, thus I started living in the agency. I just hope that me staying in one place does not bring any misfortune to the agency and our group.    

  

Latest Completed Contracts

2 Contracts have been run in this Playgroup

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Welcome to Pyre, friend. A city like no other, built on the ruins of the New World and thriving in the shadows of the old. This place? It’s alive, and I don’t just mean the people. The Soulscar—that jagged tear in the sky—keeps the dead closer than they should be. By day, it’s all trade and deals in the bustling markets, but when the sun sets, you’d best watch your back. Spirits prowl the streets, and possession is a constant fear.
The alleys whisper of ancient religions and forgotten gods, their shadows etched into the stones. The air hums with ambition and desperation. Souls here aren’t just for living—they’re fuel, distilled into Ectoplasm to power machines, magic, and plenty of vices. There’s blood magic in the gutters, Corpusmancers twisting themselves into horrors, and Sentia addicts chasing emotions they can’t feel anymore.

It’s a city of endless opportunity if you’ve got the guts—or the madness—to take it. Pyre’s a hungry beast, though. It devours the weak and leaves the rest clawing for survival. Me? I make my way like anyone else, trying not to get caught in the jaws. How about you?

House Rules

Contractors from Pyre: City in Flames Are NOT portable, and may NOT visit other Playgroups to participate in Contracts.
Pyre: City in Flames grants 6 Experience points to GMs who achieve the Golden Ratio.

Full Setting Description

The year was 1850. Pyre, already centuries old, stood as a proud bridge between the Old World and the New. Ships filled its harbors with gold, spices, and whispers of undiscovered lands, while its streets teemed with ambition, intrigue, and invention. The alchemists and scholars of the time sought not just to tame the natural world but to pierce the mysteries of death itself. They constructed the Soulspire, a towering machine meant to harness the energies of the afterlife.

It worked—until it didn’t. The Soulspire erupted in a cataclysm that shattered the Veil between the living and the dead. Its remnants now hang above the city as the Soulscar, a vast, glowing rift that pulses with a light both terrible and beautiful, especially at night. The dead poured into Pyre, and with them came the rise of ghosts, possessions, and unexplainable horrors.

The supernatural is no longer a shadowy secret but an undeniable reality woven into the fabric of life. Ghosts roam the alleys, drawn by the Soulscar’s call, and ectoplasm—harvested from spirits through grim ingenuity—powers much of the city’s industry. Blood magic, whispered about in dark corners, grants unimaginable power at unspeakable costs. Yet even as the arcane grows commonplace, humanity’s greed and ambition push ever forward.

Pyre itself is a city of contradictions. Built on the bones of forgotten gods, its gothic spires and smoke-choked factories are home to both untold wealth and grinding poverty. The Blood Market thrives with forbidden trades, and radium-lit towers flicker against the eternal dusk. Ships pour in daily, flooding Pyre with the riches of the New World, but the city’s foundations are cracking under the weight of the sins of the old.

Long have the cabals, cults, and secret societies of Pyre worked in the shadows, pulling strings behind its gilded facades. But the Soulscar has upset the delicate balance. Ambitions rise. Secrets unravel. And something stirs beyond the Veil—a force older than the city itself, watching, waiting, hungering for the moment to return.

The world is changing. Ghosts whisper in your ear, forgotten gods lurk in alleyways, and the air tastes faintly of blood and soot. Pyre burns, in its heart and its soul. And yet, life goes on, the city remains.

World Events

Clinton Hewes made a Move (Dungeon_Mustard GMed) 1 day, 14 hours ago. View Move

Explosion in the Councilmans office!!

Published in the Gaslight Gazette
By: Alwin Elric Thorne

Chaos erupted in the heart of the city’s wealthiest district last night when an explosion shattered the office of the late Councilman Oswald Harrow, a former member of the Closed Council. The blast occurred in Harrow’s private study inside the building of the Ministry of Accounting and Recounting, sending shards of glass raining down on Reaper’s Lane and leaving a gaping wound in the stately building.
Councilman Harrow, a member of the powerful Closed Council, passed away two weeks prior under suspicious circumstances during a public speech. The explosion has only fueled speculation about the nature of his death, especially as early reports suggest the presence of a strange group at the office during the time of the explosion. Guards stationed nearby claimed that right after the explosion, many of the office workers came out of the building under the reasoning that there was a fire, a secretary of late Councilman Harrow claims she saw figures fleeing the scene. In contrast, others reported flashes of lightning and a crackling surge of energy moments before the detonation. 
The Closed Council has called for an emergency meeting, and authorities are urging citizens to avoid the area while the investigation continues. Meanwhile, questions linger: Was the explosion an accident, or the deliberate destruction of evidence? And who, exactly, was in Oswald Harrow’s office that evening?

Victor Blank made a Move (Dungeon_Mustard GMed) 2 weeks, 2 days ago. View Move

Radium for the Masses: The Radium Arms Act Passes!

Gaslight Gazette – Political & Industrial Affairs

By Edmond Thorne, Senior Correspondent on Colonial & Domestic Policy

In a landmark decision, the Imperial Assembly has passed the Radium Arms Act, granting civilian access to radium-infused munitions. Once reserved for military and noble use, these cutting-edge bullets—infused with the radiant power of science—will now be made available to all licensed gun owners across the Empire.

This move, championed by East Donbar Emporio in collaboration with the Luminary Guild, is being hailed as a triumph of progress and self-defense rights. Advocates argue that in an age of rising crime, occult threats, and growing civil unrest, it is only natural that every Imperial citizen should have access to the best tools available to protect themselves and their families.

"A Safer Empire for All"

Representatives of East Donbar Emporio, the exclusive distributor of Radium Bullets, celebrated the act’s passing with a statement:

“For too long, only the privileged and the armed forces have had access to the miracle of radium munitions. But why should security be a luxury? With the passing of this act, the common man will no longer have to rely on rusted steel or outdated powder rounds. The future of self-defense is here, and it glows.”

Already, sales have skyrocketed, with gun shops in Pyre reporting record-breaking pre-orders of the luminous ammunition. Personal defense courses featuring Radium-based weaponry have also sprung up, with the Emporio sponsoring public demonstrations showcasing the bullets’ effectiveness against spirits, rogue sorcerers, and even outlaw Critch.


Posted by Dungeon_Mustard, 2 weeks, 3 days ago. Permalink

Gaslight Gazette #2

Posted by Dungeon_Mustard, 3 weeks, 3 days ago. Permalink

Gaslight Gazette

Posted by Dungeon_Mustard, 1 month, 1 week ago. Permalink

"Catastrophe in Pyre: Soulspire Explodes, Veil Shattered!"

PYRE, 1849—Chaos erupted yesterday as the Soulspire, the towering machine hailed as mankind's boldest leap into the unknown, violently exploded during its first full activation. Designed by the brightest alchemists and scholars to harness energies from the afterlife, the catastrophic failure has torn a glowing rift in the sky. Witnesses describe an ear-splitting roar followed by a blinding light that turned night into day. Moments later, strange, flickering shapes—some claim they resembled figures, others only formless shadows—soared out from the wreckage and dispersed across the city.

Above Pyre, a vast, radiant scar now stretches across the heavens, pulsing with eerie, shifting lights in colours that defy description. This "Soulscar," as onlookers have begun calling it, casts an otherworldly glow over the city at night, drawing both fear and awe from its inhabitants.

Authorities have yet to release an official statement, but whispers of sabotage and divine punishment are already spreading through the Blood Market and beyond. Crowds gather in frightened clusters to watch the sky, unsure of what to believe—or what to expect next.

What was unleashed last night remains a mystery, but Pyre's citizens are united in their fear that the city may never be the same again.

- Excerpt from the 1849 issue of "Pyre Chronicle".

 

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